Sunday, March 25, 2012

Quote for the week

Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and griefs which we endure help us in our marching onward. - Henry Ford

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Management Monthly March 2012


Management Monthly

A monthly source of management theory, thoughts, tips and best practices

March 2012

This Month’s Tip:

The Little Things Really Do Matter Most - We know a guy who keeps in his wallet a few short notes from his wife. Sweet nothings, really. He tells us that sometimes, when searching for a membership or business card, he’ll stumble upon them.

“Or, on a really bad day at the office, I might purposely dig them out,” he says.

No matter the occasion, reading them always puts him back on top of the world. A little thing, yes. But what an amazing impact!

The same thing goes for recognition at the office. It doesn’t have to be big, flashy, or expensive. A hand-written thank-you note, or a few words of praise in front of an employee’s peers at staff meeting. These small things can mean the world to employees. And the simple memory of that recognition might be just what is needed to push an employee’s performance over the top.

On second thought, this may not be so little after all.

(Article reprinted from A Carrot a Week email newsletter from Carrots.com)

Delegate and Develop

Insecure leaders worry about their position and standing. They have a hard time investing in others because they fear someone will take their place. To be an effective leader you must overcome these fears. A strong and confident leader, who can develop others, will always be in demand. John Maxwell tells leaders who work within his company that “their job is work themselves out of a job.” When they have hired and fully trained their replacement they are ready to move up to the next position.

Not only does people development bring an organization success and team members advancement, but it also gives them great satisfaction. We are most fulfilled when we forget ourselves and focus on others.

Many leaders do not want to share responsibility because they do not want to lose any of their power. But when good leaders share power, it doesn’t take anything away from them. It actually gives them something valuable: Time. Leaders who have time are freed to do important thinking, envisioning and strategizing, which will take the team to the next level.

Delegating can be difficult, especially if you believe the person won’t do the task as well as you would. It’s short term thinking to do the work yourself rather than developing others to do it. Here’s a good test for delegating: If someone on your team can do the task as least 80% as well as you can, give him or her the responsibility. To be an effective leader you must move from perfectionist to pragmatist.

(Summarized from The Fourth Level of Leadership by John C Maxwell, Success magazine, March 2012)


Check out TED

TED is a non-profit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. TED started out in 1984 as a conference bringing people together from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become much broader. Along with two annual conferences TED also includes the award winning TEDTalks video site and an array of other programs.

As a way to introduce yourself to TED and to help all you think about and develop your leadership aptitude and skills plug the following link into your browser and check out the 20 recommended leadership talks. (One of the cool things about TED videos is that the presenters are given a max of 20 minutes- short but focused).

www.onlineuniversities.com/20-essential-ted-talks-for-future-leaders

The main TED site is (surprise, surprise) www.ted.com. I recommend also going to the main site and bookmarking the page. That way you can easily come back and search for interesting talks in the future as well as those grouped together by the Online University blog.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Quote for the Week

"Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." Michael Jordon

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Quote for the week

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing." - Abraham Lincoln

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Quote for the Week

“Do not let life’s struggles take you back to the starting line, But instead dig deep, with your tears in your eyes, be determined no matter the cost, you are going to make it to that finish line.” - Author unknown.