Five Forward Thinking Business Trends

 Business leaders are looking to find the newest trends for pushing their organizations into a profitable future and sustainable ptograms.  These trends will be considered when developing corporate visions and roadmaps.  Each blog post or magazine article they read will state the the writer's or edtitor's predected top five or ten trends.  All the materials may list two or three of the same items and then the remaining ones will be different from the last article read.  From reading many December 2024 and January 2025 blogs and articles, below are the most repeated items.

AI, which means Artificial Intelligence, is at the top of almost every list.  However, there seems to be some confusion on how this should be implemented in non-tecnical business. AI typically promises more than it can deliver, as has seen in badly written business articles and college term papers that were so obviously sourced and plagiarized.  However, AI does do research well - it just is not creative as an author.  In other words, do not let the old repuation AI got in past years deter consideration of AI for now and in the future.  AI technology has come a long way in a few short years and now provides tools that can help businesses.  The trick with AI is to find people who really understand it and for management to ask lots of questions to make sure it is a business fit that makes sense before investing in AI implementation.  Although AI can provide for easy research, quick problem solving, and increased productivity; it often uses lots of energy so there is that hidden cost to be aware of.

Customer Experience has resurfaced as another top trend.  Why customer service and satisfaction ever left as a key business component is a curious circumstance of cost cutting.  Why would anyone want to alienate customers just to save money?  There is no profit without customers!  

Technology (which is not only AI-related) still makes the trend list too.  It is called differenet things, but it is still all technology related!  Concerns about cypersecurity is still high.  Then there is the tasks of:updating current information systems, cleaning-up security data and inactive accounts, making websites and on-line stores more user friendly while impriving response time, updating handrware and software, and make sure the IT (information technology) staff consists ot people qualified to get it all done.  

Workforce is another common theme when talking business trends.  Some of the "experts" claim it is retention that should be the main concern of management.  Whereas, others talk about motivation or having the correct personnel with skills needed, which has always been key to an organization's success.  Skill needs may be technical or they could be social.  Technical is necessary for IT and AI, as well as various types of technicians and engineers needed for certain types of companies.  Social and team-building skills are important where collaboration, creativity, and innovation are desired.  Communication skills are extremely key to service companies, sales departments, marketing plans, and where organizations want to make customers a priority commitment. 

Another issue to consider is Deglobalization, which only a few of the articles referred to as economic resilience or geopolitical shifts.  This has already begun in the United States of America and in many Eurpean countries.  Due to tarriffs, taxation, politics, and other multi-country business issues; small niche companies and local businesses may soon do better than the bigger global companies when looking at profitability and increased market-sharepercentages. 

NOTE to Readers:  If you feel an important trend was left off this list, please add it as a comment to this post so others can learn about it and do research, if they desire.  Please include in the comments why you believe it is a trend that should be considered,

Best Time to Hold a Meeting

Do you ever ask the question "When is the best time to hold a meeting?"  Some time ago, I answered this question in an article on best meeting length and time of day in relation to corporate culture, participant availability, and type of meeting.  This advice still holds true, however there may be more to think about  now, due to technology and research.

Recently there have been productivity studies showing the part of the workday when people are best at decision-making or being creative.  This information is typically used to help plan a daily schedule and to do's for effective time management.  However, this same data may be key to planning meetings, as well.  The studies show that people are most alert during the morning and it is a good time to make decisions, work on major projects or logistical items. Consider the type of meeting you are having, if it is for decision-making, consider planning the meeting in the morning.  Studies also shows people are more creative in the afternoon. This indicates that free-flowing meetings for brainstorming, problem-solving, design, process mapping, or discussion should be planned for the afternoon.  Get the creative stuff done in the afternoon with your group, and if decisions can be postponed plan a shorter meeting the next morning.  This allows participants time to review the minutes and think about things before jumping to fast on a quick solution. 

Before deciding on a time to hold your meeting, first determine if the meetings is really necessary.  Information sharing can easily be done via email instead of a meeting.  Most meetings work better face-to-face, but virtual meetings are a good alternative when the participants are not all located in the same building. 

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Four Ways to Get Noticed for Promotion or Transfer

Are you wanting to move your career along, but feel stuck?  Do you think you are due for a promotion or want to get that transfer?  Get unstuck and start doing something to get noticed.  Below are four ways you can do that.

