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In this article, we will refine our discussion on developing the foundation for a successful safety process and “Vision” that is necessary to establish an effective safety culture. Within this process, Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) provides a methodology to determine the various risks, hazards, and needed controls at the micro-level. However, a larger Macro-level of thought must be considered and this requires having a Vision of what you want to achieve.
In a previous article, we discussed why you should define what your safety process should look like structurally using ANSI Z10 as an example. We posed two questions:
Do you just want to be in compliance with regulatory requirements, or
Do you want to build a true safety culture that will sustain itself and have a long term impact on an organization?
Vision Few of us have truly established a real vision of what we want to accomplish, let alone develop a sense of purpose in establishing our Vision. Steven Covey said it best with one of his Seven Habits that we should “begin with the end in mind.”
In Covey’s various books, he strongly recommends having a point of reference that one can periodically check against and correct the course towards your ultimate destination. From our point of view, if you do not know where you are going, then how do you know when you have gotten to the right point. Think about it this way: We all, at some point in time, have written our goals down and successfully have achieved what we set out to accomplish. However, as time goes by, we may continue to have goals that are accomplished but do not develop a real sense of purpose or fulfillment.
Our experience as clearly voiced by Covey is that goals and objectives are a subset of Vision, as having a vision is more than goals and objectives and these should work in tandem. In an effort to continue to help define a vision, the importance of knowing where you want to be at a future point in time is very important. Therefore, a Vision is what you want to bring into reality or create; it is where you want to be at some defined time in the future. Once the vision provides the direction, a sense of purpose can begin to develop. If your vision is to have a self-sustaining process and an effective safety culture then you must establish a path to that destination by defining the goals needed and the objectives necessary. The resources required can then be identified, assessed, and a cross-functional team enlisted that can get the vision accomplished.
Not only must you have a shared vision (according to Peter Senge) of what you want to achieve, you must have an understanding of how that vision fits into the overall mission of the organization. Mission is defined as a specific task with which a person or a group is charged. It may be your fundamental purpose or reason for holding a specific job position. You should assure that the safety process is put into a context so that its elements can be implemented, deployed, and readily used within the organization’s overall mission without being degraded. Reflection In a previous article, we discussed reflection and why you should define what your safety process should look like. We posed three questions about reflection as follows:
Do you have a clear and concise vision of what you want to achieve to guide you daily?
Can your overall vision align with your organizational goals and objectives?
Do you have a potential foundation on which you can build your safety process?
An essential activity and this may sound trite is to review your vision daily. James has his vision posted to pop up on his Outlook calendar at a periodic time. Nathan has noted that when the daily ongoing demands of professional and personal life results in his not reviewing his vision, not only is direction lost but time is lost that has to be made up. Everyone will have to establish their own method, but it is important to keep the vision in view to allow a check and balance of the priorities established each day and the goals and objectives that must be met.
If your vision is to develop a self-sustaining Safety Culture, what are the requisite Safety systems that will support this vision? Are they customized systems based on effective assessment of the workplace? And critically, what are you doing to communicate to the rest of the organization as to what you are trying to accomplish? Just because you believe your process is the most important and the right thing, may not directly translate into buy-in to your vision by others. Do you understand the politics of the organization as well as the internal and external social networks necessary to gain the backing and support from all levels of the organization.
How do you know when your vision has turned into a reality? Simply put, it will become tangible. We had that experience in developing our concepts for enhancing the job hazard analysis process. Our vision was to develop a better process for the JHA and how it can be better implemented. We set goals and objectives that required us to cover a wide range of methods, readings, and discussions. One day, a published book arrived in the mail! We have, on occasion, diverted into other areas of interest, but we never lost sight of our vision of improving the workplace, one job, one step, one task at a time.
Adopting a process and implementing programs is not enough. One must have an overall since of purpose, an understanding of the workforce, understanding how to build a team that leads to a defining of realistic goals that in turn establishes a plan of action. One must have an understanding of “why” a process must be developed? What do you want your safety and health process to achieve? Can you explain that “why” clearly to the organization?
To build a sense of how important vision is to you personally and professionally, search on vision in the literature. Authors such as Covey, Senge, Napoleon Hill, Canfield, Dyer, and a host of others are out there. Pick and research on those that best appeal to you. Summary The US Department of Energy, in discussing human performance improvement, suggest that a check be made for these seven areas and work at correcting them, as they are considered at-risk practices:
Not setting a clear vision.
