Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Social Media For Business Survey 2011



Thanks for helping. I'm looking forward to seeing if there are changes from this survey results from 2010.
Please send this link  to your friends too!




Like to discuss your business? Lindy Asimus Design Business Engineering Get Help For Your Business Download your free 24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook! Subscribe to Actionbites Blog

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Getting The Best From Employees



Are you good at following directions?

Recently I've been supervising a team with a project that has a limited run time and  well documented (if not so well organised) procedures and schedule to which they run. And by the way - I didn't design this process!

The team is a comprised of different aged people, from mid 30's to 70s and to a person, quite intelligent and self driven. As we get toward the end of the project, some issues arise that are things that we've covered off on in one-on-one discussions, and of course are in the procedures in full detail. Some things we have covered off on several times. And yet they arise as a surprise to some of the team!

Which got me thinking.

Sometimes we make things harder than need be the case.

An irritation for me during this project has been the large amount of detail to get across, but without a clear context of what's Important and what's just important.  What's a Must Get Right and what's good to get right but won't break anything if not every I is dotted and every T crossed.  Since I tend to work best with an understanding of the global concept (big picture) and then the detail, this has seemed a bit akin to being given a jigsaw puzzle to do - without a lid to the box to see what the thing is supposed to look like when it is done.

 Are you good at giving directions?

People are not all the same. Some people just want to know the details that relate to them, and others (like me) want to know how it all fits together in order for any of it to make sense. But we don't always give good directions or format them in ways that accomodate these different styles. Keep in mind there is no right or wrong kind - just different and we can streamline much that is to be done through producing directions that allow for both types to be covered.


If you have good instructions for new work you have to do be glad! But if you are faced without a clear map of how it all comes together, a good idea is to map it out first and create your own guide to capture any information that turns up that wasn't covered in the instructions.
 
Make a List!
  • Draw the project up as a mindmap diagram
  • What are the critical elements in this project that need to be covered off 
  • Write a checklist for each section that can work as a cheat sheet to which you can refer. 
  • Check if there are any materials or resources or extras that you need to get this done but aren't included
  • Verify what your understanding is for the actions you need to take before you begin
  • Clarify and resolve any ambiguity that arises
  • READ THE PROCEDURE!
  • Follow the instructions for the procedure! 
  • Again... Follow the instructions!
Whether you are the one carrying out the work, or the person writing the instructions, make it easy for these steps to be done and you'll save a heap of time, aggravation and unnecessary stress along the way. And get a better outcome as a result.

If you are creating projects to be carried out by others, then ensure you design a process to make it easy for those who will bring it to fruition to feel competent and smart.

So the team has done very well.

It's been fun to work with a range of ages and personalities doing something new and that's always great for building new neural pathways, for everyone concerned.

And gave me a blog to write!

Do you have a favourite tip for learning new processes? Please share your comment below.















Like to discuss your business? Lindy Asimus Design Business Engineering Get Help For Your Business Download your free 24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook! Subscribe to Actionbites BlogHere

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Business Mastery: How Agile Are You?

Whether is is your business or your hobby or something else you want to do well, it takes some work. And then some more. And then more again.

In a business, it isn't enough that you are good at making widgets, or using your technical experience. Many elements of business, in order to run effectively, need to be done and some of those facets of the business may be things you have no interest in, or natural ability.

But guess what?
They still need to be done.


Confidence 
 “Having once decided to achieve a certain task, achieve it at all costs of tedium and distaste. The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labor is immense.”
~Thomas A. Bennett


Want to be confident? Increase your capacity to do. Become competent. If that means learning to be a great manager learn to be a great manager. If it means learning to see where the scary gaps are in your business, then discover where the scary gaps are and build a  solution to create competency.

There are so many things that we can't control in business.  Even more that you can be on top of, so cover off on those things that you CAN control.


Flexibility
 Consider the law of requisite variety which tells us that in any cybernetic system the element or person in the system with the widest range of behaviours or capacity for choice will control the system.

Try not knowing what you know and trying new approaches to things you've always done one way. Start with small changes and see your mind stretch to new possibilities. This is where Breakthrough lives.


Practice

"Everybody should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice."
~ William James



Forget that you have done something a few times. How many times do you need to do something to be expert at it? Aim to raise the bar on your expectations - and make the effort on the follow through.

"The emerging scientific picture is that 10,000 hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert in anything. In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals, and what have you, this number comes up again and again.


Now how long is ten thousand hours? It is equal to roughly 3 hours of practice a day, or twenty hours a week, of practice for ten years. Of course some people never reach mastery, which is not really explainable yet. But, no one has found a case in which true world-class expertise was accomplished in less time. It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery". ~ Daniel Levitin

Now maybe you aren't seeking mastery in everything. But the question is really:  "How good is good enough?" and how much effort are you be prepared to expend to get better at this thing you want to accomplish?

Here's a great example of what mastery looks like. Any kid can ride a bike, right? Take a look at Danny Macaskill.





How does your agility in your special field compare?

What do you need to do to excel at what's important to you now?

If you've achieved mastery in some field, please share your story below as a Comment.

Related:
Remember to build your mailing list
What to do next when you feel like giving up
Send cards for marketing and friends automatically using this Cloud app
Step up in your business - Here's how to improve performance

How to get your business found online




Like to discuss your business? Lindy Asimus Design Business Engineering Get Help For Your Business Download your free 24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook! Subscribe to Actionbites Blog

Monday, August 15, 2011

Are Workers Lazy Or Are You Rewarding The Wrong Behaviour?

All that time on the job. Shows we are working harder, right? Well according to the statistics, maybe not.

Yet we have this fascination to see 'bums on seats' and use time in the office as some measure of value - rather than measure efficacy.

Really. Would you rather have people in the office getting their work done and leaving or have them hang around the full day accomplishing nothing in particular?

Time to review what it is you're trying to achieve?

And by the way. Owners and managers have their own way of wasting time while looking busy.

Pity.

With a little more thought, some accountability and new skills, they could be getting more done and factoring in some downtime.



OnlineMBA.com
[Source: OnlineMBA.com]

Related:
Remember to build your mailing list
What to do next when you feel like giving up
Send cards for marketing and friends automatically using this Cloud app
Step up in your business - Here's how to improve performance

How to get your business found online




Like to discuss your business? Lindy Asimus Design Business Engineering Get Help For Your Business Download your free 24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook! Subscribe to Actionbites Blog

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Define Your Purpose: Know Why

This video came to me today and I'd seen it before but it is one of these clips that are worth sharing and relate to the question that I like to ask at the start of any new project, obsession I may want to take on and what I really would like to see clients begin to take on board as they are considering making change - or are stuck in making no change at all.

How connected to your purpose are you?
Do you know what is driving you to pursue your present direction?
Are you doing what you do for your reasons, or to satisfy (or pacify) someone else?

How do you remind yourself to stay on Purpose?






Related:
Remember to build your mailing list
What to do next when you feel like giving up
Send cards for marketing and friends automatically using this Cloud app
Step up in your business - Here's how to improve performance

How to get your business found online


Like to discuss your business? Lindy Asimus Design Business Engineering Get Help For Your Business Download your free 24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook! Subscribe to Actionbites Blog