Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation just released the 2008 “F as in Fat” Report. The study found adult obesity rates rose in 37 states last year. In my home state (Florida), obesity rose 1.1% to 22.9% - ranking us #34 in the nation. Yikes!
So while I like to spend my Friday Happy Hour posts on adult beverage trends and to-die-for restaurants, I thought that in light of the Trust for America report, I would give you a healthful simple recipe that’s a winner every time.
The next time you need to bring a dish to a party - at home or at the office - this is the dish to bring.
Go to your seafood counter and get some cooked and cleaned shrimp. Then go to the refrigerated pasta section and get a tub of pesto. Mix together. Voila! It’s a very tasty nosh for your guests. If you want to get über fancy - serve it with some toasted French bread or Table Water crackers.
And, in the off chance that your guests don’t eat it everything - toss it with some cooked pasta the next day for a great leftover.
We’ve all heard the statement a thousand times. Motivational companies have made millions printing it on coffee mugs. If a person says “I did” or “I said”, they are labeled as being self-absorbed and not a team player.
Steve Roesler recently challenged us to think beyond teams in one of his posts. He suggests that, as a team leader, we need to engage with team members individually. We need to find out what makes them tick so they can be a productive member of the team. Kudos to Steve for starting a dialogue that desperately needs to happen.
As managers, many make the mistake of thinking their role is to treat everyone the same. It’s not - it’s to treat everyone fairly.
For example, you and I work at the same company. I’m motivated by money. I want a bigger paycheck to buy clothes, shoes and designer handbags. (Hope Mr. Bartender isn’t reading this!) And, you’re motivated by time off - to take fishing vacations, volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, whatever. If our boss gives us the exact same recognition…one of us will be unhappy. It’s not our boss’ responsibility to give us both the same thing but to give us both the same amount of the things that are important to us.
Another example . . . we’re still working for the same company. You like being recognized at staff meetings - think it’s cool when the boss says what a good job you did on XYZ project in front of the team. I like being recognized behind the scenes maybe with a note card or an email. If the boss sends you a card mentioning your great job, will you feel the same? Nope, probably not. And, if the boss stands me up in the next staff meeting, will I feel happy or embarrassed?
It’s important for managers to engage people on a personal level. And it’s OK for us, as employees, to take individual pride and ownership. It doesn’t always have to be a team effort - we should allow individuals to succeed on their own terms and we should recognize them in a way they appreciate. There is an “I” in every team…in fact, we should view each team as a collection of “I’s”.
I’ve been frustrated lately by email. Not how much email I receive (although that can be overwhelming) but how some people take days, if not weeks to reply to a message. I just don’t understand how people can ignore a message…it seems rude. It’s like you’re talking to someone and they aren’t paying any attention to you. We all know that’s rude. Why isn’t it the same for email?
A couple years ago, I did a customer service project for a client and we conducted focus groups about the appropriate response time for email. Back then, 24 hours was considered appropriate. So, in my frustration, I did a Google search to see what’s considered the appropriate response time for email in today’s market. Again, 24 hours popped up as what’s considered customary.
But in my research, I ran across this 2006 post from business blogger Lawrence Salberg. It might be a couple years old…but it’s on the money…”Your response time indicates your maturity level.”
Now some of you might be saying that’s just crazy talk. You get a lot of email and it takes time to reply to all of it. True - but every day, every time? I’m not buying it.
People who get a lot of email need to find some way to prioritize it. It might be by person (answer the boss first) or by project (tomorrow’s deadline over next week’s) or by subject (strategy session feedback versus cake in break room). I’ve seen people respond immediately about drinks after work or party favors and then sit on questions about accounts payable or contracts.
Everyone needs to find a system that works - really works - for them and the people they exchange emails with. The last thing you want to be in today’s workplace is email immature.
How can anyone forget the famous opening line to the Morris Day and The Time funk-pop hit “Jungle Love”? We were first introduced to MDT in the 80’s during the Prince movie “Purple Rain”. Ah, those were the good old days, back before Prince was a symbol…
So, why the Morris Day nostalgia?…well, The Time will be the party entertainment at HR Florida 2008. I’m driving up today to the beautiful Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando for the event. Over 1,700 human resources professionals gathering together for three days of networking and professional development. And no offense SHRM, I’m sure Lionel Ritchie was great in Chicago, but we’re gonna party.
