communication

Steve Wynkoop and I were talking a lot about designing and managing our professional careers on a weekly interview on SSWUG.org. This episode was about what steps to change your position in the your current company.

I received the below great question a few days after my Art of War for Product Managers and High-Performing Professionals.  I thought you might be interested in the answer as well. What if two product manager colleagues disagree on something and can only agree to disagree and cannot come to a resolution, what do you [...]

There are things in our professional careers that naturally scare us, but are required for advancement and continued growth. We are normally afraid of places we haven’t been before, things we haven’t tried before or subject matter that we know nothing about. If fear is a sign that we are pushing our envelop, then conquering that fear is a sign of real personal and professional growth.
So, how do we gather enough courage to take that next step?

By Laura Lee Rose, author of TimePeace: Making peace with time I had a vivid dream last night.  In this dream, a friend was very proud of her published article in a certain magazine.  She asked me to read it.  I was very excited and was looking forward to a pleasant and proud read, “Sure, [...]

This week we will take a short-cut into slapping ourselves back on the path. We won’t spend time investigating why and what took us off our course. Instead, we will jump into action with the idea of “doing one scary thing a day” to help keep up moving forward at a faster pace.

The best advice I’ve received about dealing with criticism was delivered by my mother. I was about twelve-years-old and my feelings were hurt. After listening to my story of woe, she said three words that caught my attention, spun me around, and changed my life. Her words were: “Consider the source.” Since then, this simple phrase, [...]

(This article is part of a series originally published in Japan by ALC Press English Journal, and is written in “Global English”. CLICK HERE to see the accompanying video, spoken in “Global English”.) QUESTION:  “My whole day is an endless string of attending meaningless meetings, which are a complete waste of time. Help!” ANSWER: Unfortunately every day millions [...]

I received the below great question a few days after my Art of War for Product Managers and High-Performing Professionals.  I thought you might be interested in the answer as well. Q: Many senior employees work under my lead. In this case, many other senior employees think that what a lucky me. Jealousy is coming [...]

If you know how to drive, you already understand project management. You may still not want to be a project manager, but at least you understand better their function and value. In fact, project management and defensive driving have much in common.

As a business coach, I sometimes receive late requests to change an appointment. Because of my busy schedule, it’s not easy to accommodate these types of last-moment requests. In my professional life, I easily handle this with my cancelation and refund policies. But how do we handle similar things in our personal and social lives? Well, I recommend that we respond in similar tones.

As a business and success coach, I help people manage their career development. There will be times when someone is promoted from within their team or department.  At these times, it may some initial strain when a fellow peer is now your boss (or visa-versa).  I find that appreciation in the workplace goes a long [...]

My name is Laura Rose (LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info), Business and Life Coach specializing in time management, project management and work life balance strategies. As a business coach, I recently received the following question: Unhappy workers staying on the job – Is this good or bad? What does this mean for employers and HR managers? On the other [...]

Project Managers as Project Marketers Seasoned project managers understand that a successful project never results from a single endeavor. Instead, it takes a myriad of cumulative and often-subtle accomplishments to bring even the simplest project to completion. Consistent communication with stakeholders is arguably the most important of those many factors. Motivating, coordinating and managing various [...]

In 2012′s Study of Product Team Performance, respondents were asked what they would change about the core product team. “Better cross-functional collaboration, trust and communication” was their number-one response. (You can participate in this year’s study. See below.) I was struck by how closely that aspiration aligns with a step that management took 15 years [...]

As a Business Process Consultant and Efficiency Coach, I am a subject matter expert in the field of Process Improvement. I work closely with the client to analyze both operational processes and financial metrics to assess project opportunities that positively impact the financial performance of the client business. In that role, I see a few misconceptions in how to make office changes (or any change for that matter). The most prevalent false premise is to “start where you are and take small steps”. That may be the resulting action – but I don’t recommend we start there.

This is Laura Lee Rose, a business and life coach that specializes in professional development, time management, project management and work-life balance strategies. In my GoTo Academy: Soft Skill Tools for the GoTo Professional continuous online coaching series, I go into office etiquette on various real-world IT topics in detail. If you are interested in [...]

Have you just said yes to taking over a big mess-in-the-making? Whether you’re a VP or new manager, whether the initiative is a global expansion or product redesign, you’re now on the hook for a project that’s failing. You have to herd cats who don’t actually work for you, separate the smoke from the fire [...]

With some additional proactive (Quadrant 2 preparation — sign up for the online coaching sessions for more information on this technique), you can perform even better. You get into the office early because you need to review the results of the overnight test run, and mail in the results before the 9:00am meeting. “Darn, the overnight [...]

Time-boxing is a method which allows you to do everything that you want to do without the above pitfall. You get into the office early because you need to review the results of the overnight test run, and mail in the results before the 9:00am meeting. “Darn, the overnight test failed at stage 6.  Why [...]

In my GoTo Academy: Tools for the GoTo Guy and Gal continuous online coaching series, I go into Time-boxing and the use of Parking Lot methods in detail. If you are interested in more training in these areas, please signup for the continuing online coaching series. Does this scenario sound familiar? You get into the [...]

Below is Part 3 of a 3-Part article designed to help IT and database professionals stay on top of their game in an ever-changing trade. Part 1 and 2 describes examples of how we inadvertently make excuses for our lack of progress in certain areas of our careers.