(This is a reprint of an article I wrote in 2018). I was reading an article (THECB, 2018) the other day on the 60x30TX Initiative. This initiative, by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, seeks to bring the percentage of adults with some form of higher education (defined as an associates degree or above) up to 60% by the…
During the pandemic, my observations of employees’ productivity while working from home (WFH) have varied. Some are more productive – some less. What I crave are facts supporting or refuting TTI’s productivity. For example, is our increase in research expenditures this year indicative of increased productivity in WFH? Have time-off requests changed during the pandemic…
Thanks to Beatrice Navarro for researching this guest column about assessing your home Internet connection. One of the most frustrating things that can happen when you’re working from your home is to be in the middle of a video call, perhaps you’re even presenting information, and your connection goes out. Argh! Here are some tips…
TTI is partnering with Global Knowledge to host an ITILv4 Managing Professional Transition course on October 12-16, 2020. This is an online course offering. The purpose of the course is to transition those of you with ITILv3 Expert certification into the new ITILv4 Managing Professional certification. The cost of the five-day course is $2,300. The…
After reading this article in the WSJ today, I was struck by the reason given for missing work; … as the pandemic obliterates any hint of work-life balance, many are seeing the office for what it really was: an escape from domestic life that helped to more fully define them. (Feintzeig, 2020) Is that what…
I found a great article from the Harvard Business Review on managing remote employees effectively. I know what you’re going to say – “I don’t have time to read ‘yet another article’ on what I should do.” I’m with you. I’m getting a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of resources that I’m getting. I…
Karen Dixon, Sue Chrysler, Beverly Kuhn, and Kay Fitzpatrick have put together some homemade mask resources. Thanks, TTI Quilters! This is a link to a PDF from the Great Falls Clinic on how to make homemade masks:https://tti-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/d-sweeney_tti_tamu_edu/EblTou2RYFRHmpovNfqBq48B_oP520Wr-lJ0qs4phOujrw?e=VRjBeS Additional instructions from Great Falls: https://www.gfclinic.com/approved-pattern-info-for-homemade-masks/ Other mask-making sites: The Crafty Quilter site has a nice variety of…
My 10-year-old brought me popcorn yesterday as a snack while I was working. It reminded me how much I love her and my family. As negative as this whole COVID-19 experience has been for our jobs, communities, nation, and world, there are some positive things to be gleaned. Here’s a list of 10 things I’m…
One of my favorite resources is Manager Tools. I’ve been listening to their management advice for more than 15 years. No matter what the topic, these folks are all about actionable management advice. This week, MT released a freely available audio podcast on how to manage effectively during a pandemic. Here’s a link to Part…