Let’s just hope that Jerome doesn’t forget the mirror…
Over the years, I’ve had a lot of offices. Some of them nice and others, not so much. The biggest office I had was my first and the smallest was when I was a VP. Go figure.
But the nicest office I’ve ever had was when I first started my consulting business. My home office was the perfect size and had great equipment - like two computer monitors. (If you don’t have two monitors, try it sometime…you’ll never use a single monitor again.) Anywho, I digress.
The reason I bring up home offices is because more companies/employees are considering telecommuting as an option. It can help create greater work/life balance, increase productivity, and save employees on gas money.
That being said, telecommuting is a very serious decision. It’s not a ‘wake up one morning and tell everyone they can work from home’ kind of thing. Some elements you need to think about include:
What will your customers/vendors hear when they call your telecommuting employee? Will 6-year old little Sally pick up the phone or will they hear Sparky the Labradoodle barking in the background?
What equipment is necessary to set up a home office? Who will purchase and maintain it?
Can your home-based employee provide a safe place for sensitive information like medical data or credit card information? Is their computer hooked up to an unsecured network?
What happens if a home-based employee is injured on the job? What are the company’s OSHA requirements and their liability?
This is just a sampling of the questions you should ask when agreeing to a home-working arrangement.
And, don’t forget that your management team needs some guidance on how to supervise these employees and manage the work of people they won’t see all the time. It’s easy to spot a slacker when they’re in the office. But when they’re miles away at home, how will you know they’re working for you and not just watching Oprah? Or, worse yet, working for someone else while on your payroll.
Home offices can be the best…once you work out the details.
I love the scene in Pirates of the Caribbean when Captain Barbossa tells Elizabeth that the pirate code is really more ‘like guidelines’. It’s a fun comeback when people ask you about the status of a project. Oh that?! Well, when I told you last Thursday it was more of a ‘guideline’ (using your best pirate voice, of course).
But is it possible that deadlines and commitments are truly becoming more “like guidelines”?
How many of the problems you deal with are the result of someone failing to keep a commitment? Many missed goals or uncompleted tasks can probably be traced back to someone not keeping their end of the bargain.
We all make commitments every day. Some are small like agreeing on a time to meet, a pledge to follow-up or a promise to run an errand. Others are bigger and more formal like a project, proposal or event.
Every commitment we make is equally important because it’s the way people come to know and trust us.
Our reputations are built on our ability to make and keep commitments. I read a brief post about the importance of commitments that summed it up best:
It’s OK to need more time as long as you ask for it up front. It’s OK to struggle and ask for help.
It is not OK to break your commitments. The fastest and surest way to fail is to break your word.
It seems like such a basic concept, yet the inability of people to honor commitments destroys company value and professional relationships every day. So what can you do to make sure you keep the promises you make? Here are 3 tips to consider:
Think before you say yes. The easiest way to find yourself over committed is saying ‘yes’ when you should say ‘let me think about it.’ It’s far better to think it over and possibly say ‘no’ than to quickly agree and let someone down.
Manage your commitments. Keep track of what you commit to doing and the time frame for completing the task. Everyone has the best intentions…but if you forget, no one knows the difference between ‘forgetting’ and ‘choosing’ not to keep your commitment.
Renegotiate when you can’t keep your commitment. There’s nothing wrong with renegotiating the terms of your agreement. It shows that you have respect for the person and the matter that you are dealing with.
Value your commitments because they are a representation of you and your word. Consider them carefully, manage them properly and renegotiate them when necessary. Success is reflected in those whose word is (pirate’s) gold.
It’s the dog-days of summer…a time when the mind wanders back to the simpler, fun days of our youth. Playing in the sprinkler, water balloon fights, snow cones from the convenience store. All in an effort to stay cool.
Now that we’ve grown into adulthood, we can still keep our cool and have a lot of fun at the same time. Rick Dobbs at Martini Groove reports on a new invention that will take all of us back to our childhood - the Root Beer Float Cocktail. One of Dobbs’ own creations, it features Three Olives Root Beer Vodka…that’s right folks, root beer vodka. Who knew?
No, I haven’t tried this yet but the weekend is still young. I’m making it my personal mission to find all of the ingredients for this. If I can’t, I might have to hunt down an Orangecicle Martini recipe…got one?
I’m Sharlyn Lauby - the HR Bartender. And, yes, I am an expert with more than 18 years of professional HR management experience. Over the years, I found that my colleagues and employees wanted me to be like their neighborhood bartender - that friendly face who’s there when you need them. Click to learn more . . .
