I recently had the opportunity to be the keynote speaker at a conference for a group of financial counselors in the healthcare industry. The counselors are tasked daily with talking to patients about their treatment for cancer and how they plan on paying for it. Talk about a double dose of tough conversation. A life-threatening illness and money. Most people have a hard time talking about finances with their spouses. What impressed me about this group was the success rate they had with their patients. A 92% approval rating from those they serve. I'm not even sure brands known for customer service, like the Ritz Carlton, have that. They are an inspiring group with a high level of forbearance. They discussed how people often react negatively to the cost of their treatments, yet they respond in love and exercise a great deal of patience. “Love is patient; love is kind.” Corinthians 13:4 When we lose our patience and respond in anger, that interaction typically weighs on our hearts and minds. And this impacts our productivity because we hold onto the interaction or, as it is often ...

Am I there yet? When will I get there? Two daily questions that can dominate our inner thoughts if we are not careful. It's easy to spend the majority of our day, week, and life constantly comparing where we are with where we want to be. We have become an outcome-driven society addicted to fast fixes. Want to lose 15lbs? Take this pill. Want to make more money? Invest in this rising stock. Want to feel good about yourself? Buy something. We put too much trust in our half-baked solutions, and when they fail to deliver we get upset and quit. This fixation on the desired outcome often leaves us with feelings of inadequacy, discouragement, and in many cases, never obtaining our goals. Angela Duckworth, academic, psychologist, and firm believer in grit and self-control observes, Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare. I have been guilty of "outcome thinking" and have paid the price of many discouraging days and years. I believed there was a magic solution or shortcut to sustainable success. When I become the #1 Time Management Trainer on the topic "Managing Multiple Prioriti ...

[caption id="attachment_1609" align="alignright" width="225"] In fond memory of Alice Papp 1995-2017. "My little buddy."[/caption] Have you ever seen a cat chase a laser pointer? Hilarious, right? While growing up, our family had two cats and our cheapest entertainment was to take a laser pointer and engage the cats with it. We would see our cats demonstrate sporadic behavior with a high sense of urgency and then quickly burn out. When I go in and work with organizations as a time management speaker, I notice the connection. Sporadic behavior (too many objectives) High sense of urgency (everything is a priority) Quick burn out (disengaged employees) So, what is the answer? There could be many, but here is a proven productivity strategy that I teach in my workshops: Objective and Key Results (OKR) The objective is the "what" and the key results are the "how." OKRs have been around for a while and have been adopted by some of the most successful companies, from Google to Anheuser Busch, and Disney to Samsung. They were recently made famous by venture capitalist, John Doerr ...

Not Enough Time in The Day? Do you feel like you are always running out of time? When you are in the role of manager or owner, it becomes easy to create for yourself a never-ending to-do list. In addition to your responsibilities, you have the responsibility for those around you. And, if your organization suffers from a lack of accountability, communication, or systems, it is probably you who pays the price by working late or coming in early to take up the slack. The harder you work, the less you think. The Harvard Business Review unpicks the correlation between time pressure and creativity in this paper, if you have time to read it. When you lack a clear understanding of your priorities, it is very easy to confuse activity with productivity. Once this happens, we start placing unrealistic expectations on ourselves, and that is the fastest route to burn out. The most common trap a manager can fall into is the fallacy that they have to be Superman or Superwoman, and be everywhere at all times, solving all problems. This type of managerial behavior is an excellent way to enable pe ...

A story/puzzle When Mike first started his career, he came to work early, left late, and never had to be told twice to get something done. Mike feels that the generation entering the workforce today has no clue what hard work is. Instead of managing projects with his people, Mike finds himself playing the role of babysitter and micromanaging; something he never thought he would do. As a result of this inauthenticity, he sometimes feels like a fraud. He finds himself in conversations with his team about reasons and excuses rather than results and performance. "That's not my responsibility." "We didn't know." "It's not my fault." These are common phrases that surface multiple times throughout the week. Instead of thinking creatively and producing results, Mike's internal dialogue revolves around the question, "Is my team doing what they are supposed to be doing?" He is also unknowingly creating an unmotivated culture of "Abdication of Accountability," where the good employees get punished with more work, and the underperforming employees do less work. He finds it easier to giv ...

How do I influence my boss? It is a question that comes up every time I do a one-day training course on managing multiple priorities. In my experience, there is no single correct answer. I have seen many complex and diverse work situations and finding out what works for you is the only thing that matters. Here are two general guidelines: Personality and Strengths 1 - Separate personality from taking it personally. It is a daily process, and for some people, it doesn't come easily. I have seen many bright, young professionals waste too much time and energy worrying, "Does my boss like me?" or worse, become mentally hijacked because they took their boss’s comment personally and allowed their emotions to best them. In any relationship there will be ups and downs. But don't let this shake the foundation you’ve built with your manager. For example — your boss says your idea won't work and maybe even calls it a dumb idea. You get angry, and next time, you go around them. Your boss finds out, and this turns into a more significant issue. Something you both hold onto for a long ...