6 Ways to Ensure Fear Doesn’t Win January 10, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in personal productivity.Tags: motivation, personal productivity
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Ron Pereira over at LSS Academy describes how fear has been mankind’s greatest inhibitor. To combat it, he presents a list of six things that can be done. Among them is finding one’s “true north”: what really drives one in life. For example, Mr. Pereira is driven by love of his wife and children. Another includes handling one task at a time to ensure completion of the task, rather than starting a number of projects and finishing none.
Check out the blog post here.
6 Ways to Ensure Fear Doesn’t Win January 10, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in personal productivity.Tags: motivation, personal productivity
add a comment
Ron Pereira over at LSS Academy describes how fear has been mankind’s greatest inhibitor. To combat it, he presents a list of six things that can be done. Among them is finding one’s “true north”: what really drives one in life. For example, Mr. Pereira is driven by love of his wife and children. Another includes handling one task at a time to ensure completion of the task, rather than starting a number of projects and finishing none.
Check out the blog post here.
How to Give a 'TED-Worthy' Presentation June 18, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in leadership, personal productivity.Tags: leadership, motivation, personal productivity
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The TED Conference in Long Beach, California, hosts a number of speakers who deliver timely, thought-provoking, and well-delivered talks on all manners of subjects. Carmine Gallo, over at Bloomsburg Businessweek, has written an article on how to give a “TED-worthy” talk of one’s own. Some suggestions include keeping the talks short (eighteen minutes for TED), personal involvement, and simple and easy slides for the audience to follow along with.
For the rest of Mr. Gallo’s ideas, check out his article here.
How to Give a ‘TED-Worthy’ Presentation June 18, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in leadership, personal productivity.Tags: leadership, motivation, personal productivity
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The TED Conference in Long Beach, California, hosts a number of speakers who deliver timely, thought-provoking, and well-delivered talks on all manners of subjects. Carmine Gallo, over at Bloomsburg Businessweek, has written an article on how to give a “TED-worthy” talk of one’s own. Some suggestions include keeping the talks short (eighteen minutes for TED), personal involvement, and simple and easy slides for the audience to follow along with.
For the rest of Mr. Gallo’s ideas, check out his article here.
How to Give a ‘TED-Worthy’ Presentation June 18, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in leadership, personal productivity.Tags: leadership, motivation, personal productivity
add a comment
The TED Conference in Long Beach, California, hosts a number of speakers who deliver timely, thought-provoking, and well-delivered talks on all manners of subjects. Carmine Gallo, over at Bloomsburg Businessweek, has written an article on how to give a “TED-worthy” talk of one’s own. Some suggestions include keeping the talks short (eighteen minutes for TED), personal involvement, and simple and easy slides for the audience to follow along with.
For the rest of Mr. Gallo’s ideas, check out his article here.
“Involve Your Employees,” says Google, CEB December 30, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in workforce.Tags: motivation, personal productivity, workforce
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More and more, companies are looking to engage the skills and talents of their employees, involving them more and more in their businesses. The reason is telling. Research conducted by CLC Genesee, the HR consulting and employee survey division of The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) notes that companies with engaged employees demonstrate a 3-year revenue growth of 20.1%, compared to the average 8.9%.
To engage employees, a business owner must know what his or her employees are thinking. Google has developed an effective system called “Thank Goodness It’s Friday”. Essentially, Google’s “TGIF” meetings are held almost every week, and involve employees asking questions, and commenting on various internal and external policies, as well as decisions. But Google’s creators go beyond simple question-and-answer sessions. They ask for suggestions and thoughts from their employees, and take means to put those ideas into effect –such as by using Google Moderator to collect ideas and vote on them, and then implementing the most popular.
To read the BusinessWeek article, go here.
“Involve Your Employees,” says Google, CEB December 30, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in workforce.Tags: motivation, personal productivity, workforce
add a comment
More and more, companies are looking to engage the skills and talents of their employees, involving them more and more in their businesses. The reason is telling. Research conducted by CLC Genesee, the HR consulting and employee survey division of The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) notes that companies with engaged employees demonstrate a 3-year revenue growth of 20.1%, compared to the average 8.9%.
To engage employees, a business owner must know what his or her employees are thinking. Google has developed an effective system called “Thank Goodness It’s Friday”. Essentially, Google’s “TGIF” meetings are held almost every week, and involve employees asking questions, and commenting on various internal and external policies, as well as decisions. But Google’s creators go beyond simple question-and-answer sessions. They ask for suggestions and thoughts from their employees, and take means to put those ideas into effect –such as by using Google Moderator to collect ideas and vote on them, and then implementing the most popular.
To read the BusinessWeek article, go here.
Money, The Ultimate Job Performance Motivator? October 10, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in team development, workforce.Tags: motivation, workforce
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As many companies try to do more with less, the pressure stays high to build compensation packages and work environments that provide employees with the incentives and motivation to perform at optimal levels.
In this video, Daniel Pink (former Al Gore speechwriter) argues that incentives that historically work well for employees in task-oriented jobs with repetitive performance are often the opposite of those required to ensure maximum productivity from creative or “knowledge workers”. The scientific research he cites indicates that extrinsic incentives (such as monetary bonuses for performance) may actually hinder productivity for certain types of employees and situations.
