Office
Tips from Googleplex to become a great Manager
Nearly everyone at some time has to manage other people. This can be either through formal appraisal, as is customary at this time or year, or through day-to-day management. For any manager having to appraise staff, we’ve taken a leaf out of the Google book to develop better managers.
In 2009, Googleplex geeks started Project Oxygen. Google analysed performance reports, feedback reviews, and appraisals and came up with the definitive list of actions to develop betters managers. Here’s the edited list of the key principles to develop better managers, as well as a few no-nos. Many of them are fairly obviously, but it’s the ranking which is important. We can’t do everything right? So here they are listed from the most to least critical.
Whiteboard ideas and doodles with Dabbleboard
Remote working has its challenges when it comes to sharing ideas and diagrams. A picture paints a thousand words so being able to quickly whiteboard an idea can save so much time and eliminate any confusion. Dabbleboard is one of the easiest tools I’ve come across to start sharing ideas quickly and easily. It doesn’t require the complexities of screen sharing, and Flash is the only plugin you’ll need.
What are the rules of a highly successful project?
Whether delivering a new product to market or a a new website, the principles of managing the project are the same. I’ve been privileged to witness fantastically successful projects, and out-right disasters. Bad projects always stem from the same 6 problems.
Use Dropbox to send large media files
On voato we often write about neat tools and web apps for sending large media files such as MP3 and video. However, using an existing Dropbox account, sending a large media file couldn’t be easier. Simply use the sharing features of Dropbox to get a link to a file you’ve already uploaded using Dropbox. Life couldn’t be easier…
Quickly create Flash content with Empressr
Epressr is a neat web application that lets you quickly create online Flash content for your website, or rich presentation material.
You can upload your own media assets such as video, audio, images and animations to the Empressr media library, import them directly from other sites like Flickr, Google, Yahoo and Photobucket or link to digital media from around the web. It’s ideal for creating engaging content with charts, tables and audio.
Semi-productive online tasks to avoid doing real work
Sometimes real work seems too much effort. Motivation has taken a beating. If you’re a home worker, it’s easy to start tinkering when you should be working. In this post I give you a bunch of my top ideas to be semi-productive instead of slaving over real work.
Send large files of any size, anywhere with isendr
If you need to send a large file over the internet, email is probably not the best way. To send a large file voato towers has been using this fantastic free web app for quite a while now and can really vouch for it. iSendr is an on-demand direct file transfer system to send large files over the internet. It makes sending any size file between two people as simple as clicking a link. More >
Find folders quickly using Favourite Folders in Windows 7
I came across this great little feature in Windows 7 to add folders and locations to the “Favourites” in My Computer / Explorer. With this neat little shortcut, you can add any folder you use often, and save you having to continually hunt around for it. The favourite folder is always available when you open or save a file in any other application – ideal for opening and saving files in Office applications. More >
How to access and edit OneNote notebooks over the web
In a previous posting on voato, I talked through all the new features of OneNote 2010. One of the main issues I criticised was not having the ability to access a notebook online which was a big deficiency when compared against Evernote. However, I’m pleased to report that this is now supported and provides some great functionality. In this post I tell you how to access your OneNote notebook via the web.
Set free your photos with PhotoJoy Free
PhotoJoy is a beautiful program to set free your photos bringing them to your desktop using a choice of striking collages and desktop gadgets. No longer will your pictures be confined to the My Pictures folder. Use them to brighten up any Windows Desktop. More >
MyLifeOrganized released for Blackberry Beta
There was some good news this week for users of one of the best GTD tools. MyLifeOrganized has been released for Blackberry Public Beta test. MLO has always been one of our favourite GTD tools, but it’s lack of mobility was always an issue, so we’re delighted to see this step forward. More >
6 ways to polish PowerPoint slides
Having a great set of PowerPoint slides can turn your presentation style from a nervous wreck to a confident lion. And, not many of us have the time to get to grips with the huge range of features in PowerPoint to help tart up a presentation. So we’ve rounded up the 6 most common fixes in PowerPoint 2007 you can use to add a bit of spice to a dull presentation. More >
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