Not involving affected personnel in the vision or plan.
Failing to set expectations, establish urgency or share understanding of the need for change.
Failing to consider the new values, attitudes and beliefs needed.
Not taking the time to inform people about the coming change.
Assuming that members of the organization know about the change and the value of changing.
Being impatient and failing to stay-the-course when you have done your homework and know this is the proper approach.
The bottom line is to define your overall Vision, write down realistic goals, objectives, and a plan to meet your vision.
Sources:
“Developing an Effective Safety Culture: A Leadership Approach” by James Roughton “Job Hazard Analysis” by James Roughton and Nathan Crutchfield.
James Roughton is a Safety Professional who is very passionate about his chosen profession. I am now on a journey of discovery and want to spread the word about how to develop and maintain effective social networking strategies to maximize exposure on the internet.
I am a Certified Safety Professional, Six Sigma Black Belt, an Inbound Marketing Certified Professional and Inbound Marketing Educator, freelance author, blogger, Social Media Marketing Strategist, and Technical Trainer. I love to help beginners and small businesses develop Content Management websites (WordPress) that can navigate and explore the Social Network Jungle one step at a Time. You can visit my blogs at:
Job Hazard Analysis
James Roughton

A fire outbreak can be very hazardous. So dangerous it can be that one seldom imagines the enormity of the damage happening through fire. When a fire breaks out, words like devastation, damage and debacle hit the conscience first. Lives are lost and so is property. One of the most vulnerable places are offices or warehouses. The place has to be dealt with and arranged with a lot of caution because of the presence of gas pipes, electrical cables and consumables.
You need ceiling mounted extinguishers in offices, warehouses and factories to douse this fire off before it becomes fatal. Ceasefire extinguishers are the best known brand to put out fires. These devices are the best bet a person can put his money on, for they not only saturate it but also make the magnitude of the aftermath minimal and non-toxic. Extinguishers are very easy to install and no piping is required. It has a pressure gauge which prevents propellant leakage when not in use. The reach capacity is around 12 feet. With a discharge time of less than 3 seconds, one can expect to have the fire extinguished within no time.
The controllable discharge mechanism of these Cease fire Extinguishers is outstanding. The minimum range being 12 ft feet helps a lot as does the valve construction. Before these ceasefire extinguishers are sold to the end user, they are packed and tested. They go through intensive helium leak detection tests before the final shipment.
There are several prominent features visible on these ceasefire extinguisher. These include the likes of:
? Install Alerts.
? State of the Art Gauges.
? Controllable Discharge Mechanism.
Ceasefire are always an important tool to have installed. A fire can break out anywhere, anytime. It does not summon anyone before happening. So it is always good to consider these extinguishers as precautionary measure. In case you see sparks flying or gas leaking, you can always use the extinguisher at once to put the fire off. Even if a minor fire breaks out, the extinguisher has been designed such the end user does not even take a minute to spring into action.
Ceasefire extinguishers for the safety of your industry goods is necessary and very important. Stay away from the risk of fires, for more information on fire protection systems like ceasefire extinguishers and fireproofing just keep visiting my profile for latest articles.

Workplace Ethics
Before writing something about workplace ethics, we must be well aware; what are the ethics. The simple meaning of ethics is principals or morals. If we elucidate a bit more then ethics stands for motivation based on ideas of right and wrong. In fact, it is one of the best and precise definitions of ethics. If we try to synchronize it with our topic, I can undoubtedly state that workplace ethics leads to a congenial atmosphere for working. Besides our home, the workplace or our job is the one where we spend the most of our time. In fact, sometime we spend more time at our job than at our home. If workplace ambiance is not pleasant and affable, we don’t feel like working and get tired and also lose our vigor.
What are these principles that are vital for healthy atmosphere at office? As per my belief, these are not much distinctive than that of the core human values. In fact, “a good professional must be a good human being”. We all must have heard a lot about the word ‘Professionalism’. If we try to elaborate professionalism in detail, it covers most of the workplace ethics. A good professional must have the following characteristics.
