A LIST of “things to do” for each day and week is a valuable aid to managing your time. A “to do” list organises your thinking and planning onto one form in the least amount of time with the maximum amount of efficiency.
A “to do” list is especially helpful if it coincides with the record-keeping you already do for your company. After a short time, you will find yourself handling a greater volume of work without increasing your stress. You will simply become more efficient.
Because we are creatures of habit, it is a good idea for you to fill out your “to do” list at the same time every day. This way, you will be committed to a routine and will avoid procrastination.
Whether you fill it out in the evening for the next day or first thing in the morning for the current day is unimportant. Keep in mind, however, that you are often in a hurry in the morning and may be tempted to skip it.
Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time allotted for it. Your “to do” list should, therefore, define a specific amount of time (if possible) for each activity. This will keep work from “expanding”.
Your activities should be listed in order of priority. Work on high priorities first. In listing the activities, it is helpful to spell out the result as well as the process. Stating when, where, and what you are going to do increases your chances of doing it successfully.
As the day goes by, check off completed activities and make any notes that seem relevant. In the evening, make out a new “to do” list for the next day and include any activities you did not complete. Always save your “to do” lists for future reference and evaluation.
How to add extra time to your day
HAS this ever happened to you?
You start your day thinking you have all the time in the world to finish a project and meet your deadline.
Then you check your e-mail ...
Then the phone rings ...
Then you find out it’s your turn to make the company coffee run ...
Then you make the mistake of asking your co-worker (you know the really chatty one) how their day is going ...
The next thing you know it’s 5 o’clock ... and you’re not even half-way to getting that project done. And you have to stay late again.
Time is a powerful force in your life.
Most people allow it to control them — constantly trying to catch up and get ahead. Yet time can be a commodity that you can use to your advantage — by controlling your time, instead of allowing it to control you.
By managing your time effectively, you can finish what you need to do, and have time to do what you want to do.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Disaster Or Opportunity?
It seems that everyday now we hear about another new meltdown in the business world. Last week a major US company announced some 50 thousand job layoffs. It seems everyone knows at least one individual, who has been fired, laid off or let go and each week the list grows.
Most of the talk surrounding these events is about survival, panic, blame and depression but is that the only way to look at it?
Did you remember the expression "necessity is the mother of invention"? What could be more "necessary" than your livelihood or producing for your family?
Your options are to sit and bemoan your situation, blaming everyone you can think of and justifying every miserable thought and waiting for someone to come along and rescue you OR you could say "Maybe this road in my life has come to an end so where do I want to go from here? What do I love? What are my marketable skills? When do I want to start my new life?"
Almost a century ago people in the USA were singing the blues over the exhaustion of whale oil and a panic set in about how we were going to survive as this industry was shutting down. And then (whether for good or bad) petroleum oil was discovered in America-and the rest is history. When one thing ends why don't we expect something new to take its place?
Humans are so afraid of change or new paths in life that they never want anything to change. Part of the problem financially in America at the present is that very few are willing to close one chapter of life, admit that it is over and then start a new chapter. As long as this denial continues in business or person lives, no growth or recover will ever happen.
Five years ago at the age of 54 my wife and I decided to move from the East Coast to the West and start a new course in life. We did this not because we were forced to but because we wanted new growth and new opportunity. We didn't consider ourselves too old to start fresh, we wanted a new life and we took it. But very few make this move until they "have to" and then they go kicking and screaming the whole way. It's much easier and more fun when you aggressively seek change and growth.
So if you are facing what most people define as disaster, look at it as an opportunity to take charge of your life and set a new course and new destiny for yourself and your family. It's your life, don't wait for someone else to make it right for you, make the move yourself.
Most of the talk surrounding these events is about survival, panic, blame and depression but is that the only way to look at it?
Did you remember the expression "necessity is the mother of invention"? What could be more "necessary" than your livelihood or producing for your family?
Your options are to sit and bemoan your situation, blaming everyone you can think of and justifying every miserable thought and waiting for someone to come along and rescue you OR you could say "Maybe this road in my life has come to an end so where do I want to go from here? What do I love? What are my marketable skills? When do I want to start my new life?"
Almost a century ago people in the USA were singing the blues over the exhaustion of whale oil and a panic set in about how we were going to survive as this industry was shutting down. And then (whether for good or bad) petroleum oil was discovered in America-and the rest is history. When one thing ends why don't we expect something new to take its place?
Humans are so afraid of change or new paths in life that they never want anything to change. Part of the problem financially in America at the present is that very few are willing to close one chapter of life, admit that it is over and then start a new chapter. As long as this denial continues in business or person lives, no growth or recover will ever happen.
Five years ago at the age of 54 my wife and I decided to move from the East Coast to the West and start a new course in life. We did this not because we were forced to but because we wanted new growth and new opportunity. We didn't consider ourselves too old to start fresh, we wanted a new life and we took it. But very few make this move until they "have to" and then they go kicking and screaming the whole way. It's much easier and more fun when you aggressively seek change and growth.
So if you are facing what most people define as disaster, look at it as an opportunity to take charge of your life and set a new course and new destiny for yourself and your family. It's your life, don't wait for someone else to make it right for you, make the move yourself.
Dream at the Highest Level
Do you want to know the reason why some people achieve so much more with their lives when they may start off at or near the bottom in terms of finances and social standing? Or do you wonder what the difference is between you and the guy who drives by in his brand new Porsche or Ferrari while you drive your ten year old Subaru?
What level do you dream at? When you are imagining yourself living a better life or wanting for things, do you allow yourself to go the highest level or do you settle for something far less than what you really want?
One of the great secrets of those people who rise up to a higher level in life is that they actually desire to get there. They don't just wish and they certainly don't settle for anything less. You could be one of those guys that other people wonder about. You could have that car or that business that you really want deep down in your heart. All you have to do is let go of the mentality of settling for less. If we only have one life to live, why would we not aspire to be as successful and achieve all that we can?
Dream at the highest level in your life. Make these dreams real. Take the actions that are necessary to achieve them. Go back to school, change jobs, or start your own business.
Whatever you choose to do, put yourself in motion and go out there and get it. The world is full of abundant opportunities if you are willing to expand your life and learn more and then give back more.
What level do you dream at? When you are imagining yourself living a better life or wanting for things, do you allow yourself to go the highest level or do you settle for something far less than what you really want?
One of the great secrets of those people who rise up to a higher level in life is that they actually desire to get there. They don't just wish and they certainly don't settle for anything less. You could be one of those guys that other people wonder about. You could have that car or that business that you really want deep down in your heart. All you have to do is let go of the mentality of settling for less. If we only have one life to live, why would we not aspire to be as successful and achieve all that we can?
Dream at the highest level in your life. Make these dreams real. Take the actions that are necessary to achieve them. Go back to school, change jobs, or start your own business.
Whatever you choose to do, put yourself in motion and go out there and get it. The world is full of abundant opportunities if you are willing to expand your life and learn more and then give back more.
