Have you seen the Serena Williams US Open video yet, where she completely blew her top over a foot fault?  Watch the Serena Williams video and see for yourself how ridiculous she reacted to someone in authority telling her she had made a mistake.
Here’s what Serena said Sunday in response to the situation, after she had some time to reflect on her transgressions:

"Last night, everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job. Now that I have had time to gain my composure, I can see that while I don’t agree with the unfair line call, in …read more

As a manager, I find the happier I am, the happier my team is. As we’re a client facing team, it is my best interests to be as happy as I can, as often as I can, for as long as I can. So I’m always on the lookout for new tricks, new tips, new tools I can use to keep my spirits and my energy at a high level.
One of my favorite bloggers is Gretchen Rubin, who writes the blog (and next year the book) The Happiness Project.

Gretchen has an awesome Happiness Manifesto that I refer to frequently …read more

Feeling stressed? Who isn’t these days!
Do more with less.
Fire someone today.
Re-align your department.
Whatever you’re experiencing, no doubt it’s giving you more stress than you want.

Here are a few secrets of stress reduction – that you can do FAST – and they don’t cost you anything.

Take a Walk – Step away from your desk for a few minutes and do nothing but walk for just a little while.
Take the stairs – Try the stairs instead of the elevator to your next meeting
Smile for no reason – Go into the restroom and just grin at yourself for a few minutes. Force it …read more

NOTE from Phil: what follows is a guest article from Wendy Serafin, Principal Owner, Nifares Group. While this article is geared toward IT organizations and IT managers, this is fantastic information for ANY non-production manager, or anyone looking to make a name for herself or himself.
Long gone are the days when CIOs were cloistered in back-room operations, you are now on the front lines with customers and in the boardrooms talking strategy. Fierce competition, increased innovation demands, complex compliance and regulatory requirements, and cost efficiency and performance pressures from customers have pushed the role of CIO into an external-facing leadership …read more

I am so thankful to each one of you for reading Slacker Manager. You ask me good questions off the blog, you leave insightful comments, and you add value to my life. I am humbled when I am able to give something back to you, and this post is a direct response to a question one of you amazing people asked me.
Here’s the question:
What recommendations would you have for someone such as myself (I have an IT background with an MBA – and I am wanting to move up into management (again)). I am unable to move within my current …read more

One of the best ways to learn how to be a great manager is to work with a great mentor and learn from his/her mistakes before you make them yourself. A mentor is a guide, a trusted advisor, and a wise sage, who can offer insights into what you do.
Looking a little deeper into the history of the mentor, I discovered the original Mentor was a character in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. When Odysseus, King of Ithaca went to fight in the Trojan War, he entrusted the care of his kingdom to Mentor. Mentor served as the teacher and …read more

Strength impoverishment in our workplaces.
 
by David Zinger
Assessing the poverty of strengths in the workplace. Here are the results from my latest management strength survey.

55% of people have had no strength training
18% of participants spent less than 1/5 of their day using their strengths
only 9% of participants spent over 4/5ths of their day using their strengths.
28% of respondents report being able to spend beyond 60% of their time using their strengths.
only 3 out of 10 managers are working from their strengths a majority of the time.

Actual strengths. The list of their greatest strength at work was somewhat vague. Communication, organization, problem solving, and knowledge …read more

May’s Golden Slacker: Leo Babauta 
 
Inducted by David Zinger
I am delighted to induct Mr. Leo Babauta of Zen Habits as the May inductee in the Order of the Golden Slacker.

It is an honor to induct Leo Babauta into the Order of the Golden Slacker. Leo’s primary focus is on productivity and his perspective, suggestions, and articles on self-management are guaranteed to create a solid foundation for any manager to manage others by first managing himself or herself well. Leo is an exceptional blog writer who demonstrates an exquisite flair for this medium.
Leo is able to demonstrate solid and sound management by his …read more

Info, info, info, info, info, info, info, info….everywhere but not a drop to think?
Are you bobbing, almost drowning, in a sea of information?
Take this article, why are you reading it? Don’t go away just yet, I have my own simple answer at the end.
We have reached the point where the productivity experts are just adding to that sea of information with their habits, tips, and endless suggestions about how to cope with our terrible information plight.

According to a recent article in msnbc a majority of workers feel overwhelmed by a deluge of data:

7 out of 10 office workers in the United States …read more

Guest Post: Kelly Andrew Brown
 My optimal time for getting anything done is 30 minutes – with few rare exceptions.
If I’ve let any given task drag on longer than that, chances are I’ve lost my way. I’ve either forgotten the outcome, I’m unclear on my next step, or I’m off on some weird tangent. So one of the most valuable tools on my desk is my beloved OXO egg-timer. Is it a bit OCD? Ohhhhh yeah. But who cares? Time constraints work.
Ever have an impossible 5pm deadline? Something that seemed unachievable in the time required? I bet you made it. And …read more