Keep It Simple!

Get it?

Are you ever struck by the complications and complexities you encounter at work? Thousand task workplans, super-complicated organizational structures, a partnership agreement documented in multiple folders, a vision statement that takes a whole day offsite meeting to articulate …

I don’t get it. New PMs will insist on creating a plan with dependencies, milestones and tasks that will confound even a seasoned project manager. Participants in a meeting will get entangled in the details of a situation which gets them no closer to solving the issue at hand. Issues will get exaggerated with history, personality and vested interest to make it almost impossible to solve.

My advise - keep it simple! Most things in life are not complicated – we make them so. Over complicating something does not make is more important or more glamorous – it just makes it harder. And harder makes it more expensive and risky.

We all get caught in the frenzy to create more and more – but pause for a moment and think. Is it required, does it add value, does it address any objectives, does it get the job does faster – question the reason to add more. Keep it simple, keep it doable and keep it real!


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Meetings - Speak Up & Move Up!

Where are you?

Do you love meetings or hate them? Meetings have got a bad rep as time wastage and bureaucratic exercise that yeild limited value. Badly structured or conducted meetings may be unproductive but meetings in general play an important role in one's brand development and eventually career growth.

Meetings are an opportunity to verbalize and socialize your opinions, suggestions and insight. It is a social occasion where your image is substantiated and people get an opportunity to size you up. How you interact in a meeting therefore can help or undermine your career growth.

Consider the following meeting practices

• Don't be invisible: That is the most common symptom I see when people are uncomfortable in a meeting. They try to make themselves invisible by taking the back seat, never speaking and generally keeping a low profile. What message does this send to the rest of the group? Passive, lacking ideas, not a team player, lacking confidence are some of the behavior attributes that get associated with such individuals. Hardly the kind of image you want to foster if you are seeking to establish yourself as a key team member.
  
  
• Speak ... but: It is important to chime in as needed and make your presence be felt but don't overdo it. There is always someone who just won't quit speaking or has an opinion about everything. Speak to add value, to be constructive or to contribute in a meaningful way.
  
  
• Be prepared: Meetings also require preparation. Read the agenda, the meeting objectives and understand the context. If you are unfamiliar with the meeting objective - do some legwork to come up to speed. The more prepared you, the more you can contribute in the meeting. If you have no idea what is going on - keep quite and stay invisible!

Use meetings to your advantage - showcase what you have to offer by being visible, constructive and vocal.

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Quit Your Whining!

I keep coming across these characters often – the whiners and complainers. This is broke, this doesn’t work, this is not right, this is bad, this sucks – blah blah blah! We all are guilty to some degree of letting off some steam every once in a while about our jobs, the economy, politics – just stuff. Occasional venting is different than constant whining at work. Why? One is normal human temperament; the other is a career limiting personality trait.

At work you have the ability to fix things. Granted not everything but there are possibilities. Far more possibilities if you willing to take the attitude of 'solve a problem'. And trust me – everyone loves a problem solver. A person with a positive attitude who is willing to invest his time and energy to put things right is always a positive addition to any team.

So next time before you email a complaint to your manager or team – consider putting some appropriate solutions in that email. Follow-up on your ideas, work with your team and solve the issue. Getting things done is much more satisfying than just talking about them.

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Getting Smarter – Everyday

I recently watched an interview with Warren Buffett. Mr.Buffett is an astute investor and it is great to listen to him talk about investing. In this interview he said something which I think applies to all of us. His point was that everyday we have an opportunity to become a little smarter. And if we are not becoming smarter – that is a problem.

So the question is – are you becoming a little smarter everyday? If you are stuck, consider the following options

- Take a training course
- Teach a course
- Read a book
- Read a trade journal
- Learn a new tool or technology
- Use the help feature to learn more about the tools you use
- Learn about the business
- Start a blog
- Write an article
- Attend a conference
- Apply for a franchise
- Write a business plan
- Create a website

Don't kill yourself - just become a little smarter - everyday!

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Burnout by Boredom!

Recharging!

Usually burnout is associated with an excess of long hours, stress and high-pressure situations. But what about the reverse? If your job is dull and boring, expectations are low and stress unheard of – does that also cause burnout?

If you let it get to you – you will have burnout by boredom.

If this lull at work is temporary – fear not. Use it to your advantage. Take some CBTs, revise your resume, network, get involved with corporate events, get certified – some options that will help you come out ahead at the end of the rest period.

If you want to be more aggressive, this lull can be the opportunity to jumpstart a second career or side business. If you have always thought about starting something new – now is the time to explore your options. Leverage this time to read, meet and learn about your new venture. Maybe even launch something part-time to get it started.

