Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

How to Become a Better Project Manager

Upcoming demographic shifts mean that the majority of people in the workforce will soon be those who grew up using social tools to communicate and engage with each other. As a result of their input, a new collaborative workplace is emerging, transforming the way work is done and the employee skills that are required.

Jacob Morgan, co-founder of Chess Media Group, Forbes.com contributor and “future of work” authority, has discussed how employees need to adapt in order to be successful in this new collaborative environment. One aspect of that change is “Everyone must develop some basic project management skills.” Here are some other ways the non-professional Project Manager can become a better manager of projects.

Be Mr. or Ms. Fix It

Just because your title doesn’t involve the phrase “project manager” doesn’t mean you can’t become one. If you see something that’s broken, take the initiative to fix it. Develop a realistic plan to solve your team’s most pressing problems and gather influential people and internal resources around you to make things happen. Most people cannot resist someone with enthusiasm and your positive energy will snowball.

Understand What the Project Is

This one sounds obvious, but the best PMs have a solid handle on why they are doing a project, who they are doing the project for, the resources that will be required, and the timeline from initiation to completion. They push back if senior leadership establishes a deadline that is unrealistic and doesn’t allow for the inevitable unforeseen delays, and before proceeding, they make sure that everyone involved is on the same page regarding the business rationale, budget, and success metrics.

For more ideas, have a look at the full post at Intuit's Fast Track blog.

Why You're Setting Yourself Up to Fail at Work

No one wants to disappoint a colleague or manager. No one wants to be bad at their job. No one wants to fail. Nevertheless, people do these things every day, and more often than not, they bring the problems on themselves. In the event that you may be unknowingly sabotaging your productivity and success, here are six things to make certain you aren’t doing:

You set unrealistic expectations

You’re a can-do person, so it’s in your nature to automatically say yes every time you are asked to do something. The trouble is, some things – like three meetings in one time slot and a handful of heavy-lifting projects with the same short deadline – are just not doable. It is better to take a step back and assess what’s logically possible than to let people down who trust you.

You insist that you don’t need any help

As my grandmother used to say, no one is going to give you a gold star for being a martyr. Trying to be superman or superwoman is a surefire way to lose track of something important or make a mistake that costs big time. Be a better leader by recognizing that at times, other people may have more bandwidth and/or expertise than you – and let them in.

For more where this came from, check out the complete post at Intuit's Fast Track blog.

How to Jumpstart a Stalled Project

There comes a point in many projects were momentum just stops. Why does this happen? Well, sometimes we’re paralyzed by uncertainty or a general loss of interest and passion. Other times circumstances are rocky, and the team would rather do anything else than work on the project. Or, we’re overwhelmed by the mountain of to-dos.

Although the project stall is a common phenomenon, you can’t allow yourself to fall victim for too long. After all, the last thing you want is for your manager to find out about your lack of progress and put you in the doghouse. You also don’t want him to lose trust that you can manage complex assignments independently. How can you extricate yourself?

Seek objectivity

You may be having trouble pushing past an obstacle on your project because you are too close to it. Gather some key materials and approach a trusted friend, peer adviser, or mentor in your industry who has nothing to do with the project currently. Outline the situation, ask for her advice on how to proceed, and see if the fresh perspective will lead you to a solution you hadn’t thought of yet.

Get your right brain on

Step away from the laptop and the online tools for a moment. Commit a block of time in an environment that’s conducive to productive thought, and clear your head. Make a conscious effort to stop thinking about the project and engage in a creative activity. Play a game with a child, draw a picture, or work a puzzle. Turn on Pandora or read a poem that resonates with you. Return to the project a few hours later and see if new ideas have presented themselves.

Like what you're reading so far?  Visit the full post at Intuit's Fast Track blog.

4 Organizational Tools to Start Using Immediately

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think twice about the little things. That’s how I get into trouble, because it’s the little things that make a big impact when they slip through the cracks. Whether it’s a forgotten follow-up call to a customer or a lost password, you can’t afford to let the little things slow you down. Fortunately, when life is moving faster than ever and our primitive human brains can’t catch up, there are some terrific organization applications to help out.

LastPass

If you’re like me, your poor password management is a disaster waiting to happen. While it’s certainly easier to use the same password all the time, or passwords that are extremely simple to remember, it’s definitely not safer. When you have a password service like LastPass, you only have to remember one master password. By typing in that master password, you are able to log in automatically to any website with saved login credentials. And LastPass syncs passwords in the cloud so all of your devices will display the same information.

