TOP TEN EXCUSES FOR FALLING ASLEEP AT YOUR DESK

“They told me at the blood bank this might happen.”

“I wasn’t sleeping, I was trying to pick up contact lens without hands.”

“I wasn’t sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisioning a new paradigm!”

“Amen”

“This is just a 15 minute power-nap like they raved about in the last time management course you sent me to.”

“Whew! Guess I left the top off the liquid paper”

“I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve work related stress.”

“This is one of the seven habits of highly effective people!”

“Boy, that cold medicine I took last night just won’t wear off!”

“Darn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem.”

Posted: February 12th, 2008 under Funny.
Comments: none

Yes, it has been a long time between posts.

There was an excellent article in the San Jose Mercury news regarding some of the most influential Administrative Professionals in Silicon Valley. The article describes how these 6 women (yes all women) worked with the University of California-Santa Cruz on an administative professionals training program. These women are looking to serve as role models for young women who wish to make a career in the Administrative Professional field.

I’ll leave the details to Dean Takahashi who wrote the article.

A few names of the founders of the program mentioned in the article:

Debbie Gross: Multimillionaire & EA to Cisco CEO John Chambers
Bonnie Savage: EA to JDS Uniphase CEO Kevin Kennedy
Rachel Chambers: EA to Portola Networks CEO Vito Palmero & Master Instructor for the UCSC program.
Joanne Linden: EA to Synopsys CEO Aart de Geus.

Posted: August 30th, 2007 under Motivational.
Comments: none

It would be a shame if rain were to dampen the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Well the Chinese government is taking no chances. They are planning to shoot rockets into the sky to disperse rain clouds to insure the Beijing Olympics stay dry.

Seriously. Here’s the story.

Posted: July 18th, 2007 under Wonders.
Comments: none

Here is an exerpt from a study on employee motivation.

What do managers think that their employees want to be motivated and do employees really want? The following is a little table explaining the difference between each party’s point of view.

What managers think the employees want
1 Good pay
2 Job security
3 Promotion and growth
4 Good working conditions
5 Interesting work
6 Tactful discipline
7 Loyalty to employees
8 Full appreciation of work done
9 Help with personal problems
10 Feeling of being in on things

What employees really want
1 Interesting work
2 Full appreciation of work done
3 Feeling of being in on things
4 Job security
5 Good pay
6 Promotion and growth
7 Good working conditions
8 Loyalty to employees
9 Help with personal problems
10 Tactful discipline

So being bored at work is worse for most people than being underpaid. There are some great companies where the pay is just ok, but seem to have excellent customer service and happy employees. Starbucks and Whole Foods are a couple examples that come to mind. These companies have figured out a way to keep the work interesting and appreciated. Of course, getting paid well doesn’t hurt either though.

Posted: July 16th, 2007 under Motivational.
Comments: none

GetQuik is running a limited time rewards program.

Order from GetQuik between July 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007 and earn towards great prizes including an iPhone and Tiffany diamonds. Limit 1 reward per customer.

There is no fees to use the GetQuik service. GetQuik provides on-line ordering to restaurants for your to-go and delivery orders. For questions about this GetQuik promotion, email support@GetQuik.com.

Program details available on-line at www.GetQuik.com.

Posted: July 13th, 2007 under GetQuik Special.
Comments: none

I am not 100%, but my guess is that 11 is not the legal age for driving in Florida. A Florida pre-teen (11-years old) took off on a high speed chase where speeds reached over 100-miles per hour before crashing the Chevy Monte Carlo she was driving (safe to assume she did not own this car).

So let’s look at the results of this joy ride.
- DUI charge (yes she was drinking),
- speeding ticket,
- reckless endangerment charge,
- a wrecked Monte Carlo,
- a destroyed fire hydrant,
- and two downed palm trees.

She had a few minor injuries, but nothing serious. You think she was grounded?

For the full story.

Posted: July 10th, 2007 under Wonders.
Comments: none

Networking is a great way to get access to tips, opportunities, and jobs. You are trying to figure out how to be more efficient, learn a new software program, or manage a demanding team. Who better to ask then someone who is dealing with the same challenges? You can compare notes and hopefully get some great advice. That is one of the benefits you get from effectively networking. Another advantage you get from networking is job opportunities.

So how can you network successfully? A great book discussing this art is “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferrazzi. Here is a summary of Keith’s tips:

- Attend networking groups that interest you.
- When going to these meetings, don’t just hang out with the people you know. Introduce yourself to some people you have never met.
- The goal is NOT to meet every single person at the meeting. Meet with 3 or 4 new people, and take the time to get to know these contacts. Quality over quantity counts.
- Find out if you can help that person. If you make your best effort to help someone, the people that are the best contacts will look to return the favor.
- Stay in touch with the people that you connected with. After the meeting, try and meet with these people for coffee, lunch, or just stay in touch periodically with email or phone calls.

Keith does a better job at describing the process, but hopefully these quick tips will help out with your networking.

One other tip that works is to ask for help and listen. People appreciate when you confide in them and show you respect their opinions. Be sure to listen and don’t be afraid to let them know which advise you can and can not use. For the advise that you agree will help you out, try and put the advise into action in a timely fashion. Be sure to let your contact know if the advise worked out or not. They will appreciate the fact that you took the advise and will be likely to provide you additional advise the next time you need it.

Posted: July 9th, 2007 under Tips.
Comments: none

Hope everyone had a relaxing 4th of July.

From the “I know that guy” files.

A young executive was leaving the office late one evening when he found the CEO standing in front of a shredder with a piece of paper in his hand.

“Listen,” said the CEO, “this is a very sensitive and important document here, and my secretary has gone for the night. Can you make this thing work?”

“Certainly,” said the young executive. He turned the machine on, inserted the paper, and pressed the start button.

“Excellent, excellent!” said the CEO as his paper disappeared inside the machine. “I just need one copy.”

Posted: July 6th, 2007 under Funny.
Comments: none

Happy 4th everyone. Enjoy.

Here are some fun Independence Day facts.

$164.2 million. Value of fireworks imported from China in 2004.

2.5 million. The number of US citizens July 4, 1776. Today there are over 300 million Americans.

$5.2 million. The dollar value of US American flags imported in 2004.

150 million. Number of HotDogs expected to be consumed on the Fourth.

Click Here to see the rest of the 4th facts collected from the 2005 Census study.

Posted: July 3rd, 2007 under July 4th.
Comments: none

Pattie Dunn is best known for her role in last year’s HP spy scandle. She was on the receiving end of a drawn out battle alleging that the HP board, and she as the Chairman of the Board, approved illegal spy tactics. Pattie is no stanger to battles. She has so far beaten cancer 4 times, and was acquitted of all criminal charges in the HP spy case.

Pattie Dunn began her career as a secretary at Wells Fargo, and eventually become the CEO of Barclays Global Investors. She was ranked as Fortune Magazine’s 11th most Powerful Women in Business.

Whether or not you believe that she deserves the negative press and the loss of her board position at HP for her role in the scandal, Pattie Dunn is a role model showing how to rise to a challenge. Check out Fortune’s interview with Pattie Dunn to get insight into this intriguing business leader.

Posted: July 1st, 2007 under Motivational.
Comments: none