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I love sites that cut through all the clutter and just give the real essence of what they are talking about.

It’s like: “Do this and then this will happen!” It’s awesome!

So, I’ll attempt to add a management hack each day, chime in with comments and then add your own. What is the simplest thing you’ve done as a people manager that just works - every time!

Management Hack 1: Get feedback - every day.

People talk about climate surveys and interviewing people and “staying in touch” and creating rather elaborate systems to get into the head of staff. So here’s a new idea:

Talk to them. Actually, get them to talk to you.

Head over to Creative Suit to find out about a really cool idea called 5@5.

And you know what, this isn’t so new. Tom Peters brought this up in 1984. Remember his 4 word rule for managers?

Is it just me or are other people noticing the plethora of information bashing us about the ears lately? There’s media this, media that, timelines, deadlines, milestones, project meetings, deadlines (Oh yes, I said that already!) … the list goes on!

And to help us with all that there is the endless trail of technology. I’m not sure even Nokia envisaged such a cash cow as the humble mobile phone. I know many executives at first swear by their Blackberry but after a couple of weeks most executives I know just swear AT their Blackberry.

Question: do you switch your Blackberry off on the weekend? (Shame on you!)

So what am I ranting on about this time?

Well, actually, I’m not going to rant. Ijust wanted to alert you, dear reader, to a low cost, highly effective alternative to all the gadtes out there that are supposed to help us improve our lifestyle.

Now I don’t want to take credit where it isn’t due but, back 1992 (pre-Internet) I toyed with the idea of having all my critical information in one handy location. Like any large corporate I ewas into downsizing. My solution was an 8″ x 5″ index card.

One was for the current month of appointments. Another for key contacts. Another for notes. All bound by a small but effective ring binder. It actually worked quite well and I was always up to date and always had key information right at hand.

Nowadays it has a hip new name and, I have to say, just a little more evolved (but not much). It’s called the Hipster PDA and it has a growing army of loyal fans. In fact, there are whole forums on it.

It is seemingly inspired by a guy called David Allen of GTD (Getting Things Done) fame, although it’s not David’s invention. I found David’s site probably around 2000 and loved it. It’s a very comprehensive site on productivity.

Anyway, if you’d like to break free of the constant upgrade-a-phobia and just want to get organised, I suggest you head on over to HipsterPDA, a sub site of Merlin Mann’s 43folders.

I’m just about to pull out a few index cards and get organised!

We all love a winner.

Many of us love it when the underdog wins.

We are inspired by the efforts of an individual or a team that seems to scale great heights (and depths) to reach their objective. Many times, in developing management and leadership teams we often refer to sporting heroes. In fact, it can sometimes be too easy to refer to these icons of sport when referring to business. And, I think it is also unfair at times to do this.

Why?

Consider the following equations:

• High Performing Sporting teams practice often (all the time?) and play, by comparison, very little.

• Business teams play a lot (all the time?) and yet rarely actually practice.

And yet, every business manager or leader, valuable team membernand associate would want to consider themselves ‘high performing’ or ‘world class’ or, at least, at the top of their tree.

But how can they do it when, compared with sporting teams, they never practice?

How do you practice your business practice?

Mostly it comes through experience. Years of trial and error to slowly grow towards the business person you want to become.

Many people get themselves mentors. Wise heads who will act as a sounding board and throw back ideas to their protege, or deliver cold hard feedback when they are seriously off track.

Others will practice their patter outside of work. Those in sales will get in front of their mirror. Some managers will seek out HR when the y need feedback on how to deliver bad news.

Still others will put it down to planning - "failing to plan is planning to fail."

But, how do you get your team to become above average? There’s precious little time to practice. There are fewer resources to cover for you while you take them out on the training track.

So what do you do?

The pressure to perform is always there? How do you get over the hurdle and almost guaranteeing a good result?

There will always be good and bad economic times. And yet, regardless of those times, there will alwys be high performing businesses.

Those businesses do something to help them stay on top of their game.

What is it? Does your team do it?

No matter who we are, we want to be more effective.

In fact, I’ve noticed that the people who are passionate about being more effective are generally those who are already quite successful! They have an internal driving force that motivates each of us to do more, be more, achieve more.

So, if you’re in that place right now and have “achiever’s block” (like writer’s block but worse) then we need to know to quickly get ourselves to that next stage quickly and effectively.

One thing you can do is to dredge up the past - but in a good way. Think of a few times when you made a leap of some kind. Maybe it was changing careers, or making the leap to management. Perhaps it was starting your new business and you realised you’d created a very solid customer base. Maybe you’d started a new hobby and become, in quite a short amount of time, an expert in your field.

Every one of those achievements came with specific actions, specific thinking and specific modifications when things weren’t going smoothly. And, you did it. Just you. Maybe with some support, advice and reinforcement from friends and colleagues but, in the end, you achieved your goal.

So, it stands to reason that the same thinking, actions and tenacity might get you to where you want to go. Sure, you’ll learn new things as well, but you sure ain’t gonna learn them sitting on your arse! As Guy Kawasaki says in his book, The Art of the Start, just get going. Do something, and reference off your achievements of the past.

I’m suggesting you do it in quite a structured manner to make it easier.

Here’s a few ideas to help you get (re)started.

1. Get an index card (the size doesn’t matter) - think of the last major achievement you made and begin to write.

• Write down what you did to achieve it.
• Write down who’s help you enlisted.
• Write down an indication of the hours you put into it.
• Write down how long it actually took you to make the achievement.
• Write down how you felt ‘during’ the work and then how you felt when you achieved it.

2. Look forward - use the above points as a ‘template’ to work towards your next major goal

• Begin to write down the tasks you’re going to need to do in order to move you towards your goal.
• Who’s help will you need in order to get advice or expertise?
• Write down the hours you’ll put into the task each week and what small milestones you want to achieve each week
• Be ready to write down your frustrations that you may experience and then write down what you’ll actually do when you feel these frustrations (who will you call on, what activity will you set yourself to do etc etc etc)
• Also write down what you plan to do when you achieve your goal

3. Set the Deadline - every achievement without a deadline is just a dream so make sure you set a deadline to meet for your goal.

Stay tuned for more …

Many people have seen this already but it never ceases to amaze me how someone so unassuming is just waiting to be ‘discovered’.

Watch as Paul Potts puts on a perfect performance. But also watch the judges reactions to him before he sings and then when he starts. Simon Cowell’s reaction is priceless with the pen in his mouth!

Now the key question as you ponder this is not, “How many Paul Potts do you know?” but “What is the Paul Potts inside you?”

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