JULY 04

“You can’t know employees as individuals until you’re willing to put in the time to talk to them. And you have to talk to them to know what motivates them.”

—Arthur Pell, author, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Managing People

YOU REALLY SHOULD GET OUT MORE!

Stop everything! That’s what Dr. Paul Pearsall, author of Toxic Success suggests you do first thing every morning.

“Don’t check your e-mail or voice mail or go into a meeting. Take one full minute just to sit at your desk and take deep breaths.

“The second step is to connect with the people you will be working with that day. Not to discuss problems or get the agenda rolling, but just to say good morning and chat a minute before you begin work. Having a manager who pays attention to them initially stuns people. They’re so used to the rapid pace of the typical office that they’re taken aback. But we promise you that the minute you spend chatting with them will pay big dividends later in the day.”