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Mentor vs. Coach – What’s the Difference and Which do I Need?

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Whether you are stuck in a rut or crushing your goals – having a mentor or coach who helps you with your personal development can be a game-changer. The first step of course is finding someone you are comfortable talking to – but how do you know if you need a mentor or a coach – and what the heck is the difference?

A mentor or coach can support your drive for greater self-esteem, problem-solving skills, and enhanced confidence in managing challenges, especially in uncomfortable situations. But they really aren’t the same.

Mentoring is defined as “A process of direct transfer of experience and knowledge from one person to another”. We often think of a mentor as a seasoned professional who provides guidance and direction to a mentee—usually a junior–level person with similar interests who may aspire to the position of the mentor. The mentor has already achieved success within the industry and is voluntarily sharing their expertise with a colleague. This doesn’t just apply to the corporate world, if you are starting your own business, you may find a mentor who took a similar path to what you want to take or who is already in the industry you plan to work in. Mentors typically aren’t paid; they volunteer their time to help mentor others.

Coaching is defined as “A method of achieving set goals. A coach helps their clients achieve specific, immediate goals as defined by the organization or the client”. If you are an employee, your company may hire a coach to help you, but as an entrepreneur, you may hire a coach to help you with a specific goal or skill. You may hire a coach to help you launch a business, write a book, improve on your social media or writing skills, etc. Coaches are paid for their work because it’s their job – their main business is coaching others.

Key differentiators

Relationship: Mentoring is oriented around relationships – yes, you might focus on learning things and improving competencies, but over time it becomes more about the bond and rapport you develop vs. business issues.

Coaching is more task-oriented. A coach is there to help you become more proficient in certain areas or skills you are lacking – for example if you suck at doing presentations, you might hire a public speaking coach.

Drivers: Mentors are development-driven, focusing on the future by sharing their past experiences and what they learned to help the mentee.

Coaches are performance-driven, focusing on the present, and improving or acquiring new skills that can be used immediately.

Duration: Mentoring doesn’t usually have an end date; it’s understood that there is a significant time commitment from both parties as you move from acquaintances to building a strong fellowship – mentoring can last years or even decades.

Coaching typically has a defined end date. You set a specific schedule to meet and it ends when the trainee masters the skills or goal that’s been defined. Of course, you can keep adding new goals to work on, but there is a defined start and end for each commitment.

Key take-a-ways:

  • Mentoring is a long-term process based on mutual trust and respect. Coaching, on the other hand, is for a short period of time.
  • Mentoring is more focused on creating an informal association between the mentor and mentee, whereas coaching follows a more structured and formal approach.
  • A business mentor has the first-hand experience of the mentee’s line of work. A business coach, however, does not need to have a hands-on experience of the kind of work the coachee is engaged in.
  • The topmost priority of a business mentor is to help develop skills that are not just relevant for the mentees in their present job, but also for the future. For a business coach, the biggest priority is to improve performance that impacts the present job.

Need help finding a mentor? Did you know that there are actually 8 levels of mentorship – check out this cool article on how to find a mentor? Finding the right business coach requires some legwork as well, here are 16 tips to help you find the right fit.

Now that you understand the difference, go forth, and find your new coach or mentor. Thinking of starting your own business or need some coaching in marketing, sales, or operations –  we may be able to help!

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Community outreach — How your bank can make a big impact (and get more customers)

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With so much emphasis on online marketing and digital advertising, it’s easy to forget that one of the most powerful ways a bank or credit union can reach people is in the real world. We’re not talking about TV, radio, or print ads (although they can help) — We’re thinking of something a bit more grass roots — Outreach and giving something back, through networking, education, and other activities to help teach people about their financial options.

As a local bank, you thrive when you get out there. It’s a great way to raise awareness, educate customers, help your community, motivate your employees, and let people know you care about them. These events matter because they’re a great way to build trust. By investing your time, effort, and money into community and financial education events, you’re creating powerful change. People get something out of these events, and when they do, they’ll remember it was your bank that helped to make things happen.

Relationships between a bank and its customers can last a lifetime, so creating trust with people is a vital first step to bring them onboard. That starts by sharing something that genuinely useful — Here are some ideas on how you can do that.

