Clicks 365

A 2010 job hunting campaign is by nature pretty involved. While the internet has offered a variety of new channels, it also creates multiplied rivalry for great jobs and potential hurdles for job searchers.

Job searches need to be thought of as a highly personal, highly targeted marketing process where you are the product. Your resume is an ad. Your extended network is your lead generating machine.

So where does the Web fit in? At AA-Careers, we recently listed a job on a popular job search site and got over 500 resumes in a week. For one opening. That’s exaggerated competition.

Had the right individual contacted us ahead of our posting that job, they could have secured the job prior to getting all that competition. How? By knowing a person at our office who became aware of the job prior to posting. Everyone was aware of the job for at least 10 days before it was posted. Who in your extended network might know of a job that’s coming open soon?

So the good news is that job boards give you a sense of who is hiring, and for what kinds of careers. But once those jobs are posted, the rivalry is intensive. You can still compete, if you have a well honed resume, designed to appeal directly and clearly to the recruiter. And if you have practiced interviewing - so you don’t stumble at a critical point.

Another downside to be aware of is how easily you can be checked on the internet. As we Googled several candidates, we ran into some pictures and comments that were in questionable taste. Nothing larcenous, but enough to sway our thinking about who to hire.

AA-Careers provides a comprehensive set of services for Bay Area job seekers, providing our clients a personal career consultant, a managed job hunting campaign, modern tools like a personal website, video, highly targeted resume, and much more. Let us know if we can help you.

Be careful out there, and good hunting!

Comments Off

Competent human resource management is critical in order to achieve the best in your business success. People management may be improved and learned. Having a natural skill for communicating with people is a plus, but there are many things you can do to make the procedure easy. Forging relationships: Remembering individuals by name will be a good start. Talk to employees; make eye contact when you are talking. Be respectful, and listen to the other person’s opinion, regardless of whether you agree or not. Paying attention to everything others say is one of the best human resource management skills you can develop. Be sure to welcome any contributions from your team members. Live up to promises: Keeping your word is fundamental. When you don’t keep your word, the fragile bond of trust is damaged, and without trust people certainly won’t offer their best. Everytime you make a statement or make a promise about something, do be sure you can follow through or it would be better not to give your word at all. To be frank, if you can’t be depended on, they will not be available when they are most needed.

Visit and visit our very good resource for regulatory requirements guidelines.

Welcome feedback: Feedback must be a two-way process. Human Resources management skills mean keeping an open mind to all feedback. If you are able to establish accessibility and receptiveness, you show that your co-worker’s views count, your ideas will be appreciated in the same manner. Supporting discussion also furthers evolution of fresh ways of thinking, new ways of fulfilling goals, and strengthens the team. By allowing the staff to express their thoughts, the outcome will become important to every team member. Communicating is essential: Communication is the key to dealing with individuals effectively. Be approachable, listen closely to people, welcome feedback , and encourage all your team members to express their opinions. Encourage team members not only to speak with you, but to talk to each other. The exchange of thoughts is important in the creative process, and in communicating with each other, it is much simpler to spot issues before they present problems, and measures may be implemented before things get out of hand. A little time will be essential, nevertheless the payoffs far outweigh the work. Through building the bonds of a good team and by listening to your team’s ideas, a thriving business will be yours.

Comments Off | Lees verder »

Success in the modern business world depends heavily on the efficient management of individuals. People management may be acquired and learned. Having a innate skill for getting along with people is an advantage, but there are a few things you can learn to make this procedure simple.

Developing relationships: Begin by using a person’s name. Encourage conversation; look employees in the eye during a conversation. Develop a respectful attitude, in addition listen to everything the other individual has to say, irrespective of whether you are in agreement or not. Acquiring listening skills is one of the most effective things you may do to better your people management skills. Be sure to show an interest in what people can offer the business.

Live up to promises: Don’t give promises you will not fulfill. When your word is broken, it can ruin trust, and if they don’t trust you employees will not give you their best. Each time you make a statement or make a promise about something, you are wasting your time and effort unless you keep your promises. The truth is, when your people can’t depend on your promises, they can’t be relied on to be there if you actually need them.

