Middlefocus

One of my friends has a very busy career and spends a lot of time travelling. She considers her workplace to be wherever she is doing her thing at any particular time, however she is not always free to answer the phone. To make up for that she is very diligent about her voicemail service. She doesn't simply note messages that have been left, she goes further than that. My friend manages to be in when she's out by updating her outgoing message frequently to share information on where she is at, what she is doing and when she is likely to return the call. She records that she checks her voicemail regularly and promises to get back to the caller quickly. And she does. She uses voicemail to maintain client relationships when she is elsewhere. So here's a squeeze: Many people hate "talking to a machine" and hang up without leaving a message. How can we reduce some of that annoyance and encourage callers to leave a message? One possible answer is to use some humo...

18 August 2011: A level results were issued today and brought with them delight in some quarters and disappointment in others. This morning I was travelling by bus and I could not help but overhear the disappointment of two family members, seated near me, who were concerned that one of their loved ones had not achieved his expected grades. Their shared disappointment was palpable and was coupled with anxiety over what future the young man now faced. Where would he find work? Would he go back to school? What were his options? It struck me that these family members had strong aspirations and education was a key element in their fulfilment. In reflecting on the student's performance both held to the view that he could have applied himself more. Applied. There's a word. In today's squeezed workplaces we often hear of attitude and aptitude. The adage goes "your aptitude gets you hired, your attitude gets you fired!" It seems to me that being able to apply oneself ...

I heard a vexed and interesting account recently of how managers in one organisation have been closing down office conversations. They have ruled no talking at the water cooler and have gone as far as discouraging staff from showing around photographs of their holidays and children. There we go with that control mindset again.  It seems to  take the view that if a workplace encourages socialising then there mustn't be enough work being done. I guess social media in that environment would be a no go. A while back, I was visiting an organisation in another city. There the office was open plan and the meeting with managers took place in a glass panelled room, along one side of the office.  Transparency.  During the meeting the senior executive present asked if we would mind taking a break for a few minutes. A comfort stop?  No. He had noticed that one of the staff had come into the office with her new baby and wanted to go over to wish her congratulations. The gre...

Doing the weeding of some computer files, I came across an old folder containing several eMindMaps.  They were created using a program of the same name that came as part of a cover disc for a computer magazine. Although I use mostly hand drawn maps I loved using the software which has now evolved into the famous MindManager brand. Going through the old maps I came across one I had saved as Breaking through!  I think it is still useful for considering goals and objectives and so I post it here for readers to judge for themselves.  As you can see write-in spaces are provided to help the user focus on aspects of achieving an objective. Breaking through! brings to mind the comment from Steven Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.   Using one of the social media platforms, he wrote: "Every truly great breakthrough is a break-with an old way of thinking. What's your latest breakthrough?" I suppose my rediscovered files map old ways of thinking o...