Category Archives: Product Management

Don’t work through lunch — WORK YOUR LUNCH

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Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose.  I am a speaker and author. I am an expert in time and project management.

I help busy professionals and entrepreneurs create effective systems so that they can comfortably delegate to others, be more profitable and have time to enjoy life even if they don’t have time to learn new technology or train their staff.  I have a knack for turning big ideas into on time and profitable projects.

At the end of the day, I transform the way you run your business into the business you love to run.
Today’s comment came from a busy professional when discussing prioritizing a performance review process for his company.

What is the importance of taking a break for lunch during the day? What are the benefits of taking a break in the middle of the day? Why shouldn’t you eat at your desk? How can people prioritize their lunch time to get the benefits out of it — and how can they convince their managers it’s important?

I will be blunt. People that eat lunch at their desk are lazy. I know we use the excuse that we have too much work to do and we don’t have time, yadda, yadda, yadda. But the truth is that we’re being lazy. It’s easier to just eat at the desk, than do make that lunch break work for you.

As with any work break – lunch should be an actual break to rejuvenate and reduce work day stress.  Stress is the accumulation of frustration and anxiety.  The key to eliminating stress during the day is to take periodic breaks throughout the day to diffuse the frustration before it gets to the stress level.

A break merely means to do something different that you were doing 1 minute ago. It doesn’t necessarily mean to “do nothing”. It means do something different. And that “something different” can still be in performance of your career and your business.

Another reason to get away from your desk at lunch is to use that time to business network with others.  Use that lunch time to meet the right people that can propel your career further.   Eating at your desk or even with the same people All The Time – actually keeps you in the same place (at this same desk and position). Instead, use the lunch hour to network with the people that can get you to that skip-level promotion.

 

Don’t work through lunch – INSTEAD WORK YOUR LUNCH.

 

Some things to make your lunch work for you are:

 

  • Change your environment at lunch. Have lunch with different people. Have lunch in a different location so that you can meet new people – the right people for your career.
  • Use the lunch to innovate and create with mentors, advisors and heroes. Initiate lunch time brainstorming session on revenue-generating proposals.
  • Use the lunch hour for self-improvement such as attending a ToastMasters.org chapter to shore up your presentation and speaking skills.
  • Invite experts and speakers to your Brown Bag Lunch series on the next generation technology or process improvement techniques that increase revenue and reduces expenses
  • Regularly invite your manager, your sibling department managers, leaders on the next generation projects, and other important stakeholders. The more people that know who you are and what you bring to the table – the better is will be for you.

 

These are just a few things that will get your lunch working for you. Continue to use your imagination to make your lunch work for you. Now you can see that eating at your desk is a lazy-man’s lunch.

 

p.s. How can you convince your managers it’s important? Just continue to be transparent in what you are doing at lunch and invite them to your lunch presentations, brainstorming meetings, mentoring meetings, etc. When they understand what you aspire to accomplish with your lunch time, you will be seen as a leader in his/her organization.

For more information on these techniques, contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info
Take that first step and setup an appointment: https://www.timetrade.com/book/WFSFQ

I know your situation is different. Why don’t we schedule an appointment, where I get to know more about your unique situation? And then I will be happy to make recommendations on what your best steps are moving forward. To schedule an appointment, book it HERE.

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

I have a monthly presentation on “how to say YES to everything but on your own terms”. To sign up for the complimentary course, go to www.lauraleerose.com/Say-Yes

Does Lack of Involvement Cause Employees to Behave Unethically?‏

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Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose.  I am a speaker and author. I am an expert in time and project management.

I help busy professionals and entrepreneurs create effective systems so that they can comfortably delegate to others, be more profitable and have time to enjoy life even if they don’t have time to learn new technology or train their staff.  I have a knack for turning big ideas into on time and profitable projects.

At the end of the day, I give people peace of mind.
Today’s question came from a busy professional interested in freeing some time and space to advance in his career.

There is a new research from the Univ. of Georgia that shows “what happens when employees feel excluded at work”:
http://phys.org/news/2014-09-cheater-employees-excluded.html

While this article attempts to explain why some workers do unethical things in the workplace, it does not actually highlight the actual internal source.   What is your opinion?

In general – it’s easier for employees to rationalize unethical behavior when they feel resentment, unrecognized and under-valued.   Although the employee is the only one that can “cause themselves to behave unethically”, there are various circumstances that individuals use to rationalize their own behavior.

1) If they feel they are being overworked.
2) If they feel others in the organization is getting inappropriate bonus, rewards, promotions.
3) If they feel they are not getting the recognition they feel they deserve.

