How Can CIOs Command The Room During A Speech?

One of the joys (?) of being the person with the CIO job is that you often get asked to make speeches where you can talk about the importance of information technology. Everyone thinks that you know what is going to happen in the future and they are hoping that if they can get you to deliver a speech, you just might let a hint of the future slip out. These are great career opportunities; however, in order to make the most of them you need to know how to command the room during your speech.It's All About PersuasionAll too often people in the CIO position, who are technical people by their very nature, show up when it's time to give a presentation and attempt to communicate everything that they know about a topic with their audience. Another word for this type of presentation is "dumping". The problem with this is that once your speech is over, nobody will be able to remember what you said.A much better way to organize your speech is by starting out your speech by discussing the problem that has to be solved. No matter if you are talking about mobile products in the workplace or a new ERP solution, everything in IT is designed to solve a problem and you should start by talking about that problem.The goal of any CIO speech should be to get your audience to either do something differently or think about something differently. You are going to want to structure your speech so that you can persuade your audience to change. Make sure that you deliver your information in a way that makes sense to your audience.Does Anyone Have A Question?As good of a speaker as you are, there will always be questions about what you are saying from your audience. In order to maximize the impact of your speech, you are going to want to provide your audience with an opportunity to ask you questions.The traditional way to go about doing this is to leave time at the end of your speech to permit your audience to ask questions. However, it turns out that this might not be the best way to go about doing this. The reason is because studies have shown that adults have an attention span of about 20 minutes. This means that your 45-60 minute speech is going to cover at least two adult attention spans.


A much better way to deal with questions is to stop at about 20 minutes and 40 minutes into your speech and ask if there are any questions. This shakes things up, grabs people's attention, and keeps their interest. It also allows you to control how your speech ends. You don't have to take questions at the end and you can finish on a high note, not a bad or awkward question.Beware Of The Slide TrapI love PowerPoint, you love PowerPoint, we all love PowerPoint. All too often we are in a rush when we've been asked to give a speech and we end up throwing our slides together at the last minute. When we do this, we're often not quite sure what we are planning on saying.When we find ourselves in this situation, we stop looking at our audience during our presentation and we start to look at the screen where our slides are being displayed. We have to do this because we're not sure what comes next. However, by doing this we lose contact with our audience.One additional downside to looking at our slides while we talk is that our hand gestures are made towards the screen. Studies have shown that your audience will only be interested in motions made towards them. When you direct your motions towards the screen, you are giving them permission to start to ignore you.What All Of This Means For YouOne of the most important skills that a CIO must have is the ability to communicate well. This skill becomes critical when we are called upon to deliver a speech. Anyone can give a speech, only the best CIOs can command the room while they do it.In order to command the room, first you need to make sure that you find ways to persuade your audience. Don't try to overwhelm them with too much information. Questions are always an important part of any CIO speech. Provide your audience with an opportunity to ask questions during your speech. Finally, make sure that you use PowerPoint slides effectively and don't let the slides use you.When it comes to clearly communicating information to a group of people, giving a speech is the most effective way to accomplish this. However, as with so many things in life there is a right way and a wrong way to go about doing this. Use these suggestions to command the room the next time you are asked to give a speech.

Google Tools for Business You Should Be Using

Running your own business has many perks, especially if you're willing to make the most from what the web has to offer. Among some of the most efficient web-based tools for business, you'll find several prepared and deployed by Google. Here's a selection of the best Google tools around, which, despite being little-known, offer immense help to all sorts of entrepreneurs.Get Your Business OnlinePerfect for small-business owners, the website is full of interesting tips and lessons about a wide variety of topics - from website building to social media integration. Register and you'll receive a regular dose of tutorial videos directly to your inbox.Google TrendsPerfect for all matters of research and marketing, Google Trends wills show you what keywords are most searched and visualize data by region, which can be great if your target audience is local. You can see what the hot topics of your industry are and use them as content ideas for your company blog.Google Public Data ExplorerGreat for data crunching, the tool allows to search through a wide array of international databases that show information about economic policies, unemployment and many more. You can visualize data according to your needs and tastes, and easily communicate it to your colleagues. A great source for crucial facts about your industry.Google KeepThis is like Evernote, only better. Perfect for busy entrepreneurs, Google Keep helps to synchronize all your notes across devices and places it on your Google Drive. It also offers a speech-to-text function that allows you to take notes even when rushing from one meeting to another.Think with GoogleThis tool offers a whole wealth of marketing insights and consumer data, perfect for developing more efficient marketing strategies. The number of case studies presented on the website is shockingly high, helping you to make the most from the funds allocated in your marketing effort.Google Ngram ViewerThis tool allows you to explore trends over a wide temporal range. Searching by keyword, you can see how many books containing it were written in a specific period. If you're interested in answers to questions like "Which drug was popular in Victorian times?", this is the place to go. Ngram provides a whole wealth of knowledge and inspiration to all those looking for interesting content ideas.


