Share Your Hacks!

We all have little tips and tricks that improve our productivity (or at least we think they do!) I'd love to learn some of your great ideas so I can get the most out of my day.

Here are a few of my simple hacks...please share yours!

New Contact
- immediately grab their photo from their Linkedin profile and add it to their contact information on your phone

To Do Items
- keep Wunderlist open at all times and add a new item in real time (no post-it notes, it's 2016!)

Status of Work
- add very brief notes to your task list app, dated each time, to keep track of how things are coming along

Meetings / Projects
- keep Evernote open at all times, and as issues/tasks come up, drop those items into the corresponding folder so you have your meeting notes ready to go and don't have to try and remember all of the issues at the last minute

Pictures
- take a screen shot of your boarding pass when you check in on your phone (in case you can't pull up your phone signal at the airport)
- always take a pic of where you parked at the airport (next to the sign that shows your level and location)

How About You
What do you do to make your work life easier? Do you still use the same approach that worked during Ronald Reagan's first term; or, have you come up with a fantastic new approach?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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End of the Line

I talk about my work.

I plan my work.

I have an extensive and well organized Wunderlist.

I document every meeting in Evernote.

I need to get things done.

I have to cross the finish line with my projects. 

Talk Is Half the Battle

I'm not sure what happens to some leaders. It appears that two significant changes occur that block their ability to get to the endpoint.

1 - They get promoted and have a really cool job title.

2 - They focus entirely on maintaining their status instead of executing.

These changes are the death blow to many promising leaders. The energy, passion, risk-taking, and fearless approach displayed early in their careers suddenly slows to a crawl in an attempt to play it safe at every decision point.

They talk a good game. 

They use the right words (usually.) 

They get a few things done...

...eventually.

That my friends is about a pathetic description of a leader as I can muster.

Execution Is the Only True Thing

Let's be honest for a minute. Getting work done, particularly complex projects can be a real challenge.

So what?

But sometimes other people have a significant role to play in our projects.

So what?

I make mistakes...after all I'm human.

So what?

How About You

"If our corporate cultures are focused on getting work across the finish line instead of attending recurring meetings to talk about how busy we are, we might actually make a real difference in this world."

Think about it.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Slow and Steady Loses Every Time

The world of work is moving at the speed of light. Or at least it feels that way for me. The work life balance discussion doesn't seem to stop, but quite frankly I don't think many of the uber rich outside of Silicon Valley are listening.

That means the pressure is on more than ever for those who are gainfully employed to continue to produce in an environment where so many talented people are waiting to jump at the chance to join your team ( read here -> in your job.)





 

Perhaps the corporate world is sending a nonstop message that tells us to be ultra-competitive in order to drive profit margins, achieve world-class status or consistently be first to market with the latest product or idea.

Maybe I'm contributing to this message?

Speed of Work

I've recently started referring to the pace of the workload and projects my team is expected to survive...er...perform at as the speed of our work. I'm still unsure if I'm being arrogant in thinking that we are expected to perform at a higher level than most; or, if we are in fact operating most days at a different level. Quite honestly I'm inclined to believe it's the latter of the two.

The obvious question which follows is whether or not work is supposed to look and feel this way? Is post-recession society (barely) simply moving so fast that leaders like me have come to believe that the speed of work for the foreseeable future must be sustained at a blistering pace?

Is the world of work just a corporate game of survival of the fittest...or fastest? I'm not so sure maintaining a nonstop pace in  any activity is sustainable, let alone in the workplace.

No Option

Now is the perfect time to discuss how HR can change the culture of the organization to help bring balance to a chaotic world. But I'm not going down that path. Work is hard, and there seems to be a heck of a lot of it to do these days. 

"I think HR has an opportunity to help source high performing employees, support them as they get up to speed, and make sure those that are dragging down your organization have an opportunity to anchor another company's slow decline."

There is no option but to stop making excuses, and pick up your pace. 

How About You

Too much time is wasted complaining about workloads, balance, piles of paperwork, meetings, email, and on and on. Yes, we have a long list of tasks to complete and email to read. Download an app or two to make yourself more efficient, get yourself organized, and pick up the pace. 

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Determined to Fail...and Win

I've been trying a bunch of social media strategies. If you were to ask my team how things are going, they would more than likely respond by saying "...with which approach?...it feels like we have a new one every week!"

That's probably not the answer I was hoping for, but I'll have to admit it's an honest one.

Try, Learn, Toss

Despite my somewhat assertive style on going social, there is a saving grace in my approach. My team is expected to try new things, learn from that experience, and toss the strategies that don't work to the wayside.

For me, that is much easier said than done. I love trying new approaches and waiting to see if they get any traction. But I need to know when they're not working, and make sure my team doesn't waste any valuable time on something that is bound to fail.

Personal Productivity

I've been experimenting with my own work as well. Recently I've fallen in love with Evernote. I've fallen in and out of love with iMExchange2...and am beginning to fall for Wunderlist. As my work moves farther away from my personal computer and is based almost exclusively around my iPad, these apps are becoming much more than convenient...they are essential tools for business.

How About You
I'm not sure if this "try everything in site" philosophy is going to pay off or not. But I do know that I refuse to remain on the sidelines while the world is roaring by with great new approaches, apps, and systems all designed to help me and my team be more effective.

What are you doing on your quest to fail...and win?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



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