Never Too Young, Never Too Old
ou are never too young to live a healthy lifestyle. The body can be very forgiving in your youth. You can have a diet heavy in fast foods, be a couch potato, and even drink a lot. Many years can go by without feeling the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle. The extra weight, the late nights will probably not catch up with you until you hit boomer stage. If you were lucky enough to have a health oriented family, you are truly ahead of the game. If mom cooked dinners from scratch and limited fatty foods and sugary desserts you are really lucky. If your family was into physical fitness and enjoyed outdoor activities you get another plus. Chances are you will continue your life making healthy food selections, exercising and dealing with stress in a positive way. It is important to have had disappointments in life and instructed in how to deal with them. They are part of life. Sometimes I get really exasperated when I see parents trying to shield their kids from disappointments. One does not get through life without them.
You are never too old to make some changes in your life. Perhaps you are in your fifties, sixties or seventies. You have not exercised much, put on some weight and still hunger for pie and ice cream. The big question here is: do you want to change? You may feel like you have reached your age somehow and want to just enjoy life, and do whatever you want. The downside of this is you may not feel so great, and could be taking prescription drugs and having unpleasant reactions to those. Please do not stop taking your prescriptions, and do not make any changes until you talk with your health provider.
Lets say you get the green light from your healthy practitioner. It may be time to change your eating habits. Think veggies and fruit and lots of fish. Start walking, even one mile a day. Think about taking yoga or pilates for a gentle work out. Your stress level will shrink, your body will respond and you will feel good. Look into taking vitamins and supplements that work with a particular condition you may have. Think how self-righteous you will feel. It is truly amazing that making a few changes can make major changes in your life.
by Carol Stanley
You are never too old to make some changes in your life. Perhaps you are in your fifties, sixties or seventies. You have not exercised much, put on some weight and still hunger for pie and ice cream. The big question here is: do you want to change? You may feel like you have reached your age somehow and want to just enjoy life, and do whatever you want. The downside of this is you may not feel so great, and could be taking prescription drugs and having unpleasant reactions to those. Please do not stop taking your prescriptions, and do not make any changes until you talk with your health provider.
Lets say you get the green light from your healthy practitioner. It may be time to change your eating habits. Think veggies and fruit and lots of fish. Start walking, even one mile a day. Think about taking yoga or pilates for a gentle work out. Your stress level will shrink, your body will respond and you will feel good. Look into taking vitamins and supplements that work with a particular condition you may have. Think how self-righteous you will feel. It is truly amazing that making a few changes can make major changes in your life.
by Carol Stanley
Change From the Inside Out
There comes a time in everyone's life when they know they have to change. Maybe you're graduating from school and are ready to make the shift from dependent child to independent adult. Or perhaps a relationship, career or personal crisis can only be addressed by a profound change in who you are as a person.
But there's a wrong way and a right way to change. The wrong way to change is to let external factors push, prod or manipulate you into changing in ways that don't suit your needs, values or desires. The right way is to create change from the inside out, change that is based on what you want, who you are and what you hope to achieve.
Achieving change from the inside out isn't always the easiest approach, but it is by far the most effective method and one that leads to lasting, positive results. Allowing others to control our change does have the benefit of taking all of the hard work out of our hands. But it often leads to resentment, dissatisfaction and, ultimately, the need to change again. It becomes a constant cycle of one poor fit after another.
Here are some things you'll need to know in order to create the kind of stable, successful change that can only come from within.
What has to change, and why? Lay out what it is about your current life or situation that needs to be addressed by the change. List the things that can remain the same and the things that must be changed. Also, ask yourself what it is you liked about your current state of affairs, and what you didn't like. This will help ensure that the change you make fits your needs and desires.
For example, if you've lost your job then you obviously can't keep working at your old position, so that has to change. However, you can remain in contact with your colleagues, and you may be able to retain access to certain resources or connections that would be useful in your new career. And listing the things you liked and didn't like about your former job will help you make a better decision about your new one.
What's important to me? Before you make any plans to change, determine what's important to you - your values, your needs, your desires, your interests and so on. Change that doesn't address these will be ineffective and probably unstable. Keep this list handy and reference it at all steps during the change process, to make sure that the decisions you're making take these issues into consideration.
What do I want? Make a "wish list" of things you would like to get out of this change. For example, if you're graduating college and looking for your first "real" job, make a list of all the things you'd like in a job (as well as a list of things you don't want). You may not be able to get everything on your list, of course. But having it will make sure you don't forget something, and will encourage you to compare your options more effectively.
Is this a real want, or a "should"? Internal change comes from our own wants and needs. External change comes from other people's ideas of what we should want or should need. If you find yourself saying, "Maybe I should do this," or "Perhaps this should be a consideration," it's time to check in with yourself to see if this is something you really want, or if it's coming from outside pressures.
Don't let other people tell you what you want. They don't have to live with the consequences of any poor decisions or inappropriate changes you make based on their "suggestions." The only people who get any say in how and what you change are those who have to directly share the consequences of the choices you make (usually, but not always, limited to your spouse and children).
What do I need to do to make this change a reality? Sometimes this involves little more than registering for school or lining up job interviews. But sometimes, it involves changing yourself on a very deep level. Maybe you need to work on anger management, or deal with a pressing medical issue. Perhaps your outlook on life is creating problems or an inability to trust has caused your relationship to falter. There are many types and aspects of personal change, each with its own approach.
Profound personal change is a big step, but it can be done. However, it is rarely something that can be effectively done alone. Consider getting help from a life coach, therapist or other professional if the change involves deep personal change. Remember: asking for help isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign of being strong enough to know and acknowledge the boundaries of your own limits.
by David B. Bohl
But there's a wrong way and a right way to change. The wrong way to change is to let external factors push, prod or manipulate you into changing in ways that don't suit your needs, values or desires. The right way is to create change from the inside out, change that is based on what you want, who you are and what you hope to achieve.
Achieving change from the inside out isn't always the easiest approach, but it is by far the most effective method and one that leads to lasting, positive results. Allowing others to control our change does have the benefit of taking all of the hard work out of our hands. But it often leads to resentment, dissatisfaction and, ultimately, the need to change again. It becomes a constant cycle of one poor fit after another.
Here are some things you'll need to know in order to create the kind of stable, successful change that can only come from within.
What has to change, and why? Lay out what it is about your current life or situation that needs to be addressed by the change. List the things that can remain the same and the things that must be changed. Also, ask yourself what it is you liked about your current state of affairs, and what you didn't like. This will help ensure that the change you make fits your needs and desires.
For example, if you've lost your job then you obviously can't keep working at your old position, so that has to change. However, you can remain in contact with your colleagues, and you may be able to retain access to certain resources or connections that would be useful in your new career. And listing the things you liked and didn't like about your former job will help you make a better decision about your new one.
What's important to me? Before you make any plans to change, determine what's important to you - your values, your needs, your desires, your interests and so on. Change that doesn't address these will be ineffective and probably unstable. Keep this list handy and reference it at all steps during the change process, to make sure that the decisions you're making take these issues into consideration.
What do I want? Make a "wish list" of things you would like to get out of this change. For example, if you're graduating college and looking for your first "real" job, make a list of all the things you'd like in a job (as well as a list of things you don't want). You may not be able to get everything on your list, of course. But having it will make sure you don't forget something, and will encourage you to compare your options more effectively.