Google HangoutsGoogle Hangouts was launched as a part of Google+ in 2011 and over the years has proven to be a top video conferencing software. You can have a chat with your team, brainstorm an idea or organize a spontaneous meeting. It works on mobile devices and allows to share graphs derived from Google Trends.Google Multi-Screen ResourcesUsing this tool, you can help your web developers to create the most captivating mobile version of your website. It features lots of tips and tricks for both newbies and seasoned developers, helping to generate maximum impact on mobile platforms. You'll also find some recommendations of local vendors who can help you to get your mobile website up and running in no time.Google CorrelateSimilar to Google Trends, this tool allows you to search for search keywords in a specific time frame. You can search by drawing your own graph to see which search keywords follow a similar dynamic. You can have a look at what people are searching for before and after buying a product, giving you an idea for potentially viral content.Webmaster ToolsA simple tool that allows to track all the important aspects of a website's condition and traffic. It features two additional functionalities - Google Places for Business and Structure Data Markup Helper. All in all, this is the go-to tool for making the most from your online presence.You might be surprised, but the above by no means exhausts the full list of Google tools. Thanks to their varied character and strong basis in data analysis, Google tools are perfect for researching your industry to ensure that you're always on top of the new trends in business and consumer culture.

Why Hire An Event Management Company Today

With today's competitive market arena, being on top becomes a very difficult goal. There are already a lot of businesses that have been established and if you are new to such, you really have to invest a lot of your resources in order to compete with such ventures. In fact, it is usually easier said than done.Regardless of whether you are to introduce a new product or service in the market, participate in a trade fair, host a party for your venture, or perhaps open a new retail store, you would certainly like to be viewed in the best possible light. But then, you must be reminded that this kind of events might involve a huge amount of effort as well as preparation. A single mistake can indeed result to an embarrassing situation. Of course, you would not want to experience such. This, if you want your venture to be the best in town, most business consultants would highly recommend hiring the services of a reliable event company.You must know that a reliable event company will help you in planning and organizing the best event for your venture. Though you have to spent a certain amount of your finances for this service, know that you event management is something that won't become successful if you would not ask for the help of such professionals. Surely, this will be a worthy investment on your part.Benefits Of Hiring An Event Company


Hassle-free - Among the important things to ensure a successful event is thorough planning. If you hire an event management firm, you still will have full control of everything. However, you will have sufficient time to focus on more important aspects since the planners will do most of the legwork. Indeed, they will be able to offer you various options that will certainly suit your necessities.Better choices - You will certainly have access a list of reputable vendors that will range from specialists in lighting to caterers. In other words, you can actually forgo that long process of vetting every prospective vendor. All you have to do is to choose among these options since the planners will do most of the tasks for you.Indeed, the event management firm will handle almost everything that is associated with event planning. These tasks will include the deployment of staff, food and beverage, and guest monitoring. Furthermore, they can act as a trouble-shooter in case certain issues will arise during the actual event. Generally, an event management company will allow business owners to focus on the big picture which is generating buzz for their venture. More information mentioned here.

