Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

How You're Pissing People Off Without Even Realizing It

The devil is in the details. While it’s of course important to focus on the big ticket items, small, everyday interactions added together can make or break a professional relationship. Here are some things you might be doing without thinking. Stop today!

Forgetting (or never learning) personal details

When someone tells you their name, commit to it memory and use it in your next conversation. Make a note of your colleagues’ children and their names and ages. Wish your colleagues a happy birthday, and if they tell you they have something important coming up in their lives, remember that and ask about it later. Failure to do these things will keep your relationship at a purely business level, which won’t provide the rapport you need for your colleague to go the extra mile for you.

Ignoring a non-urgent request

When a colleague sends you an email, make a habit of responding within 24 hours. Even if the message isn’t a priority for you, it may be for them. Don’t be one of those people who is “bad about email.” While you may not mean any harm, this will eventually result in a loss of trust and respect as well as a vicious cycle of inattention (i.e. you ignore me, I ignore you back).

Forcing other people to ask you about status

Do your boss and colleagues have to track you down in person or nag you repeatedly about the projects you own? Even if your results are stellar and everything turns out fine in the end, giving your colleagues a few extra gray hairs wondering what the bleep is going on will not do much for your work relationships. Instead, be proactive about providing status in the manner in which your colleagues would like to receive it.

Doing something else while having a conversation

Multi-tasking is a fact of life in the twenty-first century. But people who can’t pry their eyes away from their smartphones for 5 minutes to have a meaningful interaction with another human will also not be able to count on the benefits of valuable relationships. Make sure you are both physically and mentally present when a colleague comes into your office.

For more things you're doing to sabotage your relationships, check out the full post at Intuit's Fast Track blog.

Do You Need a Tech Refresher?

According to the 2014 Udemy Skills Index, an analysis of trends in American skills development based on data from Udemy’s top 100 paid online courses, technology courses have the highest enrollment numbers of any subject. We get that we need them, and so we’re signing up in droves. But how do you know if you need to upgrade your technical skills, and where do you start? Here are some potential scenarios.

Reason #1:  You’re competing with younger candidates for the same jobs

Let’s face it. If you’re 40+, you grew up – and came into the workplace – mostly tech-free. The speed with which people adopt new technology can seem intimidating, but you can’t allow more comfortable (and usually younger) candidates to steal your edge when you in fact have more experience. You don’t, however, have to become a whiz at everything overnight. The pros at Udemy suggest that you start with a single new device, site, or software program. Expect that it won’t be immediately intuitive: there will be a learning curve. Fortunately, there are plenty of online forums, courses, sites, and even live people eager to help.

Reason #2: Your resume still lists Microsoft Office as the only technical skill

While Microsoft Office might give the impression that you’re still working in the 20th century, there’s no need to get an additional degree to upgrade your tech skills. Experience in coding, HTML, InDesign and other programs can set you apart, and these are easy to learn in an online environment such as Udemy. Want to show more in-depth expertise? Start a blog about something you’re passionate about – preferably but not necessarily related to your field. The process will open up new tech frontiers and show employers you’re not afraid to experiment and can manage change.Do 

For more reasons to upgrade your tech skills, head over to the full post at Intuit's Fast Track blog.

BYOD Pitfalls You Must Avoid

As tablets and wearable devices become more prolific, it looks like the BYOD (bring your own device) phenomenon is here to stay. To learn what executives and managers should be doing to keep their organizations safe and streamlined, I connected with Bill Carey of Siber Systems (creators of BYOD apps RoboForm and Goodsync) to share the most common danger zones and their solutions.

Danger Zone: All apps welcome

Allowing your employees to download whatever they want leaves your enterprise vulnerable to viruses as well as data storage and productivity issues. Create your own “app store” so employees know what’s available (and not available) to them. If you are going to allow certain non work-related apps on BYOD devices, establish boundaries so employees cannot access those apps on your network. And while we’re on the subject of employee choice, you can give them the freedom to select their own devices – within limits. The last thing you need is a jail-broken iPhone crawling around your network.

Danger Zone: All hands on or all hands off

Employees dislike location tracking, or for employers to know too much about their exact activities and whereabouts. But leaving employees to their own devices (forgive the pun) is not an option if you want to properly protect confidential company information. The answer? You must find a happy medium that allows regular monitoring of employee access while preserving some semblance of their privacy. Talk with your colleagues at similar organizations practicing BYOD to gain insights into workable policies.

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

What's More Important: Talent or Skill?

