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Year: 2012

Does the process slow you down?

Many management processes that look good on paper don’t work so well in the real world, writes Bruna Martinuzzi, author of Pre­­sent­­ing with Credibility. Find opportunities where you can help cut the broken processes that don’t drive results and frustrate team members.

5 Year-End Outlook Clean-Up Tips

Delete Fearlessly! Sort by sender, subject or organize by conversation. Delete those that are purely social. Even if you spend 5 minutes a day until the end of the year on this task alone, you will probably end up with hundreds of messages you can feel confident about deleting.

Beware of overshare

Be mindful of what you tell folks at work, says Alexandra Levit on her blog “Water Cooler Wisdom.” If your medical condition or lifestyle choice truly doesn’t impact your job, then people at work shouldn’t need to know about it. If you must share, “keep your circle of informants small and limited to people you […]

Resuscitate a damaged reputation

If you have acted poorly in the past, your reputation may still be suffering even if you have since changed your ways, writes career coach Dorothy Tannahill-Moran. There’s no surefire way to fix the damage, but a few techniques may help.

4 ways to speak forcefully: Power presentations

Before you address an audience of one or 100, know your goal and prepare an outline to stay on track. Start with simple ideas and add complex points (evidence, details, case studies) gradually. Consider the pros and cons of four formats:

What you’re worth isn’t necessarily what they’ll pay

Question: “I approached my boss about a pay increase after my one-year employment anniversary. He told me the company had a freeze on wages, but that something ‘might be possible in a couple of months.’ When I checked back three months later, he said the freeze was still on and used the poor economy as an excuse. I have a lot of traits that any business would want, and it’s not my fault the economy is in bad shape. Why should this company get my services at a price below my market value?”  Underpaid

Are double words allowed?

Microsoft Word’s grammar check alerts you when you repeat a word, but is repeating a word always wrong? Bonnie Trenga, author of The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier, says no. Here are several examples to illustrate when it’s perfectly fine to repeat a word.