"Editorial Review" Melissa, has been helping people just like yourself to be proficient and stay organized, for over 15 years! This resource book will take the guesswork out of managing processes and also improve efficiency with your staff and enhance the skill set of your employees. Her approach will put you ahead of the competition. - Dr. Cindy Davis Evans. We normally drink coffee to wake us up or get a spark of energy. Caffeine is our friend. So now you wonder how coffee can help in any other way. As you read this book you will see how each part wakes you up to something you should be doing and give you a spark of energy to keep going in your career whether you are an entrepreneur or a career in corporate America. Most of the time Assistants are asked to get coffee for their bosses, but now I am going to show you how to make your career with Coffee, Sugar, & Cream. The essentials that are needed to take the complexity out of it. Let's start with Coffee, then we will add the sugar & cream. Once all these ingredients are connected you will see how being an Assistant do not have to be hard or difficult. If you read my first book, there was a section that talked about everybody is an Assistant. I know that I mention Assistant a lot, but this is for everyone. Anytime you are doing something for someone you are assisting. This may sound like you are managing your boss or client.... well, yes you are, and you should. If it is not for you and what you do and how you do it the departments will not be able to function. You are the business. You are the one providing the solutions and processes to get them to the finish line. You are the caffeine. So, let's give them some coffee, cream & sugar. Each section I am sharing information about how to share, create, improve processes and offer solutions to enhance opportunities to increase productivity for your organization. As you go through and read each one, you can decide if you want to offer some coffee, sugar, or cream. You never know you may want a little something from each one. If you decide to do this, don't cross the sections where you get confused and overdo it. Next, time you are asked to get coffee or think about coffee you will be able to relate to something effective and productive. Communicate is a word that we expect in any environment. Some may consider it the necessary evil. This is one thing that is needed to make things happen, minimize conflict, seek opportunities, and to simply confirm something. [importance of communicating at the job, meetings, workshops, networking] Effective communication causes productivity to increase, errors to decrease and operations to run smoother Communicating in the workplace is important working with a diverse group. This is one of the big downfalls for miscommunication and cuts back on confusion. It is a good idea to take training because some cultures communicate different and you need to know how to handle all situations. Managers and employees must know how to effectively communicate with the company's international counterparts. Effective communication is important for businesses looking to expand beyond its domestic borders. Communicating effectively helps employees and managers form exceptional efficient teams. Employees will trust each other and management It can reduce unnecessary competition within departments and helps employees work together. The result of a team that works together is extremely productive. Employees know their value and roles on the team. Managers can correct mistakes without creating a hostile work environment. Increase efficiency by encouraging better communication with your department. They will start to follow your lead when they see that you are open & transparent when it comes to communication and keeping everyone abreast on what is going on. This does not mean that you must share everything.