Holding free classes, seminars, and forums on money and finance. Generally, people don’t know enough about finance and money to make the best informed decisions. One of the ways to change that is to share easy to understand information and free courses that educate people on how to get the most out of their money, for example:

Encouraging children to save — Aimed at getting young people interested in saving for their future. Showing how powerful compound interest can be over time, and why starting to save now can give you big rewards in the future.

Planning for retirement — Educating people on how important good retirement planning is. Letting them know about their options when it comes to the different retirement plans and funds that are available. Encouraging them to start saving for retirement right now.

Good financial management and budgeting — Teaching people how to use their money wisely, including working out how much you need to live each month, income, expenses, and disposable cash. This can be tied in with saving for the future for life events like getting married, planning for a vacation, having children, buying a house, and making big purchases.

Buying a house — Talking through the process of getting on the housing ladder. Covering deposits, mortgages, moving, and other financial protections you’ll want to have in place.

Protecting yourself and your loved ones — The need for insurance and life assurance. How to manage financial risk and make sure that all the people and things you care about are protected financially.Partner with your local schools, colleges, further education classes and community organizers to create opportunities to teach others.

Professional networking – Get involved with your local Chamber of Commerce and Better Business Bureau. Look for other opportunities to network with business owners and executives.

Ask entrepreneurs about any new plans for expansion or other opportunities. Find out about their financing and provide alternative solutions. Provide advice and support, answer questions and let people know about your products and services. These events are a great way to build up your authority and visibility with other local businesses.

Sponsorship is another great way to increase awareness of your bank and brand, while giving back to your community. There are bound to be lots of local opportunities for sponsorship, whether that’s the Little League, the Humane Society, charity drives, or anything else that gives back. Think about how you can enhance your visibility:

  • Have your employees attend the event as advocates.
  • Do branded giveaways of items people want.
  • Setup a booth providing free financial advice.
  • Be a speaker at the event.

In addition to donating money, you can also encourage your employees to donate their time and effort by giving them paid time off for community projects.

These might all seem like simple approaches, but sometimes going ultra-local really is best. Putting some time, effort, and money into community outreach and helping people gets your name out there, which can be great for winning more customers.

Have you attended an event that you thought was really amazing – let us know what it was and what made it stand out to you.

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Why You Should Be Using Drip Campaigns

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When someone subscribes to your email list, it’s important to capture their newfound interest by making a strong connection. The best marketers use drip campaigns to quickly interact with new fans in a short period of time.

A drip campaign is an automated series of emails sent to your subscribers. The emails are sent on a specific timeline or based on user actions. There’s no denying their effectiveness. The email marketing app Emma found that targeted emails are far more likely to earn clicks than general broadcast emails. In fact, links in drip emails are clicked 119% more often.

Drip campaigns typically begin with a welcome email that reminds the fan how they signed up and what they can expect from you. Further emails can take different shapes depending on your goals. A campaign may introduce your fans to your best content or answer common questions about your product or service. Some campaigns are almost entirely educational, designed to deliver tremendous value to subscribers.

\"Drip

The most common structure of drip campaigns is called lead nurturing: an email course that solves a subscriber’s problem. The fan signs up on your website because he’s interested in the information you promise. They involve five to seven emails with a two-day delay between each. Marketing automation experts at Drip report that lead nurturing creates 50% more customers ready to buy.

Throughout the emails, the campaign offers information that soothes the reader’s pain points. Each email should end with a call to action, usually a link to additional content or offers on your website.

Toward the end of the course, position your product or service as a logical solution to the problem with calls to action that encourage the visitor to sign up. By this point, you should have offered enough value that the reader considers you an expert.

As you begin to craft your email series, use these guidelines.

DO understand your reader. You have to create your copy to solve their problems. First, you have to know what their problems are.

DON’T be sales-y right away. If you hit your fan too hard with sales copy, you’ll turn them off from the experience. You must provide value first.

DO end every email with a call to action. Just because they’re done reading doesn’t mean they’re done engaging. This can be a link to a blog post, a social action (like, share, follow, etc.), or a link to a landing page.

DON’T rush the reader down the buyer’s journey. For instance, content that compares your service to competitors should come after you convince the user they need a service like yours in the first place.

DO move the user into your broadcast list once the drip campaign has completed. Most email marketing applications offer procedures like this.

We\’d love to hear your feedback on drip campaigns – on successes, failures, or even programs that you like or dislike.

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Yes, LinkedIn can be edgy

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Man, you are missing out if you haven’t tapped into this… I can’t tell you how many times a day I preach about the power of LinkedIn. If you do sales, are looking for a job, or need to expand your network of business peeps – LinkedIn is where the party is 24/7/365. It is by far the BEST place to prospect for B2B connections – yes, I said the BEST.

Oh…and if you HATE cold calling – like most of us, LinkedIn should be your BFF. I don’t cold call – never have, and never will. Sure it works, it’s a numbers game. You make enough phone calls and knock on enough doors eventually someone will say YES. That YES could take 100 phone calls – which is A LOT of time. Or you could make other people work for you and send you referrals. That’s what I do.

Those of you are still saying – yea, I’m not wasting time online when I could be picking up the phone…

  • 450 Million users are on LinkedIn as of this writing, and every second 2 new users sign up. It’s is the biggest “Chamber of Commerce Networking Party” in the world – sans the cheap wine.
  • It’s like a multi-level marketing company or a giant pyramid. You are at the top but the REAL power is in the base. It’s not who you are connected to – or Linked to – it’s who THEY are connected to
  • Six Degrees of Separation – If you use it correctly, one of your connections will know someone who can introduce you to your #1 prospect. WARM REFERRAL – far better than the COLD CALL

Tips:

  • Use the paid version if you are in Sales Beast Mode – such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator – it’s absolutely worth the money
  • If you own a business – Please, please, please have an active business page and post relevant stuff on there. People do look – they really do.
  • Your LinkedIn profile is by far the MOST important part of your personal digital brand.
  • LinkedIn isn’t a Ronco Rotisserie oven – you don’t set it and forget it. You need to nurture, spend time with, and embrace your LinkedIn account – DAILY.

Companies that get it on LinkedIn…

According to our pals at Hubspot – here are some of the top LinkedIn Pages out there – we tend to agree. (see the full list here)

Coca-Cola – With almost 1 million followers, Coca-Cola notes in the Hubspot article that they get great traffic from their LinkedIn Posts, more so than Facebook, and to some degree Twitter. Hmmmm….If I were a betting woman, I would have said that LinkedIn wouldn’t be as high a traffic driver for them – but they make it work. HOW?

They understand the audience – it’s professional, so they tie in professional business stories into their content for LinkedIn. Posts go back to their website Coca-Cola Journey – check it out! Interesting stuff! To some degree – edgy. The posts aren’t necessarily about soda at all – but about the audience and what they care about.

Hays – They claim to be the #1 Recruiting firm on LinkedIn and they aren’t afraid to shout it from their rooftops! Just like Coca-Cola – they post relevant content that drives traffic back to their blog. High engagement rates prove that what they are writing is exactly what their audience wants to read. It’s actually quite that simple!

We aren’t claiming it’s easy to be one of these top dogs. You have to understand your clients and your prospects before you can attempt to create & curate content that is relevant to them. (BTW – that’s what we help you figure out!)

LinkedIn, for companies, is more than just a place to find good employees, it’s a place to let your brand shine and to engage your clients and to woo your prospects.

Ready to get rolling?

Give us a buzz or use our contact form so we can make LinkedIn an addition to your digital marketing strategy.

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Coaches

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Coaches – I’ve got a few. Here’s one thing I learned early on as a serial entrepreneur -it’s not a solo gig even if you are a solopreneur. Well, it can be, but you won’t be successful. The secret: You can’t and shouldn’t do EVERYTHING by yourself…outsource and collaborate. You’ll also want to consider hiring folks that are far smarter than you are – you need a cabinet (of coaches).

In order to feed my entrepreneurial addiction, I’ve hired coaches. Here’s my lineup currently: Business coach, Life coach, HR Coach, wellness coach, and fitness coach. I’ve also hired and collaborated with people that are smarter than I am – but that’s another blog.

