time Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Dennis E. Gilbert

22
Nov 19
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Are You Finished or Just Out of Time?

Tags : finished measurement project quality time

Many people accomplish a lot during their workday. For the project, new product development, or the marketing campaign, is the work finished or are you simply running out of time?

Procrastinating students do it, they wait too long to start and they must turn in their work on time. It may be true for your workout, doing your hair, or brushing your teeth. There is a deadline, and then everything stops.

I believe it was the famous American football coach, Vince Lombardi, who said, “We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.”

It happens for the blog post, the graduate dissertation, and the cabinet maker. One axis of measurement for the product always seems to be connected to time. When time is up, it is finished.

If we are almost out of time, the quality or level of innovation may suffer.

Standards or Efficiency?

Consider that your standards are your standards, and how you measure quality is conditioned by time.

It happens in manufacturing and it happens in healthcare. Time is always working against quality and is inclusive for the measurement of efficiency.

People claim, “We need more time.”

The response in one form or another often is, “Time is money.”

What is the most useful metric? What axis of measurement are you using?

Are You Finished?

The best work always seems to happen when the builder claims the work is finished. An alternate claim is, “I ran out of time, and so, I’m finished.” When this happens, something suffered.

For your next project, brainstorming session, or the report you are about to turn in to your boss, ask yourself how it would be different if you removed the axis of time.

Will it change the finished work? Should it?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

17
Jul 19
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We Can’t Afford Training Time

Tags : costs decisions education time training

Does your company provide or encourage continuous learning? Is training time viewed as an investment or only an expense?

There are many small businesses with organizational leaders who scoff at the idea of training. One of the best excuses that leaders say, create, or allow, is that there is not enough time for training.

Certainly, the dollars spent for training can be a stumbling block, yet organization leaders may blame it on time.

Stuck, Stalled, or Stopped

Small businesses (and leaders) grow to the size or capability of management and then get stuck. They often get stuck because the theories and concepts they’ve grown accustom to only work up to a certain size.

The small business with fewer than ten people has a different dynamic from the business that employs one hundred and ten thousand. Leadership principles in these organizations are similar, yet strategic and tactical deployment may be different.

Examining costs for training in any business should not be based only on dollars spent or time made available for training. There are many other intangible costs that should be considered.

The list is long but here are a few:

Rework
Drama
Customer Experiences
Technology
Employee turnover

Some organizations that get stalled, stuck, or stopped, never recover. They stay there and slowly decline.

Training Time

I remember a rather successful CEO saying to me, “If we suggested people go to training right now, they would say they don’t have time and they wouldn’t be able to focus on the training because they would be too worried about the operation.”

On the surface it is hard to argue with that statement, yet, underneath the surface you have to question the culture (leadership) that drives that mindset.

Of course, there are times when every operation (especially small ones) need every hand on deck. The challenge may be determining when these times are real and when they become an excuse.

The real story here is that untrained employees are always more expensive than trained employees.

Trained employees will make decisions, they will make better decisions, quality will improve, commitment, engagement, and loyalty will all be better.

Training time may be the smallest price to pay.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

05
Jul 19
-

Working Holidays and Other Addictions

Tags : addictions discipline self-control time working holidays

Do you get time off for holidays? Do you find yourself working late, working when off the job, or working holidays?

What about ice cream, chocolate candies, or some form of caffeinated concoction? Are those things that you need or just want?

Self-Control or Addiction?

Can you put your smartphone down? And keep it down? Are you constantly checking for text messages, social media updates, or incoming email messages?

Do you have self-control?

Certainly, there are many people who work holidays. Their shift is important to keep things going. It may be the maintenance crew at the manufacturing plant, hospital employees, and civil services personnel. Many people are paid to be on the job, sometimes especially on holidays.

Assuming that isn’t you, do you still work? Are you addicted to your work?

Working Holidays

I’m not referencing being devoted, committed, and caring, I’m referencing lacking the ability to break free. Some business owners, entrepreneurs, and other professionals use it as a time to get caught up or jump ahead.

There are always needs and requirements. And there are things that just feel that way.

I need something to eat, or am I just bored?

I need a coffee, a cocktail, or Big Gulp from the 7-Eleven.

