Imagine you’re up for an award at work … for Best New Mistake. That might not sound too appealing, but at SurePayroll, the award is coveted. Why do they do it? To encourage employees to try new things—even if it means sometimes failing or making a mistake.
Unleash your creativity by calling the smartest person you know. A quick chat with someone who inspires you will get you going in the right direction quickly. And it’s a lot more productive than staring blankly at your computer screen, waiting for inspiration to strike.
Question: A co-worker told me that he brings a voice recorder to work to catch people talking behind his back. He will tape it underneath a desk or hide it behind a picture. We used to be friends, but I now seem to be on the list of people that he hates. I’ve started searching my work area every morning to be sure his recorder isn’t there. Although this guy’s weird behavior makes me sick, I’m not sure what to do about it. Should I bring this to the attention of human resources? —Nervous in Indiana
Maria had been emailing back and forth with a colleague all day about a work issue, when she finally decided to cc the boss. It felt like the right thing to do. But that’s not how it turned out. Instead, it came back to bite her. How to avoid cc’ing up and other email faux pas:
Think twice before you post on Facebook, Twitter or your blog. Badmouthing your boss is probably sufficient cause for your company to fire you.
What should you do when no one seems to fill you in on what’s going on in the office? Admin Sandra writes about the problem on our Admin Forum: “I constantly feel like I’m left out of the loop!” she says. She’s not alone. Other administrative pros weighed in to say how they navigate the same challenge:
Find you have a spare five minutes? Don’t spend it perusing email or surfing the web. Ask yourself, “What can I do for five minutes to make tomorrow better?”
Never before have decision-makers looked more closely at their return on investment, but I believe the greatest return you will ever receive is from the investment you make in yourself. Here’s why:
Improve daily planning by being specific. On your to-do list, don’t write, “Work on report.” Instead, write, “Prepare charts for monthly report.”
Set aside a few minutes each week to answer questions in the Q&A section of LinkedIn … Tack on your own comment at the top of any forwarded email messages to help the recipient understand why it’s landing in her inbox … Keep things from falling through the cracks with Boomerang for Gmail …
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