Making the most of mobile ‘to-do’ lists

(I am pleased to present the following guest post by Pam Warren)

The current generation of smartphones has allowed for a new market of amazing tools for managing your life and increasing productivity. One of the most common of these is the ‘to-do’ list applications, which can make keeping track of day-to-day tasks much easier.

The first trick is to make sure the app you use has the facilities you need. Make sure you look to see if the app has things like folders, alarms or colour coding, depending on how you work. There are hundreds of apps out there that you can use, with some of the most popular being Evernote, Any do and Wunderlist. Personally, I use Astrid Tasks.

Listing

First of all, brainstorm all the things you think you need to achieve last thing at night, and in the morning see if you can add anything. The way you phrase the list is important: try and make sure you write the full task and use actionable verbs, so rather than just the name of your client, write ‘discuss x with client y’. This will help put you in the goal mind-set.

When I am creating my listings, I also like to prioritise by colour coding the tasks from red to blue. You can create your own system, but make sure you know at a glance what the most urgent tasks are.

Timings

When are you most productive? Make sure you identify your peak times. If you know your peak concentration hours, try and put the most daunting tasks then, and allow yourself time to build up to that period.

Also try and time similar activities into clusters. For example, if you have a few calls you have to make, try and put them together at a time when you think most people will be available, set an alarm, and then get them all out of the way at once.

Intersperse

Do little, easy things in between the larger, more daunting tasks. Also, make sure you break up long periods of work with breaks, this will help you maintain motivation. However, make sure that whilst you intersperse your tasks and do multiple things sequentially, you maintain focus on each individual task whilst you’re completing it.

Reflect

This is so important, but I often forget to do it myself. When you get home and have had a cup of tea to relax yourself, take a moment to think about your day. What tasks took the longest? Where was time wasted? How can you improve?

Also, whilst on the topic of using applications to keep track of your work affairs: there’s a useful application called Expensify which helps to make a note of your expenses. It syncs with your credit cards and bank accounts, can scan paper receipts via the camera on your phone and records travelling mileage so you have everything accounted for. Helpful for keeping track expenses of long trips!

Pam Warren, Independent Project Manager,
http://pamwarren.co.uk/
pam.warren@hotmail.co.uk

Pam Warren Biography

Since overcoming life-changing injuries from the Paddington Train Crash of 1999, I have become a master of re-invention and a catalyst for change not just in my own life but in the lives and work of others. Building on my skills as a businesswoman and Independent Financial Advisor with 13 staff, I retrained as a Prince 2 Practitioner project manager. I was the lead campaigner in securing a safer rail network for Britain and have since worked with a number of businesses and charities to help them achieve their goals and aspirations efficiently and effectively.

I would be delighted to help you too

Pam Warren,
Independent Project Manager
www.pamwarren.co.uk

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=114770800&locale=en_US&trk=tyah
Twitter: @pamwarren06
https://twitter.com/pamwarren06

Increasing Efficiency and Productivity with Employee Coaching

(I am pleased to present the following guest post by Mazin Abou-Seido)

In his excellent blog post, Peter Birley reminds us that The Key to Project Management Success is People. Indeed, the key to efficiency and productivity in any part of the IT organisation is people, and one of leaders’ most important roles is getting the best from their people. A good way to do this is through employee coaching. Many managers struggle to do it well, either because they lack the skills or because they are juggling so many priorities that coaching gets lost. As an IT leader for company that makes talent management software I’m fortunate enough to have tools at my disposal to help me in managing my team, and here I share few practical tips about how I utilise employee coaching as part of my day to day responsibilities.

