The next time you utter, “I’m too busy,” realize what that really means.
It’s an excuse, and a weak one at that. It’s a cop-out.
You’re either trying to fool someone else – or maybe just yourself.
We’re ALL busy. But the truth is, there’s no such thing as “too busy.”
If you’re telling someone else you’re “too busy” to be involved in their thing, all you’re saying to them is that you don’t see it as important enough to bother with. So why don’t you just say so?
Everyone likes to talk about time management, but what we should be talking about is productivity.
The only reason time management comes up is that we’re not being as productive as we think we should be.
But most of what derails us has nothing to do with the clock. It’s the bad habits we get into.
Here are 10 mistakes we make that erode our productivity. Focus on these and most of your problems will go away.
Clichés are so easy to use – but they are a cop-out.
You may think they are great ways to motivate your team, but they’re so overused they no longer have any meaning – or motivational power.
Or they are simply ambiguous and have no impact.
Are your really that unoriginal?
Here are seven business clichés you want to steer clear of:
As a leader, I know making a first impression is important.
Truth is, I’m not always that good at it.
But it is even more pressing that you make a good impression on your own people every day. That’s a real challenge.
The words and the tone you use to make a huge impact on each interaction.
Some phrases spark positive reactions. Others help conversations move forward effectively. And some make a perfect ending.
So, we’ve created this cheat sheet of phrases to help you communicate more effectively not only with your employees but also with your colleagues and customers.
You’re smart and can trust your instincts in a lot of situations. But this is one where it’s best to stick to the facts.
Employee motivation.
It’s the key driver of employee performance and shouldn’t be left to chance, according to research in Harvard Business Review.
Motivation drops sharply after people have been on the job with their managers six months, several studies found.
One of the biggest reasons: Managers think they know employees well enough to determine what will keep them engaged.
Some people are naturally confrontational. It’s just how they roll.
And most managers’ first thought is how to avoid them!
That’s impossible all the time. But we can adopt an approach that at least lessens the pain of engaging them – without turning into an argument.
Salespeople are probably the most adept at dealing with combative people. They’re the ones who hear the complaints about a product or service (whether it’s their fault or not), so they come to expect some level of confrontation with almost every encounter.
They’re prepared, so they know how to respond. So you might want to use these tips from seasoned salespeople the next time you face a confrontational person:
When assembling your team, you want to hire winners – not mercenaries. No matter how great the performer, never hire someone who is in it just for the money. This is easier said than done.
The sports world is rife with athletes who ignited a bidding war for their services, selected the highest offer, and then rewarded their new team with poor performances. Contrast that with athletes who took less than market value or even agreed to pay cuts to give their organizations the financial flexibility to sign other top players and build a championship team (witness Kevin Durant or Tom Brady).
Ideally, you want a team of Rockstars who are inspired by the mission and culture of your organization and derive deep satisfaction from crushing their goals and driving the enterprise forward. Money is an important part of the equation, but if that’s an employee’s prime motivation, they will bail when a headhunter calls. (I know: that’s my job.)
We’ve gotten a lot of inquiries about body language in the past year.
What is a person’s body saying when they are interviewing? Are they insecure? Confident? Are they lying? Or just tired?
So, I want to thank the folks at Custom Writing for letting us share their infographic on Body Language: From Common Signs to Spotting Lies. Plus, it pairs well with one our most popular posts, which is on lying.
It’s a biggie! It covers 30 situations, almost everything you’ll want to know.
Most leaders rise to the top because they excel at their work. But the most successful leaders stay at the top – and set the bar for others – because they master certain roles that others struggle with.
“Great leadership is dynamic,” says author Travis Bradberry, who wrote Emotional Intelligence 2.0. “It melds a variety of unique skills into an integrated whole.”
Here are leadership traits and behaviors the top leaders balance to excel:
Hiring is expensive, but hiring the wrong person costs a whole lot more.
How much more? Try an additional $14,900.
And the really bad news? Nearly three in four managers (74%) say they’ve hired the wrong man or woman for the job.
That’s the latest from the folks at CareerBuilder.
And it snowballs.
![Body Language: Are They Lying Or Just Tired? [Infographic]](https://www.resourcefulmanager.com/wp-content/uploads/bodylanguagecoverart.png)
