Originally published on April 13, we re-run this always-pertinent post for your benefit.

Time management is always challenging, and never more so that when you’re constantly being interrupted at work.

Here are a few tips on how to deal with it.

1. Get clear about this: Your Availability ≠ Your Importance.

2. Configure your office so your desk faces the door. This allows you to see who’s coming your way, and gives you more control.

If a “frequent visitor” is headed to your office, you can:

• Pick up the phone so you’re engaged before the person gets to your office – just be sure to activate a phone line and put it on mute as you pick up the receiver.
• Have a cell phone ear piece on AT ALL TIMES. As long as your hair covers it, they won’t be able to tell whether it’s actually in use or not. As the person approaches you, feign conversation with a non-existent other party and point to your ear so the intruder understands you’re using your ear piece.

This even works for those who get hijacked when they walk past the office of the highly social person. Always carry your cell phone with you when you leave your office, always have your ear piece in, and you can evade any effort to divert you.

• Start talking as though you’re on speaker phone – ensuring that just as the person gets to your threshold you can say to the speaker phone: “Yes – of course – I’ll be right there.” If necessary, hit the speaker phone button so it’s lit, then the mute button so the tone of “no connection” isn’t audible, then as you utter the words.
• “Sure I’ll be right there”, click the off button. Establish a “buddy” or two to whose office you can go for this purpose.

3. Develop phrases that deflect the “Got a minute?” intrusion to a later time:

• Yes – but just a moment – am on deadline here on a work product for Patrick.
• Actually I’m on my way to meet with x, but Susie knows more than I do about…
• Of course I have time for you! How about X o’clock this afternoon/tomorrow?
• Sure – as soon as I finish this I’ll pop down to your office.
• Actually I’m preparing for X and I can’t be late. Could we talk at x o’clock instead? I’ll come to your office!

4. Use “modified” open door policy. Consider putting a big DIAL on your door – settings could read:

• “Available – come on in!”
• “Really concentrating – but if it’s really important…”
• “Working on an insane deadline – try me after X o’clock”

5. Consider working in another location for the day. Take a lap top to a conference room, or to a close-by hotel/restaurant, or to the local library.

6. Stand up on the entry of intrusive visitors, pick up a binder/tablet, and walk them to your door and out of your office since you’re “on your way to the ladies room/ an appointment/a conference call with/in your buddy’s office.”

7. Try to ensure that meetings with the most intrusive of your colleagues occur in THEIR office rather than your own. This allows you to control departure time.

What tips do you have to avoid unnecessary interruptions?

More from Women Grow Business:

• How to have a work/life balance, by Melanie Spring
• Three gifts for you in 2011, by Patricia A. Frame

Image: incurable_hippie via Flickr, CC 2.0

Francie Dalton, CMC, is founder and president of Dalton Alliances, Inc. and author of the recently published book Versatility. Her Washington, DC based consultancy helps the C-Suite solve business nightmares. Francie equips clients to deal with what they didn’t see coming (and shows them there’s always another way to win!). She welcomes a chance to meet you via Twitter or on LinkedIn.

You read their bios at the end of their posts, but we felt our regular contributors deserve a little more prominence. So here they are, in alphabetical order: the women who make Women Grow Business what it is. We couldn’t do it without them.

Tinu Abayomi-Paul is the editor of Women Grow Business. Tinu rescues web sites from obscurity and shows business people how to generate leads and traffic from the web. Founder of Free Traffic Tips and Ask Tinu, she is widely published online as an ever effective, end-to-end website promotion specialist — on Web Pro News, Search Engine Guide, and more. Ready to engage on Twitter as @tinu, she’s known to say: “You can’t knock my hustle.”

Deborah Ager is principal of Bolt Digital Strategies, LLC. She helps organizations effectively reach and engage with their online audience to achieve their goals. You can connect with her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Sherrie Bakshi is communications maven at Matrix Group, and co-founder of Stylee PR & Marketing, which is now run and managed by co-founder Vladia Jurcova Spencer. Sherrie’s 10+ years of experience encompass everything from traditional media relations to effective social networking and online strategies. She is a volunteer and committee member for The Reading Connection, which helps at-risk families throughout the DC Metro area create environments that encourage family reading. When not working or volunteering, Sherrie enjoys spending time with her dog, Nikki.

Ann Bevans is a writer, graphic designer and web developer.  As principal of Ann Bevans Collective, she helps clients articulate messages that matter and create print and online marketing programs that communicate those messages with impact. Ann asks tough questions and doesn’t accept flimsy answers. She makes music and writes fiction. She does all her own stunts.  Connect with Ann on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook.