I recently got an inquiry from the brilliant Bret Silverberg, a Monster.com writer who never stops probing the tough questions. What Bret asked me sounded simple at the outset. What exactly is talent and how should we define it?

A talent is a natural aptitude or skill. Talent in the plural is an HR term referring to a population of employees. Bret wanted to know if it could be learned.

Personally, I feel that a talent is at least somewhat natural, although you have to practice to refine it. Skills, however, can usually be learned from scratch and most workplace tasks involve skills rather than talents.

The unique role of talent

It’s a rare situation in which someone doesn’t have enough talent for a job. An example of this would be a job as a professional singer. If you are tone deaf, you simply don’t have the talent to do this job. Period. But in most professional jobs, you need to know things like how to use a software program, how to give a speech in public, and how to create a budget. Most people can learn these.

Of course, there’s always an exception. I would say that if you have tried through formal and informal means to learn the skills associated with a job and just can’t get the hang of doing them proficiently, then there may be a talent issue. For instance, if you are an extreme introvert in a sales position, you can practice engaging in charismatic banter 24/7, but you may not have the interpersonal talent to close deals.

For the rest of the post, head over to Intuit's Fast Track blog.

What Kind of Decision Maker Are You?

I always thought of myself as a decisive person. But after reading Julia Tang Peters’ book Pivot Points: Five Decisions Every Successful Leader Must Make, I realize that there is more to decision-making than just the act itself. Rather, it’s the way we make decisions that predicts how far we go in our careers. There are, in fact, four types of decision-makers one finds in the workplace:

Leaders

This decision-making process places high importance on gathering information and gaining the support of other people affected by the decision. Leaders hold themselves accountable for their decisions even in the face of catastrophic setbacks. They continuously reach for bold and ingenious solutions, which energizes them and keeps them and their supporters committed.

Wanderers

Wanderers offer imaginative ideas and speak with passion about them, making them attractive to teams requiring innovative thinkers. They think carefully about how an idea looks and feels, as well as its functions and benefits. The problem with wanderers is that they don’t consider the practical implications of decisions the way leaders do, and they forget that great thinkers also need to be great doers. Wanderers do not hold themselves accountable for action and progress, so their decisions don’t produce pivotal outcomes.

For the other two types of decision makers, head over to the Intuit Fast Track blog.

Honing Your Entrepreneurial Skills: Self-Discipline

This post is one in a series of tips designed to help small business owners better-navigate the challenges of today’s startup environment and is sponsored by Canon MAXIFY – the printer lineup crafted to help small business owners increase productivity so that they can focus on everything else that matters.

A recent article in the Journal of Personality featured a 2013 study on self-control conducted by Wilhelm Hoffman.  The research found that those with better self-control are happier than other people because they are able to more effectively avoid conflict and promote balance in their lives.  Instead of allowing their choices to be clouded by immediate wants, they make rational decisions that lead to less stress later on.

While self-control isn’t quite the same as self-discipline, it is closely related.  Self-discipline is, in a sense, the ability to leverage self-control in the achievement of a particular goal.  High self-discipline is essential for entrepreneurs because there is no one looking over their shoulders insisting they buckle down and invest enormous time, energy, focus, and resources in their businesses.  Because no one cares about the start-up business as much as the founder, the entrepreneur must be able to draw on an inner drive to make things happen.

Fortunately, although traits like conscientiousness tend to be innate, self-discipline is a skill that can be learned with practice and constant reinforcement.  Here are some tips:  

Don’t start until you’re ready

Like any major life pursuit, starting a business should be done carefully and thoughtfully.  The more you plan, the easier it will be to execute a seamless launch without faltering.  While there is no perfect time and things will never be 100 percent right, you can at least stack the odds in your favor. You’d be surprised how much an early success can boost your confidence and motivation.

Steel yourself against unanticipated snafus

Something in the creation of your business is bound to go awry – that’s inevitable.  Getting used to this idea will prepare you to cope better when that something occurs, and will help you to avoid taking the easy way out and giving up.

Constantly remind yourself of the big picture

Running a business is filled with all sorts of tasks, only some of which are related to the passion that fueled you to start it in the first place. Your self-discipline will be enhanced if you are able to think about why you are doing all this and the rewards you are likely to receive as a result.

Avoid negative people

You are bound to encounter naysayers who never tire of telling you that starting a business was/is a bad idea and that you should go back to working the job you hated.  If possible, try to avoid spending time with these people. Negativity is contagious and should not be allowed to tamper with your resolve.

