by Zahra Petri
These days it seems as if new social networking tools are surfacing every few days between iPhone applications, twitter, Facebook and the many other computer and phone operated plug-ins. Along with each of these are the endless email notifications that quickly fill up your inbox. When faced with this daily increase of new information, questions begin circling in my mind: Which tools are the best? How many should I use? What do I do with all the emails? How do I manage all the information coming and going??
A feeling of overwhelm sweeps over me and I am brought back to my days before I had my EDGE System and my inbox was a black abyss of read and unread emails; back when I felt like I was jumping from crisis to crisis and everything was an urgent matter. Instead of going into panic mode, I decided to expand my EDGE system and apply the concepts to these social networking tools.
On Facebook I turned off all the email notifications except for alerting me of a message in my Facebook inbox. This way my email inbox is not cluttered because, frankly, I don’t need to know when Sara commented on John’s profile status or that Jenny put a smiley face on my wall. I will still be notified of these actions when I log into my Facebook profile, so why do I need an email to tell me as well?
For my iPhone applications I turned off ALL the notifications and sounds, but the notifications may be different as there are a wide variety of applications. For example, I have a chat application that runs in the background of my phone even when I don’t have that application open. It works similarly to text messages. I turned off all the notifications including sound, pop up message, text sent and received chime, and friend’s status alert. These are all distractions that I don’t need. If Tom wants to tell me he heard the new Modest Mouse song on the radio, I don’t need to know that right away. I can see the message when I check my phone later. However, if Tom has something urgent, he knows my notifications are off and to text message or call me.
It is very important when setting the standards for yourself and your notifications, no matter what the tool, that you let the people who contact you know what they are. Tell them that Facebook is not the place to let you know they won Longhorn Football tickets for a game beginning in one hour and to reply immediately.
For more updates and tips on how to manage your tools and applications, visit the ‘Programs’ tab at www.effectiveedge.com to view Whitepapers and OnDemand modules to help expand your EDGE.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
What Does Your Email Subject Line Say to a Reader?
by Laura Finney
A few days ago, I received an email and the subject read: “REPORT ATTACHED….!!!!!!!!” I knew the person sending the email. What I did not know was the reason I was receiving the email. Clearly all caps must mean this is something “urgent” that I need to open and read. The exclamation points (all eight of them) were clearly excessive.
I opened the email to learn that I was one of four included on the distribution list. The “report” had no relevance to me or any work that I was involved with. I responded (because this would take less than two minutes) to ask if there was any action I needed to take with the information that had been sent to me. I was told, “No, it was just in case you needed it…later.” For clarification, this was not an email from an Effective Edge colleague.
When I see email subject lines that are not clear, I wonder if the sender is using The Effective Edge’s Email Effectiveness. The Email Effectiveness allows me to send clear and concise messages. In the subject line, the reader can determine before reviewing the email, what I want them to do with the email. Clarifying the need to respond or not to respond helps the reader by preparing them for the next action. For writing effective emails, reviewing the PASS (Purpose, Actions, Specific, Supporting resources) system allows me to use a method that will help the reader determine the next course of action.
As outlined in the Getting the EDGE training program, most people will scan the email within eight to ten seconds. The reader should be able to determine PASS within that amount of time.
Using PASS allows me to be more efficient in receiving any response I may be looking for in return. It has also given me the freedom from exchanging multiple emails when attempting to relay a clear message.
Now I send emails with confidence, knowing the reader can respond effectively and efficiently.
A few days ago, I received an email and the subject read: “REPORT ATTACHED….!!!!!!!!” I knew the person sending the email. What I did not know was the reason I was receiving the email. Clearly all caps must mean this is something “urgent” that I need to open and read. The exclamation points (all eight of them) were clearly excessive.
I opened the email to learn that I was one of four included on the distribution list. The “report” had no relevance to me or any work that I was involved with. I responded (because this would take less than two minutes) to ask if there was any action I needed to take with the information that had been sent to me. I was told, “No, it was just in case you needed it…later.” For clarification, this was not an email from an Effective Edge colleague.
When I see email subject lines that are not clear, I wonder if the sender is using The Effective Edge’s Email Effectiveness. The Email Effectiveness allows me to send clear and concise messages. In the subject line, the reader can determine before reviewing the email, what I want them to do with the email. Clarifying the need to respond or not to respond helps the reader by preparing them for the next action. For writing effective emails, reviewing the PASS (Purpose, Actions, Specific, Supporting resources) system allows me to use a method that will help the reader determine the next course of action.
