All Lab Management Tips

Top 10 Management Mistakes (Posted: 3/10/2010)
In a broad sense, there are common mistakes made by managers at different levels and in various types of businesses. AllBusiness.com gives ten of the most common management mistakes. ... READ MORE

Debunking Myths About Millennials (Posted: 2/24/2010)
Millennials have a reputation for bringing a sense of entitlement, a lack of loyalty, a questionable work ethic and an indifference to promotion to their jobs. If you have a similar perception, youre probably cautious when hiring Millennials. Or perhaps youre a manager in a bind: you know its important to continue infusing youth into your culture, but you also require every employee to share your values. This article takes a closer look at the way Millennials think to show that a compromise isnt necessary.... READ MORE

How to Hold a Difficult Conversation (Posted: 2/18/2010)
If you manage people, work in Human Resources, or care about your friends at work, chances are good that one day you will need to hold a difficult conversation.... READ MORE

3 Job Interview Questions to Ask (Posted: 2/11/2010)
When the screening of the candidates is done, you will bring the top two or three in for an interview. What questions should you ask them? What answers should you be looking for? How will you know which one to hire? Whether you work for a large company with a Human Resources department and volumes of procedures or are a small business owner with a few employees, the questions you want to ask are the same. ... READ MORE

6 Ways to Frustrate Creative People (Posted: 2/4/2010)
When creative employees feel constrained, their imaginations tend to become less colorful. As a manager, you are kind of caught in the middle. You want to set up an environment where creative minds can flourish, and yet you also want to maintain accountability and structure. Creative people certainly require structure to stay on track, but they also need to sense theres some autonomy within that structure.... READ MORE

Helping A Discouraged Employee (Posted: 1/26/2010)
When employees are discouraged, they can be cancerous to the workplace. As their own production goes down, they will often attempt to contaminate others around them as well. Discouraged employees can be easily identified.... READ MORE

Five Tips for Effective Employee Recognition (Posted: 1/20/2010)
Employee recognition is not just a nice thing to do for people. It's a communication tool that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes people create for your business. When you recognize people effectively, you reinforce, with your chosen means of recognition, the actions and behaviors you most want to see people repeat. An effective employee recognition system is simple, immediate, and powerfully reinforcing.... READ MORE

Maintaining Appropriate Boundaries In the Workplace: Recognizing Healthy and Unhealthy Boundary Characteristics (Posted: 1/14/2010)
Discussing and defining boundaries can be an elusive concept in the workplace. What defines a boundary? The ability to know where you end and another person begins. In describing the need for space, setting limits, and determining acceptable behavior or autonomy, we are defining workplace boundaries.... READ MORE

Professional Team Management Tips for Creative Folks (Posted: 1/6/2010)
Management is a vast subject, with several sub-categories, such as product, team management and project management. While all are interesting topics, this article focuses mainly on team management and offers some useful tips and ideas to promote discussion and help improve the performance and happiness of your teams.... READ MORE

Management Skills Pyramid (Posted: 12/18/2009)
To be successful, there are many skills a manager needs to master. I adapted Kammy Hatnes' pyramid structure to show the increasingly difficult management skills you must master at each level and to also display how these management skills build on each other to help you achieve success in your management career. ... READ MORE

Lead the Team: How to be the Person Others Follow (Posted: 12/17/2009)
Leaders are hard to find. They exhibit a unique blend of charisma, vision and character traits that attract people to follow them. They exhibit the other nine characteristics around which this article series was developed.... READ MORE

What Is Employee Burnout? (Posted: 12/8/2009)
Burnout strikes employees when they have exhausted their physical or emotional strength. This usually occurs as a result of prolonged stress or frustration. ... READ MORE

It's Not Your Imagination - Your Boss Is Ignoring You (Posted: 12/2/2009)
Many people are paying close attention to signs that they may be next up for a layoff. Job shedding has accelerated since the start of the year, so here's one sign to watch out for: the boss's cold shoulder...... READ MORE

The Five Causes of Employee Negativity (Posted: 11/19/2009)
The typical workplace has its ups and downs in terms of employee negativity. Many workplaces are trying to be employee oriented. But, even the most employee oriented workplace can shudder under the weight of negative thinking. ... READ MORE