Punctuality: Believe me this is the first step towards a healthy atmosphere for your job. If you reach office by the stipulated time, it helps you in organizing your work in an apt manner. By coming late, you really set a bad example for your co workers; no matter you are boss or an assistant. It also gives a bad repute to your name; even though you are a hard worker or excellent worker. Actually, punctuality requires to be defined through a whole article or book. I will do it some other time. Here I would like to site two famous quotes, ‘Time is money’ and ‘A stitch in time saves nine’
Loyalty: If you work for some organization, you must be loyal to it. You must not disclose the secrets of you work place to others. You should even not discuss the negative points of your organization with the people outside your office, as pros and cons are everywhere. The way your home is sanctuary for you; the same is true for your work place. It is also sacred for you. You should be loyal to your organization as well as to your work and should not waste time in roaming around and gossiping.
Honesty: Honesty is the best policy. This is undeniably true for every walk of life. You should be truthful enough even to accept your mistakes. If you try to cover these with false arguments or tactics, end of the day; only you will be the looser.
Courteousness: The courtesy and politeness is another asset which you implement in its true spirits, it will bring you a lot of accolade. It makes you admired by the people around you. I feel sometimes your hard work does not pay you as much as your courtesy does.
Keep your personal worries at home: Everybody faces some problems in the normal course of life. Nonetheless, it should not overwhelm you to the extent that it affects quality of your work. Though sometimes, it is difficult; but this is the best policy. It is not in our topic, but I would also like to say, ‘don’t bring your office frustration at home’. You should also not discuss your personal problems with your colleagues at your work place.
Respect the privacy of others: You must not poke your nose in each and every matter of your colleagues/subordinates until it is related to your work or they ask for your advice
Respect your seniors and welcome new comers: You should not be insolent to your seniors and ill-mannered to your juniors or new comers. You should rather help them, if they require.
Cleanliness: You should also feel yourself responsible for the cleanliness of your office. Please therefore, contribute your part honestly for maintaining the hygiene of your office.
Avoid socializing: You must avoid socializing either on phone or in the office until or unless it is part of your job.
In a crux, the workplace ethics are pretty much same as the human values or code of conduct for human beings. Nonetheless, if we follow these ethics; it will help us tremendously to make our positive contribution towards the growth of our organization and creating a vigorous and genial working environment.

I worked at BBDO/New York as an account manager moving up the ranks for 12 years from 1977-1989. Many of my views of marketing were developed during that time, even though I don’t believe every TV spot needs a $1 Million+ production budget.
In hindsight, where all the issues of yesteryear fade into the darkness, BBDO was a great place with many terrific and talented people. As I look back, I know I was fortunate to have spent so many years there. There were so many interesting and intelligent people at BBDO, even those who I disliked were characters. Among the people for whom I had a particular warmth were two fellows-David Parker and Fred Moore. They shared the same malady-they talked funny, so I thought. At a minimum, they we clearly not “New Yawkers”-that’s because they grew up down South, David was from North Carolina and Freddie was from Tennessee. They were both really bright young Assistant AEs, who’ve gone on to bigger things.
I’ve been fortunate to recently reconnect with Fred Moore, who still talks funny, but since he is now the CEO of a terrific agency in Richmond, VA, called Big River, I don’t think his speech is an issue any longer.
More importantly, Fred has never gotten his due of being the “father of social media” because back in the 80s Fred was an assistant AE dreaming of new ways to communicate with many people with a single keystroke along with a “social” interoffice envelope, while the same time his fellow Volunteer, Al Gore, was inventing the internet.
Today’s Strumming is Fred’s story of the Origins of Social Media from his blog, Fred Moore or Less. It’s about the well traveled interoffice envelope. Good story, well told.
Remember the classic old inter-office envelope?
Those nasty dirty yellow, re-usable envelopes that sealed in ‘important’ documents via a straggly, yet tough string wrapped snugly around a cardboard disk.
Those wrinkly, old envelopes were really the precursor of social media – right? In my mind, they were early vestiges of LinkedIn -before LinkedIn was cool.
They used to carry the old inter-office memo. A well crafted, typed out position paper that utilized proper English and little slang or certainly no short cuts (such as LOL, BTW, etc.). They were well crafted POVs focused on business, procedures or other such important items. These memos were key. If seen by the right person, at the right time – they could be career changers.
Bosses and other management would receive these business memos, scratch a couple of words in the corner and either return the memo to sender or forward it on.
Social media, right? Getting your POV circulated around to others was good – back then as it is today.
But, as we all know – social media can also have it’s ‘dark side’ and sometimes be… well….cruel.
This was certainly true during these “social media” evolution days. Let me explain.
While I was at BBDO in New York and working on the Pepsi account – I had an extremely telling “social media” event occur that has impacted me forever.
