Organization skills are the one thing most successful business owners have in common.
Without the ability to organize your work and your resources, you could be twisting in the wind in no time. You may have been able to muddle along back in the day, but in today’s competitive environment, you need to work any advantage in your favor.
Fortunately, there are at least 9 ways to improve your organization skills without too much effort on your part. [Read more…]
Those who care about productivity, for one. Studies show that 6% of productivity in corporations is affected by poorly written communications. And that number is probably low. Still, it reflects the time wasted going back and forth, back and forth, to clarify messages that should have been clear, concise, and complete in the first place. [Read more…]
“I have a real problem saying no at work. How do assert myself when I can’t take on any more?” This is one question I frequently here from administrative and executive assistants. I’m sure you many of you have encountered this, so I’d like your advice.
“I have a problem saying ‘no’ to anyone. In the past, climbing up to the position I presently hold, it was an asset and it helped me to get noticed and promoted, but now I find it has labeled me as the go-to person. With all the duties I am expected to perform, I just can’t help everyone, yet I find myself doing it anyway. How do I decline without sounding difficult or rude?” [Read more…]
by Barbara McNichol
I love watching the TV show “Dancing with the Stars” but even this escape doesn’t give me a break from grammar glitches. In one episode alone, I counted four times when participants and/or hosts misused the pronouns as they spoke.
As a society, if we repeatedly hear words used incorrectly on national TV (and all around us), how will we ever know what’s right?
Without attempting to overcome years of grammar neglect, watch out for certain common pronoun misuses so you get a feel for what’s correct—and what’s not.
“Me and Jack” finished the report. It should be “Jack and I” finished the report. [Read more…]
I have been speaking about office dragons for years and how to professionally deal with the dragons. Dragons were huge, dominating, fictitious creatures. Medieval writers had vivid imaginations for big, scary things. For many people, work is like a dragon. It can be overwhelming and certainly dominates well over half of our waking hours. Sometimes the people we work with can be pretty “fiery” creatures to deal with, too.
I bet that like many people you thought meetings would go by the wayside because of technology or at least there would be fewer meetings. Not true! The reasons meetings
have increased are due in part to the rise in teams and requisite team meetings and technology such as video-conferencing accommodating slashed travel budgets.
Approximately 11 million meetings occur in the U.S. each day! Meetings are essential to an organization’s success yet all experts agree that the main reason meetings are such a waste is because no one really prepares for them and that some may be unnecessary.