There is continuous talk in business about having a compelling mission and vision for your company but who really cares? Well, you should. Whether you are a large corporation or a small business owner, having a vision is essential to be able to communicate a picture of the future of your business that others can see, understand, and support. A vision helps motivate people into action. A vision engages, excites, and empowers people to move forward in a consistent direction together. A vision makes people more willing to make small sacrifices today for the hope of a better future. A vision helps people know what to do.

Convinced yet? I thought so. Then read on to develop an effective vision for your business with 7 key characteristics to include in your visioning strategy discussion.

7 Key Characteristics to Developing an Effective Vision

• Be sure your vision tells a story that people can imagine. Can they see it? Can they see themselves in the story?
• Appeal to the long – term interests of your key stakeholders. What do they care about? How are their values tied to your future?
• Be sure people believe its possible.
• It’s exciting. People are excited to hear about it, talk about it, and share it with others. That excitement builds momentum that begins to shift culture and align behaviors with how you will get there.
• The vision helps to identify what people should be focused on and what they should prioritize.
• It’s easy to talk about and explain to others.
• It’s flexible enough to remain relevant even when shifts in the industry, technology and customer needs take place.

When reading through these 7 characteristics ~ how does your company vision hold up? Perhaps this article will prompt you to engage in crucial conversations about your vision, where you’re heading, and how to ensure that your vision is compelling enough to propel your company into the future.

© 2009 Powers Resource Center

International trainer, consultant, and founder of The Toxic Workplace, Tara Powers partners with organizations interested in improving their company culture to boost their bottom line. If you’re ready to make changes in your business that will make employees happy AND make you money, get your FREE tips now at PowersResourceCenter.com.

Well, it’s the time of year for “best of” and “Top 10″ lists, so in honor of the brand new 2010, we thought we’d share a run-down of the most popular training topics our clients are planning for this upcoming year:

1. Behavioral Interviewing
There is nothing more important than hiring the right people. Hiring the right person for the right job provides tremendous organizational benefits by increasing employee productivity, reducing training time, and controlling the high cost of employee turnover—not to mention the positive impact on team morale. You’d think, with double-digit unemployment rates across the country, that it would be easy to hire right now…right? Well, maybe. Read more…

2. Business Writing
Many experts estimate that as much as 90% of human communication comes from non-verbal clues such as voice inflection and body language. In business writing, however, you have only the words to get your meaning across, so the way the writer uses those words becomes more important. On-the-job writing matters—to your company, to your readers, and to you as a writer. From sales proposals to client emails to internal communications, your employees represent your organization every time they write an email or craft a document. Read more…

3. Coaching/Mentoring
Coaching can help managers and supervisors provide a structure for enabling their employees to achieve high performance. But the bewildering array of both available resources and management duties can complicate the process. What situations call for coaching vs. counseling? What’s the difference in coaching and performance management? How exactly do you give constructive feedback? Read more…

4. DiSC
There are, of course, many different assessment tools that rate behavior, preference, attitudes, etc. and provide a framework for understanding the way in which you see the world and the differing ways in which others may approach the same set of facts or circumstances. Myers-Briggs/MBTI, Emergenetics, Lominger, Insights and many others remain popular, but the most common tool we see clients utilizing is the DiSC. Read more…

5. Emotional Intelligence/EQ
All managers can relate horror stories about employees or team members who were clearly intelligent, technically capable, and able to perform the duties their job demanded…and who wreaked havoc on their teams because their social skills or self-management capability was lacking. When it comes to individual and team success, IQ is not enough; in fact, the skill set known as Emotional Intelligence (EQ) has consistently proven to be a better indicator of workplace success. Read more…

6. Facilitation Skills
Most of us feel like we spend too much time in meetings. Meetings that are too long. Meetings that have too many participants. Meetings that don’t have clear objectives. Meetings that get sidetracked by off-topic discussions. Meetings can be a waste of time…but with an effective facilitator, that doesn’t have to be the case. Read more…