From King to Oracle: A Primer in Leadership

In a typical business leadership environment, the principal reality people are concerned about at work every day is... "The Boss." What does "The Boss" want? What are "The Boss' priorities? What mood is "The Boss" in? How do I please "The Boss?"In a typical business leadership environment, The Boss becomes something of a king, whose whims and directives are to be "obeyed."Typical Boss: "I have decided that I want you to do this. Go ye forth and obey me. Succeed and you shall be rewarded. Fail me and you shall be punished."Even in the best of typical leadership environments, "obeying" The Boss requires a series of tiny little emotional defeats. One must admit, at least internally, that one is inferior to the person doing the ordering in order to bow to the whims of another person. These daily emotional defeats can combine within an organization to create a degree of cumulative resentment that can manifest itself in a variety of nasty and destructive little ways.However:In an extraordinary business leadership environment, the principal reality that people are concerned with at work every day is... well, it's reality: the actual business objectives of the organization. The Boss helps to identify these objectives and creates win-win performance agreements by which everyone holds each other mutually accountable. The Boss is seen as being accountable to the same realities as everyone else.In an extraordinary leadership environment, the boss is seen less as a king who commands obedience and more an Oracle who clearly speaks on behalf of the forces of nature. Extraordinary leaders are not seen as making up what employees must do on a whim - they are seen are being the one who knows what should be done, and they share that knowledge. He or She doesn't merely demand that others bow to their will - extraordinary leaders seem to define and predict the future. They let people know what is about to take place.Extraordinary Boss: The future of our organization looks like this. Your role in that future is this. How can I help you more clearly understand that role? Great! Let's work together to specifically define what success looks like in that role. Let's also work together to create a transparent and mutually observable way to evaluate that success.


Now, this might look like a "softer" leadership approach - and it should "feel" softer, but in actual practice it makes directives much more difficult to avoid and much less subject to debate. People debate the whims of other people. They challenge the dictates of kings. They do not often challenge thermodynamics, electricity or any other force of nature. They are simply things to be acknowledged and worked within.There is very little resentment in an extraordinary leadership environment. You might not like it when you trip and fall - but it would not occur to you to be angry with or resent "gravity."In an extraordinary leadership environment, people are rarely "fired" per se, because the job performance standards are so clear, so transparent and so mutually agreed upon, that failing to achieve these equals... "quit."To Summarize:Typical leadership environments are personality driven.Extraordinary leadership environments are goal driven.A Typical business leader uses "artificial realities" (incentives, politics, approval, threats, punishments and the like) and tries to use these "artificial realities" as a tools to focus people's actions on actual performance and actual business objectives.An Extraordinary leader seeks to expose people (as directly as possible) to the actual consequences of their performance (both good and bad) he hands them the ball and lets them run.In a Typical leadership environment, the best one can hope for is that people will do what you TELL them to do. Typical leadership leads toward minimum standards.In an Extraordinary leadership environment - people are empowered to do what you actually WANT them to do. People working for an extraordinary leader can move an organization's objectives forward in ways that may not have even occurred to the leader. Extraordinary leadership leads toward excellence.Which of these models sounds like your organization? If you are not happy with your answer to that question - are you going to change it?GDT

Paper Towels or Hot Air Dryers?

For years, factors such as cost and hygiene have dictated that hot air dryers are the preferable method for drying hand in public restrooms. As is well document, the vast majority of the most common infectious diseases are spread through hand contact. Preventing the spread of disease therefore relies heavily on proper hand washing, so the question about whether paper towels or air dryers are better is an important one. Still, while most of us believe dryers are the superior hand drying method when it comes to hygiene, recent research has called this belief into question.Hand drying is a crucial element in the hand drying process - as the spread of microbes is considerably more likely with wet hands than dry ones; as such, researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia endeavoured to compare hand-drying methods by reviewing twelve independent studies that pitted towels against hot dryers. Factors they considered included rate of drying, level of dryness, removal of bacteria, and prevention of cross contamination. Somewhat surprisingly, their results indicated that paper towels were superior to electronic air dryers both from a hygiene perspective and even from a cost perspective. Indeed, they concluded that paper towels should be considered as an improvement to hand hygiene during drying.More specifically, the researchers commented on each of the factors they considered in their research. When reviewing drying efficiency, they found that water was more effectively removed from the hands when using cloth or paper towels. Paper towels were a considerably quicker method of drying hands, and with just 15 seconds of hand drying only 1% of residual water remained. On the other hand, dryers required more than 45 seconds to reduce residual water to 3%.


With respect to removing bacteria, paper towels were also the better choice. In order to measure the effectiveness of both methods in removing bacteria, researchers tested finger pads with contact plates and swabbed palms. Ultimately, they discovered that paper towels significantly reduced the amount of all types of bacteria on the hands and that hot air dryers were least effective in removing bacteria.The results of this study are especially interesting since the common belief is that hot air dryers are the most hygienic option. Introduced to improve hygiene, it was thought that air dryers were superior because they required less contact with the hands than towels. The results of this study seem to clearly indicate that this is not the case, but will the public ever catch on? It's hard to say, but one thing is certain, business owners should carefully consider replacing hot dryers with towels to improve cleanliness in the workplace, prevent the spread of infection, and maybe even save money.