• 1. Make sure goals are clear. It all begins with goal setting. I work with my people to establish annual goals that support the department, their own career aspirations, and, ultimately, the strategic direction of the larger organisation. Knowing what is expected of them sets them free to move forward with confidence. Understanding how their work contributes to the success of the business (and their own success) motivates them to give their best.
• 2. Walk around. Effective coaching is based on specific feedback on employee performance. So, obviously, you need to know what they are doing. Position yourself to observe your team in action on a regular basis, whether it means “walking around” physically or virtually. Your availability also gives your team opportunities to ask questions and (as long as you don’t use it to micromanage them) encourages them by the interest you show in their day to day activities.
• 3. Monitor progress. Assess progress towards goals directly, through “walking around” as well as through regular meetings with your team. Ask targeted questions and, if necessary, seek input from others to get a good picture of where threats to success might be lurking.
• 4. Keep notes. Make a habit of keeping notes on your observations so you can make informed assessments and to fuel rich discussions with your employees. I keep my notes in an online performance journal where I can easily access them as required. That way, when it is time to meet with employees, I have specific information to share with them which doesn’t rely on an over stressed memory.
• 5. Give frequent feedback. Performance feedback is the heart of the coaching model. In particular when learning a new skill or taking on a new task, employees need frequent feedback as they take small steps towards achieving competence. The most powerful feedback is objective, specific, and occurs soon after the behavior in question. Positive feedback can be given in public where it will serve to instruct others within earshot as well as encourage the recipient. But negative or constructive feedback should always be given in private.
• 6. Guide course corrections. As a manager, I see my job as primarily looking out ahead, directing, removing barriers, redirecting when necessary and coaching to make sure my employees succeed. Especially in fast paced environments, goals and priorities are prone to shifting, so the sooner course corrections are made, the less time everyone will spend wasting time chasing down rabbit trails or fixing mistakes.
• 7. Keep it positive. I don’t know why our tendency is always to wait until something is wrong to comment on it. But if our subordinates only hear from us when we are criticising their work, they will certainly not welcome our presence and may even hide problems until they are too big to fix. When I remember to give praise frequently I find that my employees are more open to hearing what I have to say when I need to be critical.
• 8. Keep it focused. Whether positive or negative, feedback must always be specific and focused on what really matters. In giving negative feedback, resist the temptation to assume motives behind behaviors – you are probably wrong and you are just opening the door to a defensive reaction. I try to make sure that my subordinates clearly understand what they should continue, stop or start doing and why it matters.
• 9. Invite feedback. To create the kind of open, feedback-rich environment where employees are empowered to continuously improve efficiency and productivity, you have to be open to receiving feedback yourself. In fact, you need to go the extra step and ask for it, then listen quietly without defensiveness if what you hear takes you by surprise. Model the behavior you expect from your team. And who knows, you might learn something to help you improve your own performance.

Mazin Abou-Seido is director of information technology at Halogen Software, a leading global provider of talent management solutions.

Notes on this article "Increasing Efficiency and Productivity with Employee Coaching" from Mazin Abou-Seido
This piece will provide IT managers with practical tips on how they can improve efficiency and productivity with employee coaching.
This material on this subject was prepared for another publication and is a good jumping off point:

Working for a talent management software vendor we’re very focused on how our teams are performing. To help keep people and projects on track, I keep regular performance notes in an online performance journal (called Feedback Central). In weekly meetings with my team, I use our goal management tools to monitor progress on MBOs– all of which are linked to our corporate objectives – so we can all see how their progress is helping meet our company’s big goals for the year. A big part of my role is to have frequent discussions about performance so employees are getting what they need to keep everything on track and be successful.

Other resources from Halogen Software
Do you Keep a performance journal
Performance journals
Goal Management

The best way to eat an elephant (Goal setting)

(I am pleased to present the following guest post by Janice Haddon)

The best way to eat an elephant (Goal setting) – by Janice Haddon, managing director at Morgan Redwood “The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time!”

Ridiculous saying really, as none of us would actually want to eat an elephant, but it gives a metaphorical picture of how we can get things done without feeling overwhelmed!
Sometimes the whole thing just looks too big to tackle – and when something seems too big to tackle – often we don’t bother at all as we just don’t know where to start – we simply feel overwhelmed. If we break it down into smaller chunks however, it seems a lot more feasible for us to achieve it.
So let’s get to grips with how to do it.

In reality the level of energy and commitment that you put into your goals will have a direct result on the level of success that you will have. The more you want something – the stronger your motivation will be to achieving it. The more clarity that you have on what you want and how you can go about it – the more chance you will have of getting it. And that’s got to be a good thing hasn’t it!?!
So here is how to make sure that your goals work for you:

• Write them down – be specific
• Break bigger tasks down into manageable chunks
• Set yourself timescales for achieving things
• Be realistic – climbing Mount Everest when you don’t have the right shoes just won’t lead to success
• Keep the vision of what you want in clear focus
• Tell someone! When other people know about it, it can spur you on and add to your motivation

Keep your goals close to hand – writing them down and putting them in a draw does not equal achievement. The written word will not morph into reality – you have to take action and do something about it! So keep reviewing them. Keep stretching yourself – keep moving forward - reward yourself for your successes – and don’t beat yourself up if things haven’t turned out the way you had hoped! If something isn’t working, doing more and more of the same isn’t always the answer! Remember you haven’t failed – you have simply learnt how not to do it next time! Don’t get stuck into the same loop of things not working – look for alternatives to achieve what you want. It may be that other things are getting in the way – take a different approach – if you really want something – you can achieve it!

