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January 21, 2009

President Obama says: Do more with less

It’s my theme of the month (and, possibly, depending on how the economy goes, of the year): How to improve employee communication despite having less time and less money. I’ve written articles about the topic, am conducting a web workshop this afternoon about it, and am constantly talking to clients about it.

So it come as no surprise to you that, while listening to President Barack Obama’s inauguration speech yesterday, I kept hearing him say “do more with less.”

For instance, he said:

“Our time of standing pat . . . that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”

“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or small, but whether it works . . . Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.”

“Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends—hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism—these things are old. These things are true.”

“What is required of us now is new era of responsibility—a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties . . . duties that we seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.”

My takeaways: Focus on what matters. Eliminate the rest. And have the confidence that by doing so, we can make a difference—and get through these tough times.

Posted by Alison Davis at 11:24 AM

January 15, 2009

Lessons from a board game

Last weekend, the extended family—my father and stepmother, my husband and I, two sons, a daughter and daughter’s boyfriend—got together and, as generally happens in these gatherings, people started playing games.

First, the guys played a killer game of Risk in which one person achieved world domination, the losers got mad, and a lot of testosterone was released.

Then, we moved on to less fractious games: my son Nick had brought a new one called Apples to Apples, and we played another named, Catch Phrase.

Both games were new to most of us, and the interesting thing was how we approached learning them:

My 79-year-old dad (Greatest Generation) wanted to read the directions, every word.

I (Baby Boomer) was happy to have the game explained to me, as long as I felt I understood the rules.

The Millennials (ages 19 to 21) were much more free-wheeling. They were quite happy to start playing, rules be damned. And, in fact, about half way through a round of Apples to Apples, they revealed that there was a difference between “the way we play” and the official rules. (Their attitude was: Why not shape the game to what you want?)

Remember this next time you’re communicating a set of rules (new policies, benefit changes, etc.) to your multi-generational workforce: One approach does not fit all.

Posted by Alison Davis at 01:09 PM

January 06, 2009

Is less the new more?

Talk about a bad start to the New Year: A colleague found out yesterday that, because of company-wide extreme cost cutting, his budget has been slashed to zero. (That’s right: zero.)

Luckily, no one was fired (yet), but my colleague still wonders how he can get everything done with such reduced resources. The trouble is, that although budgets have declined, management’s expectations and the organization’s needs are increasing.

I’ve been thinking about this problem a lot lately, and I’ll share some of my suggestions on how to get more accomplished with less time and money during a web workshop on January 21.

As a starting point, I’d like you to consider the following concept: Less may be the new more. Here’s what I mean. Most organizations have been increasing communication over the past decade or so: more web sites, more town hall meetings, more articles, more news, more choices, more volume.

But the current economic situation requires us to rethink that “more is more” approach (and just in time, too, because employees have been crying “uncle” for years, saying that there’s too much communication for them to manage).

So it’s time to accept the fact that you can’t continue to do everything, and embrace the new less. Here are three ways to start:

Go to fewer meetings. Yes, you like having a seat at the table, but how many meetings do you attend that are really just for your information, with no action needed as a result? Be more selective.

Adopt one question as your mantra: “What’s the objective?” When deciding whether to participate in a new project or support a new initiative, be the one who asks how the thing supports the company’s goals. If the thing is nice to do and not mission-critical, gracefully decline.

Use this as your opportunity to streamline the approval process. Say, “we need to move faster and be more efficient,” and recommend a new system. Now may be the first time in memory when you can make a case for change.

Got other ideas on living “less is more”? Please share them.

Posted by Alison Davis at 03:44 PM