"Live, love, learn, leave a legacy" ~ Stephen Covey

The focus of this month's meeting was on the ways we could create a legacy in our work so that colleagues would remember us in a positive light when we move on to new ventures. 

One way of doing this was to find reasons to be grateful at work, both for the work itself and the people we work with every day. This month members have been tasked to write one thank you card or email to a colleague, ahead of April's meeting. 

Work Smart - newsletter, March 2013

In our second meeting on Tuesday, Members contributed examples of positive aspects of work, ranging from working with lovely people, teams encouraging creative thinking and new starter drinks.

Members recommended the numbers of colleagues who had returned to work after leaving to work elsewhere, prompting them to reflect how best to leave a legacy whereby colleagues remembered them positively. LD compared leaving a legacy to writing with permanent marker pen on archive boxes, marking them with our individual handwriting, and leaving lasting proof that we had been here. Referring to colleagues returning, members raised the intention of maintaining our records and files as we would wish to find them if it was our first day in a new job.

Members also recognised that it could be taken for granted how much knowledge someone had accumulated until they had left the company, if it was not shared, causing “Business amnesia”. Similarly, Business amnesia could apply to any situation where information was not recorded, or there was no written record of important information, which could not then be accurately remembered six months later. Written records were more reliable than oral history. 

Members also discussed the best ways for booking meeting rooms and facilities for meetings:

• Reserve meeting rooms by email where possible. Email requests make it possible to monitor and track requests centrally between the relevant parties.
• Include meeting room requirements when reserving: date, venue, time, duration of meeting, number of people.
• If IT equipment or catering will be required, include this in the request.
• Cancel meeting rooms that are no longer needed, so that they become available for colleagues. This applies to meetings that finish early, as well as recurring meetings.
• External visitors - Specify whether they are external clients, or interview candidates, so they can be put in touch with the relevant contact.
• If taxis are required, include this in the request. 

Blog of the month:

http://www.jongordon.com/blog/2011/02/21/5-ways-to-leave-a-legacy-2/

LD handed out blank thank you cards to members during the meeting. Each member was asked to write one thank you card to a colleague before April's meeting. Members could choose to send e-cards instead if preferred.

For the next meeting, please tell us one way that you stay on top of your work or industry trends.
      
      Arctura

       Effective. Efficient. Organised. Professional