Planning

PLANNING  AND  ORGANIZING.  —
When planning  and   organizing   how   to   do   a   job   or correct  a  problem, first  arrange  the  activities, people,  or  materials  involved  into  a  sensible  order. For  example,  you  might  arrange  them  by  priority, sequence,  position  in  the  chain  of  command,  or administrative   functions.   Whatever   order   you decide  to  use,  plan  and organize  so  that  you proceed  from  the  problem  to  a  goal.
First you must determine the specific steps you must take to get the job done.
List and figure the equipment,  time,  and  manpower  needed  for  the job.
Try to foresee any problems that might arise. Ask yourself, Are time, equipment, or personnel scarce? Do the personnel assigned have the skills or  knowledge  to  perform the  assigned  tasks?
Next   list   your   plans   in   their   order   of importance. What must be done now? What can be left until later? By deciding the order in which you must carry out your plans, you can set up a plan  of  action.
A plan of action lists who will do what tasks at what period. Take time to write down a plan of action. Doing that will help you work around obstacles, such astimes your people will be away from  the  work  center. Taking  the  following  steps  will  allow  you  to plan   for   interruptions   and   still   complete assigned task in the most efficient and effective manner.
1.    Identify    action    steps,    resources,    or obstacles  involved  in  reaching  a  goal.
2.   Prepare   a   schedule.
3.   Set   priorities. These  steps  will  allow you  to  plan  for interruptions  and  still  complete  the  assigned  task in  the  most  efficient  and  effective  manner.

How to Handle Mistakes |
If you make a mistake of a more serious nature, consider these suggested steps:
 ___  1.     Admit responsibility.
___  2.     Determine who needs to know.
___  3.     Communicate the error to the appropriate person(s).
___  4.     Giveonly the facts.
___  5.     Don't make excuses.  Only offer the person an explanation.
___  6.     State how you fixed the problem -- or how you plan to fix the problem.
___  7.     Plan and communicate to the employer how you will prevent the mistake 
                 from occurring again.
What to Do When Encountering Difficult Customers:
___  1.    Stay calm and courteous at all times.
___ 2.    Listen with understanding.
___  3.    Focus on the problem, not the person.
___  4.    Identify and target the problem.
___  5.    Agree on the problem -- make sure the customer and you agree on what
                the problem is.
___  6.    Determine actions necessary to resolve the problem.
___  7.    Determine if you are the person to resolve the problem.  
                Ifyou're not the right person, assist connecting the customer to the
                appropriate person.  Make sure the customer gets connected.
___  8.    Take necessary action.
___  9.    Kindly apologize for the inconvenience, error, mistake, delay, defect,
                or problem.

I was working preparing a conference with a more junior secretary who had a reputation for not pulling herweight.
I was finding it difficult to get the most out of her and found myself thinking back to what my colleagues had said about her.
I decided to speak to her in private and give her some feedback on what the general opinion in the team was. I did this in a diplomatic way, asking her if she needed more guidance or if she was having trouble at all.
She opened up to me saying that she wasnot aware of how she was seen by the team and that she sometimes did not understand what she was supposed to be doing and that the senior secretaries had taken over her assignments without involving her or coaching her.
I tried to help her by dedicating extra time to assisting her with our assignment as well as giving her more guided responsibilities.
Her work improved and she felt much...