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27 Email Hacks That’ll Make You More Productive [Free Ebook]
When I made my start in the working world, I believed a terrible lie about my inbox.
I thought that the best employees respond to emails immediately. So of course, I prided myself on replying to emails quicker than any of my coworkers — even if that meant dropping whatever important task I was supposed to be doing.
Thankfully, this competitive spirit around my inbox didn’t last long. While I still love the feeling of “inbox zero,” I’ve come to understand the amount of time your inbox can steal. According to a study by McKinsey Global Institute, the average worker spends 28% of the workweek reading and responding to emails.
Emailing may seem like the most basic of tasks — write, attach, send, reply. But it turns out, it takes a thoughtful strategy to ensure your inbox isn’t the mortal enemy of your productivity. With our latest ebook — 27 Email Hacks That’ll Make You More Productive — we’ll help you unburden yourself from the weight of email overload.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to triage your inbox effectively, filter out unwanted messages, and use templates to write your emails faster. Then we’ll show you the secret features of Gmail and Outlook to help you take back your workday.
Don’t waste another minute clicking back and forth to your email tab.
What to Do When You Don’t Trust Your Client
Years ago, my Ammirati & Puris colleagues presented a final version of a television commercial we were creating for Compaq Computer (now a subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard) to a gathering of client contacts.
The spot was good, but it was a bit dark, a point made to us by one of our lead clients. The possibility of a reshoot, at agency expense, hung ever so ominously in the air. That’s when one of the Compaq people we were working with, Jack Todd, spoke up.
“I was at the shoot with the Ammirati team,” he said. “I approved the dailies and then the rough cut, so if there’s an issue with the spot’s lighting, it is as much my fault as the agency’s.”
In moments like this, most clients would remain silent and let the agency take the hit, even if it meant something as costly as a reshoot. Not Jack. He saw himself as our partner. He was brave enough to share responsibility with us, even though the consequences, financial and otherwise, could be serious.
The discussion went back and forth for a few minutes as we worked through the alternatives. In the end, we would do what we could to brighten the spot in post-production, but it would run as filmed, no reshooting required.
I was never close with Jack, nor was my team. He was a largely unknown, almost remote figure, but when it was time to stand up for the agency, Jack stood up. From that day on, I knew we could trust him.
This is a story with a (relatively) happy ending, but what happens when you find yourself not trusting a client? How do you respond?
There are a nearly infinite number of reasons why an agency might feel this way, but I suspect the majority coalesce around three issues: the work, the relationship, and the money.
Not trusting the client about the work
Put any two people in a room and there likely will be a debate about the work, by which I mean not only a piece of creative, but also a strategy recommendation, a media plan, or anything else you produce on behalf of a client. But trust issues? Most clients I know are quick with an opinion, but a lack of trust often occurs when a client is not being straight with the agency, is not helping make the work better, and is reluctant or reticent to share what they really think about what you presented.
Now you can try to muddle through, but I see the absence of clear direction as your problem, not the client’s. The challenge is to elicit honest and thorough feedback from even the most recalcitrant, uncertain, and withholding client, so that you extract input you and your colleagues can act on.
You do this by 1) framing the issue precisely, 2) listening deeply to questions and concerns, spoken and (especially) unspoken, and 3) addressing those questions and concerns by exploring every possible option. With an unwilling client, you need to work incredibly hard to gain “I really mean it” buy-in.
Not trusting the client about the relationship
With relationships, it simply could be your client doesn’t like you. But what should you do in this situation?
Your first recourse is to find someone on your team the client does like, then ask them to serve as the face of the agency, with you receding to the background. I have been in several situations where a client did not like me, but did like someone else on our team. Sometimes it was a creative person. Sometimes it was a strategist or planner. On occasion, it was another account person.
In these instances, I took on a supporting rather than the lead role, ceding terrain to the person the client felt more comfortable with. I was happy to do this, grateful there was someone (or someones) the client liked and respected.
Your last recourse, after you’ve explored all other staffing options, is to change the casting, knowing that it is better to change personnel on an account than it is to lose it, even if it means “firing” yourself from the account.
Not trusting the client about the money
The client’s goal: To get as much service, productivity, and output as they can from the agency for the fewest dollars possible.
