Monday Mornings with Madison

Category Archives:
People skills

January 5, 2015

Four Tips for Making a Fresh Start

Issue #360

An unequivocal part of being human is making mistakes. We try things and fail. When standing at a fork in the road, we sometimes take the wrong path. We act when we should wait, and wait when we should act. However, failing is not synonymous with failure. Mistakes and wrong turns are the reasons that there are erasers on pencils and a ‘reverse’ gear on every car’s transmission. Miscalculations, blunders and slips are an undeniable and unavoidable part of the human condition. No matter how big the error or how ‘off track’ one might go, there is always an opportunity to pause, reassess, and start again.

There is nothing that says that fresh starts are reserved for the beginning of a calendar year. However, it does seem to be the time of year when many are inclined to consider changing course. Resolutions abound. Some folks start diets and begin exercise programs. Some companies change policies. The idea is to stop doing things the “wrong” way and do things a “better” way. Just as errors are part of being human, so is the desire to start anew. Here are four tips on how to wipe the slate clean. Continue reading →

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November 17, 2014

Time Matters

Issue #353

Every business on the planet would like to improve its use of time. As the saying goes, time is money. Better time management means more profits. It is therefore understandable that businesses — which constantly strive to be ever more profitable — are obsessed with time. Saving time. Managing time. Not wasting time. It especially makes sense given that time is the one truly finite resource. A company can hire more staff. It can buy more equipment. It can till or mine more raw materials or recycle old materials. However, no company can make a day longer… or recycle a minute…. or find a new source of time. Once a moment is gone, that moment can never be regained. Scarcity is what makes time so precious.
Managers from Boston to Beijing and from San Francisco to Singapore want employees to better their manage time. CFOs and efficiency engineers crunch every number related to and study every aspect of time management. Called ergonomics, they study their staff’s use of time, calculating how long each task should take and analyzing how each task can be done faster. Employing logistics, execs estimate the time it takes to move a certain volume of products from point A to point B and focus on how to reduce that time as much as possible. Businesses relentlessly measure, count and calculate and apply time to every workplace activity and process. Likewise professionals strive to manage their own time. Just how well business owners, managers, execs and professionals manage time can have a big impact on their success. Continue reading →

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October 6, 2014

Agreeable, Disagreeble and the Ability to Disagree

Issue #348

Most character traits can be a quality or a flaw, depending on the situation or circumstances. A coworker who is very detail-oriented might also be considered nitpicky or persnickety. An employee who is very communicative can also be perceived as being a chatty Cathy. A boss who is very direct might also be seen as aggressive or blunt. What is seen as a positive trait in one situation could just as easily be viewed as a personality failing in another situation. The truth is that every characteristic – even the negative ones — probably has value at the right time, place or in moderation but might also be problematic when applied in excess or in the wrong situation.

Take, for example, openness to new experience. Openness distinguishes imaginative, creative people from down-to-earth, conventional people. Open people tend to be intellectually curious, appreciative of art, and sensitive to beauty. They tend to be more aware of their feelings as compared to closed-minded people. They also tend to think and act in individualistic and nonconforming ways. Intellectuals tend to typically be open to new experiences. Openness is often perceived as the healthier and more mature way of being. However, openness and closed-mindedness are useful in different environments. While openness may serve a professor well, research has shown that closed-minded thinking is tied to superior job performance for police officers, salespeople, and a number of service occupations. In the right job or situation, openness can actually be a flaw and closed-mindedness can be a quality.

What about agreeableness? It is hard to imagine how being agreeable could ever be considered a flaw. Employers go out of their way when recruiting new employees to find individuals that are agreeable and will “go along to get along” with others in the organization. Reference checks often focus less on validating the veracity of factual information and more on whether the person was agreeable and cooperative. While being agreeable is generally considered a quality, there are situations where it can be a flaw. Just as there are situations that call for being agreeable, there are also times and places that call for being able to disagree. . Of course, that’s not the same as being disagreeable. Continue reading →

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September 8, 2014

The Most Underestimated, Undervalued and Needed Skill in Business – Part 2

Issue #344

Imagine this. An employee has to write a proposal for a prospective client. The proposal is not something that can be copied from something else online or taken from another sample. Now imagine that the proposal goes out to the prospective client, filled with spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. In the proposal, the company’s values and services are unclear. How would that employee’s manager feel if he got wind of that document? Embarrassed? Humiliated? How would that proposal affect the company’s ability to land that client? How would that proposal impact that employee’s upward mobility?

