Gary Winters

Coach • Workshop Facilitator • Author
Gary Winters
Coach • Facilitator • Author

Email zen

You’re about to hit SEND on your next email. Wait! Review this checklist before you do.

  1. Does the subject line make clear what the email is about? (if not, rewrite it)
  2. Could it be shorter? (If what you have to communicate can’t be said in a paragraph or two, create a Word document to explain it. Make the email brief and attach the file)
  3. Are the files you intend to attach actually attached? 
  4. Is there anything in this email you wouldn’t want the district attorney, the news media, or your boss to see? (If so, hit DELETE instead)
  5. Did you write this while you were angry? (SAVE it as a draft and rewrite it later)
  6. Speaking of anger, did you use ALL CAPS in the text? (Consider changing to normal text)
  7. Are you about to hit REPLY ALL? (Are you sure you need to respond to everyone?) 
  8. Would it be better/quicker/more effective if you called or left a voicemail instead? (DIAL the phone)
  9. Did you use emoticons? (Don’t)
  10. Did you CC the receiver’s boss (or Blind CC them)? (Maybe you just want to keep them in the loop, but it often comes across as a power play to keep the receiver in mind. Not cool)

Let’s all do our part to eliminate unnecessary email, reduce the length of our emails, and get back to using this form of communication for quick exchanges of information and files. 

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“What ELSE Your Boss Never Told You” is the sequel to the very popular “What Your Boss Never Told You.” Packed inside are more tips, techniques, and insights about the challenging, but rewarding leadership position.

“What ELSE Your Boss Never Told You” is written in a conversational tone, as though you and the author were enjoying a cup of coffee and talking about the issues that emerge for new leaders. It stands alone, and/or could be read before or after the first volume, “What Your Boss Never Told You.” You can start with any chapter and read in any order you like.

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at Amazon now!

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if you search for a book on management, you’ll find a staggering 600,000+ books currently available. How can you narrow that down? “What Your Boss Never Told You” is the best place to start.

No textbook here – this book is short and sweet. It’s designed to help you “unpack” your new job and be effective from the first day with your new team. It contains twenty-one chapters filled with the wisdom Winters has gathered from real managers – effective, successful leaders in organizations much like yours.

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Leaders make decisions every day – big and small. Most know that if they include others in the decision-making process, the quality of those decisions – and the commitment to them – will likely improve. That said, they also know it’s impractical, if not impossible, to include others in every decision they confront.

“To Do or Not To Do” tackles the question of when to make decisions on your own, and when to involve your team. It gives you a deceptively simple but proven method to determine, when you are facing a difficult decision, how to decide how to decide.

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Far too many meetings are dreadful, mind-numbing, energy-draining, productivity-sapping, colossal wastes of time. As someone once said, “To kill time, a meeting is the perfect weapon.”

Here’s the deal: if you’re willing to learn and apply the techniques in “So, How Was Your Meeting?”, you’ll call fewer meetings, while vastly improving the ones you do lead. They’ll take less time, have more balanced participation, produce better decisions, and result in concrete action items for follow-up afterwards.

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While there are thousands of books written for people about to retire, this may be the only book for people who manage soon-to-retire employees. Written in a casual, conversational style, “Managing the Soon To Retire Employee” will give you everything you need to know to move forward with confidence and grace.

You can be successful with Sooners. It won’t happen by chance, and it’s not a matter of pulling some management “trick” out of your hat. But you can learn how to do it, and you can apply what you’ve learned right away.

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Managing friends or former peers can be awkward. When you become the boss, everything about these relationships can suddenly be uncomfortable. There’s a new set of ground rules to establish – as manager, you are going be accountable for the work performance of friends or former co-workers on the team, and they are going to have to adjust to the fact that they now report to you. Everyone involved can feel awkward and hesitant about the future. 

Purchase Paperback or Kindle format at Amazon now!

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Have you been approached by management with an offer to promote you to supervision? Or, are you mulling over the possibility for the future? Find yourself not sure whether to accept the promotion?

If so, you’ve come to the right place. Help! They Want to Make ME a Supervisor will help you sort out a very big question: Should you accept the offer to become a supervisor? Once you’ve read this book, you’ll be confident that you’ve made the best decision for you and for your organization.

Purchase Paperback or Kindle format at Amazon now!