Related Articles

Effective Meetings - Quick Survey
Here's an easy quiz to check the health of your meetings.1) Who leads your meetings? a) No one, b) Everyone, c) A facilitator2) What happens to the ideas in your meetings? a) If we had to think of ideas, it would be work, b) We make fun of them, c) A scribe writes them on a chart pad3) Are results obtained in your meetings? a) We eat all the donuts, b) And we drink all of the coffee, c) Yes!4) Do your meetings have an agenda? a) Is that some kind of cabinet?, b) I saw one once in an article, c) Yes!5) Who attends your meetings? a) We have bleachers to hold the spectators, b) The entire staff plus any homeless people in the neighborhood, c) Only those who can contribute6) How long are your meetings? a) I'll let you know when this one ends, b) All day, c) An hour or less7) During a meeting do you: a) Break a foam cup into bits, b) Prepare for the next meeting, c) Focus on the topic8) How soon after the meeting do you issue minutes? a) If you think I want to publicize how much time we wasted, you're nuts, b) Within a few months or so, c) As soon as possible, if not faster9) While someone is speaking, do you: a) Wonder about the strength of plastic foams, b) Plan a way to change the subject, c) Listen empathetically10) What structured activities do you use in your meetings? a) We sit on chairs, b) Everyone leaves at the same time, c) Process tools designed to gather information, make decisions, and manage participation.

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Finding Proactive Solutions: A Key to Demonstrating Your Management Fitness
In my book Talking Points: 25 Tips for Clear, Credible Communication, Tip #17 states: "Managers and professionals in positions of responsibility got there by finding solutions to problems. They didn't rely on someone else to come up with the remedy.

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Status Quo Pep Talks That Can Threaten Your Leadership
Organizations live and die by results. Yet most organizations get a fraction of the results they are capable of.

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Travel the World - for Free!
I have been very fortunate to travel to several countries of the world while on business - countries I may have never visited on a holiday. There are pros and cons to working/doing business in a foreign country vs.

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Have You Fixed the Broken Window?
Left alone it doesn't take long for a building with a single broken window to rapidly become a building with many broken windows. Fixing problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into larger problems.

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Employees Commit Corporate Fraud
Imagine the following scenario; Ten years ago you decided to quit your job and start your own company. For ten years you worked hard, made sacrifices, and it paid off in the end.

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Human Resource Employee Risk Profile - Management Risks Explained
Human Resource Employee Risk ProfileIs your business at risk? Do you want peace of mind?Please answer the following question honestly by drawing a circle around or shading in the column. If you can only answer part of the question in the affirmative, then you should select 'No' eg in Q1 if you have employment contracts for your employees and not for your management team then select 'No'.

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Sending Documents Through Email? Dont Get Burned by Metadata!
During a recent seminar I gave located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I discussed something called, "metadata". When I asked whether anyone ever heard of metadata, I was confronted with blank stares.

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Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: The Responsibility for Job Security
This article relates to the Job Security competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. This competency evaluates how your employees view their job security within your organization.

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How to Make the Best of it - Take Your Weather with You
I once worked in a place where there were three lines of words, placed just before employees went from backshop to front of shop. These said:-Smile!Remember - you represent your CompanyDelight your customers.

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Lessons From Innovative Companies
What do the companies 3M, Polaroid, and Walt Disney have in common? All have innovation in their blood. All encourage an innovative spirit at every level of their organization.

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Effective Meetings by Phone - Part 2, How to Hold a Teleconference
Even a well-planned teleconference can go poorly. Some people treat any meeting as a casual social activity instead of as a serious business project.

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Dialogue vs. Discussion
Have you ever sat in a meeting where everyone is busy giving their point of view and trying to prove why they are right? Where no one is actually listening or trying to understand other individuals' points of view. The alternative meeting format is where everyone listens to and agrees with the meeting leader.

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Islam in the Workplace
Suggested practice for HR personnelMuslims now form one of the largest religious groups in the UK. At a time when great misunderstandings and stereotypes circulate the media and society regarding the religion, it is crucial for an effort to be made at all levels to go beyond archetypal images and to begin to understand Islam and Muslims.

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Supervisor-Employee Relations: Tips For Managers
Supervisor-employee relations are a critical part of a work place atmosphere and promoting productivity and cohesiveness. The following tips address these issues:1.

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Best Workplaces
The Best Workplaces report (Financial Times, April 28, 2005) notes many factors in common with Managing Creativity and Innovation.Material reward is not the sole factor in determining satisfaction.

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What to do When You receive a Bad Check
As a small business operator, personal checks may be one method to receive payment for your goods or services. As a way to receive payment, a personal check is actually better than credit cards because the fees are less and there can be no charge back.

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Saying "No" Gracefully to Customers and Colleagues
Envision the scenario: You've just been asked at the last minute by Chris, the organizer of your local networking group, to replace the scheduled speaker at next month's meeting. You already have too many commitments on your plate.

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How to Keep a Good Employee: Look, Listen, Learn
Recently a client told me a wonderful story about how a change of attitude helped her to keep a valued employee.Angry and grumbling about one of the provisions in the company policy, the employee asked for a private meeting with my client, the owner of a small sales company, and began to tell her in direct terms what was wrong.

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Why Management Kills Creativity
Ten or so years ago, an international consultant, specializing in employee involvement and team development, published a story relating to workplace communication that is heartwarming and damning at the same time.In 1981, Peter Grazer was working as the project engineer on a construction project to modernize a silicon manufacturing facility in St.

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