Productivity – Page 4

Category: Productivity

Reasons, Excuses, Rationalizations

My mother recently had a fence replaced. The “Fence Guy” was a self-employed franchisee for a national chain. When he did not show up on the appointed day my mother left three unreturned messages before complaining to the franchisor. Fence Guy eventually called back and said he was behind and he would be there in three weeks.

January 26, 2014 Short URLappropriate work behavior, behavior, best practice, business, choice, choices, communication, deadlines, dependability, excuse, explanation, Management, missing deadlines, problem solving, rationalization, reason, reasonable person defense, reliability, schedule, workManagement, Productivity

Resources for Aspiring School Business Leaders

Continuing my series for future school business leaders, I offer short commentaries on some of the most useful technical and policy resources for California school business aspirants. In no particular order, here they are: 1. School Services of California. This is a subscription service. If you are in California it is likely that your school district is a

January 20, 2014 Short URLaspiring leader, auditor, business, California, California Department of Education, California school districts, career development, CASBO, CCR, Code of Regulations, Edjoin, Edsource, Education Code, fcmat, Google alerts, government, government spending, leadership, legislative analyst, Management, policy issues, PPIC, public education, Public Policy, public school finance, public schools, Sacramento Bee, school district business, school finance, School Services, technical expertiseCareer Development, Finance, Government, Laws and Regulations, Local Control Funding Formula, Management, Procedures and Practices, Public Schools, School District Jobs

Your Tax Dollars at Work! Headlines to Avoid

Mrs. Smith came into my office. She was angry, but controlled. Her practiced smile was plastered on top of gritted teeth. “Teachers just don’t get paid enough. Every now and then we have to do something nice for them.” What was this all about? My staff had rejected Principal Smith’s expense report where she was seeking

January 16, 2014 Short URLbest practice, California, gift of public funds, government, government spending, inappropriate expenses, Management, perks, public education, public funds, public school finance, public schools, school district business, school finance, tax, taxes, teachers, teaching professionAccounting, Finance, Government, Laws and Regulations, Management, Procedures and Practices, Public Schools

Size Matters

In the course of my career I have occasionally heard some unsavory “us versus them” talk. Teachers versus non teachers Certificated versus classified Management versus non-management School versus district Parents versus school administration Some discussions of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) resort to this rhetoric, most notably the “school versus district” polarity. I have previously mentioned the

January 15, 2014 Short URLaccounting, best practice, business, California, California school districts, data, fairshare4kids, icr, indirect cost, indirect cost rate, lcff, local control funding formula, Management, return on investment, school administration, school district, school district business, school districts, school finance, us versus them, us vs themData, Finance, Government, Local Control Funding Formula, Management, Productivity, Public Schools

Reputation: a Matter of Trust

Today I recommend thinkpurpose’s post Why I Don’t Care About the Reputation of my Organisation. …If you aim for a good reputation, trust takes a back seat. Spin, presentation and image are the easy ways to a good reputation but trust is made from simpler and sterner stuff. It has to be based on something

January 12, 2014 Short URLbest practice, building reputation, business, career development, customer experience, disengaged employees, employee engagement, engagement, experience, government, online reputation, public schools, reputation, reputation management, school district, success, superintendent, TripAdvisor, trustCareer Development, Government, Management, Public Schools, Working Together

Oh Crap!

Some time back I was a passenger in a car that my friend was driving. We were sideswiped by a 17-year-old driver in a massive truck. This smashed the passenger side. We were pushed into the central freeway barrier. This smashed the driver’s side. Then we spun around several times and ended up on the shoulder,

January 9, 2014 Short URLaccident, best practice, career development, disaster recovery, firefighters, Management, problem solvingCareer Development, Management, Productivity, Risk Management, School District Jobs, Working Together

Victimized by a Bag of Trash

A long time ago I moved into a modest apartment in a poorer part of town. I opened the back window and was at once assaulted by an unpleasant odor. I soon located the source of the stench: an oversized heavy-duty black trash bag on the back balcony filled with moldy garbage. I was incensed. My thinking

January 8, 2014 Short URLapartment, facing reality, garbage, garbage bins, responsibility, taking control, taking responsibility, trash, unpleasant odor, victim, victim mentalityCareer Development, Management, School District Jobs, Working Together

A Different Approach to Hiring?

Over the years I have hired a some stars and some near misses as well. Upon reflection my hires generally fall into four groups: Intelligent, motivated, with great interpersonal skills (IQ, MQ, EQ). These are our stars, who are promoted quickly. Intelligent, motivated, with poor interpersonal skills (IQ, MQ). Despite their talents and eagerness, they irritate their fellow workers.

January 5, 2014 Short URLbest practice, budget analyst, business, career development, employee engagement, employment, EQ, hiring, human resources, interpersonal skills, interview, job interview, jobs, motivated employees, motivation, MQ, myers-briggs, personality tests, problem solving, public education, public school finance, public schools, school district business, show me the money, unions, Vladimir PutinCareer Development, Management, School District Jobs, Working Together

Speed versus Quality

Bob came to see me. “When the examiners come just say Plan, Do, Check, Act.” “Um, What?” “Oh and Alignment and Implementation. That’s key.” I rolled my eyes only after he left my office. The Baldridge examiners were coming and I had a script to follow, apparently. Thanks Cavegirl for the book recommendation Why Business

January 2, 2014 Short URLAttwood, Boyd, business, Business books, coding, data, Deming, Edwards Deming, information technology, IT, jargon, Jeff Attwood, Obamacare, OODA, OODA loop, PDCA, strategyBook Reviews, Career Development, Daily Work, Management

Excel Solver for Expense Transfers

Thank you Pronger for your post about the Excel solver function. Follow this link to view his explanation and instructions. The solver function is especially useful if you deal with a multitude of funding sources such as state and local grants, federal awards and bond funds. Each restricted funding source has very particular spending rules and most have

December 31, 2013 Short URLaccounting, Accounts Payable, analysis, best practice, data, Excel, Excel solver, Excel spreadsheet, Expense, funding sources, Funds, General Journal, government spending, governmental accounting, information technology, Invoice, Microsoft, Microsoft Excel, nonprofit accounting, problem solving, public school finance, school district business, school districts, school finance, solver, solver function in Excel, spreadsheetsAccounting, Finance, Government, Public Schools, School Construction

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