Thursday Bram offers content marketing through Hyper Modern Consulting, as well as more traditional writing services. She blogs about the shift between freelancing and business through her personal blog Thursday Bram and can be reached at www.twitter.com/thursdayb.

Shonali Burke is the former editor of Women Grow Business. Named to PRWeek’s inaugural top “40 Under 40″ list of US-based PR professionals, she is considered one of 25 women that rock social media. As Principal, Shonali Burke Consulting, she focuses on “integrated communication to the nth degree” or, in other words, turns your corporate codswallop into community cool. An accredited business communicator, she is also Adjunct Faculty at Johns Hopkins University’s M.A. in Communication program, and Immediate Past President of IABC/DC Metro. Talk to her via her blog, Waxing UnLyrical or Twitter.

Francie Dalton, CMC, is founder and president of Dalton Alliances, Inc. and author of the recently published book Versatility. Her Washington, DC based consultancy helps the C-Suite solve business nightmares. Francie equips clients to deal with what they didn’t see coming (and shows them there’s always another way to win!). She welcomes a chance to meet you via Twitter or on LinkedIn.

Stella Fayman blogs about credit card processing for the FeeFighters Blog. FeeFighters.com is the comparison shopping site for credit card processors; just like getting multiple quotes for airfare using Expedia, TransFS lets business owners compare top quality processors on an apples-to-apples basis and makes sure they get the best deal by not having any cancellation or hidden fees, and only interchange plus pricing. Contact Stella with specific questions at stella@feefighters.com or connect with her on Twitter.

Robin Ferrier is the editor of What’s Next, Gen Y? and Communications Manager for the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus. She is also the President of the Capital Communicators Group and the co-chair of the Marketing Committee for the Tech Council of Maryland. She has inadvertently become a frequent career / professional / job hunt resource for friends and colleagues due to a career path that has included five jobs in 12 years.

Cited by ForbesWoman as one of 30 women entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter, Jill Foster is principal of Live Your Talk and founding editor of Women Grow Business. Believing strong communities come from strong conversations, she specializes in speech coaching for women in technology. A social tech enthusiast, she co-founded DC Media Makers – a peer learning community that teaches digital technology. Jill won the Apps for Democracy Social Citizen Award for a co-produced project on how technology could help Washington, DC neighborhoods. During the 2008 presidential election, she fulfilled a lifelong dream by serving as a “Big Tent” credentialed blogger for the Democratic National Convention.

Patricia A. Frame is an experienced Human Capital issues speaker and management consultant.  She founded Strategies for Human Resources to advise organizations facing organization and people challenges. Previously she designed and managed human resource functions for GE, Software AG, Maxwell Online, and others. A Wharton MBA and an Air Force veteran, she actively supports the Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.  Check out her website, SHRinsight.com, for management and development articles.

Marissa Levin is Founder and CEO of Information Experts. Marissa was named a 2008 BRAVO Award winner, and a Smart100 CEO for both 2009 and 2010, by SmartCEO Magazine (which honors the region’s 25 most influential women CEOs); recently she was listed in Washington’s 100 Technology Titans by Washingtonian Magazine. She is also the DC Women’s Entrepreneurship Examiner. Describing her true passion as “helping other business owners be successful with their own business growth”, Marissa can be reached through her blog Marissa Levin.

Rebecca Malik is president of contemporary furniture ecommerce business 17th and Riggs.  She thrives on beautiful home design and explores related conversation at her blog The View from 17th and Riggs. Rebecca would love to hear from you on her blog or via Twitter.

Shannon Mouton is a marketing strategist, with a passion for utilizing social technology to build business relationships, network, share information and the greater good. She has 20 years of relationship marketing, community building, event management and outreach experience. Her professional blog, Shannon’s blog about marketing, public relations, social technology, entrepreneurship and other things, explores the business world, and her personal blog, Shannon Sez So, examines life’s joys, pains and idiosyncrasies. She also contributes to Gridiron Gals, as a die-hard fan of the Washington Redskins. Shannon serves on the boards of directors for The George Washington University Alumni Association and the In Series, a performing arts organization in Washington, DC. She also regularly volunteers at Calvary Women’s Services.

Suzanne Paling is the principal consultant of Sales Management Services, with more than 20 years of experience in sales consulting, sales management, and sales for both field and inside sales organizations. Paling founded her company in 1998 to provide practical advice to business executives, owners, and entrepreneurs seeking to increase their revenue and improve their sales organization’s performance. Her new book, The Accidental Sales Manager, was published by Entrepreneur Press in October 2010.

