Randy Dean's Timely Tips

You may have read Timely Tips on Randy Dean's web site, but now you can interact with it here on Blogspot.com. Please feel free to add comments and tips of your own, and thank you for your continued interest.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Timely Tips© Volume 2 Issue 7: July 2005 —Another E-mail Time Saver: Group Distribution Lists

Dear Friends,

It has been great seeing so many of you this busy July, during my programs at the MSAE ORG-PRO Conference, the Air Force Hospitality Program through MSU Exec Ed, the Plante & Moran staff program in East Lansing, my recent Ann Arbor Preview Program, and my visits to San Francisco and San Jose. Seeing all of you in all of these different places reminded me of one of the most basic time-saving e-mail tips that I like to use: the e-mail group list. I’m sure that for many of you, this month’s tip is more of a reminder than a new strategy, but a powerful time-saving reminder it is nonetheless. I’m sure that when used properly, it can save you several hours a year of time locating and typing in e-mail addresses.

Here’s how it works: Whenever I meet or begin working with new groups of people from different places/organizations/departments/teams, and I think that there is a likelihood or even a good possibility that I’ll be contacting them again by e-mail, I usually take the time to then create an e-mail “group distribution list”. With most e-mail programs, creating a new group list is quite easy. I send most of my outgoing mail via my Yahoo! Account, and creating a new group list there is quite easy:

1. I click on the “Addresses” tab in my Yahoo! Mail account.

2. Then, I click on the “Add Lists” smart button near the top of the screen

3. Then, I simply name the list, and select the people from my current contacts that will populate the new list

4. Once I have all of the contacts selected, then I simply click “Add List” and the new list is created and ready to use

(By the way, if I am adding new contacts into my contacts database, I always try to do this first before creating the new list – then they are there and ready to be selected for the new list I am creating.)

In MS Outlook, you use a fairly similar strategy:

1. Click on a “New” Mail Message smart button

2. Then, click on the “File” drop down menu, and then click on the “New” drop down menu. One of your options is “Distribution List”

3. Name the list, then, add the appropriate contacts from your contact list by hitting the “Select Members” smart button

4. Then, simply add in the members of your new distribution list from your Outlook contacts, and hit OK

5. Then, in the future, when you need to send an e-mail to this list, you simply click on the “To” button when creating the e-mail, and click on the bolded name of the proper distribution list

For the rest of forever (notwithstanding changes in the members of your e-mail list), you can quickly and easily send messages to this entire group of people. I’ve actually set up my distribution for this Timely Tips e-mail using the group lists strategy. Like I said earlier, it is a pretty simple and straightforward suggestion, but one likely to save you a little time every day or so (especially if you are a hardcore e-mailer), and at least a few hours of time every year. So think strategically about which contacts could be added to a group distribution e-mail list, and take moment or two sometime in the next few days to learn how to set up a few of these lists in your personal e-mail system. And of course, until next time, Stay Timely!

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Timely Tips© Volume 2 Issue 6: June 2005 —Making the Most of Meeting "Dead Time"

Dear Friends,

Just recently, I had the opportunity to conduct a training session for a client on how to run better meetings. We covered several strategies for making the most of time spent in meetings, including effective planning for the meeting, as well as guaranteeing a positive outcome from the meeting. One interesting area that we discussed in this training program was how to actually take advantage of the “dead time” at the front end of most meetings. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about – the ten or 15 minutes at the beginning of most meetings where you are waiting for the meeting to actually get started because people are slowly getting into the room. If you have three to four meetings a day, this could potentially be 30 minutes to an hour of lost productivity, and if you are slammed, this is time you cannot afford to lose!