The 10 Essentials of Delegating (Posted: 11/12/2009)
You will not be an effective manager unless you learn how to delegate. The question, "Should I be handling this?" must be asked frequently if you are to develop your associates, build a strong team, and avoid being swamped.... READ MORE

Top Ten Reasons to Quit Your Job (Posted: 11/4/2009)
These are the top ten reasons why you might want to quit your current job. These are difficult, if not impossible, work problems to solve. You need to look out for your best interests. Your job consumes too many hours of too many days of your life for you to stay where you are if you're miserable. ... READ MORE

Organizing Paperwork Is Key to Productivity (Posted: 10/29/2009)
Are ever-growing stacks of paperwork interfering with your productivity? When you sit down to work, do you find yourself buried beneath a stack of paperwork and never being able to lay your hands on the one piece of paper you need for the task at hand? Organizing paperwork is key. ... READ MORE

How to Build a Teamwork Culture (Posted: 10/22/2009)
Fostering teamwork is creating a work culture that values collaboration. In a teamwork environment, people understand and believe that thinking, planning, decisions and actions are better when done cooperatively. People recognize, and even assimilate, the belief that none of us is as good as all of us. ... READ MORE

Principles of Small Innovation (Posted: 10/15/2009)
We live in a fast-paced, instant gratification global society that adores big. The next big thing. The big innovation. The approach of big innovation isn't ideal for small laboratories. Small innovations are the best growth strategy for your business. ... READ MORE

Creating an Employee Handbook (Posted: 10/7/2009)
The Introduction to your Employee Handbook is more than just a few words about your company. It lets your employees understand the importance of the handbook and includes an area for employees to sign to acknowledge they have read the handbook. ... READ MORE

Reaping Benefits from Brainstorming (Posted: 10/1/2009)
More than 60 years ago, advertising executive Alex Osborn developed the concept of brainstorming as a group technique for producing creative ideas and new solutions. Since then, brainstorming techniques have been widely adopted and expanded. ... READ MORE

Ask, Don't Tell (Posted: 9/23/2009)
How do you spend most of your time at work: a) putting out fires and solving problems or b) focusing on long-term planning while supervising your self-sufficient staff? If you answered "a" then the first piece of advice is this: stop solving problems. ... READ MORE

How to Motivate Your Employees With Incentives and Recognition (Posted: 9/17/2009)
Motivating employees can be done in a lot of ways, some more expensive than others but all quite effective. As long as you are willing to invest time or resources you can start motivating employees.... READ MORE

Four Simple Ways to Make Your Employees Happier (Posted: 9/10/2009)
There is a very simple secret to long-term employee loyalty and retention and it is not money, perks, or stock options. It's giving them meaningful roles.... READ MORE

From Manager to Leader (Posted: 9/3/2009)
Ask anyone and they'll tell you. There's a difference between managers and leaders. Ask them what that difference is and they may have a bit more difficulty. Suddenly the words become amorphous and undefined. Somehow leadership is an intangible - a charismatic component that some people have and others simply don't. ... READ MORE

Managing Employee Stress (Posted: 8/26/2009)
Stressphysical, mental, and emotional wear and tear is emerging as a leading health risk of the 21st century and as a serious hazard in the workplace. Disabling stress has doubled over the past six years in the United States, with one million people absent from work every day due to stress-related problems. ... READ MORE

Now It Is Even More Important To Be Focused (Posted: 8/19/2009)
As we struggle through these difficult economic times, there are two things I want to share with you that can help you not just survive, but get a leg up on your competition. Those two things are...... READ MORE

10 Ways to Handle Your Mistakes (Posted: 8/13/2009)
Were not perfect, although some of us act like we are! The ways in which we handle our goof-ups, guffaws, screw-ups, bad decisions, miscalculations, and blunders are critical - our reputations are at stake. And as managers, we should role model the behaviors we seek in others. In High Impact Middle Management, I wrote about "Harry," a manager who was defensive and quick to throw his employees under the bus. Don't be like Harry. Here are 10 ideas for how to react to and recover from mistakes. ... READ MORE