I was the very low man on the Pepsi totem pole. Assistant Account Executive.
But boy, it was a blast. We were actually in the midst of shooting the Michael Jackson “Choice of a New Generation” campaign (No. I know what you are thinking. I was not the one who lit Michael’s hair on fire!)
Anyway. One of my high vaulted jobs for the Pepsi account was to make sure the talent (secondary actors and actresses) got paid and that the client got billed for all these talent charges.
Remember the “concert scene” of the Michael Jackson commercials? We’re talking about hundreds of ‘on camera’ talent. That means many, many payments to the fake “fans” whose face may appear for say all of a half a second. I had to deal with all those payments. Complicated, a process nightmare and expensive for our client.
I had a brief idea of how to make this process a little better and cheaper for our client.
So, I wrote a one page inter-office memo outlining my “how to make the talent payments more efficient’ idea. Upon completion, I grabbed one of those ubiquitous nasty yellow inter-office envelopes from my secretary Catherine Edwards’ desk (this really dates the origins of social media as this was during the day when even a lowly assistant account executive such as myself had a secretary) I then sent the nasty yellow envelope with my one pager to my boss – Stuart Marvin (later to be head of advertising and marketing for The Sporting News)
That was that….right?
Oh no, the power of the early stages of “social media” was – little to my knowledge – just going into effect.
Fast forward -two weeks later.
I receive via inter-office mail – a nasty yellow inter-office envelope. The contents to my surprise? – my one page inter-office memo…with multiple scribbles and notations all around the edges of my text.
Wow. My note had really made the rounds.
And, even more easily that a modern day text chain, I could see where my thoughts had been, how it impacted thinking, and what people’s real feelings were.
Obviously, my suggestion had been a big one and prompted important business musings.
So, I began tracing the steps as I read the scribbles around the edges.
Stuart Marvin, my original destinee, sent it with a note to his boss – Jeff Mordos (now Chief Operating Officer for all of Omnicom) with a note that said something like “Example of how we are always saving the client $$$s”.
Mordos, in a underneath note, sent it to Bill Katz (later President and CEO of BBDO) that said “When are we going to have our next Pepsi team building meeting?”
I guess the appearance of my POV served as a reminder to Katz that he needed to follow up with something to his boss Richard Burnette (BBDO management representative for the Pepsi account…no idea where he eventually ended up) Katz’s quick scribble said “We need to get together on that issue that we reviewed on the plane.”
Not exactly the feedback I was looking for but…heh…my note is climbing the ranks!
Burnette then obviously made a really bold move and launched my inter-office memo with the gaining scribbles outside the inter-office environs and sent it with his note to Pepsi headquarters in Purchase, New York. Dick had obviously spotted an up and comer in the Pepsi organization Brenda Barnes (Pepsi Product Manager and later CEO of Sara Lee) and he did not want to miss any chance to make an impression on her. His note – “Thanks for a great shoot. A little example of how everyone on our team is thinking about making Pepsi marketing better. Dick”
I follow the saga of the journeying inter-office memo further.
Oh my gosh….
Ms. Barnes sends MY memo to the larger than life- Alan Pottasch – the undisputed father of the Pepsi brand! My heart is fluttering.
It gets better.
Pottasch actually sends MY memo to Pepsi CEO, Fortune magazine cover boy, author of the best selling business book The Other Buy Blinked, and at least temporary winner of “the cola wars”…none other than…Roger Enrico!!! Pottasch’s note? No idea – too this day I cannot make out his handwriting. But, hey – does that really matter at this point? We have broken the glass ceiling and are flat in the management stratosphere.
And wait. Did Roger actually write something?!?! Oh, my gosh.
As I hold MY memo in my hand closer. I see it-In the top right corner of MY memo.
Yes. Yes. Roger the Man actually wrote something.
I squint to read his quick, CEO “ain’t got no time to mess around” almost indecipherable script handwriting. After, a few moments, I can see clearly what this great man wrote. I see how he summarized this two week conversation among – what would turn out to be – the true leaders of this nation’s advertising and marketing industry – in a manner that only top management can. Cut through. Get to the point.
My friend Roger had scribbled –
“Who the hell is Fred Moore?”
A little crushed…I must admit. But, now I look back with perspective.
