Beer Pager
The Coffee Cup as a management tool
One of the best management tools can be a cup of coffee. The simple act of drinking coffee someone who gives you the opportunity to sit with them, listen and learn. That kind of talk may be an employee motivation powerful. You can avoid conflict and violence. Just sharing a cup of coffee gives you the opportunity to learn important information about you, your employees, your company, and even their competitors.
Coffee with employees
Do you have regular meetings with each of its key employees, their direct reports? Is it often the weekly meeting interrupted by the both of you are so busy and someone always has a "crisis" that the needs of one or other of you to deal with it? Ever feel you could do more if they just had half an hour without interruption? Exit your office and the other person to have a cup of coffee.
One place in the who worked had a cafeteria on the ground floor of the building and across the street.
There was also a breakfast restaurant half a block away, where you you can get coffee. A supervisor who know, however, just sneak off to the diner employee. He "bought" a cup of coffee for the person he joined them and sat on a table and talk. There are no telephones, no cell phones, pagers and ignore.
Coffee is not Coffee provided
"Grab a cup of coffee together" not only in the sense of coffee. If you or the person you meet does not care for coffee or just wants a break from it, there are plenty of alternatives. Tea and cocoa are a couple of other alternatives that come to mind. In fact, in many countries, the tea may be the preferred alternative. However, it need not stop there. The key point is to get away from the distractions of a little time, so Drink does not really matter. Bottled water can satisfy. Sports drinks, fruit juices and soft drinks are acceptable. You just have to be something that is relatively inexpensive available, can be served quickly, and you can stay while you talk.
Coffee does not have any alcohol
All they want to avoid is any anything alcoholic. Whatever time of day, go have a beer "or" having a glass of wine "more than a social event than a meeting business. Also, you do not want any of those deteriorates, and alcohol can do that. Certainly, it can be tempting to get the other person to relax a bit to be more open with you, but using alcohol to do so is unethical and deceitful. Being open and honest with them producing the same results without the shame potential.
Listen. Really listen.
Remember why you are having this chat in the cafeteria instead of his office is to learn some of the other person. You may want to get all the way through without interruption problem report. Could it be that you want to hear your ideas for new product or how to fix the old. It can be as important to check your temperature for your coffee and check to see if they are straining and why. The element key in all these is what you need to keep your mouth shut and ears open.
Play, of course, is more than just letting the other person talks. You have to focus its undivided attention to what they are saying. Remember that you left the office to get away from distractions here, so do not get distracted here leaving your mind wander. It also means listening actively occasionally repeating a statement from his own back to them to show they are listening and to encourage to keep talking. The Japanese even have a word for it, Aizuchi.
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