3 Tips For Managing Employees During A Personal Crisis

As a manager, there are few things anyone can guarantee as part of your job description. But there’s one thing I can pretty much promise: Whether you have one or 100 employees under your supervision, you’ll eventually have to deal with someone having a personal crisis in the office.

At first glance, helping your employees through a difficult personal issue may seem simple. Be sympathetic and supportive, and make sure they know you’re there for them, right? Actually, there’s much more to it than that. And, as my experiences have shown me, if not handled properly, what started out as a personal crisis could morph into one of a professional nature.

Here are a few tips to help you guide your employee through a difficult personal issue while maintaining a professional relationship and helping everyone get the job done.

Tip #1: Remember You’re the Boss, Not the Friend

I know this sounds harsh—and believe me, it’s probably the hardest part of dealing with an employee in crisis. But, if you blur the line between manager and friend, you could find yourself in a much more difficult situation down the road.

I learned this the hard way in my first role as a manager when one of my employees approached me about a very personal issue. I tried my best to be supportive and told her I was there for her any time she wanted to talk. I even gave her my personal cell number in case she needed something from me after hours.

While my heart was in the right place, I unknowingly set us both up for disaster. As she continued to struggle with her issue, I quickly became more of a friend and therapist than her manager. Understandably, her performance eventually suffered, yet it was nearly impossible to have a frank discussion with her about work after she’d shared so much of her personal life with me.

From that point on, I realized that my job was to enable my employees to address their personal issues as easily as possible while still maintaining order on my team. I could still be there for my employees, but that means giving them time off to deal with the crisis or helping them find resources for support—not being a shoulder to cry on 24/7.

Tip #2: Establish a Timeline and Backups

In my experience, most people dealing with a crisis just need a little time to regroup without the stress of work hanging over their heads. So, if it’s at all possible to give your employee that time off—do.

I had an employee a few years back who had a family member diagnosed with a serious illness. There was no certainty around how much time this person had left, so I wanted to let her be there for her family. We sat down and worked out a timeline, with planned days off or days where she’d leave early, and adjusted her workload to give her a buffer in case something came up. I also teamed her up with another employee, so that all her work could easily be picked up by someone else if needed.

Over the course of several months, she was able to leave early a few times per week for visits and even take a day off occasionally without feeling stressed about work. Fortunately, her family member recovered, and she later thanked me and the rest of the team for the flexibility and peace of mind we’d given her by working with an otherwise unpredictable situation.

Of course, there is a limit to how much time you can reasonably allow before your group’s performance and morale is impacted, and you should definitely gauge what the right mix is for your team. It’s also a good idea to let your other team members know that your employee is dealing with a (unnamed) crisis, and that you appreciate them picking up the extra work in the meantime.

But, by establishing expected time away from the office (as much as you possibly can), and being prepared for planned and unplanned absences, you’ll significantly reduce the stress on everyone involved.

Tip #3: Check In

This is a subtle, yet powerful gesture that will go miles in making your employee feel supported and comfortable at work.

I know this from my own personal experience. My house was robbed a few weeks ago, and after the initial shock had worn off, my boss still checked in on me every few days to see how I was holding up. While there was nothing he could really do, just knowing he was concerned enough to ask was a huge help emotionally.

After the sting of a situation has subsided, check in with your employee occasionally by dropping by his or her desk and asking how things are going or sending a quick email to check in. Knowing that the boss has enough interest in people’s personal situations to be mindful of how they’re doing even after the initial event has passed will help remind everyone that, while this is a professional environment, the people in it still care about each other.

While most of us try our hardest to keep our personal and professional lives separate, they inevitably cross paths on occasion. And unfortunately, creating an atmosphere of compassion while maintaining professional boundaries isn't always easy. But keep these tips in mind, and you’ll be on your way to really helping someone through a difficult time.

By: The Muse

Source: Forbes

Raise Your Credit Score in 30 Days

Raise Your Credit Score in 30 Days

It’s happened to so many people…the dreaded credit rejection letter. You apply for a credit card at a department store or online and suddenly you’re told that you will “get a response in the mail.” Full of dread, you wait the customary seven to ten days just to have your heart ripped out of your chest when you finally do get that notice.

