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Year: 2011

Today’s admins must be self-taught ‘techies’

Last week, a reader sent out a plea for help on where to get self-training on conversion and editing software programs. Forum readers were generous with their advice. Patty suggests purchasing the DVD from a recent Business Management Daily Adobe Acrobat webinar. “I purchased the ‘Tips and Techniques’ CD for a low cost and found some great tips on how to use the software. You will have to dig a little, do some searching, perhaps spend a little money, but you will find help.”  For the ScanSoft suite, Forum reader Kim recommends googling “Easy Guide to ScanSoft” to find several helpful links. Patty adds, “Part of an admin’s job is to keep up-to-date on software applications and their uses … Happy learning!”
Editor’s Note: Thank you, Patty, for the testimonial. Readers can view a free 2-minute clip from the on demand video, here.

Want to achieve your goal? Visualize it

You can’t always get what you want, but you might get the one thing you deeply desire—if you know how to visualize it. Mark Murphy, founder and CEO of Leadership IQ and author of Hard Goals, tells us that visualizations are an important motivator when you’re working toward a goal.

Bring hidden talents to the surface

You’re giving a presentation to a group of fellow admins, and it’s going as smooth as butter. Now, fast forward to the next week. Once again, you’ve been asked to share your knowledge with a group. Only this time, you’re nervous. You’re convinced that you don’t have the ability to do it. Why?

Stopping boss’s misplaced tirades

Question: “I have a co-worker who is frequently tardy.  ‘Paula’ lives about an hour away and has several children, so she is often delayed in the morning. The problem is that when Paula calls in to say she’ll be late, she asks me to give the message to our boss. He then gives me the third degree about why she won’t be there on time. I’m just a colleague, so I don’t grill Paula about her reasons. It’s not my responsibility to find out if she’s sick or sleeping late or stuck in traffic. In fact, I don’t think it’s any of my business. My boss hates conflict, so he won’t talk to Paula directly about her tardiness. But whenever I deliver one of her messages, he gives me hell.  What can I do about this?”  —Not My Problem

Doing a ‘superjob’

Feel like a Jack or Jill of all trades? Pretty soon, the rest of the office may be feeling the same way, if they don’t already. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, we’ve entered the era of the “superjob” …

Use positive language and get results

Which are you more likely to write: “Do not waste energy” or “Conserve energy”? If your writing contains a lot of “no’s” and “not’s,” it’s a signal of negative writing. Using positive language is a better way to promote your ideas.