Check my text messages, email, or social media feed…

Our habits make up much of our daily life. The difference between requirements and niceties is often hard to determine. The difference between “have to” and “want to” is also often confusing.

Are you working holidays? Is that on you or is that part of what you signed up for?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

26
Feb 19
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Time Investment, What Is Your Return?

Tags : investment management time

Nearly everyone is worried about time. A question to consider is, “Am I making a time investment, or just spending time?” Most investments are measured by the value of their return.

Against the Clock

Is there time to stop for coffee, use the restroom before the meeting, and time to process a few email messages before digging into the next project?

We often wonder, how will we have time for family, time to celebrate a birthday, an anniversary, or simply enjoy life?

We struggle for time measured against the clock. Only so many minutes, so many hours, and the disruption of not knowing what will happen next.

There is the race against the navigation system in our car, the sprint to the deadline, or the marathon of the month.

Here are a few questions to consider:

Are you agonizing over what you will accomplish today or are you assessing your investment for this year?
Is what you are working on this week about building something great or really about attempting a shortcut?
How much time will you spend today reliving what happened yesterday instead of applying your energy towards tomorrow?
What lasts longer your celebration of a win or your agony about something that took a wrong turn?
Is there a return on worry, a return on procrastination, or a return on gossip?

What happens during our time?

Time Investment

We can manage our time like a budget. An hour here and an hour there. A few minutes to say, “Hello” to our family, a minute to pet the dog, and a bite to eat while we drive our car. That’s largely about calculating the spend, not assessing the investment.

Minutes or milestones, where is your focus?

When life feels like a stopwatch it may be worthwhile to reflect on your investment. Use a calendar.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

19
Feb 19
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The Best Workplace Decisions Are Made Together

Tags : best decisions decision by consensus time

Everyone wants to get it right. Everyone wants to make good decisions. Are the best workplace decisions made together or with limited interaction?

Ask a boat builder how to get across the river and you likely will get the suggestion of building a boat.

Ask the bridge builder, it will be a different story.

When you are thinking of who gets a seat at the table have you considered the input of who doesn’t? What might be missing? Are critical components left out of the conversation?

Ask a crowd to individually cite how the best decisions are made, you’ll probably get many different answers. Some will suggest that decisions should be made quickly others may suggest that they should take more time.

Decision by consensus is a method of decision making. Have you used this tactic?

Decision by Consensus

Decision by consensus is not about a majority vote. It is not about persuasion. True decision by consensus is formed when all parties have had an opportunity to discuss their perspective and then everyone agrees with the same choice.

Certainly, some may suggest that the there is some persuasion involved. Perhaps some people who don’t care as much about a specific path will opt to roll with a compelling version of a different choice.

True decision by consensus is an effective tool. One drawback is that it typically takes more time. Time that some will suggest is being wasted and a quicker choice is more desirable.

How are the best decisions made?

Best Workplace Decisions

It all starts with getting the right people at the table. That doesn’t mean people who will necessarily easily agree or who have the same points of view. It should be a well-rounded group.

Boat builders and bridge builders would be a great way to start.

Keep in mind that time invested is better than time wasted.

Hear all the points of view and carefully consider the options. Often the most effective decisions are made together.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

15
Feb 19
-

Would You Believe Time Is a Productivity Trap?

Tags : management opportunity cost productivity time

Ask someone if they are going to the fitness center, and they may say, “I don’t have time.” Ask about running errands, paying bills, or doing the laundry, people may suggest there isn’t enough time. Could it be that time is a productivity trap?

What is time costing you? When life is all about the opportunity cost, what are you paying?

Time Spent

We make a lot of decisions every day. Many of those choices have to do with the time we spend. There are opportunities that are either gained or lost.

What choices will you make about time today?

How much time will you spend:

In the drive through lane at the coffee shop?
Studying the quality of the selfie image on the social media thread?
Procrastinating about work to be done instead of jumping in?
Proofing an email that took you two minutes to write but you’ve been studying it for ten?
Picking up your phone, turning it on, assessing in-bound data, turning it off, putting it back down?

What if the cost of an hour changed? Instead of sixty minutes it became fifty? How would this affect your productivity?

