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Must We Multi-task? Maybe It’s Better Not To. After all, multi-tasking is not what it’s all cracked up to be. As I deliver sessions at seminars and conferences throughout North America in every kind of business you can think of, I often encounter people who are pleased, even proud, that they can multi-task. What about you? Do you regularly multi-task, such as reading emails while someone is talking to you on the telephone?
What are the main aspects of your role? My role is very varied and probably doesn’t sit within the ‘traditional PA’ job description that many would think. Having been with Absolute Taste for 14 years there are lots of jobs that I do which are a hangover from when we were a very small company with 10-15 people so we all mucked in, saying that I still do these tasks because I enjoy these aspects and I don’t want to relinquish them!
Website traffic is not a problem. Getting it to visit YOUR website is! There are an abundance of your ideal clients out there all searching for the solutions that your services offer. But the problem is they don’t know about you … yet! As a solopreneur, one ingredient you need for a successful online business is traffic… and lots of it!
Waaaay back in the day, I was Cheryl Richardson 's Virtual Assistant, she was the new president of ICF, and we were deeply engaged in working on the first-ever International Coach Federation conference. Although instructions had been given to attendees about how to handle their own special dietary requests directly with the hotel, one woman decided she HAD to talk with me about it.
Forgetfulness is costing you time, money, and a ton of missed opportunities. In the age of automation, it’s easy to underestimate the power of a well-trained human mind. But memory isn’t just a parlor trick, it's a strategic edge. Human memory is one of the most underrated business skills. Whether you’re managing people, leading sessions, or having high-stakes conversations, remembering names, details, and concepts can be transformative in building trust, absorbing knowledge, and driving perform
When planning and booking live music for corporate events, as the organiser you will need to ensure you’ve done research and planned your entertainment in conjunction with your venue and needs. Live music, unlike a continuous soundtrack from a playlist, is a far more impressive way to add music to a corporate party or networking… Read the full article here: 3 Rules For Live Music At Corporate Events on: THE SMALL BUSINESS BLOG.
The Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) - a leading, global analyst firm focused on the use of contingent workers by businesses - recently released a report on the human cloud. It's only available to their members. But since I called them a "leading, global analyst firm" and pitch them again at the end of this article, I'm hoping they'll be OK with me "borrowing" a bit from their report.
This week I have a short but powerful Monday Motivator for you. Tomorrow we’ll be offering a free webinar focused on Getting to Yes, which has brought up a lot of thoughts around the idea of assistants needing to build the power of their persuasive skills. Here are 7 ideas for principles of persuasion to implement right away. For more, join us at tomorrow’s free event!
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This week I have a short but powerful Monday Motivator for you. Tomorrow we’ll be offering a free webinar focused on Getting to Yes, which has brought up a lot of thoughts around the idea of assistants needing to build the power of their persuasive skills. Here are 7 ideas for principles of persuasion to implement right away. For more, join us at tomorrow’s free event!
This week I am concentrating on the tricky task of business travel planning. Today I will be writing about the first step which is ‘ waving goodbye to your Executive ‘ Firstly I think we all breath a sign of relief when our Executive pays that final visit to our desk to say goodbye before they head out of the office to start their business trip.
Not enough clients? Not enough profits? All it could take are a few tweaks to your business management systems and you could easily turn this around. I know the thought of creating systems in your business doesn’t sound very appealing or exciting. But what if I told you that having the right systems in your business can make all the difference between having all the clients you need or not having clients?
This past weekend was really wonderful. Here in Baltimore, we had rare August weather (not hot, not humid), and as a result, we were up and out each day really early, and back long after dark, exploring places near home we'd not seen before. I love road trips--long or short. I actually prefer them to any other sort of travel. And I prefer taking road trips with Dominic over anyone else.
For those of you who haven’t met me in the real world, let me first explain some of my character assets and liabilities. I’m what every personality test on the planet would describe as “highly dominant” in a workplace setting. (In a personal setting, I’m quite different, but that’s a story for another day…). At work, I’m extremely task-focused, almost to the detriment of my professional relationships.