7. Harassment Prevention/Respectful Work Environment
Even when training budgets are tight, harassment prevention and awareness remains a topic of interest to many organizations due to the legal liability issues that can be involved. Ensuring that both individual contributors and managers understand the policies/procedures and responsibilities of the organization is essential, but may not be enough. Read more…

8. Networking Skills
Networking…it isn’t just for salespeople! Although for many people the word “networking” conjures up a cringe-inducing image of a pushy salesperson shoving a business card into every hand she can find, the reality is that networking is about serving as a resource—about giving, not taking—and it’s essential for both individual and organizational success. Read more…

9. Project Management
In past years, much of the project management training offered by organizations was geared towards those employees who were planning to become a Project Management Professional (PMP) and whose job title or function specifically encompassed a formal project management role. Today, however, we see organizations recognizing that many employees manage projects (albeit on a less formal basis) and recognizing the benefits of a project management overview. Read more…

10. Work-Life Balance/Stress Management
It goes without saying that the state of the economy, mass layoffs, and ever-increasing demands on our employees’ time creates a perfect storm of stress. The negative impacts of stress can range from the physical to the mental and can have devastating impacts on both individuals and teams. Organizations are exploring a variety of resources they can offer to help weather the storm. Read more…

Wishing you an excellent and productive 2010!

Ashley Andrus is President of Zoe Training & Consulting. Her passion is making HR folks and meeting planners look like *rock stars* by providing one-stop access to 90+ speakers, trainers, facilitators, coaches, and consultants.

Stanford University School of Business conducted a study that monitored a group of MBAs 10 years after graduation. What did they learn? That their ability to converse had a huge impact on their success and grade point averages had no bearing whatsoever.

The ability to connect with others through small talk can lead to big things, according to Debra Fine, author of The Fine Art of Small Talk (Hyperion 2005). A former engineer, Fine recalls being so ill at ease at networking events and even the 10 minute coffee break during a meeting that she would hide in the restroom. Now a motivational speaker, Fine believes the ability to develop relationships with people through small talk is an acquired skill.

Fine offers the following tips for starting − and ending conversations:

• Come up with three things to talk when preparing for a function along with a couple generic questions that will get others talking. If you’ve met the client before, remind yourself of things about her, such as a vacation she was headed to or specifics about her family.
• Be the first to say “hello.” If you’re not sure the other person will remember you, give the gift of your name to help out. For example, “Jared Holst? Debra Fine… good to see you again.” Smile first and always shake hands when you meet someone.
• Take your time during introductions. Make an extra effort to remember names and use them frequently. Exhibit host behavior by introducing others that join the group to each other.
• Get another person talking by leading with a common ground statement regarding the occasion or location and then asking a related open-ended question. For example, “What do you hope to gain from this conference?” or “What have you heard about the speakers?” You can also ask them about their trip in or how they know the bride or groom.
• Show interest in your conversational partner by actively listening and giving verbal feedback. Maintain eye contact. Never glance around the room while they are talking to you.
• Listen more than you talk.
• Be prepared to have something interesting to contribute. Staying on top of current events will provide you with great conversation builders, leading with “What do you think of?” Have you heard?” What is your take on?” Spare us from your opinion unless you remember to follow up with “What is your opinion?” or “Tell me your thoughts on …”
• Be aware of your body language. People who look or act ill-at-ease make others uncomfortable. Act confident and comfortable even when you’re not.
• Have a few exit lines ready, so that you can both gracefully move on. For example, “I need to check in with a client over there,” “I skipped lunch today, so I need to visit the buffet,” or “Who do you know at this meeting that could help me with …?

Turn every conversation into an opportunity for success!

Debra Fine, is the author of The Fine Art of Small Talk (Hyperion). She presents keynotes and seminars on conversational skills and networking techniques internationally. Debra is a 15+ year member of the National Speakers Association, presenting her programs to hundreds of audiences around the world to clients that include General Electric, Lockheed Martin, American Bar Association, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, Credit Suisse First Boston, and New York University Stern Graduate School of Business. Her recent media appearances include The Today Show, The Early Show, NPR Morning Edition, Fox Business News, and CNN.