Productivity Trap

Imagine you are on the job for eight hours, but you lose ten minutes each hour. Hours are now fifty minutes. The workload and opportunities remain constant.

You lose one hour and twenty minutes per day. That is more than six hours per week. On average then you lose over twenty-four working hours per month. That would be more than 288 hours per year, which is more than seven work weeks.

If you were absent from your work for more than seven weeks what would have changed? Would nothing change, or might you suggest that everything would change?

Taking time for granted is the biggest productivity trap of all.

Waste less.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

30
Oct 18
-

The Evidence of Settling for Less in Your Career

Tags : career goals settling time

Often things start off with good intentions, how do they end? Are you settling for less in your career? What are the signs?

Newsflash, your career has a limit. It may seem like life goes on and on and on, especially when you’re shoulder deep in the daily grind. However, years pass by quickly and sometimes you may discover you’ve settled.

Not Everything

First, being average, or having what you may label as a decent career is perfectly fine. Not everything in life is about your career, or at least it should not be. So, it is OK if you haven’t reached every dream.

On the other hand, if you feel like there is still room for opportunity and growth don’t stop now.

Life tends to get in the way of progress. Days slip by, weeks drift way, a month here and a month there and suddenly years have gone by. Is this you?

Settling for Less

What is the evidence that you are settling? Here are three of my favorites:

Forgetfulness. Yes, forgetting may mean the years are passing you by in more ways than one. However, if you forget to stay on track with your goals it is probably a good sign that you are settling for the way things are. Being halfway finished eating a full-size chocolate bar when you remember that you are on a lowered calorie diet is an example of this type of sign.
Loss of Time. Good things take time. Honestly, you only have so much of it. There is a delicate balance between patience and wasting time. The years will roll around quickly. If you are not advancing towards your goal with notable milestones at least every three to five years you may be wasting precious time. This could be as simple as gaining additional responsibilities or as complex as a career change.
No Goals. Sure, you may have some idea of where you want to be. Have you been specific? Feeling like one day you want to become the manager is not really a goal. You’ll need some plans and checkpoints (milestones) that will help that vision become a reality. All milestones and goals should be regularly compared against time.

Have you been settling for less?

Do you need to get back on track or establish a plan? Coaching may help.

Did you forget about your self-commitments? Has time slipped away? What are your goals?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

09
Oct 18
-

Strategy Failures You May See Coming

Tags : failures mission strategic planning strategy time

Nearly everyone wants a good strategy. Being more strategic will pay off big when the strategy you plan for is the right strategy. Why do so many teams and businesses get sideswiped with strategy failures?

Planning Mistakes

The first mistake that many organizations make is that they hire the wrong strategy consultant (doing it internally, without external expertise, may also be a mistake).

Who is the wrong consultant? The consultant who believes he or she is the only one for the job and the consultant who believes strategic planning is about a SWOT analysis. Both are wrong.

Strategic planning includes much more than a SWOT, much more than asking about problems, and much more than suggesting do X and you’ll achieve Y.

One example is the strategy of how the business will use its time. Time is something you’ll never get back. Yes, you can start again but if the competition didn’t have to, good luck catching up.

Understanding Time

Restaurant owners understand time. Bad weather and nobody comes in for dinner. That revenue is lost forever. When your patrons choose to eat at home that is a meal you’ll never get back. The day is lost, the time is lost, gone.

The business that ships a commodity product understands time. When your customer waits the threat of the customer seeking a different vendor is pending. Being the quickest is likely linked to your brand. If it takes too long, business may be lost, gone, done. Forever.

Then there is the business that is built around value. The confusing part of value is understanding where you waste your time.

Value is subjective and having just enough is good. Doing more than enough could arguably be a waste of time. Working towards perfection takes time, and you’ll miss everyone who wants it the quickest.

Strategy Failures

Too many strategy planners get stuck in the moment of assessing what the company wants to do and confusing that with what the company needs to do.

Creating a clever mission statement is good. Stating you’ll become the best in your region, state, or the nation may be a want, but that has nothing to do with understanding how you’ll position for that achievement.