1. Remember ambition is not a bad thing.  So showing off your success is not bragging, it is just getting noticed.  Write it on progress reports and share it on social media if it is not corporate confidential work.  No need to be specific just post a quick bullet in hopes of attracting a mentor, network associate, and possibly the career you want.

2. Speak up in meetings.  If you have an idea that solves a problem or moves a project along, share it.  If you have a resource for necessary research or a needed skill set, let others know.  The more you show how you can help, the more you get noticed.  Getting noticed means being asked for opinions or getting assigned to more visible projects.

3. Take action whenever possible, do not wait for permission.  Do the work that needs to be done.  Take the lead on a team or volunteer for key projects.  Pro-activity and productivity get noticed too.

4. Find a mentor or coach who will recognize your capabilities and be willing to help you get there or guide your path. If you have a career goal, go for it by finding someone who will listen to your vision. 

Are the Holidays Causing a Dip in Employee Productivity?

According to infographic in How to Not Lose Track of Productivity During Hectic Holiday Week  post by ZeroCater, 42% of employees are shopping on-line during the workday for Christmas.  Plus  35% are planning  Dec. 25 activities, while 30% are thinking about what  they may be doing during their holiday break.  Wow!  Various excuses are given for why these employees are slacking off, including "it is slow during the holidays."

Check out their blog post and full infographic for ideas on how to boost workplace productivity during the holiday season with breaks and gamifying work projects.  

10 Questions When Choosing an eLearning Authoring Tool

With each eLearning authoring tool boasting its unique selling features, it can be tough finding one that fits your specific content creation needs. Since we all have different needs, backgrounds and proficiency with new technology, there is no universal tool.  Below are 10 questions you should ask yourself when choosing an eLearning authoring tool.

1. What level of interactivity do we want in an authoring tool?  Ensuring that a course is engaging can be more difficult than producing the content itself. Some form of interactivity is essential to ensure that learners stay focused and retain information. Adding interactivity to a course can vary in difficulty, so it’s important you choose a tool that fits with your skills and resources.

2. Do we desire video delivery features in the tool?  With decreasing attention spans, video has become one of the most popular eLearning formats. With that in mind, ensuring that the tool you choose offers at least basic video is a good idea. Otherwise, adding video to a course can require a significant amount of external resources.

3. Do we need a tool that offers development collaboration?  This really depends on your work environment. Will you be working solo or collaborating with a team? The best collaborative authoring tools will be cloud-based. If you will be collaborating intensely, real-time collaboration is an ideal feature for efficient collaboration.

4. Should our courses be mobile friendly?  If your courses will viewed outside of a classroom setting, they must be mobile-friendly! This is where you should be looking at the publishing output (Flash, HTML5, etc.). Ensure that courses can be accessed and interacted with on all major devices.

5. What is more important to us, a short learning curve or more creative options?  With most tools, you get what you give. Meaning, a complex tool will likely be capable of more impressive results than an easy tool with minimal options. The complex tool will have a much steeper learning curve, but will typically offer much more creative freedom. It’s just a matter of knowing the scope of your needs, resources and capabilities.

6. Which fits our needs better, a desktop tool or web-based tool?  While both types of tools have their pros and cons, web-based authoring tools are increasingly popular. Some advantages include universal access, no installations, automatic updates and more. The opposite is generally true for desktop software. However, there are some benefits, such as offline access, quicker response time and more control over data.

7. Will we require any analytical data on learners?  Will you be tracking learner data through your LMS or must you rely on built-in analytics? Usage data is helpful in understanding how learners engage with your course and whether its design is effective. Some tools offer built-in analytics, but it also depends on the data you require.

8. Is it compatible with our LMS or LRS?  If you are currently using an LMS or a LRS, it’s important to know if the tool is compatible. The same goes for other technology you will be using in the content creation process.

9. How does it fit into our training budget?  Simplicity tends to go hand in hand with price. Below are key points to consider when reviewing pricing plans:

·         Free trial offers

·         Price per authoring versus team pricing plans

·         Monthly storage included and cost of additional storage

·         Monthly payments or yearly contract

·         Number of perks available as add-ons

·         Flexibility of cancellation policy

10. Are there any hidden costs we may not be aware of?  Consider all the features you need relative to how much you are willing to spend. Also consider the costs of external tools that are not included in the plan you are considering buying. For instance, external branching software can cost a few hundred dollars extra per month.

