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September 3, 2006 21:19 - Time Management - The Easier Way
Time Management. Hey, come on, don't go all glazed eyed on me, because I have a treat and a freebie for you right now.
As you might be aware, with my presence here on the internet and in the newsletter that goes out pretty well most weeks, I have an interest in Internet Marketing and all the pseudo-tech stuff that surrounds that.
Right this week, I found a spot where Internet Marketing and great management come together, in the form of Michael Green and Peter Twist, both well known 'gurus' on the net.
I found a great tool that can very easily enhance your use of time, in a focused and productive way and Michael has been able to create a live link, for you as readers of my newsletter and my blog, to download for free.
Different and more effective than I've ever seen before.
Their view is that you need help to get work done, especially (but not exclusively) in the online marketing work you do.
The reason this is here, way outside the area of online marketing, is that their freebie has just as much use, across the street in managing your time, whatever you are doing in business.
The freebie is what it says it is, free. 'How To Profit From Your Diary' ... shows you how to take your humble diary, be it paper-based or on your computer and turn it into the greatest productivity centre that you've so far been missing!
Unlike many online offers, there is no upsell - i.e. the freebie doesn't lead to some other product that is the bit they don't tell you about, and then you have to pay for the 'real' stuff.
So, I'm delighted to let you know that there's a copy of this excellent tool, just one of whose tips might make you the difference you've been seeking waiting for you right here: How To Profit From Your Diary
P.S. I need to ask you to download it, read and listen right away because I don't think that it will remain freely available for long.
It might be the best thing you've done for your time management all year!
September 5, 2006 21:23 - The Marks and Spencer Way
I've had my ups and downs with Marks and Spencer over the years.
I used to get a bit irritated by haughty ladies with gold spectacle chains querying me closely when I returned something.
Then, there was the special Marks and Spencer bed treat we had earlier in the year. And that got sorted with a bit of persistence too.
Recent customer service from them has been better (apart from one rather odd incident in Swindon, where I was asked "Do you (really) want me to turn my till from refund mode to serve you?" (yes, duh!).
Marks and Spencer management has interested me recently too.
In the flagship store at Marble Arch, London recently, I earwigged (a British colloquialism for 'overheard'), a manager being really cool with his team, as he started an evening shift. Very impressive!
Then, last week it was Peter.
Now Peter is the store manager in Marks and Spencer Cribbs Causeway, a huge store at a major regional shopping centre just outside Bristol.
In idiot shopper mode (as, most men are, I believe), I needed a basket. Now, unbeknown to me, Marks and Spencer have now got these rather girlie pinkish baskets - floppy sort of things.
I couldn't find one, so I came across Peter, talking to one of his people on the shop floor.
As an ex-store manager myself, I get a bit of pleasure asking the top dog to help out, so I asked Peter if there were any baskets - quite nicely, you know (there is a whole other article about that here).
Peter immediately made great eye contact and showed me where the baskets were.
No - more, he went and got me one - indeed offering me a second (though I've fallen for that one before and filled a second basket with what was supposed to be a small shop - I even used to do this myself when I ran a store!).
Peter and I shared a conversation that was pitched just right and when I came to pay, he was helping out behind the checkout.
Now there was I thinking that all Marks and Spencer managers were deskbound.
I'm beginning to think I might be wrong!
September 10, 2006 21:33 - Managing Your Meetings Effectively
Effectively managing meetings is one of the most vital components for the effective use of your time. This article gives you top tips on how to make them work best for you... (Read Article)
September 17, 2006 19:48 - Strange Habits
We get used to doing things a certain way. It's the way we are and how we get things done.
You see if we had to mentally do things consciously all the time, in our lives we couln't cope.
So we automate. Our brains go onto autopilot for those things that are repetitive.
Take the new fax machine I came across this week. It was a sort of 'right-hand drive' fax machine - and it drove me crazy!
You see the fax machine I came across took it's scanning pages face up, not, as I am used to, face down.
It wasn't until I had a call from the people I was faxing to that I realised it was wrong. They had 10 sheets of blank paper.
So I did it again - and after being distracted for a moment, my autopilot put them through the wrong way up again. Another phone call!
You see I am so used to faxing pages with the printed side down, that I had to really focus to do it 'wrong'.
In our behaviours with others, we go into autopilot too. It is how we are, avoids conscious effort and enables us to multitask - what we often need to do when we are busy.
The challenge is to ask ourselves which of these autopilot behaviours need reviewing. Which ones are not serving us well - especially in our behaviours with others in our team.
How to do it? Easy.
Ask them.
Like this:-
"What are the things I do that drive you crazy?"
Be brave and truly be prepared to listen - no further - really hear what your people say, and really respond, with their help.
Don't be the sheet of faxed paper whirring round and round the wrong way, making everyone pretty mad with you.
September 24, 2006 20:58 - 10 Things A Manager Must Do on the First Day
One of the biggest challenges for any new manager, is how to approach (and even survive) the very first day in their new appointment.
Indeed what you do on day one, may well frame the relationship with your employees for years to come... (Read Article)
September 25, 2006 22:24 - Only Three Months to Christmas
Well the 25th of September is here.
And we are three-quarters of the way to the next Christmas.
Quite a few stores have been prepared for a while and, ever earlier, I guess they are making some sales already!
This next three months were magical when I was a child. Recalling when there were preparations for carol services to tune up; nativities to rehearse and home decorations to make.
As our kids have grown up, the lead-in seems way shorter and there are other time-intensive activities to fit in.
New projects to work on, goals to set and achieve and still, despite the shift in our children's lives, Christmas is a focal point, as ever.
My understanding is that in the States, Thanksgiving is a bigger festival, with all the history behind surviving of near starvation from those earliest settlers.
Whatever the reasons behind our celebrating Christmas or Thanksgiving, they are hioghlights on our mental and emotional horizon.
It would be a tricky and perspective-free world, if these representations of how the year passes weren't around.
September 26, 2006 17:10 - Great Truths Little Children Have Learned
Just to show we have a sense of humor here at Coaching Businesses to Success.com, try this on and remember your own childhood:-
- No matter how hard you try, you can't baptise cats.
- When your Mum is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
- If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
- Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
- You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
- Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
- Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
- You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
- Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
- The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.
Thanks to Vikki for sharing that, it enlivened a serious afternoon!
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