As outlined in the Getting the EDGE training program, most people will scan the email within eight to ten seconds. The reader should be able to determine PASS within that amount of time.
Using PASS allows me to be more efficient in receiving any response I may be looking for in return. It has also given me the freedom from exchanging multiple emails when attempting to relay a clear message.
Now I send emails with confidence, knowing the reader can respond effectively and efficiently.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
A New Stadium Does Not Equal a New Team
by Angela Ware
As many of you know I live Arlington, TX, the home of the Dallas Cowboys and their new amazing Cowboys Stadium!
As the new NFL session was approaching, commentator after commentator speculated as to how the “new stadium” would impact the Cowboys‘ chances of a post-session run for the playoffs. What?
Since when does brick and mortar have an impact on a player’s ability to excel at their position?
Commentators, fans, players and, yes, owners soon found out that a new stadium does not equal a new team. Now, don’t get me wrong. I am a Cowboys fan!! I am also I firm believer that it is what you put into the player, not where you put the player, that determines the outcome of the game.
In business, just as in sports, you can put a well-trained and professionally-mentored employee in any building and get great results. In the same respect, you can put a poorly trained and ineffectively mentored professional in a multi-billion dollar building and receive poor results. If you invest in your people, your people will build you a “new stadium of success”.
Ps. Fortunately for the Cowboys, they’ve got great mentor/coaches and a multi-billion dollar stadium! Let’s Go Cowboys!!!
As many of you know I live Arlington, TX, the home of the Dallas Cowboys and their new amazing Cowboys Stadium!
As the new NFL session was approaching, commentator after commentator speculated as to how the “new stadium” would impact the Cowboys‘ chances of a post-session run for the playoffs. What?
Since when does brick and mortar have an impact on a player’s ability to excel at their position?
Commentators, fans, players and, yes, owners soon found out that a new stadium does not equal a new team. Now, don’t get me wrong. I am a Cowboys fan!! I am also I firm believer that it is what you put into the player, not where you put the player, that determines the outcome of the game.
In business, just as in sports, you can put a well-trained and professionally-mentored employee in any building and get great results. In the same respect, you can put a poorly trained and ineffectively mentored professional in a multi-billion dollar building and receive poor results. If you invest in your people, your people will build you a “new stadium of success”.
Ps. Fortunately for the Cowboys, they’ve got great mentor/coaches and a multi-billion dollar stadium! Let’s Go Cowboys!!!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Instant Messenger and Four-Alarm Fires
by Paige Webb
For the past five years, I have been an instant messenger user. My managers and teams in previous jobs were dispersed across offices and state lines, and that is how we stayed in touch, how we conducted troubleshooting, and how we responded to questions. It was such a relief to have access to any of them at my fingertips. I didn’t even have to pick up the phone! What a time saver! Well, that was the beginning…
The situation now has gone above and beyond the simple one-off questions via instant messenger (IM) to my boss during the day. There have been days when I log on, and I immediately get three IMs...that’s before I even check email or check my calendar. It’s like the IM pop-ups and indicators are telling me there is a four-alarm fire somewhere. I’m hardly awake yet, but let me give you my attention towards nothing that is all that important at this very moment!
Those days when you conduct multiple conversations via IM at once: one with your manager, one with tech support, one with a co-worker, can lead you to wonder and waste time doing mental gymnastics! "Who was getting my full, undivided attention?" "What did I promise to whom?" "Did I type in one sentence intended for another?" "How much time slipped past me shifting in between each conversation when I refocused?" And here’s a zinger: "How much time did I waste conducting searches in the conversation to find what I needed after the fact?"
A recent article published by Reuters Health highlighted a study conducted by Stanford University that discussed students who immerse themselves in multi-tasking, or task-switching. The results of the study showed that those "people who multi-task" performed more poorly on tests than people who were not prone to media multi-tasking. As professionals, we are depleting our competencies by remaining distracted with tech media. When you are working your hardest to get noticed, get promoted, and to keep your job in this economy, that hurts.
Instant messenger is a common denominator in the media that multi-tasking professionals face. My advice is to adhere to a plan that when you execute on it, you are more productive and relieved of stress and the mental drain associated with multi-tasking. You will ultimately have fewer fires to put out!
