Business Communication » Management

Gifts For You – No Strings! (Expires February 5)

Laurie Weiss — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:35:31 +0000

It’s a one-of-a-kind event — yet couldn’t be more timely!

Short version:

Here are some absolutely no-strings-attached gifts available for a very limited time! One of them is my ebook, “I Don’t Need Therapy, but Where Do I Turn for Answers?” that is currently offered at http://www.IdontNeedTherapy.com for $29.77. Do Not Order From That Page.

Go here instead: http://www.solo-e.com/PostHolidayHangoverRemedy

Long version:

Whether you admit it or not, the word resolution goes hand in hand with the start of a new year. Whether you make your resolutions in the form of business goals and priorities, or actual resolutions …. By mid to late January, you’re likely tired of forcing yourself to follow-through on what you set out just a few weeks ago.

In comes Terri Z at Solo-E, a virtual learning resource for solo entrepreneurs, with the Post Resolution Hangover Giveaway. This isn't your typical giveaway…each item is a true gift, not available anywhere else for free! The value of each item is the price at which it sells today. How cool is that?!

The gifts include ebooks, audios, home-study packages and more, on topics including: 101 Ways to Attract Clients, 7 Things You Must Do to Get More Clients, The Facebook Fan Page Intensive, The Online Video Playbook, 5 Psychological Triggers to Turn Prospects Into Clients, Abundance in Business, and The Finding Time Quick-Start Guide.

Solo-E has partnered with several key experts to offer these incredible resources for online based business owners. For 12 days only – January 25 to February 5, you can download all these gifts at absolutely no cost (and no strings). That's right…you don't even have to give up your email address!

An incredible group of Experts are participating in the Post Resolution Hangover Giveaway, including:

Alicia Forest, Ann Ronan, Loren Fogelman, Tracey Lawton, Allison Babb, Tina Forsyth, Rebecca Zwar, Christine Gallagher, Lou Bortone, Heather Dominic, Laurie Weiss, Laurie Mandato, Zahra Efan, Hazel Palache, Laura West, Eva Gregory, Alicia Smith, Michele PW, Nina East and Paula Eder

Take a few minutes to see what all the fuss is about, and cure your Resolution Hangover! You’ll get access to fantastic resources that you can download and review at your convenience. Visit http://www.solo-e.com/PostHolidayHangoverRemedy

Remember this offer is only good for until February 5. Check out all the goodies now.

Containing Costs And Maintaining Morale

Laurie Weiss — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:17:31 +0000

Are you struggling to contain costs in this recessionary economy? If you’re having a hard time withdrawing perks from hard-working employees, because you’re afraid of the effect on morale, this executives strategy may work for you.

James could see that the generosity his 200-member accounting firm had shown their partners and managers when times were good simply had to change.

The firm could no longer support the expensive valet parking the partners blithely added to their expense reports or the extra charges for breakfast that showed up on their hotel bills. Especially when James knew personally that the hotel in question included a fine breakfast buffet with the cost of the room.

James, a founding partner of the firm and a habitually conservative spender, always allowed time to park in the same airport shuttle lot, whether he was taking his family on vacation or going on a necessary business trip. He fumed to himself as he reviewed expense reports from the firm’s tax meeting. The nine-dollar charges for breakfast were especially irritating, because he had noticed that those managers were not in the dining room while he was there himself enjoying the complementary buffet.

In good times, while struggling to retain employees who are constantly being lured away by other opportunities, it seemed picky to disallow those expenses. Now, with the decreased workload, the firm was overstaffed and he was struggling to avoid layoffs. Yet he suspected that his people would grumble at the now necessary restrictions.

Knowing how he had once struggled to overcome a reputation for insensitivity, he decided on a creative solution. He sent out a memo to all managers and partners explaining the need to cut expenses and asked them to each submit at least one idea that would save the company money.

In came suggestions to eliminate valet parking, to eat their meals provided by the hotel, to limit extra baggage charges (for golf clubs) when meeting at resort locations, to limit charges for laundry at hotels, etc. He compiled the suggestions and recirculated them with thanks. There was no resistance when those suggestions were instituted as the new company policy.

When I asked James how he was viewed in the firm, he said he thinks he is seen as a practical pragmatist and appropriate person. He did add wryly that a few people in the firm probably wished there was not a practical, pragmatic, appropriate person around to rain on their parade.

