In 2017, approximately 132 billion business emails will be sent and received per day, according to The Radicati Group.
But Australian media agency Atomic 212 won't be contributing to that statistic. "We've totally cut out all internal emails," the company's CEO Jason Dooris told Business Insider. Dooris says he was tired of people relying on email as the primary means of communication with their coworkers. "In the office I don't see it as a necessity, when the people you're emailing are only a few [steps] away and you can chat with them," he says. The type of email that especially aggravated him were the "delegation" emails because they created tension between coworkers that could have easily been avoided if they had spoken in person. He says if you need to ask a coworker in the office for a favor, then you should ask them to their face out of professional consideration. Ever after-work emails, which Dooris calls "the bane of modern employees," were nixed to give employees time to disconnect from their work obligations. "When you're not at work you shouldn't be worried about checking your emails," he argues, "and it's only become a problem since emails came into use." To fill in the hole left by emails, Atomic 212 now relies on Wunderlist to track tasks, Dropbox to share files, and face-to-face contact for anything else — except for calendar invites, which they're allowed to send by email. So what about external emails? Those are allowed and mainly just sent to clients, but they're next on the cutting board, Dooris says. He believes employees would have better relationships with clients if they bonded in person, rather than through a screen or over the phone. So far, he says some of their clients were taken aback at this "crazy" practice that seems anti-2016. But overall, he says they've had a response of excitement and positivity. "Many of our clients and other companies love the idea of turning back the clock to the days before email." Because email was the primary means of work communication, Dooris admits that there was some hesitance from employees to comply in the first few days of the transition period. However, while "there is still a long way to go," he says everyone has already noticed "a positive change in the attitude and culture of the office." But just to make sure no secret email chains are flying under the radar, he says the IT department is tracking all internal emails. They haven't had any incidents yet, he says, especially now that the initial shock has worn off and everyone "has sunk into the new system quite nicely." And the best part of this new norm is the change in the atmosphere, Dooris concludes. "Before, there were just too many occasions of listening to the sounds of the office and only hearing the clicking of keyboard. Now you can hear the excitement and people talking."
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by Suzie Doscher
"Personal Power is the ability to take action" Anthony Robbins Some questions to ask yourself if you have given your personal power away and want to get it back. Any action taken is a step in the right direction.
When times are rough, slow down and allow yourself some time to gather some strength back, even if you can only stop long enough to take a couple of deep breaths. You will be surprised how that can help in the moment. There IS always something you can do. Remember: "Past performance is not an indicator of future success" unknown Book your Free first consultation to talk more about how life coaching can help you maintain your personal power or get it back! by Seth Godin
Tantrums are frightening. Whether it's an employee, a customer or a dog out of control, tantrum behavior is so visceral, self-defeating and unpredictable, rational participants want nothing more than to make it go away. And so the customer service rep or boss works to placate the tantrum thrower, which does nothing but reinforce the behavior, setting the stage for ever more tantrums. Consider three ideas: · Listen to the person, not the tantrum · Tantrums want to deal with tantrums · Create systems to avoid it in the first place When an employee calls you up, furious, in mid-tantrum, it's tempting to placate or to argue back. That's the tantrum pressing your buttons. Instead, ask him to write down every thing that's bothering him, along with what he hopes you'll do, and then call you back. Or even better, meet with you tomorrow. Email tantrums are similar. If someone sends you an email tantrum, don't respond, point by point, proving that you are correct. Instead, consider ways to de-escalate, not by giving in to the argument, but by refusing to have the argument. Engaging in the middle of a tantrum does two things: it rewards the tantrum by giving it your attention, and it makes it likely that you'll get caught up, and say or do something that, in the mind of the tantrum-thrower, justifies the tantrum. That's the fuel the tantrum is looking for--we throw tantrums, hoping people will throw them back. When you have valuable employees or customers (or kids) who throw tantrums, that might be a sign that there's something wrong with your systems. The most basic way to decrease tantrums is to find the trigger moments and catch the tantrum before it starts. By creating a way for people to raise their hand, send a note, light a signal flare or otherwise highlight the problem (internal or external) before it leads to a tantrum, you can shortcircuit the meltdown without rewarding it. If your dog is going crazy, straining at the leash and barking, it turns out that yelling, "sit," is going to do no good at all, no matter how loudly you yell. No, the secret is to not take your dog to this park, not at this time of day, at least not until you figure out how to create more positive cycles for him. Eliminate the trigger, you start to eliminate the tantrum. Unfortunately, just about all big customer service organizations do this precisely backward. They don't escalate to a supervisor or roll out the kindness carpet until after someone has gone to Defcon 4. They decide that it's too expensive to be flexible, to listen or to treat people fairly, and they wait until the costs to both sides are really high, and then they give an empowered person a chance to solve the problem. There's huge waste here, as the problem costs more to solve at this point, and the unseen challenge is that they've established