Category Archives: Business Tips

6 Virtual-Meeting Dysfunctions to Nip in the Bud

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Even once the pandemic has passed, virtual meetings aren’t going anywhere. When team members return to their offices en masse, they’ll continue to hold digital meetings due to their convenience. 

But just like in-person meetings, you can waste a lot of employee time with virtual meetings. Whether long or short, you need to make sure that every minute of a meeting is worth it. A single hiccup can throw off an otherwise productive meeting. 

Take control of your virtual meetings. Avoid these six dysfunctions in order to keep them on track:

1. Technical Difficulties

At the best of times, technology can be tough to manage. If the meeting’s leader is having issues, the resulting disorganization can derail the entire thing. 

Don’t assume that everyone knows how to use the program. In the meeting agenda, include a tutorial about how to log into the meeting space. Offer alternative ways to attend, such as calling in by phone instead of using video.

Before logging in, cover your bases. Make sure you have a solid internet connection and the latest version of your video conferencing software. Start early to make time for troubleshooting.

2. Poor Speaking Dynamics

During in-person meetings, speaking dynamics tend to be pretty natural. In a virtual meeting, however, even the closest team may struggle to balance listening and speaking. 

Virtual meetings make it more difficult to see cues that indicate someone wants to speak. The trouble is, the most important contributions are often made in the moment. The solution is to designate a facilitator to keep things moving.

A facilitator can take on the following responsibilities:

  • Opening and closing the meeting
  • Reviewing action items
  • Polling the group to check for consensus 
  • Calling on people to give their thoughts
  • Reframing talking points when there is a disconnect
  • Ensuring nobody only speaks or listens 

A good facilitator knows when to step in and when to step back. Natural conversation isn’t the enemy, so long as it’s on-topic and constructive. Choose your facilitator prior to the meeting, ideally through a team vote to ensure the person has everyone’s respect. 

3. Waning Participation

When people attend a meeting in person, they have more incentive to participate. But in virtual gatherings, it’s easy to go unnoticed. People can mute their voices or turn off their screens altogether. 

This is another issue a facilitator can help with. By throwing out a new prompt, he or she can revive discussion if it’s died. It isn’t always obvious to the wider group when it’s time to move on. It’s the role of the facilitator to make those decisions. 

Another solution is to lay out the ground rules before the virtual meeting begins. Discuss the kind of participation that is expected in the meeting. Decide whether people should respond through the chat or audibly. You can also provide a shared document for silent brainstorming.

4. Personal Distractions

When you’re not in the same room during a meeting, distractions can be a big problem. Someone’s child or pet might interrupt them during the meeting. Their computer may make notification sounds that reverberate in the meeting room. 

Personal distractions can quickly become group distractions. Don’t be rude about them, but do address them promptly. Remind everyone of the meeting’s goal, and remember to be compassionate. There’s no reason to get upset if the distraction is one they can’t control. 

5. Too Many People

You could hypothetically fit a whole company into a virtual meeting. But just because you can include the whole team doesn’t mean you should. Huge meetings can be overwhelming for everyone involved.

The only exception? General meetings intended for a specific announcement. But that’s a situation in which you could pre-record your message and let employees watch it on their own time. 

Instead, utilize breakout groups. Convene multiple virtual meetings, perhaps divided along departments or functional groups. Ask the leader of each meeting to report back with the consensus and action items.

6. Unprofessional Aesthetics

Just because a meeting is virtual does not mean it should be unprofessional. Paying attention to your surroundings and personal presentation is key.

To make sure your look doesn’t distract attendees or communicate “I don’t care”:

  • Use a neutral background.
  • Emphasize books or plants around you.
  • Make sure your room is silent.
  • Keep your camera at eye level.
  • Dress as you would for an in-person meeting at your company.

That isn’t to say you can’t have fun on certain video calls, such as team happy hours. With that said, it’s important to distinguish between meetings that call for professionalism and those that let you cut loose a little bit. 

Don’t let digital meeting dysfunctions get in the way. There’s never a good time for kinks, so work them out now. Otherwise, you’ll be dealing with them at the worst time: when the team needs to get down to business. 

Leading With Empathy From Home

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10 Deliberate Sacrifices You Must Make if You Want to be Successful

As you’re all well aware, the world is going through a pandemic. As a result, people are anxious, frightened, and suffering. And, they’re looking for answers on how this crisis is affecting them and when things can go back to “normal.” Here are a few suggestions about leading with empathy from home. Recently, I returned to the quote listed below.

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”  — Leo Buscaglia

While you can’t address all of their concerns, as a leader, you can at least be empathetic with your team. Even before COVID-19, empathy was often seen as one of the most important leadership skills to possess. After all, empathy is in our DNA and can create a more loyal, engaged, and productive. Empathy can also increase happiness, teach presence, and foster innovation collaboration.

However, empathy is more important than ever before. But, how can you be there for your team when this virus has forced you to be apart? Well, you can fix that problem by leading with empathy from home using the following ten techniques.

1. Support your team’s emotional and mental health.

I don’t think that I need to pull up any figures that highlight just how stressed and anxious everyone is right now. With that in mind, you don’t want to put any additional emotional or mental strain on your team. So, ditch the “tough love” approach and offer your support during this trying time. Social support has been found as the best way to alleviate stress.

How can you be supportive right now? The most obvious place to start is merely letting your team members know that you are there from them. Make it known that they can reach out to if they need to discuss any issues — even if it’s not work-related. In a way, this kind of like having a virtual open-door policy.

You should also schedule frequent check-ins with them to see how they’re doing. If they’re taking care of family members or busy homeschooling their children, you may even want to suggest that they take some time off. Most importantly, if you notice signs of distress, please have them contact outside sources like a support group, crisis outline, or mental healthcare professional.

2. Ease-up on rigid schedules.

Not that long ago, having a regimented schedule was one of the drawbacks regarding flexible schedules. Right now, though, that doesn’t matter.

Yes, for many businesses, they still need their team to be accountable and meet deadlines. But, they can still achieve these without putting in a specific set of working hours each day. As long as they’re getting stuff done, it doesn’t matter when they’re working or for how long.

In the past, studies have found that flexible schedules leade to happier and more productive employees. And, considering that they currently have other priorities, like taking care of themselves and loved ones, this is the best gift you can give them. And, they will reward by continuing to deliver quality work.

3. Rethink how you ask questions and listen.

Actively listen to your team. While that may sound simple, it’s going to take some effort. For instance, listening means giving the other person 100% percent of your attention when they’re conversing with you via Zoom, the phone, email, or Slack. Listening also involves making yourself as available as possible without wearing yourself out — I suggest sharing your calendar with your team so that they can see when you’re free to chat.

Additionally, you also need to ask empathy-building questions, like:

  • How are you feeling?
  • What’s distracting you?
  • How can I support you?

If they respond with a short answer, like “fine” or “nothing,” don’t accept that. Be honest with your team, and encourage them to open up so that you can get to the root problem.

4. Model healthy work habits.

Although you need to be available for your people, the truth is you also need a break. So, set regular “business hours” and lay down some guidelines. For example, suggest that there’s no work-related contact after work hours or during the weekend.

And, even though you can’t go out, let your team know how you’re spending your downtime. Maybe share with them a project you’re doing around your home or a new hobby you picked-up. And encourage them to let you and the rest of the team know how they’re enjoying their downtime.

5. Train yourself to be more patient.

Whether if everyone is adjusting to working from home or meeting virtually, expect some growing pains. We’re all trying to adjust and get through this together. And, one way to handle this is by training yourself to be more patient.

Personally, this is something that I’m still working on. And, according to studies, it depends on your personality, history, and situation. But, it is possible by:

  • Identifying when you’re impatient and what emotion you’re feeling.
  • Reframing how you think about the situation.
  • Thinking with purpose in mind.