Your goal: To be paid fairly for your efforts.
Mind you, none of this is personal; it’s business.
If your client tends to grind you down on price, build in some financial cushion upfront, providing the necessary “give” in your fee that you can concede that won’t bankrupt your shop. If you still find yourself consistently unable to command a fair fee for your efforts, you face a decision: Do you keep the client, asking other, more profitable clients to, in a sense, underwrite this underperforming one? Or do you make the difficult choice?
If the account is small in fee and the work unremarkable, you likely shake hands and wish them well. If the account is large in fee and the work is amazing, you have to think long and hard before you make a decision. In many cases, you keep the client, knowing how deep the impact on staffing would be were you to cut them loose.
A Matter of Trust
Even if you don’t fully trust the people you are dealing with, you still can like them, and you can find a way to manage the relationship. The only thing that truly should erode trust is if your client is being dishonest, dishonorable, or worse.
In situations like these — rare though they be — there is only one option at your disposal, and you already know what it is.
6 Video Marketing Tips to Maximize Your Impact
Do you use video content in your social media marketing? Wondering how to optimize your videos to get more views and engagement? In this article, you’ll discover six tips to help you improve the performance of your video content. #1: Entice Viewers to Click in 7 Seconds To get more eyeballs on your videos, the […]
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Logitech introduces new ‘Pop Home Switch’ accessory for easily controlling smart home devices
Logitech has today taken the wraps off of a new accessory that it says will make smart home devices even easier to control. The company has introduced the Pop Home Switch, which allows users to set moods and control a variety of smart home products with the press of a button.
Filed under: Apple
Om Malik on Apple’s upcoming Planet of the Apps: ‘Apple should be building better products, not stupid TV shows around those products”
On a recent episode of TWiT’s This Week in Tech, GigaOM founder, Om Malik, had some harsh words for Apple’s upcoming Planet of the Apps reality TV show, attributing it to what he sees as disturbing lack of focus for the Cupertino-based company. Malik didn’t mince words when it came to discussing Apple’s perceived lack of focus, its Hollywood connections, and entertainment aspirations.
“You were asking me what is the problem with Apple? Not the [rumored lack of a] lightning port — this kind of stupidity of building a TV show around apps. It’s like, what? Somebody needs to make friends in Hollywood and so we should do a show like this? This is just such nonsense. They should be building better products and not stupid TV shows around those products. more…
Filed under: Apple
Apple to open World Trade Center retail location on August 16
Apple’s long-awaited retail location inside the World Trade Center now has an opening date. The company announced today that the store, its 10th in New York City, will open in less than a week on Tuesday, August 16th. On the store’s info page, Apple teases that it has “something special in store” for customers.
Filed under: Apple
Apple details its ConnectED efforts, says it has provided over 32,000 devices to students
Apple has a storied history of being popular in classrooms around the world. The company today announced that its ConnectED efforts have helped the company reach more than 32,000 students throughout the United States. Most recently, Carver Elementary School in Indianola, Mississippi joined the ConnectED program, becoming the 66th school to which Apple has provided iPads.
Filed under: Apple
Google updates Docs, Sheets, and Slides with support for split-screen multitasking on iPad
At long last, Google today updated its trio of productivity apps on iOS with support for the multitasking features Apple introduced to iPad users with iOS 9. With today’s updates, Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides users can now take advantage of Split View and Slide Over multitasking.
Filed under: Apple
5 Newest Trends in Project Management
For years, businesses have operated with a strict organizational flow or a hierarchy. It dictated who made the decisions for the company. As a new generation of employees enters the workforce, companies are realizing that this status quo needs to change. We’ll help you identify and understand some of the newest trends in project management; that way you can more efficiently get the results you’re looking for.
1. Rethinking the Management Structure
This doesn’t mean doing away with management altogether; it just means that managers throughout the hierarchy need to get used to engaging with employees on various levels, and for various reasons. Gone are the days when you spoke with those directly above or below you in the structure. Younger employees are used to a more democratic method of engagement, and wise leaders will be quick to adopt this. This way any type of tension or conflict will also find a swift release as the employees won’t be afraid to voice their concerns.