You should now have a good idea of what to look for when choosing an eLearning authoring tool.

Google Notes Five Building Blocks as Keys to Team Effectiveness

An on-line article from World Economic Forum (released in December 2015), Google shares what they believe to be the five keys to effective teams within their organization. I agree with them from my experience teaching team-building and facilitating teams through various stages of development.  So I thought I would do a comparison of their keys to skills taught in typical team-building training, programs, and books. 

1. Psychological Safety equates to team members building trust for each other so they are not afraid to voice ideas or opinions in meetings, as well as take risks in improving their work processes. See RARA A Meeting Wizard’s Approach to improve team meetings and start getting action items done. 

2. Dependability means all team members are accountable to one another for assigned action items or projects, and getting necessary work done. See TAPP Steps in Time Management if team members do not know how to plan their time.    

3. Structure and Clarity happens when team members understand their roles, help develop plans, and set goals.  This is especially important for team start-up and when new members are introduced to the team.  See Team Building Primer for how to do this.

4. Meaning/Motivation in a team’s work leads to higher commitment because their work is important to each member and they all are able to participate in developing their goals, assigning tasks, making training plans, and designing (or redesigning) their processes for maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

5. Impact/Results come when the team reaches milestones and goals along their development path and truly understand that their work matters to the organization.  Then the team members will be able to take greater risks, be more flexible on project assignments, and be comfortable leading change efforts.  See OPIE Project Planning and Implementation for Teams for work teams occasionally working on small projects which do not require all aspects of full project management.

Free Business Articles for Organization Newsletters

Looking for free well-written business articles for your organization’s newsletter?  I often get emails from company, association, university, and military representatives asking if they can reprint one of my e-articles in their own newsletter.   I am flattered that they find the information in an article so useful that they want to share it with employees, members, and others.  If you are in charge of a newsletter and looking for something that will strike a chord with your readers, please feel free to check out and use any of the articles on the following topic web pages.  A link to reprint guidelines should be at the top of each page.

·         Communication and Presentations

·         Leadership and Strategy
·         Meeting Management
·         Social Networking and Media
·         Team Building and Project Management
·         Time Management and Organization

Articles that have been published in print magazines will require additional permission from the magazine to reprint any of the text. If you want the right to copy an article in print, you may have to purchase that right from the magazine.  However, you can email out the direct link to a PDF of the article without getting permission.  You can find some of my print articles at http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Shirley_Lee.  These articles are available for reprint - please see guidelines at http://www.ezinearticles.com/terms-of-service.html






Leadership Time Management with the Four D’s

Dwight D.Eisenhower came up with a way to prioritize tasks using four D’s:  Do, Delegate, Defer, or Dump.  This is also referred to as the Eisenhower Matrix.  It is basically a method to decide what tasks are urgent or non-urgent, and which are important or unimportant so that they could be placed in the appropriate D quadrant to plan actions. 

I think it is a little more complicated than the TAPP Steps in Time Management (on Amazon #ad) priority method and techniques which I highly recommend most people use for their “To Do” lists.  The TAPP priorities cover all 4 D’s in High, Medium, or Low.  When I speak to leadership teams on TAPP, I recommend they add a “WHO” column on the right-hand side of their task list for delegation purposes.  They already have the “WHAT” listed in their tasks. So this extra column helps them to remember to plan “WHO” to assign the action to, “WHEN/”WHERE” to meet with them, “HOW” to assign it and explain “WHY” it is necessary, as well as “WHEN” to follow-up for accountability and completion.

However, I can see how people in a leadership role or project managers might find the 4 D’s technique helpful too.

• To learn more about the 4 D’s technique and see the quadrant grid, check out article Quit Managing Your Time... Manage Your Attention
• For some examples of items in each quadrant, visit The Eisenhower Method.
• For apps related to this tool, see bottom of Productivity Notes article.

If you already use the 4 D’s or H,M,L priorities, please share with  us know how you use it to improve your personal or professional time management in the comments.

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What Does the Future Hold for Project Management?

Project management is relatively a new role to most staff members and organizations. Only in the last decade has the demand for project management and experienced and educated project managers significantly increased. Interestingly enough, even though it is still relatively new, project management is changing and altering. So what does the future hold for project management? What does this mean for project managers?

