Thursday, May 29, 2008

Working in Canada

Did you know that 8,000 young workers are injured on the job every year? Do you know how to protect yourself? If you are a young worker in Canada, check out this website.

Did you know that WHMIS regulations require employers to provide proper training for anyone who works with or may be exposed to hazardous materials? These regulations also require warning labels and material safety data sheets (MSDS) for the various hazardous materials found in your workplace.

Hazardous Materials Training WHMIS regulations state that:
* Employers must develop and implement a hazardous materials Training Program for anyone handling or storing hazardous materials, and for anyone who may be exposed to hazardous materials in their workplace.
* The workplace JHSC should be consulted in developing and implementing the training program.
* The program must be reviewed at least once a year.

Hazardous Materials Information
Suppliers of materials must provide Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS’s) and warning labels on products. These give you essential information about the hazardous materials you work with. They tell you what dangers each material poses, provide important storage and handling guidelines, and outline emergency and first aid procedures.

Check out Canada's National Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Information.


Stay Safe

Fran

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Something to Remember while Job Searching

Our behaviour and our degree of happiness equate to our self-image.

A poor self-image is the cause of most people's failure to reach their potential.

Don't compare yourself to others. Recognize your own strengths.

Pay attention to the things you do well without thinking about them. Listen when other people tell you what a great job you are doing. Most of us have skills we don't recognize.

Remember - if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got. Unless you move from the place where you are, you will always be there.

Here's to moving on to better things!

Fran

Monday, May 19, 2008

Improve Your Results

Although this talks about the year 2007, this information is never outdated!

Seven Ways to Improve Your Professional Results

While success certainly does not come from a checklist, we all can use checklists to remind ourselves of ways we can achieve more. And who doesn’t want to ‘resolve’ to achieve more, especially this time of year?

As you are looking forward and thinking about how you can make year-end 2007 even better than year-end 2006, here are seven specific tactics that address seven specific areas of our professional lives. Each of these tactics, when applied, can have a massive, positive impact on your professional happiness, satisfaction and success.

The Seven Ways

1. Create more energy in your life. The starting point for greater results is greater energy. Greater energy will allow you to be more productive and is required to apply any of the other tactics on this list. Coincidentally, energy often is cited as a major reason why people don't make positive change in their professional life as well. Three simple suggestions will get you on the path to greater energy:

eat better – consume healthier, more natural foods in smaller quantities;
exercise more – build your stamina and strength; and
sleep smarter – develop a “sleep routine” to ensure you get enough sleep to be alert and positive each day.

2. Commit to better working relationships. While we are typically hired for, or select our work based on, our technical competence, more often our success is defined by our interpersonal skills. Make the commitment to improving your working relationships. A quick reflection on your strengths and white spots in his area will reveal where you need to start. Improving your working relationships doesn't mean finding a best friend at work (although there's nothing wrong with that), but it does mean building relationships that create greater communication, connection and support.

3. Project a contagious, positive attitude. A positive attitude is contagious! (So is the alternative.) Ask yourself which attitude you want to promote in your workplace. Making the choice to be more positive, supportive and enthusiastic will make a huge difference in your productivity and will positively impact the productivity of those around you too.

4. Talk less, listen more. Nearly everyone will benefit professionally by this advice. Talking less and listening more will improve communication with customers, colleagues and everyone else. The value of this tactic cannot be overestimated.

5. Mentor someone. Make the time to help and support someone else on their professional development path. It might be someone in your department or in your organization, or someone external. In any case, you will be helping another person succeed by benefiting from your experience. At the same time, you will benefit greatly from the experience as well. The process of mentoring someone else will help you reflect on your own advice and help you reinforce those techniques and approaches within your own work as well.

6. Keep a journal. A journal is an amazing learning tool! It can be electronic, in your day planner, on a steno pad, in a dedicated book of your choice, or anywhere else you choose. Where you journal is less important than that you journal. Use your journal to jot down key ideas to refresh your memory, new ideas you want to capture, lists of the books you want to read, a list of the books you have read, a list of your goals – you get the idea. A journal is a tool for reflection and forward thinking that can become one of the most valuable development habits you'll ever create.

7. Set a big goal. Simply setting a goal would be a good tactic, but setting a big goal is a better tactic. Your goal can be related to one of the areas above, it can be about other skill development, or it could be related to a promotion. Your goal could be a financial one, or it could be something totally unrelated. Whatever it is, setting it provides you greater focus and raises your intention for success. But make it big. Stretch yourself beyond where you think you ‘should’ be to believe something big is worthy of your plans and then do it!

Reflecting on the Seven Ways

I brainstormed a list of far more than seven tactics before I pared it back to this final seven. My observation of the longer list, and of this final list, is that two themes prevail: relationships and learning.

Even if you forget my specific tactics, please remember that taking steps to build your working relationships and to be a continual learner will always result in significant and satisfying professional (and personal) development.

Here are two more observations about the seven tactics I’ve suggested – none of them have to cost any money, and all of them can be implemented right now, by making a choice to do so.

This should leave nothing in your way – there is no cost, no equipment or technology to acquire, and no specialized skills to master. The only thing these tactics require is your decision to implement them.

And there will never be a better time than right now.

A Bonus Tactic

Looking for one more way to improve your professional results in 2007? Hire us! Our consulting and training services can help you, your team, and your organization improve your results in a variety of ways. While the specific content will vary, our approaches will always be consistent with the messages in this article – we will help you improve your interpersonal skills and relationships and our work will always be connected to learning.

From this newsletter to books to learning products and services to consulting and training, there are many ways we can help you, and we look forward to learning with you in 2007.


For information on reprinting any of this information included in this issue of Unleash Your Potential, go to: http://kevineikenberry.com/uypw/reprints.asp

© 2006 The Kevin Eikenberry Group – All Rights Reserved

The Kevin Eikenberry Group
http://www.kevineikenberry.com
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Indianapolis, IN 46278