My A-Team has been critical to my success as a business owner. I don’t make any major decisions unless I run it by at least one of them.

What my Coaches bring to the table

Business Coach – AKA Robin Bienemann of Crimson Rook – the woman in pink, aka Bubbles to her granddaughters. This woman runs circles around men in their world. She ran manufacturing firms in CA, is an MIT grad and she introduced me to the world of Bourbon (again another blog – but we do a lot of great things with some shared brown liquor). I hired Robin to help me scale Red Barn, to revitalize Agency University which is now called Incrementum and we started a non-profit together – CEBA – Community Enterprise Business Accelerator. Without Robin I wouldn’t have the team I have, and tripled my revenue year over year. Smartest business decision I ever made.

Life Coach – AKA Alicia Davis of InnerOvation – aka the women who reels me in and makes me focus. I hired Alicia thanks to her partner THE Kate Houlihan – insurance guru and wine drinking buddy. I was enjoying an afternoon in Robin’s outside living room with the “girls”. I mentioned to Kate that I just can’t focus and feel like I’m “missing something” in the whole Life Adventure thing. She said I needed an Alicia Intervention. I said “sign me up” – the rest is kind of history. Alicia helped me figure out what was really important in my life and how to get rid of the garbage to find the gems. I’ve learned a lot about myself and because of it, I’m a better business owner and a better boss – oh, and a better person.

HR/Hiring/Team Coach – AKA Marcia LaReau of Forward Motion aka Marcia, Marcia, Marcia or M3.Marcia was referred to me by Robin when I wanted to make my first hire at Red Barn. I need someone to run the show – desperately! Details and organization are not my forte. Marcia spent a fair amount of time learning about Red Barn and my craziness. She wrote job descriptions, interviewed people and found me “My Jenn” – the person who really runs Red Barn Consulting. Jenn was the best thing that ever happened at Red Barn and thank God for Marcia!

Wellness Coach – AKA Ellen Palmer of Ellen Palmer Wellness – aka the woman who helped me figure out my menopausal craziness. Ellen was referred to me by Alicia. It all started when I was telling Alicia how I couldn’t focus and how 30 pounds had appeared in 18 months – I was miserable to say the least. She thought my diet might be part of the issue – so onto Ellen I went. I’m now gluten free and refined sugar free and mostly dairy free. Ellen would love if I was wine free and coffee free – but there are limits – sorry Ellen. Ellen taught me how food really has a profound effect on our bodies. I’m not perfect but I eat fairly clean and abide by the 80/20 rule. Sure, the bad stuff sneaks in every once in awhile – I’m from CT and there’s pizza here – btw GF Pizza just doesn’t cut it. So, I indulge knowing I’ll have a foggy brain for a few days.

Fitness Coach – AKA Sharon Cataldo – aka the women who I share more F bombs with than anyone else. She tortures me at the gym and I love her. I literally met Sharon when I was a baby – my parents rented from hers in a 2 family in Torrington, CT when I was little. I lost track of Sharon until my late teens when I walked into a hair salon and there was Sharon! Lost track of her again after I moved away from CT – only to find her at my gym, Energy Fitness. We were meant to be connected. She is gorgeous, fit, has an unbelievable zest for life – and she makes me work harder than I ever thought I could. Funny thing is, when I work out with Sharon it’s fun –sure I swear a lot, but I love every minute. Thanks Sharon.

That’s my A-Team. Who’s yours? Trust me on this one – if you want to be successful – find some rockstar coaches and find the rockstar team (another blog on how to do that one).

Go get em!
CD

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How to Get New Bank Customers with Beautiful Content like Blogging

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We all know that switching to a new bank can be…well, painful. The more accounts you have, and the more you automate the banking experience, the higher your retention rate. That’s great for your existing customers, but it doesn’t help when it comes to attracting new people to your business.

Most banks offer similar products and services, so creating a unique value proposition isn’t easy. What’s the secret sauce? How do some banks increase their retail numbers without putting lots of pressure on their service teams?

It’s all about telling a story and making it personal. Your customers and prospects want to feel like you’re speaking to them, that you “get them.” It all comes from your content – Understanding what you write and where you publish it are important, knowing WHO you are writing for is critical.