Encourage feedback: Feedback must be a two-way process. Having an open mind regarding other’s views is an important skill in effective people management. Being approachable and receptive demonstrates that other’s opinions matter to you, and they will listen to yours. Supporting discourse in addition opens doors to creative problem solving, innovative methods of achieving the mission of the company, and improves the team dynamic. By giving the staff some input, every member of staff takes an interest in the outcome of the project. Promote communication: Communication is fundamental to managing staff effectively. Be accessible, listen attentively to other people, be open minded, and permit all your team members to express their views. Staff must be inspired to speak with one another not just with you. The creative process relies heavily on the interchange of opinions, and if the staff communicate well, it is simple to find issues before they could present a problem, and corrective measures can be applied before matters get out of hand.

Some time and effort will be essential, however the rewards are worth it. Through establishing the bonds of a good team and developing effective listening skills, you can easily accomplish the best in business success.

Comments Off | Lees verder »

Successful management teams understand that organizational success is much more dependent upon the effectiveness of their teams than any other market influence. Robert H. Waterman understood the importance of people in business when he wrote that organizations exist for only one purpose: to help people reach ends together that they couldn’t achieve individually.

So the question that management faces on a daily basis is three-fold:

• How can we or I improve the wins for the team, the department and the organization?
• How do we or I close the gaps between today’s outcomes and the desired future results?
• How do we or I create a positive return on investment (ROI) for the resources expended in trying to improve the wins for the team?

During my experiences as both a process improvement and performance improvement consultant, I have come to realize 7 business strategies for executive teams to increase their management batting average, close the gaps and create a positive return on investment (ROI) for the resources expended.

1. Build People Skills - Where is the Focus within your organization on job specific skills or people skills?
2. Focus on Strengths - Why do winning teams win because of the strengths or weaknesses?
3. Implement Executive Coaching - How can you lncrease the productivity of your people while multiplying the bottom line results?
4. Identify Real Problems - What is truly keeping you from reaching that next level of success?
5. Create Alignment - Are your daily actions causing waste, reducing performance and actually setting your people up to fail?
6. Embrace Consistent Goal Achievement - How can your people consistently achieve business goals when they probably cannot achieve personal goals?
7. Secure Measurable Results - Why are you in business?

Through a series entitled How To Improve the Management Team Wins for Winning More Business, each of these strategies will be explored.

Are these the only ones? Absolutely not! However from my 25 plus years in both the business and educational arenas, I believe that these are among the top 7 business strategies that need to be incorporated if management truly wants to increase its wins.

P.S.: Since these strategies evolve from a strategic plan, there is a presumption that a strategic plan exists and the challenge is in the execution of that plan or eating the elephant one bite at a time.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith coaches small businesses to large organizations to double performance by closing the gap between today’s outcomes and tomorrow’s goals. Through a quarter of a century proven strategic planning process, her clients quickly (within 30 to 180 days) close their gaps, double results and secure a positive return on their investment. Please feel free to contact Leanne at 219.759.5601 or visit http://www.processspecialist.com/ and explore how she can help you from the free articles to the improvement tips. One quick question,if you could secure one new client or breakthrough that one roadbloack, what would that mean to you? Then, take a risk and give a call at 219.759.5601 to experience incredible business. Mention that you read this article and receive a complimentary leadership assessment.

Comments Off

Team management in the context of setting tasks, prioritizing, monitoring progress, agreeing and setting performance measures is all relatively straightforward.

If you don’t agree - get help now!

Let’s talk about your true value added, let’s talk about Leadership, Development, Empowerment and Having Fun

Being responsible for a team, large or small, is a serious business. Getting the best out of people takes creativity, guidance and perseverance. if our team members lose focus, fail to achieve the group’s goals and objectives, we should be held accountable. What am I saying? You knew that when you took on the job. Didn’t you?

Only you know your team (Or at least you should).

This article cannot comment on a special team situation you may have. However, what it can do is focus on maximizing the benefit you get every time you get together with your team(s).

