BlogScarlett Letter #135: Avoid the self-destructive “I know more than my boss knows” attitudeDo you ever get frustrated when you realize that your ideas are being squelched by your boss, against your better judgment? Do you sometimes feel as though you could perform far better than your boss if you were to step into his/her shoes? Do you have only a small modicum of respect–at best–for your boss? Sure, somewhere along our career paths, we likely encountered a sub-optimal boss. He or she may have ‘lacked’ for any number of reasons. Especially irksome are the times when we feel that we are actually better, smarter, faster, savvier….etc. than the person we work for. The ... September 02, 2010 Scarlett Letter #134: Reverse Mentoring for Design and Construction IndustryI don’t teach during the summer. As a result, I lose my direct feed of ‘what’s-what’ on a variety of topics for three months. I’m grateful to my Columbia College students that I’m able to keep {somewhat} current during the balance of the year. So when school starts this September, there they’ll be again….inadvertently teaching me as much as I teach them. Different topics, of course, but still an {oddly} equitable exchange. In the most basic of descriptions, reverse mentoring involves having a less experienced (often, but not always, younger) person serve as the mentor to a more experienced (often older) ... August 29, 2010 Scarlett Letter # 133: Know your “audience” in all contexts, not just during formal presentations.Why do people forget that our ‘audience’ (in it’s loosest definition) surrounds us all the time? I know people that are considered accomplished public speakers in all ‘presentation’ contexts—in other words, when they have the ‘floor’. However, when it comes to one-on-one (or, even one-on-many, like a meeting), their communication skills wane.
Perhaps you know this guy: Mr. FAIA. He’s the one that clients and prospects find so yummy that they eat up his every word. Or this woman: Ms. ACEC. She’s the one that is charming and unique in presentation scenarios, but a bear to deal ... August 26, 2010 Scarlett Letter #132: The art of writing is often in RE-writingThe art of writing is often in RE-writing. Please do not confuse this statement by replacing re-writing with re-inventing the wheel. In business, time is of the essence. Those of us within AEC business development, marketing, or other administrative functions recognize that our technical colleagues (architects, interior designers, engineers, specialty consultants) sometimes have a tendency to design and re-design, to work and re-work. This can be frustrating when it is not managed. However, when it comes to other aspects of the business, such as writing, often the richest results come from re-writes. I ... August 23, 2010 Scarlett Letter #131: Advice for facilitators/trainers to ensure full audience satisfactionDesign and construction professionals are highly particular when it comes to signing up for conferences, training seminars, even webinars. Our time is short, and our wallets are not full enough. So we carefully scrutinize the agenda and the content prior to signing away hours of time and tens of dollars. Sometimes, we discover that sessions were over-promised/sold. Other times, we are pleasantly surprised because we learned what we expected to learn, or even more! Last week, I attended a five-day Bootcamp related to my professorial teaching at Columbia College. Five days! In this case, it was ‘free’ to adjunct professors. {But ... August 19, 2010 Scarlett Letter #130: Are you reading those Linkedin group discussion posts?I’m in the process of finishing an article entitled: Expand Your Business Development Team; Leverage your firm’s multi-generational talents! Just like any reliable consultant/writer, my final piece will integrate insights from two sources, where I’ve: 1. Witnessed first-hand from real-life design and construction clients; 2. Researched/read about the particular area (in this case, multi-generational workforce). Yet, today’s post is not about that upcoming article. Instead, I’m writing to express my appreciation towards one of my LinkedIn Discussion Groups—Managing a Multi-Generational Workforce. You see, like many of you, I belong to a number of discussion groups and other social media ... August 05, 2010 Scarlett Letter #129: AEC internal relationships—Respecting privacy yet wanting to helpBusiness is business. Personal life is personal life. Yet, the two will always overlap, intertwine, and impact one another. As a result, when something personal goes awry, staff members in AEC firms typically seek internal confidants for guidance or comfort. Officially, human resource professionals are the ‘go-to people’. Yet, I’ve noticed in client environments—as well as in my past experience working within AEC firms—that staff members tend to turn towards business development and marketing professionals as their ‘go-to’ confidants. Why? My guess is that BD/marketing folks are open, communicative…and appear the most inviting when it comes to ... August 02, 2010 Scarlett Letter #128: Client service lessons from the bike shop repair guysIf you are a biker (the non-motorized kind), you know that every bike shop has a team of bike repair guys (yup, often guys). Over the years, I’ve been impressed by their generosity. I could tell you story after story about how they would bend over backwards to repair my bike and get me back out on the road. Yesterday, I had yet another experience of similar nature. I was recently the proud recipient of a specialty bike from Europe—a Gazelle. Very fancy commuter bike with all the bells and whistles. My generator headlight was broken, and the bike store by ... July 29, 2010 Scarlett Letter #127: Must Followup on these Tweets from Q1-2 2010 (Part II)In Scarlett Letter #126, I posted a dozen key tweets from this year that I myself (and perhaps you, too!) need to delve into at a deeper level. Here’s the rest (just eleven!). Please do let me know your own thoughts or experiences relating to these ideas, resources, concepts, etc. Privately or publicly—I want to know! >>RT @andressilvaa: ARTICLE: 5 Essential Apps for Your Business http://bit.ly/bQunsO (via @TheYaffeGroup) Twitter apps can overwhelm. I like this list (yes, from 5/09). >>Will try some to improve my twitter mgmt #AEC #SMPS http://tinyurl.com/q5qz6f >>RT @windycitysocial @krzimmer @kdpaine: PR pros use web ... July 26, 2010 Scarlett Letter #126: Must Followup on these Tweets from Q1-2 2010 (Part I)Seven months into 2010, I realize that I have not fully followed up on some of the ‘to do’ items that I’ve posted on Twitter. First, let me explain that there are two reasons that I post tweets: 1. The ‘usual’ reason: to build relationships and trust; to join in the spirit of sharing; to win new business. 2. Because–I confess–I myself want to look much deeper into the particular subject, suggestion, etc. that I’ve posted. So I figure if I share it with others to spread the benefits to colleagues, that I will also have it on my own ‘to ... July 22, 2010 |
blog CategoriesArchives
|