The average person works about 1600 hours a year. That means each wasted hour costs about $12.50 for someone making $20,000 a year. And as your salary increases, so does the cost of wasted time.

Mix a little self-discipline with a commitment, and you’ll spend your time wisely. Here are some steps to control time.

• For three or four days, keep track of what you do with your time.
• Divide your day into 15-minute blocks.
• Record what you did for each block.
• Don’t wait until the end of the day to record it. Do it throughout the day.
• List interruptions and who or what interrupted you.
• Give each activity a degree of importance; for example, A, B, C.
• After three or four days, analyze how you spent your time. Find out what you could have eliminated, what wasted your time, who interrupted you most, what you could have delegated, when you got to your most important task, how you spent the beginning of your day, and when you were the most and least productive.

• Write down your professional goals for the year. These should dovetail with your company’s goals.
• Make short-term goals based on your long-term goals.
• List what you want to have completed each Friday for two or three weeks.Important: Everything you list must lead to your goals. Otherwise, you’ll spend time on the wrong things.

• Start with the list of things you want to complete by Friday.
• Start a “To Do” list for each day of the week. Don’t keep it in your head. Put it on paper. Again, list only things that lead to your goals.
• Each morning, refine your “To Do” list for that day. Prioritize your list of things to do for the day with an “A” for the most important ones, a “B” for the next important and “C” for the least important.
• Pick the time of the day you want to work on an activity. Allot so much time per activity. Try to complete each one in less time. You’ll get more done this way.
• Some thoughts about your “To Do” list: -Don’t schedule every minute of the day.

  -Schedule the most difficult task for your most productive time of day.

  -List the most unpleasant task as your first chore of the day. And do it first. It will occupy your mind if you put if off.

  -Don’t start with a lot of easy-to-do C’s before getting into your A1. The day will be gone before you get to A1.

  -If your A1 looks overpowering, break it into parts and work on them.

  -Set aside some time to think and relax.

  -Keep one “To Do” list, not a lot of scraps of paper.

• Intercept interrupters before they get into your office. Talk to them as you slowly walk away from your office.
• If they want to meet, go to their office. You can leave when it’s convenient.
• Explain that you’re busy on a priority task. You’ll give them more time later.
• Don’t have your desk visible through your office door. If they can’t see you, they aren’t tempted to interrupt you.
• Have something on each chair in your office so they can’t sit anywhere.
• Stand up when they come in. Remain standing and glance at the clock.

• Do easy jobs while on the phone–sign papers, read if you’re waiting, or organize your desk and papers.
• Develop a plan for screening and delegating calls. Train people how to answer the phone.
• If you can, establish times when you can take phone calls.
• Bunch your returns call at a time you need a break.
• Plan what you’re going to say if you’ll be discussing complex matters. Jot down points to be covered. Thus you avoid having to make a second call to mention something you forgot.If you’re in a service organization where answering the phone is a major part of the job:

  -Analyze the times when most calls come in.

  -Develop some idea of trends.

  -Once you find out when you get most calls daily and weekly, plan work for non-peak phone times.

• If possible, handle a piece of paper only once. If you can’t complete the action required, do at least part of it. Example: set up a meeting time or request a printout.
• Answer as much of your mail/email as you can when you first pick it up or open it.
• Don’t ask for copies if you don’t need them.
• To avoid amassing paper, store information on computer disks.

Other Time Management Tips

• Ask yourself these three questions: What are my subordinates and I doing that doesn’t need to be done? Does anyone really need to do these things? What am I doing that others can do?
• Use waiting time to read, plan, study, review, or write.
• Isolate yourself from your office staff when you have to complete a major task.
• Use travel time to plan, listen, read, think, or write.
• Redesign forms that take too long to complete. Ask this question: Is anyone using all the information provided?
• Take a hard look at those periodic reports to see if they can be written less often.
• Send agendas before meetings.

  Reprinted with permission from Communication Briefings (http://www.briefings.com)

• How can I build relationships that will support my new role?
• How can I best assume a leadership role?
• What must be done to maximize my organizational positioning?
• How can I improve people’s impressions?
• What can I do to improve my efficiency?
• What are the politics of this organization?
• What issues are facing the organization that could result in my making a contribution outside of the normal scope of my job?
• What issues do I need to renegotiate or clarify with my boss?
• Can I engage others in a work team that is self managed so that I can give people the impression of my self worth?
• Who do I know today and what should I know tomorrow?