“After having reviewed your credit, we are unable to approve your application due to…”

What do you do now? You were thinking of buying a car or maybe even a house. You were counting on your credit score and now you are in the land of credit rejects. How can you possibly bounce back? Can you still get that loan? Are you going to get screwed by the interest rate? Or will you just get rejected again? You are at a complete loss and the only thing you know is that credit is a nightmare.

Actually, it’s quite the opposite. Credit is like a basketball game with your score constantly changing. You can dictate that score and get control of your credit. The key to raising that credit score is to destroy the offense and take the easy shots that give you the quick points. All you need to know are the rules of the game. Once you know what they are and you’ve mastered them, you can achieve that sense of credit worthiness again. If you follow the rules below, you can bring your score up as much as 200 points in just 30 days.

Rule # 1: Don’t be afraid of the scoreboard.

Begin by pulling a 3-in-1 Credit Report with FICO scores from one of the three credit agencies (Transunion,
Equifax and Experian). Although it is true that you can get your credit report for free every 12 months at websites like
Free Credit Report, FICO scores are not usually included and the scores are very important. Just like in a basketball game, you need to know the score to know if you are winning. Therefore, it is an excellent idea to pay the extra charge and purchase the FICO scores for all three reports. It is also a good idea to pay to have the 3-in-1 Credit Report pulled directly from one of the TRW company websites as you will be able to make disputes online directly for all three companies at one of these sites. (Transunion
is especially easy to navigate and make disputes with.)

Your credit report is divided into four sections. The first section would be like your player statistics. This includes your name, address, place of employment, etcetera. The second section is the score for the “Guest Team.” It is a list of all items that are hurting your score such as late payments, accounts sent to collections and collection agencies. The third section is your fan base. It is a list of all credit accounts that are in good standing. The fourth and final section would be the referees, or all of the people who are watching you so closely and making judgment calls against you and your credit. This is the Inquiry Section, and the more inquiries you have, the more your credit can suffer. Inquiries fall off your report after 12 months, so try to keep credit applications to a minimum when you are making plans for a big purchase.

Rule # 2: Don’t let the other team psych you out.

Think of your creditors on your credit report as opposing players. Although it may be disheartening to see a bunch of negative items on your reports and you may want to give up before even taking a shot, just keep in mind that negative items can be changed. Those players can be defeated.

Once you have your credit report on the screen, print it out. You are going to need to go over this report with a fine tooth comb as you will be looking for every little disputable item whether or not these items are your fault.

Rule # 3: Demolish the opposition one player at a time.

According to
My FICO, 35% of your score is based on credit history, so the next step is to identify all of the players on the opposite team who are scoring off you. These players are companies that say you have not paid in 30 days, 60 days, 90 days or 120+ days. Highlight these companies for quick reference later in the game.

Rule # 4: If the opposing team does not have the ball, they do not get to score.

If a company is unable to collect from you, they will ding your credit, then “pass” your delinquent account to a collection agency just like a basketball being passed between players. That collection agency will also ding your credit and may “pass” your account onto another collection agency, and so on and so on. The general rule is just like in basketball. If a company/player does not have your account (a.k.a. the ball), they do not get to put points on the board. Therefore, if a collection agency does not have your account, you can have them removed from your TRW thereby improving your score. Highlight all of the collection agencies on your TRW’s. Do not highlight accounts that are still open since you will want to “repair” these negatives instead of removing them.

Rule # 5: Build a good Offense.

Now that you have highlighted all of the negative items on your credit report, you are ready to begin. The next step is to “dispute” all negative items that you’ve highlighted. Online is easiest with the TRW company you pulled your credit report from, but you can also do this by mail or by phone. Dispute all items that are 30 days late or more by simply stating, “This account was never late.” Remember to reference the account number listed and the creditor’s name.

Next, dispute all collection agencies on your credit report by saying “This account is not mine.” Again, reference the account number and the creditor listed on your TRW.

Rule # 6: Win by default if you can.

Once you have disputed the negative items on your credit report, the TRW companies will begin an “investigation.” Creditors have 30 days to respond to any disputes that you make during the investigation period. If they do not respond, the bad points are taken off the scoreboard (i.e., the negative items are removed from your TRWs or changed). Often, if you have paid off your balance and are in good standing with a creditor, a disputed creditor will not bother to contest the dispute you are making. This will automatically have them removed from your account allowing you to win by default. The ones that do respond are the ones you may have to deal with over the phone or in writing.

Rule # 7:
Create an awesome Defense.

