The Productivity Pro® Blog by Laura Stack - Time Management, Getting Things Done, How to Be More Productive

SUPERCOMPETENT KEY #1: ACTIVITY. Activity demonstrates value and reflects importance.

In this competitive economy, just being able to do your job is no longer enough.

Competence is simply expected in today’s workplaces. But you can’t be simplycompetent; you have to be SuperCompetent(TM) to get an edge. Laura Stack’s new book, SuperCompetent: the Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best (Wiley 2010), gives high potentials proven methods to reach peak performance and achieve breakthrough results.

You’ll discover the six keys to unlocking your full potential: Activity, Availability, Attention, Accessibility, Accountability, and Attitude. The Productivity Pro®, Laura Stack, gives you a clear and practical system for achieving Maximum Results in Minimum Time®. By contrasting SuperCompetent(TM) hero thinking with simply Competent zero thinking, you’ll see that transforming your performance is not about mantras but mindsets.

SuperCompetent will be available in August 2010, just in time for your fall conference or leadership development program.

When the rubber hits the road, the difference between merely having ability and being exceptional may be the difference between losing your job and keeping it. The best workers possess a constant, expansive ability to be good at everything they do, no matter how general or specific. In this next series of six monthly newsletter articles, I’ll show you how to master the six universal Keys to workplace success. In this first article, we’ll cover the first key: Activity.

SuperCompetent people have an acute sense of direction, in which the nature of their activities reflects their relative priorities. They’re particularly aware of one thing that escapes most of their colleagues: that being busy and being productive are two very different things.

You can be busy all day long, running from one brushfire to another, and not accomplish anything productive at all. True Activity involves knowing your goals intimately, keeping them constantly in mind, and working toward them in an efficient way that wastes a minimum of energy and time. SuperCompetent people aren’t hidebound by the old ways of doing things, either; if there’s a possibility of doing something more efficiently, they suggest or implement it. Here are a few ways to help you fine-tune your workday in the Key of Activity, keeping things humming along like a well-oiled productivity machine.

1. Know exactly why you work hard and what you’re trying to achieve. You can’t be very productive if you don’t know what you’re working for. Plan out your goals and dreams, and work toward achieving them. Learn what makes you tick, own your destiny, and keep focused on your mission.

2. Know what to do, when to do it, and why. Take initiative and do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. Don’t just work on projects in the order they come across your desk; learn to structure your time and processes effectively, or others will out-compete you.

3. Create systems to perform tasks more efficiently, so you can leave the office on time. Too often, we’re gulled into working harder than we should by stuff that was supposed to make our lives easier. Step forward and create or suggest more efficient ways of doing things, so that you can take back your time.

4. Regularly rest and recharge your batteries, so that you can be productive and creative when you return to work. For heaven’s sake, you’re not a robot. Take a break when you need to! As long as you don’t become a slacker, taking time off can be one of the healthiest, most productive things you can do.

5. Do the day’s most profitable and valuable tasks first. Instead of taking care of piddling brushfire issues, learn to delegate. Put the most important tasks at the top of your list, and work through them first–then do all the rest, if you have time. It’s not a sin to let unimportant tasks go.

At the end of the day, all that matters is results–and results are measured by productivity. That means you need to be very sure that your time is not only accounted for, but has real value.

Productivity, in its most meaningful sense, is all about reaching high-value goals in every area of your life, often in the shortest amount of time (but not always, such as spending time with loved ones). Nobody cares how many things you crossed off your list. Nobody cares how busy you were last week if key projects are falling through the cracks.

Only results matter, so strive to get the most value out of every day. Grab your dreams and get going!

Make it a productive day! (TM)

(C) Copyright 2010 Laura Stack. All rights reserved.
www.TheProductivityPro.com

You’ve decided to conduct a webinar for your association member, corporate employees, or your team members spread around the country. How do you ensure the Webinar goes off without a hitch?

Here are the top ten tips on how to have a successful webinar:

1. Select the best format for your objectives. Each of these popular formats has pros and cons:
• Single speaker who presents and administers the webinar—easy to coordinate but can be less interactive if participants are hesitant to ask questions.
• Interview style with a moderator—more interesting than just one voice but harder to coordinate the discussion.
• Facilitated conversation with multiple panelists—more people to train and the potential for panelists to talk over each other; adds a variety of perspectives and can increase audience interest.