Remember the Milk

As its name suggests, Remember the Milk is an application that’s great for keeping track of all those little to-dos that fill up your day. The app works like you’d imagine a to-do list would, and it allows you to prioritize tasks and mark them complete. Your lists can be updated on any device, and once you add something new, the lists automatically sync across your various platforms. I personally love the feature that tweets me a reminder of something I’m supposed to do, like make a reservation or check in with a partner I haven’t spoken to in a while. RTM is easy to use, and I find that I can easily integrate personal and professional tasks through its tagging capabilities.

For other tools you can't live without, have a look at the full post at Intuit's Fast Track blog.

5 Biggest Mistakes Side-Giggers Make

In her new book, The Economy of You: Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur and Recession-Proof Your Life, financial columnist and successful sidepreneur Kimberly Palmer urges aspiring and newbie side-giggers to avoid these five common pitfalls:

1. Waiting until you’re “ready” to launch

Many successful side-giggers discovered their side-gigs almost by accident; a friend asked them for a favor, and suddenly they were in the floral business, or running a social marketing consultancy, or pet-sitting. Instead of first building a Facebook page or stocking up on inventory, they said “yes” to the opportunity in front of them, and their side-gigs grew from there.

2. Letting the first failure stop your progress

Almost all established side-giggers experienced some kind of setback early on, and many still experience occasional failures: a pitch gets rejected, a client gives negative feedback, or a new digital product flops. “But they keep going,” Palmer stresses, “because they know that one rejection doesn’t mean their contributions are worthless. Instead, they take it as proof that they are trying something new and taking risks, some of which are bound to fail.”

3. Thinking you’re earning too little to make a difference

Many side-giggers make what seems like peanuts: $100 to $200 a month, or just a few thousand dollars a year. Over time, however, that money adds up—$3,000 a year equals around $40,000 after ten years if it’s in an account earning 5 percent interest. Plus, it represents new promise and potential in the event of a layoff. “An income of $200 a month, earned from working a few hours a week, can often be scaled up dramatically if time allows,” Palmer points out.

4. Overinvesting in start-up costs

It’s easy to plow savings into a side-gig before it’s even launched: a beautiful website, a professional marketing plan, new certifications. But before investing a cent, successful side-giggers often look for ways to bring in revenue, while simultaneously testing the market. That might mean offering nutrition consulting services before setting up a new website, or selling an e-book through an e-commerce channel before printing paperback versions.

5. Working too hard for too little

When side-giggers are first starting out, they sometimes make the mistake of undercharging for their services, or setting up a business model that would require a 100-hour-a-week schedule to earn a living wage. A classic example is selling a handcrafted crocheted sweater for the same price as a store bought, machine-produced one. “Simply charging more for products and services can signal quality to potential buyers,” Palmer observes. “Testing the market to see what it can bear, and checking out competitors’ prices, can help side-giggers avoid starting too low.”

Why Your Networking Isn't Working

We’ve all heard about the importance of establishing strong business relationships a million times. After all, it’s important to be able to go to people close to you, who you trust, when you’re in need of advice, contacts, or a job.

Right?

Weak ties actually get better results

According to Wharton business professor Adam Grant, author of the new book, Give and Take, you should not in fact be relying on your closest networking contacts to help you get ahead. Grant cites a study by Mark Granovetter, which demonstrated that people were actually 58 percent more likely to get a new job through weak ties than strong ties.

Could this simply be a numbers game? After all, we have many more weak ties than strong ties. Grant says no. Apparently, despite their good intentions, strong ties tend to give us redundant knowledge. They travel in the same circles that we do, and have similar perspectives. And in a competitive job search or difficult career change situation, this may not cut it.

Weak ties, on the other hand, know different people entirely and can offer us more efficient access to novel information. So by reaching out to a weak tie, you are much more likely to hit upon something that wouldn’t normally come your way.

Like what you're reading?  Have a look at the full piece at Intuit's Fast Track blog.

How to Look Like a Bigger Deal Than You Are

I love it when people tell me that they think my website is impressive, because that means my site has achieved its primary goal. By employing a streamlined and professional design and including my expertise in a flattering way, the site makes me look like a bigger deal than I am.