Let’s be honest…this time of the year can be very stressful. Shopping, decorating, addressing greeting cards, hosting and attending parties, mailing gifts, studying for school finals, housing out of town family members and winding down your business for 2009 are all stressful activities. The fact that we’re expected to do them all simultaneously forces me into the fetal position, rocking and sucking my thumb!

How did things get so out of control? The intent of this time of year is to stop momentarily and step off the merry-go-round of life and focus on the people and things in your life that you’re thankful for. Actually letting people know how much you appreciate them, is the best gift you can give someone.

I admire people who have walked away from the commercial focus of this season doing away with the traditional gift orgies that leave most of us in debt this time of year. Many of these creative people I have met have chosen to have family “white elephant gift exchanges” where everyone brings a gag gift, tacky Christmas sweaters or an inexpensive theme gift where the focus is on just being together and having fun.

I recently attended a family holiday party where we “adopted” a family that had just gotten their first Habitat for Humanity home and we all brought a house warming gift for the single mom and her three sons. We all went around the room and said what we were thankful for, all 62 people, including children. Every single person mentioned their family and friends. When you really think about it…is there anything else that really matters more?

This year my family opted to give each other an “experience” instead of traditional gifts and we’re heading to Hawaii for Christmas! I think ten years from now my children will not remember what gifts they were hoping to open Christmas morning, but I’m betting they will remember everything about this amazing experience we’re giving them instead.

If you need a little reminding of the “reason for the season” here are a few ideas to consider:

Perfecting Connecting® Action Steps:

• Look for a volunteer opportunity in your community that you can do together with your family/friends. Sharing a giving experience together is a great way to reconnect.
• Introduce a new and creative idea that takes the focus off of the commercialism and puts it onto the importance of family and friend connections like adopting a needy family, white elephant gift exchange or taking a trip together with no gifts exchanged. Just being together is the gift.
• Pick up the phone, write a letter or send a card to 5 people you’re thankful for and let them know how much you appreciate them and how grateful you are to have them in your life.

I’m very thankful to all of you in my network and I look forward to our paths crossing in 2010.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!

Sarah Michel, CSP, is an international speaker who works with organizations and associations, creating behavioral changes by teaching people how to intentionally connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime through her Perfecting Connecting® keynote and training programs.

Efficiency expert K.J. McCorry, author of Organize Your Work Day In No Time, thinks that the world could be a better place if we’d all cut back on our consumption of paper. With the help of technology, that long-awaited goal might even be manageable.

Today’s employees are inundated with data, finding it more and more difficult to manage this overwhelming amount of data and yet be effective and efficient at their jobs. One of the keys to gaining efficiencies in data management and increasing productivity is to reduce the paper pileup.

Disadvantages of Paper

Although some workers still need, desire, and perhaps even love paper, it comes with some disadvantages:

• It takes up a lot of physical space. In fact, paper costs on average $314 per filing cabinet solely for the real estate it consumes.
• It has limitations, being accessible in only one place, and difficult to move in large quantities.
• It doesn’t offer easy ways to alter or edit its contents, without printing the entire document again.

Frankly, paper doesn’t provide users with advantages other than a physical form.

By contrast, electronic data has much more flexibility:

• It can be filed easily in many folders, instead of just one physical file.
• It can be searched by keyword.
• It can be cut, pasted, and moved easily.
• It allows for better collaboration among employees, who can share, edit, and develop documents together.
• Electronic data also allows employees to work where and when they’re most productive. In this electronic age, workers have the opportunity to work from home or another location that might offer a more suitable and less interruptible environment.

Starting the paperless momentum offers an organization four primary advantages:

• It improves knowledge and data management.
• It increases data efficiencies.
• It improves worker productivity.
• It prepares the organization for the increasing mobile workforce trend.

