Always being Prepared

With the recent black-out, it made one think about always being prepared.

What contingency plans do you have in place?

I was driving and hit three intersections with traffic lights completely out.   How quickly most of us forget to treat these as a four-way stop.  It appears most drivers are not prepared to handle this situation as expected - why are they not prepared?

Walking into AlphaKOR, the emergency lighting was on throughout the building, the phone system was working, all of our servers were up and running!

Overall, an excellent contingency plan is place with a very responsive and supportive team - way to go!

Most of the team did not have much to do without their actual workstations up and running.   So it was team-bonding and some leisure activities were invented - all good stuff to see the camaraderie.

When the power went back on, it was business as usual without missing a beat.   

Are you really ever on Vacation?

When you are on vacation, are you really on vacation?

Just back from vacation and wanted to share this blog from last year with some updates.

How close are you to the office with your Smartphone, Tablet and Notebook?   There are so many ways to stay in touch with e-mail, texting, smart phones.....does one ever turn it off?


I like to glance at all my e-mails/texts/voicemails first thing in the morning, mid-day and after dinner.   I respond or forward the ones requiring an answer before the vacation is over.

With Social Media added to the mix, there are schedules set-up prior to vacation so information can be sent out while you are away. 



Here's to turning it off most of the time while on vacation!

Conversation Etiquette

How many of these mistakes do you find yourself making?

Guilty on several especially #9 and #4!  #6 surprised me when someone approaches your table, most of us remain seating.  Will change this behavior!   Of course occasionally make the other mistakes and good reminder for us all.

 Top Ten Conversation Etiquette Mistakes:

#10-Changing the topic to suit your own interests

#9 -Checking your phone

#8 - Not knowing your audience

#7 - One-upmanship

#6 - Talking from your seat

#5 - Cursing

#4 - Looking over their shoulder

#3 - Not introducing participants

#2 - Monopolizing the conversation

#1 - Interrupting 

More details can be found at:  http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2pcjOB/:10PJdUyTP:biSXUn4s/www.mint.com/blog/how-to/conversation-etiquette-06042010/
  

Focusing on the Right Stuff

How do you keep focusing on the right stuff?   

So many tasks, requests and distractions are thrown our way instantaneously.   As communication tools keep moving forward, it seems the business pace and number of things to do are increasing exponentially!

Have you defined what exactly is the right stuff to focus on?

Go back to your core values, vision/mission statements and determine if your priority list supports what your business/team has set out to accomplish.

Remember "delegating" and saying "no"?   Putting these two principles into place virtually hourly these days.   Oh and then there is the "letting go" which is the most challenging one and was reminded to yet again to embrace it.

Focusing on role as Effective Leader and all the right stuff.   Thanks to many for great discussions and support!