Founder/CEO and self-proclaimed Chief Troublemaker of Matrix Group International, Joanna Pineda is known for her visionary big-picture thinking and drive for excellence. Combining her broad liberal arts background and passion for technology, she started Matrix Group in 1999, today a leading interactive agency. As a trusted advisor, Joanna inspires and motivates her clients and employees alike to simply, “be better” with her mantra being: Do or Do Not. There is no try!

Tara Rethore is president, M Beacon Enterprises, and helps business leaders to do what they set out to do. She’s passionate about breaking down complex concepts into a few, critical themes that shift thinking and deliver results. Tara knows what it takes to succeed, to execute a strategy, and to transform vision into reality. Tara can also be found commenting on business strategy, execution, and results on Twitter.

Mayra Ruiz is founder of Ruiz McPherson Communications, a social media influence and digital marketing service based in historic Charles Town, West Virginia. With more than 15 years of hands-on marketing, communications and PR experience, Mayra leads her clients forward on all aspects of creative direction, online promotion and marketing communications with innovation, passion and gusto.  When offline, Mayra enjoys “old fashioned” non-techy stuff like cooking, sewing and collecting vintage treasures from area antiques stores. She can be reached at www.twitter.com/mayraruiz or www.twitter.com/ruizmcpherson (her marketing practice).

Lori Saitz is founder of Zen Rabbit Baking Company. She helps people show appreciation for and give recognition to others. The main (delicious!) tool her team uses to help accomplish this important feat is through The Gratitude Cookie™. A thin, crunchy cross between a butter and a sugar cookie, The Gratitude Cookie is so named because if you’re eating the cookies, you’re encouraged to think about something you are grateful for as you munch on each one. Connect with her on Twitter.

Liz Scherer is a digital writer and consultant specializing in health/medicine/wellness. She produces Flashfree which brings her closer to her goal to engage, entertain and provide women in midlife with the tools to make informed decisions about their health. In addition to her blog, you can find Liz on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Melanie Spring is the principal and project director at Sisarina Inc.. An expert networker, Melanie and Sisarina connect individuals and companies with the tools they need to market and promote their brand successfully and efficiently. Connect with her on Twitter where she’s @sisarina.

Amanda Steinberg is the founder of DailyWorth.com, a free daily email about personal finance for women. DailyWorth gives women key insights into building net worth. Sign up today!

Twenty-year PR Veteran and Chief Creative Officer of Wasabi Publicity, Michelle Tennant Nicholson has seen PR transition from typewriters to Twitter. Called a five-star publicist by Good Morning America’s Mable Chan, Michelle specializes in international PR working regularly with the likes of Oprah, Larry King, BBC, The Today Show and all major media. Contact her at http://www.StorytellerToTheMedia.com where she teaches tips from the trade.

Libby Wagner, Libby Wagner & Associates, is one of only a handful of published poets regularly welcomed into the boardroom. Author of the new book The Influencing Option: The Art of Building a Profit Culture in Business (Global Professional Publishing), she has been labeled The Influencing Coach™ by her clients. Her expertise in leadership, strategy, management, and executive team development helps organizations create environments where clarity and increased trust lead to unrivaled results, shaping such Fortune 500 cultures as Boeing, Nike, Philips and Costco.

Alexandra Williams, MA, co-writes Fun and Fit: Q and A with K and A, a humorous fitness blog with her twin sister, Kymberly, in the hope that readers will laugh themselves into a fit state. Together they speak at events, on the radio and in public rest stops. Alexandra is a contributing editor and writer for IDEA Fitness Journal, and teaches in the exercise sports studies department at UC Santa Barbara. Talk to Alexandra on Twitter, where she goes by @Alexandrafunfit.

So now you know: I watch Dancing with the Stars. And while I’m not obsessive, it’s fair to say that I’ve watched some part of every season since its debut in the summer of 2005.

Now in its 12^th season, Dancing with the Stars is a regular fixture in the TV lineup and among Twitter fans (#DWTS or @ABC_DWTS). Like any reality TV show, however, what’s often more interesting than the dancing is the behavior of the “stars,” both behind the scenes and in the heat of the moment.

Like the dancers, business leaders are front and center in their corner of the universe.

Their staffs constantly watch how they behave. Every leader’s actions are considered in terms of what message each sends and how well each supports the company strategy.

Reflecting on the past few seasons of Dancing with the Stars, I found several worthwhile lessons for CEOs.

Here are five that are particularly relevant in executing strategy:

1. Stay on message.

Understand and embrace the heart of your objective. What is most critical for others to know about what you are doing?