Things to Consider When Watching How Your Business Grows

People these days are usually more tempted to start up their own business for various reasons. One reason is that they can work for their interest while making a lot of profits in the process.This is a profit that hopefully comes with a higher amount of money as compared to a salary they will otherwise earn while working for an employer. But once you have started your business you must ensure that a few things are set in order that can help you see how your business grows.These are the things that you need to pay close attention to:* Make sure that you know how much your business is worthwhile in relation to the profits it can make. You cannot expect to expand a business without knowing the worth of your company.* As a business owner it wouldn't hurt to know a few things about accounting (at least the basics) because you will be able to keep track of the cash inflow and outflow. You may not always have the time to do this on your own, and at this point the best idea is to hire a professional accountant to do this for you. Choose an experienced accountant who is always updated with the latest legalities related to bookkeeping.* Speaking of accountant and their expertise, make sure to include advisors to keep track of your business growth. Sometimes (if not always) people from outside may have a better perspective on things as compared to you, the one who is always in the core of the matter. These advisors can point out at those things that can help improve the activity and increase profits.


* Don't think that a business, once starting it, won't need further investment, money that you won't always have available. This is the moment when applying for a credit or a loan may be the best thing to do. One piece of advice: always check with the lenders and borrow only from the trusted ones who also offer good loan plans. You don't want to pay all the money you make for paying off the loan.* Always make sure that you save some money in a separate account for emergencies that may occur in your business. This is an important part of the things to consider while watching the business grow. This account should never be touched unless your business needs it urgently.* Keeping all your business records in a good order, especially the financial ones will help you stay updated with the company's needs and what it requires to keep on thriving. Have a team of trusted professionals to assist you with this, is by far the best approach.

The Characteristics of a Good Digital Agency

As opposed to the passive style on operating a delivery business, you can directly go out and find about businesses that will help you to be engaged all the time and likewise make money on consistent basis. Like a good courier driver who considers his customers value and importance of punctuality, you can know more about the organizations you want to do business with to have a greater profitability margin.Delivery of Court FilingsThe legal documents filings usually have same day and tight deadlines. Serving this business area requires a disciplined driver for courier, who is familiar with the locations, abides by the law, and finds the shortest routes. This is due to the fact that the courthouses are always too busy to send and hand over hundreds of documents by themselves, and thus this calls for outsourcing of delivery on daily basis. The high profile clients in this business sector includes law firms, the huge companies with many lawyers which usually have to dispatch hundreds of law documents every day, and these documents are to be handled with great caution. The drivers for courier in this business sector should be aware of all the local requirements related to the legal documents, if they should be filed, stamped, or returned to the dispatcher within a defined time period.Passport DeliveryAn alternate business area that can keep numerous courier drivers busy throughout a day is the passports processing. Providing for the needs of the individuals who need their passports processed and dispatched can work both ways: you can get the requirements for passport (verification of identity, police and security status, photographs) and deliver them to the assigned government office (normally the foreign affairs office), or you can brag a contract with passport issuing organizations to give you the completed passports for their delivery to individuals customers. This is really an exceptionally lucrative business as a large number of individuals every day give their passports for processing or renewing, and this is precisely a business type many companies would dream to do.


Serving the ConsulateJust like the deliveries of passports, servicing to the regular needs of a consulate in your region of operation can give you loads of revenue, especially if the courier driver of your company is familiar with the GPS enabled tracking devices and knows all the shortcuts and routes. Mostly the consulates process a lot of documents that are needed to be picked up and dropped at different locations. There is another opportunity for you, as different documents have different fixed period of delivery, therefore you can bargain with the charging fees for different time frames.

Do You Really Know What Project Management Is?