Yes, social media can be an energizing or demoralizing experience. But, at least I was there at its inception
Lonny Strum is Managing Director of the Strum Consulting Group which provides strategic business marketing and business consulting to professional services firms and companies seeking an independent audit of their marketing activities. Lonny has a 30 year background in marketing and has been CEO of two of the largest Philadelphia area communications agencies and had been part of the managment team of BBDO/New York, one of the nation’s largest ad agencies.
For more information on Strum Consulting Group visit http://www.strumconsulting.com. Lonny Strum can be reached at 856-770-1154 or lonstrum@strumconsulting.com. Feel free to visit the Strum Consulting blog at http://www.strumconsulting.com/category/strumings/

The small South Pacific country where I live experienced its second worst natural disaster in its short history recently. The country’s second largest city was all but wiped out in a major earthquake which has left thousands of homes and buildings irreparably damaged. It will take upwards of 15 years and billions of dollars to rebuild.
More than 200 people are thought to have died and a fifth of the residents have since fled – many of whom will never return. The area is being bombarded with continual aftershocks which add immeasurably to the stress levels of those who have stayed and those who have come from all parts of the country to help clean up.
The quake struck towards the end of the lunch-hour, on a weekday afternoon. Children were at school, parents were at work and people were going about their normal day when the quake – 6.3 magnitude but centred at a very shallow depth – struck. It brought down supposedly earthquake-proof buildings, including two multi-storey office blocks, in which people were working, studying or visiting. There have been many stories of both heroism and of despair.
In times of a disaster of such magnitude, the greatest difficulty is not knowing what’s going on. Not knowing what to do or where to go. Not knowing what’s the safest course of action or what’s going to put you in danger. Not knowing where the other members of your family are or if they are safe, and not knowing how to reach them.
The quake decimated the city’s phone and power lines. Communication was only achievable through cell phone, and then only patchily as the network struggled under the huge volume of calls. Many people who had run for their lives had no time to pick up their belongings, leaving behind handbags, wallets and cell phones. Even if they’d picked up their car keys and their vehicle hadn’t been squashed under tonnes of rubble, there was no way they could drive home – the roads were bent, buckled, blocked, cracked and flooded with liquefaction. This meant no access to radio broadcasts telling them what was going on.
Almost immediately, however, social networking emerged as the best way of passing on information. Hashtags were set up on Twitter that ran – and are still running – a constant stream of information. If you need to know where the free showers are, where to go to lodge an insurance claim, how long it will be before the portaloos arrive in your neighbourhood, or the current death toll, everything is being communicated via Twitter. In fact, if you had no other means of communication except this, you were better informed than most.
Of course, for many, this was impractical. No power meant no computers – even if they survived the quake – and no method of charging cell phones, either. But very quickly power was restored to most of the city, allowing citizens to come up to speed on what was going on around them. It also allows those of us not living in the quake zone to do our bit to help by passing on information to our networks.
But even so, Twitter has emerged as the social media of choice for a disaster. Messages are short and to the point. They provide a link to more information, and can be sent by anyone from their PC or their phone. This latter makes Twitter an excellent tool for imparting urgent messages quickly. Its viral nature means it can spread to a huge number of people almost simultaneously.
Instead of messages having to be sent to a media organisation for dissemination, tweets are direct. No editing, no manipulation by authorities who want to keep information quiet and no time delay. People can find out what you have to tell them in seconds, rather than hours.
Despite being a social media practitioner, I had never before considered the use of Twitter for disaster or crisis communication. But from my observations of the Christchurch earthquake and its aftermath, I now believe that for any company doing disaster planning – which many more will be doing as a result of this quake – incorporating Twitter into its information channels is imperative. Smart phones are becoming more numerous, not less, so the number of people who can access Twitter while mobile only continues to grow, making this channel even more effective.
It’s good to know that in a disaster, there is still a way of knowing what’s going on.
Lynnaire Johnston, the Word Wizard, is passionate about helping businesses get noticed. She works with companies to ensure they take full advantage of all the many communication methods available in order to get their messages heard. You will find free resources relating to business writing at http://www.wordwizard.co.nz or visit her Facebook page at http://facebook.com/wordwizard.

Communication is used to transmit information, facts, thoughts, views and strategies among different sections of the organization and it is a vital aspect of human life. It is not realistic to have personal relations without communication. Efficient communication is needed for successful business and also for good personal relationships. Poor communication can generate stress and ruins business as well as personal relationships. Effective transmission of information is needed at various levels in a corporation for example -
Manager and employee interaction:
Successful communication of strategies and data is an important aspect for management and employee interactions. The administrator cannot get the job done from employees until they are communicated properly of what he really wants? He must also be aware of some important facts such as the way to interact and what outcomes can be expected through that communication. The majority of management issues arise because of poor and insufficient communication. Probabilities of misunderstanding could be reduced with appropriate communication system.