In the climb from contributor to leader, the rules quietly change. If you’re aiming for the summit, the air gets thinner—and what got you here won’t be enough to get you to the top (a concept first popularized by Marshall Goldsmith in his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There ). What made you successful early in your finance career—technical accuracy, sharp analysis, flawless execution—won’t be what carries you to the next level.
The Harvard Business Review's 7 Tips for Managing Freelancers and Contractors provides advice on how managers can successfully navigate their relationship with contingent workers. Talent shortages and the shift to hiring more contingent workers means companies are becoming more reliant on contingent talent - even for core and/or strategic jobs.
No team exists without some problems. No relationship exists without some problems, whether small or large. It is important to the team relationship not to let problems tear down the team and reduce the team’s effectiveness. Turn obstacles into opportunities for growth. Focus on possibilities. Put all your energy into finding solutions and work around the obstacles.
Do you have a a business card? A question I was often asked during my career as an assistant. The answer was generally no and then I would feel a bit stupid. I always felt I should have a business card. I would go so far as to say I felt a bit resentful when colleagues were pulling out business cards in meetings or during networking events and I wouldn’t have anything to hand over to my new contact.
A couple of weeks ago I headed out to Orlando for a 3-day fashion event. I attend this event twice a year, and I love that I get to unplug for a few days and focus on something completely different—it’s all about balance, right? For me, this is when I get the best ideas for my business. I’m away from my office, in a different environment, and I can simply let those thoughts and ideas I’ve been having percolate away for a few days.
The most overlooked, yet most critical, element of transformation is preparing people for change. Automation and AI aren't just technical upgrades, they’re cultural shifts which can challenge identities. That’s why change management isn’t a side project—it’s the foundation. In finance, where precision and process rule, navigating change can feel especially disruptive.
How can you be sure that it's time to let a client go, time to change your business model, time to go for training or certification, or time for… well, anything, really? When do you really know that you're ready? You never do. Even when there's a problem that seems irresolvable and you feel pushed to do something different, you never can be sure you've worked at things hard enough, or looked for enough solutions, or even completely addressed things together (if another person's involved).
Softball is over for the summer. No more practices, games, try-outs, or workouts! I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all this free time, except hopefully spend some of it with YOU! I would love to work with you for a full day on your business! Announcing “before summer’s over” dates for VIP In-Person Intensives ! AND through this week (or until they’re gone!
CB Insights , a great source of information on VC activity and startups, has an excellent article covering the growing number of food startups. The article chart below (click to enlarge) lists over 40 food startups by category. The trends driving VC and startup interest in the food industry are pretty straight forward - the food industry is enormous and more people are taking more interest in healthy eating.
As we celebrate 25 years in business we’re offering a free webinar each month for administrative professionals to continue their skill development and learn more about who we are and what we offer the administrative profession. This month we focused on the topic of persuasion skills with our free webinar, Getting to Yes: Overcoming Resistance to Get What You Want and Create More Value for Your Company.
Retailers know the clock is ticking–legacy SAP Commerce support ends in 2026. Legacy platforms are becoming a liability burdened by complexity, rigidity, and mounting operational costs. But modernization isn’t just about swapping out systems, it’s about preparing for a future shaped by real-time interactions, AI powered buying assistants, and flexible commerce architecture.
A few years ago I was working as a PA to a senior board director in an organisation full of project managers, engineers and specialist technicians. There were a large number of administration and support staff but we certainly didn’t make up the bulk of the business. As is often the case renumeration was structure around the staff who made the business money (or the folks who made the business more efficient and thus made the business money).
When planning and booking live music for corporate events, as the organiser you will need to ensure you’ve done research and planned your entertainment in conjunction with your venue and needs. Live music, unlike a continuous soundtrack from a playlist, is a far more impressive way to add music to a corporate party or networking… Read the full article here: sme3 Rules For Live Music At Corporate Events on: THE SMALL BUSINESS BLOG.
