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Social media….friend or foe?

Some of us spend 8 hours or more in front of a computer or laptop each day doing homework, business work, purchasing items, managing tasks etc.  Throw social media into the mix and you are connected to technology all day!  Yikes….no wonder you feel stressed!

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and think about how you can slow down in this fast paced world.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Get up and move. Take a brisk walk or stretch throughout the day.  You are forcing yourself to step away from all the chaos and rejuvenate.  And try not to update your Facebook page or twitter that this is what you are doing….just do it!
2. Enjoy your meals. Have you ever tackled a burger and fries while surfing the web only to find yourself tired or having a belly ache by mid afternoon?  ( I am guilty )  Try not to get sucked into your monitor…eat a well balanced meal and take time to enjoy it….away from your computer or phone.  By cutting out some of your web surfing you will have some extra time to carve out to eat with family. According to a recent article on Parents.com, “… researchers at Syracuse University, family routines such as eating dinner together nightly are associated with happier marriages, improved children’s health, and stronger family ties.”
3. Don’t feel you have to respond. You are getting ready to hit the hay and only have 15 minutes to unwind and do any last minute preparations for your big meeting in the morning…your phone buzzes.  It is your BFF texting you something very important, “hey”.  If you respond you are giving that person permission to interrupt you and you may carry on a meaningless conversation of one word texts back and forth for more then the 15 minutes that you have.  If you don’t answer, my guess is that he/she will go to the next person in their contact list and see if they are on the edge of their seat waiting for their text.
4. Don’t let social media become your social life. Nothing takes the place of face to face communication.  One of the most annoying things for me is when I am out with my friends or family in the middle of a conversation and one of two things happens.  Either the person that I am talking with receives a text message and starts to type while I am still talking…RUDE!….or another patron receives a call and starts talking so loud that everyone around them hears their conversation.

We will always be connected to technology.  In fact, more gadgets are created all the time, but you won’t be able to get back the time that was lost with your friends or family.

 “I think a compliment ought always to precede a complaint, where one is possible because it softens resentment and insures for the complaint a courteous and gentle reception.”             - Mark Twain

How often do you find the good in your grievances?

We all complain about the poor customer service we experience in our lives, whether it be on the phone, at a restaurant, or in a store. Bad service can happen. I know there have been a couple of times I’ve been on the phone with a company sorting out an error or mailing I’ve received for what seems like hours.

In these bad situations I cannot control much, but I can control my response. Choosing to fight the problem, rather then fighting the person can have a surprising effect on the outcome. 

Last year I had gotten a new computer and was purchasing new software for it. I had just paid and downloaded the product, when I realized that it didn’t work… at all (insert major annoyance here). I fiddled around with the software a bit grumbling under my breath about the stupidity of modern corporate America, and realized… that the idiot in fact was me. I hadn’t paid attention to the fine print which clearly stated their software was not created for my computer.

“Oops” I thought, and called their customer service number to see what help I could find hoping for a 24 hour refund policy. I spoke with a customer service rep who informed me that “…although he was sorry, he could not apply a refund, or exchange for another product.”

Now at this point I was getting a little frustrated. I had just spent a lot of money on a product that didn’t work, and although technically it was my fault (okay fine, it was my entire fault) I wanted some help. Now I had two choices on the phone. I could scream and yell at the rep. stating how uncaring and cold hearted he was and then demand to speak to someone “who know what was going on over there”. Or I could thank him for his help, and the work he was doing, but kindly ask to speak with a manager who could make the decision to refund my purchase. I chose the latter, thanked him  adding he was very good at being patient with me. and was then transferred to a manager who quickly resolved the issue and gave me a full refund.

I was happy. The company was happy. And the customer service rep (who I needed to help get me to the right person) was happy, or at least knew that he was doing a good job.

As customers, good customer service can be just as much in our control as those who are doing the serving. A compliment joined with a complaint can go a long way.

Return on investment…..when you buy something, like it, get a lot of use out of it, and if it doesn’t have a lot of repairs, it was a good deal right?  Well, it isn’t always that easy.

Because I work in the training industry, I am often asked the question, “How do I measure the ROI?”  I am directly involved in our customers’ implementation plans and the one item that is stressed during this process is setting up measurement criteria in three major areas that they want to see improvements.

Now, depending on what this product is, these areas will vary.  Think of it as setting goals for the product.  What are the expectations and where will this product make a difference?  What obstacle will this product hurdle?  Once these are identified, I suggest reviewing these at least every 90 days.  Whether you are measuring for business or personal ROI, reviewing these criteria will do two things:

1. Identify successes and challenges in the past 90 days
2. Clarify what needs to continue, improve, or change during the next 90 days

There are many online tools that are at your finger tips to help with this process.  You can find blogs, forums, product reviews, videos etc that other consumers have posted.  Information directly from the manufacturer can also be found online.  I don’t know a magical mathematical equation that will work every time, but I know that most of us have purchased something in our life and felt that we didn’t get what we paid for.  Reflection on that experience may help with awareness for the next time.  I would love to hear ideas or processes that you have in place to measure ROI.

In every company, or at least every industry, there is a certain amount of jargon or verbiage that when used makes perfect sense to any insider but would force anyone new to the group to give a quizzical “huh?”

 For example, when I first began with TTN I thought I would go crazy with the amount acronyms used, like LMS, NVS, IBS, ACT, and SCORM. Now I find myself spouting off these words in conversation without a second thought.

