Goals & Practices

A number of you are fans of David Allen and follow many of the recommendations in his book, “Getting Things Done.”  Our reading this week is “The Curse Of The Eternally Urgent” which you will find at <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-allen/the-curse-of-the-eternall_b_96512.html>. In this piece Allen argues that many of the fires and crises that we find on our desk […]

In my reading not long ago I found a pointer to a short piece by Sean Silverthorne – “The Power of the Humble Checklist“.  As the author points out, and as I will confirm, having a standard checklist for complex, but nevertheless, routine tasks – e.g., the pilot’s pre-flight checklist or the hospital’s safe-surgery checklist – […]

Dan and Chip Heath, who wrote “Made to Stick:  Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die,” are two of my favorite authors.  Recently, they wrote a column titled “Make Goals not Resolutions” which appeared in the February 2008 issue of Fast Company. The Heaths note that we often make resolutions;  like New Year’s resolutions, like the […]

Too often, we take people for granted.  In this week’s Tuesday Reading “Staff Retention:  The Power of Appreciation at Work”, Mike Robbins quotes the U.S. Department of Labor as noting that 64% of Americans who leave their jobs say they do so because they don’t feel appreciated.  And, Gallup reports that 70% of people in the U.S. say […]

Here’s the “Tuesday Reading” I sent out today to everyone who has been in the IT Leaders Program over the past several years.  Based upon the discussion Saturday, I’m sending it along to you as well. As society has become more and more connected with technology, we feel compelled to be always on – 24/7/365.  […]

John Baldoni  is one of my favorite writers.  In today’s reading “Saying Something Important?  Three Questions to Ask Yourself First” which you will find at      <http://www.cio.com/article/104802/Saying_Something_Important_Three_Questions_to_Ask_Yourself_First>  he reminds us that “its not what you say, it’s what people hear.”  In the piece, he quotes Frank Luntz, pollster, commentator, and author:  “The onus of understanding falls […]

Today’s reading the “The ‘Pull Leadership’ Manifesto” by Stever Robbins, founder and president of LeadershipDecisionworks.  This piece from the Harvard Business School Working Knowledge Archives caught my eye because of its thesis:  “We need leaders who inspire others to follow, who engender loyalty.”  Robbins calls this “pull” leadership and then goes on to identify twelve key […]

Happy New Year!  I trust that you successfully rang out the old and in the new, perhaps made some resolutions (or goals) for the year, and are now ready to address what is before you with new energy and excitement.  Today’s reading comes from Rick Brenner of Chaco Canyon Consulting.  Rick notes that throughout the […]

Many people have observed that journaling will change the way that you go about your work and your life.  In today’s reading, Rick Brenner of Chaco Canyon Consulting observes that you record what you did and why you did it.  And, you record what you didn’t do and why you didn’t do it.  You record […]

Good morning!   I found this short piece on time management last week and thought that I would share it with you.  Most of the points are straight forward but he does offer some new insights.   Have a great week…………….jim FINDING TIME Top Five Time Management Mistakes BY : Dr. Donald E. Wetmore 12/22/2004 […]