Is this a real want, or a "should"? Internal change comes from our own wants and needs. External change comes from other people's ideas of what we should want or should need. If you find yourself saying, "Maybe I should do this," or "Perhaps this should be a consideration," it's time to check in with yourself to see if this is something you really want, or if it's coming from outside pressures.
Don't let other people tell you what you want. They don't have to live with the consequences of any poor decisions or inappropriate changes you make based on their "suggestions." The only people who get any say in how and what you change are those who have to directly share the consequences of the choices you make (usually, but not always, limited to your spouse and children).
What do I need to do to make this change a reality? Sometimes this involves little more than registering for school or lining up job interviews. But sometimes, it involves changing yourself on a very deep level. Maybe you need to work on anger management, or deal with a pressing medical issue. Perhaps your outlook on life is creating problems or an inability to trust has caused your relationship to falter. There are many types and aspects of personal change, each with its own approach.
Profound personal change is a big step, but it can be done. However, it is rarely something that can be effectively done alone. Consider getting help from a life coach, therapist or other professional if the change involves deep personal change. Remember: asking for help isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign of being strong enough to know and acknowledge the boundaries of your own limits.
by David B. Bohl
Sunday, November 23, 2008
How to Stop Attracting Negative People to Your Life
by Michael Losier
Placing your attention, energy and focus on the negative aspects of some people in your life brings you more of the same. Simply put, that's the Law of Attraction at work.
When you shift your attention to the kinds of people you DO want in your life, that shift, coupled with your clear desire to STOP attracting negative people into your life, will set the energy in motion for new results to show up. When you shift from what you don't want to what you do want, your vibration changes. And know this, you can only hold one vibration at a time! The Law of Attraction is always matching your vibration in any given moment.
The Law of Attraction can be used to ensure that you are always in vibrational harmony with the people you are attracting into your life. If you plot your vibration on a scale that measures from 1-100, with 100 being the highest calibration, you are currently attracting other people into your life that match your score on this scale. In other words, if your vibration measures 75 on this scale and a person in your life measures closely to that, you are a close vibrational match. It is also important to realize that if your vibration measures 30 on this scale, you are a close match to another person whose vibration is at 30.
Your feelings always tell you if you are in vibrational harmony with another person. When you meet someone who is offering a significantly lower vibration than yours, you often feel dragged down by that person, i.e. the experience just doesn't feel good. On the other hand, when you are with someone who vibrates closely to your score, it feels good to be with them. You are in vibrational harmony with that person. Suppose you are the one with the much lower vibration. If you experience a person with a significantly higher vibration, you may feel uplifted and raise your vibe to match theirs, or you may feel uncomfortable being around them. In short, the distance between your score and the score of another person, equals the extent to which it doesn't feel good. We call that resistance. The greater difference in the scores, the greater resistance there is.
Here's a great tool to help you next time you experience a negative person in your life. While you are having a conversation with that person, perhaps listening to them describe (in great detail), what they don't want and how negative their life is, ask them the following question "So, what do you want? How would you like it to be different?" In their response, they will stop talking about what they don't want and start talking about what they do want. In that very moment, their vibration will shift and they'll start raising their vibration to match yours.
Remember too, people treat you the way you allow them to. In Law of Attraction this means that you can set your vibrational boundaries so that you will only participate in and maintain positive conversations. Feeding into somebody's negative conversation will bring your vibration down. Decide today to maintain your high vibration and stop feeding into other people's negative vibes. This will go a long way to maintaining your high, positive vibration, which will in turn, attract other people with high, positive vibrations into your life.
Placing your attention, energy and focus on the negative aspects of some people in your life brings you more of the same. Simply put, that's the Law of Attraction at work.
When you shift your attention to the kinds of people you DO want in your life, that shift, coupled with your clear desire to STOP attracting negative people into your life, will set the energy in motion for new results to show up. When you shift from what you don't want to what you do want, your vibration changes. And know this, you can only hold one vibration at a time! The Law of Attraction is always matching your vibration in any given moment.
The Law of Attraction can be used to ensure that you are always in vibrational harmony with the people you are attracting into your life. If you plot your vibration on a scale that measures from 1-100, with 100 being the highest calibration, you are currently attracting other people into your life that match your score on this scale. In other words, if your vibration measures 75 on this scale and a person in your life measures closely to that, you are a close vibrational match. It is also important to realize that if your vibration measures 30 on this scale, you are a close match to another person whose vibration is at 30.
Your feelings always tell you if you are in vibrational harmony with another person. When you meet someone who is offering a significantly lower vibration than yours, you often feel dragged down by that person, i.e. the experience just doesn't feel good. On the other hand, when you are with someone who vibrates closely to your score, it feels good to be with them. You are in vibrational harmony with that person. Suppose you are the one with the much lower vibration. If you experience a person with a significantly higher vibration, you may feel uplifted and raise your vibe to match theirs, or you may feel uncomfortable being around them. In short, the distance between your score and the score of another person, equals the extent to which it doesn't feel good. We call that resistance. The greater difference in the scores, the greater resistance there is.
Here's a great tool to help you next time you experience a negative person in your life. While you are having a conversation with that person, perhaps listening to them describe (in great detail), what they don't want and how negative their life is, ask them the following question "So, what do you want? How would you like it to be different?" In their response, they will stop talking about what they don't want and start talking about what they do want. In that very moment, their vibration will shift and they'll start raising their vibration to match yours.
Remember too, people treat you the way you allow them to. In Law of Attraction this means that you can set your vibrational boundaries so that you will only participate in and maintain positive conversations. Feeding into somebody's negative conversation will bring your vibration down. Decide today to maintain your high vibration and stop feeding into other people's negative vibes. This will go a long way to maintaining your high, positive vibration, which will in turn, attract other people with high, positive vibrations into your life.
5 ways to attract more success
"Hesitation, when one is confronted with a great business idea, is without a doubt, the single largest obstacle to wealth. It is only through dynamic action and financial risk that great fortunes are amassed and multiplied." J.P. Morgan
Take responsibility for the choices you've made in life. No matter where you're at, accept that you are where you are as a result of your choices. Then you can effectively move on to finding your passion, fulfilling your dreams and earning multiple streams of income. I know of highly intelligent, highly educated people who will not take that first simple step. They are "stuck" in jobs they can't stand, emotionally bankrupt, and in some cases financially bankrupt, too. Mired in self-pity and constantly blaming others they will never achieve their dreams. So….let's move on to more strategies I learned from that Las Vegas seminar taught by self-made millionaires.
1. Burning desire and personal motivation. Whether you want to achieve overall career success or small business success, you must have a burning desire for whatever it is you want to achieve. Because there will be too many roadblocks and detours along your path. And unless you're fueled by passion, it's too easy to experience overwhelm, lose focus and just plain give up. I love coffee (as I write this I'm sitting outside Starbucks!) but as I do more and more of the work I enjoy, i.e., recording CD's and writing an e-book, my need for caffeine has diminished. I'm fueled by passion, purpose and helping others. It's easy for me to work late into the night. Of course, it's also easier when you have a dog and no small children. You get the point. Ask yourself, if you won $50 million in the lottery, what would you do for work even 10 hours per week. Assume you've already traveled everywhere and bought everything you could want.
2. Hire a motivation or success coach. One of the main reasons businesses fail is lack of planning and lack of focus. Another reason is procrastination. Procrastination is the result of fear. If you're having difficulty getting started, hire a motivation coach to push you past the pain of procrastination and into facing your fears. The investment can cost money in the short term but be well worth it once you start seeing results. Every one of the self-made millionaires this past weekend said early on in their career they hired a success team of coaches, tutors, accountants, attorneys and others who could assist them. The message was "don't try to do everything on your own." You will feel overwhelmed, procrastinate and fail. So where do you find the finances to hire these experts?
3. Offload your stuff. Get rid of the "things" and frivolous expenses that are holding you back. Many self-made millionaires advise this. If you're objecting to hiring a team of experts because you don't know where the money will come from…what can you sell? Many people have items they want to get rid of but aren't sure how to post these items with online websites like EBay or Craig's List. Enlist the help of a friend or expert in this area. Find a way fast to get rid of your credit card debt if you have any. The percentage of Americans with debt is shocking.
4. Your comfort zone is your money zone. This is a cliché, but feel the fear and do it anyway. Be willing to be terrified. To make it easier, find out where you are weakest and grow in those areas. Surround yourself with positive supportive people who've achieved professional success. People who can advise you on how to overcome your obstacles.
5. Take action. Goals are nothing without action. Write your success goals down. Make them specific, measurable and realistic. Keep them in your wallet. Write affirmations for your goals. Tape them to your bathroom and living room mirror, bulletin board and refrigerator. Look at them daily. Tape positive affirmations and play them in your car upon arising in the morning, and just before going to bed. Your subconscious mind is most amenable to suggestion first thing in the morning and last thing before going to bed. One gentleman at the conference went from being $90,000 in debt (which he paid off) to earning hundreds of thousands a year with this technique. Bombard yourself with positive messages until you believe them.
The main thing to do is get started. Do something. Do anything that will bring you closer to the personal and professional success you desire. These proven techniques will work for you in achieving greater happiness and fulfillment in any area of your life – if you apply them. Read the right books. Spend the majority of your time with people more successful than you. Hire a success team of experts. Learn the new skills you will have to learn in order to make your dream happen. To stretch into a new money zone, remember you must stretch out of your comfort zone.
By Colleen Kettenhofen - co-author of "The Masters of Success," as featured on the Today Show, along with Ken Blanchard and Jack Canfield
Take responsibility for the choices you've made in life. No matter where you're at, accept that you are where you are as a result of your choices. Then you can effectively move on to finding your passion, fulfilling your dreams and earning multiple streams of income. I know of highly intelligent, highly educated people who will not take that first simple step. They are "stuck" in jobs they can't stand, emotionally bankrupt, and in some cases financially bankrupt, too. Mired in self-pity and constantly blaming others they will never achieve their dreams. So….let's move on to more strategies I learned from that Las Vegas seminar taught by self-made millionaires.
1. Burning desire and personal motivation. Whether you want to achieve overall career success or small business success, you must have a burning desire for whatever it is you want to achieve. Because there will be too many roadblocks and detours along your path. And unless you're fueled by passion, it's too easy to experience overwhelm, lose focus and just plain give up. I love coffee (as I write this I'm sitting outside Starbucks!) but as I do more and more of the work I enjoy, i.e., recording CD's and writing an e-book, my need for caffeine has diminished. I'm fueled by passion, purpose and helping others. It's easy for me to work late into the night. Of course, it's also easier when you have a dog and no small children. You get the point. Ask yourself, if you won $50 million in the lottery, what would you do for work even 10 hours per week. Assume you've already traveled everywhere and bought everything you could want.
2. Hire a motivation or success coach. One of the main reasons businesses fail is lack of planning and lack of focus. Another reason is procrastination. Procrastination is the result of fear. If you're having difficulty getting started, hire a motivation coach to push you past the pain of procrastination and into facing your fears. The investment can cost money in the short term but be well worth it once you start seeing results. Every one of the self-made millionaires this past weekend said early on in their career they hired a success team of coaches, tutors, accountants, attorneys and others who could assist them. The message was "don't try to do everything on your own." You will feel overwhelmed, procrastinate and fail. So where do you find the finances to hire these experts?
3. Offload your stuff. Get rid of the "things" and frivolous expenses that are holding you back. Many self-made millionaires advise this. If you're objecting to hiring a team of experts because you don't know where the money will come from…what can you sell? Many people have items they want to get rid of but aren't sure how to post these items with online websites like EBay or Craig's List. Enlist the help of a friend or expert in this area. Find a way fast to get rid of your credit card debt if you have any. The percentage of Americans with debt is shocking.
4. Your comfort zone is your money zone. This is a cliché, but feel the fear and do it anyway. Be willing to be terrified. To make it easier, find out where you are weakest and grow in those areas. Surround yourself with positive supportive people who've achieved professional success. People who can advise you on how to overcome your obstacles.
5. Take action. Goals are nothing without action. Write your success goals down. Make them specific, measurable and realistic. Keep them in your wallet. Write affirmations for your goals. Tape them to your bathroom and living room mirror, bulletin board and refrigerator. Look at them daily. Tape positive affirmations and play them in your car upon arising in the morning, and just before going to bed. Your subconscious mind is most amenable to suggestion first thing in the morning and last thing before going to bed. One gentleman at the conference went from being $90,000 in debt (which he paid off) to earning hundreds of thousands a year with this technique. Bombard yourself with positive messages until you believe them.
The main thing to do is get started. Do something. Do anything that will bring you closer to the personal and professional success you desire. These proven techniques will work for you in achieving greater happiness and fulfillment in any area of your life – if you apply them. Read the right books. Spend the majority of your time with people more successful than you. Hire a success team of experts. Learn the new skills you will have to learn in order to make your dream happen. To stretch into a new money zone, remember you must stretch out of your comfort zone.
By Colleen Kettenhofen - co-author of "The Masters of Success," as featured on the Today Show, along with Ken Blanchard and Jack Canfield
Fifty Habits of Highly Successful People
by Craig Harper
Habits of successful people:
1. They look for and find opportunities where others see nothing.
2. They find a lesson while others only see a problem.
3. They are solution focused.
4. They consciously and methodically create their own success, while others hope success will find them.
5. They are fearful like everyone else, but they are not controlled or limited by fear.
6. They ask the right questions - the ones which put them in a productive, creative, positive mindset and emotional state.
7. They rarely complain (waste of energy). All complaining does is put the complainer in a negative and unproductive state.
8. They don’t blame (what’s the point?). They take complete responsibility for their actions and outcomes (or lack thereof).
9. While they are not necessarily more talented than the majority, they always find a way to maximise their potential. They get more out of themselves. They use what they have more effectively.
10. They are busy, productive and proactive. While most are laying on the couch, planning, over-thinking, sitting on their hands and generally going around in circles, they are out there getting the job done.
11. They align themselves with like-minded people. They understand the importance of being part of a team. They create win-win relationships.
12. They are ambitious; they want amazing - and why shouldn’t they? They consciously choose to live their best life rather than spending it on auto-pilot.
13. They have clarity and certainty about what they want (and don’t want) for their life. They actually visualise and plan their best reality while others are merely spectators of life.