Petra Nemcova (Season 12) aptly demonstrated the art of staying on message – without becoming either annoying or repetitive. It was clear that while she enjoyed the dancing, her primary purpose in participating was to build awareness of her philanthropic endeavors. Petra capitalized on every opportunity to let us glimpse the work she does to “rebuild children’s lives after natural disaster.”

Leaving the competition, Petra gracefully acknowledged her partner – and reminded us: “I’m going back to what my life is about, building schools” with Happy Hearts.

2. Take risks.

Ballroom dancing has strict rules, formal guidelines, and a strong tradition. Yet, even when constrained by such frameworks, sometimes you’ve just got to go out on a limb. Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas “pushed boundaries with their paso doble.” They earned mixed marks for execution, but praise for giving it their all – and they moved onto the next round of the competition. Further, they learned from the experience and brought that learning to their next dance.

3. Beware the underdog.

It’s fine to stand atop the Leader Board each week. But the biggest threat can come from those at the bottom.

Scan the horizon constantly to ensure a far-flung competitor doesn’t suddenly emerge victorious.

Last season, Bristol Palin consistently earned lower marks from the judges than many of her competitors. Yet her persistence and a loyal following accounted for half of her total score – and closed the gap week after week. She and her partner landed in the finals, placing third overall.

4. Focus on content.

Charisma and charm can take you a long way. Failing to nurture the foundation –  quality, customer service, attention to detail, and flawless execution – is a death sentence.

In nearly every season, charismatic dancers capture audience attention for a time; in the end, only those who also delivered well-executed dances survived.

5. Exhibit grace under pressure.

Missteps are inevitable. What matters is how you behave in the face of one. This season, two stars (Kirstie Alley and Ralph Macchio) dealt with a fall during her/his performance. Both demonstrated poise, grace, and respect for their partners. Both avoided elimination in those weeks, in spite of beautiful performances by their competitors.

Above all, whether you are dancing or running a business, keep your eye on the prize.

More from Women Grow Business:

• Five (more) tips on being a better leader, by Francie Dalton
• Business lessons from Passover, a guest post by Wendy Scherer

Image: Sheree K via Flickr, Creative Commons

Tara Rethore is president, M Beacon Enterprises, and helps business leaders to do what they set out to do. She’s passionate about breaking down complex concepts into a few, critical themes that shift thinking and deliver results. Tara knows what it takes to succeed, to execute a strategy, and to transform vision into reality. Tara can also be found commenting on business strategy, execution, and results on Twitter.

Guest post by Laura Stack

Did you think that this year, you would improve on some old work habits? It’s May now, and you should reexamine those habits to be sure you are being productive.

Are you Measuring your Results?

Without no-nonsense measurement, it is very difficult to gauge your success or failure. It’s hard to improve what you can’t measure. How would you know if you’ve succeeded? This is particularly true when it comes to tweaking or creating processes.

Keep track of the changes you make and evaluate how they have improved productivity. Did you make the process faster? Involve fewer people? Did the quality of the work improve?

These are the questions you’ll want to ask whenever you change something that has been in place for any period of time.

Enjoy the Risks.

Try something different. Especially when it comes to projects that are very large or very critical, people can get uneasy about changing a process. After all, there is a lot at stake and the old way has never failed before.

The result can be a complicated process that has grown into something more difficult and stressful than it needs to be. Don’t be afraid to take a risk and challenge the old way of doing things. It may be more stressful this time around, but you just might work your way towards a new system that will save tons of time and aggravation later on.

It’s Ok to Have Structure.

Many of us have jobs that are so process-heavy we forget that having a defined procedure in place is, in the best of circumstances, a really good thing. Make sure that when you are dealing with a task or an assignment that needs to be done on a recurring basis, you find a way to put a system in place. When working in a group, it is important to make sure that everyone is on the same page in terms of who is responsible for what – and when.

A checklist can be a great asset. Simply list everything that needs to be accomplished and who is responsible for doing it. If your process stalls, you should have no problem figuring out where the problem is.

You Can Challenge the Status Quo.

Does it have to be done like this? You might not be particularly fond of it yourself. But that’s no reason to stay stuck in an unproductive rut.

All too often, we resign ourselves to the fact that it’s “good enough” and get hung up on a really mediocre way of doing something. Is there a recurring meeting at work that makes everyone groan and hasn’t been worth the hour that it eats up for as long as you can remember? Maybe it is time to reconsider the way that time is spent.

If you have any say in how the meeting is run, perhaps your group’s resolution should be to get the thing back on target. Or maybe it’s simply time to get rid of the meeting altogether and give everyone involved a little extra time in their day.

