Category: Opinion and Commentary
Meeting Notes: Better Results with Half the Work
Is it your turn to take notes at an upcoming meeting? Give yourself and everyone else a break with a simple, cut-to-the chase method: record only what’s essential and ignore the fluff. Last week, Leslie outlined the basics on managing meetings […]
How to Host an Effective Virtual Meeting
We spend our days attending lots of meetings, yet the well-managed meeting stands out as a rare gem. It’s not easy to run a good meeting, and in our increasingly virtual world it’s even harder to run an effective virtual […]
Three Ways The Public Library Can Change Your Life
Sometimes the simplest and most obvious things in life elude us. With a degree in library and information science, I should be the first one to realize the virtues of the public library, but it took a New Year’s resolution […]
An Easy Way To Jumpstart Your Strategic Plan: SWOT
Strategic planning doesn’t have to be a daunting and lengthy process. The goal is really a simple one: to help you understand your world and build a road map to guide your efforts. There are many painless ways to achieve the results […]
How To Deliver Good and Bad News To Your Manager
Does your heart race thinking about delivering important news to your manager? Sometimes we strike the right balance of tone, timing, preparation, and approach and we get rewarded with a positive outcome. And then we’ve all had a few experiences […]
What Gets Measured Gets Done: Key Performance Indicators
We’ve all heard the saying, “What gets measured gets done.” It means regular measurement and reporting keeps you focused — because you use that information to make decisions to improve your results. Your most critical measurements are called Key Performance Indicators. In a […]
More Visuals: Picture Your Strategic Plan
Your team has a strategic plan. Now how do you make sure it’s front of mind (and easy to comprehend) for the people implementing it? Creating a one-page infographic chart of your plan is one solution. In this third installment […]
In a Sea of Urgency, How to Focus on What’s Important Today
Now that we’ve shared ways to embrace Monday, here’s another thing to contemplate as you start your week: Do you have a plan for the week, or are you facing a blank slate? Of course, you say, what upstanding professional […]
How to Develop Your Career without Breaking the Bank
Building your career means continually learning new skills and enhancing the ones you already have. It’s an investment of your time and energy. In tough economic times you may not get the financial support you need from your company for […]
Beyond Coffee: 9 Ways to Survive Monday Morning
You like your job but even so, Monday morning can arrive as a bit of a shock to the system. You sprint into the weekend, have a fun if exhausting time, and try not to think about the work-week ahead. You […]