Displaying All Posts by Peter

How to Improve Productivity: 6 Lessons from Great Software

Peter North 22nd June Productivity 6 Comments

    Well-written software applications are fast, powerful and flexible: They are remarkably disciplined, following a rigid set of self-imposed rules. Their meticulous organization allows them to keep track of millions of bits of information, and their multitasking ability is unmatched. As air breathing, flesh-and-blood work processors, we could learn quite a bit from our binary-based brethren. Click Here to Read Article …

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    Competence or Confidence?

    Peter North 17th June General 7 Comments

      Competence or confidence.

      Which comes first? Do your ever-improving skills grant you confidence? Or, alternatively, is it your confidence that catalyzes the growth of your skills?

      Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

      You can certainly have one in spades and suffer a conspicuous lack of the other. Some people are brimming with confidence and have no skills to back up all that bravado. Others have a brilliant array of abilities, but don’t have the gumption to put them all to use.

      Sure, it would be ideal to have tons of both. But if you could only have one, which would you pick? Which is a “nice to have” and which is a critical component of your working persona? Click Here to Read Article …

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      Why You Shouldn’t Underpromise and Overdeliver

      Peter North 15th June Communication 14 Comments

        “Underpromise and overdeliver.”

        Have you ever heard this brief bit of business philosophy at work? It has to do with consciously managing the expectations of your clients and customers. The idea is that you set a comfortable scope and timeline for your service, and then “wow” them by delivering the results ahead of time and under budget.

        The question is: Is it a good way to build relationships with your customers?

        While the short-term results of “underpromising and overdelivering” look great, your clients might come to always expect super-fast, super-cheap work from you. Suddenly, the whole “managing expectations” idea backfires completely; your client has learned to set them very high, and raise them each time you exceed your own self-set expectations.  You’re caught up in a mess that you created.

        It’s not such a good idea to underpromise, overpromise, or – perhaps – make promises at all. To use another common work expression; maybe “honesty is the best policy.”

        What do you think? Click Here to Read Article …

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        Working Like A Great Chef

        Peter North 12th June General 2 Comments

          A good chef can make great meals out of top-shelf ingredients. But great chefs turn average, ordinary produce into delicious dishes. Anyone can throw a filet mignon on the grill and end up with a great meal; the challenge lies in who can impress their customer with the less-prized cuts; the blade steak, the shoulder steak or the rump roast.

          Are you the type that needs the very best resources to produce great work? Or, are you the kind that can turn limited, low-cost resources into a fantastic end product?

          Great work is easily done with a big budget, the best technology, and a generous timeline stretched out in front of you. But, are you the “Jack-of-all-trades” that can maintain the same quality of work under more pressing conditions? If so, consider your work truly great. Click Here to Read Article …

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          What is a Dream Job?

          Peter North 12th June General 6 Comments

            We are always rolling the idea of a “dream job” around in our heads. Whether you’re sagging your head on a slow workday or sweating bullets during a hectic one, thoughts of your perfect job will cross your mind. What is a “dream job” anyway? It’s different for everyone, but it usually comes to us as an ever-changing counterpoint to our current job: If you’re bored by your current job, you dream of an active, fulfilling one. If you’re overloaded with work, you dream of a slower, simpler workday. If you have no autonomy at your current job, you dream of being an entrepreneur empowered with control over your own destiny.

            But, despite all of these passing, changing thoughts, few of us have paused and allowed our dream job the consideration it deserves. Ask yourself: Have you given any real thought or definition to your dream job? Would you recognize it if you saw it? Would you be ready to pursue it if it appeared? If you struggle with any of the answers, perhaps you should stop, sit down, and give the matter your full attention. Click Here to Read Article …

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            5 Reasons To Check In With Human Resources

            Peter North 9th June Career 7 Comments

              The Human Resources department isn’t just for resolving serious work-related conflicts – or for new employees. It’s a commonly overlooked resource for both happy and unhappy employees. It’s a shame that employees only visit HR when faced with a tense situation. After all, they are quite literally “at your service,” whether you’re in the middle of a catastrophe or enjoying a long string of productive workdays. Perhaps it’s time to visit that sleepy corner of the office to see what Human Resources can do for you. Click Here to Read Article …

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              Safari 5 – The World’s Most Productive Web Browser

              Peter North 8th June Productivity 14 Comments

                Editor’s Note:  Peter North, one of WorkAwesome’s newest contributors, is at Apple’s WWDC all week.  He’ll provide little snippets for our readers to digest over the course of the week – to pass on what Apple and its developer community has to offer in terms of making all of us more productive.

                Yesterday at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple introduced Safari 5, an upgrade that introduces some significant changes. It has special accommodations for Windows users, faster page loading, and a new developer program that allows programmers to tailor Safari to suit all of our needs. With its new features, Safari 5 could be the most productive browser ever. Click Here to Read Article …

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                iPhone 4 Adds New Features – and New Distractions

                Peter North 8th June Communication 6 Comments

                  Editor’s Note:  Peter North, one of WorkAwesome’s newest contributors, is at Apple’s WWDC all week.  He’ll provide little snippets for our readers to digest over the course of the week – to pass on what Apple and its developer community has to offer in terms of making all of us more productive.

                  Apple recently revealed some remarkable new features on the new iPhone 4. Some of the most noteworthy features include sharper images, faster processing, longer battery life and video conferencing. It could clearly be a an asset for increased productivity…or a debilitating source of endless distraction.

                  Its new innovations are as concerning as they are impressive. Video calls sound like a great tool, but are you ready for impromptu face-to-face conferences with your boss? Having a phone with a longer battery life, a sharper screen and more computing power sounds great, but is having a “pocket office” a gift of a curse?

                  A phone with a 40-hour battery life, an HD video camera and a screen with over a half million pixels is practically like having super powers in your pocket. But, as they say, “with great power comes great responsibility.” It could help you be more productive than you’ve ever been, but couldn’t it also turn you into a stressed, snarling super villain? Click Here to Read Article …

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