For the past five years, I have been an instant messenger user. My managers and teams in previous jobs were dispersed across offices and state lines, and that is how we stayed in touch, how we conducted troubleshooting, and how we responded to questions. It was such a relief to have access to any of them at my fingertips. I didn’t even have to pick up the phone! What a time saver! Well, that was the beginning…
The situation now has gone above and beyond the simple one-off questions via instant messenger (IM) to my boss during the day. There have been days when I log on, and I immediately get three IMs...that’s before I even check email or check my calendar. It’s like the IM pop-ups and indicators are telling me there is a four-alarm fire somewhere. I’m hardly awake yet, but let me give you my attention towards nothing that is all that important at this very moment!
Those days when you conduct multiple conversations via IM at once: one with your manager, one with tech support, one with a co-worker, can lead you to wonder and waste time doing mental gymnastics! "Who was getting my full, undivided attention?" "What did I promise to whom?" "Did I type in one sentence intended for another?" "How much time slipped past me shifting in between each conversation when I refocused?" And here’s a zinger: "How much time did I waste conducting searches in the conversation to find what I needed after the fact?"
A recent article published by Reuters Health highlighted a study conducted by Stanford University that discussed students who immerse themselves in multi-tasking, or task-switching. The results of the study showed that those "people who multi-task" performed more poorly on tests than people who were not prone to media multi-tasking. As professionals, we are depleting our competencies by remaining distracted with tech media. When you are working your hardest to get noticed, get promoted, and to keep your job in this economy, that hurts.
Instant messenger is a common denominator in the media that multi-tasking professionals face. My advice is to adhere to a plan that when you execute on it, you are more productive and relieved of stress and the mental drain associated with multi-tasking. You will ultimately have fewer fires to put out!
- Begin your day deliberately. There is a setting on most instant messenger products that allows you to disable it from starting up with your computer. Let your mind and body warm up before you go typing into oblivion.
- Turn off distractions like instant messenger for a period of time when you can engage in tasks and projects on a daily basis. Don’t just place it on "Do Not Disturb." That gets ignored. Shut it down completely.
- Honor your timed commitments on your calendar and the deadlines on your list. Don’t let the blinking bubble on the lower right hand corner of your monitor hold you down like a ball and chain.
Friday, October 16, 2009
“Control - Shift - K will make your Day!”
by Skip Colfax
“Control - Shift - K will make your Day!”
Do you remember hearing that quote in Getting the EDGE? It is often attributed to my colleague, Robertt Young, but I recently learned that the source of the phrase is actually a student who participated in a Getting the EDGE class that Robertt lead some time ago. The rhyme is simple and it makes me smile. I use that short cut multiple times each day for entering new Actions into my EDGE System; knowing that my system is only as good as its user… ME!
I use Control – Shift – K whenever I recognize something that I need to do; whether I’m processing information in my e-mail inbox, reading through meeting notes, or talking with people on a conference call. I’m always processing information… and doing it pretty quickly. I guess it’s no surprise that my laminated copy of the EDGE Deciding Model is right in front of me every day, all day. I’m continuously adding to my task list, lest I forget something and let it fall through the cracks. As I’m processing, I’m not only adding tasks, I’m adding calendar items also, but not as many. On average, about 85% of my actions go on my task List.
Sometimes I get a hot assignment from my boss and jump right into it to complete it quickly. If I haven’t entered a task for it, I feel cheated! So, I “Control – Shift – K” and add the task, so I have a record of my activities. But then, I turn around and check it off as completed! Checking things off my list makes me feel good.
I do have a surrogate for Control – Shift – K for times when I’m away from my computer. As soon as I think of something that I need to do, I’m thinking, “Control – Shift – K” but I’m grabbing my trusty notebook to write it down! Those items in my notebook get a Star to the left of them, so they are easy to identify when I’m emptying my notebook. My days are full of “Control-Shift – K” with a sprinkling of “Control – Shift – A” as needed.
Control – Shift – K does make my day! It keeps my system up-to-date, reliable, and helps keeps my head clear! Sure beats trying to remember all of that stuff!
“Control - Shift - K will make your Day!”
Do you remember hearing that quote in Getting the EDGE? It is often attributed to my colleague, Robertt Young, but I recently learned that the source of the phrase is actually a student who participated in a Getting the EDGE class that Robertt lead some time ago. The rhyme is simple and it makes me smile. I use that short cut multiple times each day for entering new Actions into my EDGE System; knowing that my system is only as good as its user… ME!