Don’t want to waste your time? Strategy failures often develop from the first mistake you make.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

26
Apr 18
-

What Happens Next, You Always Decide

Tags : goals habits practice skills time

There are plenty of financial experts ready to help you plan your savings, your retirement, and where you’ll invest. The idea is that in that near the end, you’ll end up where you planned. What about your career? Do you have a plan for where you’ll end up? One thing is certain, what happens next is up to you.

More Than Work

Work is more than the labor that you can see or touch. It is more than the numbers on the spreadsheet, the product ready to ship, or the size of your sales funnel. Everyone in the workplace is also processing some level of emotional labor. It’s hard to measure and hard to see, but it is happening, every day.

What do you spend ten minutes on each day, how about twenty minutes?

Imagine if you spent ten minutes each day to study something unfamiliar, what would happen? Perhaps it is about best practices for your trade, management skills, or knowing more about the healthiest foods. It could be about auto repair, landscaping, or fixing the kitchen sink.

It doesn’t really matter if it is about business skills, hobby interests, or fitness. When you spend ten minutes each day working on it, learning something new, and practicing it you’ll become better.

What happens next? If you do it long enough, most likely you can become an expert.

Expert In What

Of course, there is always the other side of how you’ll spend ten minutes. You can spend ten minutes complaining about being short changed, how things are unfair, and that the boss is a jerk.

You can spend ten minutes reminding yourself of where you came up short, the mistake from yesterday, or how much money someone else is making.

Alternatively, you could spend ten minutes asking questions about why the woman down the hall is wearing jeans, why the outside salesman isn’t wearing a tie, or how long the boss will put up with a lack of accountability.

What Happens Next

A penny, a quarter, or a dollar only seem small until you collect one each day for five years. Ten minutes doesn’t seem like much until you add it up for the week, a month, or across a year or more.

The difference between who you are today and who you’ll become is based on how you spend your time. It is conditioned by your emotional labor. The product is you. Will you end up where you planned?

Bit by bit, what happens next, is entirely up to you.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

02
Apr 18
-

Things Will Change. Will You, Are You?

Tags : change future leadership pivot time

Many people just want to move forward, yet they compare and contrast everything to the past. Often people are looking for differences and identifying that the unknown may not work. Things will change, the biggest question may be, “Will you?”

My cell phone failed a drop test last week. I knew immediately that there really wasn’t a choice, but to replace it. Two and a half years is a long time in the technology world. I didn’t really want any change, but I felt that I had no choice. Things have changed, and so have I.

Better Future

There could be lots of argument about technology or society. The big question often is, “Will the future be better?”

We are on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence (AI) and while that has many scary aspects, especially those connected to privacy or jobs, it is our future. It is not even likely, it is a given. AI is happening and it is happening without a stop sign.

Our future won’t be the same. Some things will work, some will delight, and others will cause fear, hesitation, and distrust.

All of this is likely not much different from a first ride at 35 mph in an automobile. Not really different from the introduction of the motorized bicycle, or to be flying several thousand feet high in a winged motorized vehicle.

There were people who likely scoffed at the idea. Said it won’t work, wouldn’t last, wouldn’t stick, and was dangerous. In the early 1990’s some proclaimed the pending emergence of the internet was a fad, it wouldn’t last, and people largely would not be interested to join.

Things Will Change

Many predictors of the future base their predictions on the past. This is often true for individual behavior. It is not so true for society or world cultures.

Things will change if you allow it to happen. Your workplace can become better, more prosperous, and successful. The way you did it three or five years ago may still work, but if you’re not eager about what is next, it is time to start looking.

The question is not about when, because the timing is now. The only question remaining is, “Will you?”

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

Tag Archives: time

Nov 19

-

Standards or Efficiency?

Are You Finished?

Jul 19

-

Stuck, Stalled, or Stopped

Training Time

Jul 19

-

Self-Control or Addiction?

Working Holidays

Feb 19

-

Against the Clock

Time Investment

Feb 19

-

Decision by Consensus

Best Workplace Decisions

Feb 19

-

Time Spent

Productivity Trap

Oct 18

-

Not Everything

Settling for Less

Oct 18

-

Planning Mistakes

Understanding Time

Strategy Failures

Apr 18

-

More Than Work

Expert In What

What Happens Next

Apr 18

-

Better Future

Things Will Change

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