Now since I have a job as a public expert, a website that showcases my clients, media appearances, etc. is important. My online presence is many people’s first introduction to me, and I earn a living based on whether or not it inspires loads of confidence. This may or may not be the case for you, but fortunately, there are several other ways you can position yourself as a big deal right there in your home office. Among them:

Take two hours to write your bio

If you haven’t been asked for your biography to include in a company publication or initiative yet, it’s coming. Most people make the mistake of dashing off – in about thirty seconds -a one-paragraph bio rambling off the years they worked at this company and that company. Don’t do this. Instead, carefully study the bios of the people in your industry who make a lot of money and garner a lot of accolades, and model yours after theirs. Remember to include things that are important to your audience (for example, my readers really respect a publication like the New York Times so the fact that I am a writer there is a big deal). When a strong bio serves as a first introduction, you are ahead of the game before you even open your mouth or shake hands.

For more where this came from, visit the full post over at Intuit's Fast Track blog.

Reasons Why Your Emails Suck

About two years ago now (holy cow!), I wrote a post on why long emails are irritating. In summary, long emails are annoying because they take too long to read, don’t respect the recipient’s time by getting right to the point, and tend to ask too many questions.

But there are other reasons most emails suck. I receive about 100 emails a day, most of which are unsolicited, and here are my biggest pet peeves. If you don’t want people to hit delete automatically every time they see your name in their inboxes, it’s time to stop doing these five things:

Failing to Customize

When someone has sent an email to me along with 50 (or 5000) other people, I know it. It usually doesn’t address me by my name, and even if it does, it never mentions anything specific to me. The content is generic and makes me feel decidedly unspecial. Almost 100 percent of the time, that’s an invitation to delete it.

Copying Everyone and Their Grandmother

Most people know better than to send individual emails with a huge number of addresses in the “to” box, but there are still those who are cc happy. Even if it’s part of your organizational culture to use the carbon copy function to cover your butt, do ask yourself whether everyone you’re including really needs to read this information.

Like what you're reading?  Finish the post at Intuit's Fast Track blog.

5 Ways to Uncover Your Roots

My friend Pam Slim, who has been blogging about meaningful careers since 2005, has a fantastic new book out called Body of Work.  The book helps every reader find the thread that ties their unique story together and has been praised by everyone from Seth Godin to Nancy Duarte.

I recommend reading the whole book, of course, but I especially enjoyed the section on identifying one's roots.  Your roots are the purpose, beliefs, and convictions that provide the foundation for your body of work.  They keep you strong and stable when you face challenges in your career and remind you why it's important to keep moving through adversity.  Here are five questions Pam suggests you ask to harness the power of your own roots.

1.  What do you value?

Your values describe what is most important to you.  They guide you to make decisions and set boundaries around what you will accept in your life and career.  When you know your values, you can answer questions like, "should I take this job?" and "should I partner with this person?"  Examples of values are critical thinking and honesty.

2.  What do you believe?

Your beliefs are unique to you and form the foundation for how you interpret and act in the world.  They are shaped by your childhood, your life experiences, your education, and your philosophical or spiritual orientation.  A simple way to understand beliefs is to answer the question:  "what do you know to be true?"  An example of a belief is that everyone has the capability to do great things.

3.  Why do you believe it?

Which experiences have shaped your values and beliefs?  What has made you certain in your values and beliefs?  Using the example above, you beliefe that everyone has the capability to do great things because you watched your father, who came to this country as an immigrant, build a successful business with next to no money.

4.  Whom do you care deeply about serving?

Of all the people who you could impact during your time on earth, whom do you want to work with?  Which type of person "gets you" and really needs what you have to offer?  An example is that you are a trainer and you love to work with highly technical people.  You appreciate their intelligence, curiosity, and critical perspective.  You notice that when you teach them, you are pushed to deliver the highest quality courses.

5.  Which problems do you want to solve? 

Which challenges get you really fired up?  What impact do you want to have in the world?  What specific knowledge do you have that can make a difference?  An example is that you are passionate about childhood nutrition.  You notice that parents are so busy that they don't have time to plan and cook healthy meals and you feel you can help solve this problem. 

Pam says not to sweat it if you can't answer all of these questions right away.  Simply plant them in your head and pay attention to the answers as they come to you.  A little insight goes a long way!