Learning new software is a wonderful time to practice, living in the present.
There area many books out about "living in the Now" and "focusing within". I remember when I used to demonstrate software and I could feel myself "being in the zone". Time would go away while I was in a contractors office showing them a software program. I would focus on their questions and make notes and show them the software. I got very good at knowing my success rate by the time I left their office. I could feel the connection we had made, or didn't make in some cases. I could assess their needs and concentrate only on them. When this was happening, I lost track of time. Sometimes the demo would take 3 hours, sometimes 45 minutes. It really didn't matter, what mattered was that I was there at that moment, living in the Now.
Life is so busy, offices are so busy. It is very hard to do your present job as well as implement new software. It is especially hard if you don't have a plan of action for how it will happen and if you cannot focus on that plan. Your focused hard work will make your job easier in the near future.
Focusing within means giving attention to the task at hand and to yourself. Be good to the person who has to do this task "You". Give yourself time to read, concentrate in a quiet place, not answer the phone, just to breathe and relax. You deserve the chance to fully grasp what you are doing in the workplace. Someone at your office decided that now was the time to implement new software. Based on that decision, you can decide that "Now" is the time you will give your undivided attention to your needs in order to learn and perform this task.
As quoted in "The Power of Now" by Eckert Tolle, there is an Eastern saying "the teacher and the taught together create the teaching". I can say from experience, that a successful implementation are when both the teacher and the taught are focusing in the present moment.
Happy Learning!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Networking
I have always valued the benefit of networking. It is a challenge to decide what networking opportunities are the most time effective. There are a limited number of events per month I can manage to participate in so deciding which will benefit my business the most is a marketing decision I struggle with each month.
I am a member of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) and have been for 30 years, longer than I have done anything else, including raising my children.
My business is a member of two Chambers of Commerce, both Manatee and Pinellas Park in Florida. I am on the small business committee of the Manatee chamber which meets once per month for an hour in the morning.
When I was in Michigan I was a member of the Construction Association of Michigan and the Associated General Contractors. I have not re-joined any construction associatons other than NAWIC since being in Florida (now 3 1/2 years) but am considering making that move soon.
There are network associations popping up all over the place these days. They are private and local to your specific area. In these associations, the members refer the other members of the group to each other and everyone they know. Some groups have only one of each kind of company in an industry so your competition is not a member of the group at the same time you are. But...you cannot miss meetings, if you miss your meeting, another company, possibly your competitor will take your position. If I refer someone to one of my clients or a friend or my family, I want to know they are good at what they do. I don't want to refer someone just because I'm in a group that requires me to do that. I understand that the theory is to grow your business, but I'm not sure yet if these groups are for me, although I'm sure there are very skilled people in the group that I would be happy to refer.
With the Internet, we network no matter what we do. The world sees us, blogging, writing articles, what colleges we attended and who our friends are (my space, face book).
It is important to say what you mean and stand behind what you say. If we aren't sure of something, we must state up front that it is an opinion or we shouldn't say it at all. My mother taught me and I taught my children "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". I guess after all these years, this still holds true.
Oh and one more thing, Blogs are almost always "opinions"!
Happy Networking!
I am a member of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) and have been for 30 years, longer than I have done anything else, including raising my children.
My business is a member of two Chambers of Commerce, both Manatee and Pinellas Park in Florida. I am on the small business committee of the Manatee chamber which meets once per month for an hour in the morning.
When I was in Michigan I was a member of the Construction Association of Michigan and the Associated General Contractors. I have not re-joined any construction associatons other than NAWIC since being in Florida (now 3 1/2 years) but am considering making that move soon.
There are network associations popping up all over the place these days. They are private and local to your specific area. In these associations, the members refer the other members of the group to each other and everyone they know. Some groups have only one of each kind of company in an industry so your competition is not a member of the group at the same time you are. But...you cannot miss meetings, if you miss your meeting, another company, possibly your competitor will take your position. If I refer someone to one of my clients or a friend or my family, I want to know they are good at what they do. I don't want to refer someone just because I'm in a group that requires me to do that. I understand that the theory is to grow your business, but I'm not sure yet if these groups are for me, although I'm sure there are very skilled people in the group that I would be happy to refer.
With the Internet, we network no matter what we do. The world sees us, blogging, writing articles, what colleges we attended and who our friends are (my space, face book).
It is important to say what you mean and stand behind what you say. If we aren't sure of something, we must state up front that it is an opinion or we shouldn't say it at all. My mother taught me and I taught my children "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". I guess after all these years, this still holds true.
Oh and one more thing, Blogs are almost always "opinions"!
Happy Networking!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Document your Business Process
Every business needs to document the process of how things are done in their business. If you don’t state in writing what you what to happen within your company it just won’t happen, especially in the way that you expect.
Just like instructions to do a task, a business process states how things are to be handled at your company, in brief form. It doesn't have to be as detailed as a procedure or policy manual. Think of your business process as "the big picture" that helps to explain how your business functions. What you do in your business will determine how detailed the document is and what form it takes on.
It may take the form of a gantt chart or it could take the form of a flow chart. If that is too elaborate for you just put it in writing, it will be referred to often. It may become a jumping point for creating employee training instructions (saving you time every time you hire someone), company referral charts (where do we buy this, who do we call to refer that service, etc) and many more documents that together may be come your company policies and procedures.
Wouldn't it be nice if the next time an employee says to you "how do we do backup" you can just say "did you look first?" in the documentation!
For more information on "Documenting your Business Process" go to http://www.successif.biz/ and click on Articles and Links.
Just like instructions to do a task, a business process states how things are to be handled at your company, in brief form. It doesn't have to be as detailed as a procedure or policy manual. Think of your business process as "the big picture" that helps to explain how your business functions. What you do in your business will determine how detailed the document is and what form it takes on.
It may take the form of a gantt chart or it could take the form of a flow chart. If that is too elaborate for you just put it in writing, it will be referred to often. It may become a jumping point for creating employee training instructions (saving you time every time you hire someone), company referral charts (where do we buy this, who do we call to refer that service, etc) and many more documents that together may be come your company policies and procedures.
Wouldn't it be nice if the next time an employee says to you "how do we do backup" you can just say "did you look first?" in the documentation!
For more information on "Documenting your Business Process" go to http://www.successif.biz/ and click on Articles and Links.
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