More from Women Grow Business:

• Do ladies network differently? by Thursday Bram
• Do you need to eliminate the toxic dumper? by Francie Dalton

Image: orcmid via Flickr, Creative Commons

Laura Stack is a w2wlink expert, a professional speaker and the president of The Productivity Pro, Inc. She’s the bestselling author of Leave the Office Earlier (Broadway Books, 2004), Find More Time (Broadway Books, 2006) and The Exhaustion Cure: Up Your Energy from LOW to GO in 21 Days (Broadway Books, 2008). Laura presents keynotes and seminars on time management, information overload and personal productivity. She is also the spokesperson for Day-Timer (R) International. For more information, visit www.TheProductivityPro.com.

The other day I shared five tips on being a better leader.

But that list wasn’t complete! So here are five more tips on how you can do this.

(Remember, #s 1-5 are in the previous post.)

6. Be approachable.

An open-door policy, a suggestion box, an invitation delivered at an all-staff meeting to “come visit,” even a memo promising folksy charm isn’t the kind of approachability employees want from their leaders.

Get out there! Don’t sit back passively waiting for them to initiate contact; YOU have to do the approaching.

Institute periodic breakfasts or lunches with hierarchically segmented groups, offering open and/or issue specific agendas. Task each of your direct reports with keeping you informed about the challenges and achievements their employees.

When you later engage with those individuals, surprise and delight them with your awareness of specific details.

Resolve today to step out of your office and into the working lives of your employees.

7. Expand responsibility.

Take action to help the unfortunate, contribute to society, protect the earth, and more. Your role as leader not only requires you to model this behavior consistently, but also to foster it in others.

Resolve to be conspicuous in exhibiting a sense of responsibility for the earth and its inhabitants.

Better still: create opportunities for your employees to do likewise.

8. Create possibility.

Leaders can be so absorbed in moving people and organizations from the current state to the desired state that they fail to inquire about the “possible state.”

When was the last time you set aside time to just “wonder” together with your employees?

“What could we do if…what should we do with…what next big step…what new idea…”

Resolve to engage your employees in possibility thinking.

9. Think versatility.

Typically leaders create, apply and direct multiple types of capital simultaneously: financial, intellectual, natural, human, etc.

There is another type of capital leaders also use every day, but perhaps with less fluency: social capital.

More than just an indication of how well networked you are, this important component of your leadership portfolio reveals the ability to modify your style of leadership to be just as effective with your CTO, for example, as you are with your CMO.

Successful leaders get good at packaging their messages to elicit what they need from engineering, sales, manufacturing, finance, etc.

Resolve today to stop waiting for others to become who you wish they were, and instead, develop the versatility to work effectively with who they actually are!

10. Demand creativity.

Absent your explicit invitation for creative ideas to reduce workloads, you may never hear such ideas as reformatting deliverables, strategic abandonment, joint-venturing, portfolio workers, job sharing, virtual employment, etc.

Resolve today to invite creative ideas from your employees on how to honor work/life balance.

More from Women Grow Business:

• Patricia Frame’s three gifts for you in 2011
• Listening to the “little voice,” by Robin Ferrier
• Vision, intention and attention: 3 critical steps to being your best, by Jen Consalvo

Image: Infidelic via Flickr, Creative Commons

Francie Dalton, CMC, is founder and president of Dalton Alliances, Inc.and author of the recently published book Versatility. Her Washington, DC based consultancy helps the C-Suite solve business nightmares. Francie equips clients to deal with what they didn’t see coming (and shows them there’s always another way to win!). She welcomes a chance to meet you via Twitter or on LinkedIn.

Want your organization, your department, your group, to be the very best it can be?

Start by identifying the criteria that constitute “best,” and then consider whether your leadership provides observable evidence of those criteria.

1. Leaders must be agile.

Speed of responsiveness is a competitive distinction. It requires moment-by-moment deductive reasoning, real-time monitoring of events and trends, and the ability to anticipate what’s coming next before others even recognize the indicators.

Organizational agility, however, is not synonymous with agile leadership.

Are you subordinating effectiveness to the existing structure? Insisting on certainty before taking any risk? Impeding change because you’re comfortable with the current state?

Resolve today to make fear your friend. Fear spawns innovation, reveals options, imposes efficacies, and functions to help you achieve desired state.

2. Embrace unity.

Leaders must make employees essential contributors to shared goals.

Unity isn’t cognitive. Even if borne of shared belief, unity is an emotional state, and is palpable. It is built not through dogma or a series of completed transactions, but through a quality of leadership that resonates with those being led.

Are you striving for mere compliance from your employees?

