11 Apr
How to Create a Secure Easy-to-Remember Passwords for your Online Accounts
by afisher on Apr 11, 2011
Archive for the ‘Tips & Advice’ Category
-
-
8 Apr
Inspiring employees can often be hard to do when you’re running a small business. Funds are typically limited and there is not a lot of time to spare. Keeping your employees motivated, however, is imperative to the success of your business.Luckily, there are plenty of ways to keep employee morale high without breaking the bank. Here are a few ideas:
1. Ask for input
By encouraging input from employees you are letting them know that their opinions are appreciated. This goes a long way in making them feel like a part of the team, which then inspires them to work hard for the good of the team.
2. Change it up
Sometimes boredom arises when employees fall into a rut. By mixing up their projects and responsibilities, and allowing them to showcase their skills, you are likely to spark a little inspiration that may not have been there before.
3. Focus on a great company culture
People who love their jobs often do because they feel their company is distinct from others. Companies that offer unique or fun perks often lure great employees and tend to keep their employees longer. Things like a game room in the office, where employees can go relieve a little frustration when need be, can go a long way in employee motivation.
4. Recognize people for a job well done
Working hard on something often feels like it was all for nothing if you are not recognized for doing it well. That’s why it is so critical to show some sort of recognition for your employees to keep them working just as hard.
Something as simple as discussing their accomplishments at a company-wide meeting or sending around an email recognizing their accomplishments can make them feel especially appreciated. Although they may shy away from attention, they will likely be pleased to know that they’re being recognized.
Each of these methods is a great way to motivate employees without breaking the bank. It is easy to lose motivation when there are no incentives to do well. Applying one of these options is an easy technique for avoiding employee burnout and keeping inspiration high.
For more employee motivation techniques, check out this article.
-
30 Mar
Making sure all of your belongings (and your data) are secure at all times is a tall order. Thankfully, there are some tools that make it much easier. Portable security devices can be hard to find, but we have found several that work quite well.Laptop privacy screens
When you’re working in public, it can be pretty easy for someone to take a peek at your screen and see everything you’re working on. These privacy screens make that seemingly simple invasion of privacy much more difficult.
People who are looking at your screen from an angle will have an obstructed view. The privacy screen darkens your laptop screen, which is especially helpful for when you are taking a look at sensitive data that you don’t want anyone else to see – no more crouching over your laptop to cover everything.
Handheld paper shredder
Shredding documents is an easy way to prevent others from getting a hold of sensitive data, but it becomes a lot less easy when you are traveling. Handheld paper shredders are small and portable, and they make shredding documents a simple task regardless of where you are.
Mandylion Password Manager
You’ve probably heard several times how vital it is to have a secure, unique password for each of your accounts. The problem is, those passwords can be virtually impossible to remember, and you can quickly exhaust your password options if you have to reset it every time you attempt to log in.
Fortunately, the Mandylion Password Manager quickly and easily comes up with unique and remarkably strong passwords. It touts “military-grade password protection” and can help you manage up to 50 logins. With this, the only password you need to recall is the one for the Password Manager.
For those of us who travel or even do business at the coffee shop occasionally, security is essential. These tools are easy to transport and make constant security much more feasible.
For more security gadget ideas, check out this Mashable article.
-
25 Mar
Email is both a great convenience and a huge stressor for many of us. Our inboxes overwhelm us with messages, yet most of them are necessary – it’s a double-edged sword! Fortunately, there are many techniques out there that can help make your inbox easier to handle. Here are a few of them:Set up folders
Setting up folders or labels in your email client is an easy way to organize your inbox. Then, set filters to label your emails automatically so that emails from certain addresses will go into a unique folder.
This helps you determine which emails need to be read immediately and which ones can be left until later. This convenient feature is available in most email clients and services.
Enable conversation view
Enabling conversation view or as some email clients call it, threaded view, is a very straightforward way to clean up your inbox. You will no longer see dozens of emails associated with one topic. Instead, they will all be found under a single “email.” Email threads take up much less space in your inbox, making it seem more manageable.
Also, when you utilize this feature, you will address all emails in a conversation when you address one. There is no longer a need to go through and archive each individual email – delete one, and you’re done.
If it will take less than 5 minutes to address, deal with it right away
Any email that can be addressed in less than five minutes probably isn’t worth putting off. These emails are generally easy to address and only create more stress when they’re put off. As you get accustomed to this process, you’ll likely find these emails even easier to address.
These are just a few simple tactics that can help make your inbox more manageable. There are many more tricks that are just as easy and can make a huge difference in your everyday email habits.
For more tips on email management check out this Business Insider article. And for further reading, check out David Allen’s book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
-
23 Mar
Wired or wireless mice? This is a debate that’s been going on for years now, and there is still no definitive winner. The truth is, there are benefits to each type of mouse, and it’s all about which features matter most to you.Wired
Just like wireless mice, wired mice have a number of positives as well as negatives. These are a couple of the major benefits:
- Longer life expectancy
- Faster response time
- More cost effective
- More accuracy – a big pro for gamers
- No possibility of inadvertently gaining control of someone else’s machine (unless you plug it into the wrong machine!)
Although wired mice have been around much longer, they do lack in comparison to wireless mice in some areas. The biggest drawbacks include less freedom to roam and less overall convenience – both of which are of the utmost importance to some people.