More and more individual success depends on an entrepreneurial approach to work and career management.

So, one of the critical steps to career advancement is demonstrating entrepreneurship. On the whole, American work organizations are successfully adapting to massive global change. In doing so they have significantly changed how work is done, how work is managed, and how individuals must behave to succeed in their careers.

Therefore, career advancement is based on assessing what work one is good at, and who in the company will appreciate affiliation and the service rendered. Demonstrating emerging managing skills is also key to career advancement. Some of those attributes are:

• Thinking of systems and enhanced ways to improve efficiency.
• Networking within the company and building an infrastructure of comrades within the organization that you can exchange ideas, and thoughts on improved productivity.
• Teamwork is key to understanding group decisions and facilitation.
• Information Management and knowing what is needed, how to get at it, and where to go.
• Knowing how to operate in an environment of ambiguity, and yet demonstrating successful maneuvering. For example, during the launching of a new game there are many unknown events that could hinder performance. Maintaining a positive attitude and being resourceful is key to demonstrating control and maneuvering around issues.
• Managing and initiating change. For example, while managing a new game, there may be suggestions on how to improve upon the flow of the game, or enhance how it is operating.

• Wear suits that are tasteful (muted colors, appropriate lengths, properly tailored).
• Wear professional shoes that match your suit.
• Keep hair length and style consistent with those on the “executive level.”
• Be conservative with jewelry.
• Make sure accessories match your attire and are in good taste.
• Take notice of those who are successful; what are their grooming habits?

Introduction

• Which goals were achieved? How?
• Which goals were NOT achieved? Why not?
• How has performance progressed during the cycle?
• How have they contributed to team efforts? If you have set clear and precise objectives at the beginning of the year, then you can point to the accomplishments and shortcomings, but again if this is not a practice, then assess the level of achievement against established company goals.

If the preparatory quarterly objective process is not a usual event and a self-review is also not a usual practice then, it is recommended that you consider this process:

If you are dealing with a problem performer, do not commence with the negative comments…start with the positive.

If management commences with a negative comment, they may be met with defensive reactions. Be prepared to read the body signals as your message shifts from the positive to the areas requiring improvement.

Consider how to maintain control of the feedback session to ensure that such tactic maintains a positive tone, but does not prevent you from communicating the areas that need to be addressed.

For example :“The Shift Managers have indicated that you have made a significant contribution which saved payroll, with your suggestion to change the scheduling hook-up of the Dealers.”

If you avoid providing the negative feedback , it may result in the employee continuing to perform in an unsatisfactory manner, without knowing how to improve. In the end this is a no win situation and results in a disgruntled manager who is frustrated and an employee who senses frustration, but is unable to point to the cause.

However, once you have reviewed a positive behavior, occasionally insert an area for improvement. For example:

“However, when you implemented the change, you failed to communicate the rationale for it to the Pit Managers, who received many questions and were unable to explain the reason we changed the hook-ups.”

How can performance be developed?

List the main factors that need to be improved upon, also considering the positive accomplishments. Establish measurable, agreed upon goals.

“You consistently deliver a high quality of work and have mastered a creative ability. Your peers consider you to be a consistently top performer with little room for improvement. Therefore you have met most of their expectations and your performance is considered exceptional.”

As soon as that rating is delivered as “exceptional,” expect no further listening on the part of the employee. So avoid giving the initial perception that the rating is exceptional with “little room for improvement” if there are areas in which you expect the employee to improve. Also, descriptive ratings ranging from, “exceptional,” “above average,” “satisfactory,” and “needs improvement “ are more relevant than simple numerical ratings.