2. Focusing on Results
Creativity and “out of the box” thinking are key skills that employers are looking for. More companies are abandoning strict methodology in favor of goal setting. How your employees decide to achieve those goals is less important than making sure the end result is met. Make sure that your employees understand any ethical concerns (don’t do anything immoral or illegal) and turn them loose. It’s okay to check in periodically to make sure that everyone is on the same page, but don’t question a method or style that doesn’t fit with your expectations. As long as the end result is good, let the employees decide how to get it done.
3. Recognizing Employee Strengths and Weaknesses
In a path to more efficient workplaces, it’s becoming more and more apparent that a “one-size-fits-all” approach to managing employees is a good way to waste time and get poor results. Trying to ensure that 10 employees have mastered 10 skills each is difficult and can lead to frustration, anger, and resentment within a team. Why not make sure everyone has a basic understanding of the responsibilities? This would then allow them to focus their energies in the direction that they are most suited for. Find out your team’s strongest points and make the most of their individual assets.
4. Opening Up the Communication Flow
Making sure that the decision makers are in touch with the people actively pursuing the goals of the company is essential. Make it your objective for the leadership to be approachable, and be willing to listen. Often the people with the best ideas are those that are working in the trenches. For years, brilliant ideas were overlooked and ignored due to the inability to break that “chain of command” mentality. A mentality that dictated that the front line workers never engaged with the top tier. Great ideas were often left untapped, or worse, lost when those employees left for competitors.
5. Increasing Transparency
Having an open door policy, and an open organizational plan is key to moving forward with this type of project management trend. When the left hand knows what the right hand is doing, both hands can work together to complete a task much more efficiently. Everyone ends up in working in the dark when your organization is split into different groups. That is because these groups don’t interact or engage with one another. It’s critical that decision makers have all of the information that they need to make informed decisions about the direction to take in order to meet the end goals. Finding out critical information too late can derail a project with disastrous results.
It’s also important that everyone in the organization understands the basics of the budget; it will help people understand why they can’t have the newest bit of technology, or why another department was able to order supplies but yours can’t right now.
Conclusion
The thing that all of these trends have in common is greater flexibility. With the new technological advances and remote capabilities, shifting practices and mobile abilities are adding flexibility to every aspect of an organization. Keeping up with these changes can mean the difference between success and failure.
The post 5 Newest Trends in Project Management appeared first on Project-Management.com.
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9to5Toys Lunch Break: iTunes 10 Action Film Bundle $25, Brother AirPrint Laser $110, iOS 10 Developer Course $29
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:
iTunes has a bunch of terrific movie deals right now: 10 action flicks $25, The Hateful Eight rental $1, more
Brother’s Compact Laser All-in-One Printer has AirPrint and Duplex: $110 (Reg. $150+)
The Complete iOS 10 Developer Course $29 | 9to5Mac Academy
Get your kid off your phone w/ a refurb iPod Touch 5th Gen: 32GB for $165, 64GB for $195
You can now grab a free copy of Brushstroke for iOS inside the Apple Store app ($5 value)
App Store Free App of the Week:Hocus puzzler goes free for the first time (Reg. $1)
Fantastical 2 Calendar and Reminders just hit its all-time low on Mac + up to 50% off iOS versions from $3
Best Console Releases for August: Deus Ex, No Man’s Sky, Metroid, Madden, and more
The best headphone stands & hangers to keep your desk/office nice and tidy
Here are our top-picks for your backpack this school year to stay organized and powered up
MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:
Smartphone Accessories: Mpow Sports Armband for iPhone 6/s for $4 Prime shipped (Reg. $10), more
- Games/Apps: No Man’s Sky $48, Xbox One S controller $45, freebies, more
- Sony 300W 2.1-Ch. Soundbar w/ Wireless Subwoofer $190 shipped (Reg. $300)
- Kensington 15-inch MacBook Backpack for $14 shipped
- Daily Deals: GoPro HERO+ LCD HD Waterproof Action Camera Bundle $200, more
- Garmin vívofit Activity Tracker w/ the heart rate monitor for $46 shipped (Reg. $70+)
- Prime Members get a $5 credit with the purchase of $5 Crest 3D White Sample Kit
- Back-to-School/Office Supplies: Fabric-back chairs from $40, more
- Cole Haan offers an additional 40% off on shoes, clothing & accessories
- 6-Quart Instant Pot 6-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker $70
MORE DEALS STILL LIVE:
Carry your MacBook in a brand new CaseCrown messenger bag for $15, multiple styles/colors available
Samsung’s metal Duo flash drives have USB 3.0 and microUSB connectors: 32GB $12, 64GB $20, more
Filed under: Apple
Alleged photos of Apple’s A10 processor for iPhone 7 surface
The RACI Matrix Chameleon: How it Changes According to Your Project
A girl can never have too many lipstick options, Zoe Sugg. The same is true about RACI matrix options – you can never have too many. Here is a list of 10 that will help you hypothesize, strategize, and standardize. This article explains how you can modify this responsibility assignment matrix to manage your project resources. In alphabetical order here are your RACI alternatives:
1. ARCI: Approve, Recommend, Consulted, Informed
This alternative organizes who gets to make which decisions. A for Approve: the person in this role is given the authorization to approve answers to a decision. R for Recommend: provides suggestions as to an answer to a decision. C for Consulted: two-way communication in this role – the person in this role instills their wisdom into others. I for Informed: this again is the person who is kept in the loop. They simply stay informed about actions taken on a project.
