Top 10 mistakes of well-meaning employees
Here are the top 10 mistakes of well-meaning employees — and what we can (and should) do differently.
Read MoreHere’s how 7 words (or less) can thrill your customers
Quick, can you convey your mission in seven words or less? How about your #1 work-related goal – can you rattle it off in a quick phrase? Most of us can’t, but Mukesh Thaker certainly can. He provides IT support in a big organization – the kind of organization where mission statements and goals can be wordy and remote. Mukesh operates with his own down-to-earth mission, which he’ll tell anyone who asks: “My goal is to make people happy.” Critics might say it’s too touchy-feely or too pie in the sky. Others might say it’s too vague and inherently unmeasurable. But for Mukesh and his customers, “happy” is what matters most. He visits with people when they’re having problems with their computers, or connections, or software, or a combination of the above. When Mukesh solves problems, he makes his customers happy. He hears it in their words (thank you) and sees it on their faces (smile). Goal achieved. We can all take a page from the Mukesh playbook. Start by phrasing your mission in seven (or fewer) meaningful words. Enshrine your words on a sticky note. Keep it front and center for a full work week. Revisit at week’s end. Fine-tune as needed. Keep it visible until it becomes second nature. And what if you can’t come up with a suitable phrase that informs and inspires? Easy. Take the “make people happy” mantra and make it your own. Turn it into your daily imperative. Mukesh will be thrilled, and so will the people you serve. By Tom Terez •...
Read MoreThe power of “I really don’t care what people think”
Would you adopt a new approach if it promised improved performance and better results? Sure you would. But what if that sure-fire approach was, well, unorthodox? What if it prompted eye-rolling among colleagues? What if it made you the occasional butt of jokes? Would you adopt it then, or would you stick with your old approach to avoid the grief? For Rick Barry, it was an easy choice. During his 14 seasons as a professional basketball player, he threw all his free throws underhanded – while his court colleagues used the standard overhand toss. Did Barry’s underhand throws look silly? Who cares if they did – they produced so many points that they became a big-time competitive advantage. Barry sank 90% of his free-throws – compared to a 75% average for everyone else. In his last pro season (1979-80), he took top free-throw honors with an average of 93.5%. The Hall of Fame forward scored 25,279 points during his career. Named to 12 All-Star teams, he led the Golden State Warriors to the NBA Championship in 1975, averaging 30.6 points per game in the 4-0 series – and earning MVP honors. Did free throws matter? Two of those games were won by one point. Among today’s basketball players, Chinanu Onuaku is following Barry’s lead. In his freshman year at Louisville, Onuaku made just 47% of his free throws. He adopted the underhand approach, put in the training time, and upped his average to 59% in his second year. Now with the Houston Rockets, Onuaku is still tossing his free throws the unorthodox way. His comment to Sports Illustrated says it all: “I really don’t care what people think. As long as I get a bucket, I’m fine.” It’s true in any setting where performance is important. If you don’t care what people think, you’ll find all sorts of new approaches that can score better results. Have you found a unique scheduling system that goes against the grain but gets great results? Stick with it. Are you getting new insights from customers by organizing a first-ever series of focus groups – while getting curious looks from colleagues? Stay the course. Are you gearing up to bring process mapping to your team, knowing that it works but also knowing that some team members will balk? Trust your know-how and go for it. MVP status awaits. By Tom Terez •...
Read MoreKeep an eye on a few key measures – or else
I should’ve known better. My work involves performance and process improvement, so I’m well aware that meaningful measures and objective data really do matter. But for an upcoming half marathon, I decided to go rogue. I’d run without my watch and without looking at the posted times on the course. It would be a test of sorts for 13.1 miles. I’d remain oblivious to time and see what happened, instead of closely tracking time like I’d done in all my previous races. On race day, the early miles seemed to fly by. I felt so good that at mile 4, I picked up the pace. At mile 9, still feeling strong, I sped up some more. And with a few miles to the finish, I raced forward with confidence. When I crossed the finish line, I had no clue what time I had logged — but I knew it was good. Perhaps my best time ever. Except that it wasn’t. Not even close. For all the half marathons I’ve run over the years, it was my worst time ever. As I dug into the official post-race numbers, I discovered what had happened. Those first four fly-by miles were easy because I wasn’t flying at all. According to the data, my pace had been 14 seconds slower than my leisurely per-mile pace for long training runs. For whatever reason, my internal pacing mechanism was giving me a good report, but it was way off. Without a watch, I had no accurate reality check. When I dialed up my pace at about mile 4, I felt like I was really hitting the accelerator. But the data told a different story. From that point to mile 9, my pace was only 46 seconds faster per mile — a measly 7.5% pick-up. Without any objective feedback telling me otherwise, I was relying on my internal pace clock, and it was again giving me a deceptively rosy report. In the last four miles, I shaved another 33 seconds off my per-mile pace. I passed 482 runners — while being passed by only 19. All that passing surely boosted my confidence, further convincing me that this race could be a personal best. But because I had so dogged it early on, the quicker pace was nowhere near enough to get me a good time. Did I have fun during the race? Absolutely. Would I have...