Instead, resolve to lead in a way elicits their voluntary, unified commitment.

3. Provide accountability.

Establishing and meeting targeted business outcomes nourishes self-esteem, enhances careers, and builds leadership capabilities.

Are you dwarfing fledgling leaders by absolving them of accountability? Are you depriving them of a sense of achievement by intervening on their developmental flailing?

Resolve to develop confident, competent leaders by not providing answers or solutions. Instead, format constructive, critical feedback into Socratic questions so that they have to deduce the lesson.

4. Build community.

Does your organization have an online, annotated human capital directory that is searchable by name, function, capabilities (whether part of current function or not), hobbies, affiliations, etc.?

Have you tasked your existing staff with developing killer on-boarding programs?

Do you and your managers conduct stay interviews?

Assuming you have an intranet, are you regularly featuring employee accomplishments? Is there an employee “bulletin board”?

If not, you have an employee base; not a community.

5. Increase levity.

Humor is the weapon of the powerful relationships. Are you alert to and actively seeking “the lighter side”?

Nothing shows more confidence under dire circumstances than a moment of wit or an amusing perspective; so long as it’s not at anyone’s expense. Recognize the rallying effect of humor, and use it as the powerful leadership tool it is.

Resolve to laugh at yourself at least once daily; or better yet, share a laugh about yourself with a different staff member every day.

This isn’t the end of my list. Look for Part II of this post to come your way soon, with five more tips on being a better leader.

More from Women Grow Business:

• Standing behind your staff, by Melanie Spring
• “King” size admiration; a guest post by Jennifer Wilbur

Image: Tim (Timothy) Pearce via Flickr, Creative Commons

Francie Dalton, CMC, is founder and president of Dalton Alliances, Inc.and author of the recently published book Versatility. Her Washington, DC based consultancy helps the C-Suite solve business nightmares. Francie equips clients to deal with what they didn’t see coming (and shows them there’s always another way to win!). She welcomes a chance to meet you via Twitter or on LinkedIn.

Entrepreneurs who make big, public splashes quickly, get press, attention, and accolades. Yet the reality of small business and entrepreneurship is that many of these ventures don’t yield splashy results.

Most business owners we know experience more measured growth, with plenty of learning opportunities along the way. Thus, becoming agile is critical to their success. LivingSocial’s engaging CEO, Tim O’Shaughnessy, recently shared his experience and the LivingSocial story at an event hosted by Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC).

What I heard was a refreshing treatise on what makes a CEO smart – and most importantly, what other founders and CEOs can do to succeed long after sparking the “big idea.” (You can read the insights as they occurred via my Twitter feed during Tim’s presentation.)

Six insights to be a smart CEO:

• Live your culture – LivingSocial will be the first to admit: “Yes, we have a ball pit.” But O’Shaughnessy also stresses that culture is much more than toys. First, define your culture, then be specific and deliberate about the things you do to live it.

Not every organization needs a ball pit. But every highly effective team must easily integrate new members to remain collaborative and productive. And that’s even more critical for businesses that are growing rapidly and scaling operations.

• Decide core competences early – You can only make so many things a “core competence.” Decide what those are at the outset and act accordingly. It’s tempting to believe that you should do it all yourself or in-house, particularly when you are pedaling as fast as you can to meet customer expectations and balance working capital.

While true “non-essential” tasks are easier to identify and outsource, core competence is what really distinguishes you, is hard to replicate, and helps create competitive advantage. Defining it means taking hard decisions to ensure you’ve chosen the select few that do this.

• Reframe the questions – LivingSocial started as a product and technology company. It saw an opportunity and created a product that leveraged technology to meet it. As O’Shaughnessy looks ahead, he sees “local commerce” and rethinking what product means in that market. Moving beyond product and technology, LivingSocial now incorporates interactions and experiences.

• Lay the track as you go – Small business in particular recognizes the need to implement on the fly. That agility starts with solid leadership that stays focused on the end game and monitors the everyday.

Oddly, as organizations grow, the “everyday” often swamps the strategic imperatives. Leadership means staying on track as you lay that track.

• Get help – Naturally, smart CEOs know their strengths. The best CEOs also acknowledge weaknesses and get help to mitigate them. Local commerce requires local expertise; LivingSocial rethought its organizational model to deliver local products and services.
  

• Let go! O’Shaughnessy looks for entrepreneurial people. Their success, even if that includes launching something on their own, means he’s succeeded.

He’s created a place where people learn, take risks, and keep growing. Doing so, he also ensures that LivingSocial lives its culture while remaining fresh, relevant, and healthy.

