Kalculated Decisions

11/25/2023

Team building is a great way to strengthen the fellowship felt by your team. It could be a simple event where you gather your team outside of the office for a shared activity. Or it could even be in an office party.

For example, one year a software development company had a board game night for its employees. It was a shared night of fun and laughter as the employees got together to play board games. People got to share their faviorite board games with each other and they got to develop their relationships beyond the regular office routine.

Through team building activities, you can get to know your team members better. You can also create shared memories that go beyond the work you do on a daily basis.

Why not start planning team building activities for your own company?

11/23/2023

Active listening is an important skill to develop. Great communicators use this skill and give their undivided attention to their team members during meetings and other conversations.

While active listening is good, it can be hard to do in practice. Cell phone notifications and incoming email can be a distraction during a meeting. To combat this, set your phone or computer aside during meetings, and focus on the person who is speaking.

Part of effective listening is listening with the intent to understand the other person, as opposed to just waiting until it is your turn to speak. Listening with the intent to understand someone, and asking questions to be sure you understand them, is crucial to effective communication.

So if you consider yourself to be a leader, or you just want to be a better communicator, try to adopt active listening as one the skills in your toolset.

11/21/2023

Software development companies often have to investigate issues in the software they deliver to clients. When a client or end user reports a problem, it is easy to make assumptions and to jump right into solving the problem. However, to be effective in troubleshooting software issues you first have to identify the real cause behind the issue before trying to fix it.

You aren’t going to solve the problem if you don’t identify it properly. You could end up fixing symptoms, but the underlying cause of the issue could remain, leading to other symptoms in the future.

When faced with a problem, whether it is a software issue or some other business issue, a good technique to investigate the problem is to brainstorm possible causes with your team members and create a plan for how to investigate the problem. Once you have investigated the potential causes of the problem, you will have learned more about the issue you are facing.

It also important to document your findings in case other clients experience the issue. This gives you the information you need to fix the issue when it occurs for other clients. These notes could also be part of the release notes when you release a new version of the software to your client.

Another aspect of good troubleshooting is getting a proper description of the issue from a client. Encourage the client to go deeper than saying "it doesn't work". Encourage them to explain how they were using the software and what actually happens when the issue occurs. If you have log files for your software, review those as well.

Ultimately, you need to be sure you understand the problem before moving ahead with a fix. That will help to ensure you fix the real problem, rather than fixing only symptoms.

11/17/2023

Giving feedback to your employees is a way to help them learn and develop. But you have to be thoughtful when giving feedback. Don't just give negative feedback. Also identify what the employee does well and point out the strengths he or she brings to the job.

If you provide both positive and constructive feedback, an employee will learn what he or she has done well, as well as what he or she needs to improve on. This is important information that all employees need to hear.

Also, don't wait until the end of the year to provide feedback. You could offer feedback every quarter, or even more frequently, such as once a month, time permitting. If you wait an entire year before giving feedback, it may not be as helpful. However, if you give feedback more frequently, employees will have a chance to act on that feedback throughout the year.

Something else to consider is to allow your employees to give you feedback as well. If you learn from your employees what you do well as their leader, and their thoughts on what you could do better, you can learn and improve as well.

Feedback sessions can also be opportunities for sharing ideas and evaluating the projects you are working on. You don't just have to give feedback on an employee's performance. You can also evaluate the projects you and your team are working on.

The most important thing to remember when giving feedback to your employees is to identify both what they are doing well and areas for improvement. This will ensure that a performance review or feedback session is a positive experience both for you and your employees.

11/15/2023

Does your business have a business plan? If not, it is a good idea to create one. Having a business plan outlines your goals for your business, including your short-term and long-term goals. It can also list your products and services, and the resources and finances you need for your business.

If you need help creating a business plan, or you are not sure what goes into a business plan, then you can find a comprehensive and free business plan template from the BDC website:

https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/entrepreneur-toolkit/templates-business-guides/business-plan-template

If you don't have a business plan, then it is recommended that you create one. And the BDC business plan template is a great tool to get you started.

Download our free business plan template. A properly formulated plan can help you gain the confidence of lenders, investors and shareholders.

11/13/2023

Ongoing training and learning can help your employees become more effective in their jobs. It can also help them to learn new skills and become more versatile. However, knowlegde alone is not enough.

