TIPS NewsletterTIPS Newsletter
Date: Sun, 14 May 2000
Bill Werst, Editor
Common Sense Managing TIPS Vision: To establish Growth Associates as your primary source of practical proven information on how to build and maintain a solid organization capable of supporting outstanding customer service, customer satisfaction, and continuous quality improvement.
Part of our vision implementation is to use the Common Sense Managing book, TIPS newsletter, and www. growthassociates.org web site information to build rapport and trust with you so that you consider GA first when you need training and consulting services.
Welcome to all the people who subscribed this week. Because of http://www.time4profit.com it's been a very busy week. Time4profits lists our newsletter and provides the following services: to educate people in the most innovative methods to profit from marketing their product or service on the Internet.
Enjoy,
Bill Werst, Editor
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Table of contents:
Eliminating Meeting Surprises -- Tip of the Week directly from Common Sense Managing book
How Did Common Sense Managing TIPS get started? [Reader question response]
Other Resources?
TIPS Subscriptions Explode!
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Eliminating Meeting Surprises [283 words]
Meeting leader's responsibilities before Meetings: Follow-up on assignments for upcoming meetings. Distribute any reports or presentations of more than one page at least five days before the next meeting. This is especially important for issues containing extensive analysis or potential controversy.
Prepare and distribute a written agenda at least two days before the meeting. If this is not possible, then reschedule the meeting.
Review controversial issues with essential players before the meeting. Attempt to resolve, or at least de-tune, the issues. Controversy in front of an audience is usually nonproductive. Surprise public controversy is usually counterproductive. Eliminate such surprises by preparing for them.
Do you receive and send all meeting reports and presentations at least five days before the meeting?
{Yes, this includes power point presentations!]
What can you do to insure that a written agenda is distributed at least two days before the meeting?
NOTE: Do you hear yourself saying: "But, we don't have time to do this days ahead of the meetings." If so, then you have a fantastic opportunity to save time. Cancel or postpone the meeting.
What do you do to reduce or eliminate controversial surprises in your meetings?
NOTE: When I facilitate an executive meeting I always interview the participants before to build an agenda and surface ALL controversial issues. The reason I can use the word ALL is that I tell each of the participants during the pre-meeting interviews that I will not allow new issues to be introduced at the meeting that haven't surfaced before the meeting. This eliminates someone getting "sandbagged" in public during a meeting.
After I enforce this once or twice it becomes the norm and meeting productivity dramatically improves.
This Common Sense Managing Tip is from the Meetings section of Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.
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How Did Common Sense Managing TIPS get started?
Hi Sally,
I think I can best answer your questions about your Common Sense Managing TIPS Newsletter by telling you about Common Sense Managing, Simple Actions That Produce Results. Ten years ago I began noticing an organizational pattern. They weren't organized! [They still aren't.]
Most organizations I've experienced lack basic structure. I define basic structure as a clear and living vision, practical plans [forget strategic, most people don't even know what it means], sensible controls, and simple accountability. These four subjects became the first four sections in the Common Sense Managing book.
Meanwhile these same organizations busy themselves with P.O.T.Y.s - Programs Of The Year. These include Reengineering, TQM, Covey's Seven blah, blah, blah. There is nothing wrong with any of these tools. After all, if you don't know where your going, and therefore your people don't know where you or they are going, any road, tool, or P.O.T.Y.s will get you there.
Since you mention that you are involved in building teams within your IT organization, I will use team building as a potential P.O.T.Y. example. Teams have proven to be very productive -- when the players know what they are striving to accomplish in measurable, deliverable terms, when it is to be delivered, why it is important that they deliver it, and who their customers are [and what those customers need].
When teams don't have this basic information they end up flailing with ineffective activities - sort of like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. [Gee, I wish I'd been the first to say that.] Without clear direction, team building becomes a well meaning exercise. Too often the only things such teams build are an unhealthy case of cynicism.
Because of the above observations, I began writing Common Sense Managing about five years ago. As I wrote a section I emailed it to executives I respected. They tore it apart and we put it back together again so that it contained practical and useful how to information, zero theories, and no management babble.
Then to help in marketing the book I created the Common Sense Managing Tip of the Week. Each week I would send an excerpt from the book to a slowly expanding mailing list.
This January I expanded the Tip of the Week into more of a newsletter format and changed the name to Common Sense Managing TIPS. The TIPS newsletter includes a Tip of the Week, one brief editorial, and one or two other items usually imploring people to buy the book at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com. This seems to be working, however I do have one or two copies available for you, and whoever is reading this sentence.
Next newsletter I'll answer your question about Growth Associates and any other questions you have.
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Other Resources?
What other sources of information have your found on the Internet that are valuable to you?
Please take a moment to go through your Bookmarks and Mailboxes. Share with us any resources that you have found to contain valid leadership, management, and customer relations information. After I have checked them out I will post them in a future newsletter, in the commonsensemanaging@egroup.com discussion site, and in the Resources section of our web site.
Please send them to me in separate email at bill@growthassociates.org
Web sites:
Ezines:
Books:
On-line learning courses:
Other:
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TIPS Subscriptions Explode!
That's the headline I'd like to write by June 4th. I need your help to do it.
Please help me write that headline by recommending the TIPS newsletter to two people you know who would appreciate receiving this management and leadership information. Then send them a copy of your favorite Common Sense Managing Tip of the Week or TIPS newsletter along with you recommendation that they subscribe.
All the Tips and TIPS newsletters are archived at http://www.growthassociates.org under Tips, Articles, Newsletters, and Presentations.
Despite all the Internet hype, business is still based on good old fashion networking referrals. Please support Common Sense Managing TIPS growth. Thank you.
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Happy Mother's Day,
Bill Werst
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