To boost employee morale and for motivation:
Communication is another simple tool for motivation, that can enhance morale of the staff members in a corporation. Improper or wrong communication among workers or between office managers and his subordinates may be the main reason for conflict and also reduced motivation at work. Management must explain to staff regarding what needs to be performed, how efficiently are they performing and what should be accomplished for better efficiency to improve their enthusiasm. He can make a written statement, distinctly outlining the connection between company targets and personal goals.
Effective communication to raise work productivity:
With powerful communication, it is possible to build and maintain a good individual relationship in the business enterprise and by inviting suggestions or ideas from staff members or employees and then applying them whenever feasible, production and output can be increased at low cost.
Communication benefits for workforce:
The workers submit their own work reports, suggestions and comments to the management or supervisor by using the written or oral communication. Company must have efficient and rapid communication policy and processes to prevent delays, confusion and misunderstandings of information and facts. It can also help to establish a good relationship among most of the concerned individuals and departments.
Significance of written correspondence:
Transmission of information in an institution can made by means of written or oral. In one to one oral interaction, employee could make out what his manager is trying to express, however in written communication, written text in the correspondence represents your thoughts. So, written correspondence or message needs to be very clear and concise with appropriate words, in order to avoid any kind of misinterpretation of the communication. There are some advantages of written communications such as, it offers a permanent document for future use. It also gives a chance to workers submit their remarks or suggestions on paper in writing. Business communication in written form can be duplicated and distributed to all employees of an organization.
So, good communication is critical for effective working of any organization. For information on business writing software for business communication, please visit www.softwareforenglish.com. Business writing software having text enrichment tool and grammar checker tool works extremely well for creating effective business communications.
For details on software to enrich your business writing or creative writing, please visit Writing Software for English website.

We’re all busy. We all have overflowing in boxes. But lazy e-mail habits could lead to misunderstanding, frustration, non-action, wasted effort, wasted time, damaged relationships and ruined reputations. Are you guilty of any of these lazy habits? If so, it’s time to take action now, before it’s too late.
1. Using a vague or outdated subject line
An e-mail with a subject line like ‘Update’ or ‘Hi’ or ‘News’ is not likely to inspire me to open it. Similarly an old subject line like ‘Meeting on Tuesday’ is useless when the meeting happened last week and today’s e-mail is attaching a proposal. Help yourself and save your reader’s time by making sure every subject line is clear and specific.
2. Not using a greeting or sign-off
Internally I can understand if you sometimes drop the ‘Hi John’ at the beginning, but externally there’s no excuse. Please remember the simple courtesies of an appropriate greeting and sign-off. And that doesn’t mean “Thanks and regards”!
3. Not proofreading
Have you ever sent an e-mail to the wrong person? Have you ever misspelled the reader’s name? Have you ever mentioned the wrong date for a meeting? Imagine my embarrassment recently when I read back an e-mail sent from my i-Phone saying: “Hell get a $50 credit toasted or annual conference.” (Hell instead of he’ll, and toasted instead of towards). I’m much more careful now when I send messages using my phone. If you regularly make errors in e-mails, people will question your attention to detail and your ability to handle your work.
4. Using abbreviations or acronyms
You may think these will save time, but they can lead to confusion for readers. While FYI is globally recognised as ‘for your information’, FYA could cause chaos because some people think it’s ‘for your action’ while others think it’s ‘for your approval’ – there’s a big difference. Only use acronyms that the reader is sure to understand. By the way, a word of warning with FYI. So many people complain that they often spend time trying to figure out why they received an email with FYI, when one sentence from the sender would have answered that question.
5. Clicking ‘reply all’ when not everyone needs the reply
We are all complaining about it, but we are still receiving ‘Reply all’ e-mails that we don’t need to read, then we have to open them, read them and delete them. Please, think carefully before you ‘Reply all’.
6. Writing everything in one long paragraph
When I receive an e-mail that’s all one huge paragraph, it’s impossible to focus, to pick out the main points, to find any action items, or to respond effectively. Make it easier for your readers by structuring your messages logically and by leaving a blank line between your (short) paragraphs.