• Know how to handle problem performance
• Understand the importance of giving feedback & setting objectives
• Provide the opportunity to recognize accomplishmentsHelp to develop their abilities and achieve full potential
• Provide the opportunity to solicit feedback
• Place emphasis on the performance area that is most critical to role
• Do not assign a higher rating than deserved to avoid confrontation
• Do not compare the employee against other individuals, rather than against the standards for the job
• Do not allow first impressions to distort your evaluation
• Do not only focus on recent performance
• Do not allow one single incident to effect your overall perception
• The assessment and the information conveyed should be objective, factual, accurate, and bias freeProvide more evidence for particularly high or low ratings
• Include details about the situation or task, the action and the result
• Highlight the best evidence/documentation

The skills with which employees complete their tasks, their attitudes toward their work, and their behavior toward their guests, has immediate impact on the guest experience. Of course, behavior is much more important when providing a service, than when making a product.

Influencing employee behavior is perhaps the most important part of a manager’s job.

• Praising specific tasks/jobs
• Acknowledging contributions and accomplishments
• Giving special assignments
• Asking for their ideas
• Seeking their opinions
• Recognizing their feelings
• Giving tangible rewards
• Noting important events about their lives
• Supporting their actions
• Delegating
• Asking for help
• Sharing experiences
• Admitting when you’re wrong

When you focus on personality traits of the person, you increase the odds of eroding the employee’s self-esteem. In such a situation, it would be typical for your employee to become defensive and engage in mechanisms that deny, falsify, or distort reality. One way of reducing defensive behavior is to focus on the work problem or the behavior, rather than on your employee’s personality or attitude.

• Positive Reinforcement: One way to increase the likelihood of a performance or behavior re-occurring is to follow that performance with a positive event. A positively reinforced response has a greater probability of re-occurring simply because it pays off.
• Negative Reinforcement: Another way of increasing the likelihood of an event re-occurring is through the use of negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a desired response by improving or eliminating adverse conditions. For example, if by using the guest’s name, the employee no longer hears complaints from you, then the behavior of using the name is negatively reinforced.
• Punishment: One way to decrease the likelihood of re-occurrence of a behavior, is to follow the behavior with an unpleasant event (i.e. verbal counseling, or a written reprimand).
• Extinction: Another way of decreasing the likelihood of the re-occurrence of a behavior, is to have the behavior followed by no response. Subsequently, the lack of reinforcement or response, may extinguish the behavior (i.e. response to someone who gossips).

Active listening encourages your employees to think for themselves, to diagnose their own problems, and to discover their own solutions. Active listening conveys trust and is one of the most effective ways of helping a subordinate become self-directing, responsible, and independent.

By providing a specified time to review matters currently being discussed, you can provide practical structure to your interactions with employees as well as built –in opportunities for re-evaluation, reinforcement, and even further communication. Encourage your employees to take the initiative to provide more input or suggestions at the next meeting.

1. Take the time to identify your values. This will give you a basis around which you can set your goals and orient your entire life. Genuine values are those interests strengths and qualities which have always intrigued you or to which you have been attracted. Make a list of your top five or six values. If you are having trouble, then consider the compliments you have received lately. Examples relative to improving yourself in your job, would be learning a new skill or improving upon an existing skill, such as public speaking, written communication, improved financial/analytical skills, learning the computer and how to maneuver via the Internet.

2. Define several major goals and be very precise and specific. Consider what you would like to accomplish for the short term. Set your goals so that they are just out of your immediate reach. For example be very specific such as “By next year I will be working in a company that will be innovative and interested in attracting talent which has knowledge in web-based technology.” Carefully outline a plan to achieve this goal.

Choosing a company that provides you with opportunities for growth in areas commensurate with your career objectives can be tricky. However, there is abundant information regarding a company’s practice toward its employees on their web sites, and public job postings. Interaction with their HR Department will also give you insight to the corporate culture.
3. Challenge yourself to make certain that the goals you have selected are really your own, confirm your motivation. For each of your three goals, ask yourself:

• What value does this goal honor?
• What are the personal and professional benefits for me to accomplish this goal?
• What resources do I need to accomplish this goal?
• What help, assistance, or collaboration do I need?
• Am I willing to do whatever it takes to reach this goal??

4. Take action by breaking each of your goals into separate steps. It may require additional education, assistance, or information gathering, to achieve the goal. For example if you are interested in training yourself in a skill – consider online courses, evening college or company sponsored classes, as well as information available in libraries, through videos/cassettes, and professional publications.

