Office Dynamics

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

Top-notch telephone screening and etiquette skills are paramount regardless of industry, company size, or geographic location. Their importance hasn’t diminished in our modern world of text messages, e-mails, and online chats. What exactly am I talking about? Necessary telephone skills for assistants include how to answer the phone, take accurate messages, carefully screen calls, protect corporate and personal information, seamlessly transfer callers, use a polite and proper tone of voice, and k

Etiquette 250

Etiquette Skills Phones Training 250

Small Business Labs

NOVEMBER 18, 2019

Brookings' Meet the Low Wage Workforce reports that 53 million Americans, or about 44% of all workers aged 18-64, have low-wage jobs. According to Brookings, the national average for a low-wage job is one that pays $16.03 per hour or less.  The low-wage level is adjusted using city-level cost of living data.  For example, a job paying $20.02 in high-cost San Jose, California is considered low wage while one paying $13 in low-cost areas of the country isn't.

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213

Practically Perfect PA

NOVEMBER 1, 2019

We all know how hard it is keeping on top of the never-ending to-do list every Assistant and their Executive seem to have. The work can be relentless but don’t fear; there are lots of fantastic apps available that can help you manage your to-do list. Tracking your tasks doesn’t need to be a complicated […].

Management 211

Management 211

Eat Your Career

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

As we head into the dreary winter months, I am reminded of the seasonality of business. In most organizations, there is a natural ebb and flow that occurs. Things get predictably busy at certain times of the year, just as things get predictably slow at other times. For my business, the month of December is always blessedly slow—and I like to take advantage.

Mentoring 197

Mentoring Networking Filing Training 197

Speaker: Chester Santos

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

Skills

Tips From T. Marie

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

Business today is image driven. Photos are key in social media posts, blog posts and for product sales. Smart phones have made taking these needed photos easy, however often the size of these photos is well beyond what is needed. Using images with a large file size can slow down your website dramatically. Sites like Etsy for selling product often have size limits.

Social Media 192

Social Media Phones Filing Learning 192

Eco-Office Gals

NOVEMBER 22, 2019

Business owners are always looking for new ways to go green and reduce their carbon footprint. Adding solar panels to your facility — provided you work in an area that gets plenty of usable sunlight — can help to offset energy costs and reduce CO2 emissions. If you’re considering adding solar to your business, here are a few quick tips to make the process a little easier.

Carbon Footprint 147

Carbon Footprint Equipment Expenses Google 147

Small Business Labs

NOVEMBER 19, 2019

Business Insider's California is attempting a massive labor experiment that could grow into a disaster for millions of workers outlines some of the many problems with California's new AB5 worker classification law. It's written by a self-employed multimedia journalist based in Los Angeles. He describes a key issue as: "I have an independent business, I don't get paid vacations, and I have to cover my own health insurance.

Policies 190

Policies Health 190

Practically Perfect PA

NOVEMBER 28, 2019

How do you feel when someone gives you feedback at work? Are you open to feedback, or do you feel defensive? What happens when you have challenges at work? Do you face them head-on, or do you avoid the situation? As Assistants, we often come up against misconceptions about the role. How do you feel […].

UPS 179

UPS Management 179

Ian's Messy Desk

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

The post 7 Tips to Help Overcome Procrastination appeared first on Ian's Messy Desk. I was planning to write this post last week, but I put it off. Okay, now that the obligatory bad joke is out of the way, we can look at another internal time waster, procrastination. We all put things off. We hope to avoid tasks that are boring, difficult, unpleasant, etc.

International 121

International 121

Tips From T. Marie

NOVEMBER 5, 2019

There’s nothing worse than biting into a stale carrot. You know what I mean, I’m sure you’ve grabbed a carrot stick off from a vegetable platter expecting that crisp snap as you bit into it but instead got a rubbery, orange something. Now the carrot doesn’t necessarily taste bad, but just the consistency is enough to turn you off from the veggie platter altogether, isn’t it?

Social Media 188

Social Media Learning UPS 188

Speaker: Frank Taliano

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.

