Repeat after me: No. No. No. No. And no. Now, think about what your workweek would look like—and where your company might be today—if you'd used the word "no" a little more often. (Awkward silence.) I'm right there with you: The Ultimate Yes Woman. "Yes," because I have varied interests and a ridiculous amount of curiosity, and because I inherently like to be … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Reduce Workplace Distractions, Boost Productivity and Recoup Personal Time
Sponsored by VISA Business: We’re all guilty of letting ourselves get distracted at work, but distractions are the number one productivity killer. With lower productivity comes more work time and less personal time. According to The State of Workplace Productivity infographic, the annual payroll loss from employees spending time on tasks that are not work-related is at … [Read more...]
Tips for Managing Your Intern
On paper, hiring an intern always seems like a grand idea. First you do a victory dance over passing off the mundane but necessary to-dos, such as updating databases and optimizing documents for digital sharing. The next round of "jumping for joy" occurs after your brilliant suggestion to cull a list of blog topics, unsubscribe from irrelevant eNewsletters, get better … [Read more...]
Make Tomorrow a Better (Work) Day
Surfing the web gets a bad rap, but when you stumble upon articles and posts that have workplace relevance (and that are so smart, you wish you'd penned them), there's real satisfaction. Such was the case yesterday, when a little aimless clicking led me to 14 Things You Should Do at the End of Every Work Day, an engaging summation of how ending your workday on a positive note, … [Read more...]
Exercise Your Mind and Body to the Top of the Ladder
Being Healthy and Exercise Helps Women Executives Apparently not only are we fighting for equal pay, recognition and all the other things that come with trying to break through that glass ceiling, but now we also have to find even more time to exercise! In an article by Lisa Quast on Forbes.com, she talks about a study done that shows the percentage of overweight top female … [Read more...]
Don’t Worry, Be Happy, Be Productive: Lessons From My Dad
Don't Worry Be Happy and Be Productive A simple phrase, or lyrics as it may be. My father uttered these words to me on a regular basis as a child, and occasionally still does today. I remember listening to that song in my dad’s old den, and not really getting it. I lived with my dad, and to his credit I think he raised a me to be a pretty awesome woman with a strong sense … [Read more...]
Should You Allow Your Employees to Follow you on Twitter and Facebook?
According to Janine Popick CEO and Founder of Vertical Response, she explains her reasons why she may or may not allow some employees to follow her on twitter or facebook. Here are some great tips to remember depending on your style and use of social media with your employees. You do not have to be “Big Brother”, but it is a good way to pay attention to what your … [Read more...]
The Capable Employee
As a modern business owner, I’ve caught the fever to rely on gadgets and depend on electronic communication in lieu of actually picking up the phone; but I wonder, have I done my company a disservice? As I visit client sites and assess the challenges they face, it becomes clear that sometimes the culprit is not the employee, it’s the technology. Excessive reliance on … [Read more...]
Hey Boss, Your Policy is Stupid!
As business owners we often set policies and procedures from a reactive point of view. Something happened that brought the situation to our attention and then we put things in place to ensure they don’t happen again. But is this the best way to create policies? Can your staff weigh in on their effectiveness and when they do, do their opinions matter? If you have a sense that … [Read more...]
The Inside Scoop on Recruiting
Once you strike out on your own, your relationships with recruiters change. When you were looking for a full-time job, they represented a way to get your foot in the door at a company. As an entrepreneur, their roles shift slightly. They still help you get a foot in the door, but now they also bring the ability to provide new projects. The one thing that continually frustrates … [Read more...]