Karl Ruegg calls it "the top management wisdom of the ages." The American management coach has compiled 10 points of wisdom for Coachville.com that all of us should ponder:

• Don't be afraid of the phrase, "I don't know." If you don't know the answer, don't bluff.



• Never gossip. And if someone wants to gossip with you, politely say you're not interested.



• No task is beneath you. Don't think you are above anything. Be a good example and pitch in -- especially if the job is one that nobody wants to do.



• Share the credit whenever possible. Managers who spread credit around look much stronger than those who hoard the credit for themselves.



• Ask for help. If you think you are over your head, you are, so ask for assistance before it gets out of hand.



• Keep your salary to yourself. Discussing salary is a no-win proposition. Either you'll be upset because someone is earning more than you, or someone will be upset with you.



• When you don't like someone, don't let it show. Never burn bridges or offend others.



• Let it go. If you're passed over for a promotion or don't get to lead the big project, just be gracious and diplomatic -- and move on.



• When you're right, don't gloat. The only exception is if someone says, "You were right. I really could succeed at that project."



• Be a pessimist. This will help you to come up with solutions to problems should the worst happen.

Every professional has to give presentations at some point -- and some have to give many each week. In his Unleash Your Potential newsletter Kevin Eikenberry says the place to start is by grabbing 10 to 12 index cards:

• Start by considering who your audience will be. On one of the cards write down who will be in the audience, by job title, roles, and, if you have it, names. On a second card write down the questions you think they will have about your subject matter.



• Now consider your key messages. Even at this early stage you should have a picture of what you want to present. Take three to five cards and write a point down on each one. If you have more points than that, don't reach for another card but instead whittle your messages down to no more than five. Then on each card write down the details you want to cover. If there isn't enough space, further focus your message.



• On your next card, write down what, in a perfect world, you would want people to do as a result of your talk. Compare that result with the key points you have already outlined and adjust, reduce or change the key points to support the end goal.



• Return to your audience cards and confirm your content will address the concerns you figure they will have, paying special attention to the most important people or groups.

Now with the cards in hand, you can prepare your presentation confident it will deliver the right message.

Mike DeJong, a journalist at CBC News and communications trainer, says you need to approach communications with staff the same way as communicating with the media. In HR Professional, he advises:

• Keep your answers short and to the point. The media looks for a one-sentence quote, not 20 minutes of background.



• Stay away from speculation. Just give the facts and make sure your messages don't arouse problems areas.



• Always be truthful. Reporters will find out if you aren't being honest, as will your staff.



• Think of effective communications as a pyramid that starts with the conclusion, then explanatory facts, and then final additional details, in the same way a journalist writes a story.

Voice mail is ubiquitous this day, and it's important that you have a strategy for dealing with it, particularly when dealing with new business prospects or potential partners. In her Engage Selling newsletter, consultant Colleen Francis says you should never leave a voice mail on the first attempted call. Try calling three times randomly during the day, and if you haven't got through by then you can leave a message -- except if it's someone who doesn't know you, in which case, keep trying.

If forced to leave a message in such situations, boost your chances by using a testimonial or reference to break down skepticism. Make sure the referral source's name is used early in your message.

• If you didn't want anything in return, what's the most generous thing you could do for your best customer or most important prospect? Give it a try, advises marketing consultant Seth Godin.
  (Source: Seth's Blog)



• Researchers found that people who received a survey with a cover letter and a handwritten Post-It note request ("Please take a few minutes to complete this for us. Thank You!) were more likely to return the completed survey than those who received the same survey without the sticky note but the same message on the cover letter. They also returned the note more promptly and more completely. So consider a sticky note for internal or external requests.
  (Source: Get To The Point newsletter)



• Consultant Susan Reid says you should determine your top two priorities for the month and write them down on a piece of paper, drawing a line beneath them. Relegate everything else you have to do each day to below the line, completing than only after what you need to get done on the priorities.
  (Source: Management Craft blog)



• A University of Georgia study found that using art with your marketing makes consumers evaluate products more positively. Art has connotations of excellence, luxury, and sophistication that seem to spill over into the product with which the art is associated, even if the association is tenuous -- a painting of a burning building on the face of a soap dispenser, for example, made it seem more luxurious.
  (Source: ScienceDaily)



• Mark down in your calendar the time you want to go home tonight -- and the reason. Treat it like a meeting.
  (Source: Productivity Café blog)

Annual meetings are captive to ritual. When it comes time for this year's meeting, we pull out the agenda from last year's meeting, and follow it scrupulously, changing it only to add a report from a new committee chair insisting on airtime. We know it's boring -- for us, and for the people we assemble. But there's comfort in ritual. And since an AGM is legally required, we somehow believe that sequence of boring bafflegab is also legally required.

But there's a second problem. We accentuate the negative and ignore the positive -- or, at most, downplay it.

So junk the ritual. And tell the truth. Yes, you have to approve last year's minutes, but after those 15 seconds are up, and your new officers elected, you have a blank canvas to develop a different-style meeting.

In Jacked Up, Bill Lane, who was Jack Welch's speechwriter for 20 years at GE, describes how the two of them worked to remake internal communication. Instead of boring bafflegab, presentations had to lay out the straight goods -- the challenges each division was facing, and solutions being considered or implemented, which the assembled brainpower at the meeting could offer advice on and learn from.

Try that with your annual meeting. Treat your audience as assembled brainpower who are on your side, trying to help you. After your president's one-minute report on the past year (supplemented if you wish with a written report), lay out the biggest challenge or the biggest three challenges you face, and get some input, through group work or general discussion.

It will stimulate them, and benefit you. Your AGM will be valuable to the organization, instead of a chore (and a bore).

Some 8020Info clients have recently taken advantage of story-telling as a rich method for rolling out strategy and building culture. For example, we've observed how well staff respond when asked to "tell a story from your own experience that illustrates what we mean here by exemplary customer focus." We heard colourful frontline stories about dealing with difficult or atypical customers, pulling together as a team to seize a sudden opportunity, and learning new skills (such as maintenance staff learning to greet Chinese customers briefly in Mandarin).

Because we're all story-tellers by nature -- that's how we make sense of the world -- everyone can and does participate in this type of exercise. It's fun to do, and it results in many nuanced, memorable examples that drive home the meaning of the strategic priority. Plus it really locks in on your culture -- try it when you want to roll out a new strategic direction and know flogging a dry rhetorical slogan won't be enough to fully engage your team.

8020Info offers a variety of tools, facilitation services and counsel to help your group make the most of your strategic planning. We would be pleased to discuss your needs and welcome enquiries at (613) 542-8020, or by email at watercooler@8020info.com.