14. They innovate rather than imitate.
15. They don’t procrastinate and they don’t spend their life waiting for the ‘right time’.
16. They are life-long learners. They constantly work at educating themselves, either formally (academically), informally (watching, listening, asking, reading, student of life) or experientially (doing, trying)… or all three.
17. They are glass half full people - while still being practical and down-to-earth. They have an ability to find the good.
18. They consistently do what they need to do, irrespective of how they are feeling on a given day. They don’t spend their life stopping and starting.
19. They take calculated risks - financial, emotional, professional, psychological.
20. They deal with problems and challenges quickly and effectively, they don’t put their head in the sand. They face their challenges and use them to improve themselves.
21. They don’t believe in, or wait for fate, destiny, chance or luck to determine or shape their future. They believe in, and are committed to actively and consciously creating their own best life.
22. While many people are reactive, they are proactive. They take action before they have to.
23. They are more effective than most at managing their emotions. They feel like we all do but they are not slaves to their emotions.
24. They are good communicators and they consciously work at it.
25. They have a plan for their life and they work methodically at turning that plan into a reality. Their life is not a clumsy series of unplanned events and outcomes.
26. Their desire to be exceptional means that they typically do things that most won’t. They become exceptional by choice. We’re all faced with live-shaping decisions almost daily. Successful people make the decisions that most won’t and don’t.
27. While many people are pleasure junkies and avoid pain and discomfort at all costs, successful people understand the value and benefits of working through the tough stuff that most would avoid.
28. They have identified their core values (what is important to them) and they do their best to live a life which is reflective of those values.
29. They have balance. While they may be financially successful, they know that the terms money and success are not interchangeable. They understand that people who are successful on a financial level only, are not successful at all. Unfortunately we live in a society which teaches that money equals success. Like many other things, money is a tool. It’s certainly not a bad thing but ultimately, it’s just another resource. Unfortunately, too many people worship it.
30. They understand the importance of discipline and self-control. They are strong. They are happy to take the road less travelled.
31. They are secure. They do not derive their sense of worth of self from what they own, who they know, where they live or what they look like.
32. They are generous and kind. They take pleasure in helping others achieve.
33. They are humble and they are happy to admit mistakes and to apologise. They are confident in their ability, but not arrogant. They are happy to learn from others. They are happy to make others look good rather than seek their own personal glory.
34. They are adaptable and embrace change, while the majority are creatures of comfort and habit. They are comfortable with, and embrace, the new and the unfamiliar.
35. They keep themselves in shape physically, not to be mistaken with training for the Olympics or being obsessed with their body. They understand the importance of being physically well. They are not all about looks, they are more concerned with function and health. Their body is not who they are, it’s where they live.
36. They have a big engine. They work hard and are not lazy.
37. They are resilient. When most would throw in the towel, they’re just warming up.
38. They are open to, and more likely to act upon, feedback.
39. They don’t hang out with toxic people.
40. They don’t invest time or emotional energy into things which they have no control of.
41. They are happy to swim against the tide, to do what most won’t. They are not people pleasers and they don’t need constant approval.
42. They are more comfortable with their own company than most.
43. They set higher standards for themselves (a choice we can all make), which in turn produces greater commitment, more momentum, a better work ethic and of course, better results.
44. They don’t rationalise failure. While many are talking about their age, their sore back, their lack of time, their poor genetics, their ‘bad luck’, their nasty boss and their lack of opportunities (all good reasons to fail), they are finding a way to succeed despite all their challenges.
45. They have an off switch. They know how to relax, enjoy what they have in their life and to have fun.
46. Their career is not their identity, it’s their job. It’s not who they are, it’s what they do.
47. They are more interested in effective than they are in easy. While the majority look for the quickest, easiest way (the shortcut), they look for the course of action which will produce the best results over the long term.
48. They finish what they start. While so many spend their life starting things that they never finish, successful people get the job done - even when the excitement and the novelty have worn off. Even when it ain’t fun.
49. They are multi-dimensional, amazing, wonderful complex creatures (as we all are). They realise that not only are they physical and psychological beings, but emotional and spiritual creatures as well. They consciously work at being healthy and productive on all levels.
50. They practice what they preach. They don’t talk about the theory, they live the reality.
So there you have it, your days of reading self-help books are done!
Okay, maybe not. I may have missed a few. Feel free to add a habit or two of your own to the list.
Habits of successful people:
1. They look for and find opportunities where others see nothing.
2. They find a lesson while others only see a problem.
3. They are solution focused.
4. They consciously and methodically create their own success, while others hope success will find them.
5. They are fearful like everyone else, but they are not controlled or limited by fear.
6. They ask the right questions - the ones which put them in a productive, creative, positive mindset and emotional state.
7. They rarely complain (waste of energy). All complaining does is put the complainer in a negative and unproductive state.
8. They don’t blame (what’s the point?). They take complete responsibility for their actions and outcomes (or lack thereof).
9. While they are not necessarily more talented than the majority, they always find a way to maximise their potential. They get more out of themselves. They use what they have more effectively.
10. They are busy, productive and proactive. While most are laying on the couch, planning, over-thinking, sitting on their hands and generally going around in circles, they are out there getting the job done.
11. They align themselves with like-minded people. They understand the importance of being part of a team. They create win-win relationships.
12. They are ambitious; they want amazing - and why shouldn’t they? They consciously choose to live their best life rather than spending it on auto-pilot.
13. They have clarity and certainty about what they want (and don’t want) for their life. They actually visualise and plan their best reality while others are merely spectators of life.
14. They innovate rather than imitate.
15. They don’t procrastinate and they don’t spend their life waiting for the ‘right time’.
16. They are life-long learners. They constantly work at educating themselves, either formally (academically), informally (watching, listening, asking, reading, student of life) or experientially (doing, trying)… or all three.
17. They are glass half full people - while still being practical and down-to-earth. They have an ability to find the good.
18. They consistently do what they need to do, irrespective of how they are feeling on a given day. They don’t spend their life stopping and starting.
19. They take calculated risks - financial, emotional, professional, psychological.
20. They deal with problems and challenges quickly and effectively, they don’t put their head in the sand. They face their challenges and use them to improve themselves.
21. They don’t believe in, or wait for fate, destiny, chance or luck to determine or shape their future. They believe in, and are committed to actively and consciously creating their own best life.
22. While many people are reactive, they are proactive. They take action before they have to.
23. They are more effective than most at managing their emotions. They feel like we all do but they are not slaves to their emotions.
24. They are good communicators and they consciously work at it.
25. They have a plan for their life and they work methodically at turning that plan into a reality. Their life is not a clumsy series of unplanned events and outcomes.
26. Their desire to be exceptional means that they typically do things that most won’t. They become exceptional by choice. We’re all faced with live-shaping decisions almost daily. Successful people make the decisions that most won’t and don’t.
27. While many people are pleasure junkies and avoid pain and discomfort at all costs, successful people understand the value and benefits of working through the tough stuff that most would avoid.
28. They have identified their core values (what is important to them) and they do their best to live a life which is reflective of those values.
29. They have balance. While they may be financially successful, they know that the terms money and success are not interchangeable. They understand that people who are successful on a financial level only, are not successful at all. Unfortunately we live in a society which teaches that money equals success. Like many other things, money is a tool. It’s certainly not a bad thing but ultimately, it’s just another resource. Unfortunately, too many people worship it.
