Multitasking - Not!
By Linda Fayerweather

In 1740, Lord Chesterfield offered the following advice: "There is time enough for everything in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once, but there is not time enough in the year, if you will do two things at a time."

Repeatedly, science has shown that multitasking does not save time, in fact it can make you stupid! A Wall Street Journal article from 2003 titled the Pitfalls of Doing Too Much at Once to an August INC magazine article titled Multitasking is Making You Stupid.

We would all agree, that texting while driving is a big no-no. But what about reading while riding the exercise bike? Or listening to music or the radio while driving? Or cooking dinner with a baby on your hip? Here is where I draw the line on what is OK multitasking and what is not. Our brains can only preform one higher level task at a time. The higher level tasks or functions require attention and focus, the lower level tasks are routine and often repetitive. When we try to preform two higher level tasks it is like trying to watch two different tennis matches at the same time - you are going to miss something. This is also why texting and driving is so deadly - two higher level tasks that cannot co-exist.

The lower level tasks that can happened in the background might include listening to the radio or music while working. Or watching the television while knitting. Or day dreaming while walking the dog. The lower level task is operating in the background. Tasks like mowing the lawn, just seem to go better with a little music and watching the TV while knitting might be fine for an experienced knitter. The focus is on the lawn, or the knitting, or the dog and the lower level activity is the music, the TV or the day dream. Foreground vs. background.

What doesn't seem to work, is trying to complete two goals at the same time. This is where focus needs to happen. When you shift from one goal to the other you have created more chance for error and mistakes. If you cook or watch a cook, you may think they are multitasking - having put a few large meals together in my time, I have come to believe that a really great chef has an internal clock that knows - "the potatoes have to mashed at 6PM" and the dessert has to be served at 7PM". This is a prefect example in my world of a Goal - "Prepare and Serve a meal for my family" that has a series of tasks. To this day, if I'm serving a new meal or have new guests, I'll make a timeline that gives me the breakdown of when the different parts of the whole meal need starting and finishing. If it doesn't get on the list, it usually doesn't make it to the table, which explains the untouched salsa and chips I discovered in the back of the 'frig last week. Again, the goal is the meal which has a multitude of tasks. Many of us in the kitchen have music, radio or conversations going - that is the background.

Multitasking is really switching from goal to goal and in the end, you will get less done and often not be happy with the results. Have a good week staying focused and productive.

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Linda L. Fayerweather, MBA EA
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
Helping businesses build the asset of their dreams since 1986
419.897.0528

What you really get when you ask “What is your Weakness”.
By Tiffiny Fayerweather

Recently, I have gone through several interviews with very different companies. Each company had different ways of achieving their success, so why did they ask the same interview questions? Canned questions are a big annoyance to me. The question that burns me to the core, is the dreaded “what is your weakness?” followed up with “Don’t be afraid to answer, everybody has a weakness.”

Asking this question to me is not really getting you anywhere in the interview process. Just as you researched the best questions to ask a job candidate, that candidate researched how to answer questions in a job interview.

What exactly are you looking for when you ask the weakness question? "I love chocolate." ;"I have poor upper arm strength."; or do you think you would actually get someone to say “I don’t know how to answer a phone”?

Many job seekers do not even know what their weakness is, especially as it relates to a job position. If you have a candidate that believes in their skills and believes they can make a difference in your company, they don’t have a weakness yet. Does the weakness that occurred in company A really make a difference to company B, maybe, maybe not? If there was a weakness from the last company it could be that their training was not sufficient. It is up to you, as an employer to make sure that your staff members do not have weakness and are trained properly.

So, if you really want to know where your candidate needs to improve, you can ask in a way that is not so abrasive. Try asking instead “What skills can our company help you improve upon?” Asking the question in this way will more likely get you an honest to goodness answer instead of what career sites are telling them to say.

Looking for the right interview questions to ask from an online source is fine, just put them into your own company words. Tailor the questions so it pertains to the work that will be expected because asking canned questions will only get you canned answers.

Happy interviews!

