Saving Graces - Business,Work, Life and Virtual Assistance!

SMART Goals

AJ — Fri, 01 May 2009 00:55:00 GMT

It seems the business world nowadays operates on acronyms. One that you may have heard is SMART goals. In all honesty SMART goals, make a lot of sense, they help you focus on progress, and in a team environment help keep everyone on the same page.

So what are SMART goals?

S is for Specific. To define a specific goal you have to answer the questions that a reporter would ask. Who, What, Which, Why, Where, When, and How.

Who is involved? What are you trying to accomplish? Which requirements or constraints are involved? Why do you want to do this? Where will it happen? When will you do it? How will you make it happen?

A specific goal has a greater chance of being successful rather then a general goal.

For example, "Eat better" (a general goal), is too vague and hard to track if you are successful or not, where as "Prepare healthy meals and snacks from the health food store at least once a week" (a SMART goal), is specific and sets the bar for success.

M is for Measurable, which is used to establish concrete criteria for tracking your progress. When you are able to see that you are progressing towards your goal, it is easier to keep on track, and be motivated to keep on track. Good question here is to ask how will you know you are making progress? How many times do you need to do something? How much of it will you need to do?

So in the example "Prepare healthy meals and snacks from the health food store at least once a week" The How is once a week, every week.

A is for Attainable but also can be Agreed upon. If my goal is to go to "the health food store at least once a week", and I don't have any health food stores that I can get to, the goal is not attainable, and the goal might have to be changed to "grow my own food" or "buy organic food".

Agreed upon can be helpful in a team environment, if everyone agrees upon the goal, then everyone can make progress towards the goal. If the team doesn't agree upon the goal, then accomplishing it may be next to impossible.

R is for Realistic. Realistic goals are goals that you are willing and able to work towards. So in the example, you have to be willing and able to go to the health food store, and you have to be willing and able to prepare healthy meals and snacks, in order to succeed. If you are only willing to go to the store, but don't make the snacks or meals, you won't achieve your goal.

T is for Timely or can be Tangible. Timely simply means that there is a time frame. When are you going to start and when are you going to finish? Are you going to the health food store once a week for the rest of your life? Even if you say yes, set a date when you will complete this goal, and see if you need to revise it. Setting a date helps create a sense of urgency, and also can help the goal from being so overwhelming that you never start it.

Tangible is a goal that you can experience with one of your five senses. You can taste it, touch it, smell it, see it, or hear it. So a tangible goal in the example we have been using, would be tracking your healthy meals for the week once you finish eating them.

SMART goals can keep you motivated, help keep you on track, let you monitor your progress, and also help you make adjustments, if need be, so you can achieve your goals.

That time of year again.

AJ — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:12:00 GMT

It's that time of year again.   People filled with hope, and determination, makes decisions, and commit them with pen to paper; listing out their New Year's Resolutions.

The process fills them with a joyful giddiness. This time I will finally - (fill in the blank).

Whether it is weight loss, or quitting smoking, finding Mr. or Mrs. Right, or getting out of a thankless job, the possibilities seem endless, the intentions good, the heart in the right place.

Then a few days, or few weeks later, the list is crumpled up and tossed away, and we, the resolute, are hopeless and defeated, and mumbling something about, "there's always next year."

Don't get me wrong, the thought of the resolution is a decent one, the spirit of intention is valiant, but often it is a decision and not a creation.   We decide to do something, logically, unemotionally, strategically.

Decide, plan, strategize, but get your emotions involved, go about creating what you want, don't just mentally do it.   Engaging your passions are the only way you will get lasting change.

Want to:

Loose weight? - Create appetizing portion or calorie controlled meals that are yummy as well as visually pleasing.

Get healthy?  - Take up a sport or activity that gets you moving and lets you have fun.

Stop smoking? - Vary your routine, find ways to distract yourself with fun and interest.

Save Money? - Learn how to save without feeling deprived.

FInd Mr. or Mrs. Right ? - Join a club or organization, go out, have fun, stop trying so hard to find the perfect soul mate, and one just might sneak up on you!

Get out of a thankless job? - Find ways to start a new career, get training, get experience outside of your field by volunteering, start a company providing a service that you enjoy and can make you money.

Change anything - becoming absorbed in something that you enjoy is the quickest way to get out of your rut. Get out of yourself, and help others. Most of the time we are luckier than we think that we are, and you won't realize that until you stop thinking about all of your problems, and start thinking how grateful you are for all that you have.