The future of project management and project managers relies heavily on technology. There are so many types and forms of project management software that often times it can be overwhelming. However, technology has also given project managers and organizations the option, freedom, convenience, and flexibility to work remotely. Many organizational staff work and are situated entirely in remote locations and by using different forms of technology, such as computers, tablets, and mobile devices. As a result, working remotely itself has shaped how project management functions.

Communication is a big point in project management. When working with teams in remote, off-site locations, this changes the way project managers document project specifications, communicate with team members, and even share documents and other files. Again, these items typically flow through online project management software today, but it has ultimately shaped how project management and teams function.

Another common area that project managers run into is managing budgets. This is still a very difficult area for many organizations to deal with today. Unfortunately, this also stems down to the project managers since it is often the project manager’s responsibility to set up and adhere to strict budget guidelines. The unfortunate fact here is that until the economy picks up again, project managers are going to have to deal with tight budgets and having to do more with less.

Besides the project management altering factors that we already know about, there are many interesting predictions of what the future of project management holds for project managers and organizations. Most would already agree that in the last decade project management has evolved into a genuine science. Interestingly enough, project management is a complex way of thinking that is surrounded by strategies, theories, and methodologies. It also involves discovering new ideas, working with data, and working with projects that we don’t necessarily see.

Currently project managers are classified as people with certain skills, abilities, and talents such as organizational and analytical skills and the ability to be organized, detail-oriented, multi-task, and problem-solve. Project managers are often times those individuals, who are dedicated to helping or serving others, speaking, persuading, and communicating. But what happens if project management begins to attract scientists and highly technical individuals? This is already heading in that direction since technology has really made an impact on how projects are communicated, managed, and organized. Will this completely change the way organizations are run?

Many organizations in many industries are changing today. This may be due to the increase and improvement in technology or the ability and flexibility to work within smaller budgets and deal with more restrictions. However, project management is one particular area that runs many organizations that is constantly changing in the way projects are managed and even in the individuals that serve in the role. What do you think the future of project management holds?

Nine Leadership Keys to Inspire People to Produce Results

In Jeremy Kingsley’s book Inspired People Produce Results (on Amazon #ad), he provides 9 keys for leaders to use to unlock greater growth in their organizations. 
Below those 9 Leadership Key containing a few of the points he made summarized as: inspire, passion, purpose, loyalty, caring, understanding, patience, communication, and integrity.

1. Inspire by creating SMART goals for your teams; and show your personal dedication, commitment, and vision.
2. Provide passion to employees so they try new things and enable their own innovative work; celebrate accomplishments and share your vision along with the importance of projects.
3. Clearly define the purpose of your organization, team, and projects; linking individual passions to purposeful work and worthy causes energizes employees.
4. Demonstrate loyalty and get it back through connecting to your team and forming a lasting relationship with each employee.
5. Show that you care about your employees and are grateful for the work that they do; establish a both a social and physical working environment that is comfortable for each individual - be “green” whenever possible.
6. Understand the strengths and weaknesses (see DiSC vs, HRDQ assessments for help) of each team member in order to motivate them and develop their specific talents; listening, counseling, and mentoring are expected by today’s workforce.
7. Encourage patience in interactions between yourself and your employees by planning projects properly and setting realistic performance expectations; encourage the testing of new ideas, even if they fail, so you can have greater success later.
8. Communication should be personal, precise, and persistent; face-to-face is best and when providing pertinent details be honest and repeat as often as needed.
9. Show integrity, you will face fewer crises and will inspire your people to follow you; the best way to show it is to say what you mean and do what you say.

Productivity Experts – for process or people?

What do you think of when someone tells you they are a productivity expert or consultant?  The first thing that should come to mind is someone that helps an organization to improve their process or help their people to become more productive. This is what I do.

However, I find that many people think the role of a productivity consultant is someone who goes into companies to help them downsize by noting which employees are “deadweight.”  Then the company can easily fire or lay-off those people since the expert told them who they did not need.  The leaders of the organization paid good money for the advice so they plan to use it as their excuse for reducing costs verses increasing productivity.  I understand when the economy is bad you want to reduce costs, but what does that have to do with being more productive? 

Some might say is too costly to train people to be more productive and that there are some people who take advantage of their employees by not fully working for their pay  I feel training is an investment and most people want to do their best work regardless of how long they have been on-the- job. If employees are not productive, then they need to be engaged and/or trained.  Engaged means they find fulfillment and empowerment at work.  Trained means they have been taught the skills and processes to become more productive.  Which do you want your employees to be?

