softuary.net - Blog

Image Credit: Photo by kevin slavin via CC by 2.0

Organizing a Superstar Hunt to Upgrade Your Organization

In a previous organization, one of my most valuable employees was Sue. I didn't hire Sue personally. In fact, when I entered the organization, she was buried from view by layers of management and project bureaucracy.

When I finally noticed Sue, I promoted her. Why? Because Sue is a superstar. The only help she needed from me was a chance to prove herself and she took care of the rest.

Today, we're going to talk about how to get the most out of the superstar talent buried in your organization.

PostedSeptember 4, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Tagsmanagement, employees

Image Credit: "5 minutes to midnight" by Markus Grossalber via CC 2.0 — Image Credit: "5 minutes to midnight" by Markus Grossalber via CC 2.0

Monthly 10 Minute Challenge - August 2015

This month's 10 Minute Challenge just may change the way you approach your job and your life.

I regularly hear the the word's "I didn't have time" used by my coworkers. Several years ago, I vowed to remove that phrase from my vocabulary, and so I did. After that, each time I hear those words I cringe a little. What I'm really hearing is someone lie to themselves and those around them.

PostedAugust 28, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Categories10 Minute Challenge

Image Credit: Image by Unsplash used under CC0 Public Domain — Image Credit: Image by Unsplash used under CC0 Public Domain

Why Startups and Entrepreneurs Don't Get to Have All the Fun

I am beginning to notice in the media I consume, and in the people I talk to, a growing fascination with joining startups, being an entrepreneur, and going out on your own as an independent consultant.

There's definitely nothing wrong with taking that approach to your career. In fact, I admire the people that do because it takes courage, creativity, and energy to succeed. However, the admiration of entrepreneurship shouldn't take away from the fun that can be had working inside a large company.

PostedAugust 21, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Image Credit: Image by Unsplash used under CC0 Public Domain — Image Credit: Image by Unsplash used under CC0 Public Domain

Use My Obsession to Help You Define Your Own System

I don't think obsession is not too strong of a word.

Hi, I'm Mitch and I obsess over my task capture system.

I have gone through many different types of capture systems during my career. Some have been a better fit for me and I've stuck with them longer. Others were more of a passing productivity fling and quickly abandoned.

Today, I will describe the current capture system that I use everyday. This system is what I use to manage all of my professional and personal tasks and ideas.

PostedAugust 14, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Tagscapture, productivity

Image Credit: "Art of Transportation" by Staffan Scherz via CC by 2.0 — Image Credit: "Art of Transportation" by Staffan Scherz via CC by 2.0

5 Important Elements to Consider When Choosing a Capture System for Your Thoughts, Ideas and Actions

Previously we talked about why you need to get yourself a reliable capture system if you want to be a credible, trusted leader in your organization.

The idea of "capture" is the process of taking things from your mind (thoughts, reminders, tasks, etc.) and storing them somewhere that is reliable, searchable, and always available.

Today we are going to look at what happens to your mind when you don't have a capture system, and the 5 elements you need to have in your own system.

PostedAugust 7, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Tagscapture, productivity

Why It Is Important to Develop a Task Capture System

A few weeks ago, I discussed an issue in our organization with Bob who is one of the key operational leaders in our team. After briefly discussing the situation, he told me that he was on top of it and would come back to me in a few days with potential solutions.

As we parted ways, I put the issue out of my and moved off towards my next meeting. Why was I free to stop worrying about the problem and if Bob would return to me with excuses instead of results? Because Bob had earned my trust on several previous occasions. When Bob says he'll do something, he follows through on that commitment. I was sure that in this case, like others situations in the past, he would deliver.

PostedJuly 31, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Tagscapture, productivity

Image Credit: Driving The Volvo by Thomas Anderson via CC by 2.0

What Driving a Car Can Teach Us About Facilitating Meetings

When I was 16 years old, I was a terrible driver. Technically, I knew how to drive, I had passed all the tests and I intellectually knew all the rules. But I was still a terrible driver. If you rode with me as a passenger all those years ago, you would've been fearful.

PostedJuly 24, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Image Credit: Superman Card Game by Whitman (1978) - Green Kryptonite by Mark Anderson via CC by 2.0

10 Minute Challenge - July 2015

In my opinion, Superman is one of the most insanely powerful comic book super heroes. Basically, he's invincible. Since he cannot be beat, Superman comics tended to be very dull comics. It's like watching Real Madrid demolish a 5 year old soccer (football) team in a scrimmage. There is no drama because there is no suspense about who's going to win the battle with Superman.

PostedJuly 17, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Categories10 Minute Challenge

Tagsproductivity

How Not to Waste Other People's Time

Five days a week, I get to spend most of my working day sitting in meetings. I am the facilitator for some and I am a participant in others. In short, I view myself as a "connoisseur" of meetings.

PostedJuly 10, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Tagsmeetings, basic

Image Credit: 51/365 The Snooze Button by ellaluna via CC by 2.0 — Image Credit: 51/365 The Snooze Button by ellaluna via CC by 2.0

How I Use My Morning Routine to Achieve More

Today's post will be unique. Instead of offering tips and techniques for developing your leadership skills, I will describe an example of one of my daily practices. This morning habit has helped me progress towards my professional and personal goals. Perhaps you can take parts of my routine to help you on your journey of becoming a better leader.

