Expanding Excellence Blog

  It's "Tammy's Tiny Tip Tuesday" where I share bite-sized nuggets of information regarding time management, that are easy to digest. We will build on these small habits weekly. for my favorite planner go here:  https://bit.ly/3G3YR4I Are you doing tasks that should belong to someone else? Are you struggling with how to know when and how to delegate? The first step is to know your key responsibilities and goals. Then within that framework, determine if you have taken on activities that don't support these objectives. If so. delegate. Instead of taking over tasks because others aren't doing their jobs or not performing to your standards, delegate the tasks to the individuals who are responsible for them. Clarify others' roles and responsibilities, communicate your expectations, train and coach them to learn how to do the tasks if needed, and hold them accountable for those tasks. Tips for Delegating: - Recognize signs that your delegating skills need sharpe...

  Someone recently asked jokingly "who wears the pants in your house?" Since I try not to take things personally, I considered the intent of the person asking. My immediate thought was the cat. We recently lost her but if Sasha could have worn pants, she would have. Her majesty ran the show. The truth is that my husband and I make all of our major decisions together. We have learned that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. In other words, we work better when we work together, we truly belong to each other. This reminded me of the Key West motto "one human family". Key West, FL has a culture of breaking down barriers, silos, and labels and allowing people to just be themselves, whoever they are, without needing to fit in some sort of box or wear a label. It is a town where there are so many cultures and walks of life mingling and interacting with each other without the need to convert or prove that your culture, religion, sexual preference, etc. is...

  Dont go broke trying to look rich. For most of my adult life, I have driven new vehicles. I had convinced myself that I work hard and I deserve to drive a new vehicle. It became a symbol of my success. At one point I realized that my vehicle payment was more than I was paying in rent. I don't live in my car, I just take it back and forth to work and run errands. What am I doing? Although I did not make an immediate change, it was not too long after that I lost my job so I sold my car. I was appalled by the new value of the vehicle after depreciation! The realization that I lost money by buying a new vehicle hit me hard. After doing some math, and calculating the rate of depreciation I decided instead to drive an older car that we had that needed a little work but was paid off and still in good shape. I didn't hate it. I was familiar with the car, the kids learned to drive with it, and after a couple of hundred dollars into it, it ran like a champ. I was able to find employmen...

  Kaizen is the process of identifying and eliminating waste as quickly as possible, at the lowest possible cost. Kaizen requires continuous, gradual, and persistent improvement, by all employees and management. Kaizen utilizes a cross-functional team with a focused scope and an aggressive goal. Kaizen is a Japanese word that means "continuous improvement" and facilitating a kaizen event is one of my favorite ways to solve problems. Although it is possible to do a kaizen blitz, which ranges from a couple of hours to a full day, typically they are week-long, 8–10-hour days, and a cross-functional team who dissect the value stream or a process. It is intense, emotional, and frustrating, but incredibly rewarding. Recently I was asked "what goes into a kaizen event" so I thought I would share at a high level what the framework may look like. Set goals and expectations. Describing the process, product, or service. How we will know when we have solved the problem? The cos...