2. Determine the level of interaction. We’ve all experienced webinars with road noise, dogs, babies, and ringing phones in the background. So I prefer to mute all attendees and take questions via the chat box only, rather than opening up the lines. I also encourage participants to submit their questions on the topic before the program begins. Many platforms support audience questions at registration. I also recommend other methods for keeping the audience engaged during the webinar, such as taking a poll or asking a question and asking for answers via chat.

3. Plan your visuals. Script your core content if you’re nervous about losing your train of thought. Text-heavy slides with multiple bullets on one page are boring, since the participant won’t have anything to look at for long periods of time. Webinars rely on visuals to keep the audience engaged, so use lots of graphics and one point per slide. Rather than screen shots of applications, use a platform that supports desktop sharing and demonstrate concepts “live.” For example, I support my PowerPoint presentations with tours of websites, demos of my actual Outlook software, and program tools in action for a more dynamic experience.

4. Determine who does what. There are several roles that may be played by one to multiple people. First, you’ll have an Organizer who creates the webinar, markets the event, sets up the registration, and communicates with participants. Second, there may also be a separate Facilitator who welcomes everyone, outlines logistics, hits the record button, introduces the speaker, and handles audience questions. Third is the Speaker, who is the content expert who will run the actual presentation or ask for slides to be advanced. Fourth are any additional Panelists if you have more than one speaker. Fifth, you might have additional Assistants on the line to answer technical questions and address problems during the actual webinar itself, especially if it’s a large webinar that can’t be handled by the Organizer alone. I’m an experienced webinar presenter, so I’m comfortable presenting and facilitating the webinar at the same time. However, other presenters are more comfortable having an assistant to remember to share the screen, hit the record button, and handle other webinar functions.

5. Promote your webinar well in advance. Get the word out three to four weeks prior to the webinar. Include advertisements on your website, blog, listservs, newsletters, social media networks (such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter), and online event calendars such as www.upcoming.com. Create engaging copy with title, description, objectives, who should attend, logistics, cost (if any) and registration URL. Once an attendee has registered, most platforms support automatic reminders at registration, one week, one day, and one hour prior to the webinar.

6. Conduct a dry run. If you have multiple participants who are unfamiliar with the webinar process, it’s critical to schedule a run-through several days prior to the webinar to work out any kinks. During this time, you can download necessary software, address technical issues, introduce panelists, establish a time line, discuss features such as drawing tools and the chat window, test headsets and equipment, practice transferring the controls and sharing desktops, and answer any remaining questions. If time allows, move through the presentation to verify slide order.

7. Start preparations an hour before show time. Post a “Do not disturb: webinar in progress” sign on the door. Turn off noisy technology and background noises. Put away pets if presenting from a home office. Get a glass of water. Hook up your microphone or USB headset. Print your slideshow outline and verify your computer is running smoothly. Launch any applications or websites you’ll use during the presentation.

8. Log in early and conduct a tech check. Send out call-in numbers, access codes, and URLs well in advance if you have multiple panelists. Ask all participants to log in at least 15 minutes prior to the start to test connectivity. Conduct roll call and verify that everything is working. Review the timeline. Give out a method to reach you offline should a panelist encounter problems.

9. Conduct a fabulous webinar! You’ve prepared and planned—now enjoy the fruits of your labors and let it roll.
• Announce any logistical details at the beginning of the program to let attendees know the game plan. Clarify if there will be time at the end of the session for questions and the best way to submit questions during the program. Also explain if the session will be recorded and where it will be posted.
• Don’t forget to hit the record button!
• Stand when you are speaking if possible. Attendees can’t see you, of course, but your projection will be more animated and interesting when you stand.
• Don’t worry if less than 25% of the registrants show up for the “live” session; many plan to simply watch the recording afterward.

10. Follow up with participants. Just because the webinar is over doesn’t mean your work has ended! Many platforms have built-in functionality to automatically present an evaluation to attendees at the conclusion of the webinar. If not, you can use surveymonkey.com to create your own online survey. You can create questions to gather feedback on the content, speakers, process, or to gauge interest in future topics. Schedule an automatic message to thank participants and follow up with no-shows. You can also publish a recap, summary, transcript, or recording of the webinar online. Many organizations sell this recording in their digital stores for profit.