6. Normalize the new normal.

If you’ve ever sought advice about effectively working from home, you were probably told to get dressed and set up shop in a quiet, dedicated workspace. Both suggestions are correct in working at-home procedures. But, that was a different time and place.

Take that home office you’ve carefully set up. It’s now being shared by your spouse for their work stuff and likely even your kids while they are on the “learning virtually” track. At this time, because of the non-virtual sharing — your team might have to use the kitchen table to work, or even meet on a video chat. Don’t chastise them for choices that they have to make that may be totally out of their control. Space is limited, and they need to work whenever they can.

Problematic choices have to be made right now — even down to getting dressed. Obviously, if a team member is on camera they’ll be wearing clothes, but let it slide if they’re in sweats or jeans and a T-shirt. The last thing that should be on their minds is getting all dressed up like they would if they were in the office.

7. Educate your team.

There are several ways you can do this. Pass along information on how your team can stay safe and healthy during this pandemic. Advice from the CDC and WHO are reliable sources for this. You could also let them know what your insurance plans do and do not cover.

What’s more, keep them up-to-date on your business and the industry so that they’re not left out in the cold. And, while you’re at it, provide them with resources on how they can be more focused while working from home.

8. Give them something to look forward to.

It’s impossible to make too many plans right now. But, you can still give your team things to look forward to besides work. You could start a virtual book club or host a number of events remotely. Ideas could be a happy hour, movie night, or online game tournament. Another idea could be sending them a care package containing handwritten notes, healthy snacks, or items that could make them more productive at home, such as headphones or a standing desk.

9. Meet more frequently.

Yes. Meetings are usually dreaded because they are boring, pointless, and distracting. But, right now, connecting with others is crucial — particularly for your team members who live alone.

Schedule more meetings than you normally would, like a brief 10-minute daily huddle or weekly progress meeting. Besides offering your team to interact with others, it also gives you more of a chance to monitor how they’re doing with their work and life.

Just remember to follow some basic virtual meeting etiquette guidelines. These include picking the right technology, speaking clearly and concisely, not multitasking, and muting your mic when not speaking.

10. Help others.

Finally, lend a helping hand to your team. If you have the means, this could be financially assisting them. But, you could also purchase an app like Calm or Downward Dog to help them relax.

You could also ask each person how, as a team, you can help each other. Maybe you could purchase gift cards to local businesses, put together with care packages for health care workers, or volunteer virtually.

Helping others isn’t just a welcome distraction. It gives back to the community, builds camaraderie, and puts you and your team in a better mood.

Best Calendar Apps for Freelancers on the Go

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Freelancer working

Table of Contents

If you are a freelancer, then you know the challenge of working in many different places. It used to be that there weren’t many tools that were easy to take with you. Now, you are free to work wherever without losing that ability to stay on task and on time. Helping you along are these best calendar apps for freelancers.

What Makes These the Best Calendar Apps For Freelancers

Here are our best calendar apps for freelancers to help them work more productively:

  • Calendar for smart scheduling, integration with a wide range of apps, and meeting transcriptions
  • Fantastical 2 for its machine learning and natural language processing that delivers smart scheduling
  • Vantage Calendar for its ease of use and visual representation of meetings and events
  • Cal for its simple interface and powerful search functionality
  • Google Calendar for its cloud functionality and wide-ranging use and features
  • Awesome Calendar for automatic synch with iPhone calendars, to-do list development, and diary 
  • Calendars 5 for its numerous calendar, event, and task views
  • Week Calendar for its multiple versions to suit freelancers who use iOS devices, iPads and iPhones, Android devices and a Web platform.
  • Pocket Informant for its ability to work as a virtual assistant to cover your calendar, tasks, projects, notes, and contacts
  • Peek Calendar for its human-directed user interfaces and glimpse feature
  • Tiny Calendar for its syncing between platforms to stay updated on events listed in Google Calendars
  • Calvetica for its speed, efficiency, multiple views and sync capability with Google, Exchange, and other calendars
  • MiCal for its support of eight languages and funtionality

Calendar App

Calendar

Calendar is made for iOS, Android, and Web access through its cloud-based platform that provides access from anywhere. This dynamic calendar app for freelancers and other small business owners offers a free sign-up process and simple process to get started.

The easy-to-use and navigate app includes machine learning so the app learns your schedule, contacts, and daily tasks. From there, it can handle the tedious work of scheduling and organizing meetings, events, and projects. Real-time information and integration with other apps like Lyft allow you to focus on the meeting rather than how to get there. By analyzing your historical calendar data, the calendar app can help you prioritize what you need to get done in a more productive way. This makes this the ideal time management tool to add to your freelance business.

Fantastical Guide

Fantastical Guide

Fantastical 2

Fantastical 2 is a calendar app does cost a small fee to download. However, it is a small price to pay for such a comprehensive calendar tool. It is made for both iOS and Android users as well as Mac computer.

The calendar app delivers some of the most advanced technology. This includes a natural language parser as well as synch support for Google, iCloud, iPhone Calendar, and Facebook. Dayticker is one of its best features because it lets you see appointments through an easy user interface. Just one note is that if you plan on using it on your iPad, you will need to pay for another download of the calendar app to use it there in addition to your other device.

Vantage Calendar App

Vantage

Vantage is a visual calendar app for iOS devices (iPhone an iPad) that is easy to use, has an integrated to-do list, and simple interface. It has a bird’s eye view that provides a new perspective on how to look at your calendar. Then, events are grouped in a stack format to show you how much is planned for each day. Just click on an item in the stack to learn more about that event.

To designate different events and to-do items, you can use various colors and stickers. Then, those cues will be displayed anywhere that particular event or task shows up on your calendar to quickly identify them. Additionally, Vantage syncs with various other tools you most likely already use as a freelancer, such as Facebook, iCloud, Google, and Exchange. Lastly, you can customize the colors and themes to show your personal style through your calendar.

Cal

Cal is a free calendar app developed by Any.do, a task manager app popular among freelancers. Some of the unique features include a simple and clean interface that shows you a clear daily view of what you need to achieve as well as powerful search functionality that provides feedback based on even the most vague information.

For example, if you let it know you need to do your taxes, it will send reminders about an upcoming day that taxes are due. Other things you ask deliver suggested apps that hep you achieve that purpose. However, those apps are typically affiliate apps, which means they have been paid to suggest those apps to you. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s important to keep that in mind. Another great feature is that when you plan an invite, the app can help you find a place to host that event based on the people invited and theme.

Google Calendar Guide

Google Calendar

Google Calendar is most often the default calendar of freelancers because it comes with their Gmail and Google account. However, there is so much that can be done with this calendar app. The cloud functionality means that you can access it from any device you use where you can sign into your Google account. That means it is available for the Web, iOS, and Android.

The Schedule View feature makes your calendar come to life with an easy-to-read format that tells you exactly what you need to accomplish each day. Also, it does some of the work for you because when you get an email that involves any type of reservation related to an event, Google Calendar will automatically add it to your personal calendar. Syncing your Google Calendar is simple. Other features include flairs that represent certain types of activities as well as machine learning capability that provides a way for the app to start learning your routine so it can suggest and mange calendar activity.

Awesome Calendar

Awesome Calendar is a calendar app that does come at a cost, but it delivers a host of valuable tools and features that make it a good investment for any freelancer. Some of the main features include automatic synch with iPhone calendars, to-do list development, a diary with the ability to embed visuals, weather, event alarms, and holiday listings for 35 countries.

It’s great for organizing your work as a freelancer and your life simultaneously. So many of the features also customizable by color, font, stickers, and more so you can make the calendar your own.

Calendars 5

Calendars 5 is made for the iPhone and iPad to help improve how freelancers and other business downers use their calendars. it offers easy task management, event management, synch, and scheduling functionality. This low-priced calendar app also inlaces natural language input.

That means users can type in something that they want to do and the app will parse the information, create an event around what you want to do, and invite the person mentioned in the input. Although it doesn’t work with Google Maps, it does provide map compatibility with Apple Maps.