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It’s About Time

Laurie Weiss — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:58:17 +0000

Pressure, stress, and the need to make effective choices about how to use time are some of the critical issues shared by most of my coaching clients, and by most business and professional people. Becoming superwomen or supermen isn’t really the answer for surviving in a speeded-up world.

Are you challenging yourself to discover more effective and comfortable ways to use your non-renewable time resources?

In trying to maintain a balance between your business and personal lives, you probably find it hard to avoid the distractions that rob you of your irreplaceable time.

These ideas may help you think a little differently about the situation.

Time has been used as a weapon to suppress, conform, and standardize human experience. Until the industrial revolution, people operated on their own natural rhythms. In factories, everyone needed to learn to operate synchronously. In the information age 21st century, perhaps it is appropriate to reevaluate our basic beliefs about time management.
Time is a gift when I grant it to myself or to others. I do not owe others my time, but I can choose to give it to them. I can also choose to grant myself the gift of time for myself. One woman described how she now takes out only the Christmas decorations she loves most, instead of taking them all out just to maintain tradition.
Time is a flow; I can’t get more of it, but I can do more with it. Ideas for doing more with time included interrupting automatic patterns like reading the newspaper or watching the news. Instead, just read headlines, stop reading about who killed whom, or watch non-commercial news. Access the magazine articles you really want on the internet instead of letting them clutter up your life.
I can take the path of least resistance, and then fully apply myself. I can pay attention to which 20% of my work produces 80% of my results, and focus on doing that instead of scattering my energy.

Here are a few simple things that make a difference. You can make a commitment to yourself to arrive for appointments a few minutes early instead of hurrying to arrive exactly on time. You can decide to stop speeding.

Once you start to think about it, you can probably discover other the little things that make you feel as if you are in better control of your life.

Time management is an important challenge for most people. Many problems arise when your priorities are based on other people’s needs instead of your own important values.

Try eliminating 50% of the things you should do from your list, by delegating them or deciding that they are not important enough to do at all. Clear out your "shoulds" to make the time to do what you really love to do.

Learn more about communicating with integrity in The Integrity Course, an online, multimedia home-study course to help you say what you think without getting fired or losing your friends.

“Cut your to do list in half!” Coaching in Action

Laurie Weiss — Thu, 17 May 2007 15:56:46 +0000

Linda was shocked by my request to cut her to do list in half.

She had hired me as her coach after she narrowly avoided an automobile accident caused by almost falling asleep at the wheel. The stress of managing three major projects had driven her to work over 70 hours in each of the last four weeks, and the end was not in sight.

Linda knew that her manager was as stressed as she was, and felt that requesting relief would be viewed as a sign of weakness and might have a negative effect on her career.

“Choose to keep only the items that require your personal attention. Delegate those that someone else can do. You are being paid for your ability to coordinate tasks creatively and not to do everything yourself. Your ability to do your real job well is being affected by your exhaustion.”

As Linda listened, she began to feel relief. She had known for some time that something was wrong. Her commitment to really support her people had gradually overwhelmed her. Each new task had seemed small, but together they were diverting her energy from her most important goals, and she really was tired.

Linda was grateful that someone else understood the situation immediately, and could reinforce her own awareness that something needed to shift drastically in order to preserve her life and sanity.

Somehow the importance of developing the people that reported to her had gotten lost in the chaos. She could easily deputize several good people to attend meetings that were on her schedule. That would even save the effort of transmitting information from those meetings back to her teams.

Some of the items on her list could even be dismissed. They had been there so long that they were no longer relevant.

When I asked Linda a series of personal questions, she admitted that she was consuming enormous quantities of coffee, eating fast food on the run, and sleeping only a few hours a night. She was also feeling guilty because she was becoming a stranger to her own children. Although her husband was supportive, she was ignoring him, too.

As the conversation continued, Linda realized how she had been denying the seriousness of her situation. Somehow saying it aloud to another person made it more real. She readily accepted my suggestion to take a long weekend off to just get rested, before evaluating her situation any further.

A week later, during her next coaching call, Linda reported that she had managed to cut 20 hours off her workweek, and was feeling almost human again.

The work was getting done and she was ready to start thinking about changing other aspects of her life to bring it into a better balance. She decided to start on some of the self-assessment and personal development programs I had suggested that she consider using. I recommended that Linda choose only one program to focus on instead of trying to do them all.

If you enjoyed this article, The Integrity Course will provide you with much more information that I believe will be useful to you.