Rule of thumb: When the debate is no longer productive, it’s time to make a decision.
There’s an industry standard regarding the amount of time it takes to make a hire, and it’s 90 days.
Eliminating backlog of tasks or emails.
Even the most religious inbox zero users experience a backlog. Here are a few tricks to help eliminate the backlog:
- Offline or Off-hours: Concentration is the key to success. Go through the backlog when you are offline or off-hours when you are less distracted. Another trick is to complete all responses as drafts and send them together once you are done to reduce distractions from replies.
- Sort/View by conversation: Viewing a entire conversation together can help you quickly see the entire picture. Same benefits can be applied when deleting or archiving.
- Attack by reverse chronological order: Older emails/conversations tend to have less movements.
- Take a break or many breaks: Batching process will keep you motivated and progress will build the momentum.
Mind traps that cause stress {chart}
AVOID THESE!
Process is the means by which your team communicates. Whether this is via a wiki, e-mail, or the hallway, any team larger than one needs to define a means to share information. This is not an argument for specifications, documentation, or a whiteboard filled with dos and don’ts. You just need to agree how you’re going to share information.
Avoid giving orders, because people don’t hear the order, they hear “Shut up, get moving, I don’t care what you think.” Your job as a manager is to avoid giving this impression at all costs because it eventually erodes your credibility.
Avoid multiple requests with one reply.
If you want things to get done, say so and say it very clearly. There’s nothing more frustrating as a reader than getting copied on an e-mail and finding out three weeks later that someone expected them to pick up the project and run with it.
When requesting from multiple recipients in one email, break them out as separate emails clearly targeted for one and ONLY ONE recipient. Leave the list of recipients intact to avoid misunderstanding and to provide transparency. You can type it together (to save time), but send each portion separately. This allows recipients to better focus on the task that is appropriate for them, rather then assuming its the other recipient’s responsibility.
When sending an email to identify multiple individuals and a personalized email to each recipient is not possible or appropriate. Summarize action items for each individual, and either use bold or italicize to highlight the individual’s name for quick and clear recognition.
One minute rule for email.
Immediate response or an acknowledgement accompanied with a followup is one of the most powerful and influential arrow in managers quiver when used persistently. Everyone appreciates instant response, even if it’s just to know the delay to their request.
The Five Key Things to Consider When Looking for the Right People. - Jim Collins
- Must share the core values of your institution or organization.
- Someone you don’t need to manage . Someone whom you spend time guiding, teaching, leading, but not someone whom you spending time compensating for.
- In the current role, are they the best in the industry? Is it possible for them to become the best in the role?
- They understand the difference between a having a job and holding a responsibility?
- Would you still re-hire this person?
Short meetings take longer preparation.