Offices were meant to be the best place to get work done. But between the people milling around, the allure of the internet to distract us and the general din that occurs when you stick hundreds of people in a big room together, sometimes it can be hard to be productive. We’ve got 10 tips to keep you going, even in the most distracting of offices. Thank you for subscribing!
by Originally posted 2007-03-05 12:46:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Last week I made a presentation to a group that included a visualization at the beginning. I wanted to talk to this group of nascent entrepreneurs about their home offices. For me, one of the best things about having my own business is my home office. It’s not fancy, but it’s mine!
Documents are the backbone of enterprise operations, but they are also a common source of inefficiency. From buried insights to manual handoffs, document-based workflows can quietly stall decision-making and drain resources. For large, complex organizations, legacy systems and siloed processes create friction that AI is uniquely positioned to resolve.
The 3D printing industry is at an interesting point, with both good and bad news coming out on a regular basis. The most recent bad news comes from the earnings (losses, actually) reported by 2 public makers of 3D printers. As reported in the WSJ article 3D Printer Firms Fall Flat , both 3D Systems and Stratasys reported ugly earnings due to "an increasingly uncertain outlook as many potential buyers hold out for what they hope will be better, faster machines." Another reason for the gen
Hello friends! I’ve been tasked with the presentation of our next free webinar (September) from Joan and I need your help. What should I talk about in that one-hour educational session? What are you most interested in hearing from me? I’ve been Joan’s strategic business partner for the past 9 years and I’ve had a lot of opportunity to grow through challenging my own comfort zones and always expecting the unexpected from Joan.
What is Canva? Canva is a start-up based in Sydney which aims to make graphics design easier for small businesses and individuals. What does it do? Designing graphics for websites, social media platforms, presentations, and brochures can be a tricky business. It can be expensive to hire a professional and painstakingly difficult to do with inadequate tools and software.
As you might remember, I had to have emergent abdominal surgery in April, and my recovery was difficult. To give myself some breathing room, I decided to not talk with anyone about new work or new opportunities till the beginning of July. Everyone who wrote to me about one of those two things received an email to see if talking in July would meet their needs, and I reached out in July to those who wanted to wait.
Payroll compliance is a cornerstone of business success, yet for small and midsize businesses, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of federal, state, and local regulations. Mistakes can lead to costly penalties and operational disruptions, making it essential to adopt advanced solutions that ensure accuracy and efficiency.
Great stickers can have a multitude of uses from giving you a quick and easy way to promote your brand to making your home look fantastic. Creating custom stickers is an art form so lets look at some great examples to help you on the way ecooffice-gals chatted with custom sticker experts Blue Bee Printing who recommended some cool eco sticker examples to get inspired from.
After a brief hiatus, I’m proud to announce that I am, once again, a featured career expert on US News & World Report ! I’ll be contributing an original article over there once a month on various career-related topics so keep your eye out. (Don’t worry; I’ll share them here as well!). This month’s article challenges a popular workplace rule: “under promise and over deliver” I know, I know.
The Pacific Standard's The Future of Work: The Water Cooler and the Fridge covers a fascinating academic research study on the important social role offices play. Key quote from the article: But the office is not merely a place for productivity; it is also a place for social contact. A defined physical space with a set of loosely connected people working toward a common goal, the office contains the most consistent set of individuals the average white-collar worker will encount
This year millennials surpassed Gen Xers as the largest generation in the U.S. labor force , according to Pew Research. Instead of debating about millennials’ work style or views, companies need to embrace this new generation and figure out how to attract and retain top talent. Gone are the days when attractive salaries and retirement options were enough to land top recruits.
Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions
Join this brand new webinar with Tim Buteyn to learn how you can master the art of remote onboarding! By the end of this session, you'll understand how to: Craft a Tailored Onboarding Checklist 📝 Develop a comprehensive, customized checklist that ensures every new hire has a smooth transition into your company, no matter where they are in the world.
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