Attending meetings that are created mostly for people to share with others various updates from their divisions instead of discussing what needs to be done next. A partnership initially created between two companies to allow them to land a large-scale project ends up becoming a source of distrust between the collaborating businesses, leading to costly delays as each side questions the real motives of the other firm. Spending hours in a committee meeting attempting to decide which option should be pursued over others as the least likely to end in failure.

These are just a handful of some of the scenarios that author Russell Bishop delves into, breaks down and provides clear strategies to overcome and hopefully improve on in his new book “Workarounds That Work: How to Conquer Anything That Stands in Your Way at Work”.

From the very beginning of the book, Bishop makes it clear that the key to overcoming any obstacle or challenge that stands before us is ourselves – specifically our own perception or how we choose to frame a given situation. He divides the work environment into three distinct sections – what we can control, what we can influence, and what we simply respond to – and points out how most times, our focus is on what we respond to and not on that which is within our abilities to control and manage.

Working from this vantage point, Bishop describes three key steps that readers can take to ensure any change or improvement they put forth is more than a mere band-aid solution: Click here to continue reading »”Coffee House Book Review – “Workarounds That Work” by Russell Bishop”

Like most people, I look forward to that time when we can unplug from our computers and mobile devices in order to unwind, spend time with the family, and recharge my mind and body before we need to prepare ourselves to dive back into the hustle and flow of our workplace.

There are times, though, where that continual push to maintain our productivity through the week takes its toll and we can find ourselves struggling to get out of neutral. This is something that happens to me at times and I know only too well how frustrating these moments can feel, especially when we see that large heap waiting for us in our “To-Do” basket. As such, I want to share some of the strategies I use to recharge my productivity batteries so I could complete my tasks for the week: Click here to continue reading »”6 Tips You Can Use Today To Help Boost Your Productivity”

The following is another guest post by my friend John Haydon.  As he works primarily with non-profits, I asked him if he could share his insights on how these organizations can approach marketing in social media outlets as I think it would be of use to both entrepreneurs and other for-profit businesses.

We all know that Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are free platforms that marketers can use. But what’s not free is the investment in strategy and the staff time using the tools. Also, social media is often an additional cost, and not meant as a replacement channel within the overall marketing mix. For example, I would never recommend that a nonprofit should replace their direct mail marketing with social media. So the net costs of social media generally increase the overall marketing spend.

However, there are at least five cost-saving benefits that social media can create:

1. Permanent Sales Pitch
Emails written to customers answering the most common questions could be repurposed into blog posts, or demonstrations of your product on YouTube (bonus points if you can make it fun and entertaining). This could lower customer service costs spent and demonstrate your expertise to potential clients.

2. Improve search
Using a blog to answer the most pressing questions about your service or industry helps to improve SEO. Especially if no one has answered that question. The cost savings is found when you can dial down paid online ads when your appearance in search engine result pages (SERPs) hits a certain point.

3. Word Of Mouth
Getting people to talk about your company to their friends has to do with your offering (which better kick ass, by the way). Facebook is now the sharing beast. The cost savings is found in warmer leads that cost less to convert.

4. Volunteer Sales People
Social media allows you to connect with your biggest fans on their terms. Whether it’s on Facebook or in a private online community, companies that treat their cultists like gold eventually see a percent of them blogging or tweeting about their products. The cost savings is found in zero payroll costs, and a higher conversion rate in trusted third-party endorsements.

5. Market Research
Listening to how your current customers are talking about you in forums, on blogs, on Twitter, can be valuable research. This can be used to improve the product and how you talk with your customers. The cost savings is found in dialing down traditional methods of market research, which can be expensive.

What do you think? What ways have you realized a cost savings with social media marketing?

John Haydon writes about social media marketing for nonprofits.

Like most people, I look forward to the arrival of the weekend as a chance to unwind, spend time with the family, and recharge my mind and body in preparation for the jump into a fresh work week.

There are times, though, where that continual push to maintain our productivity through the week takes its toll and we can find ourselves struggling to get out of neutral. This is something that happens to me at times and I know only too well how frustrating these moments can feel, especially when we see that large heap waiting for us in our “To-Do” basket. As such, I want to share some of the strategies I use to recharge my productivity batteries so I could complete my tasks for the week:

1. Review what you’ve completed so far

In the drive to maintain our level of productivity, it’s a good idea to take some time to review what we’ve completed up to that point. This will help in evaluating whether it’s really necessary to keep pushing to the max or whether we can afford to throttle down our efforts to give ourselves time to catch our breath. As marathon runners know, it’s not about Click here to continue reading »”Need A Boost? Strategies For Recharging Your Productivity”