Whether your business is experiencing unprecedented growth, steady progress, or just getting off the ground, embracing these six insights can also help you to create an agile organization.

Agility lets you anticipate and capitalize on new opportunities or trends while also avoiding major disruptions. LivingSocial’s experience to date–and O’Shaughnessy’s outlook for the future–certainly attests to the value of agility.

More from Women Grow Business:

• Donna Vincent Roa’s guest post on starting a business in a recession
• Francie Dalton’s tips for managing interruptions at work
• Marissa Levin on the speed of burnout

Image: BenA1974 via Flickr, Creative Commons

Tara Rethore is president, M Beacon Enterprises, and helps business leaders to do what they set out to do. She’s passionate about breaking down complex concepts into a few, critical themes that shift thinking and deliver results. Tara knows what it takes to succeed, to execute a strategy, and to transform vision into reality. Tara can also be found commenting on business strategy, execution, and results on Twitter.

Time management is always challenging, and never more so that when you’re constantly being interrupted at work.

Here are a few tips on how to deal with it.

1. Get clear about this: Your Availability ≠ Your Importance.

2. Configure your office so your desk faces the door. This allows you to see who’s coming your way, and gives you more control.

If a “frequent visitor” is headed to your office, you can:

• Pick up the phone so you’re engaged before the person gets to your office – just be sure to activate a phone line and put it on mute as you pick up the receiver.
• Have a cell phone ear piece on AT ALL TIMES. As long as your hair covers it, they won’t be able to tell whether it’s actually in use or not. As the person approaches you, feign conversation with a non-existent other party and point to your ear so the intruder understands you’re using your ear piece.

This even works for those who get hijacked when they walk past the office of the highly social person. Always carry your cell phone with you when you leave your office, always have your ear piece in, and you can evade any effort to divert you.

• Start talking as though you’re on speaker phone – ensuring that just as the person gets to your threshold you can say to the speaker phone: “Yes – of course – I’ll be right there.” If necessary, hit the speaker phone button so it’s lit, then the mute button so the tone of “no connection” isn’t audible, then as you utter the words.
• “Sure I’ll be right there”, click the off button. Establish a “buddy” or two to whose office you can go for this purpose.

3. Develop phrases that deflect the “Got a minute?” intrusion to a later time:

• Yes – but just a moment – am on deadline here on a work product for Patrick.
• Actually I’m on my way to meet with x, but Susie knows more than I do about…
• Of course I have time for you! How about X o’clock this afternoon/tomorrow?
• Sure – as soon as I finish this I’ll pop down to your office.
• Actually I’m preparing for X and I can’t be late. Could we talk at x o’clock instead? I’ll come to your office!

4. Use “modified” open door policy. Consider putting a big DIAL on your door – settings could read:

• “Available – come on in!”
• “Really concentrating – but if it’s really important…”
• “Working on an insane deadline – try me after X o’clock”

5. Consider working in another location for the day. Take a lap top to a conference room, or to a close-by hotel/restaurant, or to the local library.

6. Stand up on the entry of intrusive visitors, pick up a binder/tablet, and walk them to your door and out of your office since you’re “on your way to the ladies room/ an appointment/a conference call with/in your buddy’s office.”

7. Try to ensure that meetings with the most intrusive of your colleagues occur in THEIR office rather than your own. This allows you to control departure time.

What tips do you have to avoid unnecessary interruptions?

More from Women Grow Business:

• How to have a work/life balance, by Melanie Spring
• Three gifts for you in 2011, by Patricia A. Frame

Image: incurable_hippie via Flickr, CC 2.0

Francie Dalton, CMC, is founder and president of Dalton Alliances, Inc. and author of the recently published book Versatility. Her Washington, DC based consultancy helps the C-Suite solve business nightmares. Francie equips clients to deal with what they didn’t see coming (and shows them there’s always another way to win!). She welcomes a chance to meet you via Twitter or on LinkedIn.

A colleague recently shared her pre-game angst for giving a product demonstration. She felt less confident about this particular demo, especially when envisioning questions from attendees that could favor her competition vs her product.

Here are 3 tips that helped her increase her sense of ease, confidence, and control.

1. Set the tone and cultivate an open dynamic early on.

She opened her remarks by overtly declaring her demo a full-on conversation zone; she distinctly invited curiosity about her work (and what they, the attendees, were looking for).

Leading the tone in this way was a simple, empowering move.

Cultivating this type of conversational environment head-on made my colleague feel like she was guiding the exchange (vs hiding nervously from potential questions).

2. Establish a clear, big-picture message and use that as a mental home base.

The nature of our products and services can be so carved out in our minds that a vivid, concise way to describe its meaning can get obscured.