Stupid title I know, but it got you here didn't it!Everyone knows what Project Management is, don't they? don't you?.. Do you?So tell me why so few people are able to demonstrate how to pull a project together and deliver to a clients requirements in a structured and organised way? Hmm.. and successfully..Lots of question marks appearing here and that's not what I wanted but it is the way I see the world of Project Management when I look back on my experiences and forward at the challenges still facing us today.Project Management, in the simplest language I can muster, is;The start to finish deliver of a specific piece of work which will result in a customer getting at least what he/she paid for, if not more so.No it's not. That's a definition of a project, loosely but pragmatically. Where's the "management" bit gone?Aha, that's the real challenge here isn't it. In most projects that struggle, you will already have all the key elements that make any project "a project", requirements from a customer, funding and a schedule. These elements are often shown as the classic triangle of Cost-Time-Quality. Just in case you are confused by the word "Quality" let me dispel many a confusing discussion - Quality is, loosely, the process or method by which the product or service delivered is aligned to the customers requirements. I.e. they got what they asked for, and paid for.I asked for a red roof, not a green roof. Just because it's a roof doesn't mean I'm going to pay you for it. It hasn't met my requirements. Where's your Quality Controls gone?More on quality another time. It's too deep a discussion for now. However, having the basic elements only make a project "a project", they aren't in themselves critical success factors.In recent years I've been hired to provide consulting services on large projects that were not strictly roles as a Project Manager. I've been asked to set up a governance structure and project delivery framework and "oversee" the project delivery as an independent consultant. Yes that is supposed to in bold type. It is almost the definition of a Project Manager, don't you think?The framework or structure against which you can apply an approach in an orderly and repeatable fashion, to deliver something for someone, is known as a "Methodology". That something that is delivered by a project methodology is always "CHANGE". However you look at it, projects are about change by their definition and in practice.Can you see where I'm going with this? No, oh well I guess I'll carry on for a bit more then...When you instigate a program of change, a project, then you need a starting point or reference as your base, a set of requirements, and a target or destination state - usually the vision of the final product or service - let's call that the deliverable.Hang on a minute.. aren't the Requirements and the Deliverables the same thing? So we're starting at the end? So How?["So How" is a phrase I've adopted from my darling wife, who is not a native English speaker. It provokes so many questions that the only answer I can ever give her is a blank stare most of the time. Try it sometime, it's a great response to many situations.]


One of the biggest challenges I find my customers have with change is just knowing how and where to start. Yes, they can see the future and know where they want to get to, and most of them know where they are today, but many of them just don't know how to get things off the ground. You need a process and a map, and a good set of tools.A decent Project Manager will have a tool box. That tool box is his "Methodology". It has processes and procedures and templates and all sorts of other good stuff that he's picked up, or stolen, over time. It's tried and tested and he knows he can fix pretty well any problem with something from his tool box.Without his trusted tool box he's "flying by the seat of his pants" and that's not a good thing. Not for the smallest of changes or projects. At best he'll find the small projects surprisingly stressful, at worst he'll fail to deliver. Let's not even think about the larger more complex projects if he's not got a good set of tools with him.As with any tools, if you don't know how to use them, it's often safer to not have them in your hands at all. Methodologies are the same. And this IS THE POINT I'm trying to make here. How many project managers do you know, or have you heard of, that have some form of project methodology training or certification, and are still struggling to deliver projects, or failing at every turn? I know a lot, and the supply is being refreshed daily.Too many training organisations teach to pass a test and don't teach to do the job. Too many companies put value in accreditation's without understanding if the individual is competent at practical delivery.I spent many years renovating old cars. It was my Hobby. I read books on panel beating, paint spraying and welding. I knew it all. I bought the tools and set to work. Until I developed the techniques, skills and experience and became competent, could I say I was able to deliver, and then at a very average standard. I screwed a lot up on that journey.Competence comes from developing skill and experience and practicing techniques. Not from paper certificates or classroom sessions. Competence can be accelerated by practical knowledge transfer and expert guidance - also known as coaching, by experienced managers or instructors. I haven't yet found an organisation that is able to take a normal person and turn them into a competent project manager. This is where we fail as an industry.So have I answered the question "What is Project Management?"... Nope.That's tough then. You'll just have to wait for my next installment.I'd love to hear back from you on your views and experience with project managers. There's so much change going on everywhere and it always seems to cause so much more stress and pain than it should. Why?

