In many companies you can find various e-mail and document retention policies that limit the life span of old reports in case you need them, for example, to compare your performance or defend your stance (bit). Use continuity in sending reports by replying to your previous report (tip).
This is actually an IIRW extension to bit and tip 0×4.
- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -
Many people don’t want to accept help either personally or in inter-team context (bit). Never suggest what you don’t want for yourself and even if you want help for yourself suggest assistance (tip).
I originally learnt about this advice from Weinberg’s book “Becoming a Technical Leader: An Organic Problem-Solving Approach”. Today one of my colleagues sent me the link about M. Dell proposing help to Putin’s Russia. May be Dell needs help in this time of economic uncertainty?
- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -
From time to time it is useful to have formal thank-you-for-your-service letters emphasizing how customers need your services for day-to-day running of their business processes and / or during their critical situations (bit). Have ready templates for asking about such letters (tip).
Follow-through prioritized service requests with feedback templates. If there are no critical issues schedule periodical questionnaires. When people ask you for a service-favour request a letter clarifying how your service-favour reply helped them to do their business.
- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -
Some people don’t feel good when they see themselves second or last on To: and Cc: email recipient lists or any other list that lists them (bit). Alphabetize the list and even mention casually that you do so (tip).
Prioritize, Alphabetize, Perspectiwise
The second P is not a misprint but the summary that puts the alphabetization of To: and Cc: lists into perspective wisely!
- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -
The pressure to deliver is great nowadays (bit). Utilize time-proven software engineering techniques like reuse of accomplishments and artifacts (tip).
Classical example of this is called WORM: write once, report many. For example, you write an article once and report the number of views every month. Of course, the article needs to be popular enough to report.
- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -
Thick books impress people (bit). Write and publish a technical book related to your work to show the complexity and importance of what your team does and highlight the technical ability of your department (tip).
If there is a perception among other people that the job of your team is easy and tasks can be accomplished more quickly then sufficiently thick book shows the opposite and emphasizes quality vs. speed.
- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -
When receiving lots of e-mails people pay attention first to something unusual (bit). Flag your request, inquiry or FYI e-mail as low-priority when you send it to a general distribution list (tip).
Here you have a chance to get your e-mail noticed by curious people and if you really sent something unimportant or not appropriate you won’t be accused because your e-mail was flagged as low priority.
- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -
Follow-up and Follow-through are essential skills of every manager (bit). In the absence of specialized software use your existing e-mail system to tag important e-mail messages with keywords (tip).
For example, when I send important analysis results and I want to look at them in retrospect after a couple of months for postmortem analysis I type the following tag at the end of my e-mail message:
[dmitry vostokov: revisit later]
After some time I just do a simple search in my inboxes to get all these tagged messages.
- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -
Just created a permanent page where you can click on individual bits. Hope you find it useful 
http://www.managementbits.com/management-bits-and-tips/
- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -
History and current affairs books are full with political case studies (bit). Read history books to get balanced view of politics and better understand corporations, internal and external forces that shape them and move people in, up, and out (tip).
I love history since childhood. I resumed reading history books after very long period of being a software engineer and in the future posts I’m going to point to some books that I recently read or plan to read. One of them is
Reading this book prompted me to buy another one that I’m reading now:
Tragedy & Hope: A History of the World in Our Time
- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -
