First Day Manual for Managers

Interesting article i read,...

Whether you are a first time manager or a manager stating a new job there are things you need to know and do on your first day. A First Day Manual for Managers summarizes them for you and provides links to additional detail for those items you choose for more in depth study.

Planning - time management

Use this time management story to show how planning is the key to time management.

Start with a bucket, some big rocks enough to fill it, some small stones, some sand and water.

Put the big rocks in the bucket - is it full?
Put the small stones in around the big rocks - is it full?
Put the sand in and give it a shake - is it full?
Put the water in. Now it's full.

The point is: unless you put the big rocks in first, you won't get them in at all.

In other words: Plan time-slots for your big issues before anything else, or the inevitable sand and water issues will fill up your days and you won't fit the big issues in (a big issue doesn't necessarily have to be a work task - it could be your child's sports-day, or a holiday).

the bath and the bucket story (lateral thinking, making assumptions, dangers of judging people)

Given the title (on the subject of buckets..) and its quick simple message.
The story illustrates lateral thinking, narrow-mindedness, the risks of making assumptions, and judging people and situations:

A party of suppliers was being given a tour of a mental hospital.
One of the visitors had made some very insulting remarks about the patients.
After the tour the visitors were introduced to various members of staff in the canteen.
The rude visitor chatted to one of the security staff, Bill, a kindly and wise ex-policeman.

"Are they all raving loonies in here then?" said the rude man.
"Only the ones who fail the test," said Bill.
"What's the test?" said the man.
"Well, we show them a bath full of water, a bucket, a jug and an egg-cup, and we ask them what's the quickest way to empty the bath," said Bill.
"Oh I see, simple - the normal ones know it's the bucket, right?"
"No actually," said Bill, "The normal ones say pull out the plug. Should I check when there's a bed free for you?"

Cold calling tips

Yesterday i was following a course about cold calling,... this is my opinion

Cold Calling Is Still An Effective Sales Tactic If Done Right
The obituary for cold calling is premature. While in the perfect world, your phone would be ringing off the hook all day with clients offering you business, the reality is that if you want business, you need to go after it, and cold calling is an effective sales tactic if it's done properly.

But many small business people would rather spend an entire day in a dentist's chair than go cold calling. Does the thought of cold calling makes your stomach drop to your toes? These cold calling tips won't eliminate your fear, but they will help you make cold calling a more successful experience.

1. Focus on the goal when cold calling.
2. Research your markets and prospects.
3. Prepare an opening statement for your cold call.
4. What should be in the opening statement of your cold call?
5. Prepare a script for the rest of your cold call.
6. Ask for an appointment at a specific time when cold calling.
7. Remember that gatekeepers are your allies not your foes.
8. Do your cold calling early in the morning, if possible.
9. Be persistent when cold calling.
10. ...

And above all, practice, practice, practice. While cold calling may never be much fun for you, you can get better at it, and the more you practice cold calling, the more effective a sales tactic it will be. So get your script and your call list together and reach for the phone. The people who want to do business with you are out there - but you have to let them know about you first. ;-)

Tell people what you want, not how to do it.

This really works ;-)
Some people like it others don't, most of them prefer the first.

You will find people more responsive and less defensive if you can give them guidance not instructions. You will also see more initiative, more innovation, and more of an ownership attitude from them develop over time.

Fix the problem, not the blame.

It is far more productive, and less expensive, to figure out what to do to fix a problem that has come up than it is to waste time trying to decide who's fault it was.