Use these 5 ways to better balance your life
Looking for a better approach to life? You probably have more ability to carve out your own work/life balance than you think. Here’s how:
Tailor your pitch to the boss’s style
Feel like your ideas are falling on deaf ears? Maybe it’s your sales pitch, not the proposal. Focus your “pitch” with these tactics:
Are you aiding an identity thief?
The Federal Trade Commission estimates more than 27 million Americans became victims of identity theft in the past five years. Check your practices against those below to decide whether you’re doing all you should to protect your colleagues, clients—and yourself—from identity theft at work. __ If I must ask clients for personal information, I do […]
Serenity now! ‘Five S’ system simplifies workspace
Common sense tells us that a tidy workspace is a more efficient workspace, but even great organizations can forget to practice good housekeeping. Here’s a Japanese philosophy that can transform any office space into a more serene one.
Power up your persuasiveness and overcome their doubts
Sound more credible, competent and convincing by using “power talk.” That’s the term coined by communication expert George Walther to mean that every word you use creates value for you. Practice these techniques.
P’s and Q’s: What’s the proper way to address a woman with 2 last names?
Q. How should I address a woman who uses two last names, such as "Geneva Besmer Silverstone"? By her maiden name, her surname or both?
Create an in-house style guide to keep everyone in tune
Do you have a general reference guide, such as The Chicago Manual of Style, a grammar reference and a dictionary, but still not know what the preferred organizational usage or style is? We thought so. Your organization needs its own in-house style guide.
Agenda item 1: Set meeting rules
Someone always comes late. Someone goes off on a personal tangent. Someone adds her “two cents” and butts in no matter what. If the participants often derail your meetings, start each one by agreeing on the ground rules, advises Charlie Hawkins, author of First Aid for Meetings.
Use Word to build better templates and forms
When creating a form letter or other document template, the field code feature in Word versions 97 and higher can come in handy. With dozens of field codes available, you can manage everything from inserting information that is automatically updated to creating drop-down lists that allow users to choose which information to insert.
What to do when the grapevine topic is you
You’ve scrupulously avoided office gossip, but that isn’t protecting you from being the subject of this week’s chitchat. Wanting to jump quickly to your own defense is a normal reaction, but it might exacerbate the situation. Follow these steps to salvage your reputation and stop the gossip.