30. They understand the importance of discipline and self-control. They are strong. They are happy to take the road less travelled.
31. They are secure. They do not derive their sense of worth of self from what they own, who they know, where they live or what they look like.
32. They are generous and kind. They take pleasure in helping others achieve.
33. They are humble and they are happy to admit mistakes and to apologise. They are confident in their ability, but not arrogant. They are happy to learn from others. They are happy to make others look good rather than seek their own personal glory.
34. They are adaptable and embrace change, while the majority are creatures of comfort and habit. They are comfortable with, and embrace, the new and the unfamiliar.
35. They keep themselves in shape physically, not to be mistaken with training for the Olympics or being obsessed with their body. They understand the importance of being physically well. They are not all about looks, they are more concerned with function and health. Their body is not who they are, it’s where they live.
36. They have a big engine. They work hard and are not lazy.
37. They are resilient. When most would throw in the towel, they’re just warming up.
38. They are open to, and more likely to act upon, feedback.
39. They don’t hang out with toxic people.
40. They don’t invest time or emotional energy into things which they have no control of.
41. They are happy to swim against the tide, to do what most won’t. They are not people pleasers and they don’t need constant approval.
42. They are more comfortable with their own company than most.
43. They set higher standards for themselves (a choice we can all make), which in turn produces greater commitment, more momentum, a better work ethic and of course, better results.
44. They don’t rationalise failure. While many are talking about their age, their sore back, their lack of time, their poor genetics, their ‘bad luck’, their nasty boss and their lack of opportunities (all good reasons to fail), they are finding a way to succeed despite all their challenges.
45. They have an off switch. They know how to relax, enjoy what they have in their life and to have fun.
46. Their career is not their identity, it’s their job. It’s not who they are, it’s what they do.
47. They are more interested in effective than they are in easy. While the majority look for the quickest, easiest way (the shortcut), they look for the course of action which will produce the best results over the long term.
48. They finish what they start. While so many spend their life starting things that they never finish, successful people get the job done - even when the excitement and the novelty have worn off. Even when it ain’t fun.
49. They are multi-dimensional, amazing, wonderful complex creatures (as we all are). They realise that not only are they physical and psychological beings, but emotional and spiritual creatures as well. They consciously work at being healthy and productive on all levels.
50. They practice what they preach. They don’t talk about the theory, they live the reality.
So there you have it, your days of reading self-help books are done!
Okay, maybe not. I may have missed a few. Feel free to add a habit or two of your own to the list.
Stories of Successful People
When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he tried over 2000 experiments before he got it to work. A young reporter asked him how it felt to fail so many times. He said, "I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2000-step process."
Wilma Rudolph was the 20th of 22 children. She was born prematurely and her survival was doubtful. When she was 4 years old, she contacted double pneumonia and scarlet fever, which left her with a paralysed left leg. At age 9, she removed the metal leg brace she had been dependent on and began to walk without it. By 13 she had developed a rhythmic walk, which doctors said was a miracle. That same year she decided to become a runner. She entered a race and came in last. For the next few years every race she entered, she came in last. Everyone told her to quit, but she kept on running. One day she actually won a race. And then another. From then on she won every race she entered. Eventually this little girl, who was told she would never walk again, went on to win three Olympic gold medals.
In 1962, four nervous young musicians played their first record audition for the executives of the Decca recording Company. The executives were not impressed. While turning down this group of musicians, one executive said, "We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out."
The group was called The Beatles.
In 1944, Emmeline Snively, director of the Blue Book Modelling Agency, told modelling hopeful Norma Jean Baker, "You'd better learn secretarial work or else get married."
She went on and became Marilyn Monroe.
In 1954, Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, Fired a singer after one performance. He told him, "You ain't goin' nowhere....son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck."
He went on to become the most popular singer in America named Elvis Presley.
When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it did not ring off the hook with calls from potential backers. After making a demonstration call, President Rutherford Hayes said, "That's an amazing invention, but who would ever want to use one of them?"
In the 1940s, another young inventor named Chester Carlson took his idea to 20 corporations, including some of the biggest in the country. They all turned him down. In 1947 - after seven long years of rejections! - he finally got a tiny company in Rochester, New York, the Haloid company, to purchase the rights to his invention - an electrostatic paper-copying process.
Haloid became Xerox Corporation we know today.
The Moral of the above Stories:
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. You gain strength, experience and confidence by every experience where you really stop to look fear in the face.... You must do the thing you cannot do. And remember, the finest steel gets sent through the hottest furnace.
A winner is not one who never fails, but one who NEVER QUITS!
Wilma Rudolph was the 20th of 22 children. She was born prematurely and her survival was doubtful. When she was 4 years old, she contacted double pneumonia and scarlet fever, which left her with a paralysed left leg. At age 9, she removed the metal leg brace she had been dependent on and began to walk without it. By 13 she had developed a rhythmic walk, which doctors said was a miracle. That same year she decided to become a runner. She entered a race and came in last. For the next few years every race she entered, she came in last. Everyone told her to quit, but she kept on running. One day she actually won a race. And then another. From then on she won every race she entered. Eventually this little girl, who was told she would never walk again, went on to win three Olympic gold medals.
In 1962, four nervous young musicians played their first record audition for the executives of the Decca recording Company. The executives were not impressed. While turning down this group of musicians, one executive said, "We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out."
The group was called The Beatles.
In 1944, Emmeline Snively, director of the Blue Book Modelling Agency, told modelling hopeful Norma Jean Baker, "You'd better learn secretarial work or else get married."
She went on and became Marilyn Monroe.
In 1954, Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, Fired a singer after one performance. He told him, "You ain't goin' nowhere....son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck."
He went on to become the most popular singer in America named Elvis Presley.
When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it did not ring off the hook with calls from potential backers. After making a demonstration call, President Rutherford Hayes said, "That's an amazing invention, but who would ever want to use one of them?"
In the 1940s, another young inventor named Chester Carlson took his idea to 20 corporations, including some of the biggest in the country. They all turned him down. In 1947 - after seven long years of rejections! - he finally got a tiny company in Rochester, New York, the Haloid company, to purchase the rights to his invention - an electrostatic paper-copying process.
Haloid became Xerox Corporation we know today.
The Moral of the above Stories:
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. You gain strength, experience and confidence by every experience where you really stop to look fear in the face.... You must do the thing you cannot do. And remember, the finest steel gets sent through the hottest furnace.
A winner is not one who never fails, but one who NEVER QUITS!
How to Get Motivated and Start Living
Feeling Overwhelmed?
One of the key reasons motivation can dry up is the sheer amount of work you may have to do. Juggling work and home, children and your relationship as well as trying to find time for yourself can leave you feeling either in a whirl or exhausted.
This can lead to poor sleep, further tiredness and an increasing loss of motivation. "Where should I start?" is often the question you will find yourself asking in this situation.
The first thing you need to do is accept that you will need to take a long hard look at your life. Are you using your time wisely and efficiently? Are you doing things that you could delegate to others? Are you doing things that you should drop? Have you started projects that you will never finish?
