E-mail should bring closure to work, not create more work, Denny Strigl, former CEO and president of Verizon Wireless, says in the book Managers, Can You Hear Me Now? Also: Don't assume other people are staring at their screens, waiting for your e-mail. Eric Jacobsen on Management and Leadership blog
Productivity:
Work better, work from home
An experiment with China's largest travel agency, C-Trip, found working from home led to a 13-per-cent performance increase, of which 9.6 percentage points is from working more minutes per shift (taking fewer breaks and sick days) and 3.5 per cent from handling more calls per minute (thanks to the quieter atmosphere). Home workers also reported substantially higher work satisfaction and psychological attitude scores, and their job attrition rates fell by over 50 per cent. But interestingly, after the experiment half of the home workers wanted to return to the office, drawn from the group that had performed comparatively badly in the experimental period. Stanford.edu )
Speeches:
Tell them what they want to hear
"Never underestimate the power of an outside voice," consultant Jon Gordon was told by a CEO after a recent speech to a company. The CEO added: "We brought you here to reinforce our message. Our folks get tired of hearing us say it but when it comes from an outside voice it's new, fresh and exciting."
Tech Tips:
Easy-to-do mobile screen shots
If you need to capture what's on a mobile screen for use in a PowerPoint slide, on an iPhone or iPad press the Home button and the Power button together to capture the current screen. Starting with version 4.0 of Android devices, you can press the Volume Down and Power buttons together. (Older versions have other methods.) Blackberry 7.0 devices require a screen capture app, which you can get for free. Dave Paradi's Presentation Tips
Harvey Schachter