Week Calendar and Cally

Week Calendar offers its Week Calendar and Cally apps for freelancers that use iOS devices. While the Week Calendar app is only for iPads and iPhones, the Cally app also works with Android devices and offers a Web platform.

The Week Calendar  works with other calendars so you can use them altogether within this app, such as Google Calendar, Exchange Calendar, and iCloud Calendar. Cally makes it easy to choose dates and locations for group events, invite participants, and receive notifications on progress. Both offer an intuitive experience for the user.

Pocket Informant

Pocket Informant helps freelancers stay on top of their work and personal lives all within one app. It works as a virtual assistant to cover your calendar, tasks, projects, notes, and contacts. The calendar app is available for iOS, Android, and Mac. There are so many functions that it may seem overwhelming at first until you start using the calendar app on a daily basis and understand how its Getting Things Done (GTD) integration really works to keep you organized, reduce tedious work, and eliminate repetitive tasks.

The one-button navigation is one of the best features for anyone working on the go. Also, triggers identify a keyword or attribute found in an event or task. Then, the triggers create the new event from the template you’ve designed. That reduces the work of putting together an agenda outline when scheduling a team meeting.

Peek Calendar

Peek Calendar is a low-cost app for iOS that has one of the beautiful and human-directed user interfaces available in a calendar tool.  Offering easy input to add items to your calendar, this calendar app can give you a “peek” at what your day is like rather than having to scroll through a lot of information to get to what you need to know.

One unique feature is the shading gesture, which helps you see what you need by darkening part of the screen rather than struggle due to the glare of the sun.

Tiny Calendar

Tiny Calendar is a free Google Calendar app that works for freelancers that use Android devices. It enables syncing between platforms to stay updated on events listed in Google Calendars. It improves upon what Google Calendar can do, including adding responsiveness, reliability, and accessibility.

You get multiple ways to view an even and your tasks. The calendar tool even works offline so you can add and manage it without an Internet connection. Other features include invitations, recurring events, intuitive gestures and calendar customization.

Calvetica

Calvetica is a fast, efficient calendar app that can be downloaded for a very low price. Available for the iPhone or iPad, this calendar app has multiple views to see how events and tasks overlap or involve multiple says. It syncs with Google, Exchange, and other calendars.

Cool features include attendee management, map integration to find events quickly, intuitive gestures, and customization for colors and calendar fears. There are alarms and alerts, time zone support, a 24-hour format, and responsive customer support. The developers of this calendar app regularly update it with new features and improved functionality.

miCal

MiCal is an iOS calendar app that offers a treasure trove of features that a freelancer would love. First, it supports eight languages, which is beneficial for those working with clients in various parts of the world. They will be able to enter their information in their native language for greater convenience.

There are eight different views to look at your calendar as well as task, schedule, and birthday reminders. You can quickly create new events by describing thanks to the natural language input feature. Additionally, it integrates with iCloud, Outlook, Facebook Events, Exchange, and Google Calendar.

Get Some Sun With These 7 Team-Building Activities

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There are plenty of ways to promote teamwork at the office. Many favorites, however, can only be done outside.

As the weather improves and social distancing drags on, people are spending more time outdoors. Getting outside together strengthens bonds at a safe distance, building trust and promoting productivity.

Best of all, team-building delivers those benefits even when it’s unstructured. Making memories outdoors doesn’t require metrics or days of planning. Fresh air and positive attitudes are all it takes.

What are the easiest, most enjoyable ways to get your team outdoors? Our favorites include:

1. Have a picnic.

The company picnic is a staple for a reason: Breaking bread brings people together without breaking the bank. 

If you have the means, you can get your picnic catered. You can also keep it simple, however, by asking everyone on the team to bring a dish to share. Create a sign-up list to make sure you don’t wind up with nine bags of chips and no entrees.

Play some games, invite family members, and have fun. Nothing beats a classic. 

2. Make it a cook-off.

Do a couple of people at the office claim to have the best chilli recipe? Add a little healthy competition to an afternoon outside by making it a cook-off. 

If you’ve got a large group, split people into teams. Mix and match across departments that you don’t wind up with marketers v. salespeople. The whole point is to help people create new connections.

Set up a scoring system. Maybe the best salad is worth two points, the best appetizer three, and the best entree five. Ask board members to be judges, or select them from the team through a lottery system.

Give a small prize, such as a gift card, to members of the winning cooks. The real winners, however, are the people who get to enjoy the tasty food. 

3. Join a sports league.

In the mood for more healthy competition? Join a local sports league. Look for opportunities to face off against other businesses, which can encourage company pride. 

Find a sport that appeals to as many people as possible. Some popular sports likely to have organized leagues include:

  • Basketball
  • Soccer
  • Softball
  • Volleyball
  • Bowling
  • Ultimate frisbee

Sports leagues promote health and wellness. To a degree meals and movie nights don’t, they also pull people out of their comfort zones. Just be sure to emphasize the team aspect rather than trying to win at all costs. 

4. Attend a sporting event.

Would you rather watch sports than play them? In that case, treat everyone to an outdoor sporting event. 

Yes, many matches are on pause during the pandemic. That makes them all the more special, however, when people can enjoy the experience again. 

Plus, sporting events aren’t just for sports lovers. Stadiums offer lots of food, shopping, and tailgating opportunities.

With that said, stadium prices are steep: Consider giving team members an allowance so that they can grab a beer or a t-shirt without stressing about what’s in their wallet. 

5. Experience live music.

If you want to have a good time with your team, you can’t go wrong with live music outdoors. Music has so much connective power that it’s often referred to as a universal language. 

Of course, not everyone listens to the same kind of music. If an artist that a lot of people like comes to town, though, why not get the team tickets? Those who don’t want to attend can simply give their tickets to family members of the workers who do. 

Better yet, attend a nearby music festival together. Because they include multiple acts, their appeal is broader than any one show. 

6. Take a field trip.

Remember how much you looked forward to field trips when you were in school? Your team members think about them in the same way: as a break from the daily grind. 

Consider the following activities to engage your team:

  • Visiting an amusement park
  • Going to the zoo
  • Hiking at a national park
  • Enjoying a day at the beach

Everyone could use a day away from work now and again. Charter a bus to your destination, and enjoy the thrills of a roller coaster or the calm vibe of a park. 

7. Go camping.

Camping is not for everyone, and it takes a little more planning than the other ideas on this list. With that said, spending a day out in the elements can rally everyone together. 

Camping does not need to be hardcore. Adjust the trip to a level that works for your team: Cabins might be a better choice than tents, and pre-made meals can avoid the challenges of cooking for a group over a fire.

Don’t underestimate the business value of enjoying an afternoon outside together. The best memories are made not in the office but in the great outdoors. Get out there, and start making them. 

Enhance Your Business Savvy During COVID-19

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Like so many of you, it’s been a challenge as of late. I’ve been trying to put on a strong face with the COVID-19 going on — but, internally, I’m a little anxious. I’m concerned about the health and welfare of my family, friends, employees, and business.

But, recently, I’ve decided to use this time as an opportunity to enhance my business savvy — as opposed to dwelling on the negative. And, here are some of the areas that I’ve been focusing on to improve my business acumen significantly.

Build better habits.

Habits, as Deanna Ritchie explained in a previous Calendar article, “are behaviors or tasks that we without thinking about.” As a whole, “habits can help us become the best possible versions of ourselves.” And when that happens, “we’ll be healthier, happier, and more productive.”

In short, habits are kind of important. Not just for our health and well-being. But also because they can help improve our business savvy. For instance, if you don’t have mental habits like positivity, resilience, and focus, it’s impossible to keep your eyes on the prize.

At the same time, habits can also be detrimental. “Examples would be hitting the snooze button, procrastination, watching too much TV, and smoking,” explains Deanna. “You probably don’t need to be reminded of this, but all are bad for your productivity and well-being.”