Of course, this time is usually occupied by light banter and chitchat. And, if things aren’t too crazy, sometimes, this is an OK use of time – it allows you to build relationships and get to know the people on your team and in your unit a little better. But if you are under the gun, or if you just really want to get ahead of your work, this ten or 15 minutes can be used in a more focused or productive manner. Here are three simple tips that can allow you to do just that:

    1. Use this time for planning and organizing. I ALWAYS bring my planner or PDA to any meeting I go to, not only so I can have it to refer to my calendar if needed, but also so I can go through my task (to do) list and get myself organized. Like I always do first thing in the morning, I also use these few minutes before a meeting to collect my thoughts, plan my actions, and get ready to be focused and productive as soon as the meeting ends. I look at my existing project and task list, and then circle or highlight those items that really need to be attended to following the meeting. I may also review my calendar, my “calls to make” list, my “waiting on” list, etc., so that I know coming out of the meeting that my actions following the meeting will create the most value for me and my unit (and possibly allow me to actually get out the door on time at the end of the day!)

    2. Take advantage of the people resources in the room. Think about who will be attending this meeting with you. Do you need to talk to any of these people about items that aren’t necessarily related to the meeting? Well, if you happen to get to the meeting on time or early, and so does one of the people that you need to talk to on one of these other topics, you could take advantage of this time to cover two or three items and keep them moving forward. Not only are you taking great advantage of the 10 minutes of meeting “dead time”, you are also helping the other person stay productive, since you will not have to come bother them again after the meeting! Personally, I always try to keep a running list of things I need to discuss for each and every person that I interact with regularly on my PDA. Then, whenever I have a chance meeting with that person, I can quickly access their list and knock out three or four items, allowing me to both stay productive and avoid bugging them at a later date.

    3. Keep up on your reading. Finally, I also recommend that you keep on your desk a stack of items that you would like to read (magazine articles, newsletters, trade journals, reports, etc.), but don’t necessarily HAVE TO read. Keep it ordered so that the most important or interesting articles are right on top. Then, whenever you are about to leave your office for the meeting (or doctor’s appointment, or oil change, or parent-teacher conference, or anyplace you might experience a wait), just grab the top two or three items on the stack. If you attend several meetings a week, just by taking a few items with you to each meeting, you might be able to keep up with your reading pile.

I’ve used these three simple tips for years, and have found that it is very rare that I am unprepared for “dead time”. I’m almost always ready to take advantage of this dead time and use it instead for something productive, which can really help with keeping up when things get crazy, and also getting home to the family on time at the end of the day. Of course, if you have other ideas on how to take advantage of “dead time”, please share them with me. Until next month, Stay Timely!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Timely Tips© Volume 2 Issue 5: May 2005 — “Time Saving Holiday Road Trip Tips"

Dear Friends,

I’ve been on the road quite a bit the last few months, often for regional driving trips to visit clients and give presentations (and a few times just for fun, like last weekend in Chicago!) I’ve been using a few different strategies to find some time savings when on the road, and sometimes the savings is pretty dramatic. Here are a few ideas as you head into this holiday weekend:

Prior to the Trip:

    1. Use a Packing Checklist: If you remember the Timely Tips from a few months ago, there are packing checklists for both personal and business trips on my web site (www.randalldean.com -- click on FREE PDA Memo Downloads) – using these can save you time packing, and also save you time (and money) hunting down something that you forgot to pack once you get to the destination.

    2. If you aren’t comfortable with the directions to where you are going, use the Mapquest Directions tool to get specific directions to your destination (http://www.mapquest.com/directions/main.adp?bCTsettings=1). You can enter in where you are leaving from and where you are going to, and get door-to-door directions. Print out the map and directions, and have it handy while driving to the destination.

    3. If you are a PDA user, and this is a destination you will be traveling to frequently, why not even cut and paste the text directions into a PDA memo or PDA MS Word document, so that you will always have it handily available? Then, just pull up the memo or document on your PDA when you are ready to leave, and you are ready to go. (And if you are a paper calendar or planner user, print the directions, shrink them down on a copy machine to fit in your calendar or planner, and keep them with you!)

