Time Out
I often get my best ideas when I am out walking, exercising or just relaxing. Sometimes this irritates me, because I often want the idea when I need it and get frustrated when it doesn’t come to me straight away. I know that when I take time to step away from what I am doing to do something else, then come back, I often see it with fresh eyes. In 2012, Jason Fried, Co-Founder of what was then 37signals, but is now known as Basecamp Project Management & Team Communication software in an INC article, shared the idea of giving …
There is no magic solution!
Balancing work and life is an ongoing challenge. It’s not something that is miraculously achieved and permanently stays that way. It is about balance; it’s about finding what’s right for YOU. The technology we use needs to be partnered with human interaction. In many instances, we don’t take into account human involvement required to determine how to leverage technology to improve our efficiency. We tend to rely on the technology to do the job for us and then feel frustrated when we struggle to cope, but reality is we just aren’t geared to cope with the volume of data we …
Why don’t we plan more often??
Why is it that we spend more time planning a holiday than planning how we will write a letter or produce a spreadsheet that we, along with others, will rely on for information and decision-making? Many people will create an Excel spreadsheet, enter data and pass it on to someone else. The next person will enter some data in or make changes. Before you know it, mistakes have happened, formulas are incorrect and as a result data is wrong. The common reaction is finger-pointing. But the reality is that in our busy world no one has the time to go …
The importance of collaboration
Amazing insights and creativity can come from the most unusual places. During the Second World War a temporary structure was built to house a radiation laboratory at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Its purpose was to provide a space for engineers to refine a radar developed to help win the war. The intention was for this temporary structure, known as Building 20, to be taken down post war. Instead of demolition after the war Building 20 became known as a “Magical Incubator” where all sorts of ground breaking developments were made until it’s eventual demolition in 1998. During the time …
If you’ve been searching for longer than a year, it’s not that easy!
On a client visit, the CEO asked me for help. He opened a spreadsheet and showed me formulas and calculations. He explained his frustration at not being able to understand or locate the data the formulas related to. The formulas were not correct, and he couldn’t find the source of the information to make the changes. He figured having an “expert” in the office, I might be able to solve this question that had been bugging him for over a year! I looked at the formula, and after a few clicks found the problem. I instructed him to right click …
W.I.I.F.M.
Although I was aware of the principle because of my experience in adult education and training, when I started speaking at conferences and events, I remember one of my mentors Winston Marsh (www.winstonmarsh.com.au) always reinforcing WIIFM to anyone he spoke to. WIIFM is an acronym for what’s in it for me? It refers to fact that people are more likely to pay attention to what you are sharing or teaching them if they recognise what’s in it for me (meaning what’s in it for the audience). When I start preparing to customise a conference speech, or in-house training program, the …
Workplace Health & Wellness
Organisations now recognise offering additional paid leave, external activities, flexible working hours or locations as resources to keep staff engaged and productive in the workplace. A few years ago, I went on a tour of Zappos (www.zappos.com) offices in Las Vegas, Nevada. Amongst the many benefits an employee at Zappos has access to a full-time goals coach who works with staff to achieve their goals, health and fitness, preparing for promotion and the like. In the desire to establish and grow a mentally healthy workplace, UK Insurance provider Allianz Partners UK has launched 29 mental health champions (to join an …
Relax….you got this!
As many organisations are forced to work from home, the challenge can be for people who’ve never had to do this other than for a day or so. From a manager’s perspective, it’s important to do a few things to help your team feel more comfortable. Firstly, we need to get them to RELAX. This doesn’t mean sitting on the couch watching Netflix all day, but rather getting them to relax and understand that it’s fine to work from home, that they’re (and we) going to be OK. All we need to do is develop a new routine. Much like …
What’s the point?
At a recent workshop, I went around the room and asked each person what they wanted to get out of the session. Most had a specific thing they wanted to understand or learn, but what one participant said surprised me. They said, “I don’t use Excel and I’m not sure why I’m here.” I was blown away! We can never replace time. It’s our most precious commodity. Yet the organisation was happy to send this person out all day to learn about something they never use. Now it might have been that in the near future, the person attending the …
Quick and easy isn’t always quick and easy!
I recently received an email from someone who needed help with a drawing that had been done in Excel! I know, sounds strange doesn’t it? It was a floorplan. If I was creating this type of drawing, I would use software such as Visio, or even shapes and drawing tools in Word or PowerPoint, definitely NOT Excel. The floorplan had been created by “someone who was no longer with the business” and the client was not going to be best served by suggesting they recreate it in another program. What they needed was a simple solution to their challenge which …