Let’s dive a little deeper…

Know your Target Client Profile (TCP) – What’s the demographic of your current customer base? Who are the potential customers you want to add? Where do they live? What is their socioeconomic background? Are they business customers? Retail? It’s critical to have a deep understanding of exactly who you want to reach – Their interests, aspirations, lifestyle choices, financial understanding and more.

Think like your TCP – Your content needs to be relevant to your TCP. What is most important to them? What’s going to grab their attention? How will it help? Will it answer their questions? Does it provide genuinely useful information? What will they read? How will they read it? When will they read it? A 20-year-old and an 80-year-old are going to have very different needs and ways of accessing content.

Create great thought leadership and product content – Thought leadership content is where your customers will get the most value. It’s about giving them insight, valuable information, and resources to help them understand and manage money better. When you combine that with information on your products and their benefits, you create a solid content strategy.

Share short, sweet, accessible, and relevant product information on your website – Your website is the place for your product information – make is easy to find and mobile friendly. Your bank’s website should also highlight your staff with pictures and bios. It helps your customers to relate to you, and people buy from others they know, like, and trust.

Blogging is the Grand Poohbah of content – Every bank should have a blog – It’s where your thought leadership and awesome content lives It’s where your staff can shine, and it’s what you will share on social media.

Keys to Blogging Success

  1. PLAN – Have an editorial calendar based on your TCP and your value proposition – Who are you going to write for, and what are your going to write about? Create five or six content areas where that you’ll develop. They might be: Your culture and team – Stories about your employees, what makes them tick, and what they bring to your business. Retail customer information – Speaking to your retail customers directly about the things that matter to them. Retirement planning, mortgages, insurance, loans, real estate, the economy, tips for protecting your home in winter, safety, etc. Financial education and guides – Creating guides, checklists, tools, and resources to help you customers get the most out of their money. Business customer information – Talking to business owners about what matters to them including business bank accounts, small business financing, insurance, etc. Community – The work you’re doing in the local community including sponsorship and other activities. Financial news – Talking about the economy, the stock market, and other interesting areas.
  2. SHARE – Build your brand and expand it through stories. The more people who see your name and your team, the quicker they will connect.
  3. CONNECT – People leave banks because they don’t feel the love. Intriguing content that speaks to them helps them feel connected, which makes them more likely to switch.
  4. REPEAT – For content to really hook your prospects, they need to see it over and over again. Be constant and consistent. Post regularly, share on social media, and get your name and brand out there.

Good examples of banking blog content

Here are some ideas on the type of content your retail audience would find useful:

  • Financial planning and budgeting — Financial planning in everyday life and making sure you’re saving enough. Budgeting for big life events.

• Dealing with loans and overdrafts — Responsibly managing credit and debt, including understanding interest, minimum payments, and credit limits.

• Investing — Ways to invest money including bonds, the stock exchange, index trackers, mutual funds, and other investment products.

• Retirement planning — How to plan for a good retirement including IRAs, 401Ks, and other pension plans.

When you can bring together great content with a good understanding of your audience and share your content in the right way, you’ll start to create momentum. You can capitalize on that, use it to win you new customers, and keep them happy.

If you need help writing your content or want to bounce some more ideas off us – give us a shout – that\’s what we\’re here for![/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

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10 Habits of Hyper-Productive People

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I\’m Jenn (that\’s not me in the picture). I’m known at the Red Barn as the Ops Beast – and I didn’t get that name by procrastinating. I take pride in being efficient and quick while still maintaining the level of quality needed to do my job. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not perfect – but I’ve learned where I excel and how I like to work.
I’m sure you’ve seen articles before in your social media travels on habits of hyper-productive people – it’s a list of must-do’s to follow in order to conquer the world, your to-do list, and your inbox all before lunch. But let’s be honest – how many people follow all those guidelines – and I don’t know about you, but I’m NOT getting up at 4am.

So, lucky for you, I’ve created a condensed list, with my two cents of course…

Common must-do’s in order to increase your productivity.