Read More10 pain-free ways to boost your productivity
Ernest Hemingway didn’t have the typical job, but he said volumes about productivity when he observed, “Never mistake motion for action.” How about you? Does it ever feel like you’re on a nonstop treadmill of busyness? If so, here are ten ways to slow down and ensure that you’re taking meaningful action. 1. Do less in order to do more. Scour your schedule for tasks that amount to meaningless busywork. Stop these costly habits, and redirect your saved time to work that will add value. 2. Know when “good enough” is good enough. Some work activities don’t call for a perfectionist’s extra effort. Learn to spot those “okay is okay” tasks, and dial down your time accordingly. 3. Use a timer. If you want to spend 30 minutes on a given task, set a timer (on your phone or watch) and stop when it goes off. Keep pace by keeping an eye on the time as your work unfolds. 4. Schedule meetings for before 10 a.m. or after 3 p.m. By holding meetings early or later, you and other meeting-goers will preserve a bigger stretch of uninterrupted time during the workday. 5. Respond to e-mail and messages twice a day. It’s tempting to jump whenever something beeps. Turn off the notifications, and go from reactive to proactive by scheduling two quick blocks of time each day to respond. 6. Take a break. Ten minutes away from work can clear the mind, reduce stress, and put things in perspective. When you reboot your computer, it works better. Shouldn’t you reboot yourself? 7. Learn how to single-task. When we do multiple activities at the same time, our mental processors slow down. Start doing one thing well at a time. 8. Get a smart start. Make a habit of beginning your day by working on the day’s most important task. This will set a productivity precedent and give you good momentum. 9. Quarantine the phone. Does it even need to be said?! Turn off your phone, put it away, and focus on the work at hand. 10. Get more productive together. At your next meeting, ask others: “What can we do to be make better use of our time? What can we do as individuals, and what can we do as a team?” Write ideas on a flipchart or white board. At the next meeting, have people report progress, and ask for more ideas. Over time, productivity...
Read MoreAre you really a problem solver?
When you encounter a problem that’s easily solved, you solve it, right? You probably said yes. I’d say yes too. Most people think of themselves as problem solvers. But what about our actions? Are we actually solving problems — especially little ones — or are we mostly thinking about them, talking about them with colleagues, and wringing our hands? These questions came through loud and clear for me at a recent conference. When sound problems kept the people in the back of the ballroom from hearing the keynote speaker, a few of them spoke up about ten minutes into the presentation. An audio tech fiddled with some controls, the speaker adjusted the microphone, and the sound quality improved slightly. But the people in back still couldn’t hear without straining. The folks in the front reported better sound quality, and seats were available. So guess how many people moved from the back to the front? Out of about one hundred people struggling with suboptimal sound, 3% took matters into their own hands to solve the problem. As for the 97%, perhaps they figured that the audio tech would eventually work a miracle. Perhaps they expected the speaker to switch from the clip-on microphone to the one with a cord. Or maybe they were so settled into their seats that they stayed put by default. Keep this story in mind as your week unfolds, because you’re likely to face similar situations in which problems arise and solutions are within easy reach. Will you count on someone else to effect a fix, will you submit to inertia, will you complain to yourself or to a colleague? Or will you work out a solution right there and then? By Tom Terez •...
Read MoreAre your strengths turning on you?