What To Do When Your Top Producers Lose Engagement

As a leader, it is sometimes hard to recognize when top-producing, independent, A-Team members disengage. Why is it so difficult to see these problems with your former superstars?Your top talent are the people who push back against micromanaging and who generally thrive without much supervision. They are your reliable people, the people you have confided in, and your go-to people. This makes it tough to diagnose when they turn sour because you trust them, and you don't want to believe that they are considering leaving you for your competition.From their perspective, it is like a dating relationship that has run its course. Once you decide to break up with someone, you suddenly find all kinds of things about them that irritate you that serve to reinforce your decision that breaking up with them is the right thing to do.Once your former star starts to believe that they are smarter than everyone else, that they operate better alone than with your team, and that the organization is not benefiting them, your best players suddenly become your biggest problem.How do you know when your A+Team is now barely earning a D-? What are some of the warning signs that your superstars have lost their dedication and energy?

They stop communicating.

They are surly.

They invent reasons to blame the supervisor, the boss, and others.

They start to criticize the organization unfairly.

They believe small, external mistakes are an evil plot against them.

They believe the worst about their co-workers.

They withdraw.
What can a manager do?First, recognize the signs. If you see a change in behavior, attitude, or production, address it sooner rather than later. Try to get to the root of the problem. Are they thinking about another job? Are they unhappy with a policy change? Are they disgruntled because of a miscommunication?Second, if your suddenly-surly team member refuses to communicate with you, bring in a third party to see if they can help discover the issues that are bothering your employee. Your really smart workers, though, who have already made the decision to leave you will likely not confess what is really going on, but some will.


Third, go for honesty. If your employee is up-front with you, you can clarify miscommunications or policy changes that may have caused hurt feelings, anger, or made someone feel unappreciated. An honest conversation reduces uncertainty, builds trust, and paves the way to move forward.Fourth, document what you are doing to help them get back on track. This clarifies what is going on for you and helps in case that person ultimately decides to leave. The military uses a term called MFR - Memorandum For the Record, a short memo that details events, usually on the day those events happened. It is printed out and signed by the people who were in that meeting so everyone is clear.Fifth, remember that one bad apple really does spoil the bunch. Fix them or fire them, but do something sooner rather than later. If you and your management team cannot fix the attitude and the problem, letting them go may be the best option for everyone.Brian Tracey advises, "Fire quickly and hire slowly." Maybe you don't want to lose these talented people. They are smart and clever and you liked them. But it may be time for them to be smart and clever and liked somewhere else.Yes, it is sad to lose quality people. You, as the leader, likely feel that you failed them. Great leaders do not like to give up on people. Great leaders tend to believe that with enough, well, leadership, anyone can be motivated and molded to be fabulous employees. But that sometimes is just not possible. The team member has to WANT to be part of the team, and that means supporting the organization and its mission and goals.You are genuinely upset that they lost loyalty to you and the company. But you must act. To NOT take action with someone whose attitude and performance has become unacceptable brings down everyone else and weakens the organization.Fix it and move on.

Lessons in Leadership From the Military

People love articles written by military generals, admirals and such on the secrets of their leadership. I spent 6 years in the army as a private and eventually corporal equivalent, giving me a very different experience of leadership. I saw both incredible leadership and terrible leadership during my enlistment, and I eventually got the chance to put what I had learned to the test in my final couple of years when I was put in charge of people. One thing I believe to be true is that you can read all the books and take all the courses on leadership, but it doesn't hold a candle to actually learning on the job by experiencing other's mistakes and successes. Based on my experiences as a subordinate and leader in the military, here are what I believe to be some of the most important facets of leadership.1. Know and care about your peopleI will never forget the day I came back to work after my wife suffered a miscarriage. The senior officer in charge of my division came up to me while I was heating my lunch and said "Pete, I'm really sorry to hear what has happened. If you need time off or anything else, you let me know. Family is the most important thing in this world, compared to that none of this shit matters." "This shit" that he was referring to was national intelligence and security. In that moment, not only did he not address me by rank, he told me my family was more important than something that affects 25 million people. That was the greatest piece of leadership I ever experienced and made me feel valued more than any other time I've been working.Would you ever say something like this to your employees? Do you care about them and their life, or do you see them as merely another cog in the machine?2. Never rely on your rankThere is a saying in the military - "respect the rank, not the person that wears it". I can confidently tell you that everyone who said that during my time in the military was a terrible leader that didn't deserve their rank and had no clue how to treat people. This way of thinking is completely backwards - if you aren't worth respecting, why should having a rank change that? The best leaders don't rely on positions, titles or rank, they rely on their interpersonal skills and reputation to compel people to do what they need. If you're relying on your position to compel people to do what you want, you've already failed as a leader. As William Wallace said in Braveheart "men don't follow titles, they follow courage". People follow others because of who they are, not what they are.3. Don't be a bureaucratThis is actually on Larry Page's list. You might think the military is bureaucratic with all the paperwork, but it isn't. The paperwork is really just there because it's a large organisation and they have a lot of things to keep track of. Day to day, there wasn't extraneous paperwork or accounting for absolutely every little thing. Contrast this with office jobs I have worked. On a file I've been expected to print out every piece of correspondence and put it on there, in addition to forms. It also wasn't enough that I printed out the form and emailed it to the relevant person, I had to print out that I had emailed it to that person. I was told that "if you get hit by a bus tomorrow, we need to be able to pick the file up and know what is happening". My thought was "if I get hit by a bus tomorrow, you can bloody well deal with it, I'm sure the customer will understand". That was just about the most offensive thing that's ever been said to me, can you imagine being told that your death really isn't that important, but a client's file is? Not to mention the fact that in an age where we have everything on computer, the concept of huge paper files is redundant and a massive waste of paper.4. Don't micromanageThis goes hand in hand with the above and should really be just common sense by now In the army I held a security clearance and was often left in charge of monitoring a 1.5million square kilometre area. I was trusted to do my job and if anything unusual came up, to use my best judgement and take the appropriate action before someone higher up the chain arrived. In civilian life, as you can see above, I've been expected to print out every interaction. Competence isn't assumed, it must be continually proven. The best leaders give their subordinates the what, and let them work out the how. The only thing that matters is results - if you don't trust your employees to get the job done properly then why the hell did you even hire them?