When you are thinking of your goals, think about how you will GROW - ask yourself the following questions:
Goal - What do you want?

• What do you want to achieve (short and long-term?)
• What is your ideal outcome?
• Do you need to break your goal down into manageable chunks – one bite at a time?
• When are you going to achieve it by?
• Is that challenging, attainable and measureable?
• How much time have you got?

Reality - What is happening now?

• What have you done about this before / so far?
• What results have you produced so far?
• How much personal control do you have over your goal?
• Who else is involved?
• What is happening now?
• How do you feel?
• How are other people reacting / responding?
• What is going on in your environment?

Obstacles / Options - What is in the way?

• What obstacles could you face and why?
• If these are people, more than obstacles, what can you do to positively change their lack of support?
• If you have got stuck previously – why is that?
• What are the major constraints to finding a way forward?
• Who are the people blocking you and why?

What can you do about it?

• What options do you have?
• What else could you do?
• What is a different perspective?
• Ask yourself ‘What if …….’
• What are the benefits of each of your options?
• What are the costs of each of your options?
• What might you have to give up to achieve this goal?

Way Forward - What is the way forward?

• What actions do you need to take to achieve your goal?
• What will you do? How and by when?
• Will this meet your entire goal or elements of it?
• Who needs to know?
• What support do you need?
• How will you get that support and by when?

A bit of advice - it is important to acknowledge your goals with positive thoughts. Often we can find ourselves listing reasons why we can’t achieve things – the little gremlin of fear creeps in and we can talk ourselves out of action a bit too quickly! If you find yourself doing that, check in with yourself as to what you are trying to achieve. What are you avoiding by not getting on with it? What is the worse that could happen if you go for it? Finally if you have attempted to eat your elephant one bite at a time and it hasn’t quite come off as you had hoped then - Try again – don’t give up. Believe in yourself! It may be that other things got in the way that you were not aware of at the start – or other things happened that you had no control over at the time. You can get passed it – take a different perspective and work out how!

Be the best you possibly can – no one else will do it for you – you are responsible for yourself and in that – you can be all you want to be!

Janice Haddon has over 25 years’ experience in strategic and operational Human Resources and management consultancy. Working across a range of sectors and with start-ups to top 20 companies, Janice is a qualified coach and has a passion for integrating performance, personal positivity and wellbeing into the work place. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology, an MA in Psychotherapy and an MBA from Henley Management College, Janice is also a Master Practitioner in NLP, a Cognitive Hypnotherapist, Psychotherapy Counsellor and runs a number of businesses including Morgan Redwood.

T.E.A.M.

A harmonious team focussed on achieving its goals remains the key attainment for lots of businesses.

A team that is functioning well and delivering is a major asset to any company and one that should be nurtured, although a team like a project is dynamic and will change its composition depending on the project. The key is therefore to learn the attributes that make a successful team and try to recreate those each time a new team is created.

Using TEAM as an acronym, here is my attempt to define the letters of that acronym in terms of key attributes that make a team successful:-

• T. Tenacity – Focus on the goals
• E. Encouraging – Supporting each other
• A. Anticipating – looking ahead for blockages and dealing with them early
• M. Methodical – Working to a common method/Structure

Of course there are many other attributes including humour. The team should have some fun to relieve tensions and encourage team spirit. It also needs an identity so individuals can ‘belong’ which helps bonding and the creation of the three musketeers’ spirit, ‘all for one, one for all’!

Having worked with many teams I know how difficult it can be to achieve that consistency in project team performance, usually for a number of reasons:-

• Goal is not clear
• Sponsorship is not totally committed
• Team leader is not strong enough/ too strong
• Individual (human nature) is not a team player or has hidden agenda
• Individual strengths are not properly taken into account
• Openness is lacking (Individual holding back or using an element of control)

It is usually evident fairly early on if the team is working well and if not then action should be taken ASAP, even if it means changing the personnel on the team or having some serious discussions with the project sponsors. Human nature requires some structure, otherwise anarchy takes over. Ensure everybody knows what is expected and what the ground rules are and you will be half way there. Be careful how much leeway is given to individuals who breach those ground rules, and whilst compassion and understanding are key, fairness across the team is also important, so occasionally stand firm.

