3 Secrets Of Productive People

According to entrepreneur and author Margaret Hefferman, as reported a few years ago in Inc. magazine, the secrets of the most productive people are that they do these three things:

They take breaks. Breaks refresh the mind and allow you to see new situations.
They are great collaborators.
They have lives outside work. In fact, the most successful have rich private lives that include interests that hone different skills and that let them think in different ways.

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How To Ensure Merger And Acquisition Success

“Our book will be of considerable interest to corporate executives and directors, who will likely be involved in M&As during their careers,” share the authors of the new book, The M&A Failure Trap: Why Most Mergers and Acquisitions Fail And How The Few Succeed . They add, the book is also essential reading for: Investors and shareholders asked to vote on merger proposals. Investors who are considering investment in the acquiring company. Business professionals in general. Economists. Business school and university instructors. Students of business and economics interested in business restructuring and acquisition. And I contend, it is revealing reading for anyone interested in one of the most important and consequential economic events – business acquisitions. The M&A Failure Trap serves as the very blueprint to help top-level management and interested parties make better choices about their organization, avoidin...

Best Practices For Effective Communication

Here are the 12 golden rules of effective communication from Paul Falcone , as highlighted in his book, 2600 Phrases for Setting Effective Performance Goals . Always remember to : Recognize achievements and accomplishments often. Celebrate success. Deliver bad news quickly, constructively, and in a spirit of professional development. Praise in public, censure in private. Assume responsibility for problems when things go wrong, and provide immediate praise and recognition to others when things go right. Create a work environment based on inclusiveness, welcoming others' suggestions and points of view. Listen actively, making sure that your people feel heard and understood and have a voice in terms of offering positive suggestions in the office or on the shop floor. Share information openly (to the extent possible) so that staff members understand the Why behind your reasoning and can ask appropriate questions as they continue along in their own path of...

Effective Listening: Do's And Don'ts

Here are some great tips from Michelle Tillis Lederman's book, The 11 Laws of Likability . They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who's an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

The Power Of Middle Managers In The Workplace

The book, Power To The Middle , shows how managers are the crucial link between a company’s ground floor and top brass. “Too often company leaders view middle managers in a negative light as expendable employees who can slow down productivity and overall strategy,” explain the book’s authors and McKinsey partners Bill Schaninger , Bryan Hancock , and Emily Field . “However, new KcKinsey research reveals that this outdated perspective needs to change and that well-developed managers are the strategy that companies must prioritize to succeed today,” they add. Most importantly, by the end of their book, the authors sum up their insights and provide a playbook that will help senior leaders let go of the command-and-control mindset that has hobbled their managers for so long. The authors define middle managers as the people who are at least once removed from the front line and at least a layer below the senior lead...

How Companies Succeed By Engaging Radically With Society

"Organizations will pay significant consequences if they don't work openly, honestly and proactively with government and society. In order to survive over the long term and gain competitive advantage, companies must learn how to connect profoundly with the world around them -- not only with customers and stakeholders, but also with employees, local communities, politicians, and the environment itself." This is the advice from the authors of the new book, Connect: How Companies Succeed By Engaging Radically With Society . The book is all about redefining three discredited words: Corporate Social Responsibility . The authors want to put these at the center of business -- both because it's right and because success in business is inextricably linked to sustainability. To achieve " connected leadership " you must: Map your world -- Analyze stakeholders as precisely as your customers, understand trends and discontinuitites, and quantify the valu...

How To Be More Strategic

"Today’s business leaders are faced with many challenges: intense competition, increased regulation, and the need for constant innovation. Therefore, it’s imperative that as a business leader you have the essential meta-skill to navigate your business with a thorough understanding of your current situation, vision to see the future destination, and the ability to create the path to reach it,” explains Rich Horwath , author of the book, Strategic . He says that being strategic is to possess insight that leads to advantage. Strategic is the opposite of unstrategic that includes: Wondering aimlessly , lacking direction, getting lost in the weeds. Doing everything , lacking the discipline to say no, and trying to be all things to all customers, both internally and externally. Conducting meetings that take conversations down rabbit holes that cause widespread frustration amongst the members of your group. Fortunately, the book provi...

Key Interviewing Questions To Ask To Identify Leaders

The next time you are interviewing a candidate and you want to access their leadership skills, consider asking the candidate these questions: What personal qualities define you as a leader? Describe a situation when these qualities helped you lead others. Give an example of when you demonstrated good leadership. What is the toughest group from which you've had to get cooperation? Have you ever had difficulty getting others to accept your ideas? What was your approach? Did it work? Describe a situation in which you had to change your leadership style to achieve the goal? One leadership skill is the ability to accommodate different views in the workplace, regardless of what they are. What have you done to foster a wide number of views in your work environment? Thanks to Sharon Armstrong, author of The Essential HR Handbook , for these helpful questions!

Eight Things I Am Thankful For

Each year, around Thanksgiving time, I think about what I am thankful for. This year, I decided to once again take the time to make a list. A list of eight things I am thankful for . What's on your list this year? And, what's on your list this year that wasn't on your last year's list? Here is my list : Family and friends. Blogs, LinkedIn and other sources that help me to be a constant learner. Setting personal goals and working hard to reach or exceed them. Good books (including ones the book club recommended). Nonprofit organizations that provide vital services and ways for me to volunteer and donate to support their causes. Music. The ability to travel for vacations. Readers, followers and guests of my Blog and via X/Twitter @ericjacobsonkc Wow, I have a lot to be thankful for this year!

How To Survive And Then Reset To Ultimately Thrive

“Uncertainty is here to stay. Rather than seeing it as an obstacle to overcome, integrate it into your strategic approach to invigorate your high-growth potential and outperform competition under any market condition,” explains Rebecca Homkes , author of the new book, Survive, Reset, Thrive . “Most books aren’t honest enough about how hard it is to reset ,” adds Homkes. Yet, resetting and leaning into change is essential. “If you are ready to embrace change as a central element of your growth strategy, this book is for you.” Homkes’ book is a timely, comprehensive, and essential read for business leaders looking to take the next step toward ensuring high growth for their companies. The book brings together more than 15 years of Homkes working directly with high-growth companies of all sizes and across a wide variety of industries. Survive, Reset, Thrive (SRT) is a practical and innovative interconnected three-mode approach : Survive : Stabilizing ...

"Great Places To Work" Employee Perks

StLouis magazine is featuring in its January issue 60 companies that they deemed "great places to work". Helping those companies to earn that honor are the perks they give their employees, some of which you might want to consider for 2011. Here's a sampling of the perks that cover the vast range offered by the 60 companies: ARCO Construction Company -- Paid sabbaticals after every five years with the company Armstrong Teasdale -- Women's career-coaching program Bryan Cave -- Backup day-care/elder-care services Build-A-Bear Workshop -- Health Insurance for part-time employees Boeing -- Continuing education tuition support Centene Corporation -- Dry-cleaning pick-up/delivery; on-site car washes and oil changes HOK -- Paid paternity leave LarsonAllen -- Development coaches for employees Maritz -- Health fair Monsanto -- Lactation rooms Nestle Purina PetCare Company -- On-site tailor Ralcorp Holdings -- New jobs listed internally first Scottrad...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

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