So Much To Do, So Little Time

"So much to do. So little time."

It's the theme song of most professionals these days. "How can I keep up with what's most important when there's just so much to do?"

A recent CIO Magazine cover story laid out twenty of their best tips to invest 20 minutes wisely. Though they may overstate them as "20 minute miracles", the article has value for those seeking some relief from overloaded in-boxes and towering to-do lists.

Some highlights include:

• #2: The Mini-Meeting. We regularly coach leaders to be more aggressive in cutting the length of time dedicated to meetings. In our experience, recurring meetings are often the biggest culprits in wasting time. Though I rarely recommend trashing them (as suggested in the article), cutting their duration in half is a great place to start. Need some motivation? Take the hourly rate of everyone in those recurring meetings, and multiply that over the course of a year. Ouch! That's an expensive meeting!


• #7: Life Without E-Mail. Though I haven't found "Zero E-Mail Friday" practical (as suggested in the article), there is so much opportunity to be more efficient with our favorite tool to hate. My book How to Organize Your Inbox & Get Rid of E-mail Clutter can help you and your team save time and reduce the stress of e-mail overload.


• #8: Say Yes to Staff Training. OK, so you might suspect self-interest in my highlighting this one! But just this week I had participants in a project management workshop exclaim how techniques they learned will save them time. And training doesn't always have to take a big bite out of your time! Our Leadership Fast Track Program meets for 2 hours or less, 8 times between June and October. By spreading out the learning into smaller increments, we find you not only save time, but actually apply the learning. And since I facilitate it over the web, you're not wasting time traveling to a training facility. In fact, you can participate from anywhere in the world!


• #13: What's So Funny About Company Peace, Love, and Understanding? Basically this tip comes down to finding ways to get exposure to other departments. In our leadership keynotes and workshops we talk about practical ways to make this happen, and the advantages for you and others. Contact me to learn how we can help you improve your influence and exposure within the organization.
  

So much to do? So little time? We can help you sing a different song: Get more done, with less stress! Check out our Leadership Fast Track Program for details.

Labels: leadership, learning, networking, time management, work/life balance

posted by Andy at 3:14 PM  

Announcing this year's Omicron IT Executive Development (ITED) Program

It is my pleasure each year to partner with Omicron for their IT Executive Development (ITED) program. I have the privilege of doing the executive coaching and facilitating one of the workshops in the program.

Are you an IT professional in the greater Chicago area and want to take your career to the next level? Do you have some people on your IT staff who are promising leaders?

The ITED program "prepares future IT leaders today". I invite you to join us! Details at http://www.omicron-usa.com/executive.php

Labels: Information Technology, leadership

posted by Andy at 3:45 PM  

How the Conflict in the Taxi Ended

In a recent newsletter I related a true story of conflict that happened in a taxi on a cold night in Boston. If you haven’t read the story, click here to read it before continuing (it takes 2 minutes or less).

So, how did I respond when the driver spewed, “No! You said Hampton Inn at the airport!”

I first took a deep breath to keep from lashing out. After all, my family was in the backseat and it was important that I not do anything that puts them in danger. I knew that more than my (now nervous) wife was in the back seat. Three little ones were watching what Dad was going to model.

I looked into the driver's eyes, replied firmly but respectfully, “No, I said Monsignor O’Brien Highway. Take us to the Hampton Inn on Monsignor O’Brien Highway, now.”

He wasn’t happy but he did take the next right turn. We were suddenly in a dark, rough looking neighborhood that I’m sure didn’t do much to settle my wife’s nerves!

I pulled out my cell phone and called our hotel. In a voice loud enough to make sure the driver heard, I asked the front desk approximately how expensive a taxi fare from our origination to the hotel should cost. I repeated the answer out loud, “Did you say $15? Thank you.”

The taxi fare was already over $20, with at least 10 minutes to go.

As if I thought he hadn’t heard me (you never know with this driver!), I calmly but firmly told him, “I will be paying you $15 for this trip.” I didn’t have to speak his language to understand the essence of what was said under his breath.

I didn’t respond.

We were never so happy to see a Hampton Inn. The family poured out of the backseat with a collective sigh.

The driver knew he wouldn’t get his $35 taxi. Much to his surprise, I pulled out a $20 bill and told him to keep the change. A bit stunned, he responded, “I’m sorry for the mistake.”

Not all conflict ends quite this amicably. Enjoy it when it does. Though I don’t naturally use a Competing conflict style often, a controlled version of it worked in this case, followed by a Compromising pay out at the end.

We can help you learn to manage conflict with more confidence. Our Beyond the Rock and the Hard Place can be delivered in a keynote, workshop, or e-learning formats. Click here for more information.

Labels: Beyond the Rock and the Hard Place, conflict, crisis, influence, leadership

posted by Andy at 11:57 AM