If Robinson Crusoe were alive today, would he have discovered Man Friday on Friday?
While Friday is an official business day, its proximity to the weekend has made it a special day. For example, consider “casual Fridays” for work attire. “Telecommuting Fridays” for those who split their time between working at home and the office. And the Friday “no meeting day” at some companies.
As a result, you should think twice about actions you take and encourage leaders to take on the fifth business day of the week.
For example, avoid:
1. Scheduling meetings that involve travel.
2. Sending out press releases or other big announcements unless you want to keep the news quiet. (Even then, remember this didn’t work for Sarah Palin who announced she was resigning as Alaska governor on Friday, July 3. And more recently, Tiger Woods couldn’t keep his Friday, November 27 accident under wraps.)
3. Launching a survey.
4. E-mailing a request for action.
5. Ordering flowers to be delivered to a traditional office.
As the saying goes, only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday. But it’s not the best day to do many things.
What other actions should you steer clear of on Fridays?
Liz Guthridge is a consultant, author, and trainer specializing in strategic change communications. Department leaders of Fortune 1000 companies hire Liz and her firm Connect Consulting Group LLC when they need their people—who are confused, angry or in denial—to adopt complex new initiatives so they can quickly change the way they work. For more information, contact Liz, liz.guthridge@connectconsultinggroup.com or 510-527-1213. Follow Liz on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/lizguthridge.
As anyone who has crammed for an exam can tell you, usually the number of hours we work without i...
As a leader, you must understand that your stakeholders are watching you, most every minute, most...
By John Gerstner – CEO, Communitelligence, ABC Copyright 2000 It occurs to me that my offic...
Steven Covey had the right idea. There are discreet skills and attitudes, habits if you will, th...
The best time to discuss the forces of change is well in advance of the organization’s resp...
A woman from the audience followed me into the hallway. “I think we’re married to the...
Town-hall meetings help close the gap between what business leaders see as problems and what fron...
Arunis Chesonis is a CEO who gets the power of communication as a necessary ingredient for succes...
There is no “normal” timetable to accept a change. Each person in every organization is unique. ...
Corporate Communications often finds itself at the mercy of the organization to sets its agenda ...
Whether you’re writing creatively, for academia, or blogs, one of the most important aspects of ...
Leadership is about change, but what is a leader to do when faced with ubiquitous resistance? Res...
While some may be impressed with how well you speak, the right people will be impressed with how...
Psychologist Abraham Maslow theorized that people in all cultures have certain genetically-based,...
Delegation is a critical skill. “Your most important task as a leader is to teach people h...
Writers can find inspiration anywhere. Because I write mainly about workplace environments and c...
Here are four ideas that will help you become a more inclusive leader: 1. Let Them Build It. To ...
In 2009 Steven Kaplan, Mark Klebanov, and Morten Sorenson completed a study called “Which CEO Ch...
John Bogle, founder and former CEO of The Vanguard Group, used that simple sentence to debunk the...
Alfred P. Sloan, one of America’s first celebrity CEOs, wasn’t afraid to shake things...