Examples of Spending Time Together

I’m sure you can add more. However, you’ve guessed it - any setting where there is a sense of purpose, common goals, and a desire to achieve success by being part of your particular team.

Any of the above examples can be highly motivating, rewarding, and productive. They can also be time consuming and costly. have you ever measured how much time you spend in a ‘team setting’? Have you ever calculated the cost to the business?

Wasting time and resources is definitely one of my pet hates. And, yet, I’m probably as guilty as the next person - losing focus, digressing, being reactive instead of proactive - even simply just having a bad day.

However, let’s keep things in perspective.

As a team, be single minded in achieving the common goals through that shared sense of Purpose and Direction, through that shared Vision BUT don’t get boring in the process.

For me, a key attribute of good leadership is having team members who

All of that isn’t as daunting as it may seem.

So, again, in the context of leadership and maximizing the value and benefit to be gained from a team setting, what are some of the positive things we can do as team leaders?

Suggestions

Publish agendas or session flows in advance with enough time for team members (including yourself) to prepare for that team session. Why not invite inclusions to the agenda.

If the session is going to be a long one, break it up into manageable sections, take breaks. Be creative, have some fun, do some exercises. I personally would not go more than 50 minutes, an hour, before taking a break.

Introduce quick 15-20 minute training sessions any meaningful and contextual topic or theme. e.g. Giving and Receiving Feedback, Brainstorming, Setting S.M.A.R.T. Objectives. Empower team members by a) Have each team member prepare and deliver the training session and b) Have another team member facilitate the training session.

Deliberately have a non-context topic or theme on the agenda but, again, one that will add value and benefit participants - e.g. invite a technical expert or different functional / departmental head to give a 15-20 minute presentation on what and why they do what they do (This can be as good as having an actual break).

Before the formal session starts, get each team member to ‘dump’ - get rid of all the stuff in their head that’s going to prevent them from focusing on the task(s) in hand. Caution team members need to feel safe and comfortable to do this. It also needs to be carefully led so it does not get out of control. Most importantly, it needs to comply with the team’s agreed ground rules that were set at the formation of the team.

Continually develop individuals - give others the opportunity to prepare and publish the agenda for the next team session, empower them to lead and facilitate the session and to write the follow-up review afterwards ( apart from anything else, it gives you a rest! ). Further development can be achieved by inviting other team members to provide constructive feedback - with the knowledge that they too will be given the same developmental opportunity and will also be receiving ‘constructive’ feedback.

Have fun and celebrate successes. Take time out, have a bbq, have a picnic, supply the supper when the team session’s a late one.

Lead by example at all times. Show the team that your business, their business is a serious one with specific goals and expected results BUT the best way to achieve success is through ongoing individual and team development, empowering others to succeed and having fun along the way.

==================================================================

Andrew has over 20 years experience providing personal and business coaching specialising in strategic planning, continuous improvement,personal development and lifelong learning. Providing a focused problem solving approach through our personal and business coaching (especially to small businesses). Our primary theme and overriding goal is to provide you with the right choices that fit your needs, solve your problems. Want to discuss any of these articles further - no problem. The quickest way to contact Andrew is to visit his internet marketing website, http://www.youraffiliatecoach.com and click on the “Your Request Form” button on the navbar. Easy to complete. We look forward to hearing from you.

Comments Off

My husband loves to negotiate. So much so that whenever I need to buy new running shoes, he always buys a pair, too, with the hopes that he can swing a “deal” with the store by buying two pairs at once. Of course, he never gets a discount, but what I find fascinating is the number of times he asks for a discount, doesn’t get it, and still buys the item at full price anyway.

I started thinking about this from the seller’s perspective, by analyzing my own negotiation techniques, and those of my clients. The questions I wanted to answer were: Exactly what makes a successful negotiator? And what do they do differently from the rest of us to get the price they want, while still leaving their customers feeling that they’re getting a good deal?

The following simple five-step process can help maximize your results each time you negotiate. Even better, I find it works wonders at every stage of the sales process, from negotiating price to discussing delivery, added product features or any other terms your prospect is looking for a break on.

Step 1: Get into the right frame of mind

The first thing you have to do when negotiating is make sure you’re in the right frame of mind. Do you really believe that your products or services are worth the price you’re charging? If the answer is no, then you won’t be able to negotiate successfully. Period.

If you implement the next four steps of this plan, I can guarantee that those readers who truly believe that their products are worth the price they charge will walk away with more deals at full price. Those of you who think your products are too expensive, on the other hand, will continue to sell at a discount.

These steps aren’t necessarily easy, and in fact may take some discipline to implement. But for those of you who are willing to put in the effort, I promise that they will help make negotiation easier, and more natural.

Step 2: Hold firm

Sales experts suggest that sales people in the top 20% of their fields never cave in on the first round. So don’t give in to what your prospect is asking for right away. Remember, to those who love it, negotiation is a game. It’s the “art of the deal.” And to make those people happy, you must be willing to play.

Nothing frustrates negotiators more than a sales person who caves in and drops their price on the first round. If a client asks for a 20% discount and you immediately say yes, they walk away feeling two things:

The price must have been inflated to start with; and
I should have asked for bigger discount. Next time, I will!
Neither of these outcomes is good for you. So the next time your prospect asks for a reduction in price, instead of just giving in, try responding with one of the following instead:

I can appreciate you’re looking for the best deal, but I can tell you that we’ve already given you our best price.

You’re smart to be looking for the best deal, but our pricing is always competitive, and I just can’t go any lower.

A discount? (in a surprised tone)

This is the stage of negotiation during which your belief system is challenged. In order to be successful, you really need to believe that you are already giving your prospect a great price. When I was selling for London Life years ago, I was once approached by client who wanted a 10% discount on his group health benefit plan. I was so shocked by his request - nobody had ever asked for a discount before, and I knew that we had the least expensive plan he was looking at - that all I could say was, “huh?” Not very professional, I admit. But he responded with “well, I just had to ask anyway…” and then paid full price for the plan.

Typically, 40% of all customers will respond the same way, with either “I had to ask” or “I just thought I’d try.” Unfortunately, over 50% of sales people cave in on the first try, and give the client the discount they’re asking for. This is lose-lose for everyone. Your company reduces its profit. You reduce your commission. And your customer walks away dissatisfied because you refused to play the game.

Learn how to hold firm, and practice your responses in advance.

Step 3: Repeat

Some clients will press ahead with their request for a discount even after you’ve given them one of the responses outlined above. The vast majority of them, however, are just looking for assurance that you really are giving them the best possible price, and there is no room to move. In other words, they want to make it a little uncomfortable for you, making sure that you sweat just a bit.

My advice in these cases is again: hold firm. Work to reassure your customer that they’re getting the best price, and remind them of all the hard work you’ve both put into the deal. Try something like:

We’ve been 6 months putting this project together, I would hate to see it not go ahead because we can’t settle on price; or
I knew you’d be tough, so we provided aggressive pricing up front. I would hate to see this not go ahead because we haven’t been able to meet your budget.

We find that an additional 20% of all business is closed at this stage - that’s 60% of all business closed without ever having to reduce your price. Unfortunately, by this point, 80% of all sales people have also already caved. You do the math.

Step 4: Take their mind off the bottom line

If after all this your prospect is still pushing for a discount (and 40% of them will be), then find something else to give them that doesn’t reduce your price.

Free shipping. Extra manuals or training. A client profile on your Web site. What you choose will be specific to your business, your markets and your client base. The key is to have the list of things you’re willing to offer prepared in advance, so you can draw on it during the negotiation.

It’s hard to think creatively in the heat of a negotiation, so planning ahead could give you a ready-made solution that leaves both you and the client feeling satisfied with the transaction. For a copy of the worksheet we developed to help you plan your “no money” concessions, just email us at colleen@engageselling.com

Step 5: The last line of defense

Finally, if your client is still asking for a discount, you may have to give it to them in order to close the sale. But before you do, always ask them one of the two following questions:

“What is important to you about an x% discount?” OR

“Why is an x% discount important to you?”

