If you're new here, Welcome! To learn more about what this site is all about click here [link].

I am a small business Conversation Consultant and public speaker that uses the power of the internet to leverage your success. Productivity in Context is a web magazine focused on Productivity and tools for organizing. Make this your headquarters for improving your life and work through increased mindfulness, education, and workflow practices.

Subscribe by E-mail for updates on: Productivity methods, Lifestyle innovation, and the collaborative design of the next-generation personal knowledge management system.

Click Here for an overview of the content. Please take a look at our sponsors. (Hosting isn't free...)
Please contact me via e-mail: stephen @ hdbizblog dot com

I have a guest post up at Slacker Manager, please check it out here:

Strategy for Making Changes

Thank you for your support, I’d love to hear what you think.

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/6c5a27. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen

I have a guest post up at Slacker Manager about Performance-based Interviewing. Check it out, if you would.

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/5vxewo. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen

Anita Bruzzese has a post at 45 Things that builds on the ideas of the Sixth Habit: Synergize that I wrote about on Monday.

On the Job

What can managers do to help keep customers while not placing more stress on workers? Try:

• Providing a supportive environment. An employee who has been put through the wringer by a customer should be supported by a manager by being allowed to step away from the job for a while. A chance to take a short walk, or even take the afternoon off, can show the employee that the manager is sympathetic to the situation.
• Recognition. A manager needs to make a habit of recognizing the contribution that workers make to an organization, and the emotional stresses faced every day. Rewards and incentives show that the employee has worth.

Read the whole thing, and learn more at the Employee Engagement Network.

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/69snhn. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen

I just picked up this book, and was going to review it. Tim at My GTD Stuff has beat me to it:

Stuff for Getting Things Done: The First 90 Days - Success Strategies for New Leaders

One of the better books that I have read is called The First 90 Days - Success Strategies for New Leaders by Harvard professor Michael Watkins. The book is tailored to people who are new to leadership roles. This book is not only for new “people managers”, but many of the strategies discussed can be applied to just about anyone taking on a leadership role (e.g. Project Managers) or someone taking on a new role in their community (e.g. Cub Scout Den Leaders). The First 90 Days can be broken down into 5 main topics;

• How to get yourself focused
• How to learn your new role faster
• How to choose the right strategy
• How to make good things happen right away
• How to build a winning team

Why do I bring this book up now? I am embarking upon a new role within the company I work for. In light of that, I thought it would be a good idea to break this book out of my library and brush up on some of the key concepts.

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/63ah8u. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen