Less is more

Are you spending too much time getting organized? Or no time at all? Here is how to optimize!

2009-11-16T14:49:34-08:00

It seems that many of the people we talk to fall in one of these two categories. Either they spend too much time on organizing (these are the persistent few) or they have largely given up on organization (the more common scenario) and they feel out of control most of the time. Is there however an optimum amount of organization that would be feasible for most of us and yet give us the best return?

This graph, which resembles to some degree the Results Curve(tm) graph that I have been teaching in our Accomplishing More With Less workshop and workbook, describes the returns that we get from the time spent on organization, and below are some related note:

There is a minimum amount of organization that we all need, and without it, our lives are likely to be chaotic, stressful, and unfulfilled.
The minimum amount of organization is a lot less than what you might think, and if done strategically, it is likely to bring big returns.
There is an optimum amount of organization that if we go beyond it, we would be doing so at the expense of more important activities and therefore incur a very high opportunity cost.
Both lack of organization as well as organizing beyond the optimum point are equally disadvantageous. While Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman, authors of A Perfect Mess, suggest that disorder is far more advantageous than order (and that most organizational systems are a waste of time), I wouldn't go that far. I promote an optimum level or organization which I also believe is different for each person.

Your to-do's

Reflect on where you are on the organizational curve above and find out where you are on this scale.
If you think you are under-organized, identify an area where some additional organization would give you high returns and act on it.
If you think you are over-organized at the expense of more important initiative and activities, identify an area where you can reduce your effort and make room for more strategic things.
Keep an eye on organizational tips and see what might work for you. Subscribe to this blog and to similar ones and contribute your comments and get engaged!

For more insights about the topic, check out The Accomplishing More With Less Workbook at Amazon.com and/or join the Total Organization: E-mail, Documents, Papers, and Workspace webinar coming up tomorrow (November 17, 2009).

Elaine Starling about her upcoming Webinar: Business Growth Through Social Media

2009-11-16T10:17:50-08:00

We asked Elaine Starling, Founder of Starling Media Services, Inc. to answer a few questions about her upcoming complimentary lunch & learn webinar this Thursday November 19 at 12:00 noon Pacific Time (Business Growth Through Social Media):

1. What would you say to those who haven’t gotten into Social Media or are resistant to getting into it?

People usually haven’t gotten into social media yet because they aren’t sure how to apply it to their current business strategies. Social Media tools offer faster, more streamlined ways to get information you need for your business – things like competitive information. Done correctly, Social Media can save you time and money. Learn the basics and start small. Apply solid strategy and you’ll be successful.

2. How much time do you recommend that people spend on Social Media?

You can get significant benefits from social media in as little as 30 minutes a day.

3. What are the key pitfalls that you see people fall into when they start to use Social Media?

Social Media can be addictive. Often people find themselves spending too much time on Social Media. They get distracted and go off strategy. Stay focused, keep to a schedule, and you’ll see great value in it.

4. Finally, what is one of the exciting Social Medai challenges that you have helped a team or company overcome? and something that we can learn from?

I’m working with www.InspireMeToday.com, a site designed to inspire people because inspired people are more productive and effective. The founder, Gail Goodwin, started using Twitter about a year ago. She now has over 30,000 followers and just got a private interview with Sir Richard Branson. You can network very effectively using Social Media in strategic ways.

Join us this Thursday November 19 to learn more!

Windows 7! A boost in personal productivity!

2009-11-15T18:34:31-08:00

When technology gets in the way, work life can become inefficient, things can take longer, and most importantly the opportunity cost rises. Instead of focusing on the next marketing campaign, or strategizing on the next customer win, we find ourselves waiting for the computer to recover from a sudden crash, or being significantly slowed down by the computer poor performance—and resorting to restarting it all together which on my Windows Vista machine would take 10 to 15 minutes.

Will Windows 7 be the answer?

Apple users would say Apple is the answer, but if you don’t to go that far and many of us can’t go that far, I am pleasantly surprised by Windows 7, and so far it is demonstrating that it may be the answer.

The upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 was seamless and it seems as if a new life has been injected into the computer. While I still need more time to confirm these findings, but I have to say that many of the performance issues and some of the awkward behaviors that Windows Vista displayed are no longer an issue.

Technology & productivity go hand in hand

In my work with business professionals, I emphasize that accomplishments are mostly the results of strategic thinking and channeling our resources in the areas that are most promising--among other things. In addition however, I emphasize that the way we use technology has a significant impact on how much we accomplish. My belief is that technology alone doesn’t necessarily lead to accomplishments, however, technology is a key enabler when it is working well, and when it is not working well, it can be an obstacle. So yes, technology and productivity go hand in hand.

What could the takeaways be?

Reflect on your technologies and your tools and see if they are serving as key enablers or if they are becoming obstacles.
Identify the areas where you can apply new technologies or tools and get the biggest returns.
To help you identify the returns, take into account the opportunity cost. What would you be able to do if you weren’t spending or wasting time in these technologies or tools.
Put a plan for addressing one of these technologies or tools issues soon. This could be one of your holiday gift to yourself!

For more insights about productivity tips, check out The Accomplishing More With Less Workbook!

5 Ways A Leader Can Increase His/Her Emotional Intelligence

2009-11-14T20:57:31-08:00

Leadership is about relationships, and studies are telling us today that socially intelligent behaviors are the best predictors of excellence in leadership performance. What are 5 specific behaviors leaders can adopt now to increase their effectiveness--- and what payoff can they expect from doing so?

This was the topic of our lunch & learn webinar recently in which our guest speaker, Rita Graziano, CEO of Focused Solutions Group, provided valuable insights about the topic. What I enjoyed most about Rita's presentation, is that we walked away with some specific techniques that we can apply to increase our emotional intelligence. Rita's extensive executive coaching experience came in handy as she answered the audience questions and shed additional light on the issues.

Here are the slides and the recording is on Facebook at the "Accomplishing more with less" group:

Download 5 Specific Ways A Leader Can Increase His Her Social Intelligence

Webinar Recording is now on Facebook

If you missed this session, you can see the recording on Facebook at the Accomplishing more with less group. Search for the group, and join it, and then once you're in the group page, scroll down to the videos (on the left side of the page) and find Rita's session.

More about Rita Graziano

Rita Graziano is an Executive Coach with over 25 years experience. She is the principle, senior consultant and account manager in the firm Focused Solutions Group. Her career has included several Director of Learning positions in High Tech companies, as well as many years as a successful Independent Consultant to companies in a myriad of industries. She has trained and coached all levels of personnel and consulted to companies in Manufacturing, Consumer Products, Biotechnology, US Military, Automobile and Retail Clothing Industries, along side her extensive High Tech experience.

Join our mailing list to receive the weekly updates about the Lunch & Learn Webinars

Is “e-mail” on its way out? And is “Social Media” taking over?

2009-11-14T14:45:47-08:00

This is the first post in what is likely to become a series of reflections on the role of e-mail and Social Media today and the upcoming years.

After 15 years of internet, is e-mail hanging on by a weak thread?

E-mail is overused and even abused, and users’ mailboxes are congested--worse than traffic in the busiest metropolitan areas of the world. People are tired of scrolling up and down the inbox and many stopped looking at, and not to mention responding to, e-mail messages except for the urgent messages from their bosses or customers. Reaching people via e-mail (unless you are their boss or customer) has become quite challenging. It is “extreme” e-mail fatigue that we are suffering from. So many things fall through the cracks and so many inefficiencies are invading the work place and our personal lives. Does this sound like “chaos”? Well it is!

Is Social Media taking over?

While Web 2.0 tools (such as blogs, wikis, and Microsoft SharePoint) are emerging as the better alternatives for collaboration and information sharing, in this post, I am interested in focusing on the Social Media platforms and reflecting on their relationship to e-mail today and in the future.

Social media is the new kid on the blog (relatively new compared to good old e-mail). People are still excited about the Social Media platforms. Even though these platforms are quite busy, they tend to be less intrusive than e-mail, and they give users the ability to scan the feed casually and jump in and respond only when they desire to do so. The expectations are less while the reach is much broader. And these platforms provide messaging functionality (similar to e-mail and Instant Messaging) which seem to get more attention and better response time than the traditional e-mail.

And now the questions

Where do you see the future of e-mail versus Social Media?
Will it get to our work life as well (having more structured enterprise Social Media platforms that would include collaboration and social media all in one within the firewall)?
Will the traditional “public” e-mail approach eventually go away?

What do you think of this hypothetical chart showing how the time spent on e-mail (and therefore the role of e-mail) will diminish over the next few years while the time spent on Social Media will increase. E-mail me YOUR version of this chart (training@people-onthego.com):

Graph: Hypothetical hours spent per week on E-mail versus Social Media!

Overwhelmed by e-mail and Social Media? Check out The Accomplishing More With Less Workbook Amazon.com and what readers are saying about it.

Did you wonder what more can you do with Excel 2007 Lists and PivotTables? Here it is!

2009-11-06T08:28:45-08:00

Microsoft Excel 2007 offers many unique capabilities in managing lists, ranging from validating the data, formatting it, using filters to viewing desired subsets of the data, to using powerful database functions and summarizing important information quickly and easily. But it doesn’t stop here. PivotTable Reports get into the picture to help you build useful reports in minutes and modify them easily to answer a variety of business questions and therefore get unique insights from your data.

Kim Silverman, VP of Productivity at People-OnTheGo, who has taught hundreds of the People-OnTheGo webinars helping thousands of participants take their skills to the next level in many of the Microsoft Office Applications, shared some important insights about Excel 2007 lists in our weekly lunch & learn webinar this week, and gave an overview of what PivotTables can do.

Webinar Recording is now on Facebook

If you missed this session, you can see the recording on Facebook at the Accomplishing more with less group. Search for the group, and join it, and then once you're in the group page, scroll down to the videos (on the left side of the page) and find Kim's session.

Want more comprehensive Excell 2007 techniques

These three online live workshops (via web/phone conferencing) are coming up soon (soon as in next week--see below how you can get a free class):

The Excel 2007 Techniques

The Excel 2003 Techniques

The Advanced Excel PivotTables(covers both Excel 2003 & 2007)

Do you want to get in one of the above Excel workshops for free?

All you have to do is purchase The Accomplsihing More With Less Workbook at Amazon.com($24.95) and as soon as you get the workbook, please forward the Amazon confirmation e-mail to training@people-onthego.com, and indicate which workshop you would like to attend at no charge (value is $69 to $99). By the way, your free seat will still be valid in the first quarter of 2010 if you don't get to attend your free workshop before then!

See what others are sayingabout the book on Amazon.com!

Invest $25 and get $35, $69, or $99 immediately! But there is a small catch!

2009-11-05T08:44:36-08:00

Oh well, let us reverse the trends in which investments and returns are sinking and shrinking!

You get a free workshop (value $35 to $99--refer to workshop schedule for a list of workshops) when you invest $24.95 in getting The Accomplishing More With Less Workbook at Amazon.com. But hurry this won't last too long.

As soon as you get the workbook, please forward the Amazon confirmation e-mail to training@people-onthego.com, and indicate which workshop you would like to attend. By the way, your free seat will still be valid in the first quarter of 2010 if you don't get to attend your free workshop before then.

These are online live workshops that you can attend from anywhere!

So what is the small catch?

The small catch is that as a result of the breakthrough techniques presented in The Accomplishing More With Less Workbook, which will allow you to get the benefits outlined below, you will have more time to spend money (but please invest it wisely)!

What the Accomplishing More With Less Workbook will enable you to do

Better manage interruptions and stay focused on the task on hand until meaningful results are achieved while being responsive to the demands of your team and collaborate more effectively than ever before.

Work more strategically instead of working harder, methodically manage competing priorities, and learn new and innovative tools that can help you better align your daily activities with your goals.

Organize and manage your electronic and paper information easily and efficiently via a duplicate process that is practical and doable, instead of having your day “run over” by information and “low impact” activities.

Manage stress like never before through purposeful action rather than passive reaction and turn stressful situations into opportunities.

Understand the obstacles that are stopping you from reaching your desired accomplishments, and take the necessary actions that will lead to growth and transformation, and significantly increased fulfillment.

See what others are saying about the book!

How to avoid being overwhelmed and consumed by social media?

2009-11-03T08:03:58-08:00

In the past, it used to be e-mail and meetings that consumed everyone’s time, and now it is e-mail, meetings, and social media, and not necessarily in this order. For years, in our workshops, we talked about the e-mail overload, and taught ways to overcome the e-mail overload, and now we are broadening the scope to include social media.

So how do you reduce the social media overload?

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Be Strategic: Don’t just be there, but be there with a clear purpose.

Follow the relevant people: Those that add value and not just chatter.

Stay on brand: One of Jason Alba’s advice that I keep re-iterating.

Reuse: Create high value content and reuse it in all platforms, you know they now all link to each other, so you can more easily leverage your content in multiple platforms.

Time yourself: Don’t just be there indefinitely, make it 5, 15, or 40 minutes (again with a clear purpose)

Don’t treat it like a homework (especially twitter): You don’t have to keep up with what happened when you were gone. What happened before is mostly old news by now.

Remember that the time you spend on it needs to be proportional to the number of people you have in your network (otherwise, it is better investing time to growing your network).

For more tips about managing interruptions (social media and others), refer to The Accomplishing More With Less Workbook now available at Amazon.com (check out the reviews)!

Twitter 101--Gen Y Teaches Us Twitter: The tutorial, the insights, the Gen Y (recording now on Facebook)

2009-10-30T14:23:28-07:00

This is the session you shouldn't have missed! But it is okay if you did because every single tip and insight that Jenny Blakeprovided was captured and is available for your to review at your leisure at the "Accomplishing more with less" group on Facebook.

Jenny covered many topics including:

What is Twitter and how is it beneficial.

What does someone need to know to get started with Twitter and using it effectively.

What are the key commands and how to use them (step by step demo).

How much time is best spent on Twitter?

What resources are available to help participants learn more.

Finally, feel free to connect with Jenny and myself on Twitter (@jenny_blake and @pierrekhawand) and check out #twitter101webinar to learn more about comments and notes from the webinar.

Join us every Thursday for the complimentary lunch & learn webinars at noon Pacific Time.

When we don’t know what to do, e-mail comes to the rescue! A curse is disguise!

2009-10-27T14:42:32-07:00

If we are unsure what to do, or hesitant to take on the next important and challenging task, consciously or subconsciously, what do we end up slipping into?

Into our e-mail inbox!

E-mail is “great” (or not so great) that way! It gives us this immediate satisfaction of getting something done and feeling good. Does it sound like an addition? It is. And like any addition, the feeling good doesn’t last too long, and we seek more of it to bring back that feeling, but what happens is that we get increasingly and chronically “e-mail fatigued.”

So what can we do about it?

How about becoming more purposeful and more intentional, and instead of resorting to e-mail (or Twitter—which is e-mail on steroid one might say), resorting to a few minutes of stopping and strategic thinking to really identify something meaningful to do.

How about we take on the challenging task first instead of e-mail first. Let e-mail be the reward (if it can be called a reward) instead of being the pre-requisite. When we take on the challenging task first, we learn and develop. We also prompt the issues and bring ourselves to face the issues. As a result we feel more accomplished and we contribute more significantly to our team and organization!

How about we disconnect for a bit (from e-mail, and even the web if applicable) and just focus on moving forward this important and strategic program or initiative. Adam. S. Christensen (our guest speaker, at the Gen X in Action webinar recently--recording available) said “I get the best work done when I am disconnected”. Try it out and see for yourself!

Whatever it is for you (E-mail, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever else) what are you going to do about it? We look forward to your comments!

Check out The Accomplishing More With Less Workbook at Amazon.com for more tips about stopping and being purposeful!