The feeling of “resentment” comes from the “victim” mentality.  Or the feeling that someone else is creating these difficult situations around you. But regardless of the external stimulus – you are totally responsible for your own behavior.

There are both ethical and unethical responses to the exact same situations.  The company does not “cause” the employee to behave in any certain way.  It’s the individual that will and can gravitate in either direction.  Since all employees are different, it’s not the company’s responsibility to create environments that increases their chances that all their employee’s will act ethically.  The training and development needs to come from within the individual and not external.

My recommendation is not to change the external workplace to “create ethical behavior”.

Since employees today average 4.6 years at any given job, my recommendation is to coach employees on how to positively respond to any situation and environment that they encounter.  That is really the way to succeed in any work environment.  With the proper professional development, training and coaching, individuals can be made aware of more ethical responses to the current workplace environment. This training will start a chain reaction such that when the executives, managers, and employees start implementing this training; when they are openly executing at a higher level and when they are transparent with their goals and procedures. – the entire work environment culture experiences an ethical transformation.

I know your situation is different. Why don’t we schedule an appointment, where I get to know more about your unique situation? And then I will be happy to make recommendations on what your best steps are moving forward. To schedule an appointment, book it HERE.

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

I have a monthly presentation on “how to say YES to everything but on your own terms”. To sign up for the complimentary course, go to www.lauraleerose.com/Say-Yes

How to handle uncomfortable networking events

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Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose.  I am a speaker and author. I am an expert in time and project management.

I help busy professionals and entrepreneurs create effective systems so that they can comfortably delegate to others, be more profitable and have time to enjoy life even if they don’t have time to learn new technology or train their staff.  I have a knack for turning big ideas into on time and profitable projects.

At the end of the day, I give people peace of mind.
Today’s question came from a busy professional interested in freeing some time and space to advance in his career.


We all understand the importance and value of business networking. How do we handle networking events in a proper and professional manner?

One of the best ways to break the ice at a networking event is to pretend or put on the persona of a host. Focus your attention on “your guests”. Put the spotlight onto them. Allow them to shine and talk about themselves. Most people are there to talk about themselves, anyway – why to against the flow?

  1. Ask them questions about “What brought them here tonight?” “What are they hoping to gain or what are their goals for this meeting?”
  2. If they share that they are looking for referrals on XYZ or people that they can work with on ABC – connect them to someone that you just met at the same meeting that shares those goals.
  3. Don’t stay too long with any one person. Like a host, make sure you mingle. You can say “I know you want to meet more people, and I want to respect your time. I would love to stay in contact, why don’t we exchange contact information and make plans to call each other on Thursday.   How does that sound?”

If you really want to stay in contact, take out your calendar and then move on.

But what if you are shy or is an introvert? Are there any other special tips for us?

Normally what makes shy people uncomfortable is having the spotlight shined on ourselves. So – much like the above advice, shine the spotlight on other people. Instead of worrying about what other people think about you – focus on learning more about the other person. People love to talk about themselves and it takes the pressure off you to carry the entire conversation.

Also, look around to see if anyone is sitting alone or hiding in the corner (make sure it’s not you doing the hiding as well). Then go up and visit them. They may be feeling uncomfortable, so be a good host and go up and introduce them to some other folks.

For additional articles and videos on tips for introverts, check out these artifacts:

 

I know your situation is different. Why don’t we schedule an appointment, where I get to know more about your unique situation? And then I will be happy to make recommendations on what your best steps are moving forward. To schedule an appointment, book it HERE.

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

I have a monthly presentation on “how to say YES to everything but on your own terms”. To sign up for the complimentary course, go to www.lauraleerose.com/Say-Yes

How can I keep activity/participation high around slower demand seasons like the holidays?

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Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose.  I am a speaker and author. I am an expert in time and project management.

I help busy professionals and entrepreneurs create effective systems so that they can comfortably delegate to others, be more profitable and have time to enjoy life even if they don’t have time to learn new technology or train their staff.  I have a knack for turning big ideas into on time and profitable projects.

At the end of the day, I transform the way you run your business into the business you love to run.
Today’s comment came from a busy professional.

The success of my mobile app relies heavily on the activity of users being high and consistent. We have seen a drop in participation which I believe is correlated to it being Thanksgiving weekend. I am predicting the same drop in activity around Christmas and New Year. What are some marketing techniques I can undergo to build up activity and keep my audience interested?