Wireless
Despite the occasional dead battery, wireless mice have several strong points. They offer a level of convenience that can’t be reached with a wired mouse, no matter how long the cord is. Some of the key benefits include:
- More freedom – another favorite feature among gamers, who often control their TVs from the couch
- Improvements in response time and accuracy
- Fewer cords on your desk or conference table
- Smoother movement due to absence of cord
Although there are plenty of advantages to wireless mice, there are several disadvantages as well. The two biggest concerns tend to be the occasional bad signal and dead batteries – both of which can be extremely aggravating if they come at the wrong time (and isn’t it always the wrong time?).
What it all depends on is which features are most important to you. If you demand accuracy at all times, a wired mouse is probably the way to go. But if you’re looking for the freedom to work from your couch, you might benefit from a wireless mouse instead. Both have a lot of advantages, so you really can’t go wrong either way.
For more information on the debate between wireless and wired mice, check out this website.
-
31 Jan
What makes a great leader? How does someone inspire people to not only passionately, but willingly follow them? This robust (405 pgs) book centers around 5 core principles of general leadership and could be applied effectively while running a Fortune 500 company or coaching little league baseball. It touches on the importance of a unified focus and inspiring a shared vision company wide. It describes leaders as innovators, constantly looking to the future and challenging the status quo to produce extraordinary results. Below you’ll find the core principles discussed in the book along with my notes and a brief summary of each value.Model the Way
Clarify Values by finding your voice and affirming shared details
Set the example by aligning actions and shared values
This section of the book discusses how important it is for a leader to “live the way” and be the example. One of the best ways to prove something is important is to do it yourself and set an example. Leaders aren’t just representing themselves; they speak for the entire organization. “If you don’t believe in the messenger than you won’t believe the message”. Credibility is the foundation of leadership. You can only be authentic when you lead according to the principles that matter most to you; Leaders need to personify the shared values.
Use storytelling. People will retain/react more effectively when information is presented in the form of a story or through personal experience. Acknowledge others through stories; use this praise to reinforce the practice of shared values.
Inspire a shared vision
Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities
Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations
To get extraordinary things done, people need to fervently believe in and commit to a common purpose. Only shared visions will have the power to sustain commitment over time. A leader also needs to align himself with the goals/aspirations of his team. Use your passion to create an exciting view of the future and appeal to the aspirations of others to get everyone’s focus in a common direction. Listen deeply to people and solicit constant feedback, determine what is meaningful to your team’s individuals and make it a cause for commitment. Not everyone is driven/motivated in the same ways.
Car analogy: You are driving on an open highway, top down music blaring. Suddenly you round a corner and come into the thickest fog you’ve ever seen. How do you react? Slow way down, lights on, grab steering wheel, tense up, sit up straight, turn off the music. After fog clears you naturally relax again. This illustrates how important clarity of vision is, especially when moving fast. How comfortable are you riding in a car with someone else who drives fast in a fog? How fast can you drive in a fog without exposing yourself or others to risk? There are always going to be times when the sun goes behind the clouds and we are forced to navigate a fog. The moral of the story is with clarity of vision an organization can better predict and handle the switchbacks and bumps up ahead. People only want to follow those who can see beyond today’s problems and visualize a brighter tomorrow.
Metrics do not improve or inspire performance. PASSION + PRIDE= PERFORMANCE
Challenge the process
Search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and by looking outward for innovative ways to improve
Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from experience.
Leaders make things happen. They are constantly looking for ways to challenge and improve the status quo. Exercise outsight, great ideas don’t always have to come from within an organization, actually most of the time a fresh perspective is required to make a drastic change or improvement. Open your mind to let ideas flow more freely from the outside in, use “customer driven innovation” to improve our business in ways that will have an immediate impact. “Never turn your back to the ocean”. Why stand on the shore and look inward when the great vastness of the ocean is at your back? Constantly focus on the changing needs of our clients and the competitive marketplace and use this to adapt and drive change.
Encourage risk taking and create confidence and passion by generating small wins or successes. The most effective changes are made incrementally, not in one giant leap. A “win” generates excitement, energy and commitment.
Enable others to act
Foster collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships.
Strengthen others by increasing self-determination and developing competence
Foster collaboration and a team spirit by creating an environment of trust. The more trusted people feel, the better they innovate. Trust is contagious, and the key to building a trusting team is to be the first to extend that trust out to your constituents. Strengthen others by increasing self determination and confidence and providing the tools to develop the competencies required for success.
Encourage the Heart
Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence
Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.
A leader needs to be open to influence/suggestion from their team. “If you could win alone, why would you need a team?” Recognizing contribution is crucial in developing self confidence and self worth in the individuals working for you.
While this may not be a life-changing read, absolutely every leader (and aspiring leaders) have something to learn from the principles Kouzes and Posner base their approach around.
-
28 Jul
It has been a half-century since first commercial copier (a Xerox) was introduced. Copiers have come a long way in the last half-decade, and now boast more features than you can shake a toner cartridge at. But one feature most copier manufacturers won’t boast is the hard drive that is quietly accumulating images of documents that have been scanned, copied & and printed.
This video illustrates just how little Americans know about the technology they use every day (Apparently 60% of Americans don’t know that copiers even have a hard drive). It serves as a reminder that we need to stay vigilant in protecting our information.