I use Control – Shift – K whenever I recognize something that I need to do; whether I’m processing information in my e-mail inbox, reading through meeting notes, or talking with people on a conference call. I’m always processing information… and doing it pretty quickly. I guess it’s no surprise that my laminated copy of the EDGE Deciding Model is right in front of me every day, all day. I’m continuously adding to my task list, lest I forget something and let it fall through the cracks. As I’m processing, I’m not only adding tasks, I’m adding calendar items also, but not as many. On average, about 85% of my actions go on my task List.
Sometimes I get a hot assignment from my boss and jump right into it to complete it quickly. If I haven’t entered a task for it, I feel cheated! So, I “Control – Shift – K” and add the task, so I have a record of my activities. But then, I turn around and check it off as completed! Checking things off my list makes me feel good.
I do have a surrogate for Control – Shift – K for times when I’m away from my computer. As soon as I think of something that I need to do, I’m thinking, “Control – Shift – K” but I’m grabbing my trusty notebook to write it down! Those items in my notebook get a Star to the left of them, so they are easy to identify when I’m emptying my notebook. My days are full of “Control-Shift – K” with a sprinkling of “Control – Shift – A” as needed.
Control – Shift – K does make my day! It keeps my system up-to-date, reliable, and helps keeps my head clear! Sure beats trying to remember all of that stuff!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Where do you store addresses?
by Kim Brewster
When purchasing a birthday card for a team member at a local card/gift shop, I commented on the beautiful journals on the counter. Two women behind the counter, appearing to me as wonderful grandmothers, replied that I was admiring address books, not journals.
I mentioned that I keep that information in the contacts of my Outlook system to which they both replied they did not know how to do that. One said, “I like the old way of writing and carrying it with me.” The other said, “I have always written everything down and I guess I always will.”
My mother-in-law keeps an address book that contains phone numbers and street addresses before the advent of area codes and zip codes. It’s practically a work of art. Her records could rival those of any county office. As an elementary school teacher when her children were young, she has expert penmanship, which is reflected in the neat lines and carefully scripted updates.
I have been storing information electronically for so long that I really can’t remember having a physical address book. Where would I be without my Outlook contacts? I can record birthdays, anniversaries, nick names, business and home addresses, websites, email addresses, and any other data I want to include. I can share the information with others and it is backed up regularly, so I don’t have to worry about losing anything.
If I lost a handwritten address book, I would be hard pressed to recreate that information quickly or easily.
I still read the newspaper every day, the demise of which has been greatly exaggerated, but my hand-written address book met its demise long ago.
When purchasing a birthday card for a team member at a local card/gift shop, I commented on the beautiful journals on the counter. Two women behind the counter, appearing to me as wonderful grandmothers, replied that I was admiring address books, not journals.
I mentioned that I keep that information in the contacts of my Outlook system to which they both replied they did not know how to do that. One said, “I like the old way of writing and carrying it with me.” The other said, “I have always written everything down and I guess I always will.”
My mother-in-law keeps an address book that contains phone numbers and street addresses before the advent of area codes and zip codes. It’s practically a work of art. Her records could rival those of any county office. As an elementary school teacher when her children were young, she has expert penmanship, which is reflected in the neat lines and carefully scripted updates.
I have been storing information electronically for so long that I really can’t remember having a physical address book. Where would I be without my Outlook contacts? I can record birthdays, anniversaries, nick names, business and home addresses, websites, email addresses, and any other data I want to include. I can share the information with others and it is backed up regularly, so I don’t have to worry about losing anything.
If I lost a handwritten address book, I would be hard pressed to recreate that information quickly or easily.
I still read the newspaper every day, the demise of which has been greatly exaggerated, but my hand-written address book met its demise long ago.
Friday, October 9, 2009
What's on your Someday/Maybe List?
by Robertt Young
One of the stories I really like that demonstrates the value of the Someday Maybe list comes from Lou Holtz, the former football coach for Notre Dame and the University of South Carolina. In the story, he tells about a period in his life where he had to take stock of things to figure out how he would live his life. He mentioned the lists he made during that time (which we would call a Someday Maybe list), which followed him over his 40 year career, enabling him to do and accomplish the things he did. My apology to Lou if this is not 100% accurate, but I believe I captured the essence of his story.