Good writing skills are imperative for any professional’s toolbox. In business, there are letters, memos, reports, presentations, company publications, emails, advertisements speeches, press releases, proposals, five-year plans, and so much more which must be written. Each document needs to be clear, concise, grammatically correct, and fluid. Each written piece should engage the attention of the intended audience, fulfill the intended purpose – whether it is to persuade, inform or engage — and conclude effectively. An employee’s writing skills represents the company or organization for which he or she works. If the writing is not professional and clear, it reflects poorly on the company. But good writing also serves other business purposes as well.
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September 2, 2014

The Most Underestimated, Undervalued and Needed Skill in Business – Part 1

Issue #343

What skill is the least venerated, most underrated and yet most essential skill in business today? Is it the ability to speak clearly and connect with people? No, although it is a vital skill and most people think the best leaders are those who can deliver a rousing, engaging speech. Is it excellent resource management? No, even though managers who can get the most productivity out of their team generally get the best bonuses. Is it the ability to crunch numbers and data in order to maximize profitability? No, but the number-crunchers definitely have the most power and control within most organizations. Is it the ability to persuade and sell? No, even though salespeople are treated like royalty at most companies. Actually, the skill that is probably the most valuable for managers, leaders and business people at all levels in all industries is the ability to write well.

As a writer, it may sound a bit boastful to say that good writing is the most underestimated, undervalued, and sorely needed skills in business today. Personal experience aside, while the ability to write well may seem like a mundane skill (after all it is not taught as its own subject in grade school or at most colleges), it is one of the most crucial skills any exec, manager or leader can bring to the table, regardless of industry or occupation. From engineers to educators and from real estate brokers to investment bankers, practically anyone in business today needs to be able to write well…. to deliver written information in a crisp, clear and concise manner. Says who?…. Well, just about everyone.
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August 18, 2014

The Road to Employee Productivity is Paved with High Expectations

Issue #341

There are countless sayings about setting high expectations. Aim high. Shoot for the stars. Raise the bar. The belief is that the higher the expectations, the greater the results. But is this actually true? Can the expectations that we set for a person actually affect how well that person performs? Has this been validated scientifically or is it just an old wives tales?

Consider a research study done in education. A third of the students in an average class were selected at the beginning of the school year. The teacher was told that those students were “high potential” achievers and were very likely to bloom that year in her classroom. The teacher was told that even if she did nothing different, those students were likely to excel. However, the teacher was asked to ignore that information and treat all the students the same. The teacher believed she did treat all the students the same. The students were not told about the study at all. Given that the students knew nothing about the study and the teacher said she treated all the students the same, the performance by students labeled “high potential” should have been no different than the rest of the class. However, the results told a different story. Based on their scores on standardized achievement tests, the students identified as “high potential” achievers had greater gains in achievement over the course of the year than the rest of the students, even though the so-called “high potential” had actually been picked at random. The only difference between the “high potential” and the rest of the students was just in the teacher’s mind… in her expectations.

That study has been replicated and validated many times with students worldwide…. but what about with adults? Does this phenomenon also hold true for adults? Could it be applied to the workplace? Can the preset expectations that managers have of employees actually impact their employees’ performance? Do expectations influence work results?
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July 14, 2014

Redeeming Reputation in the Digital Realm – Part 2

Issue #336

A company’s reputation is its most important asset. A person’s individual reputation is his or her most important possession. Yet, most people and companies are entirely unaware of their online reputation. While ignorance may be bliss in some things, it is incredibly risky to be ignorant of one’s online reputation. Attention all business owners, managers and professionals: what you don’t know about what others think of you can hurt you! That is why there are now professionals – reputation management experts — who make a living helping people and companies monitor, protect, and (if necessary) redeem their online reputation.

