Roast Beef

"A young woman wanted to cook roast beef for dinner but had never done so before, so she called her mother to ask for instructions. Her mother told her to cut a chunk off both ends of the roast before placing it into the roasting pan. The roast beef turned out wonderfully. The next day the woman called her mother again and asked "Why is it so important to cut the ends off the roast." The mother thought for a bit and replied "I'm not sure, but that's how my mother taught me to cook roast beef, we'll need to ask grandma next time we see her." Several days later the woman and her mother visited grandma and asked her why it was so important to cut the ends of the roast off to ensure successful roasting. The grandma replied with a smirk, "because that's the only way I could fit it into my roasting pan".

We so often do things the way we do because that's how we've always done them. We're not quite sure why we do things that way...but it must be the "right way" because that's how it's always been done.
Perhaps there are other options that make more sense for the ways things are today.

Fitting Learning Into Your Life

Most everyone understands the importance of engaging in lifelong learning. The world of work is incredibly fast paced resulting in the need to keep up with advancements in technology, changes in business focus, new funding opportunities, and the need to maintain certifications / credentials – the list likely goes on and on. In reality, however, it can be exceedingly difficult to incorporate learning into already busy lives; juggling work, family/friends, community, and health can be challenging enough without the added stress of “getting to school.” Perhaps engaging in lifelong learning would be easier if we took a more creative approach to the notion of “learning.”

Learning can occur anywhere, anytime – it isn’t just about driving to a local community college to take a course or meeting co-workers at a company-sponsored training event. Even universities recognize the importance of offering a wider range of options for adult learners; I’m, for example, completing my PhD in Organizational Systems via a distributed learning model…there is no need for me to visit the university campus. Learning can also be informal such as reading, sharing technical tips with colleagues, and attending lunch ‘n learns.

Here are a few tips for fitting learning into your life:

§ Keep a reading box – journals, magazines, and books can be popped into a basket or box and grabbed when time permits or the mood strikes. Fill your briefcase before a road trip or flight

§ Form a topical discussion group – meet with team members and/or colleagues for weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly sessions, perhaps over lunch or coffee. Rotate who is going to share an item learned relevant to their work

§ Share a tech tip – come to each staff meeting with a technical tip (i.e., did you know CTRL+Z is a keyboard shortcut for undo)

§ Take a short e-course – we recommend www.lynda.com for inexpensive, quick, self-paced training. With over 830 courses ranging from web development and digital photography to MS Office and Adobe there is something for everyone

For more formal education (i.e., college-level courses, certificate and degree programs) don’t overlook the benefits of distance education – it can easily fit around other life activities and, in some cases, can offer a better educational experience than face-to-face training.

Most importantly, remember that

Learning is a treasure

that will follow its owner everywhere

~Chinese Proverb

Rain Rain Go Away – Thriving Through Difficult Times

Although the West Coast of Canada is well known for it’s rainy days, by July we’re usually basking in the sun. Unfortunately, we’re currently under siege with April-type showers and it’s beginning to get hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Will the rain ever stop? Will we ever get a stretch of sun for longer than one day?!

With work, visualizing an end to a particularly difficult or busy time can also be a struggle which can impact the engagement of your team members and overall company morale. It’s especially important in times such as these for team members to band together, support each other, and collectively rise to the challenge. Be sure to recognize the challenge at hand and distribute work to those most well-suited. Planning and prioritizing are essential to ensure what needs to get done is getting done, no balls are being dropped, and work-load isn’t overwhelming the team.

Difficult times can be due to one large challenge or lots of little ones that just never seem to end. At Life Strategies Ltd. we often use “ticky” contests to keep track of those smaller tasks we get off our plate and give us a sense of accomplishment. At the end of a specified period, the one with the most tickies wins!

Remember, when the skies clear and the sun emerges, don’t forget to reward you team. It’s the perfect conditions for a summer BBQ.

Social Media in the workplace

I recently had the opportunity to attend a conference about the use of social media in business. For many of us using social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) is a huge leap from the communication style that we are familiar with. Recent studies illustrate the importance of becoming educated in the use and benefits of social media.
“If you’re not tweeting about your business--someone else is. If you’re not setting your own business message on Twitter--someone else is. But more importantly, if you’re not listening to what your customers (and potential customers) are saying on Twitter--someone else is.”
http://blogs.forbes.com/work-in-progress/2010/06/11/is-twitter-a-colossal-waste-of-time/
Employers everywhere are using social networks to screen job candidates, so be sure that what you post online about yourself isn’t going to impact you negatively in the future. In a study conducted by Harris interactive for CareerBuilding.com, 45% of employers questioned are using social networks to screen job candidates and 35% decided not to offer a job to a candidate based on the content uncovered on a social networking site. Over 50% of employers said that provocative photos were the biggest factor contributing to not hiring a potential employee. 44% of employers pinpointed references to drinking and drug use as red flags.
Have you defined who gets to use social media in the workplace? Be aware of how much time your employees are spending on social network. Consider how much bandwidth is wasted by employees downloading from YouTube, or the security challenges that you face from browsing infected pages.
According to a study by information security consultancy Global Secure Systems and the organizers of the Infosecurity Europe trade show, the use of such sites is costing U.K. business an estimated $12.5 billion per year in terms of reduced output.
About 64 per cent of U.S. companies deny their employees access to sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, according to a survey by Clearswift, a London, UK-based provider of content security. In addition, 14 per cent have had to discipline staff for data loss and seven per cent for posting inappropriate content on social sites, but only 36 per cent have a policy covering such usage.
It’s probably well worth our time to investigate the benefits and risks associated with the use of social media in our workplaces.
-Thanks to Mark Fancourt-Smith of Fasken Martineau for some of this information, and for a really interesting presentation on “Tips to avoid a risk management nightmare...”