    4. If traveling to a big city, do an Internet search prior to leaving to find the News/Talk Radio stations in that city, and when you get into range, start listening. They usually provide traffic updates every few minutes, and might give you advance notice of a major travel problem that could add hours to your trip. If you listen early, you might be able to route yourself around the trouble spot. I found one web page using Google that seemed pretty useful - http://www.constitution.org/rtv/talkrtvd.htm - it had a state-by-state and city-specific list of News/Talk radio stations. (BTW, I am not giving an endorsement of what the rest of the site discusses – I simply found this page useful!!)

    5. Also, check your state department of transportation web site for information on construction locations on your trip path (BTW, the Michigan Department of Transportation Web site is http://www.michigan.gov/mdot, where you can easily find maps and info on the major construction projects). If you can easily choose between two equal-time routes, and yet one is clogged with construction, why not take the other way? Also, if you have printed a Mapquest directions map, why not take a red highlighter to the zones having construction, in case you find yourself in a particularly nasty logjam? Simply by having the information on where the expected delays should be, You might be able to self-navigate around the problem, or realize you should be patient as the problem should be only short-lived.

I hope this helps make your holiday travels this weekend, as well as your future road trips, go more smoothly. Happy driving! Until next month, Stay Timely!

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Timely Tips(c): Volume 2, Issue 4; April 2005 — Taking a Working Vacation (even if only briefly!) From Your Work

Dear Friends,

This month’s Timely Tips is short and sweet, and represents one of those tips that I’ve seen the most productive and results-oriented managers that I’ve interacted with utilize appropriately and judiciously throughout their successful careers. It is a simple tip that I feel far too many professionals underutilize, especially in today’s world of wireless hotspots, mobile phones, handheld technology, and laptop computers.

What these managers do (and know when to do) is to take a “working vacation” or “walkabout” from their work. When I say a “working vacation”, I mean that they (and sometimes their team) purposefully leave their personal workspace (and typically their company’s physical location) so they can get away from the day-to-day distractions and focus on a singular high-value project or task. This time away from the office may be an hour, or a half-day, or a day, or even a week, but their whole reason for doing it is to put all of their energy and focus on an important project or task, work or personal, that they simply cannot give appropriate focus to in the office (or home) environment. By moving yourself physically away from your day-to-day distractions, you can create an atmosphere conducive to intensive concentration and very high productivity. Think of a writer’s retreat or artist’s retreat, and you’ll understand the concept.

I have personally used this strategy several times throughout my career – to write important reports, or do the strategic planning on new projects, or begin developing the new annual marketing plan or budget. I have often found that I simply do not give these kind of high-level projects or tasks enough effort in the office environment because there are too many distractions to allow me to give several focused hours to the task – too many emails, ringing phones, talking co-workers, unexpected visitors, and files of other less important work that also are asking for attention. Right now, I am purposefully leaving my office space a couple days a week to work on my book draft (which is rapidly nearing completion), and also my next phase business and marketing plan. I have simply made the observation that these projects don’t move as fast as they need to if I try to work on them in my normal workflow, so I have to create the environment that makes them move forward appropriately and assertively.

Environment

Speaking of environment, try to build an environment for your “working vacation” that matches the task at hand. Sometimes, I need to get clarity to think strategically – I’ll find a secluded location in the woods, or by a river, or a lake, and allow myself to become fully immersed in the strategic thinking process. Other times, I might need to be creative, and if so, I might go to a coffee shop, a city square, a college library, or even a picnic table near a playground, where I can anonymously absorb the natural creativity and energy of vibrant and often young people at work and play. Sometimes it is simply a little-used conference room or empty cubicle on the other side of the building, where I can get a couple hours free of distraction and where my co-workers can’t find me. And other times, the very best place to be is at home, where I can comfortably put on some jeans, shorts or sweats, drink from my favorite soda mug, listen to some of my favorite tunes, and get to work on the important task at hand. (I do make sure to keep the TV and cell phone OFF to keep those distractions at a minimum.)