 

Without knowing what your “mobile app” does – it’s hard to give a specific answer. But one way is to provide apps for those specific holiday or natural slumps. For instance, if your target market are parents with small kids – providing a mobile app that tracks Santa’s activity level between Nov – Jan, incorporates the season’s activities.

If you mow lawns, offering leaf-blowing and snow shuffling for the fall and winter months (when the lawn is not growing) are some additional services designed for the natural “mowing-lawn” slumps.

If you own a greet card company, offering CARE packages (Congratulations, Appreciation, Recognition and Encouragement) packages for the slumps between busy holidays card-giving seasons is a way to up-turn the down-turn of business.

Once again – without understanding your target audience, it’s hard to answer this question. Let’s chat so that I can better understand your unique situation. Then I will be able to better recommend your next steps.  It’s really easy to setup an appointment directly into my calendar with this link: https://www.timetrade.com/book/WFSFQ

Are there career risks a person should never take?

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Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose.  I am a speaker and author. I am an expert in time and project management.

I help busy professionals and entrepreneurs create effective systems so that they can comfortably delegate to others, be more profitable and have time to enjoy life even if they don’t have time to learn new technology or train their staff.  I have a knack for turning big ideas into on time and profitable projects.

At the end of the day, I give people peace of mind.
Today’s question came from a busy professional interested in freeing some time and space to advance in his career.

Are there any career risks that a person should never take?  These career risks may be on the job, during a job search, while networking, or some other aspect.

Everyone is different, so it’s difficult to say what absolute career risks different people should never take.  Career risks are relative to each person’s tolerance to financial security, family obligations, and debt/credit issues.
But there is the adage of “The bigger the risk, the higher the reward”.

The general rule of thumb is – if you are proactive with your risk-management activities, then no career move is off the table.  Take the time to do a risk analysis (determine the probability and impact of the risk) on your career decision. If the probability of it actually “falling apart” is low and the impact is insignificant, then simply go for it.
If the Probability of it “actually falling apart” is HIGH AND the Impact of the situation is significant/major – make sure you have a contingency plan in place.  If you have an appropriate contingency plan in place, it’s still a feasible path.

For example – What if you are considering giving your manager an ultimatum to give you a raise or you will walk?  What is the career risk of this action?

1) Since you have been the top sales person, was responsible for single-highhandedly responsible for 60% of the company’s profits, MVP for the last 3 year and is currently making lower than 10% of your sales – the probability of you getting fired is low AND the impact of moving on is low because you can easily find another job based on your past performance and client connections.  In this scenario – go for it.
2) But what if you are already being paid more than you bring in and are in debt (which is why you need to ask for a raise)?  At the same time, you have been getting Average and Below-Average performance ratings in the last 3 years. Well then the probability of you not getting the raise is HIGH and the impact of you losing your job (via this ultimatum)  is significant (because you are currently in debt and have not savings).  So – should you avoid asking for the raise? Is this a career risk that you can’t afford to take?  Not necessarily.

My recommendation is to find another way to accomplish your goal.  The real goal is to increase your income. Propose a change in position in the company that is salary based (versus sales commission).  It may be a better match to your talents, allowing you to get higher performance ratings and a higher, consistent income/salary.

So – take that time to do a risk assessment on your significant decisions, regardless of the situation (professional, personal and private).

I know your situation is different. Why don’t we schedule an appointment, where I get to know more about your unique situation? And then I will be happy to make recommendations on what your best steps are moving forward. To schedule an appointment, book it HERE.

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

I have a monthly presentation on “how to say YES to everything but on your own terms”. To sign up for the complimentary course, go to www.lauraleerose.com/Say-Yes

Resumes that Lie and How Small Business Owners Can Detect Truth, Fluff, and Con Artistry

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It is difficult to filter out the lies and exaggerations in some resumes.

One way is to arm your screening staff with adequate questions AND acceptable answers.

1) Some companies provide qualification tests on the basic skills for the job.

2) Provide Scenario-Based interview questions, in which you provide a problem or issue that they need to resolve.  Then ask them how they would solve it.

3) Select a solution off their resume, and ask them how they specifically achieved that goal.  Ask specifically for references regarding that specific resume action item – and call that person up (versus just calling the people on their reference list).

There are several ways to detect inconsistencies in a resume.  These are just a few.

Strategies and Tips on Being More Productive Each Day

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I have written books and articles on this topic. “TimePeace: Making peace with time” has several strategies.