The Community Connection

Building a sense of community is an import aspect for small businesses. Life Strategies Ltd. recently relocated to Aldergrove, BC – a smaller community than which it was previously located. Although much of the business is conducted remotely (e.g., e-learning training options), the team recognizes the importance of face-to-face consulting and training. To connect with local businesses and service providers we will be hosting an open house on June 8. It’s a great opportunity to get together, develop a sense of community, and promote pride in our team and business.

If you’re a small business, there are many ways you can get involved without organizing an event yourself. Join a local business association or get involved with a local charity, sports team, or community group. Keep an eye on the local paper for events which may be a good fit for your company.

Although we live in a global marketplace where business can be conducted miles from your actual location, investing in and promoting local business will keep your community, your business, and your employees thriving.

The ongoing battle to find more time...

Many of us lead very busy lives...we attempt (and many succeed) to balance work, family, hobbies, community, and school. There are many like me, however, who struggle to find more hours in the day and days in the week to accomplish all we set out to do. Too many times I get to the end of the day and am perplexed at how little I managed to accomplish...it is like my to-do list is hijacked and, I know I’m not the only one! A Google search on “time management” resulted in over 9 million hits – many of the top focused on time management skills and resources.

Time is constant...as Julie Morganstern (1998) put it, “Time is measurable, and we all get exactly the same amount - 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.” Given this why do so many seem to struggle to manage time? Perhaps it is because we approach it from the wrong direction – what if, instead of trying to manage time, we learned to manage ourselves?

A good first step in is to analyze how or what seems to fill your day. Take a moment (assuming you can find one) to ask yourself:

• How do you manage your work day now?
  o What’s working and what’s not?
  o What time of day are you at your best?
  
• What things are you juggling?
  o Work
  o School
  o Family
  o Other
  
• What hinders your ability to manage your day (time) effectively?
  o Constant interruptions
  o Inefficient workspace
  o Shifting priorities / deadlines
  o Disorganization
  o Inability to say “no”

Once you have a better sense of what is negatively impacting your day you can look for solutions.

• If you are struggling to efficiently plan and prioritize projects/tasks
  o Ask for help
  o Read a book on time management, setting priorities, or even goal setting
  o Participate in a workshop
  
• If disorganization and inefficient workspace is a problem
  o Take time to clean and organize your office/workspace
  o Develop a filing system that will make sense for you!
  
• If you are constantly interrupted by phone calls, emails, visitors
  o Institute a “no-email” policy – many organizations are instituting email-free zones (i.e., no emails between 10am and 2pm daily)
  o Turn your phone off for an hour or so each day
  
• If priorities and deadlines keep shifting
  o Ask for help / clarification...engage your team / manager in how to best prioritize work load

Know your PRIME TIME and plan schedules and projects accordingly

• Work on complex projects when creativity and concentration are at peak
• You’re motivated and at your best
• Leave less demanding activities for low energy times

Most importantly, remember:

Time is free, but it's priceless.

You can't own it, but you can use it.

You can't keep it, but you can spend it.

Once you've lost it

you can never get it back

~Harvey MacKay

Macleans magazine reports that the top rated employers in Canada provide parental-leave top-ups, tuition subsidies, flex hours, tele-commuting, job sharing, and occasionally the opportunity to make their own hours, judged on output instead of physical hours (October 19, 2009).
Experts say that appreciation and opportunity for growth and development are the most important factors in job satisfaction. It’s really not about the money.
Interestingly, the summer 2009 edition of Fibromyalgia Aware states that the accommodations listed above are precisely what persons with disabilities require to be active in the workforce (p24).
As a career community we have been researching and studying diversity in the workplace. There are programs to educate employers and employees about promoting diversity in the workplace; however, I wonder how often disabilities are considered to be a type of diversity? Are workplaces prepared to make accommodations? Are folks with ALL types of diversity being welcomed into the work-place and being given the opportunity to grow and develop?
I have a disability and am fortunate enough to have an employer who provides the opportunity to work from home and to determine my own hours. Such flexibility and understanding helps keep me engaged in my work, and provides me with a sense of satisfaction.
When Sigmund Freud was asked what he considered to be the most important characteristics of an emotionally healthy adult, he answered simply, “To love and to work.”