7. Missing out essential details
If you’ve ever read an e-mail and wondered what you’re supposed to do, you know how frustrating this can be. Make sure you include all essential information: dates, times, places, names, action points. Otherwise that inevitable ‘ding-dong’ will begin, wasting time and causing frustration. Again it comes back to proofreading carefully to ensure everything is included and nothing is missed.
8. Using unfriendly tone
People often type out exactly what they would say without thinking of the tone of voice they would use to signal their emotions if they were speaking. If your tone is not quite right, readers could easily be hurt or offended. Take time to read messages carefully and add some extra words if necessary.
9. Not answering with the requested information
If your sender asks you two questions and you answer only one, you are not only creating more work for everyone, you are also causing frustration and damaging the relationship. Before you click ’send’, scan through the sender’s email again to make sure you’ve answered all points.
10. Not answering email
A major annoyance is not receiving a reply to a business email. This means senders have to keep sending “Did you receive this?” messages, plus it will surely damage your reputation because people will say things like, “She never answers her email.” Take some time to make sure every e-mail receives an appropriate response, even if it’s just “OK will work on it.” or “Thanks. I’ll do that.”
Shirley Taylor is a popular trainer and author of many successful books on communication and business writing skills. Shirley lives in Singapore and is CEO of her own company, ST Training Solutions Pte Ltd. She conducts popular workshops on business writing, communication skills, secretarial skills and e-mail writing. ST Training Solutions organises workshops with many international trainers. Visit http://www.shirleytaylortraining.com. Check out Shirley’s books at http://www.stsuccessskills.com.

Everybody would like to have a healthy work life balance. Part of a healthy work life balance is actually setting healthy boundaries. That sounds easy, but what exactly does that mean? What is a healthy boundary and what does one look like? More importantly, how can you work out where and how best to set one?
Most people, when asked to think of boundaries, will immediately think of boundaries as a way of keeping something or someone in particular out. This would almost definitely lead to people assuming they have to protect their energy, their time and any resources they have, in an effort to achieve a work life balance. Seeing boundaries like this, in turn, leads people to mentally draw a line in the sand and, if a work colleague, friend or family member crosses this line with a particular request, a mental alarm bell will go off in the persons’ head, signaling the person to respond ‘no’ to the request.
We all want to be seen as friendly and approachable, so are dubious about setting boundaries, as they can seem counterproductive. After all, we all want to say ‘welcome, I’m approachable and helpful’ to friends and colleagues. The problem is that we then won’t set any boundaries until the last possible moment.This sort of boundary is so confining as we leave ourselves no room to move. It can barely leave us room to breathe and, the longer this type of boundary stays in place, the more confined, edgy and cramped we make ourselves feel.
If you have been working inside this type of boundary for a while, you will naturally start to become impatient, cranky, and even resentful and even unbalanced. As it is so uncomfortable inside this type of boundary, we feel as though this uncomfortable feeling is the fault of those people around us – our friends, family, work colleagues, and anyone else around us. After all, if it weren’t for THEM, you’d be out in the fresh air right?
What if boundaries were not meant to be seen as our protection against other people? What if we set them so that they were level. Comprising of strong, sturdy fences surrounding a spacious, resource rich territory in which we are able to do our best work and enjoy living our life at the same time? What if boundaries created a pasture for us, rather than enclosing us in a prison cell of our own making?
Sarah PJ White is a Life Coach & EFT Practitioner, who specialises in motivating, inspiring and encouraging mothers who have issues with their confidence. To download her free report entitled ‘Busted! 8 Confidence Gremlins & How to Drop Them’ or to see her other resources, please go to http://www.selfconfidenceworkshops.co.uk

Everybody would like to have a healthy work life balance. In Part 2 of this article about setting healthy boundaries for a better work life balance, we continue with the idea of adapting and moving our boundaries to achieve a healthy work life balance.
So, what if our boundaries were designed to allow us to actually let in light and air? What if we could see out of these boundaries and others could see into them? What if our boundaries where there as a pleasant experience? Working inside of these boundaries is quite a different feeling. For one thing, there is plenty of room to move around. When someone approaches your boundary, you have lots of choices about how you choose to respond to them and their requests.
Maintaining these healthy boundaries feels entirely different, as well. With a sense of pride and ownership we delight in the scope our pasture gives us as we walk along the fence line. How pleasing it is to maintain our pasture as we oil latches on the gates, replace broken posts and maintain our fences.