Employee Job Descriptions: Why Job Descriptions Make Good Business Sense (Posted: 8/5/2009)
Effectively developed, employee job descriptions are communication tools that are significant in your organization's success. ... READ MORE

Writing for Business (Posted: 7/30/2009)
The purpose of business writing is to convey information to someone else or to request information from them. To be effective writing for business, you must be complete, concise, and accurate. ... READ MORE

Hire Smarter with Social Media (Posted: 7/23/2009)
A recession might seem like good news for employers looking to hire: with unemployment rates up, you've got more people to choose from and the opportunity to hire at a lower price.... READ MORE

To Lead More Effectively, Increase Your Self-Confidence (Posted: 7/15/2009)
"How can I feel confident when I am speaking?" asked a participant in a recent workshop I conducted. While the question was specific to public speaking, the answer I gave is relevant to any leader.... READ MORE

Why Autocratic Management and Employee Teams Usually Don't Work Well Together (Posted: 7/14/2009)
Autocratic management is typically a combination of a sometimes erroneous mindset and actions that reinforce this internal philosophy or belief.... READ MORE

How to Have a Successful New Employee Orientation Program (Posted: 7/14/2009)
A good new employee orientation program delivers multiple benefits to your company, some of which are often overlooked. Here are but a few of the many benefits that both the new employees and the employer will receive.... READ MORE

Being a Bad Leader: 5 Ways to Improve Your Leadership Abilities through Communication (Posted: 7/8/2009)
Harvard Business Publishing recently reported on "The 10 Most Common Leadership Shortcomings." Below are five of the 10 shortcomings you can instantly avoid by improving your communication skills. ... READ MORE

Decision Making Made Easy (Posted: 7/1/2009)
Instead of using gut feel or other haphazard means, Lyndsay Swinton (Management for the Rest of Us, www.mftrou.com) suggests using Kurt Lewins Force Field Analysis as a simple yet effective method to improve your decision making ability. ... READ MORE

Good Management Is Predictive Management Not Reactive Management (Posted: 6/25/2009)
Many managers believe that their job is to resolve problems that arise. While that is true, it is only the lesser part of the job. More importantly, a manager's job is to prevent problems. ... READ MORE

Managers as Mediators (Posted: 6/18/2009)
Among the key challenges facing those in positions of leadership is the responsibility of facilitating the resolution of conflicts that arise within the workplace. This challenge is not taken lightly, as it stresses some of the most important working relationships that exist.... READ MORE

How to Manage a Deadbeat Employee (Posted: 6/9/2009)
A deadbeat employee is an employer's nightmare. You know the occasional employee I am talking about. He doesn't show up for work, calls in sick, and milks the time off policy, always walking on the edge, but never falling off. He walks the edge of the work policies and processes, too. ... READ MORE

How to Lead in Tough Times (Posted: 6/4/2009)
Watching, listening to or reading the news you will "know" that new layoffs are announced every day, a shaky stock market is followed more closely than ever, and uncertainties seem to be everywhere. This article is written to address this current situation, but the lessons apply to any challenging time you and your organization may be facing - whether global, local or company specific. ... READ MORE

Dont Let Process Get In The Way Of Results (Posted: 5/28/2009)
In Management 101 we covered the four principal parts of management: plan, execute, monitor, and adjust. It is important to remember that all four are essential. You will never make it to the other three if you get hung up on the first one. While planning is important, you have to get beyond that and get the work done. Analysis paralysis can be the death of any organization. ... READ MORE

Are You Strategic? (Posted: 5/20/2009)
Here are three principles to help managers climb the strategic summit. ... READ MORE

Delegation as a LeadershipStyle (Posted: 5/12/2009)
Your leadership style is situational. Your leadership style depends on the task, the team or individual's capabilities and knowledge, the time and tools available and the results desired. ... READ MORE

Pareto's Principle - The 80-20 Rule (Posted: 5/7/2009)
In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. In the late 1940s, Dr. Joseph M. Juran inaccurately attributed the 80/20 Rule to Pareto, calling it Pareto's Principle. While it may be misnamed, Pareto's Principle or Pareto's Law as it is sometimes called, can be a very effective tool to help you manage effectively. ... READ MORE

