Don’t Lose Out!
There’s a great opportunity coming up for you to boost morale and productivity. Or bust it.
Yep – we’re talking about March Madness.
How do you manage the mad clash between business and basketball during March?
Do you:
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ban office pools and game watching sessions?
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pretend they don’t exist?
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participate?
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embrace and enjoy all the opportunities and benefits that come with it?
Or are you even concerned?
Your concern and how you handle it will depend on many factors, one of which is your interest in basketball. Even if you aren’t interested in basketball, I think you will be interested to know that a recent study shows that March Madness costs employers as much as $1.8 billion. If that number doesn’t get your attention, wait until you see the statistics on streaming video subscribers and their use of the “Boss Button”.
While March Madness can have a negative impact on your organization, we prefer to focus on the positive impact that March Madness can have.
IF —- IF managed skillfully.
In our special report on Managing March Madness, we share four common Mad Management Styles and seven specific suggestions for handling the madness that can help you experience boosts instead of dips in morale and productivity.
This report is free to all “Business Class” subscribers. Simply fill in the blanks below and instructions for download will arrive in your mailbox shortly.
Not yet a subscriber? Provide the information requested above and we’ll send you “Managing March Madness” and activate your subscription to “Business Class” at the same time. It’s a free e-zine on a mission to boost morale and productivity in business.
Need more info about our E-Zine ?
copyright 2010 – Business Class Inc
Brainteaser of the Week #19
Use a brainteaser to start or revive or end a meeting. A great way to shift the brain, spark new energy, maybe even cause a giggle or a smile. All of which can help you boost morale and productivity.
Instructions below.
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Prune the letters away to reveal great rewards
T T H I E M E L A E N T D T E E R N S E A R W G A Y Y
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Answer to be posted in “Comments” section this afternoon.
Credits: Created by Jan Bolick
Related Articles:
Quick List: 10 Things to Prune
If you’ve just tuned in to Business Class this week - we’re talking about pruning and it’s impact on morale and productivity. In case you want to “catch up”, see:
Today is Quick List Day, when we post 10 by 10 on Tuesday.
So – here are 10 things or areas in which most businesses could use some pruning:
- Paper
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Forms and reports
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Items on to-do list
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E-mail
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Junk mail
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Magazine/newspaper subscriptions
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Meetings
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Interruptions
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Mistakes
As you make decisions about what to prune, keep in mind your desired end result. Prune anything that will hold you back or take energy away from the activities needed for that end result.
Mad because I’m not giving you more direction on what and how to prune the 10 things/areas above? If I did that, it wouldn’t be a very Quick List.
I’ll give more hints later on but don’t wait for that. I think you already know lots of things that are draining your time and energy. Don’t you? Those are the first ones to prune!
As a reinforcing reminder, post the Quote of the Week(below) on your computer screen. Get directions for doing this at: Quote of the Week: On Pruning .
The Quote of the Week is from the 2 Little Time section of our Quote Library which contains over 130 motivational quotes for business. Valuable business tools, ready to post, print and share – available for free right here in our Quote Library.
copyright 2010 – Business Class Inc
Related Articles:
Pruning: A PowerTool for Business
Pruning is a power tool for boosting morale and productivity - yours and your team’s. It helps those who feel they have 2 little time. Making it easier to get 2 goal. And for those of you in search of ways to be a better manager, knowing how and when to prune, teaching others the same and empowering them to do so, will make you a better manager. It may even make you a hero in their eyes.
I came to understand the power of pruning about 20 years ago when Jennifer came to work as my assistant.
During her first week of work – she came into my office with her scissors and started cutting my plants. A snip here, a snip there. And then on one – she snipped and snipped – cutting it all the way down to the dirt.
I gasped! and said, “Jennifer! No! ”
“Jan”, she said, “ the leaves are dead! You killed them. Now I’m going to keep you from killing the roots.”
“But Jennifer – it just needs some water!”
“No it doesn’t need water. You were drowning it by giving it more water!”
I stared in disbelief as I said to myself, “There is no way that plant is ever coming back.” Read more
Quote of the Week: On Pruning
It’s time to prune the shrubbery…and for me, that’s always a good reminder of the value of pruning in all parts of life. It’s a strategy that:
- provides relief to those who feel stressed by 2 little time
- provides focus for those eager to get 2 goal
- brings an immediate, lingering and usually lasting boost to both morale and productivity
Thought/discussion questions:
1. What are the most important areas of focus for you right now?
2. What ”miscellaneous activity” can you “stop off” so that you can “concentrate your force” on the items you mentioned in question #1? For additional ideas on this, see 10 Things to Prune in Your Business. Meanwhile, as a reminder of the importance of pruning season, post the above quote on your computer screen. See directions below.
Related Articles:
Directions for downloading above quote to your computer screen: Read more
Special Report: Managing the Madness
This Special Report gives tips for getting the best of business and basketball – so that you see boosts instead of dips in morale and productivity during the upcoming busy basketball season called March Madness.
Protect your business from cyber invasion
This is a must read from “USA Today” (Thursday, March 4, 2010): “How cybercriminals invade social networks, companies” by Byron Acohido
Read it if you have anything valuable on your computers….intellectual property, customer lists, patents, strategic documents, passwords, birthdates, hometowns, etc. Read more
Movie of the Week: DTH Video of UNC Dance Marathon
Want to build morale and productivity? Yes – wouldn’t it be great to get a lot of work done and have fun too? Forget about marching along! Yes – we’ve called it that all week – had to since it’s the first week of March. But the word “marching” reeks of rigidity and boredom. Don’t you think? What if we forget about marching and get dancing instead? Like they do in Movie of the Week.
It was created by UNC students & The Daily Tar Heel (student newspaper) to document the UNC Dance Marathon in which over 1000 students danced for 24 hours to raise money for UNC Childrens Hospital. How much did they raise? If you don’t already know, you’ll have to watch the video to find out. But I’ll tell you this much…they broke a record!
So get the popcorn, Milk Duds and Raisinettes and enjoy this five- minute movie. In addition to enjoying the story and the success of this great group of students, also look for answers to: What was their goal? What did they do to make it? Read more
Brainteaser of the Week #18
Use a brainteaser to start or revive or end a meeting. A great way to shift the brain, spark new energy, maybe even cause a giggle or a smile. All of which can help you boost morale and productivity.
This is a perfect one if you are in Carolina land, celebrating Carolina’s 2000th victory last night. Only one other team (Kentucky) has done that.
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Show this page and ask the question:
What does this word represent?
REIGN
Note: the color of the word is important. So just in case your color is off, we’d best tell you that the word is printed in light blue.
Go to “Comments” section to check your answer.
Credits: Created by Jan Bolick
Today in Carolina Basketball History: 8 points in 17 seconds
It was March 2, 1974 when that famous Duke-Carolina basketball game was played. When Carolina scored 8 points in 17 seconds to send the game into overtime.
Whether you’ve read or heard this story before, or many times before, today is a good day to read it or hear it again. It’s a fabulous basketball story…full of many lessons for business.
Here’s the link: Getting 2 Goal: A Lesson in Prep & Push from Coach Dean Smith (shared by Phil Ford)
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