5. Show some love for your peopleBy far the most effective leaders I had showed love for their subordinates. When you sit in an ivory tower (or your office) every day and only interact with people to give them orders or feedback, they don't know you and they won't like you. Believe it or not there are still people in leadership positions that walk past everyone in the office without so much as a "good morning". They talk only to other people in leadership positions, which can cause serious trust issues from the people lower down the chain. How can they be sure you care about them if you won't even speak to them? The best leaders in the military are the ones that will go out every day no matter how busy they are and mingle with their troops. Sometimes it's a quick and simple "how you doing?", other times they'll ask about your family or something more in depth. It shows the troops that you care and take an interest in their life, which is important when you expect them to trust your orders.6. Your troops eat firstThis is one that the private sector just doesn't seem to get. An officer never eats before his troops do, because they are the ones out on the front lines risking their lives. If they return to see him all nice and clean and having some chow, how happy do you think they're going to be? Officers eat last because if nothing else, it shows the troops that they are important. In the private sector I see the reverse - those higher up in management command huge salaries and get large bonuses, yet when it's time for those lower down on the front lines to get a raise, the line "the company isn't doing well enough to give you more than a 2.5% raise" is trotted out. People can smell that sort of bullshit a mile away, especially when they are after a reasonable raise to feed their family, while the managers are making 5 times that in bonuses alone.7. Stand up for your subordinates when things go wrongThe sign of a good leader is how they treat their subordinates when something goes wrong. A good leader will rightly discipline a subordinate when they have done something wrong, but will stand up against everyone demanding their blood when they have not. I have seen section leaders happily throw their subordinates to the wolves not because they had acted wrongly, but because there was a perception that they had. I've seen entire sections dealt with this way when they had in fact done the right thing, because it was an easy way for a superior to score career points. When you watch it happen it's rather sickening. The chickens would always come home to roost, however, as the trust of their subordinates evaporated and their position became untenable following such events.8. Don't be disproportionate with your feedbackKeeping feedback even is a really important part of having a good relationship with your subordinates. You can't constantly nitpick work but not reward the little things done well. I am not a fan of rewarding people based simply on doing their job, BUT if you are going to punish the small wrongs, you need to praise the small rights. Likewise, if you are really going to go to town on people for doing something wrong, you need to make a big deal when their work is really good. When there is balance, there is harmony. Too much praise and it will lose meaning, too much punishment and people won't want to work for you.

Are All Janitorial Companies Insured?