Work backwards – no really, it works. If your end goal is to create a presentation for the Board, break down the timeline and task list into smaller, manageable subtasks with specific dates that will allow you to get the project done on time. You won’t feel so overwhelmed and you’ll be able to cross the subtasks off your list making you feel more accomplished!

Prioritize Your To Do List – Handle your most pressing issues first. I know it’s easy to get pulled into helping others or taking care of something that’s easy to knock off the list, but handling the Must Do’s first, will help ease stress and eliminate a last minute panic to meet a deadline.

Take a break – as often as you need to. I know this seems counterproductive, but your brain will thank you. Struggling to get through something that your brain just doesn’t want to do is basically torture. Take a break, get up and move around, and let your brain reset and refocus. You are bound to make less mistakes and use less time and energy in the long run.

Manage your energy – Your energy is just as important, if not more important than your time. If something on your to-do list requires a lot of energy and focus – do it when your brain and body are at its peak. For some this is first thing in the morning (like Cindy), for others it might be later in the day. This also works well for creative types – if you aren’t creative in the afternoon, don’t leave those types of tasks for when you don’t have any creative juices left in the tank.

Stop obsessing over email – if your inbox is flooded with emails every few minutes, stop checking it constantly. Set up a rule on how often you will check it. We think of email as a tool, but it can be ridiculously distracting. A good rule of thumb, if you can’t explain something in a few sentences or it will take multiple emails – just pick up the phone instead.

Stay healthy – Get enough sleep, exercise, and proper nutrition. This one is HUGE for me. I make sure I get at least 7 hours of sleep, eat fairly well, and have a set schedule of when I go to the gym. Unless it’s an emergency, I don’t compromise on these. They keep me sane and energized so I can embrace the Beast within!

Say No and Learn to delegate – These are NOT my strong suits – so I commiserate with you. It’s a process but learn to say NO if you simply don’t have the time to help others or take on additional tasks. Also, learn to delegate when possible. It’s hard to give up control, but if you don’t, you’ll burn yourself out.

Stop multi-tasking – trust me on this one. You are way more productive focusing on just one task at a time vs three. The time it takes you to bounce back and forth between multiple projects, is time that could have been used towards completing just one of them. Your brain needs to refocus and adjust each time you switch gears – plus it leaves you open to making more mistakes.

Plan for tomorrow– before you leave for the day, update your To Do List and regroup on what you need to accomplish tomorrow. When you get to the office tomorrow – you can get right down to work and crossing things off the To-Do list.

Create your own system – What might work well for me, may be a disaster for you. And that’s OK! It’s about progress, not perfection. Try making a few small changes each week and see how they affect your productivity. Remember, it takes at least 21 days to create a habit, so don’t throw in the towel after 21 minutes.

You’ve made it through the list, hopefully you’ve picked up a few tips and tricks and are ready to start down the road to a more productive YOU! I’d love to hear some feedback on what works, what doesn’t, and any additional tips you might have. Now get into Beast mode and start tackling that To-Do list!

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Delight Your Customers

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We’re all familiar with the 10 commandments of customer service: The customer is always right, know your customers, listen to your customers, etc. But in a world when news and opinions are widely shared on social media and stories go viral on the internet, why not delight your customers.

ReferralCandy, which operates a customer referral software program, compiled a list of 17 examples of how companies gave their customers something to rave about. The online publicity and word-of-mouth buzz these companies generated for customer service is epic.

Here are 5 of the best of the list. Enjoy.

Taco Bell’s “Operation Alaska”

“Yoquiero Taco Bell”A remote Alaskan town craving tacos was devastated when plans to open a Taco Bell turned out to be a hoax. When the restaurant chain heard about the cruel joke, it air lifted ingredients for 10,000 Doritos Locos tacos.

A Porterhouse steak would be nice

Before boarding his plane, Peter Shankman, an angel investor, tweeted to Morton’s Steakhouse Twitter account that he’d love a porterhouse steak waiting for him when he landed in New Jersey. He found one at the baggage claim, free of charge.

Virgin Trains has got your back

A teen trapped without toilet paper on a Virgin train from London to Glasgow tweets for help. A Virgin Trains social media staffer reads his tweet and sends a train employee to give him a loo roll.

