Get Control! of Email and Info

Get Control! of Email and Info Participant Workbook Conquer Email Overload! Get Organized, Prioritized, and Energized to Excel! In partnership with

Get Control! of Email and Info PARTICIPANT WORKBOOK Instructional Design Consultant John Lusardi Art Director Beverly Haney Proofreaders Barbara Akers Carey Nash D Andra La Pierre Brand Manager Victoria Cutler Product Developers Kate Clawson Gary Onstad Illustrator Beverly Haney Production Artists Kate Clawson Kara Meredith Gary Onstad Bridgit Watt 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. The Ken Blanchard Companies, Blanchard, Situational Leadership II, and SLII are registered trademarks of The Ken Blanchard Companies. Situational Leadership is a registered trademark of Leadership Studies, Inc. Get Control! of Email and Get Control! of Info are the exclusive trademarks of GetControl.net. This program and these materials have been developed and designed by GetControl.net, in cooperation with The Ken Blanchard Companies. The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net maintain the full and exclusive rights to these materials as afforded by United States and international copyright law; and these materials represent the proprietary intellectual property of The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written consent of The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. GetControl.net holds the sole and exclusive right to create any and all derivative works based on this publication. All rights to these materials, beyond those rights secured by purchase, must be granted in writing by The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. Thank you! Global Headquarters USA +1 760 489-5005 800 728-6000 Fax +1 760 489-8407 UK +44 (0) 1483 456300 Canada +1 905 829-3510 800 665-5023 Singapore +65 6775 1030 www.kenblanchard.com Item # 17241 V121510

Table of Contents Preface...v Get Control! of Email Get Control! of Email...1 Email Adds Up...2 Should Sheila s Email Have Been Sent?...3 Should Manuel s Email Have Been Sent?...4 Should Todd s Email Have Been Sent?...5 What Is the Best Communication Channel?...6 Time Management Myths...7 Defeating Inbox Clutter with the 4 D s...8 What Does Andy Want You to Do?...9 What Does Angela Want You to Do?...10 A-B-C Email Quality Tool...11 Is Ted Going to the Meetings?...12 Email Etiquette Best Practices...13 Outlook Tips...14 Lotus Notes Tips...15 Entourage Tips...16 GroupWise Tips...17 BlackBerry Tech Tips...18 Sharing Best Practices...19 Repairing Andy s Email...20 Sharing Insights with Specific Colleagues...21 Communication Tips...22 Next Steps...23 Notes...24 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate Item # 17241 V121510 iii

Table of Contents Get Control! of Info Get Control! of Info...25 Five Secrets to Filing and Finding It Fast...26 Design a COTA System...27 The COTA Folder System...28 Create Power Draft Folders...29 Download Time-Saving COTA Icons...30 Create Easy Access Points...31 Extend COTA to Your Filing Cabinet...32 More Get Control! Tips...33 Universal COTA Map...34 Organize Your Personal Life with PAO...35 The Secret Benefits of COTA and PAO...36 10 Get Control! Internet Search Tips...37 Setting Up COTA in One Hour or Less!...38 Version Control Strategies...39 Notes... 40 iv 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate Item # 17241 V121510

Preface Welcome to the Get Control! of Email and Info workshop. Now that email consumes 25 percent of the average professional s day, it is important to make it as efficient as possible. Today, you will discover best practices that have helped thousands of professionals improve productivity and work-life balance. This is practical information developed by the authors of The Hamster Revolution : How to Manage Your Email Before It Manages You. After attending this workshop, you will have a concrete, long-term plan for effectively managing email. You will also discover a new way to file and find information fast. We hope that you will participate in this fast-paced, fun, and informative learning experience. Mike Song Vicki Halsey Tim Burress 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate Item # 17241 V121510 v

Get Control! of Email Objectives Cut email time by 20 percent Boost email quality by 35 percent Share email best practices with at least two colleagues 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate Item # 17241 V121510 1

Email Adds Up Number of Days Saved Annually with 20% Email Reduction A. Annual Number of Emails Sent Number of emails sent per day Multiply by 240 work days per year x 240 days Number of emails sent per year A B. Annual Number of Emails Received Number of emails received per day Multiply by 240 work days per year x 240 days Number of emails received per year B C. Annual Number of Days Spent Processing Emails Add A + B Multiply by 2 minutes per email x 2 minutes Number of minutes spent processing email per year Convert to hours by dividing by 60 minutes 60 minutes Number of hours spent processing email per year Divide by 8 work hours per day 8 hours Number of days spent processing email per year C D. Days Saved with 20% Email Reduction Multiply C by 20% C x.2 Number of days saved annually with 20% email reduction D 2 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate Item # 17241 V121510

Should Sheila s Email Have Been Sent? Email From: To: Cc: Subject: Attach: Sheila Manuel, Angela, Todd Re: Important Kitchit Campaign Question Hi Manuel, I think we should definitely discount for people who buy more than 300 Kitchits. I recommend a 10% discount, as that usually results in a 15% sales increase. Sheila From: Manuel To: Sheila, Angela, Todd Subject: Important Kitchit Campaign Question Hi Team, Please get back to me with your response to this important question: Should we offer discount pricing for the Kitchit campaign? If so, what kind of discount? Thanks, Manuel 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate Item # 17241 V121510 3