a cycle in which umbrage is the rewarded behavior. And the last (but essential) thing to keep in mind is this: tantrums are really expensive, and if you can't extinguish the ongoing problem, fire it. Fire the customer, fire the employee. Establish a standard that says that people around here don't act like that. Expose the tantrum for what it is, and if necessary, do it in front of the tantrum-thrower's peers. It will free up your resources for those that are able to earn them. When the cost of throwing a tantrum is high and when the systems are in place to eliminate the triggers, tantrum behavior goes down. Your mind can be your biggest asset or your worst enemy. BY AMY MORIN - article published on Inc.com Amy Morin - Author, "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do" Your thoughts not only affect your emotional state, but also influence your behavior. When you think positively, you'll likely feel better and perform better. When you think negatively, your despair will be reflected in how you feel and behave. Everyone experiences unhelpful, unrealistic, and exaggeratedly negative thoughts at one time or another. Allowing cynicism to become a habit, however, will limit your potential. No matter how much talent or experience you possess, if you can't gain control of your mind, you'll never achieve great things. You can't reach the next level of success unless you believe you're capable of accomplishing more. That's why sport psychologists work with aspiring Olympians and elite athletes to help them eradicate the negative self-talk that interferes with their ability to perform. But it's not just athletes who benefit from changing their mindset. Learning to think productively can help you in business and in life. Learning to recognize the thinking habits that rob you of mental strength is the first step in changing your mindset. Here are six bad mental habits that will sabotage your success. 1. Making excuses. Blaming other people or external circumstances for your lack of achievement harms your performance. Saying things like "My boss is holding me down," or "All this paperwork makes it impossible to do my job" will only keep you stuck. Stop making excuses: Focus on all the things you can do rather than on what you can't. When you pay attention to the positive, you'll put more effort into your performance. 2. Catastrophizing the future. Negative predictions easily turn into self-fulfilling prophecies. If you step up on a stage to deliver an important speech thinking, "I'm going to mess everything up," you'll be distracted--and that distraction may cause you to forget the words. Stop catastrophizing: Unless you're creating productive plans to deal with potential worst-case scenarios, don't explore "What if?" questions. Predicting disastrous outcomes will cause a spike in anxiety that could cause you to choke. 3. Seeking audience approval. Your attempts to gain approval from others could backfire. Trying to decipher how an interviewer is perceiving your answers, for example, could cause you stumble over your words. Or even worse--thinking about the other person's response could cause you to tune out the conversation altogether. Stop trying to gain approval: While it may be important to sometimes gauge your audience's reaction--like in the middle of a sales pitch--every second you spend seeking reassurance is one second you aren't focused on the task at hand. Keep the focus on doing your best and recognize that you can't control how other people respond. 4. Believing self-doubt. Insecurity can easily kill your dreams. If you walk into a job interview thinking, "I'll never get hired," your self-doubt will shine through and you'll be less likely to land the job. Rejection will only fuel your self-doubt and create a negative cycle that's hard to break. Stop doubting yourself: Create a list of your skills, talents, and achievements. Read the list regularly and when you're plagued by self-doubt, remind yourself of all the reasons you're "good enough." 5. Putting yourself down. It's impossible to perform well when you're telling yourself, "You're stupid" or "You can't ever do anything right." Negative self-talk will discourage you from putting in your best effort and it will drag you down fast. Stop the put-downs: Talk to yourself like a trusted friend. If you wouldn't use such harsh words with someone else, don't allow your inner critic to say them to you. 6. Second-guessing yourself. While reflecting on past choices can be healthy, second-guessing each choice you make will impair your performance. Questioning whether you said the right thing, or second-guessing your choice in attire for the cocktail party, wastes a lot brain power. Stop second-guessing yourself: Practice mindfulness so you can learn how to be fully present in the here-and-now. The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com. PUBLISHED ON: FEB 18, 2016 on Inc.com Phot - Getty Images by Suzie Doscher Self-Esteem is the overall impression you hold of yourself; including how much you value yourself and how you rate your abilities as well as limitations. “Self-esteem is about our perceptions and beliefs in who we are and what we are capable of. Our self-esteem can be misaligned with other people's perception of who we are. Interestingly enough, self-esteem has little to do with actual talent or ability. It’s quite possible for someone who is good at something to have poor self-esteem, while someone who struggles at a particular topic might have good self-esteem."* If You Have Healthy Self-Esteem, you probably…
If You Have Low Self-Esteem, you are probably…
Low self-esteem can be a significant obstacle that holds a person back from succeeding in all aspects of life. It is painful to not feel good about yourself, focusing on your limitations rather than recognizing and valuing your abilities, skills and natural talents. Raising your self-esteem leads naturally to a place of power. Your thoughts and beliefs have a huge impact on your self-esteem. The good news is thoughts and beliefs can be influenced. It is possible to learn how to replace negative, disempowering thoughts and beliefs with healthier, more realistic ones. You can explore this and other ways to achieve a healthier self-esteem with a life coach -- resulting in a more balanced life. *Skills You Need Ready to make some changes? |
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