Once the 30-day investigation period is over, the TRW companies will contact you by snail mail or email as to the results of your investigation. You will see a new temporary section on your scoreboard that lists all changes the investigation determined. If some of the items you disputed were not removed, consider disputing them again, this time with a new game plan. The game plan will be as follows:

If you are in good standing with a creditor, consider contacting them and letting them know that you are trying to clean up your credit. Ask them if they can make a note in your account that you were never late. Also offer to bring the account current if you can afford too. You can dispute these items without contacting your credit company, but you have a better chance of increasing your score if you get the other team on your side.

Contact any collection agencies that were not deleted from your TRW. Politely ask them which company they are trying to collect for and what amount would they be willing to settle for. Often, collection agencies will settle previous debts for as little as 30% of what you originally owed. Since the law only allows them to take three postdated checks, they will take the settlement amount and split it into three monthly payments. In such a fashion, you could settle a $1,000 debt for as little as $300 with three payments of $100, and that $1,000 debt will be dismissed forever. Just remember… it is very important to get it in writing before you make the payments. If you do not get it in writing, they can sell that debt to another collection agency and you have no proof that it was settled.

Any disputed creditors that were not removed, dispute them again. This time, say that the item “was paid as agreed upon.” If it is not disputed, the item will be changed from a negative to a positive, thereby increasing your score.

Lastly, try again disputing the items right away or in six months. It is a good idea to do this at least once a year to make sure that your TRW has the items on it that you want it to have. If you do not do this regularly, you are going into the game blind and you will lose.

Now that you know the rules, you are prepared for the best game of your life. Just remember, you are the coach and you make the calls. You do not need to involve an outside person to do this for you. Save yourself the headache and the money, and get in the game.

By: Erica Barton

Source:Geomestic

How to Get Everything You Want. Seriously

You'd like to be successful in everything you do, of course. Here's how to make it happen.

Getting what you want in your career and in life isn't as difficult as it may seem. I mean it.

I've been very fortunate, both professionally and personally, and along the way learned seven key ways to help make it happen. In essence, I work to put others first, and to be more likeable, to end up with what I want in everything I do. I'll be writing about this in far more detail in my third book next year.

In the meantime, here's a sneak peak at how you can be successful in everything you do, too:

Listen First and Never Stop Listening
Listening is the single-most important skill in professional and personal relationships. Ernest Hemingway said, "When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen." It's sad, but true: Most people have their own agenda and are too busy talking (or waiting to talk) to listen to you. So here's the paradox: If you, unlike most people, can truly listen with empathy, then people will like you--and eventually help you get what you want.

Help Others
It's perhaps another paradox, but it works: When you want something from someone, instead of asking for it, help that person get what he or she wants. If you don't know what he or she wants, then simply ask, "How can I help you?" Since so many people are out to only help themselves, when you genuinely seek to help others succeed in their goals and dreams, you'll stand out. And those people you genuinely help will in turn fight to help you succeed and give you everything you want. Help others first, without expecting anything--and the returns will be enormous.

Be Yourself: Authentic, Transparent, and Vulnerable
Oprah Winfrey stated, "I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I’ve become. If I had, I’d have done it a lot earlier." Professionals, especially of an older generation, tend to have a tough time with authenticity and transparency in the workplace. People, especially men, tend to have a tough time being vulnerable, especially with people they don't know well. Many also aren't sure how much to reveal online, or at work, or to people they've just met. But, hard as these choices may be, authenticity, transparency, and vulnerability all breed trust. And when people trust you, they'll do anything for you. Open up to people, and take a chance, and you'll be rewarded.

Tell, Don't Sell
As important as it is to listen and help others, in order to get what you want, eventually you've got to tell people what that is. But nobody wants to be sold to. So whether it's a product, service, idea, or yourself that you're trying to sell--give up on "selling." Instead, focus on telling a great story--captivating your audience, bringing to life what the future will bring, and painting a great picture of what will happen if you get what you want. When you get good at storytelling, people want to be part of that story--and they want to help others become part of that story too.

Inject Passion Into Every Interaction
Passion is contagious, but so is lack of passion. If you're not passionate about what you're talking about, why should someone else care? If you want something, you must be more excited and dedicated to it than anyone else. If you're not passionate about it, maybe it's not really that important to you. Not everyone is super high-energy and extraverted, though these qualities can help convey passion in many cases. Passion and energy alone put me through college with my first job. But ultimately, you don't need to be bouncing off the walls to convince someone of something. You just need to reveal your true passion, in the way that's genuine for you.