I hope you said both!  Employees who work as part of a team often feel engaged in their work and a connection with their fellow employees.  Team training is more than just a few courses on team phases or activities in an annual team-building event.  It must include the technical skills related to process development, role flexibility, project planning, quality improvement tools, both time and meeting management, as well as job-related needs.  With the right skill-set, open and honest leadership, and a good model to follow employees can become highly productive.  High production typically means increased revenue, so invest rather than just cut costs.

VLOG: Transferring Change

Below is the first video blog (vlog) post made on a new computer with built-in webcam.  In under 3 minutes, I compare transferring change in an organization to transferring files between computers.  This was unscripted except for a note on the 3 steps.  Please let me know if you want to see more vlogs.

Move Information	à	Manage Change
Install	vs.	Plan
Connect	=	Communicate
Transfer	vs.	Implement

After the video, you may also want to review posts:  An Essential Part of Change and Behavior Change Models for ideas.

OPIE Implementation Process and the Project Manager

The following paragraphs are excerpts from the book O.P.I.E. Project Planning and Implementation for Teams, from the IMPLEMENT chapter:

Once a plan has approval, the project manager has to implement the plan by executing the schedule, getting the resources, and controlling the budget.  Both success principles carry through to the implement stage and they are  “all project team members and the sponsor must agree on what the project goal and primary task accomplishments should be” and   “all project team members must be willing to participate in meetings
and do tasks related to the project”.  In addition, the underlying principles that apply in this stage are  “all tasks listed on the plan schedule are important and the responsible team member should do their best to stay on schedule” and “recording progress to plan schedule and changes in resources are important to completing the project within or near budget”.

Even though a plan has approval, that does not mean there will not be changes because no plan is perfect.  Therefore, it may require tweaking in the form of minor changes or major revisions, as the work progresses.   It is important to bring any major issues or problems to the project sponsor.  If the sponsor feels the difficulty may adversely affect schedule or budget, the customers or others providing funding may require consultation.  Remember not to abandon the project just because a few issues arise.  Often issues can be resolved by involving the right people in a discussion.

Executing the plan is implementing the project, doing the tasks listed on the schedule, and meeting the requirements outlined in the specification.  Doing this is the responsibility of all the project team members including the project manager.  Monitoring and controlling the plan is primarily the project manager’s responsibility.  Monitor/control functions include  tracking schedule progress, insuring quality matches specification, tracking resource use, matching actual expenses to budgeted costs, holding progress reviews, weighing risks and making decisions, getting necessary approvals or authorizations for changes to plans.  It is important to monitor and control both the schedule and costs to know where the project truly is towards on-time and on-budget completion.  Although the project manager is primarily responsible for monitoring, they can solicit input from team members, the sponsor, experts, and/or others who have an interest and investment in the project.  

NOTES:  The process stages of O.P.I.E. are Open, Plan, Implement, and End.   

                See post from last month with PLAN excerpt.

Begin with the End in Mind

Stephen Covey is the author of the best-seller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  In the video below, his #2 habit to "begin with the end in mind"  is shared.  Steve Tack shares Covey examples from the book.  After listening, consider how this habit effects building your business or leading your team.

OPIE Planning Process and the Project Team

The following paragraphs area excerpts from the new book O.P.I.E. Project Planning and Implementation for Teams, from the PLAN chapter related to Project Teams:

Before trying to develop a project plan, assemble a Project Team of people that have something to contribute to the overall project.  The Project Manager may already have a team assigned before he builds his plan so he can better estimate his resource budget and have the team participate in designing the project schedule.  Alternatively, the team may not exist until implementation, after the project has approval and a preliminary plan is established.  However, if the team can help with planning, then they are more likely to be committed to accomplishing the plan and the project goal or objective.  In addition, it is less likely that omission of important details from the plan will occur if the team is involved in developing the plan.

These project team members may have expertise in similar projects or be someone with a stake in the outcome of the project.  More experienced people will help insure the project stays on schedule, however working on a project with a mentor or others more experienced can be a great learning experience for those new to this type of work, process, service, or product.   Team members may be volunteers or given the assignment to participate on the project.   Typically, volunteers make more of an effort and require less supervision than those assigned without asking if they would like to participate.  Therefore, the Project Manager should talk with each perspective member to make sure they understand what their project responsibilities and accountability might be, what challenges they may look forward to, and what value they offer to the team.  Additionally, the Project Manager should note how much freedom each member would have in carrying out their tasks and making decisions related to their assignments.  