Spend time this week checking your boundaries. Begin to notice what constitutes your fence posts and gates in your own boundaries. Are they the hours that you work? Maybe they are the hours you spend at home? They could possibly consist of the terms you offer before you offer help? Get familiar with the structural elements you can use to build your own helpful, inviting paddock.
When you have identified those elements, look at where you have set them. Do your terms give you room to do your best work? Do your working arrangements give you breathing space? At home, do you have breathing space for yourself? Is your home a calm environment or is it akin to a chaotic war zone? Examine your boundaries, and notice if they are giving you room to live and space to do your best work. Or is the opposite actually true? Do your boundaries keep you in cramped conditions with no space to move; are they cramping your style?
Experiment with moving your boundaries out a bit, not to keep your friends and family away, but to create a bigger space from which you can help them wholeheartedly and well, whilst helping yourself too and maintaining a healthy work life balance. Experimenting by stretching your boundaries, or even relaxing and lowering your boundary fences a bit. It might be all you need to find yourself in a happy and healthy position with an even happier and healthier balance between work and pleasure.
Sarah PJ White is a Life Coach & EFT Practitioner, who specialises in motivating, inspiring & encouraging mothers who have issues with their confidence. To download her free report entitled ‘Busted! 8 Confidence Gremlins & How to Drop Them’ please go to http://www.selfconfidenceworkshops.co.uk

Communication problems can create a lot of unnecessary drama. How often have you been disappointed because your assistant didn’t meet a deadline? Or what about the times you signed off on something and you got yourself entwined in more than you could have possibly imagined? Have you ever beat yourself up for being scattered and all over the place? What about those times you have been asked to do something from your own boss but you were overwhelmed trying to decipher where to find the document or in what order to begin? Whether you are on the giving or receiving end, these eight tips will help you clear up your business communication.
Define the end result
Stephen Covey’s advice in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People still stands: Begin with the end in mind. Before giving out the details of a task or list of objectives, make sure you define the end result first, and then make you know how to articulate the goal.
Do Due Diligence
Before jumping off of a cliff with a new idea, make sure you know what is required to get the job done. How much time, what kind of resources, what kind of expense is expected? Here’s an example of how to communicate with your team in advance: “Before we begin this project, please let me know the degree of difficulty, by these criteria: How long will it take, what is the hourly expense, and who is going to be responsible?” Then if it takes longer than you thought, it’s more expensive, or there is no one with the knowledge, now you can design plan B, or shift your expectations.
Define your Verbs
When you say “I’m going to finish the proposal,” the listener does not know what the word “finish” means. Say instead, “I will finish the proposal by adding the estimated expenses, and start date, then I’ll fax it to the customer, before April 12th, 2011.” Now we all understand what “complete” means.
Get Specific
Add the day, date and time in your written communications. In other words, instead of saying could you speak at your chapter meeting tomorrow, or next Thursday, instead, say, “are you available to speak at our chapter meeting on Thursday, April 12th, at 1:00 pm?” Making sure you include the day, date and time ensures accuracy and understanding.
Organize your Thoughts
Before you give instructions, make sure you have your thoughts organized. Unless your intention is to brainstorm, make sure you are clear about what you want to happen, who is going to be in charge, and how you want to be reported to, what resources you have available, and the deadline for completion, otherwise you will waste lots of time and confuse the people working with you.
Make it Easy
What can you do to make your electronic communication easy? When you are referring to a document or some piece of information you want your employee or client to look at, either add a link to direct them right to the document, or add the document as an attachment so there is no confusion about what you are referring to.
Set a Deadline
If you assign a task without a deadline it gets stuck in eternity on the “to do” list. Make sure when you communicate your tasks to your employees you add a deadline that includes a date and a time. If the initial conversation was on the phone, send out a brief confirmation by e-mail with the date and time. Then, schedule a follow up auto-responder message two days before, to send out a reminder.
Set up Accountability
Develop a system to ensure that what you said is what was understood. One way is to ask the person you spoke with to repeat back to you what you just assigned. Another way is to schedule short updates through e-mail, telephone or in person meetings, depending upon your preference and situation.
Ready to Stop Workplace Drama? Marlene Chism, author of Stop Workplace Drama, invites you to learn more about her new book and Stop Your Drama Methodology, eight principles to help leaders gain clarity, and reduce workplace drama. Receive free gifts for stopping by during Stop Your Drama Month.