Making Employee Engagement Fashionable (Posted: 4/29/2009)
The CEO of Gucci says managers need to stay confident, calm, and focused with employees ... READ MORE

Know the Difference Between Leading and Managing Smartmanager.com (Posted: 4/27/2009)
You have probably heard these terms used interchangeably. If you also believe leading equals managing, you may be surprised to learn that there are important differences. Actually, from a personality and technique standpoint, you could make a solid case for leading and managing being polar opposites.... READ MORE

How to Lead in the New Millennium (Posted: 4/21/2009)
Generation Y has a lot of great traits, but classic, top-down leadership is not one of them. This is not a surprise: Because gen Y is the great teamwork generation. They did book reports in teams, they went to prom in teams, and they are notorious for quitting jobs in teams.... READ MORE

Don't Settle for "C" Players (Posted: 4/16/2009)
The war for talent has become more difficult in an environment in which so many people are job searching . I'm finding more people writing about differentiating between "A," "B," and "C" players, too. For success, you want to hire every "A" player you can find and figure out how to screen out the "C" players - and, unfortunately, the job market is full of them. ... READ MORE

How to Help Reduce Stress at Work (Posted: 4/8/2009)
Work can be a stressful place, wherever you earn your living, whether in an office, a factory, or a school. Some stress is good. It motivates us and makes us stronger. Too much stress is bad. It makes us irrational and it can, quite literally, kill us. Fortunately, there are specific things you can do that will help you reduce your stress at work and better cope with it.... READ MORE

Whats the Opposite of Micromanagement? (Posted: 3/31/2009)
There has been a lot of focus on micromanagement. Its a popular and frequently correct diagnosis for management ills. However, if micromanagement is the wrong way to do things, whats the right direction for a lab manager to take?... READ MORE

What's Wrong With A Messy Desk? (Posted: 3/26/2009)
The problem here is not that your desk is messy. The problem is that important stuff gets lost. It either gets buried by new material coming in, or it is in the new material, but is not noticed. As a result, you spend too much time on things that are simply urgent rather than those that are important.... READ MORE

The Seven Ss (Posted: 3/17/2009)
The Seven Ss is a framework developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s for analyzing organizations and looking at the various elements that make them successful (or not).... READ MORE

Top 10 Management Mistakes (Posted: 3/10/2009)
In a broad sense, there are common mistakes made by managers at different levels and in various types of businesses. AllBusiness.com gives ten of the most common management mistakes. ... READ MORE

Scruples Are a Good Thing (Posted: 3/3/2009)
I believe most people are good and honest. I believe that most managers act in ways that are beneficial for their employers and their employees. I do not believe that most of us are driven to take from others regardless of the cost. Certainly we have seen enough proof recently that there are unscrupulous people running businesses, but most managers are honest, scrupulous people.... READ MORE

10 Worst Innovation Mistakes in a Recession (Posted: 2/25/2009)
We are currently in a recession and in the past, CEOs have made serious mistakes in trying to cope with a slowing economy. Here is a list of What Not to Do.... READ MORE

Stress from a Volatile Economy (Posted: 2/18/2009)
Employees in even the best run practices are feeling the stresses of our volatile economy. ... READ MORE

Don't Let Top Talent Get Away (Posted: 2/9/2009)
Dissatisfaction may be on the rise among your best performers, according to research from the Corporate Executive Board. You can get them to stayif you pay ... READ MORE

Learn at Lunch, A Program to Help Employees Grow (Posted: 2/2/2009)
Learn at Lunch is a way to get more training done by making the lunch hour multi-tasking. ... READ MORE

How to Give Positive Feedback (Posted: 1/29/2009)
Don't ever underestimate the power of positive feedback. We are quick to point out to someone when they make a mistake. Sometimes we forget to acknowledge them when they do something right. Giving positive feedback can be a powerful tool for employee motivation. Here's how to use it most effectively.... READ MORE

Knowledge Management (Posted: 1/20/2009)
In an organization composed largely of specialists who direct and discipline their own performance through feedback from colleauges, customers and headquarters, the management of knowledge and information becomes a key to gaining competitive advantage. ... READ MORE

What's the Competition Doing? (Posted: 1/12/2009)
Resources and advice for gathering competitive intelligence. ... READ MORE