If the project team members have worked together before, then the project may start well.  Team members who have worked on team projects before will already be familiar with team problem solving and participatory decision-making and will see working on team as a motivating factor in their and others’ contribution to the project.  However, if some of the team members have not worked together or been part of a team before, the project manager may want to consider if there is need for any team training or other team-building activities to help the members work as a team.  If the team has not worked together before, in their first team meeting, members will need to establish conduct guidelines for personal and group behavior. The team may want to establish what types of information sharing may or may not go outside the project team as well.  Working as a team, the members should find they produce better project results in an effective manner. 

* NOTES:  The process stages of O.P.I.E. are Open, Plan, Implement, and End.  
                   See post next month with IMPLEMENT excerpt.

Making your own personalized Time Management System.

TAPP Steps in Time Management is not so much a strict discipline as understanding how to do the right things at the right time for you personally. There are many things that can get in the way of reaching your goals and having a good plan for managing your priorities, just as there are excellent ideas to help with time management.  Consider the 4 suggestions below when managing your time.

Start by writing down every task you need to do on a single "to do" list.  In other words, do not rely on stacks of paper or sticky notes to remind you what to do.  When writing things down, break your bigger projects into many smaller manageable tasks that you need to get done.  This will prevent procrastination in ignoring important projects because they seem too big for you to do.  Then prioritize your work using only 3 priority levels. Always work on your higher priority tasks before working on lower priorities.  Sometimes you may be tempted to do the easy stuff first just because you can do it quickly and get it out of the way.  Remember lower priority items may not be the best use of your time. Go for the best quality work you can do in order to eliminate the possibility of future rework for you.  However, keep in mind that your work does not have to always be perfect to be good enough to accomplish the need.  It is important that you do not over schedule yourself or get bog in the details of every task you need to accomplish. 

Also, put all your appointments on a single calendar so you do not have to rely on your memory for appointments.  If you leave it to your mind, you will forget something or be late and that something might have be very key to meeting your goals.  Consider leaving some flexibility in your planned day otherwise interruptions may spoil your plan and cause you unnecessary stress.  Instead of having eight hours packed with meetings and tasks, plan only 6 hours of medium to high priority items and then fill in the remaining two with whatever comes up.  You can always pick up the slack time, if any, by completing a lower priority or getting a jump on the tasks for the next day.  Be sure to use an agenda for your meetings to keep it on track and end on time.  If it is your meeting, be early.  If it is someone else’s meeting, don’t be late to the meeting as this is rude and often disruptive to the meeting flow. 

Do not fall into the “just say NO” trap.  This is not the best solution to keeping your "to do" list on the light-side.  If you say yes too often, you may experience work overload.  However, do not say no so often that people overlook giving you the opportunity to get in an important project or be part of a possibly career enhancing team.  Always consider what you might have to give up when planning a new task or project to your workload.  Instead, you should agree to think about new projects within a certain time period and then give your response or offer alternative methods for help to the person requesting your help as soon as you can.

Finally take advantage of technology to save time.  Whenever possible, use time management, spreadsheet, email and other internet or communication applications to your advantage for reducing time writing or when doing calculations.  But do not become a slave to technology by letting your cell, PDA, pager, or email control your time too much. It may be okay to turn them off or tune them out for a short while as long as people know how to get hold of you in an emergency.  

Start Planning to Improve Crisis Management

It is a shame that most MBA programs only offer one course or a short lecture series on Crisis Management.  Surely they are aware of what has happened to so many companies over the last few years just because they did not plan properly.  Are business schools not aware of the research that shows for each $1 invested in crisis management, an organization can avoid a loss of $7?

Do you have an MBA?  Did it prepare you for a major business crisis?  Does your company even have a crisis management plan?  Are you personally trained to help create one or to implement it?  If not, then as an introduction to the concept, you may want to read the new book Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management (on Amazon #ad) by Jonathan Bernstein.  His book covers various aspects of crisis management including prevention, planning, training, press, communication, law, and potential cultural issues for global companies.  Below is a sample of a few tips from chapter 3 regarding crisis planning. 

