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In my last post, I spoke about setting goals. Setting your Top 1-5 goals will provide you with focus and enable you to prioritize. You will focus more on outcomes than on tasks. The process will also make you think about and give you clarity about your line of sight in the organization. In addition, having a few specific goals will enable you to be more committed about achieving them, and make them more attainable. Questions that you can ask yourself when setting the goals include: How important is this goal? How confident am I about the pathway chosen to attain the goal? Is it measurable? Is this goal consistent with the organization’s core values and objectives?...

A good way to remain focused at work is by setting goals to be achieved within a finite time. At Kenexa, we have been following the norm of setting Top 1-5 goals for many years now. The Top 1-5 consists of goals that are based on either one’s day-to-day job or a special project you have been working on. These goals need to tie in to our organizational objectives or benefit one of our clients. They are required to be tightly set, with specific timelines for completion. As we set these goals, we need to think about resource needs as well—do we have what we need to fulfill the goal, or do we need to tie in with someone else to complete it, and of what nature is this dependence?

My last post discussed my “not-to-do” list. Another item on this list is never accepting vague and imprecise opinions or answers, such as those that might contain the words “sometimes,” “a few,” “small amount,” “large amount”— those words don’t mean anything to me. I need specific data that backs up their statement. For example, if someone tells me that quite a few people are unhappy with a particular process we use, I want specific data such as exactly what percentage of the people using that process is unhappy, what analysis was performed to arrive at that number, how rigorous the analysis was, and exactly what about t...

While most people have “to-do” lists, my most important list is a “not-to-do” list. I find that this helps keep me focused on my work and cuts out distraction by issues that could waste my time. For example, employees often come to me with complaints about problems they are having. This is where my not-to-do list kicks in—one of the items on it is not to listen to a complaint without hearing a solution in conjunction with it. Anyone is welcome to come and vent to me, but not without some forethought on how to solve their problem, or without ways to achieve a positive outcome. I will then gladly help them decide on whether the solution is the best one, and maybe...

I recently had an interesting conversation with a colleague about developing relationships. I am of the strong opinion that it is better to have a few good friends than numerous mediocre friends. The mediocre relationships are usually defined by some mutual interest, such as a sport you play together or a group you are both members of, and you generally do not develop these further—once the commonality ends, so does the relationship. I have been working for about 30 years. When I began working, I decided on a fairly simple formula—to identify one person each year that I would like to be friends with for the rest of my life, and work at developing and maintaining those friendships...

Good workplace relationships are imperative for success and effectiveness at your job. Besides this, if you have some good friends from among colleagues, this gives you an edge. You will be less stressed at work, and the friendship will make you feel positive, supported and empowered. If you’ve been working more than ten years, think back and identify who was your closest friend at work when you first began. If you are no longer with the same organization, try to ask yourself when you last communicated with that person. If the answer is “over five years or so,” then you can start questioning the type of relationship you have built at work.