PostedJuly 3, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Tagshabits, productivity

Image Credit: go towards the sun by piotr mamnaimie used under CC BY 2.0 — Image Credit: go towards the sun by piotr mamnaimie used under CC BY 2.0

Monthly 10 Minute Challenge - June 2015

I admit it: I'm a repeat offender. I didn't realize I was making my wife upset and causing unneeded arguments until she pointed it out to me. What was I doing that was unintentionally undermining my communication with my wife? Simple, I was repeatedly using two seemingly innocent English words that should be removed from everyday speech.

Unsurprisingly, I discovered I wasn't using these words only at home, I was using them professionally as well. For this month's 10 minute challenge, I'll show you what I did and how you can quickly stop destroying your credibility when you speak.

PostedJune 27, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Categories10 Minute Challenge

Image Credit: Image by thetaxhaven used via CC 2.0

Monthly 10 Minute Challenge - May 2015

I was at a dinner parter recently when a bumped into a man I had met once before, but whose name I couldn't recall. Have you ever experienced the awkwardness of knowing you've met someone previously but the person wasn't interesting enough for you to remember their details.

While I was quickly trying to recall where we met, he walked up to me and said "Hi Mitch, great to see you again" and then he preceded to shake my hand. I was impressed. I had assumed that he couldn't remember my name either. Instead, he knew me and he was confident and friendly. Immediately my opinion of the man increased and subconsciously I was primed to be receptive to his ideas and suggestions.

For May's Monthly 10 Minute Challenge we are going to look at why names are so important, and three tips you can use immediately to gain an edge when dealing with employees and colleagues.

PostedMay 31, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Categories10 Minute Challenge

Image credit: Image by geralt used via CC0 Public Domain — Image credit: Image by geralt used via CC0 Public Domain

Harness the Power of the Five Whys Technique to Discover Your Compelling Reason

Have you ever felt like the work you are doing just isn't making a difference? Do you feel like you could stop doing your work and few, if any, people would notice or even care?

It is normal to feel like that from time to time. It's periods like those where having a compelling reason why you're doing what you're doing is so critical. Don't have a compelling reason? Don't worry, I'll show you how to find yours.

PostedMay 23, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

One Simple Technique to Help You and Your Employees Achieve More

It's time to admit an inconvenient truth to yourself. Your life is likely more chaotic, more distracted, and more complicated than it was five years ago. If we let the minutiae in our lives take control, our long term goals will be sacrificed for meaningless distractions and good intentions.

As Paulo Coelho famously said, "One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now."

You need a strategy to help yourself achieve your goals in today's hurried world. Luckily, there is a powerful weapon against distraction.

PostedMay 4, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Monthly 10 Minute Challenge - April 2015

What makes you "you"?

Perhaps that question is a little vague. To be more specific, what internal and external forces have worked to shape your life and your accomplishments? Our current lives are the products of our past experiences and choices. No one that I know simply fell out of the sky and was instantly who they are today. Instead, every single person I know is reaping the rewards, or paying the consequences, for choices made in their past. ...

PostedApril 17, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Categories10 Minute Challenge

Back in my very first post, I promised to refine the website based on feedback and the natural evolution of softuary.net and myself as a leader. It's been almost 8 months since that first post so I recently dedicated one of my early morning sessions to reflect on how it's going so far. I am a big believer in feedback, but because softuary.net is still flying under the radar it doesn't receive much traffic and has officially received zero comments. No problem. ...

PostedApril 12, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Tagsretrospective, softuary

Monthly 10 Minute Challenge - March 2015

If you own an car, do you pay someone else to change the oil in it? Except for a few hardcore enthusiasts, most automobile owners I know pay others.

Why? Why would they spend $30 USD on something that, if skipped, will cause no immediate damage?

The answer is simple: because it will cost you so much more to fix it later. Investing in your professional skills is no different.

PostedMarch 26, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Categories10 Minute Challenge

Tagslearning, Improvement

Last time we talked about why Retrospectives are a simple way to upgrade your performance as a leader. They allow you an efficient way to gather feedback on yourself and your leadership style in a non-threatening way because you are getting feedback on a meeting or a process and not on yourself directly.

PostedMarch 14, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Tagsretrospective, meetings

Monthly 10 Minute Challenge - February 2015

As a leader, you are constantly working through others in your organization. As you are likely aware, one extremely common way of working through others is to delegate tasks and responsibilities. We will discuss delegation in more detail in future blog posts, but for this Month's 10 Minute Challenge we are going to zoom in on times when you are delegating tasks (in comparison to delegating entire areas of responsibility). ...

PostedFebruary 17, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Categories10 Minute Challenge

One of the best gifts you can give yourself is to cultivate a desire for continuous self improvement. By focusing on improvement, you (theoretically) get better week after week, and year after year. And because of your position as a leader in your organization, when you become better, your entire organization likely improves through the force multiplication effect.

Are you looking for an *easy* way to start improving *quickly*? No problem! Start introducing Retrospectives into your routine. ...

PostedJanuary 28, 2015

AuthorMitch Cooper

Tagsretrospective, Improvement