2025

Clutter Coach

NOVEMBER 27, 2019

by Listen or subscribe here: iTunes ? Stitcher ?. Soundcloud ? YouTube ? Google Play ? iHeartRadio You can leave a review here! This is podcast 132 and it’s about decision controls. This episode is sponsored by Clean Email, the answer to email inbox overload. I’ve written about ways to clear out that clutter, but you can save time by using the Clean Email app.

Email 100

Email Stress Calendars Confidence 100

Office Dynamics

NOVEMBER 19, 2019

A meeting planner by MY definition is the go-to person within an organization – be it corporate, association or otherwise – charged with the responsibility of planning and executing a meeting or special event. Not all people who plan meetings are “meeting planners,” nor do all meeting planners start out their careers as meeting planners. I for one started out on a clerical/administrative career path with absolutely no knowledge at the time that a career in meeting planning even existed (and at t

Suppliers 226

Suppliers Meeting Planning Administrative Professionals Attire 226

Small Business Labs

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) , renewable energy sources will pass coal in terms of U.S. electricity generation in 2021. As their chart below shows, each of the sources will produce around 800 billion kilowatts of electricity in 2021. Included in the IEEFA's definition of renewables are utility-scale biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar and wind, plus small-scale solar.   The fastest-growing of these sources by far are wind and s

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2021 2010 Environment Health 143

Practically Perfect PA

NOVEMBER 7, 2019

Assistants have buckets full of empathy; you wouldn’t be in the job if you didn’t. What I find is that empathy can often be taken advantage of by people who don’t respect what we do – be it, that colleague who wants your time or that Executive who doesn’t understand your role. Empathy can quickly […].

Management 174

Management 174

Speaker: Jennifer Hill

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.

Payroll

Ian's Messy Desk

NOVEMBER 27, 2019

The post Learn to Say “No” appeared first on Ian's Messy Desk. There was a time when I would say yes to everything. Not because I thought I had the ability to do it all, but because I felt I looked lazy if I wasn’t doing something all the time. I had to learn to say no. There was also an issue of how to handle things … Continue reading Learn to Say “No” → You just finished reading Learn to Say "No" !

Learning 114

Learning 114

Tips From T. Marie

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

It’s time for another coffee break. Here’s your wordsearch for November. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience. Select Level: {{ currentLevel.width }}x{{ currentLevel.height }} {{ level.width }}x{{ level.height }} {{cell.letter}} {{word}} × Congratulations! You solved the November Wordsearch.

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Eat Your Career

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Join us for this month’s free webinar on the topic of “Powerful Prioritization Principles.”. Date: Wednesday, November 20. Time: 11:00 AM Pacific | 12:00 PM Mountain | 1:00 PM Central | 2:00 PM Eastern. Duration: 1 hour. Description: In today’s busy workplace, there’s always too much to do and not enough time. Deciding what must be done first (and what can strategically be delayed) is a difficult, often complex problem that each individual must solve.

Stress 100

Stress Skills Learning Management 100

Office Dynamics

NOVEMBER 15, 2019

I have been fortunate to gain a three-dimensional view of communication between executives and assistants: I was an assistant for 20 years thus understanding what I needed from my executive so I could be effective. I worked with a variety of managers and executives, each with different personalities and communication styles. Since 1990, I have been the CEO of my own company and have worked with several of my own assistants.

Email 222

Email Training International Learning 222

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.

Equipment

Small Business Labs

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

Scientific American's describes their Top 10 Emerging Technologies Of 2019 as "World-changing technologies that are poised to rattle the status quo."  Key article quote on the technologies: One day soon an emerging technology highlighted in this report will allow you to virtually teleport to a distant site and actually feel the handshakes and hugs of fellow cyber travelers.

2019 143

2019 2020 2014 Travel 143

Practically Perfect PA

NOVEMBER 8, 2019

How often do you organise a video conference for your Executive or team on Skype? If you are using Microsoft Office, it is probably quite often. Well, today, I thought I would share with you the top five alternative video conferencing platforms that are available online. If you don’t have internal video conferencing software or […].