Improving Knowledge and Data Management

In this new knowledge economy, intellectual property and information are just as important as the manpower that produced them. Longevity of knowledge is achieved through successful organization of documentation. Information that workers produce can get lost with the passage of time and/or people leaving an organization to go to another job. Paper files have buried nuggets of information that tend to be more useful to the person who created the file than to the organization. Instead of sorting through paper documents, most workers prefer to search electronic hard drives for past knowledge and historical data. Improving knowledge and data management within a company means having data readily accessible and available to workers in an instant.

Even in this digital age, paper is still abundant as a primary data source. Much of corporate memory still resides on paper. But a single piece of paper usually can be used by only one person at a time, making it difficult for others to use the information on that paper. The ability to access, edit, and distribute documents at any location and time can increase knowledge and allow information to be used more effectively. Workers already spend too much time looking for missing information stored on paper. Deloitte & Touche reported in the early 1990s that U.S. managers spent an average of three hours a week looking for paper that had been misfiled, mislabeled, or lost. The act of becoming paperless can help with finding and retrieving information instantaneously, ensuring that an organization uses its personnel effectively and makes information available immediately.

Increasing Data Efficiencies

In some cases, paper can be an effective tool and medium, but more and more businesses are finding that reducing paper increases efficiency in the office. Managing paper is very time-consuming, as workers are inundated with more and more paper. Once a printout to hardcopy is made, that paper must be handled and managed—processes that could include sorting, organizing, copying, filing, purging and eventually discarding. These labor costs are often more expensive than the paper itself. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the average organization spends about $20 in labor to file each paper document, approximately $120 in labor searching for each misfiled document, and $220 in re-creation of a document. In addition, when paper is the primary source of data and information, we have to spend additional time and money purging outdated information—at some point, all data becomes obsolete. By contrast, electronic information is easy and cost-effective to file, access, search, and purge.

Improving Worker Productivity

Large quantities of paper on work surfaces create a feeling of being overwhelmed, which tends to paralyze workers, causing procrastination and avoidance of important tasks and activities. Getting rid of the paper clutter helps individual workers to focus better, improving their productivity. Working in a clutter-free workspace leads to deeper concentration.

Reducing the paper pileup also gives workers the option to work in other environments. Most workers are located in the “active-communication” zone every day. This zone is usually at a person’s desk, where the computer and phone are located. In this area, workers check email, manage day-to-day tasks, and conduct central communications via email and phone. It’s a busy environment where employees are accustomed to multitasking and providing immediate response. This location is often in an office-wide “open” setting, conducive to employee interruption. Although this is a necessary and primary zone for most workers, it isn’t the best zone or environment to accomplish certain tasks (such as reading, writing, development, and strategic thinking) that require more thoughtful attention, concentration, and less external distraction. Being paperless gives workers the flexibility to work in other “zones” to increase their effectiveness.

Another way to increase worker productivity is to create more automated processes, replacing paper-intensive procedures. Before going to an automated paperless system, it’s important that you understand completely how paper inhibits or improves a particular work process. Often, a worker’s attachment to paper, as well as lack of trust in equipment such as computers, inhibits processes from becoming more automated. However, inefficient work practices can often be blamed on out-of-date and obsolete paper processes. As they move toward paperless processes, companies often find these processes to be an improvement over traditional paper-based processes, because searches, retrieval, editing, communication, and archiving can be done more efficiently and quickly.

Preparing for the Mobile Workforce Trend

According to the most recent IDC Worldwide Mobile Worker Population Forecast, close to 75% of the U.S. workforce will be mobile by the end of 2011. This increase is due to the fact that organizations have multiple locations, office space is costly, and workers are seeking companies that offer flexible work environments. Such flexible work environments can improve productivity; some studies suggest a 40% increase in productivity for teleworkers. This improvement is due in large part to savings in commute time, fewer interruptions and distractions, and more concentrated work time.

Companies need to prepare for this mobile workforce trend by eliminating the paper barrier and increasing accessibility with electronic data management systems. It’s difficult for a worker to be mobile while lugging filing cabinets from one space to another. The volume of paper is usually the biggest obstacle and challenge for most remote workers. Encouraging a paperless office creates easy access for remote and teleworkers to come and go from the office.