How can you perfect the art of better habits? Well, here are some suggestions from Deanna:

  • Start incredibly small and work your way up. Use the Fogg Behavior Model (FBM), as a habit recipe template to make this possible: “After I [TRIGGER], I will [TINY HABIT].”
  • Don’t be vague. Always create an implementation and make sure that it’s satisfying.
  • Stack your habits by tieing a new habit into an existing one.
  • Short-circuit the feedback loop to reshape any habit.
  • Remove any bias by creating the right environment.
  • Overcome possible excuses, like getting that guitar out of the closet and putting it next to your chair.
  • Create a habit calendar to track your progress and celebrate wins.

Create a Business Model Canvas.

“The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a strategic management tool to quickly and easily define and communicate a business idea or concept,” explains Mike Ebinum, Sheda Director, in a Medium post.

It’s just a one-page document that works “through the fundamental elements of a business or product, coherently structuring an idea,” Mike adds. “The right side of the BMC focuses on the customer (external), while the left side of the canvas focuses on the business (internal).”

Both “factors meet around the value proposition, which is the exchange of value between your business and your customer/clients,” continues Mike. The BMC is often used “to quickly draw a picture of what the idea entails,” get a better idea of your business, how customers play a role, and where you want to go.

What’s more, this can help you clarify your value proposition and develop customer personas. It can even guide in which type of content to create and where to share it. And, the BMC will also identify the key activities, resources, partners, expenses, and revenue streams required for you to succeed.

Even if you’ve done this previously, it won’t hurt to give it another try. Maybe your business has changed over the years. Or, perhaps, it will allow you to spot any leaks and potential opportunities.

Listen to your employees, customers, and suppliers.

He may be a divisive figure. But, Steve Jobs had an excellent quote regarding hiring. “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

I hate to burst your bubble here. But, you don’t have all of then answers or here capable of running a business on your own. That’s why you brought on a talented team. They’re doing the things that you’re not great at. And, they probably have a pulse on aspects of your business that you aren’t aware of. For example, since they’re frequently interacting with them, your customer service reps can let you know their pain points.

In other words, your team is an untapped reserve of knowledge. Schedule one-one-ones with them and pick their brains so that you can learn as much as you can about their responsibilities so that you know every facet of your business. Besides, this gives you a chance to check-in with them, which builds trust and improves your leadership skills.

In addition to your employees, connect with your customers, suppliers, and vendors. Social media is a great way to interact with your audience to gather feedback on how your business can improve. Chatting with suppliers and vendors can build rapport and change your business for the better. It can also encourage you to make a change. Maybe after doing some digging and speaking with a vendor, you determine that they’re too unreliable.

Keep on learning.

Is there any better time than the present to finally improve your skills, expand your knowledge, or learn something new? In my opinion, this won’t just enhance your business savvy; it’s also a much-needed distraction. And, best of all, you can do this from the comfort of your home.

How can you keep on learning? Well, here are some ideas for you to try out:

  • Attend an online business school, training resource, or certificate program. Check out Coursera, Skillshare, or Wharton Online.
  • Read as much as possible. I’m talking about books like Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher & William Ury, Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman, Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, and Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . . And Others Don’t by Jim Collins. And, don’t rule out leading business blogs and websites. Obviously, there are millions of options out there. So, your best bet would be to search for whatever are you need assistance with. For example, if you want to bulk up your online marketing you might want to follow Copyblogger or Moz (or recommend these to team members, and then discuss them at a later date). To get you started, here’s a list of 100 business blogs compiled by the good folks over at Quickbooks.
  • Listen to podcasts. These are great when you’re going for a walk or doing things around the house. Jennifer Spencer put together a solid list of 20 podcasts that will help your business grow on Entrepreneur. But, I would add Entrepreneur on Fire, the Garyvee Audio Experience, and How I Built This.
  • Find a mentor, advisor, and coach. A mentor could be a local business owner, professor, someone like Richard Branson. You’ve never met him. But, he’s influenced you via the books he’s written. Advisors are those who you have a deeper relationship with you can help you improve in a specific area. Coaches are people that you hire to assist you in becoming a better business owner.
  • Volunteer. On top of giving back, this allows you to network and enhance your existing skillset. Of course, you can’t do this in-person currently. But, there are virtual volunteering opportunities for you to explore.

Pay attention to the latest business news.

I know that the news can be overwhelming and exhausting right now. But don’t completely shelter yourself from the latest business news. I mean, you don’t want to miss out on the recent developments and emerging trends, right? If so, you might be missing out on new business and growth opportunities.

You probably can’t go wrong with the old standbys like CNBC, Fortune, or the Wall Street Journal. Personally, I’m a fan of Morning Brew, SGN, and the Skim. Both are daily email newsletters that you can quickly consume. They’re also smart and witty, so it doesn’t always seem like doom and gloom. And, best of all, they keep me updated first thing in the morning so that I don’t have to watch the news all day.

Join a professional organization or an online community.

Some business owners and entrepreneurs might dismiss this. But, in my opinion, this is one of the best time investments you could make. After all, becoming a part of a professional association or online community expands your network, helps you learn new skills, and exposes you to industry trends. You can also use these organizations for professional growth opportunities, to meet or become a mentor, and getting your name out there.

Right now, unfortunately, you can’t do this in person. Thankfully, most of these groups have gone virtual. For example, the Chamber of Commerce is hosting virtual events and webinars. What’s more, there are more than enough online communities for you to join that can help you in business-related areas you like. Suggestions would be Startup Nation, GrowthHackers, LinkedIn groups like Bright Ideas and Entrepreneurs, The Small Business Bonfire, and Slack channels like Online Geniuses.

Develop (or update) your contingency plan.

“A contingency plan, also referred to as a disaster recovery plan, is a set of steps, written down and communicated to all, that describes how you and your team will respond in case of a future, unforeseen, disaster or hardship,” explains Debbie Madden over on Inc.com. The reason? It can help minimize losses and “continue operations as close to ‘normal’ as possible.”

“The key is to create a contingency plan early, communicate it to the entire company, and update it often (ideally annually),” suggests Debbie. And, to achieve that, it could contain the following four pillars:

  • Employee safety. Your people always come first, so make their health and wellness your top priority.
  • Communication plan. Determine a way to communicate with each other. It may sound outdated. But, Debbie has a landline just in case there’s no cell service or people can’t charge their devices.
  • Data backup and recovery. Purchase insurance, place everything on the cloud, and consider purchasing a generator. I’d also recommend that you step-up your cybersecurity knowledge to prevent attacks.
  • Finances. Create a budget and stick to it. And, make sure that you have an emergency fund in place. Debbie also suggests keeping cash-on-hand.

After getting all four pillars in place, “round out your plan by thinking through the specifics of your business,” writes Debbie. “You aren’t going to be able to predict which disasters will hit and when.” However, “if you think through a few worst-case scenarios, as unpleasant as this task is, you’ll be better prepared.”

Also, go through multiple disaster categories to help you prepare for both short-and-long-term events. You could also brainstorm with your team to know how your business is impacted and the steps needed to recover.

Go outside your wheelhouse.

Do something that’s not a part of your regular responsibilities. Maybe write a blog post, develop a social media marketing campaign, answer customer service questions, or do some bookkeeping. If you don’t feel comfortable doing a specific task, then don’t. The idea, though, is to help you learn new skills and how every cog in your business works. You may even empathize with specific team members after walking in their shoes.

And, now is the perfect time to experiment with new tools and strategies. For instance, maybe you’re trying out some time management and productivity techniques now that you’re working from home. Or, to stay in touch with your team, you’ve test-driving various tools that make virtual meetings more accessible and effective. And, you could finally give a new marketing campaign or service a trial run to see what sticks.