But some of the top 3 tips would be:

1) Be clear on the TOP 3 Things you want to accomplish today. Everything else on your to-do lists are “nice to haves”. Focus on your MUST DO Top 3. Although it might be nice to accomplish more, you will abandon the other items to assure that your Top 3 items get done.
2) Take control over your calendar. Block out time to work, Block out time to interact, Block out time to network. If you actually schedule the time in your calendar to do these things, then you don’t have to worry about having the time to do these things. Have a place for everything and everything in it’s place.
3) Get into the habit of allocating and announcing time limits on everything. For instance, make better use of 5 minutes. For example, when you want to get someone’s opinion, or someone stops you in the hallway or you want to make an appointment with someone — tell them upfront “Hey there. I would love to talk about this – and I only have 5 minutes”. This trains people to start with the bottom line (eliminating chit-chat). Act as if you are talking to a lawyer how is charging you by the minute. When you are talking to a lawyer, you get straight down to business.

One last tip. Be transparent in your goals. If you state your goals upfront, people will immediately align and you will be more productive in accomplishing the common goals.

 

You may be a micro-manager, if you ….

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Often times, people think a micro-manager is someone that stands over the employee’s shoulders every hour. But that’s not totally true.   There are other traits to a micro-manager that you may be falling into without knowing it.

 

  • If you haven’t taken vacation, you may be a micro-manager
  • If you haven’t delegated the lead of some of your staff meetings, you may be a micro-manager
  • If you haven’t allowed your team to run the show, you may be a micro-manager.
  • If you are afraid of taking a day off, you may be a micro-manager.
  • If you are afraid of what will happens when you are not there, you may be a micro-manager
  • If you haven’t allowed your team to fail, you may be a micro-manager

 

Instead of being afraid of what happens when you are not there — allow things to happen by not being there. You may be pleasantly surprised.

If you don’t allow people to try these things on their own, you miss the opportunities for growth and excellence in both them and YOU. If you are too busy taking on other people’s responsibilities, you don’t have the time for your growth and promotions.

How to track remote employee’s activities

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Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose.  I am a speaker and author. I am an expert in time and project management.

I help busy professionals and entrepreneurs create effective systems so that they can comfortably delegate to others, be more profitable and have time to enjoy life even if they don’t have time to learn new technology or train their staff.  I have a knack for turning big ideas into on time and profitable projects.

At the end of the day, I give people peace of mind.
Today’s question came from a busy professional interested in freeing some time and space to advance in his career.

 

What is a good CRM for remote employees that tracks what they are doing every minute

I have a remote employee on a significant base who works from home and road with android phone. I want to track their day.

I want an CRM web app that runs on desktop and android phone:
– Sends me a daily email report that
1) chronologically lists how previous day was spent including


A) work day start time,
B) calls outgoing and incoming
– start, end time, contact, result
C) emails reading & writing
– start, send time, contact, result
D) meetings
– start, end and result.
E) Other activities eg driving
– start, end, contact, result


2) Sales pipeline status changes and value in graph format.

This should be done as automatically as possible. Ideally with no typing by salesperson. Ie buttons only. Or only one word typing if req.

I apologize if this answer seems too blunt….but I think it will be easier to find a salesperson that you trust. Requesting an app that automatically shows you exactly what they do every minute illustrates a lack of trust in their capability and competence. It’s better to find the type of people that you will value and trust; people with the right work ethics, experience and talent — then to try to micromanage those traits into the wrong people. The right people will be turned off and quite. And the wrong people will find a way around your app.

Keep it simple. Simply focus on your required results.
If you have sales quotas and success metrics in place – and they are meeting the success criteria; why do you need to know what they ate for breakfast?

My recommendation is to do your best to hire talented and trustworthy people to begin with. Setup goals and objectives around those important metrics (like hitting at least 20 sales calls a week, making at least 5 sales per week, or whatever you deem necessary). Then allow them to fully express their talent and skills they way that best works for them – in regards to meeting those success criteria.

If they are not meeting their quotas, offer them additional training or fire them.
If they are meeting your quotas, don’t fix what ain’t broke.

If you still need this day-to-day checking; I recommend setting up a daily 5 minute call with this person or team. In the agile development (this is called a SCRUM meeting), where you meet daily for a very short time to answer the critical status questions. For you – you may want to have a daily status meeting to report their sales made, sales in the pipeline, expected sales closed dates for those items in pipeline, any roadblocks to closing on time and if they need any help in closing the deals.
Bottom line – It’s a waste of time to “big brother” everything your sales person does. Setup clear expectations in regards to number of sales, leads, and lead-to-sales ratios. Then track only the metrics that bring in the money. Don’t worry about how they get it done. Just focus on the results and treat your team like experienced and valued professionals.