It’s also important from a team collaboration viewpoint. Work teams are constantly formed between various departments and divisions, often located in multiple offices around the U.S. or worldwide. As an office becomes more paperless, managing data within project teams becomes much easier.

Summary

In today’s knowledge-based economy, relying on crucial data and information on paper is an outdated strategy, and can be a tremendous detriment to an organization, regardless of size. It’s important for businesses to understand the use of paper in their own office before undertaking radical paperless-office changes. Even a preliminary investigation of paper use will often show immediate opportunities for reduction. Possible approaches to these paper reductions vary in labor intensity and IT investment; some are simple, some can be larger initiatives. Each business must understand the role of paper in its operations, as well as how reducing paper and using electronic data systems can not only reduce paper but improve efficiencies, reduce personnel time costs, and increase worker effectiveness.

Since 1996, K.J. McCorry has been president of her own consulting and training company specializing in efficiency, productivity, and office organization for individuals, corporations, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. She is the author of Organize Your Work Day In No Time and is currently working on her second book, The Paperless Office (scheduled for publication in 2009).

With the “Where the Wild Things Are” movie taking the box office by storm it’s a good time to think about feral learning and the ways in which Training & Development are taking a walk on “the wild side.”

In today’s “Google World” it’s possible to find instructions and information on almost anything you might need.

• Looking for that new BBQ restaurant? Google it.
• Wondering how many Rocky movies are in the series? A few keystrokes, a click, and voila.
• Need to know how to change out the filter in your furnace? You know what to do.

Most of us search online every single day. For 2009, Google reports a little under 300 million searches per day on average—almost 9 billion searches in the month of September alone. Technology has changed—forever—the way we gather information. The question is whether your organization’s training & development model has effectively adapted to that reality.

In the P.G. (pre-Google) days, the standard people development model was all “push.” Show and Tell. The company set the framework and the timeline. Both the content (the ‘what’ employees needed to know) and the time frame (the ‘when’ they got it) was determined by the organization. On-the-job learning was still taking place, of course, but without the speed and depth that the internet has made possible.

Over the last decade we’ve seen many organizations shift towards employee-driven development, in which the individual employees have a stake and a say in their own individual development plans. A recent google search for “personal learning environment” returned more than 280 million results, while “Training 2.0″ garnered 105 million. This attitude, in conjunction with technological advances, has resulted in a huge efficacy leap in the ability of learners to figure out what they need to know and to actively seek that precise information.

The result? Feral learning. The term “feral learning” was coined in the 1990s by Ted Nunan, perhaps, or by Dr. Roy Lundin (see here for an overview of the history of the term) with regard to the increasing trend by students of using the Internet to supplement formal curricula, to learn from other learners, and to adapt on the fly to situational changes.

Many K-12 and post-secondary school systems are actively experimenting with ways to more fully integrate this collaborative learning environment into 21st century classrooms (see a thought-provoking video here and an overview on how the Internet is tearing down classroom walls here.) It can be more difficult to incorporate into corporate culture (see here for some potential pitfalls in the realm of employee-driven development) but it’s here to stay and smart organizations are identifying ways to blend “push” content with “pull” capabilities.

3.5 tips for putting this trend to work for your organization:

1. HELP YOUR EMPLOYEES BECOME BETTER LEARNERS. In addition to providing the technology to access online resources, help them refine their “human Google search terms” to more effectively gather info from co-workers. Help them understand how to better gather information internally and externally through social networking, both online and in-person. As networking expert Sarah Michel notes, “in the 21st Century your network is your netWORTH™”…do your employees know how to utilize their networks on the job to help the organization accomplish its objectives?

2. HELP YOUR EMPLOYEES BECOME BETTER TEACHERS AND MENTORS. All organizations are being asked to do more with less. Therefore it’s critical to give your employees appropriate tools and techniques so they can serve as a resource for others without negatively impacting their own job performance. Todd Hudson’s excellent peer mentoring program is an example of a framework that works for organizations from copper mines to call centers with regard to effectively on-boarding new employees AND for helping existing employees tap into the knowledge that those new employees bring in with them.