Sales Meeting Hacks During COVID

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Has anyone ever been excited about attending a sales meeting? Probably very few. Now try convincing your sales team to get pumped about an upcoming meeting during a pandemic. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Thankfully, you can use the following hacks to ensure that your meetings will be fruitful and worth their time. And, they may actually have a little fun and look forward to these events during this strange and stressful time.

Sales Meetings 101

It’s a stressful and uncertain time right now. The last thing that you want to is to pile on even more stress onto your team member’s shoulders. That’s why you need to do a little planning and preparation in advance before scheduling a meeting.

If you don’t think that meetings have been stressing your team out, think again. Between getting pulled away from their work, the fear of public speaking, and experiencing technology problems (this accounts for 90% of meeting stress), it’s easy to understand why so many people dread meetings.

To relieve this stress, you need to make sure that all meetings aren’t just necessary — but also productive. You will assure a session is productive by:

  • Setting a single goal or objective for the meeting.
  • Designating a meeting leader, time, date, and location.
  • Setting a time limit and keeping it short — preferably around 30-minutes.
  • Inviting the right amount of people — ideally around seven attendees.
  • Addressing tech issues before the meeting.

Does this preparation seem like a tall glass to fill? Your preparation is not only possible but beneficial if your meeting contains the four elements of a successful meeting.

Use a standardized agenda.

An agenda lets participants know exactly what to expect. It’s the foundation of any productive meetings as it contains the following components:

  • A header that identifies who’s calling the meeting, assembling the body, type of meeting, date and time, start and end time, and location.
  • Key objective that answers two crucial questions. Why are we meeting? And, what do we hope to accomplish?
  • The topics that will be discussed — limit this to 5. If you want to get your team more involved, ask for their input on what they want to be covered. Milestones, pipeline updates, obstacles, monthly targets, noteworthy insights, and what your competitors are doing are solid topic ideas.
  • The meeting work plan. Also called the agenda body, this is everything that will be discussed and in what order. Always start with your most time-sensitive or urgent matters.
  • Allocate the right amount of time to each topic.
  • At the conclusion, make sure you follow-up with the attendees by distributing minutes and assigning responsibilities.

The agenda should always be sent to invitees a day or two in advance so that they have time to prepare.

Provide value.

You want your team to walk away with valuable information that they can use to close more deals. Examples would be training, customer feedback, or the latest news or trends influencing your business.

Team participation.

Don’t bore your team. Keep them engaged by adding some interactivity to it. Ideas would be answering questions, playing games, or breaking your team into groups and having them answer questions.

Also, include use data visualization. It’s more efficient, allows everyone to focus on what’s important, and helps attendees make faster decisions.

Be consistent.

More then ever, we’re striving for normalcy. And, routines and rituals can provide that since they give us certainty. Think of rituals as actions with meaning or emotion attached to them,” Tonya Dalton, a productivity expert, told Healthline. “Rituals keep our day moving along but are infused with joy, pleasure, or positive emotion.”

What does this have to do with meetings? Well, if they’re recurring, then make sure that they take place on the same day and time.

Super-special bonus element: Make your virtual meetings rock!

As of this writing, you have no other choice but for the location of your sales meeting to be remote. So, pass along the following tips so that your virtual meeting will be productive and professional.

  • Work from a quiet, carpeted room.
  • Use a neutral background and have good lighting. But, if it’s within reason, encourage attendees to have some fun and change their backgrounds digitally.
  • Have the meeting on a laptop and not your phone.
  • Test the technology before the meeting, as well as your mic and camera.
  • Raise your webcam to eye-level.
  • “Make the conference application as small as possible and position it adjacent to your computer’s camera,” suggests Joseph Liu on Forbes.
  • Always dress like you’re in a real, professional meeting.
  • Turn off all notifications during the meeting.
  • Look at your camera, not screen, when talking, and mute the mic when you’re not.
  • Avoid multitasking.
  • Learn videoconferencing tricks, such as these six tips about Zoom that Calendar Co-Founder shared on Entrepreneur. If you use Teams, here are 25 gems over at Medium.

Shake Up Your Sales Meetings

Even though you want to give your team consistency, you also don’t want them to get into a rut. That’s why you should occasionally switch things up. It will keep your team engaged, motivated, and will give them something to look forward to.

If you need some creative ideas, Salesforce has the following 6 suggestions:

  • Pump up the volume. “Ask a different team member before each meeting to share a track that gets them particularly motivated or energized before they begin their first outreach to customers in the day.”
  • In the news. Open the meeting “with a brief overview of the trends or stories that stand out, and discuss what they might mean for what the sales team needs to do in terms of approaching customers and prospects.”
  • We shall overcome. Your meeting is the perfect time to provide your reps with strategies and tactics. Or, “even additional information they can use to persuade customers to think differently about whatever’s stopping them from making a purchase.”
  • Sell me this pen. Close your meeting with a fun role-playing exercise where team members must pitch for something like, well, a pen.
  • Here’s what I noticed. When recognizing your reps, outstanding work “be specific about the behaviors and actions that demonstrate a real effort to provide value to customers or the organization.”

Need some other ideas? Well, you could have a meeting with colleagues from departments or experts to expand your rep’s knowledge and skillset.

Another idea would be to have goal-setting sessions. And, you can never go wrong with meetings helping your team overcome roadblocks, reviewing metrics, sharing prospect feedback, and sharing company information.

Because the word “meeting” is often associated with negativity, you could even call these events by a different name. Examples could be:

  • Calling your recurring meetings “team cadence,” “daily huddle,” or “weekly meetup.”
  • Instead of a status update, try “progress check.”
  • A one-on-one could be referred to as a “coaching session.”
  • You could use a “brainstorming session” when generating ideas.
  • For problem-solving, try “root-cause resolution.”
  • Training meetings could be titled “skills certification.”
  • When making an announcement, use “press briefing.”

Use Sales Meetings to Boost Morale and Motivation

“Psychological experiments have shown that the way a meeting starts, sets the tone for the whole meeting,” says Alexandar Kjerulf, aka the Chief Happiness Officer. “Start the meeting with complaints, problems, and mutual blame, and that’s what you’ll get.”

However, if the meeting has a more positive vibe, they will be more engaging and fun. That’s why Kjerulf suggests that you kick-off each meeting by asking participants “to briefly (= less than 30 seconds) share something positive.” Examples would be sharing successful sales stories, asking what they’re grateful for, or telling an exciting or funny story.

You can also use sales meetings to boost your team’s morale by:

  • Recognizing your team’s hard work and dedication and thanking them for all that they do.
  • Let your team members show off their unique skills and help them enhance their existing skillsets.
  • Prioritize time with each team member so that you can find out their personality traits. Knowing this allows you to customize meetings and rewards.
  • Remind them of their purpose. Research from Dr. Valerie Good of Michigan State University shows that purpose is the primary source of motivation in sales. “Instead of focusing on financial payouts for sales personnel to perform better, concentrating on meeting the intrinsic needs of salespeople can lead to better objective performance outcomes.”
  • Always be honest and transparent with them — even if it’s not good news.

Harness the Power of AI

“Artificial intelligence, which consists of natural language processing, machine learning, and bots, is still in its early stages,” explains Calendar Co-Founder John Hall. “We’re already witnessing its influence in areas like scheduling. Take intelligent calendars as an example. By using machine learning, they can “suggest when and where a meeting should occur after reviewing past invites. You can also create a new event just by speaking into your smartphone.”

That can be a game-changer right now. Instead of going back-and-forth with the team, who currently are juggling not only their work but also home responsibilities, a smart calendar could determine that 1 p.m. is an ideal time.

We may not be there just yet, “but AI can record meetings and transcribe and email notes after they’ve concluded,” adds Hall. That information could be used for future reference and replace having someone keep minutes. “It can make smart suggestions on the invitees and documents needed” and “automatically assign tasks and meeting roles.” AI “may even be able to read the room so it can make suggestions on how to keep specific attendees engaged.”