For you would like more information on how to better manage your team or increase their performance, why don’t we schedule a short call. That way I will be able to learn more about your unique situation and be able to recommend your next best step moving forward.

We also have a Professional Development Toolkit ecourse available for self-study.

 Once again, I know your situation is different. Why don’t we schedule an appointment, where I get to know more about your unique situation? And then I will be happy to make recommendations on what your best steps are moving forward. To schedule an appointment, book it HERE.

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

I have a monthly presentation on “how to say YES to everything but on your own terms”. To sign up for the complimentary course, go to www.lauraleerose.com/Say-Yes

Difference between running a business and a clubhouse

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Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose.  I am a speaker and author. I am an expert in time and project management.

I help busy professionals and entrepreneurs create effective systems so that they can comfortably delegate to others, be more profitable and have time to enjoy life even if they don’t have time to learn new technology or train their staff.  I have a knack for turning big ideas into on time and profitable projects.

At the end of the day, I give people peace of mind.
Today’s comment came from a busy professional when discussing prioritizing a performance review process for his company.


We’re working through our plan at the moment – it encompasses several projects.  I’m pretty hesitant to put another layer (referring to a performance review process) on at the moment.  I don’t know that we have the bandwidth to do so.

Granted, this is one of my pet peeves. This is much like saying, “I’m using my car too much to take the time to change the oil, check the tires, and do regular maintenance on my car. When I’m not traveling so much, I will think about taking the time for car maintenance.”

I have a longer series on CAReer Maintenance 101 which goes into the Top 10 Tips to Ensure Career Longevity. But today’s focus will be on implementing some type of performance review process.  Why it’s important and how to start one with minimum steps.

Setting performance criteria and reviews is to your company as your car maintenance list is to your car.  Some people go along without maintaining their car – but they pay for it eventually.  Executives that feel their team doesn’t have the bandwidth or time to review business goals, individual development goals and their performance related to those goals are running their business more like a clubhouse than a profit-based business. You may be doing a great job scheduling those projects – but you may not be maintaining the professional skills and health of those people doing the work. I say “may not be” – because without periodic reviews, you don’t really know where you stand.  Your car could give out at any time without any warning.

And asking your employees if they want to implement a performance review process is a waste of time. It’s like asking your children if they want vegetables. A diet of projects without the necessary proteins, vegetables, and exercise to keep your body of employees professionally healthy is like only feeding fast foods to your children.

The clubhouse, informal feel is great for small businesses.  You may feel that you are running faster and leaner.  And that formal performance reviews will only slow you down.  That small, family atmosphere is what got you where you are today. And it has served its purpose amazingly. But – if you now want to grow to that next level; expand beyond what you are doing today; make a bigger impact to the industry – you may have outgrown the clubhouse. If you are struggling to grow and make more money – then you should consider that the clubhouse, informal mentality is probably what is limiting your growth.

If you have the time and money to purchase next generation, bigger, faster and better equipment – then you have time to spend some money and time on your employee’s career development.

Okay – so now you are convinced that you need something in place in order to conduct a performance evaluation. What are the minimum steps?

  • Outline everyone’s roles, responsibilities and expectations. Your employees can do this for you, and then you can review/modify as you see fit
  • Outline your criteria for Average Performance, Above Average Performance and Exceptional Performance. If you want your employees to do their best for you – you need to actually outline what their best means to you. Otherwise, people will be disappointed come performance evaluation time. It is recommended to include metrics that actually increase your business revenue, reduce costs or increase client loyalty, satisfaction and referrals.
  • Setup a SMART goals that achieves those goals and criteria.

If you do the above and define a regular review period, you will have better insight into your employees’ performance, and how to help them improve your company profits. You want your employees to be doing the work that lie in their talents, that makes your company profitable. When employees are working in their genius capacity – your company will expand.

Also – you need to be able to strategically assign tasks that will directly affect company profits. If you find that people are being paid for things that do not align with the company vision and mission, you need to adjust. This is the reason for the performance reviews – to find out where you need to readjust.

NOTE: If you have enough staff to actually have a hierarchy, avoid the lazy man’s method of adding additional responsibilities on top of all the other responsibilities. If you want to add more responsibilities without removing anything then you need to include and adjust the % of time and expectations on all the roles. This actually takes more of your time and thought.

I know your situation is different. Why don’t we schedule an appointment, where I get to know more about your unique situation? And then I will be happy to make recommendations on what your best steps are moving forward. To schedule an appointment, book it HERE.

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

I have a monthly presentation on “how to say YES to everything but on your own terms”. To sign up for the complimentary course, go to www.lauraleerose.com/Say-Yes