Yearly Archives: 2021

SMART goal

What Is a S.M.A.R.T. Goal and Why You Should Make Your Goals SMART

Comments

When you set a goal, you should make it SMART. This is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Acceptable, Realistic and Timed. Stating your goal following this criterion you are much more likely to achieve it.


My partner signed up for nutritional training for athletes and I was reading the table of contents of the program. One of the instructions was to submit s SMART goal to the Facebook group each week. This made me think, what if people do not know what a SMART goal is? That is why I decided to write this article and make the video.


One of her goals is to drink more water during a bike ride, as we exercise quite hard while riding and if you don’t drink enough, you can get muscle cramps.


To make her goal SMART she wrote to the group that she will drink 3 bottles of water during a ride. This now becomes specific, it’s measurable (3 bottles), acceptable (not overboard), realistic (makes sense), and can be timed as it applies for each ride.


I also recommend writing down your goal using my goal planning worksheet that you can download for free. I also have an article and video that walks you through each step. I even have a more in-depth training on goal setting that you can purchase at half price using coupon code SMART (offer valid until for 2021). Here is the link to that training on Eloguens.


In my worksheet there is a section for identifying solutions to obstacles. This is a crucial step especially for difficult goals and is one reason why people abandon their goals. You need to think through the things that can hold you back and come up with solutions and my worksheet will help you do that.


You can also add ER to SMART and that makes it a SMARTER goal. The ER stands for expected results. Taking the above example, a SMARTER stated goal would be; Drink 3 bottles of water for each bike ride and have better muscular endurance and avoid cramping. This statement makes the goal clearer and increases motivation to act as you remind yourself of the outcome you are expecting. Start setting your goals as SMART or SMARTER and increase your chances of achieving the results you want.


SMART goal
improve meeting management

Improve Meeting Management to Increase Employee Productivity

Comments

Employee Productivity is Down for Remote Workers due to Too Many and Poorly Run Meetings


A recent study showed that performance of people working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic was as good or better than when they were working on-site. But a newer study showed that although people were performing, their productivity per hours worked was done by 20% on average.


This was manly due to managers calling too many meetings and meetings being inefficient. The theory is that because managers could not walk up to people to check in on them, they were calling more meetings instead.


“Bartleby’s law: 80% of the time of 80% of the people in meetings is wasted. This study certainly offers evidence for the proposition”

Meeting management has always been an issue. Meetings need good planning, and they need to have a purpose or goal, begin and end on time, and have follow-up on action items set at the meeting.


I have been using a meeting planning tool I created and after reading the article on the study, I decided to upgrade the tool and make it available for free download.  


Meetings also need to be well facilitated or chaired and roles should be assigned to help things stay on track. Roles could be a timer, notetaker and gatekeeper. The gatekeeper helps the chairperson to keep order and remind people of the meeting guidelines. Guidelines might be acting with respect, listening, not interrupting, etc. There guidelines should be set at the beginning of the meeting or be established by the company and applied to all meetings.


I like to use a few criteria to determine if the meeting was successful.


  1. Did the meeting begin and end on time?
  2. Was the purpose or goal of the meeting achieved?
  3. How satisfied were the participants with how the meeting was managed?

In the video I go through each component of my meeting planner and show a sample planner. I suggest watching the video to see if what I explain can help you make your meetings more effective.


I have often heard employees in companies complain about having to attend too many meetings and that they often waste their time there. Those that arrive on time and must wait for others to arrive feel disrespected and this is quite common and should be addressed if it is your case.


Meeting efficiency can usually be improved, and everyone will feel more productive and satisfied. You can start by thinking twice about calling your next meeting and decide if it is necessary. Make sure that those who are invited really need to be there and you are not wasting their time.


Download my form and watch the guided video to start improving your meetings now.


improve meeting management

being adaptable

Being Adaptable is A Key Learning from the Pandemic and Working from Home

Comments

Most office workers were forced to work from home during the COVID-19 Pandemic and lessons were learned. The key takeaway is to be more adaptable, and that goes for both employers and employees.


I recently read an article in a business magazine that reported that business owners and CEO’s we pleasantly surprised to discover that employee productivity from those working from home was as good or better than before the pandemic.


Leaders were forced to be adaptable in having employees work from home as this was the law in many jurisdictions with no choice. Most people are responsible enough to perform and perhaps to even improve performance as this was an opportunity to show employers that allowing them greater flexibility can work and be productive.


Employees also had to adapt to all the changes imposed on them and handle both the challenges and the opportunity to function with more independence. This has resulted in a new way of working that fosters a better balance between professional and personal responsibilities.


Definition of adaptability

Noun

The quality of being able to adjust to new conditions.

Adaptability is an advantage in the harshly competitive global economy.


Some people are more naturally adaptable to change and even enjoy it. Others find it more difficult to adapt to changes that are imposed on them and have a higher tendency for resistance. Personality traits drive how adaptable we are and takes work to become adaptable. Being too extreme either way is not ideal and it is best to learn how to strike a balance.


Imposed situations like COVID-19 force us to find a balance and if we are a less adaptable person resisting becoming more adaptable can cause stress and increase negativity This can lead to mental and physical health issues.


On the other hand, being too adaptable may mean we just follow the rules blindly and do what we are told and fail to question things that should be questioned. Knowing yourself and when being less flexible is not best and when being too adaptable is not good can help you to learn ways to adjust your responses to situations and strike better balance in life.


Larry Karass

The Benefits of Having a Pro-Active Board of Advisors or Directors for a Small/Medium Size Business

Comments

Small and medium size businesses can greatly benefit from having a board of advisors or directors that are actively helping the business owner and management team make good and timely decisions.


I had the opportunity to interview businessman Larry Karass of Stratik International who sits on the board of many successful businesses. He relates many of the benefits of having an active board and gives examples from his experience.


I learned a great deal from the interview with Larry and have a much better understanding of why a business owner would want to seriously consider creating a board of advisors who can help implement better management practices.