Goals and Priorities
It is important that you decide what your goals and priorities are first. Consider the analogy of clearing out a cupboard. The first thing you decide on before filling it is what is the cupboard for? What is its purpose? This cupboard is like your life. What are you trying to achieve? What do you want to fill your life with? These are your goals and priorities.
Once you have decided this you then need to examine everything that was in the cupboard, which relate to the things you spend your time doing, and choose between 3 options:
Keep
Give away
Bin it
What you keep in your life are the important things to you and what you value most. Things given away are delegated tasks to others and the binned ones are those things that you really don't want to do any more and have no need to continue.
Procrastination
If you clear out the unnecessary and unwanted tasks from your life you should feel a lot lighter. Clarifying what you want out of life and what is most important to you will help you to see what you need to focus on.
But what about the things you have to do that you don't want to? What about the things you keep putting off?
Procrastination is a classic sign of poor motivation and can waste a lot of time. Think about something you constantly procrastinate about - phone calls, making appointments, filing paperwork.
All of these things drain you of energy and motivation as you 'handle' them each time you think about them, see them or physically handle them. This all adds to the feeling of being overwhelmed or too busy. Instead think about organising similar tasks together and tackling them quickly or as soon as possible. You know that you are going to have to do these things anyway so why have them hanging over you? Not only will you feel better but you will have more energy to focus on your real goals and priorities in life.
by Jacky Tustain
One of the key reasons motivation can dry up is the sheer amount of work you may have to do. Juggling work and home, children and your relationship as well as trying to find time for yourself can leave you feeling either in a whirl or exhausted.
This can lead to poor sleep, further tiredness and an increasing loss of motivation. "Where should I start?" is often the question you will find yourself asking in this situation.
The first thing you need to do is accept that you will need to take a long hard look at your life. Are you using your time wisely and efficiently? Are you doing things that you could delegate to others? Are you doing things that you should drop? Have you started projects that you will never finish?
Goals and Priorities
It is important that you decide what your goals and priorities are first. Consider the analogy of clearing out a cupboard. The first thing you decide on before filling it is what is the cupboard for? What is its purpose? This cupboard is like your life. What are you trying to achieve? What do you want to fill your life with? These are your goals and priorities.
Once you have decided this you then need to examine everything that was in the cupboard, which relate to the things you spend your time doing, and choose between 3 options:
Keep
Give away
Bin it
What you keep in your life are the important things to you and what you value most. Things given away are delegated tasks to others and the binned ones are those things that you really don't want to do any more and have no need to continue.
Procrastination
If you clear out the unnecessary and unwanted tasks from your life you should feel a lot lighter. Clarifying what you want out of life and what is most important to you will help you to see what you need to focus on.
But what about the things you have to do that you don't want to? What about the things you keep putting off?
Procrastination is a classic sign of poor motivation and can waste a lot of time. Think about something you constantly procrastinate about - phone calls, making appointments, filing paperwork.
All of these things drain you of energy and motivation as you 'handle' them each time you think about them, see them or physically handle them. This all adds to the feeling of being overwhelmed or too busy. Instead think about organising similar tasks together and tackling them quickly or as soon as possible. You know that you are going to have to do these things anyway so why have them hanging over you? Not only will you feel better but you will have more energy to focus on your real goals and priorities in life.
by Jacky Tustain
Pull together, for results
Pull together, for results
AS A top-notch leader, you have successfully set the tone and direction for your company and all seems to be going well — potential clients are calling, sales are up, costs are under control and profits are solid. You have done a good job managing change from the prospective of global competition and product innovation.
However, another change, which is causing an uncomfortable undercurrent, is developing among your employees. Quite simply, they are not getting along. As described in the book, Riding the Waves Without Getting Wet: A Leadership Parable, just when you have figured out how to bail water out of the boat, a rip in the sail threatens your ability to navigate your course.
What can you do to set the example for good relations among your employees? We all know the Golden Rule: “Treat others as you would like to be treated.”
After 27 years of management and consulting with Fortune 500 companies, I have found the following guidelines help leaders improve employee relationships and make that 40-plus hour work week a golden one.
Learn to listen
Being a good listener starts with your belief system. Do you believe your employees have something to say that will make a difference, or that only what you say will move the company forward? Your attitude toward what others have to say will determine how well you listen to your employees.
One of my favourite organisational cartoons shows a suggestion box placed directly over the waste bin. People are busy today with constant change and working with new people. They know very quickly what management is paying attention to, so make sure to acknowledge good ideas, and maybe even more important, thank people for having the courage to bring up what no one else wants to discuss.
Know your employees’ career tracks
Take time to know employees’ past, current and future career goals. Taking an interest in them and their goals will give you a better idea of how they can contribute to your company, and at the same time, show them you care enough to help shape their careers.
Smart companies pay very close attention to where employees want to be. Marriott International offers a programme called Career Tracks where employees can sign up for different development programmes and explore their true potential. In addition to formal training, many companies now encourage managers to have candid discussions with their direct reports about where they see themselves in five years.
According to the US labour department, the average new employee will stay only one year and one month at a job. So savvy companies realise a five-year investment for an employee is quite a long time indeed. When interviewing, get beyond the typical responses and really hone in on a candidate’s specific career path. For example, you could have a salesperson who would like to be in market research in five years.
Sales and marketing are often confused and combined as a matter of convenience; however, the disciplines can be quite different.
The first stage of the careertracks process is to look at the requirements necessary to qualify for the position. The position may require an MBA, or a concentration in statistical analysis with proper cross-training may be what is necessary.
Now that you have the tangible details of the position, you can form a pact with the employee. You can then help him design the exact qualifications for the job. What you want to avoid at all costs is the employee bidding for the position and being knocked out because of an oversight.
If your company offers tuition reimbursement, great, but even if it does not, you can still arrange an employee’s schedule so he or she can work and still be able to attend class.
Or you can clear the way for the person to cross-train in another discipline. Periodically, check in with the employee to monitor progress and offer the appropriate encouragement.
Cultivate individuals’ value
Your employees may have valuable ideas about the company unrelated to their experience or position. An accountant may spot an innovative way to move a product while taking a plant tour. An administrative assistant could help streamline how sales handles calls.
It is up to you to open the lines of communication between departments to share information and encourage expression of new ideas on how to run your business.
Allow for missteps
Mistakes can possibly cost your company money; however, don’t let them define your corporate culture. Remember Teflon and Post-it Notes were discovered by accident.
Take the lead in turning a mistake into an opportunity to learn. Bring your team together to work on a solution. It is a paradox — taking the pressure off actually curtails mistakes.
As you start to implement these guidelines, you will find that you will be able to manage any current of change in your employees’ relationships.
Article by Mike Hourigan, author of Riding the Waves without Getting Wet.
AS A top-notch leader, you have successfully set the tone and direction for your company and all seems to be going well — potential clients are calling, sales are up, costs are under control and profits are solid. You have done a good job managing change from the prospective of global competition and product innovation.
However, another change, which is causing an uncomfortable undercurrent, is developing among your employees. Quite simply, they are not getting along. As described in the book, Riding the Waves Without Getting Wet: A Leadership Parable, just when you have figured out how to bail water out of the boat, a rip in the sail threatens your ability to navigate your course.
