Leadership

It’s Monday and I’m about to embark in a brand new week full of tasks, emails, phone calls and much more at office.  Since I started working at BeyondTheRack.com, I feel that I’ve been much more organized since I’ve developed some new work habits.  It’s been just over 3 weeks now and I can truly say that I feel much more productive and accomplished towards the end of each day.

I decided to simplify the way I start my mornings and discipline myself in doing certain things that would make me achieve my daily goals.

Here are my favorite 5 morning rituals you should consider doing yourself:

1. Say hello to everyone at the office with a big smile

If you want to build a good relationship with everyone at work or individuals within your team, you must communicate with them on a daily basis.  One way to help you do just that is to say hello to them for thing in the morning.

Now remember, don’t just say hello and continue walking.  There’s no harm in having a nice smile as well as asking some questions like:

• How are you?
• How was your weekend, night or evening?
• How are the kids/pets doing?

You don’t need to extend the hello to everyone but you can do so to one person a day. You do want to limit the time you spent talking since you have work to do.  People love sharing what they’ve done or how they feel with others.  All you have to do is ask and genuinely listen to them.

2. Get a cup of energy

What do I mean by a cup of energy? It could be:

• a cup of coffee
• a cup of water
• a cup of fresh juice (smoothie)
• a protein shake

Whatever it is, you need to get your organs going.  If you don’t eat breakfast, at least drink some water as it will energize you.

3. Write down the most important tasks on my daily to-do list

This is something I learned from a previous employee who used to work for me in my previous career at iNetVideo.com.

He used to always have a writing pad beside his keyboard where he would write down all tasks I’ve assigned to him throughout the day or week.  He was always on top of things and very organized whenever  I needed something done on time.

Not that I’ve never utilized a task list, but I decided to use the traditional way of writing things down rather than using a digital app like Evernote, Todoist or Basecamp to organize my to-do lists.  For some reason, writing things down made me own those tasks.  Also, having them right in front me was sort of a constant reminder that I needed to finish them.

When a task is started, I add a check-mark and when it’s completed, I simply cross it off.  At the end of each week, I would  move everything that’s not completed to the following week.

4. Fast Read Top Industry Articles

One way to stay up-to-date on what’s going on in the world of eCommerce, I make it a habit of reading top industry news & articles from the previous day or week.

Our industry is constantly changing and evolving by the minute.  If I want to ensure that I’m taking into account all those changes while working on my  projects, I need to spend some time on reading top headlines.  This is a great way of educating yourself and being prepared for any unexpected questions that may arise during meetings.

Here’s a list of websites I follow within the eCommerce industry:

• InternetRetailer.com
• Cnet.com
• Mashable.com

A great tool you may want to consider is called Feedly.  It’s a great way of centralizing all your favorite blogs so that you don’t have to waste time visiting each one for the latest updates.

5. Breathe & Start

Now that I’ve said hello to everyone, got my energy up, written down all my important tasks and read the the latest news in eCommerce, it’s now time to get started.

That’s where I would read & respond to emails, attend meetings, conduct phone calls and do just about anything to complete all my daily tasks effectively while staying on top of projects.

This morning routine really works for me and so far, I’ve been able to move forward with my projects with ease and limiting the amount of stress that I have to deal with.

Try it!

What is your morning ritual?

 

Sometimes, we get over-consumed by ideas on how to solve a problem.

When my friends used to call me about computer related problems they’re facing, the first thing I would tell them  to do was “try rebooting your computer” and that solved it most of the time.

I remember once, I was facing a problem with my own computer and I had a really hard time figuring out what was the issue.  I opened it up, played with the motherboard, power supply and wiring.  I would plug the power back and still not powering on……….only to notice the power plug wasn’t even plugged into the wall!

The same would happen for online businesses.  With all the technology we use on a daily basis, we get over-consumed by all the solutions out there.

Recently, I faced a similar problem with a software.  For weeks, we’ve been coming up with alternatives on how to go around the problem but that day, I decided to step in!

All I did was call the person that helped us install the software and he told me:

“You are pressing the wrong button….that’s why it’s not working!”

How much money did we lose trying to fix the issue and all it took was a simple phone call.

One day, I walked into our cafeteria and noticed my assistant cleaning up the coffee mess all over the floor.  My assistant is not only taking care of many small things for me but is also the head of accounting and HR.

Why is he cleaning up the mess himself?  This is why…..

SEE IT? Own it. Do it!

This is the attitude I promote within the company.

If you see a problem, it’s now yours! Own it and fix it!  

After you fix it, we look into what caused it and how can we make sure it does not happen again.

Not sure who caused the big mess but I emailed all my staff warning them that if they don’t clean up after themselves, coffee is no longer free and will be removed till the end of the year!

It’s not about the cost of coffee but the fact that we need to respect each other by keeping the work environment clean.  Our janitor is not there to clean up after our laziness but to help us maintain cleanliness in the work place.

Let your staff learn to clean up after themselves just like at home. If not, it will simply cost the company extra dollars for nothing.

2 simple words…a powerful combination….can be used anytime….with anyone….anywhere.

Yet, people forget to use them.  And I forgot to mention, free to use.

THANK YOU! (even sexier when capitalized!)

Sometimes, all an employee wants, is being recognized for great work & appreciated by his superiors (supervisor, manager, boss, owner, ceo)

It’s not always about getting a raise, a bonus or any other sort of compensation.  All he or she wants to hear is a THANK YOU.

TRY IT! But don’t exaggerate.  Use it when needed.

Please, try saying thank you to employees more often. You will notice how the mood will change within your team.

Thank you for reading my post 🙂

It’s been an incredible year for Montreal’s hockey team.  Our goalie is phenomenal, P.K. Subban is simply exciting to watch & teamwork is beyond incredible.

If you ask any serious hockey fan what’s so different about this team vs a couple of years ago, you would get a never ending list of reasons…starting with the fact that we finally got rid of Gomez 🙂

I’m not a hardcore follower of hockey myself but in my opinion, the reason why the Montreal Canadiens are improving year of year is due to amazing Leadership.

Pay attention to the owners, the management team, the coaching staff & even the supporting staff before, during & after each game.  They support their team!
The overall mood has changed & this starts from the top & not from the ice.  This teams is growing – it will eventually mature & lead us to a Stanley Cup win.

In business, leadership plays a big role, but someone has to play it!