Just Saying - The BRIEF Lab

During a typical day, can you count how many different screens compete for your attention? Technology isn’t only pervasive but also a source of constant distraction. In this episode, I challenge the fallacy that to work means to be with technology. We need to find simple ways to avoid them when they aren’t needed right now. The post Ep. 234 – Noise management: No screens needed appeared first on J...

Imagine if you’re at an event, party or hanging out after a meeting and the person you’re talking to won’t stop talking. What can you do? Do you find a way to make a quick escape or stick it out patiently and painfully? This may happen frequently to us, and we feel like we’re being held hostage with little to no recourse. There are some things to do, and the choice is entirely yours. The post Ep....

Recently, I got two different messages that referenced the same topic: what happens when my boss is or isn’t clear and concise. In one, the sender laments the pain and confusion caused when her boss is all over the place. In another, he praises how his boss made brevity an issue for the entire team to tackle. In this episode, I provide some advice on what to do when brevity is becoming a serious l...

For any team or organization, it’s critical to find the right time and place to getaway. Offsite meetings can be incredibly rewarding or disappointing depending on how they’re prepared. To get the maximum value, you need to take some time to carefully consider the right location, attendees, agenda design, and the overall experience you intend to achieve. The post Ep. 231 – Making the most with off...

With the hurried pace of day-to-day life filled with so many competing priorities, everything can quickly become a blur. It’s up to you to choose to stop to take a break, yet we don’t. Whether it’s just for a minute or half a day, we need to periodically pause. In this episode, I lay out a series of moments where we need to allow ourselves a time out. The post Ep. 230 – Permission to pause appeare...

When the meeting isn’t yours, you may feel like you have no voice. The reality is that there are a number of things you can do to turn bad meetings into ones that are more effective and efficient. It’s time to start speaking up and stop feeling helpless and stuck. The post Ep. 229 – Meeting attendee bill of rights appeared first on Just Saying .

Do you work for your smartphone, or does it work for you? There may be a powerful temptation to always have your digital device on and nearby, checking it constantly and feeling helpless when it comes calling. In this episode, I ask you to consider what your personal relationship is with your smartphone and why it’s so hard for you to say no to it The post Ep. 228 – Resisting the temptation to che...

In this episode, I provide some simple and straightforward advice to help you gain (and regain) focus when your world might be seeming to be turning upside down. Though it’s incredibly easy to lose focus and feel scattered, flustered, conflicted and confused, there are things to do to rise above. The post Ep. 227 – Clarity at work (in times of crisis, chaos and change) appeared first on Just Sayin...

Call back Episode 106 Season 3 Most leaders communicate confidently yet aren’t clear or concise. How can you step up and help them when they don’t think they need it? The post Call back Episode – Providing senior leaders communication counsel appeared first on Just Saying .

Call back episode Episode 103 Season 3. Those periodic updates can be a burden no matter what side of the desk you’re on. The post Call Back EP – Why 1-on-1’s are mutually painful appeared first on Just Saying .

Presentations can be effective yet are often lacking, too polished and impersonal. In this episode, I share some personal perspectives on an overlooked format that is ideal for disseminating knowledge, experience, insights and wisdom in a more personal and practical way, one that really gets people talking. The post Ep. 226 – Giving a good talk appeared first on Just Saying .

It’s easy to occupy an enormous amount of your day in mindless motion, running from one task to another. But have you stopped to think about how much thinking you do every day? In this episode, I plant a seed to get you to consider increasing the amount of time you spend thinking every day. The post Ep. 225 – How much thinking do you do? appeared first on Just Saying .

In the last episode, I encourage you to talk to lots of people along the way to your next job. People tend to focus all their energy on the interview and fail to gain valuable insights, encouragement and guidance in the scores of small conversations they have with family, friends, colleagues and contacts. The post Ep. 224 – Lessons in transition (part 3) appeared first on Just Saying .

In this second installment, I provide some recommendations on how to clarify your vision of yourself professionally down the road. For many of us, it is hard to describe what you want to do in the future and why. In this episode, I give a few practical bits of advice to make this less daunting. The post Ep. 223 – Lessons in transition (part 2) appeared first on Just Saying .

When you are ending a career and starting a new one, or simply changing jobs, you need to be able to succinctly explain your value. Defining what you had previously done in clear and concise terms (i.e., your value proposition, or elevator speech) will be the bridge for you to help people refer, connect and even hire you. The post Ep. 222 – Lessons in transition (part 1) appeared first on Just Say...

For many of us, expressing emotions feels treacherous. In this episode, I share a few practical ways to make this feel easier and serve as a better way to start longer, clarifying conversations with someone else. The post Ep. 221 – How does that feel? appeared first on Just Saying .

Great courses are not only filled with wonderful and practical experiences, but they are also led by selfless and authentic instructors. In this second installment, I talk about the critical role of the instructor to serve as a facilitator of learning, not a self-absorbed lecturer. The post Ep. 220 – Breaking bad teaching (part 2) appeared first on Just Saying .

When you take a course, whether it be in person or online, it’s always an experience. In this episode, I talk about the critical role of course design to make it an exceptional, relevant and practical experience.   Link: https://thebrieflab.com/belt/   The post Ep. 219 – Breaking bad teaching (part 1) appeared first on Just Saying .

Over the past year, we continue to witness substantial changes in our world, both broadly and personally. After spending some quiet time to reflect personally, I share a brief perspective on what’s transpired in the past 12 months and what lies ahead. The post Ep. 218 – Year in review appeared first on Just Saying .

In this episode, I talk about some important considerations if you need to come up with a name for a business, product, program or key initiative. If you get it mildly right, you can make the name serve as a force for clarity. The post Ep. 217 – What’s in a name? appeared first on Just Saying .

Over the years, I have succeeded and failed as an entrepreneur. The lessons I learned might help you either as you start a new business or lead a new program, venture or initiative within an existing organization. The post Ep. 216 – Entrepreneurial lessons appeared first on Just Saying .

Setting the right tone at the beginning of a meeting may require you to say nothing at all. In this episode, I share a different way to kick off meetings by giving participants quiet time to prepare. Links from this episode:Ep. 153 –  Best of: Curbing a culture of meetings & meeting agenda design Ep. 165 –  Creating momentum after a meeting Ep. 105 –  Quiet Time: the sweetest...

Call back episode #179 recorded March 04, 2019 Look around and see who’s going to jump up and take out the garbage. Who will take on this thankless job? The post Call Back Episode – Empty the trash appeared first on Just Saying .

Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful time to gather and celebrate with family and friends. This time of year (all the time, for that matter) is a great time to quietly contemplate – and take note of – all the things in our lives that we are grateful for, from the simple to the profound. The post Ep. 214 – Thanksgiving: notes of gratitude appeared first on Just Saying .

In this episode, I share with you a brief essay I wrote about how the workplace needs to change. We are all hoping for fundamental improvements that will help make where and how we work much more purposeful and fulfilling, not so noisy, mindless and tiring. Links from this episode: Download or share the essay:  The Quiet Workplace The post Ep. 213 – The Quiet Workplace (an essay) appeared first on...