Surprise and Delight Others
You know how when you walk into a casino, there's always a slot machine going off somewhere in the background, telling the world that another person just hit a jackpot? This is what social psychologists call variable rewards. You don't know when you're going to win; you just have enough positive experiences that you feel excited, even when you're not winning. When you surprise and delight others, not only do you make them happy--you remind them that you're the type of person who might surprise and delight them soon again. Some classic examples: bringing home flowers to your wife for "no reason"; telling a customer his order will arrive next week but then overnighting it; and now, tweeting to a random prospect that she's won a free prize. If you go out of your way to make an experience with you special, especially when people least expect it, you will get huge results over time.

Use The Four Most Important Words in Business and Life
Say "I'm sorry" when you make a mistake and "thank you" as much as you can. These words are so simple, yet so often people overlook the importance of saying them. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone knows that. It's not when you make a mistake that's a problem; it's when you make a mistake and are too proud or embarrassed to be vulnerable, fess up, and apologize. Just say "I'm sorry" and let another person forgive you, so you can move on, and eventually get what you want. Conversely, sincere gratitude to people is a powerful emotion to convey, and opens up many doors. I send three hand-written thank you cards every morning. I send them to staff, customers, vendors, the media, and friends, and not only do I find people love receiving cards, but writing "thank you" puts me in an incredible mindset to start my day. This is not just about sending cards, though. It's about having a deep appreciation for and wonder about the people and world around you.

By: Dave Kerpen

Source: Inc.

Detroit VC: Why Bankruptcy Is Great For Us

Josh Linkner, founder of Detroit Venture Partners, says filing for Chapter 9 is necessary for Detroit. And it's good for the start-up scene.

Detroit has seen better days. The city is saddled with $18 billion in debt and an unemployment rate of 16 percent. Yesterday, culminating in a months-long decision process, the city filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. 

So if you think the city's bankruptcy makes Detroit a bad place to start and run a business--you'd be forgiven. But you might not necessarily be right. 

At least, that's what Josh Linkner believes.

"I don't want to say this is a great day--because it will have a negative impact on human beings, and I want to be compassionate," says Linkner, the founder of Detroit Venture Partners, a $50 million venture capital firm that invests in early-stage start-ups in the city. "But from a business standpoint, this is a step forward."

Of course, Linkner has a horse in the race. (Or several horses, really.) But he makes some compelling points about the city and its future. I spoke with him this morning--here's a lightly-edited transcript of our conversation. 

You've been in Detroit your whole life. Your family has been here for a few generations. So let's just start here: What's Detroit's biggest problem?
One is a historical problem and one is a current problem. The historical problem has been a whole series of mismanagement and corruption and decay that's happened over the last 40 to 50 years. That's the root of the problem. Today we're cleaning that up. Our current biggest challenge is dealing with the messes that were created back then. 

You say filing for bankruptcy was the right decision. Why?
The word bankruptcy carries a lot of emotional strings for people. But this is a legal preceeding. It doesn't mean that our city is bankrupt. What this means is that we're cleaning off some of the burdens created decades ago. The city has $18 billion of debt, and revenue of $1 billion a year. That's just not sustainable. 

I think it's an economic decision, it's not signifying that our city is out. It's the opposite. It's showing that we're going to shed this dead weight and be productive. The biggest negative to me are the perceptions that go along with it. But the longer we wait to "take the medicine" here, the worse it's going to get. So fine, let's rip the Band-Aid off, take the heat, and be the punchline of the Late-Night jokes. But what's more important is the future. 

When Chrysler and GM filed for bankruptcy, people were saying "This is the end of the auto industry." And today no one talks about their bankruptcy. People just talk about how strong they are and how great they're doing. This is exactly what's going to happen in Detroit. 

What does this bankruptcy mean for the city's growing start-up scene?
Again, the city is open for business. We're making the tough decisions that are necessary to ensure a successful business climate for the future. If anything, it's kind of a relief for many people. I also believe there's going to be a lot of aid that comes in from the federal level, philanthropic level, and even the business community. They've been sitting on the sidelines waiting for this to happen. Everyone knew this had to happen, that we needed to do this. Now that this is happening, it's going to pave the way for positive things to come and more investment. So the net-net effect for tech entrepreneurs is a really good one. 

