Leadership & Mindset
How to motivate students to perform better in school
I am always looking for new tricks to help motivate kids to perform better in school and I recently read an interesting report from some researchers from the University of Chicago. They performed tests on children in under-performing schools to determine if money or a trophy could motivate a student to better grades. The researchers wanted to know if the money would motivate the students, how much money it would take to motivate them and how quickly the money would have to be paid out for it to be a motivator.
10 minute time management course
I love Getting Things Done and it is the basis of my day to day time management system. Like any skill, it takes time to learn and practice to master. Some people aren’t ready to make the time commitment to learn GTD but want to improve their time management. So if you fall into this category, these tips are for you: Start with the end in mind For each activity you will undertake, spend a couple of minutes to determine what a successful outcome would look like for that activity.
Virtual Meeting Etiquette
We are living in a global just-in-time community where more and more of our meetings are held in cyberspace. This new reality is sometimes drive by cost and other times but convenience. Regardless of the business drivers, it requires an entirely new approach. In real estate, the most important quality is location, location, location. In the world of virtual meetings, it is communication, communication, communication. To have efficient communication, you need trust and your remote participants need to feel like part of the team.
Try the One Text Procedure when negotiating
Large complex negotiations require special tools to keep them ontrack and productive. Inexperienced negotiators generally measure success by the number of concessions they were able to “win” from their counterparty. This inefficient approach forces people to stick to their position and rarely yields an optimal outcome. The One-Text Procedure Enter the wonderful world of the one-text procedure. The key driver of this processes is the use of an unbiased third party to help catalogue real interests of all parties and then facilitate the combined criticism of possible solutions until the best solution is found.
INDIA BUSINESS ETIQUETTE TIPS AND TRICKS
My last blog post provided some quick tips when dealing with China. I wanted to provide the same kind of 2 minute explanation for business etiquette tips for India. Salutation and greeting India is a more westernized country (than China) therefore it is perfectly acceptable to use the common handshake when meeting and greeting someone. The traditional Indian greeting can be performed by joining palms to each other (at chest level), fingers pointing upwards, bowing slowly and saying Namaste. When dealing with someone with whom you have a relationship, use the person’s title and name (Doctor, Professor, Mr, Mrs, etc).
Chinese business etiquette tips and tricks
I received some messages from readers asking about Chinese business culture and etiquette. Although I won’t write a 10 page essay on proper business etiquette and behavior, here are some tips and tricks. The business card exchange In North America, we exchange business cards as a means to remember someone’s contact information but we don’t really pay particular attention to it. Often times we take a business card and immediately stuff it into a holder or a shirt pocket.
Should you keep your goals private?
My last article about goal setting can be found here. A researcher has an interesting proposition... KEEP YOUR GOALS SECRET.... What? this goes against everything we have heard in management theory for the last 20 years. Watch the above video and let me know what YOU think
To to handle interruptions at work
With the economic realities we have been living with since 2008, companies are forcing employees to do more with less. Not only are companies asking employees to be more creative and use less resources, they are also asking less employees to do more work. An interruption is anything that distracts you from the primary task at hand. Common workplace distractions are emails, phone calls, drop-in meetings, etc This means that most people you talk to, working in a corporate environment, have too much to do and not enough time.
The Getting Things Done (GTD) Weekly Review Process
As a GTD fan, I have read the book, listened to the 10CD audio seminar, read the articles on GTD Times and subscribed to David Allen’s audio blog. In all of these mediums, one of the key messages that seems to come up over and over, is the requirement to do the weekly review. What would happen to your car if you never changed the oil? The car would get sluggish and eventually the engine would die. Same thing for GTD.
The four truths about Getting Things Done (GTD)
Like I have said over and over, I love Getting Things Done. It has allowed me to stay on top of things and I try to teach it to as many of my colleagues as possible. Having worked with dozens of people, I realize that there are some misconceptions about GTD, so I decided to write this article to talk about them. 1. GTD is simple and difficult Whether you read the book, listen to an audio training program or participate to a live training class, you will realize that the core concepts of GTD are simple and based on common sense.