Essential Components for a Crisis Plan

1.      Make it easy to reference by including both a table of contents and index.

2.      Introduce the plan with purpose statement, goals, scope, and policies.

3.      Keep documentation (minutes, actions, changes, press releases) related to the plan together.

4.      Locate Emergency Operations Center(s) and note location details.

5.      Select Team members, assign roles and responsibilities, document who does what.

• Core team should be senior executives and select management
• Supplemental teams may be required  if company has multiple locations
• Alternative members should be selected in case a member of other teams is unavailable at time of crisis
• Contact list with communication methods (email, phones, etc.)

6.      Document possible crisis scenarios, procedures to follow for each scenario and possible communications including press statements.

7.      Identify and train spokespersons from teams to speak during crisis

8.      Establish communication protocols and methods for using contact list during crisis.

9.      Plan communication for all stakeholders and audiences that may be affected by the crisis. 

10. Plan to include a “lessons learned” summary of what was done during a crisis to identify strengths and weakness for future improvements. 

Review Often

Last month I continued my series on better project/task management. I wrote about three ideas for staying on top of your information intake process. These included taking time in the moment to make sure you have captured everything, highlighting important information for later recall and use, and setting aside time for formal review.

This month I want to expand my thoughts on reviews including when and what to review. A formal, periodic review is one of the key elements of the “Getting Things Done” approach to project/task management. It’s important to not only review your calendar and notes but also your goals, objectives, plans, projects and tasks. In looking at my process, I have settled on five key times to sit down and review.

They are:

Annually
At the beginning of each year I like to take time to do two things. First, I like to recap the previous year to see how well I did against the goals and objectives I set at the beginning of the year. Then I like to focus on the new year and establish my new goals and objectives. Once I have these new goals set, I can start reviewing potential projects and build my plan for achieving them. This plan is my guide for the coming year.

Quarterly
Once the year begins, I like to take time each quarter to review my progress against the annual plan. I use this time to review my goals, objectives, and corresponding projects. I check to see if they are still relevant and see if anything new has occurred or changed that might mean a change to my plan. If so, I make the necessary adjustments. I end each quarterly session with a updated annual plan.

Monthly
Each month I stop and assess my progress toward completing my projects. I review each project, including active, on-hold, and canceled. I look at each project and check the progress against my plan. I also check to make sure that the active projects are the right ones for reaching my goals. My goal for this session is to come away with an updated project list.

Weekly
The most important review session is the weekly review. This is when I sit down and review not only my active projects but also the individual actions/tasks. This is when I determine if I am working on the right things daily. I look at both the just completed week and the upcoming one. I look at my project list, my task lists, my calendar, and my notes. I end this session with an updated action/task list and a working plan for the week.

Daily
Finally, I set aside a few minutes at the end of each day to review my daily activities. I check my action/task list, my notes from the day, and my calendar. I use this time to prepare mentally for the next day. This allows me to go home each night and know that I am ready for the next day. This session keeps me on track for the week.

By following through with each of these sessions, I am able to keep a handle on the projects, actions, and other activities that move me toward my goals. Do you follow a similar process? Let me know your thoughts on periodic review.

Is everything on your list? Three Ideas for Making Sure

Last month I continued my commentary on my progress in implementing a new approach and process for managing my projects and tasks. To recap, I have been using a software solution called Omnifocus to capture and manage my projects and tasks. With versions that work on my Mac, iPad, and iPhone, this combination allows me to access my project and task lists in all situations and times. In addition, I changed my approach to note-taking and standardized on a combination of software (Omni Outliner, Evernote, and Notability) and paper (my trusty Moleskine notebooks) for capturing and managing my notes.

While this combination of process and tools works, I have realized that as the project list gets longer, the task list expands, and the meetings and other opportunities for capturing notes increases, there are additional issues I need to address. These include getting captured information from one system to another. And incorporating other systems (email and calendar) into this process.

As part of my ongoing research into the best solution for me, I reached out to a few peers to see what they do.

Here are some ideas I heard.

1) Take time in the moment

This was probably the most mentioned idea.

• Take time right now to transfer items from your email or notes to your calendar or project/task list
• If you are in a meeting and don’t have time right now, stop on way to next meeting and make the transfer
• Don’t worry about adding all the details, just get the basics listed
• Use a system with a quick capture/entry feature (Omnifocus has a quick capture feature, the Inbox)
• Plan to come back later and flesh out the details

2) Highlight for later recall

This was another great idea. This makes it easier to later find and recall the action items, dates, and potential projects for completion later.

• Find a way within your system to flag or highlight the important information including actions items, meeting requests, etc.
• When using paper you can circle it, put stars in front of it, or use some other type of notation or code to signify what it is. There are notebooks designed specifically with space for special notations.
• When using software, learn the features of the software. Many have the ability to add highlights, bookmarks, flags, and notes to mark critical information.
• Never leave a meeting or conversation, or close an email or book without formally highlighting things you want to recall later

3) Review often

This idea was key. Schedule periodic reviews.

• Set aside time periodically to review your notes, project lists, task lists and calendar
• Look for open items, missing items, progress, and completion
• Flesh out the details for quick captured items
• Use the time to look more strategically at your lists
• Determine the right frequency for your projects

I have begun to add each of these ideas into my process. Each one requires both discipline and thought. My goal is to work on incorporating them until they are integral pieces of the process.

Let me know what ideas you have for these issues. Next month I will dive further into idea #3, Review Often.

Start Virtual Team Meetings with a Little Business Improv

Since I am a contract facilitator at important business meetings or team-building events, I often get asked what should be done differently for virtual meetings verses face-to-face meetings. The basic requirements of any good meeting remain the same – follow the RARA meeting management approach of establishing Roles, starting and ending on time by following an Agenda, keeping Records with all decisions and the decision-making process documented, and assigning Actions before the end of the meeting. The main thing to keep in mind for a virtual meeting is for everyone to be more patient because you will not have the visual cues when someone wishes to talk or is ready to move to the next topic that you get in a face-to-face meeting.

Virtual meetings require the use of technology to communicate effectively. It is important that everyone knows how to effectively use the technology. Plan some training or quick reference guides on all the technologies to be used to start off on the right foot. This will ensure everyone is able to concentrate on meeting topics rather than trying to figure out how to mute/unmute when necessary over the phone or on computer speakers.

My previous 2 posts were about requirements for virtual team members and leaders to create the best team mix. To increase the team’s future success, the team should have their first meeting face-to-face. The team leader should personally contact each member, welcome them to the team by explaining how they fit into the group, and let them know when and where the first meeting will be. Then at that first meeting, conduct an activity that will make the team members more aware of the pros and cons of certain behaviors in meetings that will bog the group down. In the new book “Business Improv” by Val and Sarah Gee, they provide a great activity for this startup meeting. I have adapted this activity for virtual teams to use in their first face-to-face meeting and summarized the instructions below. There are also other activities in the book that can be done in future face-to-face meetings and a few relationship building ones that may be done in virtual meetings or by pairing up members outside the meeting.

Business Improv book

Business Improv Activity for Effective Meetings (#68 in book)

Your Objectives:

• Recognize underlying issues and cause of disruptive behaviors to eliminate them.
• Manage the need to control other’s behavior by creating personal accountability.

Activity Instructions:

1. Before starting the activity, begin with a short explanation of how you plan to handle regular meetings and unscheduled meetings only if necessary. Try to keep this talk under 5 minutes.

2. Do the activity in 4 rounds spending 2 to 3 minutes on each round.

• Round 1: Individually and silently, have each team member think about what behaviors before, during, and after a meeting may cause disruption or annoyance, and result in ineffective meetings They should select, but not share, the one they feel is the worst for the next round.
• Round 2: In small groups of 5-6 people, have the team members hold a mock meeting on any subject they choose. During this meeting, everyone is to demonstrate to the fullest the bad behavior they selected in round 1.
• Round 3: Each individual member must now think about what the opposite behavior of the one they just acted out could be. If anyone can not determine an opposite behavior, ask them to consider a good behavior they think should be used in meetings.
• Round 4: In the same small groups, have the team members hold a mock meeting on any subject they choose. During this meeting, everyone is to demonstrate to the good behavior they selected in round 3.

3. After the activity, debrief by asking the 3 questions below and allowing everyone on the team an opportunity to share their opinions on each question. Try to limit this discussion to 8-10 minutes at approximately 3 minutes per question.

• “What was the biggest difference between meetings that were disrupted and those that were not?”
• “What are the human needs behind the disruptive behaviors?”
• “What specific actions can you take to stop disruptive behaviors during meetings?”