What about Detroit's human capital? 
There's been a significant increase in the number of software engineers. Detroit's becoming a better place to live, work, and play. In our central business district, occupancy is over 99 percent. New developers are racing to get new products online. People are moving into the city. 

How do you overcome the perception of bankruptcy as an "ending"?
A lot has to do with more accurately portraying what this is. When you think of the word "bankruptcy," it makes you think that things are over. That there's a death. But this is not a death. This is a new beginning. And in the same way that a person files for individual bankruptcy--it doesn't mean their life is ending. It means that they are letting go of unmanagable debt so they can live a better life in the future. That's what's happening here. It doesn't mean we're cutting police, turning off the lights, or stopping garbage collection. This is about dealing with an $18 billion sack of debt.  

By: Eric Markowitz

Source: Inc.

Rethink 'Brand You': Find Your Authentic Self

“This above all: to thine own self be true.” – Shakespeare

If there’s one business slogan/fad/concept that’s in danger of becoming meaningless through overuse, it’s “brand you.” These days I can can spot a “brand” (as opposed to an authentic person) from the first word out of his or her mouth. “Brands” tend to be a little too perfect — packaged, programmed, and plastic. They’re pushing what they think we want to buy, not their real selves. I see this unfold every day in social media – for better or for worse. It’s like the difference between processed food and the amazing stuff you can get at farmers markets.

 I want authenticity when I hire, and even when I’m not. Catching my drift? I do not want some amalgam of what the applicant thinks the employer is looking for. I want to know you for the real you. I want to celebrate your personality – every nook and cranny. Real success has always been about knowing ourselves and staying true to that core. People who know themselves enrich an organization’s culture, and add to the workplace community with their spontaneity and honesty.

So build the “real you”. As the brilliant, nimble consultant and author Dorie Clark says in her must-read book Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Reimagine Your Future: “Your reputation lasts for a long time, and needs to be treated with respect. You won’t get very far if you try to be something you’re not. Rather, your personal brand is about figuring out who you really are and what you do best, and then living that brand out. It’s the essence of authenticity.”

Here are five ways to find your authentic self:

1) Take Shakespeare’s advice and be true to yourself. Know your values and never compromise them, even if doing so might lead to short-term gain. Integrity and authenticity go hand in hand.

2) Be good to yourself. We all have to take care of ourselves. And this means doing things that enrich us, body, mind and soul. Go fly fishing, tutor ex-cons, learn a new language, discover a cool new rock band, start a new business venture, bake cupcakes, read Trollope, hike the Andes. Find things that nurture you and make you feel good about yourself. This will deepen yourself of sense of self, and your self-confidence.

3) Have fun. Life is short and often hard.Fun and a sense of humor help us all get through. They also happen to be amazing productivity and community-building tools. I can’t tell you how many tough meeting I’ve been in where the mood is turned around by some genuine humor. Exercise your funny bone.

4) Don’t hide your so-called flaws. No one is perfect and no one is expected to be perfect. You may be cranky at times, pessimistic, even antisocial or a little weird. Well, guess what? Steve Jobs was a freak. Understand yourself — talents and “flaws” — and bring it all to the table.

5) Know what you want. Career trajectories are impossible to predict. But if you know who you are and what you want, you’ll save a lot of time and energy. To the greatest extent possible, only go after opportunities that ignite your passion and stir your soul.

Authentic people are exciting, original and refreshing, the essential element of an exciting, vibrant workplace culture that leads to knockout performance. Exciting companies are hungry for authenticity. Find your true self and run with it. Please let me know how it goes.

By: Meghan M. Biro

Source: Forbes

5 Signs That You're an Entrepreneur at Heart

You might be surprised how many "entrepreneurs" are not at the helm of a growing business but rather are among the employees helping to build it.

Entrepreneurs can be a wacky bunch, but it can get weird to see some of these personality traits in the people you select to help build your business.

When you look at entrepreneurs who have built businesses larger and longer-lasting than themselves, you see some fascinating and surprising characteristics. Some of these attributes are contrary to the stereotypes that are propagated by television and movies.

Here are five observations we've made about the entrepreneurial mind and personality.

1. Entrepreneurs are passionate, inside and outside of work.

Whatever they immerse themselves in, entrepreneurs typically invest fully and passionately. This extends beyond business building into many aspects of life outside the workplace.

