Valhalla Business Solutions - Business Management Consultants

Labels: calendar management, career, Coaching Teams, effective manager, employees, feedback, Restaurant Management, Sales Coaching, Small Business CEO, Small Business developing your team members

· Use the technology of your email client

o Create Rules and Folders

o Utilize Junk Mail Folder

o Turn off auto preview and email notification

o Use signature function

· Change your email behavior

o Schedule specific time during the day to complete email

o Don’t take blackberry to meetings

o Utilize subject line effectively

o Keep emails short

Unfortunately today email has become the most used form of communication. Email is abused endlessly!! Emails from two cubes over, countless distribution lists, C.C.’s and even interoffice humor. I love hearing the term “urgent email” which in all senses of the phrase is an oxymoron. Of all the forms of communication it is the least effective form of communication behind face to face, phone and voicemail. Email is a handicap to the most talented people, it allows people who are less effective with oral communication to communicate on the same playing field. It also mistakenly becomes a to do list. Hundreds of emails will be saved as the next thing that must be done. Email is communication only! Not a to do list! Use something else to set your priorities.

I speak with endless managers who say their day is consumed by email. They check during meetings, while they have employees in their office, etc. Of course these managers are also sending out just as many. For every email they send, multiple come back. Consequently the less you send, the less you get!! How can you accomplish this?

Use the technology of your email client

Create rules and folders- First and foremost decide on categories to place your email, boss, peers, team, urgent, C.C.’s, customers and project headers. When emails come in, use your rules to forward these messages to the proper folders. It is easy to assume reviewing emails from your boss would be most important followed by your team and so on. C.C.’s being the least of importance. If you are working on a particular important project have a folder that contains the emails that reference the project.

Utilize Junk Mail Folder- How often do you find yourself on distribution lists that don’t pertain to you, etc. Add them to your junk mail folder.

Turn off Auto Preview and Email Notification- This is self explanatory, but is very distracting while completing other work, meeting with employees, peers and so on. Removing this will keep priorities in line with your to do list. Nothing is ruder than having someone in your office and you check your email notification.

Use the Signature Function- Include your phone number. Give the person you are emailing the opportunity to call you back!!

Change Your Email Behavior

Schedule Specific Time to Complete Email- Email is important so take the time to manage it. Peace of mind comes when time is set aside to complete it. Three times a day should be sufficient. Schedule sometime in the morning, before lunch and before you leave for the day.

Don’t Take Your Blackberry to Meetings- this will be unnecessary to bring after time is scheduled to check email. Remember to all execs, managers and employees. We can all see you checking your email under the table.

Use Subject Line Effectively- Put action items in the subject line. Put “Do Not Respond” when no response is required. Use this as much as possible. Use “Action Required” when your team needs to respond in action to the email. Here are some other examples “Call me,” “Please respond,” “Due by Date,” just to name a few.

Keep Emails Short- Your emails are not read if they are long. Keep them four paragraphs or less. Secondly put the bottom line first! This means tell the story backwards, always tell the ending followed by the details.

Labels: banking, big three, calendar management, career, Coaching Teams, corporations, development, effective manager, email, email etiquette

Labels: banking, calendar management, Coaching Teams, conflict resolution, corporate responsibility, feedback, mentor, polotics, Restaurant Management, Sales Coaching, Small Business CEO

I had numerous conversations with managers this week, so many struggling with the production of their teams, struggling with pressures from their superiors and so on. There are many common denominators to the adversity manager’s face, but one shadowed the rest this week. A manager so often believes they are brought in for their “Technical Work” strategies. This is not the case. What is “Technical Work?” Technical work would be the day to day work of a plumber or the day to day work of a sales person, realtor, and mechanic and so on.

A plumber installs piping. A sales person makes sales calls. A realtor shows houses. The mechanic changes oil.

How is a manager measured?

· Production of their team

A successful manager understands they are not measured by their great ideas or solutions, but the solutions created and implemented by their team. This statement may confuse many managers, but take a look back at how you are measured.