5. Ask for help from everyone you trust, respect and admire in helping you reach your goals, including working with a coach or mentor. Let people know that their support is welcomed. Motivation is often promoted through others. As an example your family will willingly give you feedback to help you improve yourself, so ask them what you might be able to do to improve on your skill that you want to change.

6. . Commit to yourself by writing each goal and action step on a timeline. If you find yourself slipping, then take another look at the questions above and the level at which you feel you will achieve such goals. Shift your behavior from procrastination to being personally accountable. Develop a written game-plan with expected dates in which to accomplish the task and celebrate overcoming each milestone.

A period of small talk before a business meeting helps you:

• Build confidence
• Learn something about the other person
• Establish a sense of unity
• Set the mood for a discussion
• Gain support for your ideas
• Create a bridge to more meaningful dialogue

Through small talk, you can:

• Put people at ease while creating a smooth transition from the initial greeting to the business at hand. Diving into a business discussion without a preamble makes people uncomfortable and results in a more strained interaction.
• Persuade people to be more receptive to your ideas
• Encourage others to reveal aspects of themselves
• Initiate professional opportunities in situations even outside the structure of the business setting.

Some Tips for Success

• Be informed. Read the news (t.v. newspapers, online news, etc.) The daily news is an excellent conversation starter and, by staying informed, you’ll always have something of value to say.
• Be prepared with topics useful to your cause, interest or business. Maybe you’re looking for a particular antique, shopping for a new car or considering hiring a computer consulting firm and need direction. Small talk is a natural networking opportunity.
• Practice speaking on a variety of random topics. Either ask someone to throw topics out while you speak on each subject for three minutes or drill yourself on topics of your choice.
• Develop a list of topics you’re comfortable talking about.
• Ask questions. If someone is speaking on a subject that you know little about, ask and learn.
• Find out about the other person. Those who are most admired for their small-talk are those who encourage others to talk about themselves.
• Locate common ground. Does this person share an interest in boating, country music, woodworking, bicycling or hiking, for example? Is she a grandmother? Is he from your home state? Become clever at discovering little commonalties with people you meet.
• Give and take. Don’t monopolize the conversation.
• Listen so it shows. Listening is at least as important in small talk as speaking. Demonstrate a sincere interest in what the other person has to say. It could make the difference between a successful business transaction and a failed one.
• Expect to learn. Look at small talk as an opportunity to learn something new. Learn by being interested in what the other person has to say.

• Go-nowhere topics. Until you become proficient at changing the subject or leading the conversation, avoid topics – like traffic or the weather – that don’t go anywhere.
• Big topics that go on and on and on. Keep small talk small by avoiding subjects that require wordy explanations. Learn to put otherwise lengthy dissertations in a nutshell.
• Controversial subjects. Stay away from politics, religion and related issues with people whose opinions you don’t know, particularly in business settings.
• Cliches. Try to avoid repeating the old tried and over-tried phrases that pop out of our mouths automatically during small talk opportunities.
• Criticism. When you don’t know the person you’re talking to, don’t criticize anyone else. The “overdressed hag” across the room might be his wife. The “back-stabbing overachiever” may be her favorite nephew.

• Practice, practice, practice – with friends, family members, store clerks, strangers at the bus stop, etc.
• Join organizations where you receive training in speaking, Toastmasters International (Toastmasters), for example. Or enroll in a class or seminar in communication or interpersonal relationships.
• Socialize. Accept more invitations, join a trade organization or a club that is in line with one of your hobbies or interests. Or go out and mingle in public places. Being with strangers who have similar interests provides the perfect arena for small talk opportunities.

• Learn to lead. Although knowing how to follow is vital to successful small talk, leading is equally important, particularly when the transition depends on you.
• Recognize an opening and jump in. Say: “Let me tell you what we’re going to do in the interview.” “Shall we get on with our meeting?”
• Stop Monopolists in their tracks. If possible, wait for them to take a breath or to pause. Then break in with a comment about their topic and immediately lead the conversation in the direction that you want it to go.Reprinted with permission from Communication Briefings (Briefings)