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Tiffiny Fayerweather
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
Helping businesses build the asset of their dreams since 1986
419.897.0528

Set Your Ego Aside
By Jeff Mendelsohn

This past week I was reminded of a situation that I had to deal with a while ago. I helped on a small project, just fixing some bugs and finishing up some functions while the head developer was busy doing more important things. Everything was going fine till I started getting emails from the owner telling me several functions I had worked on don't function as expected. I swore up and down that they did but then after checking out the code I noticed that several of the pages had been changed. Looking deeper, I notice a lot of the original code was back in. Which would explain why the functions didn't work as expected. The original code didn't work as expected. Looking through the code I noticed some nasty comments from the head developer about the changes I made.

We had clashed before on several changes I've made. It was clear the head developer didn't understand the user side. All he saw was that the functions worked in some fashion, he didn't care if the function was user friendly or not. Once again, I had to bring the matter to the attention of the owner because now they have to pay me or someone else to fix the issue or have the head developer reverse his changes. A total waste of time.

The head developer's ego constantly got in the way. He would throw a fit over any major changes to his code, whether the changes improved his code or not. I made it clear to him and the company that I wasn't there to be all buddy-buddy with the head developer and appease his coding ways. Obviously there are issues that need to be fixed. I'm here to fix those issues and make sure the company has the best function site possible.

But the head developer could never let my changes go. He always felt like I was there to make him look bad. Which he did all by himself with how he acted. He couldn't set aside his ego. Which to keep it short it impeded doing business and making the business money.

So how can you deal with someone who won't set their ego aside (granting that you have set yours aside)?

• First talk to them. In my case, even after talking to the head developer and letting him know I was there for the company and the users, he still didn't believe me. Even though I expressed that I wanted to work with him to create a better product, he still saw me as a threat.
• Find a way to incorporate your ideas into theirs but make it seem like is all their ideas. Sneaky I know, but it works. Point out ideas that the ego driven had or similar ideas, making it seem like they thought of what you are trying to achieve.
• Ask for the ego-driven's advice on specific things. Slightly dangerous because this can backfire but if they feel that they got to be the driver on several major pieces. They are less likely to complain when not everything is done exactly how they wanted. But be careful because it can backfire, as it does feed their ego a bit.
• Praise, then play yourself down. Slightly sneaky again but if it works, why not. The head developer wasn't a bad developer, he just wasn't the best user interface designer. I finally learned that if I praised how good his back-end programming was (which it was), then suggested I do the front-end and hope that it comes out half as good, then the function would be great.

Personally I hate ego driven company politics. It does nothing but ruin morale and causes the business to lose focus on what matters. If my first suggestion didn't work. I might resort to the next three. Personally I don't have time to waste on feeding any one's ego. And if a person's ego is more important than creating the best business, that ego driven person needs to change or leave, especially if they can't prove their way is better. If that is the case.

• Bring the matter to a higher power. When you know your way is the right way or at least there is a better way, not just the ego-driven's way, sometimes you need to have someone deal out some tough love. I hate to watch other people burn but sometimes, that is what it takes to get through to them. That the boss/owner shows confidence in you and the ego driven should to. It's not always about them, it's about what is best for the business, period. If not, their ideas will be shot down time and time again.

Share some of your tips on how to deal with those ego driven people that make business life difficult. We would love to hear from you!

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Jeff Mendelsohn
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
Helping businesses build the asset of their dreams since 1986
419.897.0528

Upcoming Events Business Success System for a Thriving Business - Webinar Date: Monday, September 17, 2012 @ 4:00 PM Details: Owning your own business means you are responsible for everything. Often, this means "what ever is on fire, gets taken care of first". This Live Webinar will be for business owners to explore and trouble shoot the areas all businesses have in common. Grow your business with facilitator feedback and wisdom from the group. Anticipate discussing and finding solutions to Managing Resources -- Getting work done -- Leading others -- Building Brands -- Metrics to Measure. . . . . . in short, building a plan for a business that will Thrive with or without you. This is ideal for Small Business owners with a few employees or Solo Entrepreneurs. Expect lively and live cooperative and sharing sessions. When minds are brought together and blended, the results are far greater than the parts themselves. When: 4-5PM Sept 17, 24, Oct 1, 8, 15, 22. Cost: $199 Register at Changing Lanes Events