How to Empower Your Team Through Data

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Empowerment defined is the “authority or power given to someone to do something.” The explanation may not sound all that important. But, for your team, empowerment is vital. Here is how to empower your team through data.

As noted by The Wharton School, empowering your team creates a toxic-free environment where micromanagement is discouraged. It also encourages ownership, keeps everyone satisfied, boosts engagement, and frees-up your valuable time.

While you can do this by not always looking over your team’s shoulders, you can also use data to empower your team. But, first, let’s go over the benefits that your organization will experience after they have data at their fingertips.

Provides access to information promptly.

The main benefit is that your team will have fast and easy access to information that can help them become more effective and efficient. For example, if your team uses a tool like Calendar. Each person can track their time to see the time they’re spending in specific meetings, or at certain places. Knowing the specifics of their behavior, they can alter their schedules so that they’re devoting the right amount of time to the right things.

What’s more, this data can be used to pin-down performance metrics. In turn, this can boost productivity, agility, morale, and it keeps everyone on the same page. And, as an additional bonus, timely access to information can speed up workflows and the decision-making process. That may not sound overly important. But, as found in a report from Boston University, 47% of professionals stated that slow access to information impedes their ability to make decisions.

Improves your team’s performance, engagement, and motivation.

Every leader should make this a priority. After all, when you’re able to improve your team’s performance, engagement, and motivation, your team will be more productive and satisfied. And, thanks to data, this has never been easier.

In case you didn’t get the memo, money isn’t an effective way to motivate your team. They want to know that their work has purpose and meaning. And, yes, data can help you achieve this. For instance, you could display KPIs and employee goals so that your team can see the purpose and progress of their work. As a result, you’ll be less likely to micromanage them. And, this will grant them ownership, which will keep them happy and productive.

Helps you identify your top and bottom performers.

With data easily at your disposal, you can track each of your team members’ progress. That means you can quickly identify who your top performers are and then reward them accordingly. For example, let’s say a team member had completed a project ahead of schedule or made progress towards a goal. You could acknowledge their hard work and offer an incentive that they care about.

Additionally, you can also use this information to discover who your weakest links are. That doesn’t mean you have to let them go. But, this may allow you to meet with them and attempt to get to the root problem. Maybe they haven’t been able to make progress on a goal because they don’t possess time management skills, or they have too much on their plate. As such, you could redistribute tasks or help them solve their time management problems so that they can become a top performer.

Still not convinced? Well, other benefits include operational optimization and forecasting, streamlined procurement processing, customer analysis, and behavioral prediction, and cost optimization.

Using Data to Empower Your Team

Hopefully, you’re sold on the benefits of embracing business. Now, it’s time to learn how actually to empower your team using data.

Provide the right training and tools.

Training is essential when you’re introducing new technology, strategies, or concepts. Even if your team members are familiar with data, you still want to share with them the latest developments. Most importantly, you need to align business intel with their work.

In conjunction with training, you also need to arm them with the right tools. An example of this would be giving your sales the latest AI-powered sales app so that they have real-time insights about leads and customers on their phones.

Encourage communication and collaboration.

How can you empower your team if you’re keeping the data to yourself? That’s just counterproductive and poor use of data. Instead, share this information with everyone within your organization so that they’re up-to-date and on the same page.

Moreover, provide opportunities for your team to discuss and dig into the data. It’s a simple way to see how it’s impacting their performance. But, it also is a great way to get them more involved. As noted in a Forbes article, managers can “increase task identity by involving employees in more aspects of work by having them participate in the planning, reporting, and evaluation of projects rather than just the doing.”

Make the data more engaging.

Don’t bore your team with figures and numbers. Have a little fun with the data by making it more exciting and engaging by utilizing dashboards.

Dashboards, explains the folks over at Phocas “allow you to set the business indicators that are important to your business.” But, what makes for an excellent dashboard? At the minimum, it should “provide a visual, fact-driven overview of the indicators most important to your team, enabling them to see at a glance how the team is performing.”

Your dashboard will allow your team “to dive into the underlying data in the lightning-fast grid that sits behind the dashboard.” What about you, non-technical people? Well, they can “quickly build an interactive, customized dashboard, so your team can collaborate, revise, and print on the spot without help from IT.”

Use visuals and gamification as well.

Another way to accomplish this is by providing visuals. As Calendar founder John Rampton explained in a previous article, data visualization is the key to team productivity since visual learning is more efficient. It also helps you focus on what’s most important, advances AI and machine learning, and enhances communication and collaboration.

Just remember that to get the most out of data visualization, you should:

  • Understand the data you’re trying to visualize, such as the size and uniqueness.
  • Determine the data you want to visualize and what needs to be communicated.
  • Know your audience and their learning preferences.
  • Use visuals that present the information as briefly and simply as possible.
  • Use the right visual for the right situation. For instance, Gantt charts are ideal for updating the status of a project. On the flipside, Fishbone diagrams are better suited for finding defects in a process.

And, the Phocas team also suggests that you gamify your data. “By providing your team with an immersive and gamified experience, using data becomes engaging. If your team can manipulate data quickly and easily, they are driven to improve their performance through feedback.”

“By introducing gamification, you can present a fun and competitive way for your team to detect every opportunity to increase revenue and overall productivity.” And, ultimately, this can cultivate collaboration and motivate individual team members.

Integrate analytics into every aspect of your business.

At first, this may be intimidating. But. as Roman Stanek, the Founder and CEO of GoodData writes in Forbes, “companies who have recognized value from analytics have gone beyond their competitors to become empowered analytical organizations.” What that means is that they have “successfully integrated analytics into every part of their business to drive everyday business decisions and deliver substantial returns.”

The four attributes needed to assimilate data into your business.

  • Solve for business problems. “The first step to using data to drive decisions is to look at a business process that requires more clarity or one that has an easy-to-define workflow or apparent objectives for improvement,” writes Stanek. “Preferably, it’s an area that can easily measure improvements in tangible, metric-driven ways.”
  • Recognize that it’s an ongoing process. To deliver tangible results, you need to make a serious time and financial commitment “on the strategy, talent, and business plan.”
  • Embed analytics into all areas of the business. “Analytics has value for every layer of the organization, not just the c-suite or data scientists,” adds Stanek. Because of this, “the only way to get closer to the return on investment you’re looking for is to deploy analytics to as many people as possible to improve everyone’s decision making” and showing your team how data can help them solve problems.
  • Make sure executives do their part. “For a company to successfully transition to an empowered analytical organization, leadership will need consensus around the analytics project, and to truly understand why the IT budget will need to shift to support the kind of transformation expected,” explains Stanek. “They’ll also need to routinely participate in identifying key business processes that are ripe for improvement and encourage continuous learning and additional investment.”

What Do You Do When You Don’t Have a Team to Delegate To?

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How to Make Your Company Vision Resonate With Employees

One of my cousins recently reached out to me for advice. He wants to start his own photography business. For the time being, it has to be a side hustle until the business takes off on its own. So far, so good, I told him. Here is what to do when you don’t have a team to delegate to.

The problem with my cousin is that he doesn’t have the time or resources right now for all for administrative tasks and content marketing. You know. The important parts of starting and growing a self-sustaining business that is often delegated to someone else.

I can totally emphasize with him. When I was just starting out, this was also a problem. Since I didn’t have a team yet, it was my responsibility to take care of these tedious tasks. Suffice to say, I was putting in a lot of hours and feeling extremely overwhelmed.

Thankfully, I learned some tricks to get out of this dilemma along my own entrepreneurial journey. I didn’t hesitate to share these options with my cousin. And, now, I want to pass them along to you, and anyone who is starting up a business on their own.

Everything is not a priority.

My first suggestion was to come to the realization that not everything is a top priority. I know. Easier said than done. But, my Calendar co-founder John Hall has previously explained how to achieve this in a Calendar blog post.

Before doing anything else, clear your head by taking a deep breath. Next, “think, compose a list or look at your calendar to see everything that’s on your plate.” Sure. These items may be important, but “they don’t all deserve equal treatment.”

