Category Archives: Goal Setting for Success

How to increase productivity if you are only productive during certain times of the day?

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This question came from a busy professional.

What of people who are only productive during certain times of day? Should time management be considered in terms of productivity?

Absolutely!  Many of us have blocks of time or selective times during the day that we are most productive.   For example, many people are more creative in the morning hours.  Some people like to exercise in the morning before their day starts.

It’s great to understand how you best work and what works for you.

Having said the above, if we limit ourselves to just those productive hours, we are limiting our successes and achievements.  There are several tricks to increase those productive blocks of time.

Working within your strengths

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How leaders communicate the company’s vision so that others will share it

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This question came from a busy professional.

 Could you give some examples of how leaders can communicate the company’s vision so that others will share it?

 This is an excellent question.  One of the leader’s responsibility is to communicate the company vision, mission statements and goals.

One-on-one meetings

A company executive speaks with a woman during a business meeting.

One of the most effective ways is to meet one-on-one with each employee.

  1. Work with each individual to verify they both understand the company vision AND how their roles and responsibilities support that vision.
  2. Have each employee outline THEIR specific vision, mission and purpose statements – which in-turns supports the overall company vision, mission and purpose statements
  3. Have each employee outline specific activities (SMART goals) that they will be individually responsible for executing in support of both their individual mission and their company vision.
  4. Make it clear that their performance evaluation and bonus is directly associated with those SMART goals accomplishments.

Additional ways

Some ways a leader can communicate the company’s vision are:

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What type of digital marketing strategies should we implement for a startup?

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This question came from a busy professional.

What type of digital marketing strategies should we implement for a startup?

What type of digital marketing strategies should we implement for a startup? We are in the primary stage and do not have much money. 

Congratulations on starting your business. The amazing thing regarding digital marketing is that it doesn’t cost much money to get started.  But you do need to invest time, energy and creativity.   You need to be committed to a consistent and frequent investment of time.   But that’s what startups are all about!

We will go into a general marketing strategy and then focus on digital marketing solutions.

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How To Get an Interview When We’re Under-Qualified

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This question came from a busy professional.

How Can We Get an Interview When We’re Under-Qualified? 

Some people may be interested in a job, but they don’t apply for the job because they don’t meet all the qualifications or have the specified experience. Why should they apply anyway?

If a candidate is under-qualified–as per the job requirements–what are three things he or she can do to still stand out on his or her application and snag an interview
anyway?

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5 Biggest Mistakes People Make in Presentations

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This question came from a busy professional.

I’m searching for career experts who can tell me the biggest mistakes people make
when making a presentation at work.
Most everyone has heard of the more common mistakes of not making eye contact with the audience and relying too heavily on note cards.  But here are some of the bigger mistakes that you may not be aware you are making.

  • Covering too much
  • Not properly tying the topics together
  • Not having a CTA
  • Not closing the deal
  • Not having someone else edit

 

We will go through each in detail, explain why it’s such a big
mistake and then give advice on how a presenter can avoid making the mistake.

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Career path options in the digital marketing industry

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This question came from a busy professional.

What are career path options in the digital marketing industry?

There are several career options in digital marketing because there are several outlets within digital marketing.

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How to stay connected as a remote worker

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This question came from a busy professional.

How do you stay connected as a remote worker? 

As a remote worker, how do you fight feelings of isolation?  Especially looking for advice that newcomers to remote work can use. Thank you! 

In these technological times, it’s even simpler to stay connected.  With the advent of video conferencing, online chatting and texting, there is little reason to feel isolated.

Take the initiative

The real issue is that you have to take the initiative.

  • It is not the companies’ responsibility to make you ‘feel included’.
  • It is not the companies’ responsibility to make sure your network and build the proper working relationships with the right co-workers, sibling departments, other managers, and executives.
  • It is not the companies’ responsibility to make sure you keep their jobs.

Get involved

The very best way to “fight the feelings of isolation” is to simply “get involved”. Some things that a newcomer to remote work can do to “feel more included”:

  • Go into the office for face-to-face business networking.
    1. Even though you have the benefit of telecommuting, this does not relinquish your responsibility for your own business networking goals.
    2. Schedule monthly or bi-monthly visits to the office.
    3. If your location is a large distance, arrange for travel to the site at least once a quarter for a few days.  Line up the important meetings with co-workers, managers, executives, and mentors that are beneficial to your career growth and professional advancement.
    4. Your career is your responsibility – and the adage “out of sight, out of mind” is very relevant to remote workers.
  • Schedule weekly or bi-monthly one-on-one meetings with your managers and mentors. Stay on your manager’s and mentors radar by scheduling frequent and regular one-on-one meetings.
    1. Keep the meetings short (15 minutes in length) and have agendas and meeting goals/purpose identified in advance so that you are not wasting these important people’s times.
    2. YOU facilitate and conduct these meetings to show your intentions and initiative. Ask about your performance and share the type of projects that you would like to be assigned to. Review the gaps in your skill set that you need to accomplish to gain those desired positions.
    3. YOU suggest/ask for things that you would like as rewards for meeting certain goals.

