using a cell phone to optimize travel time
using e-mail — including portable e-mail — to ensure swift and easy response to issues as they arise
taking public transit to give you time to go through minor paperwork
coming to meetings with an agenda. The hit-or-miss approach wastes time.
keeping up with your professional development at opportune times. Keep important articles with you. Read them when you’re waiting for a client or standing in line.
working from a convenient location. If you’re spending hours commuting, you’re squandering productivity.
Don’t let meetings eat up your time.
Set an example by showing up on time. And starting on time. Reward promptness rather than tardiness.
Establish a time for the meeting to end. If you are not in charge, ask the chair. Doing so will encourage everyone to stay focused.
Ask permission to leave when agenda items do not concern you. There is no point wasting your time or the company’s time.
Be the time-cop, that is, the timekeeper. It will be your job to blow the whistle when speakers are using more than their allotted time on an agenda item.
Don’t let others waste the time that you have carefully saved. Social chatter costs you money and opportunity. Here’s how to avoid time-wasters without giving offense.
Limit social contact to lunch or some other established time. Social time is important. It unclogs the mind and eases communication with others. Just don’t overdo it.
Make your office a sanctuary. Do you have a secretary? Ask him or her to guard the door. If you don’t, keep your door closed when you have something important to do.
Get out of your chair when a time-waster arrives. This will prevent him or her from sitting down for a long conversation.
Just as you seek eye contact with those you want to show interest in, avoid eye contact with those you do not want to encourage.
Use your environment to your advantage.
Try not to meet people in your office. That way you can end a meeting without giving offense.
Don’t invite chit-chatters into your space. If you have comfortable chairs arrayed around your desk, you are encouraging others to sit. Get rid of the chairs.
Sit so that you’re not facing other people. This will discourage idle conversation.
Find the ideal location for your desk. Try to save time by moving close to the people you work with and away from social traffic.
Don’t exhaust yourself. You don’t work well when you’re cramped and tired.
Take breaks to stretch and unclutter your mind.
Exercise.
Work during quiet times. Can you come in early or leave late?
Use a time-saving device like a day-timer or similar software. Look for the following features:
calendar and “to-do” sections
in the case of software, on-screen reminders, schedule-sharing, and integrated e-mail
Chapter 11: Organizational Effectiveness
Surviving Office Politics
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT (1884–1962), AMERICAN HUMANITARIAN
Sometimes the office feels like a soap opera: cunning, deceit, and mutual distrust make the workday feel like high drama. But it can also destroy the team spirit and sap the company’s strength. Even if you are often away from the office, you can still be drawn into the intrigue and bickering. Here are some strategies to keep yourself above the fray.
Perhaps it’s not such a big deal after all. At the very least this approach will prevent you from getting sucked into petty squabbles. At best it will show your even-handedness.
Look for compromise. A solution may be staring everyone in the face, ignored because both sides are fighting too bitterly. Be the person to see the common ground.
Know when to laugh. It can make much of the bitterness disappear.
Focus your criticism on issues rather than people. And never stoop to insult. This only makes compromise impossible. No one will ever say, “You’re right, I’m stupid.” But they may say, “You’re right, things just might work more efficiently if . . .” Give them that opportunity.
A principal rule is that you can never really be neutral. You’ll just end up being resented by both sides. Learn to play the game right if you have to.
Pick the winning side. Among other things, this means never going it alone. Don’t go against the grain and do not choose adversaries more powerful than you. Find out what the senior players are thinking. Go with them unless their position is morally untenable.
Don’t join a splinter group against your boss. For one thing, your plot could come back to haunt you. For another, it’s just not the right thing to do. Hopefully the two of you have been working hard to establish trust. Don’t squander that for short-term gain.
Don’t join a group that is working against the interests of your company. Again, it is a violation of trust that will be difficult to mend.
Ally yourself only with people with similar values. More cynical alliances will be short and can quickly turn sour.
Look for signs that your ship is sinking. If it is, don’t jump to the other ship. You’ll only annoy everyone. Now is the time to claim the privileges of neutrality. Another rule is to always try to fight fair. You may be playing for keeps (or you may not), but playing dirty can backfire badly. And it will usually cost you the respect of your peers and superiors. Always keep your head.
Try to look at the issue from the perspective of the other side. How would you feel if you were on that side? Perhaps they have a point.
Selling Ideas to Your Boss
Nothing can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated failures.
Keep believing.
Keep trying.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
CALVIN COOLIDGE (1872–1933), 30TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
What’s the point in having great ideas if you can’t sell them to the people who control their implementation? And if you never see your idea implemented, how much satisfaction will you derive from it? Here are some ideas that will increase the odds of getting approval for your project.
Before you meet with a potential sponsor, be prepared.
Pick your best ideas. Don’t try to sell every one. Choose those that
are in line with the organization’s mission
have a reasonable chance of being accepted
are the ones you feel most passionate about
Collect as much information as possible to support your position. Facts speak louder than words.
Find examples of a similar idea that might have worked elsewhere. This will enable you to demonstrate a precedent.
Don’t rely on presenting your ideas verbally. Collect them in documented form. Doing this will add legitimacy to your position. Color brochures of the equipment you want to buy or expert endorsements in credible trade or business magazines will enhance your position.
Make people aware of the possibility that a competitor may use your idea. This sense of rivalry may spur your sponsor to action in hopes of staying one step ahead.
Be prepared to talk the language of your audience. If you are dealing with the management, are you ready to show a cost benefit? Can you prove to human resources people some measurable benefit to improve morale?
When you are making your pitch, do the following:
Greet the person(s) warmly. Thank them for their time.
Let them know your expected outcome. Be specific and assertive. Speak with a firm voice that emphasizes key results.
Be positive. Saying “I expect to come away from this meeting with approval to start a pilot project” is better than “I hope you’ll like my idea . . . perhaps, maybe, you’ll let me try it.”
Don’t exaggerate the benefits. Be optimistic yet realistic.
Give them a chance to ask questions. Listen carefully to what they have to say. Answer them or offer to get back to them if the answer requires further thought or research.
When your presentation is done, be silent. Wait till you get a “buying signal” such as “When can you start?” or “Do you think we can manage given our lack of time?” Then assure them of success and show them your timetable.
Don’t ask for approval in a way that allows them to say “no.” Replace “Can we go ahead?” with “Do you have any other ideas that would ensure success?” or “When do you think we should start?” or “When would you like the project to be completed by?”
Working with a Difficult Boss
I don’t want any “Yes-men” around me.
I want everyone to tell me the truth, even if it costs them their jobs.
SAM GOLDWYN, MOVIE MOGUL
If something isn’t working out in your career, the thing to do is change it. However, your boss is one of the few things that you cannot change. What you can change is the nature of your relationship with him. This may be difficult, since you are not in a position of great power. After all, it is your job to please your boss, while your boss has no such responsibility to you. Still, a good relationship will probably be advantageous to both of you. That is your starting point.