Archive for the ‘Connie Hanrahan’ Category

Spelling still counts

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

Remember when you were in middle school and you started getting tests with essay questions on them? Someone in the class would usually ask, “does spelling count?” And the answer was always “yes!” Well, things haven’t changed any since then. Spelling is worth more than just a few extra points on an exam, it’s crucial, especially in a business setting. And nowhere is it more important than when composing email. Let’s face it – electronic communication is the preferred method of contact these days, so when you hit “send,” it better be right. Nothing bothers me more than getting an email full of typos – it is one of the most unprofessional things a person can do. If you’re sending an introductory note or, worse yet, a cover letter, it will get you noticed for all the wrong reasons – so much for first impressions. Even if you are writing to someone you know, maybe replying to an earlier email, typos give the impression that you’re sloppy, lazy or you just don’t care.

I realize these are hectic times and we are all very busy, but multi-tasking is not an excuse. Personally, I find it disrespectful of my time to receive an email with spelling or grammatical errors. I mean, how long does it take to give that note one last read to make sure everything is correct? And don’t count on “spell check” to do the job for you – if you meant to type “top” but “pot” came out, well, you get the idea.   

This goes for abbreviations, too. Twitter may allow only 140 characters for your messages, but there is no such limit on emails, so resist the urge to use short-cuts like “str8” or “btw.” That’s fine for when you’re texting your friends, but it won’t score you any points in the boardroom. And if you happen to be sending an email from your phone, that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. Just stop whatever else you may be doing and take the time to make sure everything is correct. Sure, it’s easier to write a message all in lower case or without any punctuation, but consider your audience. Here in the professional world, we’re all wearing our “big girl” pants, so communicate like a “big girl.” As for me, I appreciate a well-written note – it shows that the sender thinks enough of me to put a little time and effort into their endeavors. On the other hand, if I receive an email with more than three typos in it, I simply hit “delete.”

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Can you remember to take care of the puppy? Then, yes, you can have an intern.

Friday, April 27th, 2012

It’s summer intern time again, which means I have people asking me at least once a week how I seem to always have such an amazing group of interns. Of course, that’s always followed up with, “How do I get one?” A lot of companies think of it as free labor for a semester or perhaps they think “Now I’ll get the stock room organized” – nothing is farther from the truth. No disrespect, but an intern is a lot like a new pet. The way I look at it, if you can take care of a puppy, then perhaps you can have an intern.  That’s because an intern is a person who is entrusting you to mentor them, show them the way and help them decide if they are working towards the right degree for themselves. You are signing up to be trusted and, by the end of the internship, respected, if all goes well.

When I got my first intern 25 years ago I was probably one of those that thought, “Finally the filing will get done and perhaps a few piles on my desk will disappear.” Not even close. Instead I found myself at my desk with this eager eyed individual in front of me just as a new puppy might be, with a look that seemed to be pleading, “Are we going to work, are we, are we, are we?” My first few weeks of internship were time consuming, as I created lists of jobs that needed to be done – a stack of projects ready when the intern came thru the door – along with a stack of “good girl” comments to hand out. I quickly realized that when an intern did a good job and was told, they couldn’t wait to tackle the next project.

If you don’t have time to dedicate to an intern, please don’t get one. An intern needs your devoted attention and the only way they will learn not to piddle in the house or destroy your favorite shoes is to be taught and encouraged. And, yes, interns will make mistakes but it’s important for them to know that YOU MAKE MISTAKES, too. Ultimately, though, becoming responsible for an intern and the job they do instills trust and confidence.

All of our interns have been young women, and before you file that discrimination suit, here’s why. We want to help encourage young women entering the professional world to be able to speak for themselves and be confident when asked to contribute. As it gains confidence, a puppy will venture out on its own more and more – it will come back to you for guidance yet it wants to explore and be noticed. It’s no different with an intern, given projects where they are able to contribute, gain their confidence and present ideas on their own. And you will find that you are just as proud of them as they are of themselves.

Leaving an intern alone to do their work is the ultimate goal and, as difficult as it is, needs to be done. Do not hover or micro manage your intern. Give them air to breathe and the opportunity to succeed or fail on their own. If it is success, celebrate with them and if it’s failure be there to encourage them the next time they try.

An intern can become an important part of your company, while helping them reach their goals can be extremely rewarding. Nothing is better than hearing back from them five, ten or even twenty years down the road, saying thanks for caring and showing me the way – see what I’m doing now – do you see, do you see, do you see?

Connie Hanrahan, owner of Mantooth Marketing Company has had over 80 interns in the last 25 years. Hanrahan was named Mentor of the Year by the Northern Colorado Business Report in 2010 for her dedicated work with interns.

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Steps to a more productive work day

Friday, May 29th, 2009

Things get so busy sometimes, it can be easy to get wrapped up in your crazy schedule – here are some great steps to think about:

1. Have a Task List for the Day

The best way to have an unproductive day is to work throughout the day without a clear definition of what you need to accomplish. Simply having a to-do list will go a long way in keeping you on track. Without a task list you run the risk of working all day on things that seem like they are benefiting your business, but in the end you’re not focusing your efforts on the right tasks.

2. Prioritize Tasks

My personal approach with prioritizing is to simply to set the tasks that must get done, and then I also list a few stretch goals for the day. If and when I get all of the most important items done for a particular day, at that point I can move on to the stretch goals, which usually carry less urgency than my main tasks. This way I don’t finish my work early and have nothing to do, and I also don’t have too much on my plate that causes adverse effects when I can’t get everything done.

3. Place More Emphasis on Finishing Tasks Rather than Starting New Ones

4. Know the Strongest Times of Your Work Day

Some people work best early in the mornings, others prefer afternoons or evenings. Everyone has times of the day that are stronger than others in terms of focus and productivity..

5. Give Yourself Some Flexibility

I’ve already talked about the importance of having prioritized tasks and the use of different times of the day, but it’s also important to not get so rigid with this that you don’t leave yourself some room for flexibility. There will be some days that don’t go quite as planned and when you don’t feel like you do most other days. Allow yourself to have some flexibility to change things around according to the circumstances.

6. Bulk Process

With so many different things to do, it’s likely that your day is broken up into many small blocks of time for specific tasks. In order to achieve more efficiency and productivity, try to use larger blocks of time and get similar things done all at once (depending on the nature of your work this may or may not be possible). For example, if you can avoid working with your email open you may be able to spend less time each day on email by checking in 2 or 3 times throughout the day and emptying your inbox each time. Checking email many times throughout the day may lead to more time than necessary. An example from my process is writing blog posts. My preferred method of producing content for my blogs is to have specific days set aside where this is my only focus. I can finish one post and move right on to the next. I may have a list of ideas that I want to work on so I don’t waste time trying to decide before I start writing. With this approach I feel like I’m able to get more out of my time as opposed to writing a post here and there whenever I have time.

7. Track Your Time

You might be completely surprised to know exactly how you spend your time throughout a work week. Tracking your time can help you to find inefficiencies and ways to improve your productivity. Without knowing how your time is spent, it’s hard to know how you can improve the use of your time. I’m not suggesting that you need to track your time everyday, but if you do it for a few typical days you may be surprised at how easily you can identify some areas for improvement going forward.

9. Recognize Your Distractions

One of the benefits of tracking your time is that it helps you to identify things or activities that may be distracting you in your work. Whether or not you are tracking your time at any giving point, one of the first steps to working productively is to recognize your distractions. Eliminating or controlling these distractions will lead to greater efficiency, but in order to do so you’ll first have to accurately recognize and understand specifically what challenges you have when it comes to working productively.

 

10. Plan Your Next Day at the End of Each

This is probably more of a personal preference, but I have found that if I take a few minutes at the end of my day to plan for the next day, I’m typically more aware of things and I can do a better job as opposed to waiting until the next morning to plan the day. If I wait till the next morning I find that it takes me a few minutes to remember exactly where I was on certain items at the end of the last day, and I may overlook something that I would have remembered had I taken care of this the day before. At the end of each day I can look at my to-do list for the day and quickly see where I stand on the items that I wanted and needed to get done. At that point, planning for the next day is a quick process and I know exactly where I need to start, without running the risk of forgetting things. Now I’ll waste no time the next day trying to figure out what I need to do.

11. Get Enough Sleep the Night Before

During my time as a freelancer, particularly when I was freelancing part-time on top of a full-time job, I’ve averaged less sleep than at any other point in my life. However, sleep is an important part of a productive schedule. Each of us functions differently in this area, but personally I tend to notice it the most at the very beginning and end of the day. If I’m feeling well-rested I can be productive through these times. If not, I struggle to stay on task.

12. Eat Healthy

The food that you put into your body can have a big impact on your energy level and your feelings in general. I’m not going to go into detail here because I’m not that knowledgeable on the topic, but generally eating healthy foods will allow for better productivity.

13. Get Fresh Air

I often find that it helps just to take a few minutes for a walk or a drive to get some fresh air. Sometimes working in a different environment and getting out of the house for a while can really lead to a boost in productivity. This is something that you can accomplish with just a few minutes of your time, but it may have a noticeable impact for the next few hours.

14. Work in a Comfortable Environment 

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Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

A few things I learned during the first quarter of 2009?

1. You don’t necessarily have to coupon to get a customer but you do have to provide value to get them through the door.

2. Customer service is at an all time important level for all businesses. If you don’t have it, get it quick and make sure it’s top notch  – bad service will make the decision faster than anything whether a customer returns or not. Only so much money being spent today on “extras” and the way you treat your customers could keep them or send them to your competitor.

3. Fund raising events are experiencing 20-35% decreases from 2008. And this is on top of a 10% decrease in 2008 from 2007.  Get back to the basics of relationship building, person to person contact, and branching out to encourage new donors rather than always relying on what you’ve had in the past. It’s a year of change so change what you are doing to be ready for next year.

4.  Belong to associations? Find out what promotions they are doing and see if you can piggyback on them – most of the time free of charge or with little cash outlay. Example – Colorado Restaurant Association is promoting “Fork the Recession” encouraging restaurants to provice a value menu to encourage customers to return more than once or twice a month. Free to members of the CRA to participate.

5. Cause marketing – get involved! You feel strongly about an organization and what they do in your community so tie in a promotion to let your customers know how strongly you feel and perhaps you can gain additional customers and sales. Example – locally is the Fort Collins symphony teaming up with area restaurants who are giving 15% of their sales on one night to the symphony.

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