Individuals on a team can often be in a matrix reporting line and this can give the team leader some difficulties as individuals can hide behind their other role. This must not be allowed and it must be made clear that when you are on the project, the project is King and full contribution and adherence to the team is expected. If other duties are continually getting in the way and the situation cannot be resolved then an alternative team member has to be found.

Getting a team to work is in itself an on-going task and needs constant attention otherwise it is likely to drift back into a number of individual efforts. The effort is worth it, so ‘Go Team, Go’.

Mobile: a Business Process Changer

Mobile: a Business Process Changer

Was it really less than 20 years ago that most of us were buying our first desktop computers? They now seem as unwieldy as 1970s era mainframes. Around the same time, many of us were purchasing our first cell phones, which let us get those calls we were missing when our desktop’s modem was tying up our home phone line.

For many, our main digital interface is now with our smart phones, the descendants of those early, bulky cell phones, which are able to perform more tasks far faster than those late 90’s desktops.

No doubt about it, mobile technology is an all-around game changer. Nowhere is this more apparent than in business, where companies work feverishly to make their products available with the speed and convenience mobile consumers demand.

Writing on the tech career Web site, Dice, Rob Reilly breaks down the business process changes mobile technology has wrought. According to Reilly, mobile:

• Reduces cycle time
• Reduces errors
• Simplifies as much as possible

Mobile reduces cycle time by freeing workers from their desks. “They can complete a sales transaction or do a presentation right at the customer’s site. They can use the smart phone’s advanced address book functions to streamline their client calling process, both in and out of the office,” Reilly writes. Mobile reduces errors by allowing dates to be entered immediately onto a smart phone or tablet, which “reduces both the turnaround time for updates and paper transcription errors.” Reilly writes.
Remember that one of the problems with paperwork is that somebody in the office has to be able to read what the person in the field wrote,” chimes in Pat Brans in an article on the Enterprise Systems Media Web site.
“By eliminating that process, you reduce the potential for error,” Brans writes. Reilly refers to a Mobile Enterprise story on Southwest Airlines to show mobile’s ability to simplify processes. Southwest turned to text messaging to help fill pilot vacancies, a process that used to require hundreds of phone calls daily.

“Mobile technology can support an organization’s activities throughout its value chain and impact the organization’s competitive advantage,” according to the study “Strategic Implications of Mobile Technology: A Case Study Using Value-Focused Thinking.”

The paper notes the benefits mobile can provide, “such as connectivity, flexibility, interactivity, and location awareness. “These benefits can help to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization’s value activities, and to transform business processes.” the paper notes.

There are numerous examples of how mobile has re-engineered business processes in a number of fields, Pat Brans writes in an article titled, “Mainframe Mobile Communications: Re-Engineering Business Process Through Mobile Technology.”

Brans notes that workers as different as meter readers, sales representatives and home healthcare professionals all benefit from the speed, convenience and accuracy mobile technology affords.
“Because these road warriors are able to link to mainframe systems in the enterprise, they have much of the information they need at their fingertips,” Brans writes. “This cuts down on extra visits to the office and allows things to happen much quicker in the field.”

Not only do things happen quicker, Brans explains, more things happen, such as “number of sales calls, number of orders taken, average order size, number of up-sells and cross-sells, close rate, and, of course, revenue per salesperson.”

Mobile is an essential tool for businesses large and small looking to make changes to their business process to maximize profits and efficiency – and when you think about it, isn’t that every business?

BIO

This guest post was provided by Dean Vella who writes about business process management and workflow solutions for University Alliance.

Sources: “How Mobile Tech Optimizes the Business Process,” www.dice.com; “Mainframe Mobile Communications: Re-Engineering Business Process Through Mobile Technology,” www.enterprisesystemsmedia.com; “Strategic Implications of Mobile Technology: A Case Study Using Value-Focused Thinking,” www.loyola.edu

Getting amongst it!

There are still organisations where IT gets too much bad press and the team feels undervalued. Most of that is ignorance of the IT process but a lot of it is our own fault because we haven’t educated the rest of the business about those processes.

A lot of IT professionals are extroverts within their own comfort zone i.e. the IT department but introverts when it comes to the non IT side of the business. This is often because they don’t understand the business well enough to talk about it except perhaps in terms of an IT project. It is also not an unusual trait as it takes a lot more effort to go into the unknown.