I’ve decide to start posting the occasional entry that defines and explains some of the words that the e-Learning community uses. Hopefully, whether you are new to training or have been a member of ASTD for 20 years, these posts can provide some new knowledge and insight for you to use at your next training meeting.

Let’s start with SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model)

SCORM is a set of technical standards, requirements, and specifications set by ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning) a group that is sponsored by the by the United States Department of Defense (who knew e-Learning could be so dangerous).

By having these standards, courses are ensured to play, and can be shared across systems (the courses you create and buy will all have the same abilities).

To provide an analogy, having SCORM is like having the euro. Much of Europe has accepted the Euro as a standard of currency. You can go across borders and still have a consistent standard to pay for your gelato, baguettes, and schnitzel. If you went there with the American dollar you would not be following the current standards and would end up a little hungry.

What exactly does being organized mean?  Does it mean that you remember everything you need to do for the day?  Does it mean that you have a place for every piece of paper that comes across your desk?  To me, being organized is being in control.  To be in control is to be proactive as opposed to being reactive.

Organization starts by having goals.  Goals for the hour, morning, day, month, year etc.  Once I have identified my goals, I write down what I need to do to accomplish them.  This helps me clarify where I am now and where I need to go.  Some experts suggest that you take it one step further and rate or number your tasks by priority. 

Now, how do you respond to the many events and circumstances that present themselves throughout the day?  For example, you are focused on a task that needs to be done today and the phone rings.  Do you: a) answer the phone or b) let it go to voicemail.  Before you answer think about this…..if you answer the phone you may lose your train of thought, get into a conversation that takes more time then is necessary, and you may even sacrifice getting your task completed.  If you let the call go to voicemail…..you stay on task, you may even finish your task, and you can call the person back with 100% focus on their question or concern.  Option B sounds like a Win-Win situation!

As one of our TTN course providers notes, there are a list of time wasters to be aware of throughout your day:

• Telephone interruptions
• Meetings
• Drop-in visitors
• Fatigue
• Inability to say “no”
• Poor delegation
• Lack of deadlines
• Poor filing system
• Socializing
• Gossip
• Unclear communication
• Poor instruction or unclear line of responsibility

 Did you nod your head while reading through this list thinking, “Yep, I encounter at least on of these every day!”? 

Try focusing on being proactive instead of reactive throughout your day. This will help manage your time and lower your stress level… and I’m sure we can all use that. Adding some specific organization to your day can help you feel in control and accomplish more on your list.

“The five essential entrepreneurial skills for success: Concentration, Discrimination, Organization, Innovation and Communication.”

                                                                          -Michael E. Gerber

How do you get experience, and how much of it do you need to become an expert? 

My friend recently posed this question to me. She is a recent graduate from college and is trying master the maze of job applications that need experience… but is facing the conundrum of how- do- you- get- experience- when- all- the- postions- you- apply- for- want- you- to- be- an- expert- already.   

I am sure that she is not the only one who faces this dilemma. We all need to gain experience, and there will never be a point where we are THE expert on a skill, idea, or job position.

No man was ever so completely skilled in the conduct of life, as not to receive new information from age and experience.     -Terence 

But how do we get from the point of inexperienced to expert? I think a common misconception is to believe that an “expert” can be measured by an ultimate accumulation of facts and figures. Not that these are unimportant (to write a book, I must first know how to spell). However I think a true expert is someone who is willing to constantly absorb the new ideas and learning experiences in their “expertise”. 

An expert is not one who knows, but rather one who is able to learn.

You may be an expert in sales, technology, or your profession’s leadership skills. But you didn’t always posses that knowledge you have now and if you only applied what you knew today ten years into the future… you would not still be seen as an expert.

Taking time to train and to learn our skills is crucial to developing ourselves. I will never know everything there is to know about communication. You will never have the perfect amount of leadership expertise. But if we continue to grow and meet the challenges that face us, we will know a little more each day then what we knew before.

As for my friend, she holds a wealth of expertise and experience on her resume today, compared to the little girl that I used to ride bikes with in our driveway. And she will continue to gain experience and become an expert as she continues to train and learn. Experience is the ability to learn and apply that knowledge… not a list of years working or the school you went to on a job application.

I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I will admit there is one show I’ve begun to watch this month that is quickly becoming a secret addiction of mine. On CBS there is a new series called UNDERCOVER BOSS and on Sunday evenings you can usually find me glued to the tube for the week’s episode.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this particular piece of popular programming I’ll briefly explain. Executives from large corporations such as Waste Management, White Castle, and 7- Eleven appear on the show allowing television crews to follow them as they go “undercover” and find both the good and the bad of their corporation’s inner workings. Through the week both employer and employee learn from each other, and create a new perspective on how to make  better teams in their organization.

The premise may sound a bit cheesy (let’s face it most media saturated reality shows are), but I can’t help but smile at the end of each episode. I love seeing the upside- down model of leadership and its impact on those leading. Sometimes life’s most important lessons can be learned at the bottom, rather then the top, which can be humbling for each of us.

Personally I have begun taking this mindset into the office. Are we truly taking time to learn and grow from those who are “doing” it, or do we dictate rules and regulations without the opportunity to be taught ourselves? It’s a hard question to ask ourselves, and one that I don’t immediately know the answer to.  However it is something that I will continue to ponder… next Sunday in front of my television.