International 138

International Management 138

Ian's Messy Desk

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

The post 8 Common Time Wasters appeared first on Ian's Messy Desk. Over the years, I’ve posted some thoughts on behaviours and practices that can get in the way of our productivity. To help bring some of these forwarded, this post will link to past articles, as well as adding some new material on common time-wasters. I’ve broken these time-wasters into two groups.

International 114

International 114

Brilliantly Better

NOVEMBER 19, 2019

Now that we have an idea about Buddhist concepts like impermanence or karma, let’s see what meditation is. Somehow predictably, meditation, as a concept, has been very much twisted, transformed and modified in the Western part of the world. I… The post Meditation Is Like Debugging Spaghetti Code appeared first on Dragos Roua.

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81

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Management

TED Talks

NOVEMBER 13, 2019

Teachers emotionally support our kids -- but who’s supporting teachers? In this eye-opening talk, educator Sydney Jensen explores how teachers are at risk of "secondary trauma" -- the idea that they absorb the emotional weight of their students' experiences -- and shows how schools can get creative in supporting everyone's mental health and wellness.

Health 52

Health 52

Office Dynamics

NOVEMBER 7, 2019

When polishing your sentences, pay attention to the nuances of word order. To my eye (and ear), placing “short” before “long” works best. This applies to both sentences and lists. Here’s a simple example: “He was well respected and loved in the academic community.” I changed it to: “He was loved and well respected in the academic community.”. Because “loved” is 5 letters and “well respected” is 13, it makes for a smoother read if the longer phrase follows the shorter word.

Administrative Professionals 202

Administrative Professionals Training Phones Networking 202

Small Business Labs

NOVEMBER 21, 2019

The JP Morgan Chase Institute recently released a new study, Bridging the Gap: How Families Use the Online Platform Economy to Manage their Cash Flow.  The key finding of the study is "participation in the Online Platform Economy functions as a cash-flow management tool for many families." In particular, JP Morgan found many use online platform work to supplement their income when they lost a job.

2017 110

2017 Medical Management Policies 110

Practically Perfect PA

NOVEMBER 11, 2019

“If you do not understand the benefits of difference, you will always align yourself to your similarities, and in doing so, you will miss out on the beauty that variety brings to the table.” This is a quote I came up with while deepening my knowledge in this interesting subject of diversity and inclusion. This […].

UPS 131

UPS Management 131

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Interviewing

Small Business CEO

NOVEMBER 3, 2019

How ambitious are you when it comes to your business? Are you comfortable with the way things are? Do the numbers seem to be adding up in your favor, and you want to cruise at your current level? Or, are you looking to improve and move up in the world continuously? Even if you’re going to remain remotely competitive, you must always understand your next step.

UPS 76

UPS 76

Brilliantly Better

NOVEMBER 16, 2019

As you read this, in the back of your mind there is a constant humming and buzzing. You may not be aware of it, as you’re focusing on the screen, reading this very sentence, but it’s there. You may think… The post The Art Of Not Believing The Lies You’re Telling To Yourself appeared first on Dragos Roua.

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TED Talks

NOVEMBER 15, 2019

Companies often target consumers based on gender, but this kind of advertising shortcut not only perpetuates outdated stereotypes -- it’s also bad for business, says marketing expert Gaby Barrios. In this clear, actionable talk, she explains why gender-based marketing doesn’t drive business nearly as much as you might think -- and shows how companies can find better ways to reach customers and grow their brands.

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52

Office Dynamics

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

At our recent Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence , I surveyed 350 attendees about the topics they would like me to address at future conferences or training events. I wanted to know the areas the assistants were interested in growing and learning about. We had each attendee write their idea or ideas on an index card; we collected the cards; and I read every single card, some of which had more than one topic listed.

Budget 189

Budget Training Meeting Planning Calendars 189

Speaker: Chandra McCormack, CPA, MBA, NACD.DC

Technical degrees might open doors—but it’s the soft skills that keep them open. In the face of disruption, evolving workplace dynamics, and rising expectations of leadership, soft skills like communication, emotional intelligence, and presence have become core business essentials—not nice-to-haves. Inspired by stories from her father coupled with her own career journey, seasoned executive Chandra McCormack breaks down how to lead with impact, connect with purpose, and cultivate a workplace cult

Skills