If you haven’t already started now is the time to change things, to get out there and preach the IT gospel but first you must understand the business and then you can preach it from the business point of view which will get a more acceptable response.

It is not easy, so do it in small steps

• 1. Read all you can about the business, particularly the financials but also the processes, how the organisation is structured, who is who, sales and marketing successes etc.. It is important that you do this first in order to gain a basic understanding. This will really help you as you go onto step 2.
• 2. Get out in the business, meet people, introduce yourself, and show a desire to understand their business and processes. Listen and ask questions but don’t preach yet!
• 3. Gain their confidence. Socialise; communicate on things you have learnt about their business. Be careful about suggesting improvements that you have spotted too early in your relationship. (Nobody likes a newcomer telling them what or how to do it)
• 4. Start to slip in the preaching with your new found friends. Invite them to see the IT process.
• 5. Now you can start to communicate on an even level both understanding each other’s needs and pressures. Make sure that your communication about IT is always from the business point of view and avoid jargon.
• 6. Recognise this is not a quick process and will take time, anything else will look false. It is worth putting in the time and effort and over time IT’s credibility will rise and the business will recognise the value the department can bring to the business.

One last thing is that you need to tell your line manager what you want to do and how you plan to do it. This way you don’t alienate your colleagues and it may become a joint effort across the team with different people taking different parts of the business. How good would that be and if sustained could be very powerful for the whole of IT and the business.

The time for organisational change in IT Departments?

This is really a thought paper on the structure of IT departments going forward. It poses more questions than answers but I do feel that change is needed and as always thoughts precede action!

Generally we seem to be stuck in a time warp with how we structure IT departments. We sometimes see discussion on how we should be aligning to the business and how IT services should change; we sometimes get companies partially going down those routes by placing IT people in the business and creating new roles but more than not, we seem to drift back into the traditional structure.

When I say traditional structure, I am talking about an IT department headed by a CIO/IT Director and divided into functional teams headed by a manager.

Although I have nearly always operated the traditional model I have over the years become more uncomfortable with it because it somehow doesn’t seem to match the business needs and although I have made some adjustments, it still seems to drift back to the traditional model and become top heavy and expensive. So is there an answer?

If we attempt change but eventually seem to end up with a very similar solution to where we came from does this suggests the traditional model is OK or do we need more fundamental change.

One question is why do we go back to what I am calling the traditional model? Is it because:-

• It is what IT people know best and therefore it feels comfortable
• It retains the barrier with the business where people don’t feel comfortable outside the technology world
• It creates the hierarchy where people can aspire to become team leaders and managers regardless of business need
• Structures are often built to resolve people issues rather than the business need

The other question is why would we want fundamental change? Here are some thoughts:-

• The costs of running IT are still too high
• The hierarchical model can stifle or block innovation and sometimes motivation
• The speed of response to business change is slow
• Business alignment and understanding is poor
• IT Direction versus Business needs don’t always match
• Business managers are now more IT literate than ever before

What would a fundamental change look like and what sort of questions should we ask ourselves in order to define it?

• Do we need a CIO/IT Director and if not how do we co-ordinate direction? Could the IT Director be part time or supplied as part of a service?
• Would it be better to have a Chief Process Officer or Business Transformation Director on the board and aligned to the business units?
• How do we access the IT skills required by the business? Should we look at a shared service model, a strategic alignment with a supplier to supply skills on an ‘as needed’ basis?
• Do we need a Hierarchy? Do we need someone in charge at every level? Can we control chaos? Can we avoid the Peter Principle? (Where someone gets promoted beyond their capability. Nothing to do with me - honest!), will people blossom if no promotion levels just experience levels? Should we put IT staff within the business and buy resources when we need them?
• How can we help the performance of the business and not hinder it? How can we make IT more adaptable to changes in the business?
• Is retention of knowledge within the IT arena important or if documented properly can someone else pick it up?

All this adds up to a lean IT function more aligned to the business with only essential skills retained within the organisation and other skills acquired on an as needs basis. Those in house skills would report within the business units. A new role of Chief Process Officer or Business Transformation Director reporting to the CEO and working with the business units to drive aligned business change. The business units would dictate the direction and the projects and bear the IT costs within their units based on clearly defined and deliverable benefits. An optional on demand IT Director would be used a bit like a non-exec to ensure compliance and direction were in line with current thinking.

That’s my starter for 10. Will be interesting to see if we get any other views to add to the debate!