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Is What You Say And What You Communicate Consistent?

January 13, 2010 | 1 Comment

Yesterday, I talked about the impact that perception has on people’s performance. Perception is formed through spoken and written words, gestures, and other forms of non-verbal communication.

While it’s important for everyone to understand this, it’s even more important for leaders (and managers) to understand that what they say isn’t always what they communicate. This discrepancy occurs because of language (the verbal and non-verbal cues used when people communicate). I discuss this in the following 4 minute video.

How do you make sure that what you say and what you communicate to others is consistent?

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How People Perform Is Influenced By Their Perception

January 12, 2010 | 8 Comments

Most people believe that their perceptions about a situation are accurate. For example, if I perceive an employee to be lazy, I’m confident that the employee is, indeed, lazy. The reality is quite different. Our perceptions are influenced by many factors, and people can perceive the same thing in fundamentally different ways. I’ve learned this first-hand not only while working with the team at crowdSPRING, but during my 13 years as a trial attorney – trying complex cases in front of judges and juries.

Why should you care about this? You should care because changing a situation (such as a bad work environment, poor team collaboration, etc.) doesn’t necessarily change perceptions. Many times, perceptions can be more damaging than the actual situation.

You also should care because perceptions impact performance. Startups – especially those with small teams – cannot succeed unless people perform well. I talk about these issues in the following 5 minute video.

What do you think? Do you agree that perceptions affect performance?

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How I Stay Efficient – My Three Hour Rule

January 7, 2010 | 10 Comments

Some people are more efficient than others. There are many reasons for this: ability to focus, complexity of the work, distractions, etc. But while some have unique skills and intellect to get things done quickly, most people must develop systems to help them improve their efficiency and balance many diverse tasks.

Some people rely on to-do lists to stay efficient and focused. I’ve tried to-do lists – and have failed miserably.

Years ago, while managing dozens of complex cases as a trial attorney, I started focusing on three major priorities every day, breaking the day down into 3 hour blocks of time. That system has worked well for me and has helped me to manage a massive amount of work as an entrepreneur. What I do works well for me but might not work for you. There’s no perfect system for everybody – but everybody could benefit from a regular practice. Here’s what I do regularly:

What do you do to stay efficient?

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