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Year: 2013

Fix the bad behavior, not the dud personality

Q: “I hate coming to work because of one obnoxious co-worker. ’Alan’ listens to our phone conversations and frequently interrupts with ‘corrections.’ He claims to have superior knowledge, yet he passes along sloppy work to the rest of us. We have to take Alan’s share of the calls, because he refuses to answer the phone unless our boss is around. Several of us have talked with our manager individually, but he doesn’t seem to understand the problem. Since he never sees this behavior, he thinks Alan is great. What can we do?” Seething

How to make Siri your admin

If you’re patient, correct hiccups and tweak settings, Siri will become an effective assistant and maybe even your best friend, says CultofMac.com Editor and Publisher Leander Kahney, who offers these tips to turn Siri into a serious assistant.

Cement group decisions

Ensure that everyone is serious about getting on the same page by asking your team this one question: “Are we all now committed to doing this?” Those words change a group decision into a pact.

Keep a careful eye on “responsibility creep”

Q: “Recently, I helped to consolidate several production facilities from different states, which saved the company a great deal of money. When I asked if this might justify a pay increase, my boss replied that the project was considered to be part of my regular job. In fact, my ‘regular job’ is production manager for this facility, but over the years I have been asked to take on more tasks related to other functions and other properties. If I am routinely required to go above and beyond my job description, shouldn’t there be some financial reward?” Underpaid