Trader Joe’sto the rescue

Trader Joe’s in Wayne, Pennsylvania sent someone out in the middle of a winter storm to deliver groceries to an 89-year-old veteran. The man’s daughter frantically called several stores in the area trying to get groceries delivered. Trader Joe’s, which doesn’t deliver, brought the groceries to the man and didn’t charge him.

Zappos delivers shoes to woman for free

A women checks into a Las Vegas hotel and discovers she forgot to pack her favorite shoes. She tries ordering them online from Zappos, but they are out of stock. When she calls Zappos’ customer service for help, an employee buys her the shoes at another store and delivers them to her hotel room, free of charge.

You can read the full list of customer service feats here.

Need help generating visibility and buzz for your company. Click Red Barn for our contact info.

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You’re Wasting Time

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Productivity is your thing. You worked through the weekend…You wrote emails, put together a sales meeting agenda, and answered phone calls. So what if you were late for your friend’s birthday party and the lawn didn’t get mowed. You were still productive. Were you really? Research shows that working long hours actually saps your productivity in the long run. You might think you’re getting work stuff done by clocking in more than 50 hours a week, but the truth is you’re wasting time.

An interesting Stanford University study that looked at the productivity of females working in munition factories spread all over Britain during World War One proves the point.

The author of the study, John Pencavel, found that the output of the women who toiled more than 70 hours a week differed little than if they had worked 50 hours a week.

That’s right. All those long hours those women spent – Sunday was their only day off – loading gun cartridges didn’t matter to their output in the long run. In fact, the study found that productivity begins to fall after working 50 hours a week.

Yes, I know working piecemeal in a munitions factory during wartime in 1914 isn’t the same as working in an office, but the study proves that clocking in long hours in any line work is counterproductive.

Aside from zapping your productivity, working long hours can lead to fatigue, obesity, brain damage, stress, and even a news article. So how does one work less and still stay ahead of work obligations? There is plenty of advice out there. Business Insider ran a story highlighting entrepreneurs who manage to get things done by working fewer hours.

By working less you’ll get more and better work done, a Slate piece suggests. The thinking is that when your energy is depleted from working long hours you are prone to make bad decisions and mistakes.

So, next weekend, turn off your cellphone. Go for a bike ride, spend time with your family, take a yoga class. And mow the lawn.

Unplug…Have Fun…Get more work DONE!

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Dogs Make the Best Assistants

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Dogs make the best office assistants, really. One of the perks of working for Red Barn Consulting, is being able to work from home. I used to work the usual 8-5 office job, and my dogs hated it. They would start getting destructive because they missed me – and maybe my husband a little too. I don’t know how familiar you are with German Shepherds, but they are one of the most clingy dog breeds. They are so happy that “Mom” now gets to stay home with them all day. And I’ve found them to be very helpful as well.

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They help with a work life balance. My dogs help to keep me on a schedule. Every morning, they wake me up to start the day. They force me to take breaks throughout, get up and move around, and when I need to regroup – we go for a walk or a drive. Casey, our female, has a strict bed time routine, and she will stare at me until I follow her to the bedroom, so no late nights for me.
They are great listeners. Working from home can be tricky when you need advice. There’s no one to bounce ideas off of or to talk out things out with. Or so I thought! My dogs love it when I talk to them. They don’t care if I want to complain about my bad day or talk out the best way to get a task done. Plus, they are adorable when they do that head tilt!

Dogs are a networking tool. Having worked in customer service for many years, I’ve found that having dogs is a great conversation piece and helps with networking. There isn’t just a bond with people who are dog owners, but there’s an even bigger comradery with other German Shepard owners.
They reduce stress. It’s incredibly hard to stay mad or upset when your furry best friend is by your side making sure you are ok. Dogs are fantastic at reducing stress and providing other health benefits. According to WebMD petting your pet can reduce your blood pressure and help you produce relaxation hormones.

I’m an animal lover by nature, even donating monthly to the ASPCA.Their commercials get me EVERY time. And while the dogs haven’t figured out how to fetch the ringing phone, they still deserve a treat for being the best office assistants in the house. Want to check out your dog’s skills in the workplace – June 26th is Take your Dog to Work Day!

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