Research what you want to accomplish, check it against your logic, (sure, the eat only "whatever" for 30 days and loose weight diet, will help you shed some pounds but what happens when you eat something else? And what are you doing to your body in the process?), and then go for it, mind, body and soul. You need to do it for you, not because you should, or because of some date on the calendar.  Decide, get psyched about it, plan it out, see if it make sense, and then go create the life you want.

Good luck!
Happy New Year!

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I resolved not to make any resolutions!

5 Ways to make progress and move forward

AJ — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:53:00 GMT

Making progress takes work, every day. The good news is that steps to making progress don't have to be tremendous. Simple things, done every day, build momentum, and move you forward.

1. Practice Gratitude.
        Even if your life isn't perfect, start being grateful for the things that you have.   Being grateful opens you up for more things to come into your life to be grateful for. Besides, being grateful helps you feel better, even if your life is "not so perfect". Sometimes it is hard to think of things to be grateful for so start and be grateful that the sun is shining, that flowers grow, that someone cares about you, that you have a job, a computer, eyes to read...etc.

2. Invest 10% of your time, maximizing the other 90%.
        This can be as simple as writing down a to do list.   Writing things down get them off your mind, which can help you sleep better, and also will keep you from wasting time. It's no fun to come home from the store and realize that you forgot the one thing that you went there for!

3. Set goals based on your values.
        In order to succeed and make progress you have to enjoy or at least believe in what you do. Do not set goals based on what others think you should or could be doing.   It will be a short lived victory. Only by doing things that are true to who you are can you keep up the momentum to carry you through the inevitable "rough times".

4. Stop waiting for things to come to you.
        Success will never knock at your door. You need to go after it.

5. Solve your problems, even if you didn't cause them.
        Problems are like road blocks, if you don't deal with them, you will constantly be in a detour.

Building Trust builds a better workplace

AJ — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:48:00 GMT

These days it seems often, that words have no meaning, and promises have no value.
Contrary to this trend, to build a better business, department, relationship words and promises are vital. Communication and promises are like deposits into an emotional bank account, broken words and broken promises are withdrawls. It is simple math, lots of withdrawls and no deposits, leaves you broke! But unlike real bank accounts, where money is the currency, words and promises don't cost you anything to give, but can cost you a lot in the long run in your bottom line, in both your business, your work, and your relationships.

Following the five points below to ensure that you keep making deposits and not withdrawls:

1. Be Consistent. - Inconsistency leads to confusion, confusion leads to chaos. If you are constantly inconsistent, people will loose faith, loose patience, and will stop asking for your input or direction, as it seems to them that it may change at any point in time anyway.

2. Don't make promises you can't keep. - This includes making blank statements such as "any thing you want" and promises that you don't have the ability or power to keep. My definition of "any thing you want" and your definition are probably two different things. If you make a promise, make it specific, and keep it, that way there can be no misunderstandings.

3. Always follow through on what you say. - This is a combined version of points 1 and 2. People don't usually expect something until you say that you are going to do it, provide it, or act on it. So the only thing that can happen is if you say it and don't follow through on it, is an immediate large withdrawl in the emotional bank account.

4. If you ask for feedback, take it, don't argue about it. (or in other words don't ask questions you don't want the answers to.)

5. Don't jump to conclusions. - There are always three sides to a story, yours, mine, and what really happened. Try to find out all three before deciding or acting. Be informed, before being the judge, and jury.

5 Ways to Kill Productivity and Morale

AJ — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 14:54:00 GMT

Your employees are not trained monkeys or 5 Ways to kill productivity and morale

Some managers envision in their heads, the perfect rows of 3x6 cubicles. The grey walls, and blue grey fabric, with the metal railing tops, stacked side by side, aisle by aisle as far as the eye can see from the manager’s office. The 15 inch monitor, occupying half the desk space, the Qwerty keyboard, and two button mouse, and phone, another third, leaving just enough room for a piece of paper and pen to jot notes on. No room for personal items, cups of coffee, glasses of water, not even work related files. The tower workstation sits on the floor, under the desk, it’s blinking green and amber lights signaling that work is getting down, and there is not nearly enough room for legs and feet to fit comfortably under the desk besides it. The armless chairs protruding partially into the aisles, in which the trained worker monkeys sit; headset in position, fingers poised to type, the data entry screen flickering in anticipation, waiting for the ACD to route the next call in the phone system roulette. There is no extraneous thought, there is only work; take the call, type the information, save to the system, hang up, Repeat.

Some managers might envision this as the perfect world; maybe, but only if you work with trained monkeys. So read on for five surefire ways to kill morale and productivity:

1. Treat them like trained monkeys. – Behave as if they, the workers, have the brain capacity of a legume, and that you, the monkey trainer, are far superior to them.

