“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration,” Thomas Edison once said. Making ideas happen is usually more difficult and time-consuming than announcing it in the first place. Jack Dorsey, creator and co-founder of Twitter, offers these tips for making ideas happen:
Workplace Communication
In an era of Casual Fridays and work-from-home colleagues, how can you maintain effective office communication in a changing business climate?
We’ll steer you through changes in business etiquette, and help you successfully navigate through the new realities of workplace conflict and office politics.
“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration,” Thomas Edison once said. Making ideas happen is usually more difficult and time-consuming than announcing it in the first place. Jack Dorsey, creator and co-founder of Twitter, offers these tips for making ideas happen:
Question: “I work at the front desk, so when I need to take a day off, I rely on four people in my office to cover for me. They answer phones, disperse mail and faxes, and do their own work at my desk. When I need coverage, I send an e-mail to these people asking what times they’d like to volunteer to cover the front desk and I thank them for volunteering. I send a reminder the day before I take off, again thanking them for helping.
When I return, one of the volunteers expects me to thank her again for helping, and she complains about this to my boss and other co-workers. She has commented that it appears I’m ungrateful because I haven’t thanked her in person for covering the front desk. Is it really necessary for me to bend over backward and thank her in person?” — Liza
When I return, one of the volunteers expects me to thank her again for helping, and she complains about this to my boss and other co-workers. She has commented that it appears I’m ungrateful because I haven’t thanked her in person for covering the front desk. Is it really necessary for me to bend over backward and thank her in person?” — Liza
E-newsletters are a proven way to stay top of mind with clients and increase repeat and referral business. The secret, however, is to keep your e-newsletters short.
Every inadequate executive fails to live up to his or her leadership role in some way. Here’s the tale of one executive who failed because he lacked—or simply didn’t practice—five essential components of good leadership:
Not everyone in the workplace needs to be on Twitter—indeed, some workplaces have deemed the social-media tool verboten. But the free messaging tool, used strategically, can be helpful for keeping tabs on your industry.
Katherine Griffin, who writes for the blog “Corporette,” recalls the time she was newly hired and her office liaison called her “Kathy” right off the bat. “He immediately began promoting me to other partners as ‘Kathy’—which made me cringe." Knowing when to correct someone, and when to let it go, is the first step. Next, you need to figure out how to do it tactfully. Some suggestions from Griffin:
As unemployment continues to hover near 10%, the temptation to stretch the truth on a résumé is becoming harder for desperate job-seekers to resist. That’s why experts say job applicants are doing more “creative writing” on their résumés these days. And hiring managers need to be more vigilant. Some tips:
Have an important meeting coming up? Need some etiquette and protocol tips to help you shine? It really is all about how you present yourself. Self-promotion is key in moving up the business ladder, and manners never go out of style.
Question: “Does having a CAP or any administrative assistant certification mean a better position or salary, and does it help when seeking new employment? If it does add to my résumé, how do I get certified?” — Holly