When Disaster Strikes, Don't Be Caught Unprepared (Posted: 1/9/2009)
Effective emergency management requires preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery to protect personnel, samples, records and operations.... READ MORE

Strategic Procurement (Posted: 1/9/2009)
Long considered a back-office function, procurement has emerged as an important asset in effective lab management... READ MORE

Pillars of Leadership (Posted: 1/9/2009)
The LMI curriculum outlined below is designed to provide scientists with a more formative education. It is organized under the categories of leadership; management; health, safety and security; best practices; and integrity and compliance.... READ MORE

Top Ten Resolutions for Your Possible New Year (Posted: 1/5/2009)
New Year's resolutions top many to-do lists each holiday season. The New Year is a beginning, so new goals and resolutions, new plans, new dreams and new directions fuel your thoughts. Here are ten New Year's resolutions for people who work for businesses and organizations.... READ MORE

Top 10 Ideas About What Employees Want From Work (Posted: 12/15/2008)
Every person has different reasons for working. The reasons for working are as individual as the person. But, we all work because we obtain something that we need from work. The something obtained from work impacts morale, employee motivation, and the quality of life. To create positive employee motivation, treat employees as if they matter - because employees matter. These ideas will help you fulfill what people want from work and create employee motivation.... READ MORE

Holiday Pay Practices: Do You Know Your Legal Requirements? (Posted: 11/21/2008)
The end of the year is a good time to review your companys holiday pay practices. ... READ MORE

Seven Steps to Riding out a Downturn (Posted: 11/9/2008)
Employees who are anxious about their futures especially during a challenging economy such as now can adversely affect a companys profitability. ... READ MORE

Keys to Strategic Planning Success (Posted: 10/28/2008)
If you are implementing your strategic planning in an organizational environment that is already employee-oriented, with a high level of trust, you start the strategic planning process with a huge plus. ... READ MORE

Top Ten Management Tips (Posted: 10/28/2008)
When asked the question, "Remember way back when - when you got your first management job. What do you wish someone had told you then? What would be the one tip you would give to a manager just starting out?" ... READ MORE

Bored Employees Are More Disgruntled Than Overworked Ones (Posted: 10/13/2008)
Businesses may realize far more negative consequences from bored employees than from those who report having too much work, according to research by Sirota Survey Intelligence.... READ MORE

The Cranky Middle Manager Manifesto (Posted: 9/29/2008)
Like any walk of life, management can be a satisfying endeavor. Sometimes you just need reminding of how to do it. ... READ MORE

How to Delegate Effectively (Posted: 9/29/2008)
Delegation is not just telling someone what to do. The team members you delegate to must be able to act fully in your absence. This means letting them think and decide for themselves. Fully empower people to act independently. ... READ MORE

Decision Making Made Easy (Posted: 9/10/2008)
Instead of using gut feel or other haphazard means, Lyndsay Swinton (Management for the Rest of Us, www.mftrou.com) suggests using Kurt Lewins Force Field Analysis as simple yet effective method to improve your decision making ability. ... READ MORE

Performance Management Strategies (Posted: 8/29/2008)
Do you have the responsibility for supervising the work of others? If so, you know that employees don't always do what you want them to do. On the one hand, they act as if they are competent professionals.... READ MORE

Management 101 (Posted: 8/18/2008)
Management is both art and science. It is the art of making people more effective than they would have been without you. The science is in how you do that. There are four basic pillars: plan, organize, direct, and monitor. Plan ... READ MORE

Anyone can steer the ship in calm waters. (Posted: 8/6/2008)
Anyone can steer the ship in calm waters.... READ MORE

Are You Strategic? (Posted: 7/21/2008)
Here are three principles to help managers climb the strategic summit.... READ MORE

Tackling Tough Q & A Questions (Posted: 7/9/2008)
A few practical tips for preparing for question-and-answer periods, particularly when you expect difficult questions from skeptics.... READ MORE

Making Change Stick (Posted: 6/25/2008)
Sustainable change requires persistence, skill and hard work. To make a lasting change in any workplace environment, you need the right tools.... READ MORE

June 13th is Blame Someone Else Day (Posted: 6/11/2008)
There is always somebody, or something, you can blame. Use your imagination!... READ MORE