2. CAIRO: Consulted, Accountable, Informed, Responsible, Out of the loop
Nope, we’re not talking about the capital of Egypt. The RACI acronym is simply ordered differently and the additional function is, on a need to know basis. The O, whether he likes it or not, does not need to know. O for out of the loop or omitted – pretty self explanatory. In more polite terms, the purpose of this role is to prevent a cumbersome project. Communication is important, but if someone does not need to be informed, consulted or communicated with they are omitted. It is about keeping the right people in the loop. These are the ones who (and only those people) play an integral part during the project process, which in turn, improves efficiency in a project.
3. DACI: Driver, Approver, Contributors, Informed
More than just rhyming with RACI, this alternative has a few variations. D for Driver: he/she is steering the ship. A for Approve: decision maker(s) and therefore liable. C for Contributors: the squad, send them off to do their thing, keep the channel of communication open and two-way. Then, voila they will produce your deliverable. And finally, as traditionally used in the RACI matrix, I for Informed: the person who needs to be kept abreast as to the actions taken on a task or project because they impact the informed.
4. PACSI: Perform, Accountable, Control, Suggest, Inform
On a project where input from numerous stakeholders is necessary this RACI alternative is a viable option.
P for Perform: the person conducting the required activities to complete the task(s). A for Accountable: the delegator and person who may have to explain as to why certain actions were taken. C for Control: the accountable has a side-kick, the control monitors the quality of the final product. Their decision is final, non-negotiable. S for Suggest: because of their wealth of knowledge this person provides insight as to how the task could or should be done. Their decision is NOT final, and is negotiable. I for Informed: once it is all said and done, let the informed know.
5. RACI: Responsible, Assist, Consulted, Informed
You may see RACI and think, responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed – but not always. Some find that the responsible and accountable are two of the same. This alternative differentiates the R and A by naming the A, Assist, rather than Accountable. So, A for Assist: the assist provides support during the task completion. And as you already know, the rest of the acronym sticks with tradition.
6. RACIQ: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed, Quality
Q for Quality: of course quality is important, when would it not be? Use the original RACI set-up and add a quality review role to ensure the product is the best it can be.
7. RACI-VS: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed – Verifier, Signatory
V is for Verifier and S for Signatory. The more the merrier, add a verifier and a signatory to the mix. Now you have someone whose sole purpose is to ensure the product is up to par. After the verifier says ‘’yes’’ your signatory double checks everything from top to bottom so that the product is top notch. Of course with this type of role it means that the signatory is also accountable for the product quality. The signatory needs make sure the product meets expectations to fulfill his duties in this role.
8. RAPID: Recommend, Agree, Perform, Input, Decision
Who doesn’t want to be rapid!? R for Recommend: this is your adviser. They collect, dissect and project; they will provide a forecast of your project: the good, bad, and unpleasant. This is done to make project planning as painless as possible. A for Agree: that’s right, we need a yes-man. In fact, this role gives the thumbs-up, or not, to what the recommend is saying. We always need a second opinion to make certain we are going to progress rather than regress. The agree is in place for this purpose. P for Perform: when a decision is made the perform performs it – not really. This person decides who will be accountable for putting the plan into action. They don’t complete the task but identify who should. I for Input: a side-kick to the recommend, this ensures that relevant information is gathered so that the recommend and agree can make an informed decision. D for Decision: one final step, this person makes the final decision before the ball gets rolling.