Jim Rohn says: “Don’t let your learning lead to knowledge. Let your learning lead to action.” This is a powerful message. What it means for our companies is that when we train our employees, we need to have a plan to help them put what they are learning into practice.

If we teach people, but they don't apply what they are learning, then chances are they will forget what they have learned. If instead they take action and use what they have learned, it will reinforce their learning and they will strengthen their skills and develop new skills.

So the key take away is: do more than just impart knowledge in your training. Have a plan to actively engage your employees and have them use what they are learning.

11/10/2023

If you are a leader at work, or in the community, why is it that you are in a leadership position? Is it to have a position of power or are you a leader because it makes you feel imporant?

Why not take on a leadership role to serve others? A servant leader is someone who recognizes that you are in a leadership position to provide a service to others. By being a servant leader and providing direction and support to other people, you can help them to achieve your organization's goals.

True leadership is not about having power over others. It is about serving them in your capacity as a leader so that working together with your team you can achieve great things for your organization.

11/08/2023

If your company has a major undertaking ahead of it, how do you identify the work that needs to be done? If your project feels overwhelming, why not use a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)?

A WBS is a tool used in project management where you take your tasks and break them down into smaller peices. You start with your major tasks, then break them down into smaller sub tasks. You then repeat this process recursively with sub tasks until you feel you have identified tasks that are small enough to be assigned to people.

A WBS can look like a tree, with major tasks at the top of the tree and sub tasks branching off the major tasks. This gives you a visual picture of your workload, and it breaks the work down into multiple pieces. When you do the work, you tackle each of the sub tasks one at a time, and it is like building a puzzle one piece at a time.

11/07/2023

Continuous learning is important, but how do you learn and develop yourself so you can advance in your career and meet your goals? The best way to do this is to have a learning plan.

You can start by identifying what you want to learn, and then creating a plan for how you will learn it. Having a learning plan can include scheduling weekly learning sessions and identifying which books you want to read. You can also plan for which courses you want to take, either online or in person.

Having a learning plan can also include identifying the potential mentors you will reach out to. You can also plan for how often you will meet with your mentors and what you want to learn from them.

Another important aspect of a learning plan is to identify how you will apply what you are learning. If you don't use it, you will lose it, so plan how you will apply what you are learning so you can reinforce what you have learned.

If you have a plan for learnig, you will be more likely to follow through on that plan and achieve your career goals. Without a plan, you may never get started or you may not know how to learn what you want to learn or when you will have time to learn it.

11/03/2023

One of Kalculated Decisions' core values is integrity. This means more than just being honest. It means honoring the commitments you make with other people. It means doing what you say you will. It also means doing what is right, even when no one is watching.

Does your company act with integrity? If you don't, you risk developing a bad reputation and driving away your customers. Don't do this. Always act with integrity, both in your professional life and your personal life.

When you act with integrity, people will trust you and they can rely on you. And for a business, this means they will be more likely to work with you in the future.

11/01/2023

Documentation is important for a software development company. Some things that are worth documenting are release notes so you can communicate to others what has changed in each version of your software products. Documenting how to use and configure your software is also important.

Does your company have important policies and procedures? Do you have them written down? To help your employees remember your company policies and procedures it is good to have them documented. Then any time a question comes about how your company does business, or how to handle a difficult situation, you can review your documentation for a reminder of how to tackle those issues.

Another thing to document is your company's vision, mission, and values. Your vision and mission dictate the direction your company is going and its purpose. Your values dictate what you value most as a company. Documenting these elements of your company will help you, and your employees, to remember your vision mission and values.

Documenting your company's goals is also important. This will help your company to remember its goals and to stay focused. Having clear goals that are written out will also make it more likely for you to achieve them.

Ultimately, it is important to have good documentation for your company. It provides you a place to look up critical information when you need it most. It can also be a source of training material for new employees.

10/31/2023

Continuous learning and self-development is important. If you have employees, it is important they continue to learn and grow. This can help them learn new skills they can apply on the job. It can also help them to stregthen their existing skills. If possible, you can even incorporate ongoing training as part of your company's policies and procedures.

One of the most important aspects of learning and self development is best said by Jim Rohn. Jim Rohn says: “Don’t let your learning lead to knowledge. Let your learning lead to action.”

What this means is that you need to act on what you learn. You need to do more then just absorb information. Acting on what you read, see, and here while studying is how you can really cement what you are learning. So take steps now to actively learn and grow in your career. And most importantly, use what you learn and take action.