One of the most powerful shortcuts to greater work productivity is simple: avoid context switching. Related to multitasking—the fool's errand of attempting to do two (or more!) things at once—context switching is switching different work contexts: screen and paper, Outlook and Teams, Word and Excel, etc. The problem with context switching? "Attention residue." Every time … Continue reading What if context switching is part of my job?
Category: Working Life
Can you turn a negative professional service encounter into a positive one?
There is a great section of Chip and Dan Heath's book The Power of Moments where they dig into a study of service encounters. The takeaway is not what you would expect: Almost 25% of the positive encounters cited by customers [in a study of service encounters] were actually employees’ responses to service failures: slow … Continue reading Can you turn a negative professional service encounter into a positive one?
Can you have a great idea at your desk?
No one ever had a great idea at a desk. —Margaret Heffernan While I love Heffernan's absolutism—and am tempted to write this on a Post-It and stick it on my desk—I instinctively push back against this idea that desks are dead ends for great ideas. There's nothing wrong with Heffernan's direction: we should get up … Continue reading Can you have a great idea at your desk?
The pleasures of talking shop
It was pleasant to talk shop again; to use that elliptical, allusive speech that one uses only with another of one’s trade.Josephine Tey, The Daughter of Time You don't read classic mystery novels expecting to uncover little nuggets of professional insight. Then again, Tey's The Daughter of Time is a unusual mystery, so maybe I … Continue reading The pleasures of talking shop
Proof that you should pick a legible typeface
Picking a legible typeface is just plain common sense, right? If you want a client to earnestly read, word for word, a two-page cover letter, then you're going to make sure that the chosen typeface is getting out of the way, doing nothing to impair your client's ability to grasp your finely honed pitch. While … Continue reading Proof that you should pick a legible typeface
Thinking through the “paradigm shift” to a hybrid workplace
Nine months ago—when talking about a return to the office within the calendar year was not such a ridiculous idea to entertain—my firm went ahead and formed a committee to explore what that reality would look like. Casting about for a committee name, the first stab was the "New Normal" committee, which, I suppose, lacked … Continue reading Thinking through the “paradigm shift” to a hybrid workplace
What “box” are we talking about when we “think outside the box”?
Think outside the box has to be one of the most overused pieces of business jargon out there. In my less than decade-long career, I've lost count of the number of times someone has encouraged me to "think outside the box." In researching a separate post about metaphor, I was reading a blog post on … Continue reading What “box” are we talking about when we “think outside the box”?
Is the ideal RFP/Q response a “crystal goblet”?
There's a wonderful metaphor from Beatrice Warde, one of the foundational figures in 20th-century typography, about the use of typography, that really resonates with me. Warde published an entire book on this idea, but here is just a taste: Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite … Continue reading Is the ideal RFP/Q response a “crystal goblet”?
The benefits of conducting “premortems” for new business pursuits
Those who work in the A/E/C space know about about the postmortem (or debrief): a glum meeting where the pursuit team attempts to hash out the reasons we didn't win a project. When the client is willing, we get to actually have the meeting with the client and quiz them on our failure. (As useful … Continue reading The benefits of conducting “premortems” for new business pursuits
If interviews don’t work, shouldn’t we get rid of them?
In my role as an A/E/C marketer, one of my responsibilities is to help teams prepare for project interviews—even though clients would probably be better served by not conducting them at all. In fact, research has shown interviews to be a poor barometer for actual on-the-job performance. In fact, clients would be better served avoiding … Continue reading If interviews don’t work, shouldn’t we get rid of them?
Taylor Coe 