3. IDENTIFY WHICH CRITICAL AREAS ARE SUITABLE FOR “PULL” LEARNING and which you still need to offer as “push” programs. There isn’t a single structure that’s right for all organizations. Your ideal training structure depends on a variety of factors. Hone your offerings and make them timely and relevant.

3.5 OFFER THAT CONTENT IN MULTI-MEDIA FORMATS. Face-to-face is excellent for some topics and some learners; some people hate podcasts and prefer to read. Offering your internal learners a variety of media from which to choose enhances the likelihood of information transfer…

…which is the point, after all.

Ashley Andrus is President of Zoe Training & Consulting. Her passion is making HR folks and meeting planners look like *rock stars* by providing one-stop access to 90+ speakers, trainers, facilitators, coaches, and consultants.

Most of us believe we’re good listeners, when in fact, most of us are lousy. (If you don’t believe me, ask your spouse.) Yet listening is a critical skill that we all need to be better at. Listening allows you to relax, compose your thoughts and gather valuable information. And truly effective listening builds rapport, respect and trust.

Whether you’re networking, selling, negotiating or simply having a casual conversation, keep these principles in mind:

See Eye to Eye

When someone is speaking to you it is imperative that you maintain good eye contact with them. Looking at something else sends the non-verbal message that whatever you are looking at is more important than the speaker is. An additional benefit for you is that by looking at the speaker, you can pick up on their non-verbal signals, which will help you better understand what they really are (and are not) saying.

Use Your Body

The way your body is positioned can make a big difference in your conversation. Slumping or leaning back in your chair implies boredom or indifference. Instead, lean toward the other person to indicate interest. If you are standing, especially at a networking event, stand at an angle to the other person rather than face to face. This position will allow you to easily hear each other in a crowded room while still giving both of you plenty of personal space in front of you. This “open” body posture also makes it easier and more inviting for additional people to join your networking conversation.

Make Faces

Facial expressions give people a visual cue that you are listening to them. Smiling, frowning, raising your eyebrows, and other facial reactions send a strong signal that you are following what is being said.

Add Sound Effects

Verbal reactions are the auditory equivalent of facial expressions. Words and phrases such as really, oh no, you’re kidding, fantastic, right, uh huh, and yeah provide a different type of sensory feedback to reinforce the message that you’re really listening.

Restrain Yourself

The temptation to interrupt people can be overwhelming at times. Lets face it—we all love to talk. But giving someone our undivided attention and allowing them to speak without fear of interruption is so powerful in building rapport, that it behooves us to exercise restraint. You can, however, use the next three strategies to get a word in edgewise while keeping the conversational focus on the other person.

Question Authority

Asking questions is a sure-fire way to demonstrate interest in the person you are talking with.  Asking for clarification, for more details, or even advice (if appropriate; avoid the “Hey Doc, I’ve got this pain…” syndrome), encourages the speaker to continue and communicates that they have an appreciative audience.

Put It Another Way

Repeating the speaker’s ideas in your own words will help ensure that you heard what was actually meant. Paraphrasing also signals the speaker that you want to be sure you understand what they are saying.

Emphasize Empathy

Mentioning that you have had an experience similar to what the speaker has described can help to create rapport, because you have something in common. But claiming that your experience was better, worse, faster, slower, cheaper, or more expensive can be counter-productive, because it can make the speaker feel less significant. Focus on the similarities of your stories, not the differences. Remember, you are engaging in a conversation, not a competition.

If you are sincere in your desire to hear what others have to say, it will have a dramatic impact on your business and personal interactions. As Mark Twain once noted, “We despise no source that can pay us a pleasing attention.”

By combining his sales expertise and performance skills with intensive research, Don Cooper delivers programs that are industry and even company specific. So audience members get unique insights and practical, relevant tools they can use immediately to increase their sales—which is why Don is typically the highest-rated speaker at conferences and why his corporate clients bring him back again and again.