2. Micro Manage. - This also is part of monkey trainer syndrome. If you want to micro manage, you must specify in agonizing minutia, what you want done and how you want it done. This may sound like a good idea, but miss one small detail and the whole thing will be a mess. If you need to micro manage, you should probably be doing it yourself, because it will never get done to your standards.

3. Always Criticize, Condemn, and Complain. - Trained monkeys will never really understand what you are saying, however, they will usually cower in some manner due to the tone of your voice. Things may change in their performance and behavior, but it is usually only temporarily, until you have to do it again, or they escape.

4. Don’t Praise Anyone. - Trained monkeys don’t need praise, they need treats, like bananas, so why waste the time on using praise, when it won’t be appreciated anyway. You have more important things to do.

5. Let them know that monkeys are a dime a dozen. – Make it very clear to all your monkeys that they are very easily replaced. They should be grateful to you that you spend all your time: training, micro managing, criticizing, complaining, and condemning, and occasionally throwing bananas.

Employees are people. They have feelings, independent thought, and aspirations to be more than a trained monkey; as shocking as that may seem to some. Treat them like a trained monkey and you will ensure that you won’t get anything more from them than performing the basic trained task. They won’t contribute to the profitability or growth of the organization. They won’t be empowered, feel appreciated, or make any effort to help in your advancement or the company’s.
If you treat your employees like trained monkeys, they may just act like it, and they will treat your customer as if they were trained monkeys too.

One Step

AJ — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:06:00 GMT

One Step - Moving through Life one choice at a time.

Often, we try to tackle everything at once, envisioning scenarios of how things that should be, could be, and seldom are. We bombard ourselves with what if scenarios, and their envisioned (often) negative outcomes. Many times, this thought process, keeps us from moving forward and making progress; keeping us stuck exactly where we don't want to be!

"A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step." - Lao Tzu.

If you try to accomplish a thousand mile journey at once, (your outcome) it is seemingly impossible, if you take it one step (one choice) at a time, it becomes completely manageable.

We can only give our concentrated thought to one thing at a time, so instead of focusing on the "worse case scenarios", and negative energy and emotions, ask yourself:

"Is what is going on/happening right now acceptable to me?"

If it isn't, then the next choice is "What can I do (what am I willing to) do to change it?"
Then follow through with the change (one step at a time.)

If it is acceptable, then enjoy/learn/live it! The follow up question, if it is a good experience is, "How do I get more (more often moments) of this?"

Repeat, as necessary and Enjoy your journey!

The Art of Discussion

AJ — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:27:00 GMT

The Art of Discussion - The Rules of Engagement

Effective communications and teambuilding require consistent effort. In times of crisis, and issues, it’s often easier to resort to blame and backstabbing rather than dealing with the problem at hand. That is why rules of engagement are so important, and need to be agreed upon, by all team members, BEFORE they are needed.

The Rules of Engagement

1. All discussions must be on the specific issue at hand. Discussions must be focused on the problem, issue, or behavior. Sweeping generalizations, put downs, and blaming is not allowed. It doesn’t really matter, when you are in a crisis situation, whose fault it is, you need to solve the problem/address the crisis quickly and efficiently. Blaming derails the conversation, and delays the resolution.

2. Everyone is to participate in the conversation, even those with opposing opinions. To make sure this is accomplished, before the next speaker begins speaking, they need to repeat, or paraphrase the statements of the prior speaker, and the prior speaker needs to agree that was the intent of the statement, before the next speaker begins to explain their point. This accomplishes three things, first) everyone feels heard, second) it causes people to listen, rather then thinking up their next statement in their own minds, and third) it inhibits people from interrupting and cutting people off, and finishing other peoples sentences. This leads to better communications all around. If necessary, nominate a moderator for the conversation to ensure that this; and all rules of engagement are enforced.

3. Meetings are to have a specific agenda, covering what is going to be discussed, what expectations, questions, and deliverables or action items are to be taken away from the meeting. All non agenda topics are to be parked for future discussion. (Again, this is where a moderator can be very useful.)

Meetings should be an hour or less, otherwise, participants loose focus, daydream, play Brick Breaker®, which leads us to our next point…

4. Phones, pagers, e-mail devices like Blackberries™, and non participants are not to interrupt the meeting. Period. If you can’t be unavailable and focus on the topic at hand, is it that important, why not just skip the discussion? If it is that important, doesn’t it deserve your complete undivided attention? (Added bonus, it may just motivate everyone to play by the rules of engagement, and make decisions more quickly, just to get through the technology withdrawal!)