Top 10 Things You Need to Know to Stay Sane & Work Smarter

Maurice Coleman

About his library system: Hartford has been circulating video games for over 10 years; {more info on kids services} sneak in the learning (educational games and puzzles); American Girl Dolls (phantom collection — 113 of them; are always all out); STEM, Little Leapers take home science kits; Learn, Explore and Play kits (LEAP); Give them a robot (programming) — Finch robots; Innovation Lab; a lot of new things are being done at HCPL. Guinea pig, test a lot of projects for companies.

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”

Thinking…. please wait image — things to keep in mind

  • Celebrate success — celebrate good things
  • Public recognition {recognize what staff are doing for library and community}
  • Brag about your bad self — Library Value Calculator
  • Analyze and assess — make sure you’re doing things smarter; have to know what does and doesn’t work. Can’t just throw projects at the wall and expect them to work in your community
  • Own Your Failures AND Your Successes
  • Paralysis by Perfection Must Stop
  • Failure = data gathering; Failure is not the problem, it is just another result; it is what you DO with that result that determines future success {don’t print your email}; Thomas Edison and light bulbs.
  • After each thing, ask questions:
    1. “What Worked and Why?
    2. What Didn’t Work and Why?
    3. Assumptions Did/Did Not Hold Up?
    4. Helped/Didn’t Help Make It Work?
    5. Bang for buck or ROI?
  • Duplication or do it again; who can do it better than us? Type of info/container is irrelevant. We’re in the service industry — we care about things being done properly.
  • Will It Make a Difference?

10 things:

  1. Weed yourself and your library’s services; to do something new, you have to give up something in order to do it; if you can’t give something else up to something new, it’s not worth doing. Plan what you want to do in a year for services.
  2. Mission Critical not Mission Centric — focus shouldn’t be shatter-shot, one time services.
  3. Grab a Partner — it’s all about partnership and collaboration. lifting a 50 lb box with a second person. Have others do work for you, as long as the work gets done properly.
  4. Collect the Evidence — assessment. emerging services need fact-based evidence; sunsetting service through apathy.
  5. Make Your Staff Look Good — be as supportive as you possibly can be for your staff
  6. Say Yes to Yes! — no shouldn’t be first answer out of your mouth.
  7. Leave Room for Miracles — staff should feel free to have time to innovate and excel without constraints, for serendipity. If staff is stressed, serendipity won’t happen. Doing More with less is poppycock & creates more stress on staff. Do best you can with what you have.
  8. Own Your Failure — it is a result; it is not you did bad. And Don’t Let Failure Stop You
  9. Your Peers are Your Friends — not competition; can do stuff together you can’t do on your own. Don’t make yourself crazy at work. Keep yourself sane at work.
  10. TTWWHADI Must Die “That’s The Way We Have Always Done It”

Tips reiterated:

  1. Weed Yourself and Keep to Your Mission; Strategic Plan; Long-range plan — go back to that again and again
  2. Dance with CSI:NEKLS {partners}
  3. Proof is in the Pudding: Gather the Evidence
  4. Make Your Staff Look Great At Every Chance — brag about staff, not you
  5. Yes is the right right answer
  6. Leave Room for Miracles — don’t overwork
  7. Doing More with Less is not desired
  8. Own and Learn From Failure
  9. Work with Peers and Partners {Parthers — are we awake! :))
  10. Who’s Awesome? You’re Awesome!

We are important, vital, and centers of our communities.