Fire your bad client? Whoa, that sounds drastic! Why would you want to get rid of a client? June R. Jewell, CPA, President & CEO of AEC Business Solutions has done just that. Why? It’s one of 3 steps that can help you increase your fees. Read her blog post here.
Author Archives: SDA Seattle
Take our $20 challenge!
Will you be one of the first 100 people to take our $20 challenge? Your contribution will be matched by SDA’s Past President’s Council, up to $2,000.
You can make an impact, and all it takes is $20 and this form.
SDA’s Past President’s Council (SDAPPC) is thrilled to announce that a $2,000 matching gift has been given to the SDAPPC for scholarships for SDA members to attend EDSymposium15 in October, if we match this gift with 100 additional $20 gifts. We are reaching out to you and your firms to meet this challenge.
Attendance at EDSymposium is a pivotal moment in the career of many SDA members, the one factor that helps members turn their jobs into careers, resulting in less turnover for their firms, and creating an SDA member for life.
For those of you who have attended an EDSymposium and know the value, who’ve taken that elevator, please send that elevator back down and give a hand up to our newest members and future attendees.
But wait! Your donation is not limited to $20. The more money received, the greater the number of scholarships that can be provided. So . . . be a leader. Tell your family. And your friends. And your work colleagues. And spread the word throughout your social media. Let’s match that $2K gift!
All your employees can be leaders
This video (created by Inno-Versity) just might make you want to go read L. David Marquet’s book, “Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders.”
No other introduction is necessary; it stands on its own.
Technology Transfer: Show Two Time Zones on Your Outlook Calendar
Here’s how to enable your Outlook calendar to show an additional time zone. The how-to steps in this PDF were written for Outlook 2010 (start by clicking File / Options), but if you are using 2007, start by clicking Tool / Options.
Free on-line stock photos, really!
We were stoked to come across an article by Casey Ark (CEO of Plato) in which he shares a list of “14 Amazingly Free Stock Photo Websites,” (Entrepreneur, October 20, 2014).
Who doesn’t need that list (especially when marketing budgets are slim)? Case in point: The (free, no attribution required) photo attached to this post is from Pixabay, from a simple search on “architecture.”
Thank you, Casey! Read the article here.
Tips for Coping with Communication Styles
We all have them—managers whose styles differ greatly from yours. If you find yourself getting frustrated because you don’t feel like you are communicating well with your manager, here are some things you can do.
But, don’t expect your manager to change his/her way. You’ll have to change the way you approach your manager, by adjusting to his/her style. Once you can recognize and understand your manager’s style, you just need to know how to respond and act in a complementary way.
Typical characteristics:
The Controller has a direct, authoritarian style. Controllers value efficiency and productivity, and set clear, specific goals. They tend to micromanage their employees for maximum control. They don’t tend to listen or take advice well.
The Open Manager values a democratic and team-oriented system. Open managers have general goals and don’t give specific directions. They value relationships and enjoy chatting and getting together socially with employees.
The Bureaucrat values processes and rules. Bureaucrats resist new and innovative ideas, preferring to base decisions on what’s been done in the past. They have high respect for the chain of command within organizations.
The Entrepreneur has new ideas, is energetic, and can be fun to work for. Entrepreneurs are hard workers and often expect employees to go above and beyond their stated duties. They’re visionaries who don’t always use good business sense.
Watch how your manager acts when under pressure; that’s a good indication of their dominant style. Be aware that a manager’s style may at times overlap between the four.
So how do you deal with each type?
| Your manager's style | Your best approach |
|---|---|
| Controller | Let them be the boss by yielding to authority. Be easygoing and flexible. Be brief and to the point. |
| Entrepreneur | Enforce personal limits. Act as the voice of reason. Develop strong business principles. |
| Open | Encourage manager to take a strong leadership position. Encourage manager to make undemocratic decisions when necessary. Encourage manager to be more specific with instructions and goals. |
| Bureaucrat | Follow rules and procedures. Be gentle, yet persistent when introducing new ideas. |
(Excerpt from PBU online course “Maximizing Your Relationship With Your Boss”)
MS Word Tip: Pagination and Breaks
Our favorite Word guru, Dorothy Skans, has retired, but we know she wouldn’t mind us sharing another one of her MS Word tips. This one deals with pagination and page breaks.
The Rule of Thumb: If you use the options available in Word, there are few instances when you should insert a manual page break.
EDSymposium15: Networking Tips
EDSymposium15 (EDS15) is just a few months away. You know what that means, right? Not only will you gain valuable A/E/C-industry specific skills and knowledge, but you’ll also grow your networking circle.
Networking. Does that word scare you a little? It shouldn’t. It should create a little excitement knowing that while you are at EDS15 in Golden, Colorado in early October, you are going to meet other administrators and managers who work in the same field, and in the same types of roles and positions, and who encounter similar challenges and speak the same jargon. Continue reading
Is delegating hard for you?
Member Gretchen Renz, CDFA, facilitated a roundtable for us, on the topic of delegation. It was a great session, with chapter members sharing practical advice. You can read the summary from that roundtable in the Spring 2015 issue of Portico, on page 8. You know you can find just about anything on YouTube, and there are a number of videos on delegation, including the ones Gretchen cited during the roundtable. We think you’ll also enjoy the presentation by our friends in the industry, Golder Associates, who have an exceptionally well-done, less-than-3-minutes-long video on delegating. Check it out here.
5 steps to take when your team gets rough
Do your team meetings get a little dysfunctional, with members’ emotions skyrocketing? Read Richard E. Boyatzis’ article for five steps on gaining back control.
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