Use Technology

  • Make use of today’s video conference technology.
    • Supplement your phone meetings with video conference calls. Consider including video status reports in your email reports.
  • Conduct and facilitate Brown Bag Lunch professional development series on new technology or operational procedures.
    • Teleconference technology like Skype allows remote employees to both attend and present.
    • Take the initiative to present on high-profile, company driven topics. Arrange for guest speakers that are expert in these areas. Request that the company caters in lunch for these special training and educational events.

Got the extra mile

  • Go the extra mile with every interaction.
    • For example: If someone emails you, call them back.
    • If you get someone’s voicemail, leave them a time/date when you will be calling them back or a timeframe when you will be available to talk.
    • Don’t allow phone tag. Take the responsibility for making that meeting happen.

I have an online course 10 Tips for the Telecommuter that may be of interest.

I know your situation is different.  If you would like additional information on this topic, please contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info

I am a business coach and this is what I do professionally.  It’s easy to sign up for a complimentary one-on-one coaching call, just use this link https://www.timetrade.com/book/WFSFQ

With enough notice, it would be my honor to guest-speak at no cost to your group organization.

5 Ways to Make Yourself Stand Out at Work

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A busy professional asks a question regarding working relationships.

I’m looking for meaningful, effective ways that employees in nearly any scenario can make themselves stand out in a good way.

It goes without saying that above all, you must continue to produce high-quality work, make the most of your time at the office. We don’t want any of the below to affect the quality of your regular duties or responsibilities.
In other words, if you are not already doing the below – you are already standing out (but in a bad way).

Once you have accomplished the below, you can focus on the next 5 ways to make yourself stand out.

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When do you need a new career vs. just a new job?

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A busy professional asks a question regarding career advancement.

When do you need a new career vs. just a new job?


When you’re burned out in your current job, how do you know if it’s time for a new career vs. just a new job? What questions should you ask yourself? What criteria should you be thinking about?

This is a question that everyone should ask – even before “burn out”.  But, as you pointed out, many don’t consider it until they are “done” with their current job.

Avoid Burn-Out

To avoid burn – have a career development plan (3, 5, 10-year plan) and regularly do a career assessment against that plan.

Some steps to get you on that path:

  • Work with a success coach, mentor or business coach to assist you in your career and professional development plan.
  • Include your professional development task in your professional yearly review discussions
  • Share your career goals and professional development plans with your manager
  • Schedule various tasks to accomplish throughout the calendar year to achieve those year-end, 3, 5 and 10-year plans.

Never too late

If you don’t have a career development plan, create one now.  Decide where you want to be, do and have in 3, 5, and 10 years.  Consider a 360-degree view of your life in 3, 5 and 10 years.  To assist you in this, feel free to download this Dream Sculpting Worksheet.

New Career or New Job

Once you have your career development plan, it is critical that you regularly evaluate it.  As you gain new experiences, skills and interests, you are changing.  The career path that you defined 3 years ago may not fit the person that you are today.  Take the time to reassess your professional and personal desires.  Make sure you are not only staying on target – but that this target is still what you want.

The Next Career Step Challenge Worksheet may also help you with deciding if you need a new career or just the next logical step in your current career development path.

I know your situation is different.  If you would like additional information on this topic, please contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info

I am a business coach and this is what I do professionally.  It’s easy to sign up for a complimentary one-on-one coaching call, just use this link https://www.timetrade.com/book/WFSFQ

 

With enough notice, it would be my honor to guest-speak at no cost to your group organization.

 

Questions People Forget To Ask Their Boss

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Today’s question comes from a busy professional:

What are the questions you should always ask your boss? What do you need to find out, or clarify? And why?

  1. What questions should people always ask their boss, and why
    are they important to ask?
  2. Is it okay to ask your boss questions? Why might it be
    important to do so?

A company executive speaks with a woman during a business meeting.

Yes.  It is not only “okay” to ask your boss questions, it’s very important to ask your boss questions.  Questions show that you are taking control of your own career and professional development.  You are not waiting to be told the information; you are initiating and guiding the conversation with your questions.

The reason it’s important to ask questions is that you want to be able to

  • Understand what your manager expects of you
  • Be able to better anticipate his/her requests.

While these are very good questions, another important aspect is “when” to ask these questions.

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