I was flying home after a visit with the wonderful people of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe in Kansas and settled into my seat next to the window. Boarding last, and very reluctantly, was a young woman who meekly climbed into the middle seat. My nose was buried in a book but I noticed the strange hand motions, as if trying to push away bad dreams, from my seatmate and looked up at her in curiosity. Her eyes were squeezed shut and leaking tears, her upper lip was pulled up and trembling as a painful grimace spread across her face. It was the face of abject fear.

We made eye contact and I gave her a reassuring smile. Seconds later she tapped me on the shoulder and I took off my headphones. She could barely get the words out. “I-I-I don’t mean to bother you. B-b-but can you please talk to me?” I put my book down and found out she was on her way to Colorado to get married up in the mountains in forty-eight hours. Due to a severe fear of flying, her doctor had prescribed Xanax. In her rush to get the flight, she had forgotten to take it until she boarded so it hadn’t kicked in yet. With each bump (and there were many on the flight) she clenched her face and fists in terror. I tried to joke with her, but it’s hard to laugh when you feel like you might die – plus, I wasn’t that funny anyway.

Instead, I started asking her questions about the wedding – the dresses, the flowers, who would be there and where they’d go for the honeymoon. I tried to get her to feel and see the wedding, the joy it would bring and the beautiful beaches and aquamarine waters of their honeymoon destination, Jamaica. It started to work (maybe the Xanax too) and she relaxed a bit. In turn, she started asking me questions about what I was reading.

I explained that I’m a speaker and writer and had just finished the manuscript for my latest book, an inspirational novel. I was reading How to Get a Literary Agent since I’m on the hunt for one now that mine retired. I’ve been fearful and stressed about the process of finding an agent, shopping the manuscript to publishers, and a hundred other details. Some days I wish I had Xanax… She was thrilled to hear I was an author and peppered me with questions and comments on the journey ahead. The tables suddenly turned. She focused on the joy of completing my latest work, sharing it with the world and what doors would be opening. In a matter of moments, she had me feeling and seeing myself hooked up with a superstar agent, a sweet book deal, on the New York Times Bestseller List and on Oprah! I was smiling from ear to ear in that vision just as plane popped out of a cloud layer. In the distance was a massive thunderhead lit up like it was on fire with wild, brilliant colors from the descending sun. We both looked out the window. “Ooooooooooh.”

Fear reminds us we’re alive and that this isn’t a dress rehearsal! It reminds us that this life is an adventure and has what all adventures have – joy, pain, struggles, happiness, excitement and fear. Every hero in every story has had to face his or her fear to get to the joy of victory – as do we – and accomplishing any worthy goal will include this dynamic, this truth. It’s a normal and natural part of the process of accomplishment. After all, if life was easy all the time, it would be boring. Whether it was my seatmate enduring the fear of the flight to get to the joy of the wedding and Jamaica or me facing my fears on the journey to reach higher ground in my career, the lesson is clear: face the fear – and then do it anyway.

A motivated entrepreneur, author, and professional speaker, D.J. Vanas started Native Discovery Inc. in May of 1999 to “build the warriors to tomorrow…today.” D.J. uses traditional warrior concepts and colorful wisdom found in Native American culture to inspire others to achieve their best in life, school, and career. For the past decade,  he has used his dynamic programs to build warriors in 48 states and internationally to more than 1,700 audiences at organizations such as IBM, NASA, and hundreds of tribal communities, governments, and schools.

“Making change part of the organization’s internal dialogue is critical to successful firm management.”

Fear, anxiety, and resistance can quickly take over an organization during tough times, causing employee productivity, morale, and engagement to plummet. When change occurs — or is simply rumored to occur — stress can take over and cause serious disruption to firm operations.

A recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management showed that gossip and rumor-spreading among employees has increased 54 percent since the recession began. Such practices may seem harmless, but they can quickly hijack emotions and productivity among your firm’s attorneys and staff alike. If talk around the water cooler goes unchecked, an innocent closed-door meeting to discuss travel limitations could turn into (in the minds of the uniformed) a massive layoff plan. Consider the following strategies to keep this from happening at your firm.

