Are you overwhelmed by a mountain of email? I suggest you take a page out of the playbook of my colleague Eric Sperley who knows how to ask for what he wants. Eric sent the following message to the people who reported to him: Guys, Look, I am getting well over 250 emails a day. I can get 10-20 a day from each of you where I am just … [Read more...]
The Recipe for an Effective Proposal
Does management reject your ideas? A typical cause for rejection is a failure to frame the idea effectively. Frame your idea effectively and it becomes a proposal, which will demand consideration by management. What is the recipe and key ingredients for an effective proposal? The key ingredients are X (the idea), Y (the benefits), and Z (the … [Read more...]
Problems: Cope, Manage or Solve?
When faced with a problem, I suggest considering three strategies: Coping Managing Solving Let's apply the strategies to the situation where you have a new pet who defecates in your house. You (I hope) don't like poop on the floors of your house. You could cope with the problem by cleaning up the poop. Your strategy is to deal with … [Read more...]
Elements of Effective Management
I am fortunate to have worked on a team led by Anne Cawley early in my career. Experience working with her enabled me to know, rather than speculate, about the power of an effective manager. What elements of her management style made her effective? Congruence: She conversed with members of her team as equals rather than … [Read more...]
Rethinking Employee Rewards 2 of 3
In my first entry on employee rewards, I emphasized the importance of knowing the recipient well enough to reward them with something that is meaningful to them. But there is more to effective reward programs than providing a meaningful award. Let's take a step back and explore answers to the questions: What is the purpose of a reward program? … [Read more...]