As Mr. Pink repeats, “There’s a mismatch between what science knows and what business does.”
For the full video (length 18:40), click here.
Money, The Ultimate Job Performance Motivator? October 10, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in team development, workforce.Tags: motivation, workforce
add a comment
As many companies try to do more with less, the pressure stays high to build compensation packages and work environments that provide employees with the incentives and motivation to perform at optimal levels.
In this video, Daniel Pink (former Al Gore speechwriter) argues that incentives that historically work well for employees in task-oriented jobs with repetitive performance are often the opposite of those required to ensure maximum productivity from creative or “knowledge workers”. The scientific research he cites indicates that extrinsic incentives (such as monetary bonuses for performance) may actually hinder productivity for certain types of employees and situations.
As Mr. Pink repeats, “There’s a mismatch between what science knows and what business does.”
For the full video (length 18:40), click here.
Ownership + Accountability = Business Success January 6, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in workforce.Tags: motivation, workforce
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In the Autumn 2007 issue of strategy+business, Ralph Sink, a consultant on high-performance systems, wrote about his decades of experience implementing the approach on the factory floor and as a human resources executive (“My Unfashionable Legacy”). High-performance systems, also known as self-organizing teams and participative management, require employees to take ownership of their jobs, to collaborate with one another to establish control over their work, to be innovative, and to deliver results – to maintain accountability for the business and be treated with corresponding respect, regardless of their level within the organizational hierarchy. In his essay, Sink lamented the decline of this approach, but expressed a belief that, in the end, it will make a comeback. But is there an appetite and an aptitude for this type of management today? Sink spoke with strategy+business about the challenges of employing participative management in today’s business environment.
Read the interview/discussion here.
Ownership + Accountability = Business Success January 6, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in workforce.Tags: motivation, workforce
add a comment
In the Autumn 2007 issue of strategy+business, Ralph Sink, a consultant on high-performance systems, wrote about his decades of experience implementing the approach on the factory floor and as a human resources executive (“My Unfashionable Legacy”). High-performance systems, also known as self-organizing teams and participative management, require employees to take ownership of their jobs, to collaborate with one another to establish control over their work, to be innovative, and to deliver results – to maintain accountability for the business and be treated with corresponding respect, regardless of their level within the organizational hierarchy. In his essay, Sink lamented the decline of this approach, but expressed a belief that, in the end, it will make a comeback. But is there an appetite and an aptitude for this type of management today? Sink spoke with strategy+business about the challenges of employing participative management in today’s business environment.
Read the interview/discussion here.
Free e-Book: How to Motivate Creative People (Including Yourself) January 6, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Creativity & Innovation, workforce.Tags: creativity, motivation
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Mark McGuinness of the Lateral Action Blog has just given everybody a great Christmas present in the form of a free short book on motivating creative people. I’ve read it, and it is a solid work that I am sure many will be able to use to create the right environment for creative types. By the way, if you are in charge of an engineering group or other Nerd Herd (I think I can use that term, since I am a Nerd), this book also applies to you!
Get your free copy here!
Free e-Book: How to Motivate Creative People (Including Yourself) January 6, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Creativity & Innovation, workforce.Tags: creativity, motivation
add a comment
Mark McGuinness of the Lateral Action Blog has just given everybody a great Christmas present in the form of a free short book on motivating creative people. I’ve read it, and it is a solid work that I am sure many will be able to use to create the right environment for creative types. By the way, if you are in charge of an engineering group or other Nerd Herd (I think I can use that term, since I am a Nerd), this book also applies to you!
Get your free copy here!
It’s Not about the Money November 7, 2008
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Workplace Design.Tags: culture, morale, motivation, productivity
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What do workers want?
Over the past 10 years, one group has conducted an in-depth study into the attitudes of more than 100,000 shift workers at more than 150 companies around the world. Through face-to-face surveys taken during work hours, they sought to gather information about what employees like and dislike about their work environment, the changes they hope to see, the health and safety issues they face, and how their work schedules affect their personal lives. Of all the thousands of pieces of data collected, one stood out: Eighty-one percent of employees surveyed felt that their pay and benefits were adequate. In fact, when the study leaders determined what really affects productivity, compensation paled in comparison to good management–employee communications. In other words, although most companies try to inflate employees’ morale by shoveling more dollars at them, less expensive strategies will do.
Read the full article in Strategy & Business at: http://www.strategy-business.com/li/leadingideas/li00079?gko=5315c
It’s Not about the Money November 7, 2008
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Workplace Design.Tags: culture, morale, motivation, productivity
add a comment
What do workers want?
Over the past 10 years, one group has conducted an in-depth study into the attitudes of more than 100,000 shift workers at more than 150 companies around the world. Through face-to-face surveys taken during work hours, they sought to gather information about what employees like and dislike about their work environment, the changes they hope to see, the health and safety issues they face, and how their work schedules affect their personal lives. Of all the thousands of pieces of data collected, one stood out: Eighty-one percent of employees surveyed felt that their pay and benefits were adequate. In fact, when the study leaders determined what really affects productivity, compensation paled in comparison to good management–employee communications. In other words, although most companies try to inflate employees’ morale by shoveling more dollars at them, less expensive strategies will do.
Read the full article in Strategy & Business at: http://www.strategy-business.com/li/leadingideas/li00079?gko=5315c