These questions will flush out any last details that could help you find a different way to structure the terms and pricing, which will allow you to keep your price while letting the customer walk away with their needs met as well. If, however, you ultimately do have to reduce your price, make sure to follow these two rules:

Never reduce your price without getting something in return. Getting something in exchange for a pricing concession is key to managing customer expectations that future discounts will not be easily dished out. As with the “no money” concessions above, what you get in return for a price reduction will be unique to your business and markets, but could include references or case studies, a bigger order, introductions to senior level executives or cash up front. Again, whatever you ask for, prepare the list in advance so you can respond quickly and smoothly.

Get a firm verbal agreement from the customer that this discount is all they will need to get the deal done. Try asking them something like “I’m not sure if I can get you this price, but if I can, is it fair to say that we can go ahead?” OR “I’m not sure I can get this discount for you. If I can, though, are you willing to sign the agreement this week?”

Nothing is worse than coming to an agreement on price (especially a reduced price!) only to find out that your prospect is still looking for other concessions. By asking them this last question, you can ensure you get all the issues on the table first, giving you the chance to deal with them fairly once and for all.

Colleen Francis is the Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions http://www.engageselling.com which delivers sales solutions that realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise the client’s bottom line. She can be reached at 1-877-364-2438 or via e-mail at colleen@engageselling.com

Comments Off

As a kid, there was nothing worse for me than sitting under the hair dryer at the hair salon. I used to think of any reason to come out. However, my scheming and plotting only resulted in my incredibly thick hair still being wet when my hairstylist checkedmuch to my chagrin.

However, I now love my time under the hair dryer and entire salon experience. In fact, I am writing this as I sit under the dryer, listening to my iPod. Don’t think I’m weird or that the heat is making me delirious. But my 3 hours at the hair salon are some of the most meaningful time in my week. I’ve mastered how to best make use of a potential time waster.

I’ve seen my fair share of frustrated, bored and impatient people in the hair salon. Honestly, I’ve been that person too. We absentmindedly flip through year-old issues of Jet, Ebony and hairstyling magazines. However, this is no longer the case for me. As I’m ushered between the shampoo bowl, my stylist’s chair and the dryer, I usually accomplish some of my best and most important work. My time at the salon is about more than personal grooming; it is a time of personal, relational and spiritual development.

The best way to stay prepared for salon time is to have a tote dedicated to it. I am always looking for a reason to buy a new bag (smile). As magazines, articles or other materials come across your path; put them in your bag. That way you always have something to do or read when you go to the salon. Then on salon day, just put the bag in the car…and you are all set!

10 things to put in your salon tote

I truly began to appreciate my salon time while I was in college recently. After spending so much reading textbooks and writing papers, I wanted a reprieve. At first, I would take my schoolwork to the salon to catch up on things, but I realized that I deserved to take a break. So I decided to only bring things that were not related to school with me to the salon. And this revolutionized my salon visits. I no longer dreaded sitting under the dryer or even having to wait (a reasonable amount of time). I just whipped out something to do from my salon tote, and I was good. I didn’t feel like I was wasting time at all. Wondering what you can do while at the salon? Here are some suggestions:

11 activities you can do while at the salon:

Try these techniques for one salon visit; I think you will find that it makes a difference. You will walk out of the salon looking great and feeling great because you have accomplished some things while in the salon.

Adeea Rogers is an event planner and blogger. You may read her hair and fashion blog at http://www.adeearogers.com/hautehairblog.html. She may be reached for comment at adeea@adeearogers.com.

Comments Off

The best quality improvement initiatives are driven by data! Why? How are you going to know how much you have improved if you don’t measure something?

All of you have been exposed to measures in many situations. Most of them were important. In school, you were graded. Perhaps you own shares of stock; how do you measure the success of the stockits increase in value, a measurement. How do you know if your team wins? By its score, a measurement. The fact is that many daily activities in life have accompanying measures to judge their success.

You might argue that you know if things are getting better; you can just tell. I am sure that you can. This is not enough, though. In the healthcare field it is important to measure improvement. One reason to do so is to prove to others that things are improving. For instance, suppose you are in charge of implementing electronic health records in a hospital setting. You meet resistance from several staff members, including a large number of doctors. How can you overcome this resistance? Collect datalower percentage of wrong prescriptions, for instancefrom a pilot program of willing participants and then demonstrate the positive benefits with your data. With such results in hand, you will overcome many doubters.