Eight Tips to Encourage Meaningful Work Conflict (Posted: 5/28/2008)
Susan M. Healthfield from about.com offers these tips to healthy conflict in the workplace.... READ MORE

Quick Follow-ups Move Projects Forward (Posted: 5/14/2008)
Do you find projects running behind on a regular basis, or employees unmotivated to get tasks done? You may want to tweak your management style to include this quick follow-up technique.... READ MORE

Don't DO Anything (Posted: 4/30/2008)
Your job as a manager is to "plan, organize, control, and direct." Don't let yourself waste valuable time by falling back on what you did before you became a manager.... READ MORE

What's Strategic Planning Anyway? (Posted: 4/16/2008)
Strategic planning concerns anything that will bring results in anything from 1 year to 5 years or beyond. Its good management practice to raise your head above the daily grind every now and then, and take action now to positively affect your future.... READ MORE

Dare to be Slow (Posted: 4/2/2008)
Remember that a good time manager actually responds to some things more slowly than a bad time manager would.... READ MORE

Network to Win (Posted: 3/19/2008)
While networking with an individual client may give you some quick rewards, networking with other businesses and creating referral sources will give you long-term results.... READ MORE

Top Ten Reasons to Quit Your Job (Posted: 3/5/2008)
Susan Heathfield, a management and organization development consultant with about.com offers these top ten reasons why you might want to quit your current job.... READ MORE

Three Keys to Beat Procrastination (Posted: 2/20/2008)
Procrastination occurs for a number of reasons and in varying degrees.... READ MORE

Selling Your Ideas to Management (Posted: 2/6/2008)
Your great research or business idea won't be implemented unless you convince your supervisor, co-workers, and funding sponsors that it is feasible and will be profitable.... READ MORE

What's the Opposite of Micromanagement? (Posted: 1/23/2008)
There has been a lot of focus on micromanagement. It's a popular and frequently correct diagnosis for management ills. ... READ MORE

The Dirty Dozen - 12 Tips on How to Fail as a Manager (Posted: 1/16/2008)
You can learn from the best but there's a lot to be learned from the worst as well. Here are a few suggestions to make sure your company will never succeed.... READ MORE

When to Use (and not use) E-mail (Posted: 1/9/2008)
The "e" in e-mail means "electronic" NOT "everything," so consider the following before going on e-mail autopilot.... READ MORE

Top 10 Management Mistakes (Posted: 12/19/2007)
Managers come from different walks of life, posses various characteristics, and have their own philosophies regarding how to manage a business and employees.... READ MORE

Do the Most Important Thing First (Posted: 12/5/2007)
Productivity guru Gina Trapani calls this "running a morning dash."... READ MORE

Ten Employee Retention Tips (Posted: 11/7/2007)
In today's competitive hiring market, employee retention has become an important issue for all employers.... READ MORE

Five tips to being a better manager (Posted: 10/24/2007)
Five tips to being a better manager... READ MORE

Simple Steps to Better Communication (Posted: 10/10/2007)
Engaging in a discussion is a two-way process. Even if the other person is just listening, what you say and what they hear need to be in sync. How can you ensure that you are communicating clearly?... READ MORE

The Importance of Being an Approachable Manager (Posted: 9/26/2007)
As a manager, much of your success rests on the shoulders of those working for you.... READ MORE

Ten Tips for Writing Business E-mails (Posted: 9/12/2007)
Consider this. Every business e-mail you write is like a personal PR agent. What do your e-mails say about you?... READ MORE

Get the Most out of Training (Posted: 8/29/2007)
Training is important. It's the one way to improve the quality of your workforce with the staff you have. But training is only valuable when employees retain the information that was taught to them.... READ MORE

Being the Bearer of Bad News (Posted: 8/15/2007)
As a manager, there are many opportunities to share good news, recognize staff members for accomplishments, and to enjoy a few moments focusing on a job well-done. ... READ MORE

Five Reasons for a Meeting (Posted: 8/1/2007)
Before you hold your next meeting, be sure you and the others at the meeting know why it's being held. Meetings can drag on and feel like a waste of time if the goals are not clear to all in attendance.... READ MORE