What does a manager do?

· Creates a learning environment

· Builds a team

· Emotionally engages their employees

· Recognizes the efforts and successes of the technical work being accomplished

· Opens the door to communication

· Welcomes ideas and solutions

· Promotes Self Discovery…

· Customer Service to employees

· Creates frequent communication forums for their teams

If a manager can immediately adopt a strategy of soliciting solutions from their team, then trust and encourage their employees to see it through. The successes will be endless.

Labels: Coaching Teams, development, employees, feedback model, internal customers, management, management expectations, small business, Small Business CEO, Small Business developing your team members

Labels: career, community outreach, conflict resolution, diversity, economy, education, effective manager, life goals, Saving money, small business, volunteering, work relationships

As an extremely avid Bronco fan, I found it very important I weighed in on what I witnessed with my team this year!! Countless management mistakes were made, but let’s focus on one.

*Earning the trust of your team

-Recognizing Individual Talents

-One on One communication

Often rookie managers have one idea in mind, "I must prove myself and my knowledge." In this case you (McDaniel’s) being a young coach this common mistake was exaggerated. New managers may have the best tactical ideas on how to perform the tasks at hand, (X's and O's) but lack the people management skills to help deliver their perfect strategy. Human nature is such that people deliver based on how they feel. A team member must be emotionally engaged to deliver.

To build the perfect team, recognizing individual strengths is one of the first tasks at hand! Although you (McDaniel’s) are absolutely correct, "No one person is bigger than the team." You went out of your way not to recognize the strengths of your people. Thus the loss of Cutler and the potential loss of other outstanding talents. Although tactically it may have made sense to rid Cutler, how it was handled was completely inappropriate. Football players or not, people need to feel special and gifted. And more importantly deserve it.

Although McDaniel’s you most likely have a great strategy for the football field. It 100% needs to be coupled with a people management strategy. This is obviously lacking!! "Why the 6-0 start then?" Well Josh, frequently when there is a need for a new leader and one is brought in, a team goes through a honeymoon period! Team members are engaged, motivated to keep their jobs, etc. The honeymoon period typically evaporates after six months, if not sooner. At this point it comes down to strong fundamentals, relationships and sound management practices. Josh over the next couple years you will make mistakes, we all do! However it is how you handle them that makes you a great leader.

McDaniel’s my advice to engage your team is know your people. Their strengths, weaknesses, desires, goals, motivators and so on. And more importantly than anything JOSH!! Confidentiality is a virtue so many managers lack. Build it into your management "system!"

Attached is an article link of one tactical management protocol you could implement into your system to know your people!!!

http://www.valhallabizsolutions.com/resources/Management-One-On-One-Meetings.pdf

Labels: calendar management, Coaching Teams, Denver Broncos, effective manager, employees, management expectations, Small Business CEO, Sports Management

What is your biggest motivator in life? If you were to sum it up into one word, what word would that be?

Name three things you value more than anything else?

What are your five greatest strengths? (solicit feedback if necessary, boss-peer-subordinate)

Name 3 development opportunities? (solicit feedback if necessary, boss-peer-subordinate)

Describe in detail what your life looks like in five years (where, what, why)

Name one person you can rely on no matter what! When the worst happens who is your greatest resource?

If today was your last day, how would you like to spend it?

Truth is people look for answers all the time, when most are right in front of you. This exercise is to serve as an internal compass…

Motivator- put yourself in situations where you can achieve this often

Values- surround yourself with people, companies, communities that share these values

Strengths- spend 85% of your time doing the things that your good at and continue to improve on them

Development- Spend 15% of the time managing the things that may make you fail. Be competent in those areas

Five years- go back to this every time you compromise anything from above

Person you trust- share this list with them, they will be your biggest cheerleader

Last Day- when you describe your last day, look back at your previous answers and how honest you were when you answered them

Labels: career, management, work relationships