Day after day, Bill sticks to his work routine like few people can. Co-workers tease him for his same-time arrival and departure each day, but they mean it as a compliment. They’re awed by his ability to do the same job over and over with little comment, no complaints, and consistently high quality. Says a co-worker: “The guy’s a machine.” This is good, right? To a point. It’s easy to love the solid work ethic, predictable performance, and steady productivity. But too much self-enforced routine can move the mind to autopilot and render a person’s creative powers pretty much useless. That positive predictability can become a groove that turns into a rut that keeps Bill from ever seeing new ways of doing things that could produce better results. Call it too much of a good thing. When a strength is overused and used exclusively, it can become a liability. Look around and you’ll see plenty of examples. That skillful analyst who revels in data and spreadsheets? She brings objectivity to the decision-making process, which is great. But she often gets stuck in an endless loop of over-analysis. She seeks data and only data for every decision — even for decisions that call for experience, intuition, and anecdotal information. That creative type who’s always coming up with new ideas? He’s energy personified, and his presence adds spark to every meeting. That’s fantastic. But with his creativity running full tilt all the time, he zooms past the part where you’re supposed to focus on just one idea, develop it in detail, and get it going. The ideas keep coming, but nothing gains traction. Responsible Robert? He ends up taking on so much work that he can’t do any of it well. Organized Olivia? She’s so organized that she’s one file folder away from being a control freak. Empathetic Edward? He spends so much time listening to people and their problems that he’s worn out. What about your greatest strengths? Are you using one of them so constantly and exclusively that you’ve taken it to its counterproductive extreme? If the answer is yes, here’s great news: As soon as you ease back on that one overused strength, you’ll give all of your other strengths more room to step forward and go to work. By Tom Terez •...
Read MoreWhen no action is the best action
When you’re hit with a sudden situation where you want to react, hit the pause button. Give yourself time to think it through so you can take wise action.
Read MoreFlashlight wisdom: Get it done one step at a time
When is it easy to run uphill? When you can’t see the hill. I learned this lesson as a runner — but I’ve used it the most in my work life, whenever I take on big projects. Perhaps you can put it to work too. Several years ago, I started running with a few other early risers. We’d hit the wooded trail before sunup, using flashlights and headlamps to show the way. We did our running in the aptly named Highbanks Metropark, where the glacier-shaped terrain goes up and down. I had run these trails many times before, but in daylight. They always wore me out. Darkness changed all that. The hills seemed flatter. I felt stronger. And I’d finish my runs with more energy and a greater sense of accomplishment. What was happening? With the flashlight beam reaching just 10 feet ahead, I couldn’t see those upcoming inclines. So I wasn’t experiencing the hill-induced anxiety that can wear on mind and body. Everything seemed easier. It can happen at work as well – wherever there are big projects or looming deadlines or anything that involves a steep climb. If you stare too far ahead, fixating on the full challenge in all its enormity, it can seem overwhelming. Intimidating. Exhausting. So try some self-imposed darkness. Focus solely on the next few steps. Get those done. Look to what’s next. Take more steps. Repeat. You’ll need a project plan of some sort. Think of the on-paper plan as your trail map, and the steps themselves as your trail. Then get going and keep going, one step after another. The actual flashlight is optional. By Tom Terez •...
Read More7 ways to optimize your optimism
Some people seem wired for optimism, but most of us have to work at it. Here are seven ways to be realistically positive no matter what comes your way: 1. Appreciate and activate your strengths. You have real skills, rich life experiences, and a reservoir of good intention. Put it to work every day. 2. Opt for a partial solution when perfect isn’t possible. It’s always better to make some progress than to endure life as a chronically frustrated perfectionist. 3. Imagine success before it unfolds. Follow the lead of successful athletes. Before you take on a challenging situation, picture yourself dealing with it in a winning way. 4. Act yourself into a new way of thinking. It sounds a bit backward, but it works. Pretend to be positive, carry yourself with confidence, communicate an upbeat message — and those behaviors will start shaping your attitude. 5. Talk about what’s going right. Even in the most dysfunctional environments, good things happen. Start spotting those success stories, and make them the focus of your conversations. 6. Put problems in perspective. Too much thinking can drag us down, especially when we generalize (“I’m no good with numbers”), catastrophize (“If I don’t make this next sale, I’m going to lose my job”), or personalize (“It was all my fault”). Learn to recognize these distorted interpretations, and replace them with a view of the situation that’s scaled down to fit reality. 7. Do what you can instead of dwelling on what you can’t. There’s so much to be concerned about these days. Accept what you can’t change, but work like heck in those many situations where you can make a difference. By Tom Terez •...
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