Greetings!
Wow! Nothing like a week with four separate client events in four different cities to quickly get you over your "vacation hangover". Yes, last week in Florida with the family was wonderful, and it was great seeing Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and the gang, but this week it was "back to work" with events at Affordable Meetings Midwest in Chicago, the Iowa Mortgage Association in Iowa City, Iowa Community Bankers in Des Moines, and a fun program with the newly admitted students for the Broad MBA Program in East Lansing. (Can you believe I actually drove this trip??? Sometimes the flights just don't work!)
On the trip, I met one of my recent clients at one of the events, and she shared a tip so great, I wanted to make it my Timely Tip this month. As many of you know, I do a program on Managing and Leading Great Staff & Team Meetings, and this tip really hits and fits that topic very well ...
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A "No-Brainer" Tip for Ending Organizational Meeting "Insanity"
| This is ALWAYS the place to look for your Timely Tip!
As soon as I heard that one of my clients was doing this, I knew it had to be a Timely Tips -- it just makes so much sense in this day and age of information overload and constant distraction. I have a client (to be unnamed) that has instituted a policy of "Meeting Free Wednesday Afternoons", and it is a policy that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE!!
Apparently, several senior executives including the CEO were all buckling under the constant pressure of never-ending meetings. They felt their satisfaction dropping, and also realized they never had time during normal work hours to get anything done. After taking a look at their self-imposed "insanity", they decided to actually do something about it, and declare a "meeting-free" time for all staff in the organization. This meeting-free time is every Wednesday afternoon, and no meetings are allowed during that time unless it is an absolute emergency.
Want to hear something funny? The staffer that told me about this GREAT idea also told me that now staff all really look forward to coming to work on Wednesdays! How about that!?! They know it is a time when they can actually get some work done, and keep critical projects moving forward. This policy didn't just help organizational productivity and sanity, it had a tangible positive impact on staff morale. Seems like everyone wins with this one (except, of course, the staff "meeting-aholic").
I actually encouraged the staffer to recommend a 2-3 hour block every week where people also went "e-mail free". That would REALLY boost focus and productivity. This is an idea to share and spread -- please do so, and let me know if your firm also decides to pursue this great idea!
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More Outlook/SmartPhone Sync Options & Applications
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Recently, I mentioned IMExchange2 app, for Outlook users using IPhones or IPads. This app promises full "five feature" Outlook synchronization (beyond just the e-mail, calendar, and contacts synching that comes "out of the box"). I've had a few of my course attendees report that it does indeed work and work well, and would like to hear your reports on how well it is working for you. Also, I've been made aware that there is now a similar app for Droid users by CompanionLink software. It appears they are offering several options for Outlook/Droid synchronization, and I'm likely to check this out myself shortly because it appears one of these options can allow you to sync your active Outlook regularly with corresponding Google applications, effectively giving you an online backup of your Outlook information. |
| This article shows why I think knowing your sync options with Outlook is important (and sorry to my good ol' friend BlackBerry!) |
This article basically sums up what has been happening in the "SmartPhone" wars, and the news isn't very good for RIM/BlackBerry. With the ability to sync Outlook with both Apple and Google apps, that is one less reason to stay with the "old" SmartPhone platforms (can you believe BlackBerry is now considered "old"?) Another article I recently read said that SmartPhone platforms are a two horse race, and BlackBerry, Palm, and Windows Phones are not in the race. Without some "disjunctive" innovation, it certainly seems like it is a Droid OS vs. Apple OS world. |
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Ready for the Summer!
Sure, we've barely reached the Spring yet, but I'm very much looking forward to this summer, when I'm going to dive deep into a new productivity project that will hopefully benefit many of you. Before then, look for me in the upcoming events to the right in Iowa, Texas, and Michigan, and also look for me soon in New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, Missouri, and Denver!!
Let me know if we might cross paths, and Think WARM Weather (and no more storms please!)
Sincerely,
Randy Dean
Randall Dean Consulting & Training, LLC
or http://www.emailsanityexpert.com
PPS: Always feel free to use the "Forward E-mail" option below to share this info with your family, friends, & co-workers. |
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NUMEROUS PUBLIC PROGRAMS!!
(YES, Including
ONE tomorrow!!)
April 21 -- Indian Hills CC RELI Event -- Ottumwa, Iowa
Finding an Extra Hour Every Day including Strategies for Taming the E-mail Beast
(3.5 Hour Public Workshop)
April 28th -- Houston Chapter, Institute of Management Accountants
Finding an Extra Hour: Time Management Tips for Busy Professionals
(3 Hour Workshop)
April 29th -- Texas Council: Institute of Management Accountants (Dallas, Texas)
I will be presenting a 75-minute session as part of their annual professional development day
May 3 -- Michigan Society of Association Executives"Time Management in The Cloud" -- Using Google Apps for Time, Project, E-mail, and People Management
| These are great opportunities in the next few weeks to see some of my most popular programs -- either in a "standalone" workshop format, or as part of a bigger public education program. Use the links above to get more information and/or register today.
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I have a NEW demo video!
| Last year, I presented two packed sessions at the NBTA (Now GBTA) Annual Convention in Houston, and they videotaped both of my sessions. I worked with my friend Kim Capone at Take2Media here in Williamston, MI to get the following demo video put together (thanks to Kim for the excellent editing and post-production! And, YES!, she can do this kind of work for you too!)
Click here to see the new demo video.
Please feel free to share, and I welcome your comments! |
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More great comments:
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Dear Randy,
Thank you for the amazing presentation on e-mail strategies!! In one day, you single-handedly preserved the sanity of more than 60 MSU team members! - at least as far as their e-mail is concerned.
Seriously, we very much appreciate you sharing your knowledge and expertise with us, and look forward to teaming up with you again in the future!
Sincerely,
Cathy Lugibihl
Training & Development Manager
MSU Housing & Food Services
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