It is important to be aware of and stay on top of one’s personal reputation. Likewise, entrepreneurs and business execs should know what their company’s digital reputation is. According to top reputation management experts, the key to protecting a reputation or brand is to be aware and proactive. There are a number of things that can be done to protect a good reputation and/or redeem a damaged reputation, whether it is of a company or individual. Here are some sound reputation management tips. Continue reading →

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July 7, 2014

Redeeming Reputation in the Digital Realm – Part 1

Issue #335

Some 2,300 years ago, Publilius Syrus (a writer of Latin) penned that “A good reputation is more valuable than money.” About 2,000 years later, Ben Franklin said “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.” Recently, billionaire and investment guru Warren Buffet said essentially the same thing… “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” For thousands of years, wise people have understood the importance of reputation. Reputation is a fundamental instrument of social order, based upon distributed, spontaneous social control. A person’s reputation reflects the overriding opinion held by others about him, and a company’s reputation reflects the opinion held by most about the business or its products and services. Once tarnished by bad behavior, a damaged reputation can have a profound impact on success and career.

It used to be that a person with a bad reputation would need to change professions, relocate or use an alias to overcome the stigma. In time, however, he could count on memories fading and offenses being forgotten. Today, thanks to social media and the World Wide Web, it is much harder to bury, outrun or outlive a bad reputation. Online news articles. Blogs. Public records. Video recordings. Digital photographs. Personal misdeeds and corporate wrongdoings are thoroughly documented — and available for anyone to see online 24/7 — forever. Frowned-on behaviors live on in search engines in perpetuity, especially in the U.S. When deserved, most people agree that a wrongdoer deserves the challenges that result from a bad reputation. But what happens when a genuinely respectable person’s reputation is tarnished by association, mistake or through no fault of his own? What happens if a business’ reputation or brand is tainted unjustly or unfairly? Is it possible to redeem a tarnished reputation that has been dragged through the digital mud? How does one redeem a reputation on the World Wide Web? Continue reading →

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June 30, 2014

Do Less: Eight Things to Give Up – Part 2

Issue #334

There are many things people know they should give up because it’s just plain bad for them. Putting too much salt in food. Smoking cigarettes. Texting and driving. Drinking alcoholic beverages in excess. Getting sunburned often. Then there are a number of things people do that they think are perfectly fine but it turns out they aren’t. Chewing ice (which is bad for teeth). Protecting clothes using mothballs (which are stuffed with pesticides that are toxic and are ingested when smelled). Drinking skim milk instead of full-fat milk (which is fortified with powdered milk that oxidizes cholesterol and causes plaque buildup in arteries and increases the chance of a heart attack). Using a computer for more than three continuous hours a day (because it causes carpel tunnel syndrome, impacts posture, strains eyes, and – because of being increasingly sedentary – increases the propensity for heart disease).

Then there are things that people do professionally that they suspect are not good, but they do them anyway. In fact, deep down, most people know these behaviors negatively impact success. Yet, they do them anyway because they don’t truly realize just how harmful these behaviors can be. These are thought processes and actions that sink careers. There is much to be said about doing these things less in order to thrive more. Last week we looked at four such behaviors and thought processes to stop. Here are four more to give up. Continue reading →

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June 23, 2014

Do Less: Eight Things to Give Up – Part 1

Issue #333

We are forever reading and hearing about the things we should do more. Exercise more. Eat more healthily. Walk more. Laugh more. Read more. At home and at work, there are evermore demands. Do. Do. Do more. Well, here’s a thought. Perhaps instead of doing more, we should be doing less?

When it comes to business and career, there are thoughts and behaviors we would be well advised to do less. In fact, what sets high achievers apart from others is not that they do a lot, but rather that they don’t do a lot. The most successful people have mastered the art of filtering. They eliminate unproductive thoughts and behaviors and focus only on valuable activities that produce maximum results. They cut away things that are distracting or destructive. The go-getters and rainmakers of the world (in every profession and occupation) strip away most time-wasting, mentally-depleting activities and thought processes that diminish, delay or drain productivity and reduce accomplishments.

So for a change, we recommend not adding to your list of things to do, but rather embracing a list of things to stop doing. That’s right. Do less! Give up these eight thought-process and behaviors and see what happens. Continue reading →

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