Over-Communicate

Making change part of the organization’s internal dialogue is critical to opening lines of communication and successfully managing the firm. Employees do not need to be made aware of every development, but acknowledging shifts in policy and other relevant details that accompany internal change will help keep morale high and staff calm.

Key approaches:

1. Explain why a change is needed and how it will affect employees. Articulate this in straightforward, honest language, such as, “We’re cutting expenses to avoid having to make layoffs,” followed by a “Call to Action” (see section below).
2. Decide when and how employees will get updates. Schedule weekly meetings, e-mails, or other ways to disseminate information regularly – and stick to them.
3. Acknowledge individuals’ intense emotions. Let people know it’s normal to feel anxious — even panicked — and that you still value their contributions to the firm.

Call to Action

In turbulent times, strong leadership is critical. In law firms, administrators are ideally positioned to deliver that leadership — facilitating positive change and motivating their colleagues to achieve and embrace it.

One strategy: Reframe a change or issue your firm is facing as a challenge. You might say, “What we need to do is learn how to become lean and use our resources optimally. When this economic crisis is over, we will be the ahead of other firms.”

Seeking Answers

Sometimes questions lack immediate answers, but don’t use that as a reason to sidestep them. Saying “I don’t know” is better (in the short term) than ignoring the elephant in the room — as long as you can give a date (or an approximate one) for when the answer can be expected. Utilize these simple strategies and watch your firm flourish.

If these guidelines will help during tough times, imagine how impactful they will be during the better times that are sure to come.

Anna Conrad, JD, is an expert in organizational effectiveness and leadership development, and she is President of Impact Leadership Solutions. Anna Conrad has over a decade of experience in executive and leadership coaching, group facilitation, leadership development, and training. She has been a trusted confidante to leaders in numerous Fortune 500 companies, including the financial, telecommunications, legal, and health-care sectors, as well as in academia, government, and nonprofits.

The blessing and the curse of the digital revolution! Between e-mail, instant and text messaging, cell phones, Blackberries and the Internet, we are drowning in data overload. Moreover, the constant interruptions are costing the U. S. economy an estimated $558 billion annually. This staggering number does not add in the cost of poorly written e-mails that land companies and employees in hot legal trouble, destroy long-term client relationships, and ruin reputations—just review Mike Brown’s e-mails (former FEMA chief) as Hurricane Katrina raged and you will understand. Add to this mix a lack of civility and common sense and you have an explosive brew.What to do? For starters, treat e-mail writing as writing not as casual conversation. Whether words are written in the sky, sent by carrier pigeon or via the Web, words must connect with the reader. Good writing allows this to happen; poor writing does not. Currently, writing online is still, as author Patricia O’Conner writes, in its Wild West stage a free-for-all with everybody shooting from the hip and no sheriff in sight.

Therefore, I would like to establish some law and order by recommending that all companies—from multi-nationals to sole proprietors—develop e-mail protocol. Simply stated it’s “the way we do business around here” in terms of communicating via e-mail with co-workers and customers. It is a code of behavior, a set of standards as to how you will frame your words, manage your inbox, even extend your brand.

Below is a short list of questions to visit at your next meeting. Your answers are the beginning of a company-wide document.

1. How do you greet and close messages?
Companies are putting together a series of key phrases used solely for openings and   closings. Remember, you would never call without greeting someone. Why would you not in your e-mails?

2.  What does your e-mail signature say about your company?
It should be an extension of your company’s brand. Professional with no cutesy sayings, it should contain all contact information. Establish a standard for font style and size.

3.  What is the company policy around blind copies?
Some companies only use them for e-blasts; others say they are strictly verboten. Discuss why, when and how you use them.

4. Do you have a message for your out of office auto-responder?
How long away from the office before you turn the responder on? Four hours? One day?

5. How often do you check e-mails?
Some companies set their programs so e-mails are only called up hourly, thus reducing down time.