Pheuw! Did you get all that? Here is a picture for more clarity.
9. RASCI or RASI: Responsible, Accountable, Support, Consulted, Informed
S for Support: instead of the original RACI construct, take advantage of an additional component with the RASCI matrix. The support will be at your side to assist with completing tasks.
If you don’t need to consult with anyone, and simply need support you have the option of using this matrix in the format, RASI. Let the consulted be on their way, and keep the support role.
10. RATSI: Responsibility, Authority, Task, Support, Informed
This alternative is your ticket to task making magic. R for Responsibility: the boss of ensuring the work gets done. A for Authority: who has the power to make final decisions. T for Task: the worker-bee, someone to get the work done. S for Support: the person who helps get the task work done. I for Informed: they are apprised of when the task is complete.
Recap
Whether you want to stick with RACI tradition, or you wish to subtract or add roles according to your project needs this responsibility assignment matrix has you covered. Without fail, RACI alternatives facilitate clear communication and optimize productivity.
The post The RACI Matrix Chameleon: How it Changes According to Your Project appeared first on Project-Management.com.
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Happy Hour Podcast 079 | Ideal MacBook Pros, Mac and podcast workflows, and more
This week Benjamin and Zac dream about their ideal MacBook Pros, discuss which Mac apps they use, their current and ideal podcasting workflows, and more. 9to5Mac’s Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
Filed under: Apple
Police searching for suspects spotted breaking into Apple’s campus this morning
iPhone sales growing again in US & Europe, iPhone outsells Samsung S7 in US, iPhone SE best-selling phone in UK
The latest data from Kantar Worldpanel shows that iOS returned to growth in Q2 in both the U.S. and the five biggest markets in Europe in Q2, Apple’s share of the smartphone market growing by 1.3% in the USA and 3.1% in the UK. This gave Apple a 31.8% share in the U.S. and 37.2% in the UK.
In the USA, the iPhone 6s/6s Plus outsold the Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge to make the iPhone the best-selling device in the quarter at 15.1% against Samsung’s 14.1%, with the iPhone SE taking third place at 5.1% …
Filed under: Apple
As Apple offers $200k for iPhone vulnerabilities, Black Hat firm offers $500k
While security researchers may now be able to earn up to $200k by reporting vulnerabilities to Apple, some may find it hard to resist a counter-offer of $500k by blackhat company Exodus Intelligence.
While Exodus uses the innocuous-sounding label ‘Research Sponsorship Program,’ the firm makes its money by buying details of vulnerabilities and then making them available to those wishing to exploit them to hack devices …
Filed under: Apple
Comment: Interesting split in reader reactions to the idea of a touchscreen Mac …
With Apple touting the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with keyboard as a full replacement for a PC, the company seems to have moved on from Steve Jobs’ view that touchscreens are not meant to be vertical. We thought it would be interesting, then, to test interest in the idea of a touchscreen MacBook Pro.
Jobs was clearly right that a touchscreen as a primary interface to a laptop would be a horrible experience, so we were careful to stress that we were looking at a MacBook Pro that retained the trackpad as the primary means of control. What we found in both poll and comments was a very interesting split in views …
Filed under: Apple
Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi discuss Apple Maps’ problems, crowdsourcing data from user behavior, product innovation and more
In a continuation of the Fast Company interview from Monday, Apple execs Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi discuss in detail the issues Apple Maps faced when it launched and how the company responded. Interviewed by Rick Tetzeli, Cue explains the problems Apple encountered with Maps: “it just never ends”. Cue says that Maps is an endless task as businesses open and close, POIs and streets change, etcetera. Initially, Apple’s engineering processes did not account for this kind of dynamic activity.
However, Cue says Apple now uses data from customer iPhones to constantly make Maps better. For example, Apple can find out if a new golf course has opened by tracking user App Store downloads. If a burst of iOS users start downloading golfing apps in the same location, Apple can reasonably assume a new POI has been setup.
Filed under: Apple