If the lull is long-term or endemic of your role, culture or organization – you have to wonder – how long will this situation last? Once the honeymoon ends and you are in the market with a stagnant set of skills and a laid-back work ethic – expect the going to be tough.

Dull and boring comes in various flavors – make sure you handle your downtime judiciously.

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Issue Resolution via Email

Solving problems

This is how it usually starts. You get a strong email in your inbox. It probably has a flame icon on top of it and the CC line has a few names. This email is almost a call to war and seems to say “Hey nitwit! I challenge you publicly to a cyber email exchange”.

And the fireworks start. What self-respecting person would back down from this public humiliation? After all people are looking up to you. You can’t just take this umbrage without a fight.. The only option now is a nastier response. You obviously react even more strongly because it is after all a matter of pride and ego. And you need your posse to back you up so you copy a few more folks. And the email war continues.

In this nasty email exchange what gets lost is the original objective for this dialogue. There was some issue to be addressed and resolved. An issue that took backseat while we thumped our chests in cyberspace and tried to outdo each other with the written word.

The best way in my experience to manage this situation and not get embroiled in an email war is – face-to-face interaction. If you want to resolve an issue – you need to talk it out. Irrespective of who started it – you can end it by confronting the issue.

Email provides a false sense of grandiose and bravado. On the click of a button you can unload a barrage of negativity without physically confronting the person. It makes life easy. Not really! You solve a problem by confronting the problem. Sending nasty tirades just reflects your immaturity.

Next time you come across a nasty-gram or feel the urge to fire one yourself – take a break. Walk away from the instinct to immediately respond. Take some deep breaths, maybe go for a walk and if possible, talk to someone rationale. And finally – ignore the email and walk over or pick up the phone and talk.

(Photo courtsey: gokumjo/Flickr)

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Make a List - Now is the Time!

Now or ...

We make New Year resolutions, which last maybe a few weeks before life gets back to normal. Outside of that maybe you get impressed by some new fad (Dr. Atkins' Diet!) or there is a life event (Parenthood!), which may cause you to start something new.

What about starting something new - just because you can. Seth Godin recently asked his readers to make a list of things that you probably could understand if you put your mind to it, but don't. His rational is pretty simple - with the tools and technology available to most of us today - it's faster, easier and cheaper now than ever before.

So here is some food for thought!

• What is web 2.0?
  
• Do you understand application architecture?
  
• How do you design and host a website?
  
• How many flavors of sourcing exist and why?
  
• What makes a blog successful?
  
• How does Google make money?
  
• What is cloud computing?
  
• How do you make a widget?
  
• Is open source really open source?
  
• Why is social networking so hot?

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Managing Meeting Frenzy!

Some days the earliest I can get to doing some real work is after the work day is over. On these days my schedule is usually full of meetings. End to end meetings don’t only show up on my calendar but everyone else I work with has a similar situation. Sometimes the situation gets so ridiculous that to setup a meeting can take a few hours and lots of research. So are all these meetings required?

Probably not! Here is how I deal with meetings.

No Show
These are generic, information sharing, high level and sometimes optional meetings that I skip. I skip the meeting but not the information. Such meetings are usually accompanied with a handout or agenda which I skim through to get the relevant information. If a topic interests me, I may attend the meeting but usually what I need to know is easily available in the attachments.

Negotiate
Some meetings are just not meant for me. I got invited because the whole team got invited is a common reason for getting these invitations. My strategy for dealing with these meetings is to negotiate. I call up the meeting coordinator and try to understand the meeting agenda (I rarely come across meetings that have an agenda!) and what is expected of me in this meeting. If the meeting is a total mismatch, I politely decline but ask to be kept informed via meetings minutes (another alien concept that I seldom come across).

Attend
Some meetings are meant for me. Three reasons for attending these meetings

• I am contributing in the meeting by either presenting, reviewing or having some speaking part in this meeting.
  
  
• I am learning something new, relevant to my job or associated with my current responsibilities.
  
  
• It’s good to be seen and maybe heard. These are situations where my boss or my boss’s boss is conducting a status meeting, town-hall meeting or meet/greet. Part of the corporate game (read career management) is being at the right place at the right time and making your presence known.

Meetings are an integral part of the corporate environment. Well run meetings can be highly productive and beneficial. Brainstorming, information exchange, communication and socialization are all positive components of meetings.

When meetings run amuck and start to impact your productivity – you should take action. It’s your time and effectiveness that is eventually impacted. Set some guidelines on how to deal with this necessary component of corporate life and strike a balance that works for you.

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