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Saturday
Mar312007

Mini Review: The Power of a Positive No

I'm devouring William Ury's The Power of a Positive No (Random House). Ury is the famous author of Getting To Yes which debuted nearly 25 years ago to happy audiences around the globe. A renouned negotiator, Ury has a pleasant writing style and I've been lucky enough to pick up the book on audio which he narrates (always a treat!). This is definitely worth picking up if for no other reason than the following key points:



  • Every no is really a YES, NO, YES formula. First you have to say yes to what you're all about. Then, you say no to what you can't go along with. Finally you say yes to a third option between you and the other party.


  • Be soft on the person but hard on the problem. For example, let's say you have a conflict with a person at work (who doesn't?!)- what do you do? Ury recommends that you speak of the facts, try not to get things personal and use appropriate language so that the other person can buy into what you're talking about.

Just today, I decided to try out Ury's techniques. I wanted to approach a colleague about a recent project that had some negative energy leading up to the event. I wanted to understand this energy better so that, next time around, we could plan better.


I told her (we'll call her Flo) that I valued her position and expertise at school and that I needed her help in understanding what happened the previous week. This led to a great discussion which lasted about 20 minutes. The result: Flo feels heard and I think that I have a better grasp of the situation.


Friday
Mar302007

Get Behind Me Multitasker

Yahoo! posted a clever piece today called "Multitasking Will Make Your Brain Explode".  In the article, Christopher Null sites a New York Times study that seems to show that multitasking actually hinders productivity.

I
think that most of us know this but probably ignore its truth and
multitask anyway. We do this for so many reasons- mainly because we
can. Just the other night, I'm holding my 3 month old in one arm and
checking email with my free hand. The hard facts still remain: just
because we can doesn't mean that it's effective.

There are two forms of multitasking: clear-multiple activity and crossed-multiple activity.

Clear-multiple
activity is when we do something physical or mindless and stimulate the
brain while we are doing it. An example would be listening to a book on
tape while going for a run. Your mind is cleared to engage in multiple
actions at one time. This form of multitasking is cool in my book. I'm
not really a phone guy so I tend to make my calls when I'm on the road
or doing some chore around the house- it works for me.

It's the
other kind of multitasking that gets us into trouble: crossed-multiple
activity is when we are trying to pay attention to two things
simultaneously. Ever work on your computer AND talk with someone on the
phone? Doesn't work too well. Or, ever try to hold a conversation with
a person who pops bye AND still work at your desk? Same result.

GTD
has a lot to say about doing one thing at a time: it promotes
clear-multiple activity and at other times just plain clear or as David Allen likes to call it, a mind like water.

Here are some fantastic resources for multitasking correctly and avoiding the crossed-multiple style that I spoke of earlier:




Friday
Mar302007

Slow Down Friday

Each Friday we focus on the importance of
slowing down. Here’s why: personal productivity and the art of
work/life balance depends on a healthy dose of doing nothing. I don’t
mean the kind of lazy spirit that many aspire to but rather a degree of
stepping back to focus on what’s important.

Fridays are great
for looking back and taking stock of how things went in the past week.
A Friday is also perfect for evaluating motives behind how we spend our
time. Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro, has this to say,

If tomorrow, you arrived at work and didn’t get a cup of coffee…didn’t get on the Internet…didn’t talk to your friend…didn’t get your new blog postings…didn’t get sucked into email for 90 minutes…what could you use that energy on instead that will made you proud and give you a boost of satisfaction for the entire day? 

So
let’s make today a time of slowing down and enjoying some moments of
calm. That may mean doing something of high value or heck, it might
mean doing nothing at all. Sometimes blocking out the noise,
interruptions, and time wasters is victory in an of itself.

Quote for the Road:  “Peace is the tranquility of order.”  St. Augustine


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