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Team Building Skills

Many companies are constantly searching for ways to increase teamwork within their organizations, however, in today’s business climate, many just do not have the funds available to hire an outside company to  promote team building.  Fortunately, there are many team building exercises that can be done at your office.  As always, It is best that you research each available option before mploying it in your organization.  There is a wide range of media available, including books, cds and dvds, which can provide much needed information regarding team building.

There are many titles available to provide ideas regarding  team building exercises.  One of the great advantages of using a video or dvd is that your group can watch it together, which can open up the floor to discussion once it has been completed.  You can begin with an open discussion of what was liked or disliked about the team building video.  After your discussion,  you can then conduct an informal vote to decide which team building exercise should be implemented first.

There are so many low cost training products - all you have to do is find a product that interests you, and you can start producing an effective team building exercise for your group.

Stress on the Job

In this difficult economy, it has become harder than ever to cope with challenges on the job. Both the stress we take with us when we go to work and the stress that awaits us on the job are on the rise – and employers, managers, and workers all feel the added pressure. Experts say that some stress is a normal part of life, however, excessive stress often interferes with productivity and affects both your physical and emotional wellbeing.  Now more than ever, it is important to find ways to keep stress under control.

Common causes of excessive workplace stress include the fear of layoffs, overtime demands due to staff layoffs, and pressure to work at top level - constantly.

Remember - there are many ways to reduce overall stress levels and the stress from work. You are responsible for your physical and emotional well-being.  Even small things, like exercise and eating right, can improve your ability to handle stress. A good nights sleep can work wonders, as a lack of sleep can make you at risk for stress. It is helpful to avoid negative attitudes that add to the stress you experience at work.  In addition, better communication skills may help to ease and improve your relationships with management and coworkers.

The Art of Project Management

The most important practice of any good project management is to define the scope and objectives of your project. To be successful, must first understand what the goal of the project is.  If you were going to organize a campaign to get your colleagues to work in the local food pantry, what is your ultimate goal? Is it to get as much goods as possible donated to this food pantry? Is it to raise the awareness of the pantry within the community? Deciding what the real objective is will help you to determine how you go about planning and managing the project.

The project manager needs to define the scope of the project. For example, determining if transporting employees to the food pantry falls within the scope of the project. Or, will they be responsible for getting there on their own? Deciding which activities are within the scope or outside the scope of the project has a big impact on the work required.

To achieve the desired outcome from the project, you must define what is to be delivered by the end of the project. It is important to decide what will be delivered and have detailed documentation of what these things are. Ultimately, someone will end up doing the work to produce the end result, so it needs to be clearly described. 

Once you have defined the outcome, you will need to have the key players review the work and agree that it accurately reflects what they expect as the outcome of the project.  Planning requires that the project manager decides which people, resources and budget are required to complete the project. You will need to estimate the time and effort required to complete each activity, maintain a realistic schedule to complete the activities. It’s always a good idea to involve the project team in estimating how long the activities will take since they will be the ones actually doing the work. Make sure all of this is in the project plan document. Everyone on the team needs to know exactly what is expected of them, what their responsibilities are, and what they are accountable for.

When you have an agreed upon plan, and your project is underway you will need to constantly monitor the actual progress of the project against the plan. If your project gets off track, you may have to rearrange the order of tasks or add more staff to the project or reduce the scope if need be  It is a constant struggle to balance the cost, scope and schedule-  often referred to as the project triangle - and it generally creates the most frustration for the project manager. 

Remember, project management is an art.  If your project starts out using all the best practices, you may not be able to guarantee that it will come in under budget or even on time, for that matter. You will, however, have a better chance of delivering your project successfully if you do apply the best practices to your project.

It’s Not Too Late to Improve Your Memory

The human brain is more complex than even the most advanced computer. The ability to remember increases when you exercise your memory and nurture it with healthy habits such as a good diet.

We have two types of memory - short term and long term. In short-term memory,  the mind stores the information for a few seconds or a few minutes, like the amount of time to dial a phone number you just looked up. The brain would be full if you retained every phone number you called. Actually, the brain is meant to hold an average of seven items, which is why you can usually remember a new phone number for a few minutes can’t recall all 16 digits of your credit card number.

Long-term memory involves the information you make an effort to retain. Either it means something to you, or you need that information for a test. Perhaps something affected you emotionally, like a movie, or your first pet. Some information that you store in long-term memory requires a conscious effort to recall like the names of the planets to the color of your child’s hair. Another type of long-term memory involves skills and routines you perform so often that they don’t require conscious recall.

 If you are finding that you may need assistance in improving your memory, www.bizhotline.com is a website that  has helpful dvd’s pertaining to just that.   It’s never too late to improve your memory.

Email Etiquette

More than 90% of computer users in the US use email, which is a staggering number considering how many people own or use computers.  Many of these computer users send email at both the personal and professional levels. There are proper rules to follow when writing a business letter, that somtimes are ommitted from the emails being transmitted in business correspondence.

Since email has become the norm for  friends and family to communicate, many people have developed a casual writing style. This sometimes finds its way into professional communicaton.  As the job market tightens, and many job applications are completed online,  professionalism is a necessity. On the internet, as well as in real life, the first impression can be a deal maker or breaker. And in many cases that first impression is done through email.

So what is a person to do?

Well, since many business have built in spam filters, one of the first things you should do is make sure your email is not marked as spam and gets sent to the junk mail folder before it even gets read. Your  email address should be professional sounding, and should not reflect your personal life.

The second thing is to include a clear Subject line. This is often the first part of the email that many people read, and often times will be the deciding factor in deciding if your message will be read. This is when the K.I.S.S. method (keep it  simple, stupid) will certainly apply.

So now you’ve got your email noticed - Now what?

Content. It is important to avoid using the recipient’s  first name unless you are familiar with them. Address the reader with an appropriate salutation (Dear Mr. Smith, or Ms. Jones). Remember to be professional and avoid using any slang terms or emoticons and smilies.

Also try to be as direct as possible, as you don’t  want to waste the recipient’s time. To make it easier to read, keep your email broken down into several smaller paragraphs.Remember to close your email by thanking your reader for their time. Always include your full name, contact information, and perhaps your email address.

One last thought - read your email before hitting that “Send” button - it may help you avoid misunderstandings.