Posted by Celia Couture on Tue, Apr 06, 2010 @ 10:31 AM
I wanted to share this article I came across today written by Lisa Hammond. I laughed out loud when I read it as I've more often than not, found myself in a similar position. It's business relationship is very obvious. Why do we choose to make things difficult when it is clear we have the means to make things simpler and more efficient. The article drives home this point in a very funny way. Enjoy!
Martha Stewart...NOT! by Lisa Hammond
"It was October, so it was time for me to start talking about having a Halloween party - something I have done for at least half a dozen years. I don't actually end up having a Halloween party; I just talk about having one. It has become a running joke around our house.
Entertaining and having friends over for dinner always seems like such a good idea but the truth is, I just never feel like I am good enough to actually do it.
I have ongoing chatter in my head that goes something like this: What are you going to make? Who are you going to invite? You don't have the time. You will say you are going to do this and then you won't get out of the office in time.
I have plenty of friends who seem to be able to manage both a successful career and entertaining frequently. They race home from work, whip up three course meals, and serve the perfect wine. They look calm, cool and collected when guests arrive. I am both impressed - and depressed - by this.
Recently, I wanted to be a thoughtful dinner guest at a friend's home so I decided to at least bring dessert. Although I had a jam-packed day at work, I didn't want to be a slacker, and figured I could handle making a cake. I did what I have done countless times - I decided to make a favorite family recipe, Raspberry Cream Cake.
Once I started to make the cake, I remembered why I don't do it very often - half of the ingredients can only be found in the state where the recipe came from! So I had to wing it and substitute ingredients. Then the mixer fell apart as I was using it and whipped cream went flying all over the kitchen. Then the cake burned while I was stuck on a conference call. When I finally got the cake into the fridge for the mandatory five hours of chilling prior to being served, I decided to rename it the Raspberry Curse Cake and vowed never to make it again.
When my husband and I arrived at the dinner party - crappy Curse Cake in hand, our gracious hostess was looking relaxed as she put together a simple salad. And there I was - frazzled, with raspberry juice still in my hair. As we sat down to dinner I asked her for the recipe for the delicious rice dish she was serving. She laughed and handed me her phone as she said, "Are you kidding me? I didn't have time to cook all of this - it's take-out!"
Oh, I have so much to learn from other women! I had been stressing out all day, trying to simultaneously work and bake a cake, juggling mixers and conference calls and cursing like a sailor - while my wise friend had been at work phoning in take-out!
The entire episode made me realize how much pressure women are under to be all and do all - almost all of it self-imposed! How much are we missing out on because of our insecurity and fear?
By the time you read this I will have invited friends over for margaritas and dinner at our place - paper plates, take-out food, and fun will be had by all!"
Posted by Celia Couture on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 @ 08:18 AM
Many business owners have had to cut staff and expenses to ensure viabilty during these challenging financial times. Many employees are being asked to do more with less or to take on responsibilities previously held by other co-workers in order to meet financial challenges. It is more important than ever that business leaders position themselves to do a better job at helping employees work smarter and finding ways to hold employees accountable for results. Over the past several months, I have been working with a number of executives on creating mechanism and tools for them to play a more active role in monitoring progress while keeping an eye on the bottom line. Companies can't afford to be lax in their tenacity to hold people to deadlines, cost control and process efficiencies. Time management is one of the keys to success, but most leaders need assistance managing the huge volume of work delegated to members of the team.
Executives have a difficult time balancing both the strategic needs of the company and the actions they require of others to meet their overall goals. Facilitating this work can be onerous, but with some simple tools, executives can achieve great success while continuing to monitor the bottom line.
The following are successful tips that might be of use at your company:
- Wikis are a great way to facilitate the collection of ideas by a diverse or broad management team all working on the same product introduction or project. Wikis can also be used to manage a large account as everyone has the opportunity to add their information in ONE place so that key members of the team all have the same information. Wikis have become a great and cost effective project managment tool.
- Project/Process Management tools can be expensive and difficult to use. Simplifying the steps to help project or process leaders monitor action items and deadlines is key to success. A simple tool which highlight the action, the required next step, the due date and owner which can be placed on a simple excel spreadsheet is a quick way to review information and maintain momentum on key process or project issues.
By using Wikis with a customized project management tool you suddenly have a respository for great ideas as well as a mechanism to review action items, deadlines and progress. CC Consulting, LLC has been working with companies to introduce them to new technology and to facilitate teams wanting to gain efficiency.
businesses have suffered losses in staff and as a result more people are doing two or three jobs. I pride myself in helping companies gain efficiency by helping them put in place tools that assist with process efficiency and accountability. We have all been asked to do more with less. I have been successful in helping companies
Posted by Celia Couture on Tue, Nov 10, 2009 @ 08:13 AM
It is becoming clear that after we get through the downturn that more and more companies will be looking for expertise in managing people who manage projects. I believe that companies will need to regroup to ensure that deadlines are closely managed and that customers are hearing from company representatives on a regular basis.
If we stop to take the time to look at our to do lists as well as the deadlines imposed for getting things completed, we can easily become overwhelmed. It is really important for company leaders to develop a mechanism to track not only what they need to do, but what expectations they have set for the people who play an active role in completing tasks.
Each of us has our own mechanism for time management. Some processes are more successful than others, but regardless of the process we choose to use, it is clear that without vigilence few tools work effectively.
Tips for successful time management:
- Ensure that your team has a mechanism in place for reviewing due dates and action items. Make a review an integral part of your management meetings.
- Ensure that your team is being held accountable for meeting deadlines especially as they relate to client/customer deliverables.
- Role model the behavior you want repeated from the members of your staff. If you are diligent as the leader and you follow-up with members of the team then they know that these actions are important to you.
- Support and reward those employees that do a good job with integrating time management tools in their day-to-day job functions
- Offer to support additional training and facilitation if employees are struggling with time management.