2. Entrepreneurs are committed to building businesses, not just coming up with great ideas.

Most people with ideas don't build businesses. Most entrepreneurs we know look for good businesses to build, given their area of expertise. We've met countless individuals with a "great idea" who never turn that idea into a successful business.

3. Entrepreneurs know how to focus, yet are comfortable moving in multiple directions at once.

It's notable how many entrepreneurial business owners we know who are building multiple businesses at once or are leading nonprofit organizations at the same time they are building for-profit businesses. Often, this comes across as restlessness but is really the manifestation of a high level of energy that, when focused, can lead to amazing accomplishments.

4. Entrepreneurs are happy.

Most entrepreneurs have healthy personal lives, despite in some cases being "married" to their work. Our guess is that finding happiness in your professional life, whether that means freedom from a boss or feelings of accomplishment, feeds a healthy mind, which bleeds into one's personal life.

5. Entrepreneurs can be employees.

People often associate "entrepreneur" with any small-business owner. But we see the term as more general to any business builder. The reason? We see a lot of small-business owners who don't act like business builders, and we see a lot of business builders within larger companies who have entrepreneurial traits. You don't have to be an owner to be a successful entrepreneur.

All of the above characteristics contribute to success in building businesses and creating lasting growth.

By: Klark Stark and Bill Stewart

Source: Inc.

How Entrepreneurs Can Reduce Stress

Small business owners can restore their health and sanity with these four easy stress-reduction methods.

Being an entrepreneur can be hazardous to your health. According to research from Bolt Insurance, almost half of small business owners believe that the stress of running their business has damaged their health.

This is not surprising when you consider that entrepreneurs work longer hours than almost anybody else. Two thirds of small business owners work more than 40 hours a week and fully one out of ten puts in a staggering 70 hours plus!

To make matters worse, most entrepreneurs find it difficult to take much-needed rest and relaxation. More than half are afraid to take even a full week of vacation in the summer, often because they're afraid an important client won't get good service.

Fortunately, there are four ways that entrepreneurs can reduce their stress levels and recover both their health and sanity:

1. Learn to Say "No"

When you commit to 10 percent more than you can actually accomplish, it "feels" like you've got 50 percent more, thereby creating even more stress. By not taking on more of a workload that you can reasonably carry, you create more time for meaningful activity and therefore less stress.

2. Delegate, Delegate, Delegate

Taking on more than your fair share of the responsibility for getting things done leads to fear of things "falling apart" when you take a day off. Giving more responsibility to your employees and contractors--and trusting that they'll get the job done--can take a huge weight of stress off your shoulders.

3. Track Your Time

Here's a huge secret: 90 percent of time management is simply tracking how much time you're spending on each type of task. Knowledge is power. Once you realize what's eating up your time it becomes absurdly easy to decide what's high-priority and what can be eliminated or delegated.

4. Unplug

Every entrepreneur knows that success is only possible through self-discipline. Well, here's where theory meets practice. Exercise the self-discipline to turn off your phone and computer when you're asleep and for at least two hours while you're awake. For maximum stress reduction, spend that time with friends and family.

By: Geoffrey James

Source: Inc.

11 Ways to De-Clutter Your Day

11 Ways to De-Clutter Your Day

Do less and achieve more--starting today. Adopt some of these easy habits to make it happen. 

Success tends to create clutter: more meetings, more projects, more decisions, more items on your to-do list. But often doing more can mean achieving less.

That's why subtraction can be the best addition, especially when you streamline your workday and, in the process, your professional life.

Instead of doing a total professional makeover, the easiest way is to start small. Try a few of these:

Eliminate one "permission."

You probably don't think of it this way, but everything you do "trains" the people around you how to treat you. Let employees interrupt your meetings or phone calls because of "emergencies" and they'll feel free to interrupt you any time. Drop what you're doing every time someone calls and they'll always expect immediate attention. Return emails immediately and people will expect an immediate response.

In short, your actions give other people permission to keep you from working the way you work best.

A friend created an "emergency" email account; he responds to those immediately. Otherwise his employees know he only checks his "standard" email a couple times a day and they act accordingly.

Figure out how you work best and "train" the people around you to let you be as productive as you possibly can.

Kill one report.

You're not reading most of them anyway. And neither are your employees.

Kill one sign-off.

