Tag: Productivity
5 Ways to focus at crunch time
Unexpected setbacks, project sprints, or even vacations and holidays can create mayhem and tension. Maintaining focus and managing energy levels become critical as tasks...
The high cost of incivility
The nasty looks and belittling comments reached a point at law firm Bryan Cave, in Irvine, Calif., that the partners held a civility workshop. Managing...
How to push employees without stressing them out
First, let me explain why I was skeptical. I do sometimes feel enormous pressure, generally about our firm’s investment performance. Do I really feel...
How to give an employee feedback about their appearance
It would be nice if looks didn’t matter at all, but that’s rarely the case. “How we show up and deliver our work is...
Face-to-face is 34 times more successful than email
Despite the reach of email, asking in person is the significantly more effective approach; you need to ask six people in person to equal...
How to handle a colleague who’s a jerk when the boss isn’t around
You may be tempted to call out the inconsistent behavior, but before you do anything, take the time to understand why the person behaves...
Want to be more productive? Sit next to someone who is.
Research suggests that who employees sit next to affects how they perform—and grouping the right types of coworkers together improves productivity and work quality. We...
People are finding it hard to focus on work right now
Now, a new survey commissioned by BetterWorks—a software company that helps workers with setting and tracking goals—finds that post-election, politics is continuing to take...
The more you energize your coworkers, the better everyone performs
We “catch” energy through our interactions with people—something called “relational energy”—and it affects our performance at work. This is what my colleagues Bradley Owens,...
Age of Aquarius, 2.0: smart drugs in the workplace
This scenario may not be hypothetical for long. The unauthorized use of prescription drugs such as the ADHD medications Adderall and Ritalin and the...
Signs you may be a toxic colleague
The research paints a very different picture, namely that most of the time there is remarkably little overlap between how other people see us...
The lost art of engaging employees
First, let’s get something straight. No one hires employees to be disengaged. You hire star employees to come to work bursting with energy, firing...
The right way to hold people accountable
That’s when John lost it. “You agreed to the numbers in our budget meeting! You came up with them!” Jeanine was silent for a while....
Fix the problem. Just wing it.
Almost all the offenders who come to the attention of Human Resources are repeat offenders. And boring meetings tend to be boring in the...
Getting beyond yourself
Once you can visualize that person vividly and even viscerally, imagine the following scenario: You’re sitting at your desk working away when a message...
