leadership

if they’re necessary, so be it. but set some guidelines.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

when in doubt, call a meeting. jeez! how many hours in the u.s. are cumulatively wasted on a daily basis with meetings? are they really necessary?

more: busyness isn’t the same as productivity | is your firm’s culture a magnet or a repellent? | building teamwork under covid pressure | make your writing count | etiquette never goes out of style | make news, not noise | take that extra breath with email | effective communications in the age of covid |the new covid-19 workplace: are you prepared?
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if yes, do you employ rules of courtesy, such as strongly encouraging punctuality? do you have a clearly articulated agenda that was distributed in advance of the meeting? if yes, did it provide advance notice about any preparatory work or research expected to be done by the participants? finally, will the meeting be structured in such a way that it will allow for participation by the complete group?
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do you really need to go to that meeting?

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

did you ever notice when you call an associate, a friend or a business of any type, more often than not he or she will always respond with “i’m really busy” or “i’ve been jammed up”? it does not matter the time of the year, much less the time of week or day.

more: is your firm’s culture a magnet or a repellent? | organizational trust: top-down and bottom-up | how can change management really produce change? | trust: one building block of success | make your presentations memorable | have a real-life conversation | is your message open to interpretation?
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has busy become too colloquial and is simply a throwaway line? what is actually meant by “busy”? or, more specifically, what is the condition of “busyness”?
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psst … it includes checklists.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

running a professional services business requires the ability to manage multiple types of strong-minded and -willed individuals.

more: advice to new accountants | what does the client want to see? | 6 ways to increase your fees … if you dare | the clients that got away | upselling made painless
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it works, but it needs a discipline and a model to follow.

here is mine:
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more activity doesn’t mean better productivity.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

how many people believe they thrive on doing at least two things at a time and believe that they are achieving optimal results? when you are on the phone, do you ever hear the clack, clack, clack of the keyboard in the background of the other party? or if you are in the middle of a conversation do you sense that the other party has to put you on hold because there was someone who may have entered his or her office? or, finally, you use a hands-free device for your conference call, do you put it on mute and then conduct in-person conversations in your office, or go through your email?

more: building teamwork under covid pressure | how can change management really produce change? | trust: one building block of success | make your presentations memorable | exchanging knowledge has no downside | political correctness or just common courtesy?
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

what happens? you lose the essence of the conference call; you may have been given an assignment you missed or you did not respond to questions that were directed toward you. what does this tell the host of the call or the other participants? not only are you rude, but you may be the person who will throw a wrench into the spokes of an initiative that everyone is invested in.
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the pandemic only highlights problems that existed before the office buildings were bolted shut.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

with the covid outbreak, businesses of all types have had their teams work remotely while trying to ensure that the team structure was secure.

more: how can change management really produce change? | managing information overload | 6 types of non-listeners | listening: how a conversation works | exchanging knowledge has no downside | political correctness or just common courtesy? | syncing up for the covid era
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how to communicate with and ensure trust with each team member has presented challenges – some having to do with issues that normally occur even in an in-person setting, in pre-pandemic times.

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bonus: 3 steps to improving your culture.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

lately i have been in conversations on the topic of change management. there is no one right definition because consultants can view this concept in slightly altered ways. besides, one person’s view of change can be another’s view of slight modification. either way, there needs to be preparation from the firm, team and individual levels.

more: managing information overload | make your writing count | etiquette never goes out of style | make news, not noise | take that extra breath with email | effective communications in the age of covid | the new covid-19 workplace: are you prepared? | does your firm’s board know its role? | are executive performance reviews dangerous? | influence, don’t manipulate
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

on a visceral level, change management is a mindset of how to prepare, equip and support people so they can successfully adopt change to drive organizational success and the resulting outcomes. if you peel away the layer of consultant-speak, it is really about how to influence people to change their behavior from “in the moment” to “future thinking.”
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