“Instead of believing that everything needs to be done right now, determine which actions indeed are your priorities,” adds John. “Ideally, these should be the tasks that move you closer to achieving your goals. Other factors include urgency, due dates, ROI, or the consequences of not completing the task or project.”

Now, in most cases, you could create a priority matric, like the popular Eisenhower, to help you separate the urgent from important. However, that usually still involves delegating less important tasks to someone else. So, an alternative would be to “triage.”

“If you’re somewhat with the medical industry, then you’ve probably heard of the term triage,” John explains. “If you’re not, triage determining which patients need immediate treatment. For instance, if you went to the ER because of the flu, you would be seen after the older adult who is in cardiac arrest.”

When it comes to prioritizing your work, you can use triaging to identify what you need to do right now by placing them into the immediate category. For the “non-life threatening” tasks, schedule them for later or remove them from your list or calendar.

Done is better than perfect.

Sometimes good is enough. That doesn’t mean phoning it in or deliver subpar work. It just means that you shouldn’t obsess over being perfect.

For example, my cousin needs to get a website up to display his portfolio. My advice is to just get a domain and set-up a standard WordPress site with a theme geared towards photography. The site doesn’t have to be “perfect” just yet. It can tinker with his site until it’s more to his liking.

But, for the time being, he needs to get a site up and running. It’s all about taking that first step, enjoying the process, and setting the bar at “good enough.”

Negotiate your time.

Look, when it comes to your time, some things are non-negotiable. Usually, these are your priorities that you’ve already added to your calendar. For example, if my cousin already committed to a photography gig, then he can’t accept another job on the same date and time.

But, what if this request doesn’t have an exact timeframe? He may be able to find an alternative. Let’s say someone asked him to snap pictures for their LinkedIn profile on the same day that he’s already working a wedding. The wedding is non-negotiable. But, my cousin is free the following day so this other job then.

Or, depending on his niche, he may recommend certain jobs to someone else. My cousin may not have the time or equipment to do travel photography. So, he may recommend this job to a photographer who specializes in this area.

However, if he doesn’t have the availability or the job isn’t worth the time or money, then he needs to get comfortable saying “no.”

Use technology to your advantage.

Thanks to AI and machine learning, there is plenty of technology at your fingertips that can handle repetitive tasks. For example, my cousin could use scheduling software like Calendar to take care of all of their scheduling needs. He could simply share his calendar on his site or through an email. The client then sees when he’s available and books him. It’s a simple way to eliminate those back and forth communications.

A business owner can also use tools to automate his emails, social media accounts, marketing, and sales. If he can’t find a free option, most are affordable enough that they’re within his budget. And, while he’ll still need to put in the occasional human touch, it can help reduce the number of recurring tasks he’s responsible for.

Ask for help or outsource.

What about the things that he can’t automate? Well, he could ask for volunteers or outsource them.

When I launched my own business, I asked family members for help. My wife assisted with administrative tasks, while my sibling produced content for me. All startups can learn to barter with other people. My cousin found he could work a wedding for his accountant’s daughter in exchange for preparing his taxes.

If that’s not an option, you can find low-cost outsourcing alternatives. Like my cousin could go on Fiverr and find freelancers to optimize his website or promote his business on social media at a reasonable price. Know when you should outsource.

Know when to hire team members.

Depending on your business, this will vary. I doubt that my cousin would need a full-time PR agent. But, at some point, he may decide to hire a Virtual Assistant to handle things like scheduling and billing.

But, when should he does this? Well, Neil Patel writes in a previous Entrepreneur article that you shouldn’t hire because you’re desperate or don’t have “a defined set of responsibilities and expectations for your new hire.” Instead, it should be when they can either make or save money for your business. Most importantly, they should have specific skillsets that you don’t possess.

After you’ve begun hiring team members, delegating work to them should be straightforward. I mean if you hired a developer, then you know that those tasks go through them. However, you still need to learn how to delegate, like clearly explaining expectations and outcomes. And, you need to be willing to give up some control and grant them ownership.

Data Visualization is the Key to Team Productivity

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What is data visualization? That’s an excellent question since it plays a vital role in analytics — you know, which are two vitally important topics in today’s high-tech world. Anyway, data visualization as easily defined by the SAS Insitute as “the presentation of data in a pictorial or graphical format.”

SAS adds that this “enables decision-makers to see analytics presented visually, so they can grasp difficult concepts or identify new patterns.” That means using interactive visualization to “take the concept a step further by using technology to drill down into charts and graphs for more detail, interactively changing what data you see and how it’s processed.” Or, to put it more straightforward, data visualization is one of the steps you need to take in data analysis and science.

What’s interesting about data visualization, though, is that it’s not a not concept. It’s been used for centuries in the form of maps in the 17th century and the introduction of the pie chart in the early 1800s. However, one of the most well-known examples is the statistical graphics that Charles Minard mapped during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. The map, as SAS explains, “depicted the size of the army as well as the path of Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow — and tied that information to temperature and time scales for a more in-depth understanding of the event.”

Data visualization today.

But, data visualization came into its own as technology advanced. Since computers are now able “to process large amounts of data at lightning-fast speeds,” we need a way to digest this information efficiently. By breaking down this data, we’re then able to identify problems and develop solutions. It can also be used to drive innovation, spot emerging trends, and uncover new insights — just to name a few.

While these benefits are incredible, did you also know that data visualization can be the key to team productivity as well?

Visual learning is more efficient.

Humans are visual creatures. Sure, some of us may be auditory or kinesthetic learners. But, a majority of us learn best visually. The reason? We’re just better able to respond to and process visual data than any other type of data.

It’s been found that the human brain can process images 60,000 times faster than text. Also, 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual. Even more impressive, MIT neuroscientists have reported that the brain can identify images seen in just 13 milliseconds.

It’s also been found that when using visuals, the average worker can increase both retention and comprehension by 50 percent. Moreover, visuals can break down language barriers and motivate others.

Focuses on what’s important.

Let’s say that your organization uses a visual aid like a dashboard. For those unfamiliar, Stephen Few defines this as “a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives; consolidated and arranged on a single screen so the information can be monitored at a glance.”

A dashboard, adds G2’s Laura Nunneley, “makes your team’s most important data visible, understandable, and actionable so that they can measure and improve their performance.” Having this at their fingerprints can improve their performance in several ways.

At the forefront, this makes their critical data accessible, and this shows where they’re making the most impact. As a result, this keeps them motivated and inspired to take action. But, most importantly, it keeps your entire team on the same page by reminding them what’s most important.

“When your team is taking care of day-to-day tasks, they can get distracted and lose sight of what’s important,” writes Laura. “A dashboard avoids this by making any KPIs (key performance indicators) or meaningful and important objectives visible for your team.” In turn, this will encourage them to “focus on work that will make a difference. And, “when priorities change, a dashboard makes new objectives clear to keep your team on course.”

Data helps make faster and better decisions.

It’s been estimated that the average person makes an astounding 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day. So if you’re indecisive or hung up on decisions, then you need all the help that you can get so that you can proceed. And, this is most true when others can’t move forward until you’ve made a decision.

For example, before implementing a marketing campaign, you have to OK it before it’s launched. The longer you wait to make the decision, the longer your marketing team is just sitting there waiting.

How can data help in this area? Well, when you’re presented with data visually, you can spot any patterns or trends more easily and quickly –or even those that you may have never noticed. With this information at hand, you can make more informed decisions promptly.

Advances AI and machine learning.

Big data. Artificial intelligence. Machine learning. I’m sure you’ve heard all about these buzzwords. While each is unique, they’re also closely interconnected. For instance, you need to collect and analyze specific datasets for machine learning algorithms to make predictions and automate particular actions. Case in point, machine learning could learn you and your team’s schedule to make smart suggestions on how everyone should spend their time.