Before the demo, clearly define and articulate a key message that captures the value of your product. Linking mini-stories to the key message can help make it all the more humanized, personal, and distinct.

As example: “My #1 interest is providing fantastic, fashionable footware that’s reasonably priced. Faculty at my alma mater are my best customers for this reason….”

3. Acknowledge competitor features, briefly, if prospects bring them up…

… but promptly re-direct attention to your product’s benefit. It can be natural to defensively respond when people affirm competition in the face of your product.

To diffuse your own anxiety and cultivate a sense of confidence, prepare ways beforehand to gracefully acknowledge competitor features should they come up i.e. “Yes Sallie’s Lime Cupcakes are tasty…”

And practice how to immediately re-focus attention on your product’s distinction.

For example, “I’ve found the bulk of my customers may try fruit cupcakes once or twice in the short term. But my customer community as a whole craves chocolate and vanilla. And we provide that in 85 creative recipes.”

(I’m now craving a cupcake—vanilla, not lime—in the most urgent way!)

Before signing off though, have you ever experienced anxiety before giving a product demo? What were ways you prepared when anticipating criticism from attendees?

More from Women Grow Business:

• Jill shares the welcome surprises of storyboarding a speech
• Francie Dalton gives you 5 tips to help you solidify business prospects
• Growing into the title of CEO: it starts today, says Marissa Levin

Cited by ForbesWoman as one of 30 women entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter, Jill Foster is principal of Live Your Talk and founding editor of Women Grow Business. Believing strong communities come from strong conversations (and thus public speaking skill), she specializes in speech coaching for women in technology. A social tech enthusiast, she co-founded DC Media Makers – a peer learning community that teaches digital technology. Jill won the Apps for Democracy Social Citizen Award for a co-produced project on how technology could help Washington, DC neighborhoods. During the 2008 presidential election, she fulfilled a lifelong dream by serving as a “Big Tent” credentialed blogger for the Democratic National Convention.

What do you do when confronted with change?

Especially change you’re not prepared for?

Frightened of?

Such as during a recession?

I spoke recently with Obi Orgnot of Orgnot Strategic Labs on this very topic. It occurred to me that you might be interested, since many of us share the same fears and face the same problems.

And if you take nothing else away, I hope you’ll take these:

1. Attitude is where it’s at.

As I said in the interview, If you allow yourself to be saturated in, negativity, then that attitude is going to be palpable.

It will poison your strategic thinking, it will make your strategies defensive, and your willingness to innovate and take risks to be dampened, if not suffocated.

If we see ourselves as helpless victims of this recession, then we are exponentially hobbled by the truth of the economic demise.

If, instead, we recognize that despite the economic demise we are resourceful business owners, we are smart – otherwise we wouldn’t have had what it takes to launch and sustain our businesses.

2. Learn how to manage both ends of the generational spectrum.

In the coming years, a couple of things will happen. Baby boomers will be exiting the workforce or staying in at half time. And then, at the other end of the spectrum, there will be younger workers who think they should earn 50 billion dollars a year, even though they don’t know anything and have no experience.

These will be, I believe, the two extremes, without a lot of people in the middle.

What does that mean for a manager?

It means you have to be good at managing older people, which all by itself is difficult, and at the same time, you have to be good at managing younger people, which is also difficult.

You’ll have to learn how to manage both groups of people, because no one else is going to do it for you.

3. Don’t get pigeonholed into business roles within a community.

All of us have different gifts. Some of us have money but no time; some of us have time but no money.

Some of us have financial skills, accounting skills; some of us have business planning skills; the list goes on.

Whatever you have to give, give it.

What is it that you enjoy doing? Find people in the community who need that.

If you choose to give something to the community that is something you love doing, then your enjoyment for that giving, and your passion for that topic or subject or activity will make itself apparent and create radial benefits.

So stop looking at what the needs are and start looking at what you would enjoy giving. It’s an upside-down model but I think it works better.

Here’s the entire interview, and I hope you will tell me what you think, and share your own thoughts as well.

More from Women Grow Business:

• Francie writes on neutralizing the toxic dumper
• Wendy Stops’ guest post on reinventing opportunity to create a career path

Image: Jimee, Jackie, Tom & Asha via Flickr, Creative Commons

Francie Dalton, CMC, is founder and president of Dalton Alliances, Inc. and author of the recently published book Versatility. Her Washington, DC based consultancy helps the C-Suite solve business nightmares. Francie equips clients to deal with what they didn’t see coming (and shows them there’s always another way to win!). She welcomes a chance to meet you via Twitter or on LinkedIn.