Should Manuel s Email Have Been Sent? Email From: To: Cc: Subject: Attach: Manuel Angela Re: Action: Send March and April Projections by 5:00 p.m. EST Feb. 17 My March projections are $509,000 and I think my April projections are $611,000. I will confirm when I get back to my desk this afternoon. Manuel From the PDA of Manuel Torres From: Angela To: Team Dist. List Subject: Action: Send March and April projections by 5:00 p.m. EST Feb. 17 Hey Team, Please send your March and April projections to me by 5:00 p.m. today. Thanks, Angela 4 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate Item # 17241 V121510

Should Todd s Email Have Been Sent? Email From: To: Cc: Subject: Attach: Todd Manuel Production defects Someone just told me that we are seeing 67 Kitchit defects per thousand!!! Is that true? If the competition or media find out, we are sunk. What are we going to do? Todd 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate Item # 17241 V121510 5

What Is the Best Communication Channel? Phone % of phone calls are answered by machine. Use the phone to schedule mini-meetings in order to have more live conversations. Use voice mail when vocal inflection is needed. Keep messages to one minute and stick to one or two points. Email Use email for documentation purposes, fast distribution, and simple messages. Email is not a great way to hold long discussions, make decisions, or communicate emotional information. IM (Instant Messaging) Use IM for short, two-way discussions or to get a quick opinion from an expert. Use IM to arrange mini-meetings. IM is not confidential and may increase interruptions. Live Meeting Hold a live meeting to address complex, critical, controversial, or confusing issues. 6 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate Item # 17241 V121510

Time Management Myths Don t Be a zero hero Touch it once Type faster Just pick up the phone 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate Item # 17241 V121510 7

Defeating Inbox Clutter with the 4 D s Delete by Sorting Smart Reverse sort your inbox from oldest to newest messages in order to reveal a higher density of easy-to-delete, outdated messages. Then sort by VIP your top five most important colleagues. Review these messages to make sure that you do not owe important deliverables to key people. Do It Now Sweep through your inbox by completing any task that can be done in less than two minutes. This will help you rapidly eliminate a large amount of email. Defer It to a Specific Time If your email contains a task that can not be done right away, defer it to a specific time by using one of these methods: 1. Setting the Follow-Up Flag 2. Dragging it into Calendar 3. Dragging it into the Tasks folder Delegate It If someone else needs to complete the task, be sure to forward it to him or her with a specific time and date for completion. You can also click and drag the email into your Tasks folder. Then you can select Assign Task, choose an action-taker, set a start and stop time, and send your task. You will receive a confirmation that your recipient has accepted and completed the task. 8 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate Item # 17241 V121510

What Does Andy Want You to Do? You have just received the email below. Raise your hand when you know the requested action. Email From: To: Cc: Subject: Attach: Andy Tiger Team Distribution List Sales Teams (All Regions) One More Thing NX 37 04 2004 Widget NX 37 03 2004 Widget NHHd21 action steps and meeting notes Greetings, I wanted to thank you all of your participation in last week s meetings. It was great seeing you all in sunny Florida. The information that you shared was helpful and it will help us all to better serve our customers in the future. In particular, Dara s insights into the Cray account were really helpful. Her approach serves as a best practice for all of us. I am including the notes and action items for your review. As luck would have it I need to ask some of you to do one more thing for me. Unfortunately, we need to take a look at our March numbers. We have been hearing that some of the numbers are being reported incorrectly. Other people are finding that the numbers are fine. If we want to get full credit for everything we do, we should jump on this immediately. In fact, we might also want to take a look at the February numbers to see if they also look right. This only applies to the East Coast team. West Coast numbers appear to be fine. So review the attached documents and let me know if you see any inconsistencies. I am also including some important information from the meeting, including Dara s best practices. One more thing, we are looking to see if the March widget sales numbers are higher or lower than the February and January widget sales numbers. Generally speaking, they should be higher. If your numbers are lower, please call me at your earliest convenience. Thanks again for all of your help last week. I think we got a lot accomplished in a very short period of time. Despite a somewhat cramped room, and let us just say not the best food, we managed to execute like champions. Andy 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate Item # 17241 V121510 9

What Does Angela Want You to Do? You have just received the email below. Raise your hand when you know the requested action. Important: Do not begin reading until asked by the facilitator. Email From: To: Cc: Subject: Attach: Angela Stevens Tiger Team Managers Only Please complete and submit your business plan to me by 5:00 p.m. May 15 Hi Team Thanks for a great meeting last week! Action/Summary: Please complete and submit your business plan to me by 5:00 p.m. on May 15. Background: HQ is summarizing all business plans for the annual Q2 presentation to our CEO. Remember to use specific and measurable goals. If you need to review the instructions for completing the plan, click on the link www.mybusinessplan.net. Use the Report Finder to locate specific metrics for all initiatives. Close: Thanks for all of your help on this important initiative. Call me with questions. Angela Stevens Regional Manager Results Now Media 203 321-5432 astevens@rnm.com 10 2010 The Ken Blanchard Companies and GetControl.net. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate Item # 17241 V121510