Become More Productive and Successful by Rough Guider (ebook reader computer .txt) 📖

They are also removed from your daily tasks and as such can see ‘the wood through the trees’, being able to help you with issues and resolve problems using lateral thinking skills.  Also, they can stop you from making some of the mistakes they may have made when rising through the ranks.

 

Run meetings effectively

Think hard before the meeting about the specific agenda items and the length of time each topic requires.  Ensure that the time set aside for discussion is sufficient.  From my experience meetings often overrun and if they do not you still find that there was insufficient time to discuss some of the agenda items.  It is your job to ensure that this does not happen.  After all, others may have prepared thoroughly about a topic that is very important to them.  They will be disappointed and may not see you in a good light.  So what are the tips to ensure a meeting runs on time?

Be clear about the rules on timing.  If a discussion looks as if it will be blown out of all proportion then it is probably best to take it ‘off-line’ and have the relevant individuals (perhaps a sub-group) look into it further.  If you are tight on timings those involved in your meetings become better with their own conciseness.

 

Allow enough time for a topic to be discussed.  Do not tag on an extra item at the base of the agenda with a 10 minute slot if it is clearly going to last longer.  In fact, spend some time making sure that the time slot available for each agenda item is sufficient and where possible make sure that you get buy-in from those presenting.

 

Set deadlines

Without deadlines, you won’t be able to judge how you are progressing against the target completion date and, as a result, you will not have a definitive measure of productivity.  My recommendation is to set deadlines (even if self-imposed) for all tasks of a reasonable size.  That way you will be able to assess how often you manage to achieve your objectives within the time given.  If you continually fail to achieve your deadlines, you should decide whether it was due to ineffectiveness or inefficiencies or whether the timeline set was unrealistic in the first place.  Naturally, there may have been other unexpected distractions, jobs or tasks pushing you off track.  However, by setting target dates you should be able to push back on unexpected work gifted to you as you have the ammunition you need to demonstrate the impact on deadlines associated with work already set.  That allows you to have a full and frank discussion with your boss, which may result in a re-prioritization of tasks or indeed elimination or deferral of some work.  Alternatively, the new tasks may pass to someone else with more capacity.  Whatever the result, as long as you have been fair and clear in your communications there won’t be an impact on your true level of productivity.

 

Do not be a perfectionist

For some roles, there is no doubt in my mind that you have to be 100% correct all of the time.  For instance, you do not want to pay someone the wrong amount through payroll.  However, for all roles there is a difference between doing the role well and being a perfectionist.  For example, if you are delivering some feedback to your boss about the viability of a product in the marketplace he may rather have 95% accuracy after two months of investigation than 97% accuracy after four months of research.  The point is, being 100% correct is not always required and may be a false economy.  Perhaps a competitor launched a similar new product at the three month mark and, as a result, stole your thunder.

Some boss’s like to get their hands on information as soon as possible, and as long as your confidence in the accuracy of the knowledge gained is high, that may be good enough for them.

 

Follow up on requests

Where other people are not organized they may appear to be slack in coming back to you with the information you have requested.  For you to remain productive you have to stay on top of your requests, chasing up on others so that you can complete your work on time.

When following up on requests you should be firm, fair and empathetic to the pressures on the other person. You should always agree timelines with them in advance in order to avoid any potential misunderstanding.  In fact, if you have not agreed a deadline with them how can you say that they have let you down time wise?

 

Work as a team

A fully functioning and supportive team, with a strong and effective manager, will deliver superior results than a ‘team’ that does not work together to achieve the overall aims of the department.  By fostering a strong team sense of worth, the individuals are more likely to cover each other’s work when one is out of the office or help out when another member is overloaded.  There is no doubt that productivity is vastly improved in an environment that allows for and promotes support and team spirit.  The whole is indeed more than the sum of the parts.

 

 

Use your gadgets intelligently

There are so many great gadgets around that can assist you in work; smart-phones, tablets, laptops and so on.  My one word of caution is not to fall into the trap of believing that you are more productive simply because you have access to these gadgets.  Gadgets can lead to more regular and often unwanted interruptions to your work.  Manage the use of them wisely.

 

Re-allocate tasks to suit the strengths of team members

It is clear that we all have different skills and abilities as well as knowledge and experience.  Therefore, when allocating tasks and procedures to team members we should consider this in order to maximize overall productivity.

 

The counter to this is that we wish to develop the skills and capabilities of all our team members, so a dip in short-term productivity, as a result of cross-training and staff development, is acceptable, as long as we anticipate longer terms gains.