Get rid of temptation

I have poor self-discipline when it comes to eating, so I make sure I do not have sweets in my house.  Similarly, be aware of the things that cause you to procrastinate or shirk responsibilities related to your business.  If social media or web surfing are vices for you, there are numerous apps that can block certain sites while you’re working.  If the temptation isn’t available, you can’t succumb to it.

Change your habits

If you are accustomed to doing only what you want when you want to do it, then starting a business is going to be an uphill battle.  In your quest for more self-discipline, change everyday behaviors gradually.  For example, you might set your alarm an hour earlier so that you can work out first thing in the morning.  The new behaviors are likely to feel awkward and uncomfortable, but soon they too will become ingrained habits.  Self-discipline begets more self-discipline.

Reward yourself for acts of self-discipline

Self-discipline is not an easy trait to cultivate, especially if you’ve gone many years without it.  Make sure that you do something nice for yourself, such as taking a break to play a game or buying something special, every time you accomplish a task that requires self-discipline.  Recognize yourself for doing the best you can to become a more effective business owner!

Please check out the first post in this series on business acumen, and stay tuned for the rest, which will include advice on enhancing your reliability and productivity.

Canon will be spotlighting several small business owners on its social media channels throughout the next several months, so be sure to leave a comment and share your thoughts on this post using the hashtag #MAXIFY  in order to qualify. If you are a U.S.-based small business owner (1-9 employees) and have faced a unique business challenge in your first year on the job, let us know! We’d love to hear what line of work your small business falls within and what you feel is the most important takeaway from this post.

We’ll also be rewarding select small business owners with a prize pack including the Canon MAXIFY MB5320 printer as well as other essentials to help you run your business more efficiently. So don’t forget to leave a link to your website or social media pages that way we can see how well you’re marketing your business and get in touch!

 

 

 

Should Open Offices Be Closed Forever?

The open office trend has reached a fever pitch, with nearly 70 percent of American workers now residing in them. But is an open office really the best way to go?

A few months back in the New Yorker, Maria Konnikova reported that open offices don’t actually do what they were designed to do, which is to facilitate communication and idea flow.  She said:

In 2011, the organizational psychologist Matthew Davis reviewed more than a hundred studies about office environments. He found that, though open offices made employees feel like part of a more laid-back, innovative enterprise, they were damaging to the workers’ attention spans, productivity, creative thinking, and satisfaction. Compared with standard offices, employees experienced more uncontrolled interactions, higher levels of stress, and lower levels of concentration and motivation.

Rats in a Noisy Maze

As an introvert, my experiences with open offices have been difficult. Even a cubicle offers a certain level of privacy. You feel like you have some measure of control over your environment. If you need to make a personal phone call, you can do so without worrying about being overheard. If you need silence to focus on an intensive task, you can get it. In an open office, you are at the total mercy of your co-workers’ presence.

I recall being constantly distracted, and every time I’d get interrupted, I’d have to exert enormous effort to gain back my focus. Sometimes my mind was so busy I couldn’t even remember what I was supposed to be doing. My productivity was at an all-time low: a task that took me an hour or two at home took me a full work day in my open office.

As for communication, I found that when I could get away from my colleagues for two seconds, my interactions with them were more concise and purposeful. Once out of the chaos of the open office environment, I learned how not to waste my co-workers’ time.

For the rest of the post, head over to Intuit's Fast Track blog.

Using ROI to Make Your Case for a New Program

Last spring I had the opportunity to keynote the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)’s 60th anniversary conference in Chicago.

After I spoke, I attended an extremely useful session from Elizabeth Ruske and Betsy Sobiech of Tiara Coaching. Although the topic was elevating global women’s leadership, the speakers presented a simple process for planning a strategic, ROI-generating initiative that is relevant across the board. I only wish I had had 10 years ago. In the HR space, ROI can be rather elusive, and this is one reason our functions tend to get relegated to the tactical realm. For your future benefit, here is Tiara’s process using women’s leadership as an example.

Step One: Assess Where You Are

Rate women’s leadership development in your organization from 1 to 10, with 1 being that no programs currently exist, and 10 being that you have visible efforts and sponsorship for female leaders. On the same continuum, indicate where you will be by next year, and where you will be by the year 2020. While completing this step, consider that women’s leadership development might include women’s affinity groups, mentoring for women, succession planning, leadership and career coaching, learning opportunities, rewards and recognition, recruiting and hiring, company communications, and other efforts designed to attract, retain, and advance women.

For more where this came from, please visit the full post at the SilkRoad blog.