Another reason to measure improvement is to demonstrate the saving of time and money. With healthcare costing so much today that many find care out of their price range, it is important to find ways to lower costs. For instance, suppose that staffing at your facility is very expensive; the payroll costs are way over budget. I recently read of a lean six sigma project that demonstrated through the use of data collecting by staff charge nurses that staffing shortages and costs were significantly reduced. The right staff was present when needed and the facility eliminated the need for using short-term staffing of nurses through agencies; this saved a great deal of money. Besides lowering costs, staff morale improved significantly at this site.

I hope that I have convinced you that to make significant quality improvements, you should be actively measuring. What should you be measuring? The most common measurements are costs in providing a service, time taken in providing a service and various measures of patient health, such as the lung capacity of asthmatics. You can also measure improved bottom lines. One doctor I know improved his income 38% in 5 years by working hard to adopt quality measures in his solo practice. Many ER’s now boast of how they have significantly decreased waiting time for patients. One such local hospital did so well that they were overwhelmed by the increase of demand for service at their ER. You might want to measure if spending a few more minutes with patients talking about pursuing good life habits like eating the right foods leads to improved health, like lower cholesterol.

Once you have decided what to measure, you should first measure the variable (cost, time, etc.) as it is in the state before you begin an improvement initiative. This is a baseline against which you can measure your improvement. As you begin and proceed through a quality improvement effort, keep track of the measures and see what improvements occur. I suggest that you keep the data in a spreadsheet or database. For short term record keeping you might want to use charts. You will want to check to see if your means are significantly improving (you can use statistical tests if you choosethey are more accurate) and if your variation is decreasing.

Once you have reached your goals, revisit the new processes once in a while and collect new data on the variables you chose to measure. Doing so, will help keep you from backsliding to the old ineffective state. Backsliding is all too easy. It is hard to break old habits, but keeping data will help you. This is, in fact, what drives the success of many programs, such as Weight Watchers.

I hope that I have convinced you that data driven change is the best way to approach quality improvement. It will concretely demonstrate how you are progressing and will prove to others that your site is doing much better. It will help you earn your just rewards!

Donald Bryant helps healthcare providers meet their challenges and writes “Making Good Healthcare Better” a free monthly ezine for healthcare providers who want to make patients healthier and improve income. Go now to www.bryantsstatisticalconsulting.com to learn more about Lean Healthcare.

Comments Off

Nowhere is the line drawn more clearly between ‘Industrial brains’ and ‘Electronic brains’ than when it comes to the way people prefer to keep and use their calendars. These scheduling tips will really make your calendar talk to you, whether you use a packaged set, print out a computer calendar because you like the paper ‘view’ for better planning, or you synchronize your Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with your laptop and office computer and it never hits paper.

Time Guidelines

Although everyone’s situation is different we can learn a lot from the CEOs who are running multi-national corporations. Forbes magazine ran a one-page article based on interviews with CEOs and CFOs about their time guideline practices.

Not one scheduled more than 75% of their time, and the majority scheduled no more than 65% of their time. So you’re looking at no more than 2/3 to 3/4 of their daily time being scheduled. Here are the earth-shattering reasons that these world class MBAs came up with for these Time Guidelines.

First, everything takes longer than you think it will.
Second, things come up that you’ve got to deal with right away.
(No matter how important what you’re working on is.)

And the Third, he told as an anecdote, “You never walk into a meeting when there are millions of dollars at stake having worked right up until the last minute before the meeting. Because no-one else in the room has.” Take a break before important meetings: you’ll be more creative.

Now, I’ve never been in a million dollar meeting, but I share these with you because the more I apply these Time Guidelines the better my workday goes.

The Buffer Zone (not to be confused with the Twilight Zone)
Allow one hour in-between any meeting’s scheduled finish and your next appointment. If you work with someone who schedules meetings in your absence, explain that you want them to hold this line for everyone except your boss and their boss (or perhaps your spouse).