 

 

Use Intranet Q & A sites

If you or your department is being asked the same questions on a regular basis consider establishing a question and answer page on your firm’s intranet site.  Include all the common questions asked along with comprehensive and clearly laid out answers.  If your organization doesn’t have an intranet, then develop a summary document of questions and answers that you can send out to individuals upon request - one that includes the most frequently asked questions.

 

 

Develop process/system notes for staff

 

It is worthwhile investing time developing system notes and procedures for the most commonly performed tasks within your remit.  Not only do you have an excellent source of reference, particularly if some of the processes are complex and relatively difficult to follow, but you also have a great training aid for new staff that take on similar roles and responsibilities.  The document is part of your legacy and can be used by the individual that takes on your role when you move up the career ladder.  This is certainly a productive use of your time.

 

 

Join external groups and networks

Make use of external groups and networks as these can be a valuable source of information and can also provide guidance on problems that you encounter for the first time.  These networks can be internal or external to your company and may be tied to professional bodies or loosely formed associations set up on social and work-related internet sites.

 

 

Manage information received

Many of us are inundated with the information that flows into our everyday working lives.  There are many suppliers (both warranted and unwarranted) that deliver their  information in a variety of formats including; hard copy documentation, emails, text, messages, Internet downloads, verbal communications and so on.  It is up to us to determine which pieces of information are of value and how to use them for the benefit of the business.  To remain in control of the information flow, you need to be ruthless with its use, switched on about its value and fully understand your role and what drivers inflect your effectiveness and efficiency.

 

 

Identify your ‘focus time’

We all have times of the day when our natural level of concentration is higher.  Set out to identify these times so that you can maximize your productivity.  Some members of staff will find that they work more effectively in the morning than in the afternoons and vice versa.  If you have a complex task to perform or perhaps a difficult report to write then, where possible, undertake these actions at a time when your cognitive powers are at their greatest.

 

Avoid interruptions

On occasion, you may have a particularly difficult task or assignment to deal with that requires very high levels of concentration.  Interruptions that take place while undertaking this work could potentially set you back far more time than the interruption itself.  For instance, you may be working on a report using a complex line of thought.  If that line of thinking is broken, it will take a while to get back into the zone and continue forward.  Putting up a no entry sign is not something that should be taken lightly or indeed undertaken regularly, but there may be scope to introduce time into your day that is uninterrupted, improving your level of productivity.

 

Identify duplicate work

If you are a member of a team, it would be worthwhile determining whether there is duplication of any of the tasks or procedures you perform by your team members.  In large teams, the risk of two people undertaking the same task is greater.  Furthermore, the work you undertake could be duplicated by someone in another team, department or office.  For instance, you may work in a satellite office producing reports for local management that are, in fact, a duplicate of or very similar in terms of content to those produced by staff at Head Office.  If you have thoughts or concerns about your work being duplicated, then it is worth investigating, as you may be able to eliminate some non-productive time.

 

 

 

Part 2:  How to be more successful at work

 

 

Contents

 

Introduction Making a good impression and working happily ever after Managing Staff Leading Building joy into your work Actively managing your career How to write Presentation Skills Negotiation skills Down time Body language Chairing (running) Meetings Networking Politics Your brand Random tips (and some fun)

 

Introduction

 

For a while now I have been wondering why I can’t locate a book that sets out in a clear no nonsense manner how to be successful at work.  I’m talking about practical steps that are easily digestible and simple to put into practice in the workplace.  So, what with having gained over 20 years of management experience across six companies, all within different industries, I thought it was time that someone (me!) put this right. 

All the things I write about are from first-hand experience and have worked ever so well for me.  You won’t find any name dropping, famous or contemporary theoretical models, complicated flow-charts or difficult to understand diagrams.  You will find simple words, simple vocabulary, simple paragraphs and simple chapters including ideas and advice that are very easy to implement in your day to day lives at work.

So my promise to you is to include advice and ideas that:

are easy to follow are easy to try out actually work in practice (they are all tried and tested) can be remembered easily

Easy really!

 

By the way I love bullet points.  This is something that will become apparent very quickly as you glide through this book.

Making a good impression and working happily ever after

OK, so let’s start at the beginning.  It’s your first day at work and you want to make a good impression.  That’s done by impressing those around you, but who do you really need to do to impress on that first day in the office and forever after?

 

Your boss?

 

Your boss’s boss?

 

Your staff?

 

Your peers?

 

The CEO?

 

The receptionist?

 

The answer is of course all of them, BUT the ones you need to concentrate on first are your boss (this chapter) and