Posts

Communicate – Don’t Accumulate

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We often overestimate our own ability to put up with unspoken thoughts and underestimate the ability of others to deal with them. Fortunately, a new book hits the nail on the head about giving people “feedback”.

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The New World of Management

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We used to think people should “just do their jobs”. That day is pretty much gone. Now that we need to reinvent the job – often, and sometimes every day – we’d better get really good at productive communication.

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Preventing Change Fatigue: Burnout is Expensive – Communication is Not

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People stop paying attention to an overload of changes at work – unless you take the time to debrief the progress of the change now and then. It begins to look like a swirl of pointless activity until someone says, “Hey! We cut our backlog in half!” Or, “We just saved X dollars on transportation and distribution!” Closure conversations are worth mastering.

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Change Champions: Commitment, Respect, and… Closure   

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Change – organizational or personal – requires a few basics. Commitment, of course. Respect, certainly. And closure – regular status checks to stay on track and support success. Takes a bit of extra time, but it is a good investment.

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Create Space in an Overwhelmed Life: A Recipe

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Sometimes we run down so slowly that we don’t notice when it’s time to off-load some of the things that are piling up around us. Here’s a recipe that worked for a couple people I know. Myself included.

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The Power of Promising: Listener + Do + Due 

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How to get yourself to Do something you don’t want to Do? Add a Listener and a Due date. Here’s how.

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No Closure, No Accomplishment

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A normally upbeat and productive guy was suddenly downcast and discouraged yesterday morning. I went in to see Chuck and talk about progress on his most important project – implementing an employee development program – and he wasn’t even interested anymore. Wow. “This project doesn’t matter,” he said. “I thought it would make a huge […]

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Closure Can Save A Reputation

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I have a friend who’s reputation is being damaged by not having a closure conversation. Jay, the friend of mine, was recently accused of lying by Colleen,.  According to Colleen, Jay agreed to print and assemble materials for a training session on community service.  Since this was something Colleen was used to doing, and was […]

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To Be More Effective, Keep A Due List

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I was recently asked by a manager in one of my classes what she could do to increase her credibility.  I told “Keep a Due List and follow up on it.” Most people have some form of a “To Do” list, which lets them know the things they have to do.  But credibility and a […]

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