AlphaKOR on the Move

After several months of planning, strategizing, renovating and logistics we have moved into our new location at 7800 Twin Oaks!

Warm welcome to the Neighbourhood

The incredible AlphaKORians stepped up to make the move a very smooth transition.   It is amazing to see how much "stuff" we accumlated in just six years at Mercer.

Coordinating all the third party companies can be a daunting task.  Thankfully most of it went extremely well and of course one would expect some bumps along the way.   These were communicated and all went very well with the plan and contingency plans in place.

Timing is everything and I will personally remember this Move as virtually impossible to deliver what I wanted to deliver.   There was something about the number of events and activities that happend all at the same time.   Tough decisions were made with no regrets.

As it turns out, we were out of town this weekend for our daughter' soccer tournament.   Choosing family was the right decision.   Not being there for the AlphaKOR family was very difficult.   We stopped into the new place as soon as we were back in town for a few hours of unpacking and organizing.  It is a great space and here is a sneak peak of the Unplugged Lounge:

The Unplugged Lounge

This week there are some boxes left to unpack.   There are fixtures to hang on the walls, some organization and cleaning.   The main focus remains on the business side to ensure our clients are taken care of.   Thanks for all the feedback and support from everyone.

It truly shows what a great Team we have when we can unplug the entire company at the end of the day Friday and be fully live again within a couple of hours.   Hats off to our very talented and dedicated Team!

Some of our talented Technical Team

As we finish unpacking our boxes, we are preparing for our Open House on June 18th and look forward to seeing you join us to celebrate over 20 years!

Making Commitments

Making commitments and fulfilling these commitments takes discipline.   Whether you make promises in your professional career or in your personal life, the ones you keep or the ones you break are a reflection of who you are.

Sure we get over zealous from time to time and start saying a lot more than we can deliver.   When this happens, it is okay to admit you are not able to commit.  Most people understand most of the time and appreciate your honesty.

Time management is one of those challenges making it difficult to commit by the target date set by you.  Prioritizing your tasks and making the tough decisions to focus on your commitments to successfully complete them on time takes a lot of discipline.

Consistently following up and delivering what you guarantee builds trust and long-lasting relationships.  Make it a daily habit to fulfil your responsibilities as set by yourself.   This will become part of your core value and make you a better leader.

How do you keep your commitments you make?

Building Your Time Management Habits

How do you manage your time to be more effective?

We have habits that fit our style.  Some are good, while others are not so good.   How do you change and adapt to be more effective with your time?

First thing every morning it has become an embedded routine to review the long lists of tasks while creating a new to do list by prioritizing the most important task first.  Having the discipline to complete task one and then move onto task two and so forth down the list is difficult because everything new becomes an instant priority.  

That's one of the bad habits that became a challenge to break.  At first it felt so wrong, however, the results over the years have proven to be successful and better way to achieve better time management.

One of the keys to managing your time is to schedule your priorities and not to prioritize what is in your schedule.

Using the three D's every time information is received has become a very good habit.  For example, when looking in your Inbox, each e-mail is opened and you decide on one of three things:  Delete, Do/Defer as in schedule this task or Delegate with clear direction and deadline.

Something you can try as effective tool is creating a Do Not Do List.   Seems strange however reviewing this list helps to remain focus on the priority tasks.

What are your time management habits?

How do you Focus on the Right Stuff?

So many tasks, requests and distractions are thrown our way constantly.   As communication tools keep moving forward, it seems the business pace and number of things to do are increasing exponentially!  Everyone expects you to be available all the time.

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"?   Working on implementing these two principles to help stay focused on the tasks at hand.   Don't forget the concept of "letting go" which still seems to be the most challenging one.

Focusing on the role as an Effective Leader to keep our Team moving in the right direction.   Thanks to many good discussions and support!

Top 5 Tips for Building Your Circles

1.  Networking

Attend networking events on a regular basis and join a couple of business associations.  There are many good events every week to choose from in our Region.

Make a habit of arriving early, go up and meet two new people, ask for their story, listen, tell your story and exchange business cards.  Follow-up by connecting on LinkedIn and sending an e-mail or making a phone call to continue the conversation.

2.  Volunteering

Volunteer your time with organizations supporting what you stand for.   These kinds of associations serve a good purpose while the bonus for you is meeting new people to add to your circles.

Making these kind of connections are important in building your cirle of network with others you may not have reached otherwise.   Of course it does not have to always be about business:   build the relationship first and focus on making a difference by volunteering.

3.  Social Media

Embrace social media, learn more about it and find out the many ways you can make connections not just daily but hourly!

So many great tools at our fingertips to reach out and build your audience.   LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Blogging just to name a few.

Be genuine, make it interesting, measure your efforts and adjust your message to suit your audience.  Regardless of what you do professionally and even in your personal life, social media plays a role and compliments everything you do.  Balance it with phone calls and face-to-face discussions. 

4.  Introductions

Ask those around you to introduce you to specific people they may know.  Every single day you have an opportunity to be introduced to someone new.   You can even make your own introduction.

Give it a try and see for yourself.  

5.  Traditional Media

Tell your story and send out press releases from time to time on noteworthy milestones, new product launches, new hirees and so forth.  

The radio, newspaper and magazines are looking for stories to tell.   Get to know the reporters, add them to your press release list, reach out to them and suggest some topics or hot trends in your industry they may want to know more about.

Position yourself with the media as the expert on specific subject matter.   Sometimes when a news story breaks, reporters will contact you!