Have you seen the Olympic ski jumpers doing those twisting jumps five storeys into the air and land perfectly on an angle I’d be scared to walk down? I’ve been captivated by the incredible achievements of the Olympic athletes. And when I see the interviews with them, they all seem so positive and grounded, whether they’ve just placed or actually won a gold medal. How do these people do what they do with such focus and balance as professionals and as real people?

The father and sometime coach of four-time Canadian Women’s Hockey Team athlete Jennifer Botterill, Dr Cal Botterill (sports psychologist for Olympic athletes and the NHL) recently helped create a study called “12 Key Questions for Young Athletes”. I thought the conclusions in the study could apply equally to my organizing and productivity clients as to athletes who want to stay focused and on top of their game:

• Be clear about why you do what you do – know what your goals are. “Wanting to perform for others can be a powerful motivator and focus… Perform with a clear mind and an unburdened heart. Don’t let guilt (unintentional or not) develop from privileges you have been provided.”
• Make rivalries positive – don’t compare yourself to others “Wayne Gretzky became Canada’s leader in hockey because he loved playing the best. As a player, captain, and now manager and leader, Wayne loves positive rivalries… He knew playing the best brought out the best in him.”
• Get to know yourself better. “Olympic Diving Gold Medalist Sylvia Bernier believe good psychology can help you develop in all the other areas. Game plans can help you focus and execute strategies. Psychology can help you to get to know yourself better and develop a strong perspective.”

Stay balanced and focused and good things happen. Learn from the people who are going for the gold.

With the downturn in the economy many are finding themselves doing the work of two or more people. Take for instance a recent Vancouver-based client of mine who was in the position of hiring for a short-term entry level position in their company. The vacancy created a flurry of over 100 applicant resumes applying for the position.

Out of Chaos was originally called in to assist this busy manager with managing her tasks and creating a prioritized action plan. It was very clear early in our process that activities relating to hiring personnel were not this manager’s expertise.

In consultation with Sandra Reder, Managing Partner of Vertical Bridge Corporate Consulting, the following steps in the hiring process can easily bog down the best of managers, especially if they are not in your area of expertise:

1. Placing the advertisement on various job boards, website and possibly in print media
2. Receiving resumes (these days it can be anywhere from 75 to 150 resumes for one position)
3. Screening resumes to the job description and short-listing the suitable candidates
4. Pre-qualifying calls to the short-listed candidates to see how they communicate, as well as to confirm some basic details about them
5. Possibly doing a more in-depth pre-screen on the phone to find out more about their past work experience before bringing them in for face-to-face interviews

“Overall this can take one person well over 20 hours of their time (this is based on 75 resumes if there’s more, then time will obviously go up).”

What is your time worth? Consider the value of outsourcing hiring related activities to the experts and free yourself up to focus on your core business.

Thanks to Chu on This… subscriber, Lynda of Clearwater, BC. She shares with us her solution on how she keeps herself organized while enjoying her love of needle working. If you have a tip to share with your fellow “Out of Chaos” seekers, we look forward to hearing from you.
Read more

When recently faced with cleaning out 3 generations of items in the family home, Alison Wheatley wanted to find happy new homes for the items not wanted by the remaining family members, as well as contribute to her community. The items presented a range of challenges which tested and proved again Alison’s patience, persistence and research abilities.
Read more