Getting Results...For the Hands-On Manager articles from July 1997

Getting Results...For the Hands-On Manager archives from July 1997

The problem with being perfect.
July 1, 1997... "Perfectionism is a way of thinking and behaving that seems like a search for excellence and perfection but actually brings great unhappiness, poor health, and massive imperfection." So says Dr. J. Clayton Lafferty, psychologist and co-author...

A slow burn: smoking in the workplace.
July 1, 1997... The battle lines are drawn at building entrances all across the US. In one camp, smokers hunch their shoulders against the cold and rain, trying to stay warm and keep their cigarettes lit. In the other camp, nonsmokers hold their breath and cast...

How effective is your e-mail?
July 1, 1997... In a relatively short time, electronic mail has become one of the most useful and powerful tools in the workplace. Its speed, clarity, and overall convenience are unparalleled. But are you getting as much out of your e-mail as you can? There...

Remembrance of accomplishments past: making sure the boss doesn't forget.
July 1, 1997... You've actually been looking forward to your annual review. You know how hard you've worked this year and how many projects succeeded because of your contribution. But as you sit listening to your boss's assessment, you begin to wonder whether he...

Learn to be a distance manager.
July 1, 1997... Evelyn Waugh penned that line in Brideshead Revisited more than half a century ago - in a world absent of e-mail, FAX machines, videoconferencing, and cellular phones. Distances are still shrinking, and quickly. Today the virtual organization,...

Four steps for managing team storms.
July 1, 1997... Thumper's mother in Disney's classic Bambi may not have given her baby rabbit sound advice when she said, "If you haven't anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." You can say things that aren't nice - but you should say them nicely....

Dealing with the talented loner on your team.
July 1, 1997... If you don't have one now, you probably will: a territorial, introverted, us-versus-them worker who simply doesn't want to be a boundary-spanning team player. But when this person is part of your team, you have no choice but to deal with it....