Lou was working in the athletic department, specifically the football program at the University of Minnesota, when a friend of his, who was head coach for the University of South Carolina, asked him to be the assistant head coach for their team. Lou was excited and when he told his family about it, they were very supportive, including his wife who was 7 months pregnant. So they sold their home and moved to Columbus, SC. For the first few weeks, Lou was ecstatic with the new job. Then suddenly the head coach was asked to step down which meant Lou’s job was also in jeopardy. As luck would have it, two weeks later, Lou was also fired. This was Lou’s first time to lose a job and when he thought about the situation he was in - no job, new to town, big mortgage and a new baby on the way - he was devastated. He went into a deep depression. His wife had to go out and get a job at a local hospital as an x-ray technician.
Now Lou’s wife was a patient woman, but after three weeks of his moping around, she decided something had to be done. So she bought Lou a book called The Magic of Thinking Big and told him to read it. She also expected him to put some of the book’s recommendations into action. Lou agreed to read the book and he was not impressed until he came across a passage that incorporated the idea, ‘if you feel like you’re not making progress in life, don’t give up and forget your dreams. Make a list of them, keep them in front of you and visit them weekly.’ So Lou followed the author’s recommendations and began to write down all of his dreams, all the things he wanted to do in life. Some of the things he wanted to do were:
1. Jump out of an airplane
2. Meet the Pope
3. Be a great football coach at Notre Dame
4. Take Notre Dame to a football championship
5. Land an airplane on an aircraft carrier
6. Become a motivational speaker
7. Be a sports announcer
8. And on and on until he had written 107 things that he wanted to do.
When his wife returned home, he showed her the list and she said, “ But Lou, your forgot one—GET A JOB! “
The interesting thing about this story is that Lou would look at his list weekly and decide which things, if any, he would actively work on. And over the next 40 years, Lou accomplished 98 of those 108 things. This was Lou Holtz’s Someday Maybe list. What’s yours?
One of the stories I really like that demonstrates the value of the Someday Maybe list comes from Lou Holtz, the former football coach for Notre Dame and the University of South Carolina. In the story, he tells about a period in his life where he had to take stock of things to figure out how he would live his life. He mentioned the lists he made during that time (which we would call a Someday Maybe list), which followed him over his 40 year career, enabling him to do and accomplish the things he did. My apology to Lou if this is not 100% accurate, but I believe I captured the essence of his story.
Lou was working in the athletic department, specifically the football program at the University of Minnesota, when a friend of his, who was head coach for the University of South Carolina, asked him to be the assistant head coach for their team. Lou was excited and when he told his family about it, they were very supportive, including his wife who was 7 months pregnant. So they sold their home and moved to Columbus, SC. For the first few weeks, Lou was ecstatic with the new job. Then suddenly the head coach was asked to step down which meant Lou’s job was also in jeopardy. As luck would have it, two weeks later, Lou was also fired. This was Lou’s first time to lose a job and when he thought about the situation he was in - no job, new to town, big mortgage and a new baby on the way - he was devastated. He went into a deep depression. His wife had to go out and get a job at a local hospital as an x-ray technician.
Now Lou’s wife was a patient woman, but after three weeks of his moping around, she decided something had to be done. So she bought Lou a book called The Magic of Thinking Big and told him to read it. She also expected him to put some of the book’s recommendations into action. Lou agreed to read the book and he was not impressed until he came across a passage that incorporated the idea, ‘if you feel like you’re not making progress in life, don’t give up and forget your dreams. Make a list of them, keep them in front of you and visit them weekly.’ So Lou followed the author’s recommendations and began to write down all of his dreams, all the things he wanted to do in life. Some of the things he wanted to do were:
1. Jump out of an airplane
2. Meet the Pope
3. Be a great football coach at Notre Dame
4. Take Notre Dame to a football championship
5. Land an airplane on an aircraft carrier
6. Become a motivational speaker
7. Be a sports announcer
8. And on and on until he had written 107 things that he wanted to do.
When his wife returned home, he showed her the list and she said, “ But Lou, your forgot one—GET A JOB! “
The interesting thing about this story is that Lou would look at his list weekly and decide which things, if any, he would actively work on. And over the next 40 years, Lou accomplished 98 of those 108 things. This was Lou Holtz’s Someday Maybe list. What’s yours?
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