Productivity

Man On

My oldest stepson, Jarrett, plays soccer for his high school and a travel team.  He plays forward and is the team captain.  If his soccer team were a business, he would be the CEO, Owner, or Managing Partner.  Jarrett leads his team during warm-ups and helps everyone know what they're doing when they're on the field, making sure to yell "man on!" when someone from the other team is coming up on someone with the ball.  Communication is key on the field to make sure everyone is aligned with what the plan is, where there might be gaps in coverage, and when someone may need help.  Organizations need the exact same kind of communication for the exact same reasons. 

Part-Time Executive

As you know, every week I put out a blog post with ways or be more efficient or productive so you can spend more time doing things you want to do.  What if you’re too busy to even breathe let alone stop for a second to take control of your tasks?  That’s how it was for me last week when my new, very large, project kicked off.  I’m primarily a Project Manager as I grow my Executive Coaching business.  And as a part-time Executive thinking back on last week, I really should have followed my own advice.  These following three things would have made the week a lot more bearable if I had done them.

Inspiration in the Workplace

Why did you get up this morning?  Is it because you had to go to work so you can earn money to pay bills and buy food?  Or were you inspired about what you would be doing rather than just excited about the paycheck that comes from it?  For most people, it’s the former.  We work so we have money to not work. 

Imagine what it would be like to want to go to work every day – to believe in what you were doing, how and why you were doing it, and with whom you were doing it with.

Loosen Up to Maintain Control

Have you ever tied your shoes too tight for fear they may fall off of your feet?  What happens?  You restrict the blood flow to your feet and you start to lose feeling in them.  Once you loosen your shoes up a bit, the blood flow returns and you don’t even lose your shoes!  But if you didn’t loosen your shoes, eventually your toe nails would grow slower, the hair on your legs would stop growing, and you could even lose your foot.  The point is – bad things would happen.

Now think about what would happen if you tried to manage your team too tightly...

Creating the Company Culture you Desire

We’ve all read articles about how a company’s culture affects its productivity, health, employee satisfaction, financial success, etc.  We get all excited about the prospect of having a stronger culture, higher personnel motivation, and reduced turnover, so we make a plan to achieve this goal.  After a few months or even weeks, though, the excitement fades and everyone falls back into their daily routine with very little to no change having occurred.  What does “company culture” really mean and why does the push to create an impactful one usually fade?