I worked at a manufacturing plant where supervisors had to sign off on quality before a job could be run. Seemed strange to me--we trusted the operators to ensure jobs met standards throughout the run, so why couldn't we trust them to know if a job met quality standards before they started running?

You probably have at least one sign-off in place because somewhere along the way an employee made a major error and you don't want the same mistake to happen again. But in the process you reduce the amount of responsibility your employees feel for their own work because you've inserted your authority into the process.

Train, explain, trust--and remove yourself from processes where you don't belong.

Fire one customer.

You know the one: The high maintenance, low revenue, non-existent profits one.

Start charging more or providing less. If that's not possible, fire that customer.

Prune your to-do list.

A to-do list with 20 or 30 items is not only daunting, it's depressing. Why start when there's no way you can finish?

So you don't.

Try this instead. Create a wish list--use it to write down all the ideas, projects, tasks, etc. that occur to you. Make it your "would like to do" list.

Then pick three or four items off that list that will make the most difference. Pick the easiest tasks to accomplish, or the ones with the biggest payoff, or the ones that will eliminate the most pain.

Make that your to-do list. And then get it done.

Then go back and pick three or four more.

Cut one expense.

Right now you're spending money on something you don't use, don't need, or don't want. But since you buy it... you feel you have to use it. I subscribed to a number of magazines (because subscribing is really cheap compared to buying at the newsstand). Great--but then the magazines show up. Then I have to read them. If I don't, they sit around making me feel guilty.

So I dropped three or four. I don't miss them.

Often the biggest savings in cutting an expense isn't the actual cost; it's the time involved in doing or maintaining or consuming whatever the expense represents.

Pick one expense you can eliminate that will also free up time and effort: Your bottom line and your workday will thank you for it.

Drop one personal commitment.

We all do things simply because we feel we should. Maybe you volunteer because a friend asked you to but you feel no real connection to the cause you support. Maybe you have a weekly lunch with some old friends but it feels more like a chore than a treat. Or maybe you keep trying to learn French just because once you started you didn't want to feel like a quitter.

Think about one thing you do out of habit, or because you think you're supposed to, or simply because you don't know how to get out of it--and then get out of it.  The momentary pain--or in some cases, confrontation--of stepping down, dropping out, or letting go will be replaced quickly by a huge sense relief.

Then you can use that time to do something you feel has real meaning.

Or just take a break.

Streamline your lunch.

You already make enough decisions. What to have for lunch shouldn't be one of them.

Pack tuna and a small salad. Pick something healthy, something simple, even something you can eat at your desk. Save the decision-making for what's really important.

As a bonus, you'll lose a little weight and feel a little better.

Create a window of reflection.

Most small business owners spend a lot more time reacting--to employee issues, customer requests, market conditions, etc.--than they do reflecting.

Eliminate 20 or 30 minutes of reacting time by creating a little quiet time. Close your door and think. Better yet, go for a walk. Exercise does more to bolster thinking than thinking does; walking just 40 minutes three days a week builds new brain cells and improves memory functions.

And don't worry that something bad will happen while you're gone--most of the time the issues you "avoid" will solve themselves.

Eliminate one willpower drain.

We all have a finite supply of willpower. Resisting temptation creates stress and eventually exhaustion.

And then you give in.

But if you don't have to exercise willpower, you don't drain your energy. Say you keep a bowl of candy for customers at the front desk. Every time you walk by you're tempted to grab a piece, but you stand firm. Resisting tires you out, though, and in time you'll be more susceptible to the candy's charms.

Get rid of the candy altogether. Then you don't have to use any willpower at all. Pick something you have to resist--food, wasting time, Web browsing, checking social media accounts--and eliminate the temptation.

Discipline depletes. Discipline is exhausting. Stay fresh by removing the need for discipline altogether.

Eliminate one category of decisions.

Instead of making serial decisions, try making just one: Decide who will decide.

Say you regularly need to decide whether to expedite shipping due to work-in-progress delays. Instead of being the go-to decision-maker, pick someone in the organization that will make those decisions. Provide guidance, parameters, and advice, and turn that person loose. Then check in periodically to see if they need more direction. That way you get to spend time figuring out how to eliminate the delays instead of dealing with the repercussions.

Almost every decision you currently make can be taken over by people you trust. How will you learn to trust them?

Teach, train, guide, verify. In time you'll give your employees the authority and responsibility they earn.

By: Jeff Haden

Source: Inc.