Preparation

There is a little preparation that you need to do to take one of these little “walkabouts”. First, check both your schedule and your upcoming work (or personal) responsibilities. Make sure there are no urgent/critical tasks or projects that are due during or following your expected time away. Check to make sure all of the little stuff on your plate can wait a few hours, or a day, or a week, to get handled. And if appropriate, notify your supervisors and affected co-workers (and, by the way, if they are not supportive, you might want to seriously consider finding a way to do this anyway as you will likely be judged in the long-run on your performance on the important task at hand). Maybe this means not telling your co-workers what you are up to -- there are times where it is better to ask forgiveness later, and that is made much easier if you do an outstanding job on something because you put yourself in an environment that made your success possible. I even encourage people working for me to ask for time and take time away from the office if it will help them to get something important done in a more efficient and effective way, and we have also done team retreats to allow our team to realize the benefits of physically leaving our office.

So, next time you are feeling a bit overwhelmed with the “little stuff” and that you aren’t giving fair effort to the most important projects and tasks on your plate, think about taking a working vacation or walkabout from your work. Maybe you’ll actually get that big project done both well and on time for a change!

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Timely Tips© Volume 2 Issue 3: March 2005 — “The Travel Maestro -- Final Act (and Internet Password Sanity!)”

OK, so you show up at the hotel, or the ticket agent desk, or the car rental counter, and they ask you for your hotel rewards program number, or your frequent flier account number, or your "Preferred #1 Emerald Club Gold Expresslane" account number, and you pull out your wallet or purse, and then spend the next 15 minutes going through about 300 travel cards trying to find the one with your correct account information. Sound familiar?

If so, here is a VERY simple tip for you -- have you ever considered putting all of those important numbers in a single, easy-to-access and secure place? I have done just that, and it has made traveling so much easier and more enjoyable (and my wallet SOOOO much thinner!)

Here's how I've done it:
A few years ago, I downloaded a very inexpensive Palm software program named "Secret!" by Linkesoft GmbH ($21.90). Secret! is basically a standard memo pad for your PDA device, except that it is password protected and does not show up in an easy-to-access format on your desktop or laptop (even though the data is backed up when you synchronize!) I created a password that only I know, and then I created a single memo in that program named "Frequent Flyer/Travel #s". I then created line-by-line entries for each of my many frequent flier, hotel, and car rental numbers.

Whenever I travel now and need to access account numbers, I simply pull up "Secret!" from my Palm programs icon, enter in the password, open up the travel memo, and "voila!", I'm in business with all of my travel account info. And, using this password-protected memo in conjunction with the downloadable 800-travel-number memos from last month's Timely Tips (on my web site -- www.randalldean.com), you can actually do just about any needed travel transaction just by having your PDA handy along with your cell phone (and if you are really slick, you use your combo PDA/phone and have it all in one place!) ;-)

I did a quick search on the PalmOne Web site -- www.palmone.com (Pocket PC users, check the PocketGear site -- www.pocketgear.com), and not only did "Secret!" pop up, but so did about 100 other PDA password-protected memo/storage programs, some less than $10. And of course, if you are a planner user, you could create a single page in your planner that has all of these account numbers (but make sure you don't lose your planner or let it get stolen!!)
I've actually taken advantage of "Secret!" to not only list my private travel account numbers, but I also have a memo with all of my Internet account log-ins and passwords (who can possibly remember all of these!!), telephone calling card account numbers, credit card account numbers, and even memos on my personal goals and dreams (because I don't want just anybody reading my goals and dreams!!) You could put just about anything that is very private in this memo pad, and be confident that it will stay just that -- very private!

And of course, using this strategy has also saved me a lot of time, because I don't have to fumble around with 300 travel cards, or try to remember 300 different Internet account log-ins and passwords -- now I just have to remember one (the password to "Secret!" itself), and I can find all of the rest of these account numbers, names, and passwords whenever I need them.
I hope this month's tip allows you to be a more efficient and less-stressed traveler (and Internet user!) And without all of these traveler cards to haul around with you, you will no longer have to check your wallet or purse as an extra oversized piece of baggage. ;-) Watch for another issue next month -- until then, stay Timely!