Of course, that’s just one example. Machine learning and AI can be used virtually everywhere, ranging from providing customer service to creating content for managing shipping logistics. In turn, this frees up your team’s time so that they can devote their time and energy on the most critical matters.

If this isn’t your wheelhouse, then that’s where data visualization comes in. It puts the data in context so that it can be applied to automating decisions.

Enhances communication and collaboration.

Finally, and most importantly, data visualization enhances both communication and collaboration. That’s because, through visuals, you can quickly and more effectively communicate your story to others. Furthermore, visuals give you and your team access to everyone’s strengths and skills. That means you can assign the right tasks to the right individuals and fill in the gaps when you need to.

Getting the most out data visualization.

Here’s one final advantage to data visualization; it can be accessed and shared from anywhere. That makes it an indispensable tool for both your in-house and remote teams. The caveat? You need to make sure that you’re using it properly. And, here are some ways to make that’s possible.

SAS suggests that before doing anything with data visualization, you should take the following steps:

  • Understand the data you’re trying to visualize, such as the size and uniqueness.
  • Determine the data you want to visualize and what needs to be communicated.
  • Know your audience and their learning preferences.
  • Use visuals that present the information as briefly and simply as possible.

Also, keep in mind that there are different diagrams for various situations that write Nishadha Silva over at Business 2 Community. Examples include:

  • Mind maps for brainstorming. They’re able to “stimulate creative thinking and work both the left brain and the right brain.”
  • Flowcharts to visualize processes and flows.
  • Gantt charts can be used when updating the status of a project.
  • Organizational charts “provide a visual hierarchy of your organization.” You can use this to clarify the various roles and responsibilities within your organization.
  • Fishbone diagrams, also known as cause and effect. These are perfect when you need “to find defects or inefficiencies in a process.”

12 Tips for Motivating Your Remote Team

By | Business Tips | No Comments

Even before COVOID-19 forced more people to work from home, there was already a surge in working from home. In fact, from 2005 – 2017, there was a 159% increase in remote work. That figure would come out to roughly 3.4% of the population.

And while that’s all well and good, for both your productivity and health — it’s also challenging to motivate your team from a distance. The good news? There are ways, such as the following twelve tactics, for you to achieve this goal.

1. Check-in with them frequently.

“Human beings are social creatures by nature, which is inherently in conflict with remote work culture,” writes Ryan Bonnici in a previous Entrepreneur article. “And for every study that demonstrates the efficiency of remote work, there are medical and social scientists revealing the enormous consequences of social isolation,” he adds.

How can you help reduce this psychological toll on your team? Well, use technology to touch base with them often. Tools like Zoom, Highfive, Slack, and Microsoft Teams allow you to collaborate and stay connected with your remote team. There’s also Marco Polo. It’s an app that lets you send video messages to others that they can check when they have the availability.

2. Trust them.

Not everyone is cut out for remote work. But, those who prefer to work from afar do so because of the flexibility. So, go ahead and grant them that.

That doesn’t being completely hands-off. You still need to clearly define responsibilities, expectations, and deadlines, as well as checking in on them. But, beyond that, there’s no need to be micromanaging them. Get out of their way and let them do their thing. It’s a simple way to keep them engaged and motivated.

Another way to show your team that you trust them? By emphasizing what is produced instead of focusing on when and how much.

3. Implement a recognition program.

Creating a culture of recognition should always be a top priority for you. After all, it’s a surefire way to retain top talent, boost engagement, and encourage high performance. But, you already knew that. The problem is that you may not know how to implement this virtually.

Well, that shouldn’t be a concern if you use the following checklist from Justworks;

  • Identify the behaviors, which should be aligned with your values, that you want to reinforce.
  • Determine who is eligible for rewards and how often they’ll be given.
  • Have a structure in place to help you select candidates.
  • Select the type of award you want to give out.
  • Let your team know about the program through a group email or meeting.

4. Help them solve their time management problems.

It’s hard to maintain your motivation when time management is an issue. After all, when you struggle in this area, you aren’t producing your best work, more likely to miss deadlines, and unable to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

The solution? Help them with any of their time management problems by:

  • Stress the importance and benefits of time management to them.
  • Set goals together.
  • Focus on quality, not quantity.
  • Help them identify what’s causing their time management problems so that you can come up with solutions.
  • Reward their success through incentives or even just a handwritten thank you note.

5. Invest in their skills and development.

A key driver in retaining and motivating your team is helping them improve or learn new skills. In a perfect world, you could do this through mentorship or providing in-house training opportunities. Since this isn’t possible, you’ll have to do this via online learning platforms like Udemy, Skillshare, or LinkedIn Learning.

6. Create a virtual water-cooler.

Water-cooler chats often get a bad rap. But, they’re beneficial. Studies have found that these personal interactions make work more enjoyable and meaningful. They also foster a healthy and collaborative work environment. And, these informal conversations can boost productivity, spark creativity, and help people practice their conversational skills.

Of course, when you have a team working from all over the world, these water-cooler talks aren’t possible. But, you can create a virtual water-cooler by;

  • Always be friendly in how you communicate with others. It also wouldn’t hurt to convey your emotions through animated gifs and emojis.
  • Create events like video presentations and webcam hangouts. You could also encourage your team to play online games against each other or start a book club.

7. Create a visual scoreboard.

“Even if your team regularly communicates and has a culture of accountability, they still need a way to capture shared goals,” writes the folks over at 6Q. “Creating a visual that represents progress not only motivates employees with a competitive streak but also clarifies key performance indicators and priorities for the entire team.”

A straightforward way to do this would be to create “a spreadsheet that tracks progress over time or produce a PDF of fancy graphs that represent quarterly goals, choose a consistent method easy to digest for your entire team.” You could also schedule “weekly or monthly meetings to update the scoreboard and periodically realign to be sure the data you measure reflects your business’s initiatives.”

8. Take an interest in your team’s workspace.

You don’t want to overstep your bounds here. But, this shows that you genuinely care about your remote workers and want them to succeed. That’s why Automattic, creator of WordPress, gives its employees state-of-the-art technology and $2,000 to build a home office. At Calendar, we’ve shipped out Autonomous SmartDesks to team members, as well as voice assistants, to help our team members upgrade their home offices.

9. Take the good with the bad.

Research by the psychologist, Roy Baumeister, shows that “people are more strongly impacted by bad events, such as negative feedback,” writes Nell Thayer Heisner. “To avoid letting setbacks hinder the success of a project, managers must address them outright and be sure to counteract critique with positive reinforcement of good thinking and contributions of workers who may have gotten off course.”

“When keeping this in mind, workers will continue to move forward rather than looking behind at past mistakes,” adds Nell. In turn, the entire team will “make progress and effectively collaborate to advance toward the goal.”

10. Always pay them on time.

Besides the legal obligations, this is one of the easiest ways to show your team that you appreciate everything that they do. Sure. There are other ways that you can do this, like writing them handwritten notes or surprising them with gifts. But they need that money to survive. So, if you can’t provide that for them, then they’ll undoubtedly go to someone else who can.

11. Get to know them.

Although this may not seem possible at first, it’s pretty easy—issue surveys and polls. Schedule telephone one-on-ones and solicit their feedback. And, if possible, try to meet with them in-person occasionally — especially when they work for you many years.

Remember, face-to-face meetings are 34 times more successful. If this isn’t an option, at least give video conferencing a try.

Another option? Have your team take a personality test. That may sound a bit much. But, it can help you determine what your team member’s strengths and weaknesses are, communication preferences, and how they make decisions.

12. Cut out the unnecessary.

While you should get to know your team members, there is such a thing as too much communication with them. As such, make it a point to only schedule meetings and phone calls when necessary. If they are, then make sure that they’re short and concise.

The same is true with emails, texts, and Slack. Contacting them too much doesn’t just distract them. It may also be a sign that you’re a micromanager or don’t respect their valuable time.

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