Leaving/Returning from a Trip

If you are returning to work at beginning of the business day, schedule no appointments before noon. Give yourself some time to unpack and thoroughly review your voice mail and e-mail. If you return to work mid-day schedule nothing until the next morning so you have re-entry time to process action items from your trip or meetings.

The reverse is true if you are leaving on a trip: allow at least a half day to prepare for the trip itself, as well as a final review of your in-box and e-mail to make sure there are no ‘time bombs’ hidden among the rest that can wait.

Auto-Response e-mail

For every day you will be out of the office (or in meetings all darned day again) set up an auto-response e-mail that includes an alternate contact, if appropriate. Even if you’re only going to be out for one day, informing every one when you will actually be available, creates more realistic expectations.

Voice-mail Outgoing Message

When you are “Out of the Office” it’s best to change your outgoing message on your voice mail as well. Let them know when you will be ‘open for business’ and who to contact in your absence. Start by saying “WAIT! Listen to this message carefully.” Many people skip outgoing messages automatically. Other people simply don’t listen to what is actually being said because they’ve heard it many times before.

Be as specific as possible when referring callers to another source. Give the person’s name, phone, e-mail, and/or web address. The more specific you are the more likely it is someone will make the effort to get their questions answered by your alternate. The goal is to keep delivering services, even in your absence. This also whittles down the backlog awaiting your return.

Electronic Calendaring Programs

Most computer calendaring programs are connected to a contact database wherein all the pertinent contact information is accessible. Contact Management Programs are the best generation of their simpler contact/calendar antecedents, and are designed to center all your information about contacts by automating and documenting your communication (e-mail, phone, documents, e-fax, notes, etc.). It is truly a relationship-based way of thinking.

In addition, you can use any contact/calendaring or Contact Management program to quickly set up an easy project management tool that will appear seamlessly on your calendar display window or on printouts.

Enter a new contact into your contact record, using the project name (or code name) for the contact name field. You can now schedule tasks, to-dos, calls, and especially meetings on your calendar associated with your work on the project itself, not with the client or another team member. This allows you to plan for your milestones on various projects, and dedicate time to specific projects on your calendar.

In companies which network their calendars this is an especially important technique, because when someone is looking for an open time to schedule a meeting and your calendar shows project meetings, they are more likely to move on to another date.

Color-Coding Your Calendar (paper or electronic)

Color-coding is highly effective way to keep yourself straight with modern life’s many and varied activities. Color-coding will reduce misfiles by as much as 90%, even if you don’t change anything else about your filing system.

For those who use a paper calendar/planner, using pencil or erasable pen can be helpful especially if you rewrite your calendar often. I recommend that clients carry two erasable pens in their organizer; black for business appointments and blue for personal ones.

I recommend you use the four-color ballpoint pens for scheduling appointments with categories like black-business, blue-personal, red-travel, green-project action items. Buy plenty of whatever kind of pens/pencils you use to color code your calendar!

Your color-coding doesn’t have to be this complicated and if you use one of the many excellent computer calendars around you can automatically color code your entries as they appear on screen and in printout.

I use a Contact Management program called ACT. It includes the option to assign a range of priority colors to any activity. However, since I don’t schedule anything that isn’t high priority I use the colors for my categories of black-business, blue-personal, red-projects.

Also, I highly recommend the color display PDA’s over the black/gray/white displays. The display area of the PDA is limited so having the color provides you with improved visual function. Be careful when using the calendar function to check the day before and the day after the one you are looking at scheduling for any complications in coordinating your activities.

Applying any of these guidelines will help you out some. Applying all the tips that you possibly can, will change the way you work for the better. Just do it!

Copyright 2006 Eve Abbott All Rights Reserved.

Eve Abbott’s newest book is available online at http://www.organizer-extraordinaire.com Sign up for more time-saving tips and enjoy free brain quizzes to help you work at your personal best!

“How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain TM” is an entertaining, interactive guide offering easy, online assessments to help make your own personal organizing solutions match your individual work style.

Comments Off