Insurance coverage from one janitorial company to the next can vary significantly. Sometimes, certain companies don't require the same level of insurance, and sometimes they try to reduce their costs by avoiding certain coverage. If the latter is the case, you probably don't want to work with that company as it seems they are willing to cut costs indiscriminately, and this may ultimately reflect on the work they do.Nevertheless, answering the question "are all janitorial companies insured" can be complicated, so let's take a look instead at the types of coverage you should expect from your cleaning company?Business Liability InsuranceWhen a janitor or one of their employees damages something in a client's home or office, they need business liability insurance to cover it - or they'll be out of pocket for the costs. Minor damage is obviously not a major problem, but if your janitorial company accidentally breaks a computer or other major equipment, the costs can run into the thousands. Can an uninsured janitorial company afford these costs? Possibly not. More importantly, the costs of lawsuits can far exceed the cost of damage, so you want to make sure your janitorial company has a valid business liability or general liability insurance plan. These types of coverage also cover the costs of injury to a janitorial staff member while working at your office.Property InsuranceYour company and your janitorial service provider probably have a lot of equipment and supplies that need to be protected. On site, you may have office furniture, computers, chairs, phones, and other equipment. Your janitor probably needs vacuums, cleaners, brushes, and dusters (to name a few), that you may or may not supply in order for your cleaning services to be properly completed. Property insurance with a limit equal to the value of your office equipment will help you protect said equipment in case of damage. In addition, this insurance should be structured such that your janitor can work in multiple sites (unless they are contracted to clean in your offices only). You may want to get this insurance yourself, or insist that your janitorial company is also covered.


Building CoverageBuilding coverage is important if you own the business where your office is located. While it is unlikely that a janitor will have this coverage, building coverage protects you against damage from the elements including fire, tornado, hurricane, or storm. However, your janitor will probably want to invest in business income and extra expense coverage which will cover income and equipment loss in case of problems like illness to the service provider or lost, damaged, or stolen equipment. Anything that impacts the ability of the insured to earn income (providing that item was covered elsewhere in their insurance) will allow the service provider to recover lost income. For example, if a janitorial company owner falls ill and cannot provide regular service, lost income would be covered. In addition, if a fire occurs at a location and destroys all the janitor's cleaning equipment, the cost of the equipment and any lost income would also be covered.Ultimately, insurance helps protect the office manager/owner and ensure that cleaning services are provided with no unexpected costs to the office. In addition, these insurance policies will ensure that the janitor can continue to work or receive income in case of an unexpected accident. Not all janitorial companies are covered by all types of insurance, so it's up to you to consider your needs and check that your janitor is covered appropriately.

Social Media and Project Management

In their infancy, social media networks were predominantly used by the public to communicate their personal news to each other. However, social media is now a vital part of running a business. Most businesses now use at least one social network platform. They use these to promote their business, market their products or services and to keep clients and customers updated with their latest news and information. They are also used in-house for the purpose of collaboration and communication.As such, using social media is part of the role of a project manager. It is also a relatively recently added topic on project management courses as the need for project management training in this area is now recognised. If social communications are part of your role, then you may be wondering what the future holds in this arena.Networks
As social media is constantly changing, it is difficult to make too many predictions about the future. What can be said, is that managers are spending more time than ever developing networks through planning, creation, and management. However, some people still prefer to use traditional methods of communication. Therefore, it is important to link both online and offline projects and give an equal amount of input to each and making sure they have the same relevant data. A social project manager is now expected to be able to manage both face-to-face and online collaborations.Accessibility
As a result of the greater diversity in most workplaces and the anti-discrimination laws in place. Customers and clients will also come from a range of backgrounds and some may have a disability. For this reason, the role of a social project manager is to ensure that information is accessible for everyone and this may entail using a variety of media. It is essential to take into account all the needs of your users. It is possible that you may need specialist IT support with this so that you can implement the use of different platforms and tools.


Interoperability
This refers to the way that you can link the different social networks you use by sharing information, links, photographs and videos from one site to the next. This practice is still in its infancy at the moment and further developments to interoperability can be expected. The aim is for social project managers to be able to manage all their accounts from a single platform. There is a growing interest in this type of dashboard product. However, there are still plenty of current products to choose from that allow social managers to enhance their collaboration and communication.Although the future is unpredictable, it is guaranteed that social media will play an ever increasing role in business. If you are not yet in the role of project manager and you aspire to become a great project manager, then you might find it beneficial to undertake some project management training with a specific focus on using social media in the workplace. It is likely that you will learn skills that will be invaluable in the years to come and particularly helpful for making remote project management work well.