What can you do to set the example for good relations among your employees? We all know the Golden Rule: “Treat others as you would like to be treated.”
After 27 years of management and consulting with Fortune 500 companies, I have found the following guidelines help leaders improve employee relationships and make that 40-plus hour work week a golden one.
Learn to listen
Being a good listener starts with your belief system. Do you believe your employees have something to say that will make a difference, or that only what you say will move the company forward? Your attitude toward what others have to say will determine how well you listen to your employees.
One of my favourite organisational cartoons shows a suggestion box placed directly over the waste bin. People are busy today with constant change and working with new people. They know very quickly what management is paying attention to, so make sure to acknowledge good ideas, and maybe even more important, thank people for having the courage to bring up what no one else wants to discuss.
Know your employees’ career tracks
Take time to know employees’ past, current and future career goals. Taking an interest in them and their goals will give you a better idea of how they can contribute to your company, and at the same time, show them you care enough to help shape their careers.
Smart companies pay very close attention to where employees want to be. Marriott International offers a programme called Career Tracks where employees can sign up for different development programmes and explore their true potential. In addition to formal training, many companies now encourage managers to have candid discussions with their direct reports about where they see themselves in five years.
According to the US labour department, the average new employee will stay only one year and one month at a job. So savvy companies realise a five-year investment for an employee is quite a long time indeed. When interviewing, get beyond the typical responses and really hone in on a candidate’s specific career path. For example, you could have a salesperson who would like to be in market research in five years.
Sales and marketing are often confused and combined as a matter of convenience; however, the disciplines can be quite different.
The first stage of the careertracks process is to look at the requirements necessary to qualify for the position. The position may require an MBA, or a concentration in statistical analysis with proper cross-training may be what is necessary.
Now that you have the tangible details of the position, you can form a pact with the employee. You can then help him design the exact qualifications for the job. What you want to avoid at all costs is the employee bidding for the position and being knocked out because of an oversight.
If your company offers tuition reimbursement, great, but even if it does not, you can still arrange an employee’s schedule so he or she can work and still be able to attend class.
Or you can clear the way for the person to cross-train in another discipline. Periodically, check in with the employee to monitor progress and offer the appropriate encouragement.
Cultivate individuals’ value
Your employees may have valuable ideas about the company unrelated to their experience or position. An accountant may spot an innovative way to move a product while taking a plant tour. An administrative assistant could help streamline how sales handles calls.
It is up to you to open the lines of communication between departments to share information and encourage expression of new ideas on how to run your business.
Allow for missteps
Mistakes can possibly cost your company money; however, don’t let them define your corporate culture. Remember Teflon and Post-it Notes were discovered by accident.
Take the lead in turning a mistake into an opportunity to learn. Bring your team together to work on a solution. It is a paradox — taking the pressure off actually curtails mistakes.
As you start to implement these guidelines, you will find that you will be able to manage any current of change in your employees’ relationships.
Article by Mike Hourigan, author of Riding the Waves without Getting Wet.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Grow Bigger Than Your Problems!
One of the secrets to wealth is to THINK BIG! The fact is that very few people “think” big and even fewer “play” big. So why don't people want to “play big”? Usually, it’s because they believe they can't handle “big” or they don't want to handle it. Why? Because “big” often equals big responsibilities, big hassles and big problems.
One of the biggest differences between rich people and poor people is that highly successful people are bigger than their problems while unsuccessful people are smaller than their problems.
Unsuccessful people are constantly trying to avoid problems. They back away from challenges. The irony is that in their quest to make sure they don't have problems, they have the biggest problem of all... they're broke or close to it. The secret to success is not to try and shrink your problems; it's to grow yourself so you're bigger than any problem.
Imagine a “level 2” person is looking at a “level 5” problem. Does this problem appear to be big or small? The answer is that from a “level 2” perspective, a “level 5” problem would seem BIG.
Now imagine a “level 8” person looking at this same “level 5” problem. From this person’s perspective, is this problem big or small? Magically, the identical problem is now a SMALL problem.
And for a “level 10” person, it’s NO problem at all. It’s just an everyday occurrence, like brushing your teeth.
It’s important to realize that whether you are rich or poor, playing big or playing small, problems do not go away. If you're breathing, you will always have situations that aren’t perfect.
Therefore, the size of the problem is never the problem. It’s always the size of you!
The secret then is to grow yourself as a person, to be bigger than your problems so that they become insignificant and appear to disappear. Not because the problems are not there, but because you handle them so easily.
The bigger problems you can handle; the bigger business you can handle, the bigger responsibilities you can handle, the more customers you can handle and the more money and wealth you can handle.
Remember, your income can only grow to the extent that you do!
A universal principle states that “at all points in time you are either growing or dying”. That’s why it is essential to keep learning and continue to work on yourself.
This month commit to growing yourself.
This month, do not shrink from problems, do not avoid problems and do not complain about problems. Practice not letting problems bother you. In fact, don’t even call them problems; refer to them as “challenges” or “situations”.
This month, practice handling problems with elegance and ease. The way to do this is to let go of your attachments, as well as the emotion and drama you create when you don’t get what you want. Just stay present and handle one situation at a time with an open mind and an open heart. Trust yourself and trust the universe that everything will work out in the end.
The bottom line is that if you become a master at handling problems, what can stop you from happiness and wealth? The answer is NOTHING!
Daily Declaration:
I am bigger than any problems.
I can handle any problems.
Nothing will stop me from getting rich.
I have a millionaire mind!
By T Harv Eker
One of the biggest differences between rich people and poor people is that highly successful people are bigger than their problems while unsuccessful people are smaller than their problems.
Unsuccessful people are constantly trying to avoid problems. They back away from challenges. The irony is that in their quest to make sure they don't have problems, they have the biggest problem of all... they're broke or close to it. The secret to success is not to try and shrink your problems; it's to grow yourself so you're bigger than any problem.
Imagine a “level 2” person is looking at a “level 5” problem. Does this problem appear to be big or small? The answer is that from a “level 2” perspective, a “level 5” problem would seem BIG.
Now imagine a “level 8” person looking at this same “level 5” problem. From this person’s perspective, is this problem big or small? Magically, the identical problem is now a SMALL problem.
And for a “level 10” person, it’s NO problem at all. It’s just an everyday occurrence, like brushing your teeth.
It’s important to realize that whether you are rich or poor, playing big or playing small, problems do not go away. If you're breathing, you will always have situations that aren’t perfect.
Therefore, the size of the problem is never the problem. It’s always the size of you!
The secret then is to grow yourself as a person, to be bigger than your problems so that they become insignificant and appear to disappear. Not because the problems are not there, but because you handle them so easily.
The bigger problems you can handle; the bigger business you can handle, the bigger responsibilities you can handle, the more customers you can handle and the more money and wealth you can handle.
Remember, your income can only grow to the extent that you do!
A universal principle states that “at all points in time you are either growing or dying”. That’s why it is essential to keep learning and continue to work on yourself.
This month commit to growing yourself.
This month, do not shrink from problems, do not avoid problems and do not complain about problems. Practice not letting problems bother you. In fact, don’t even call them problems; refer to them as “challenges” or “situations”.
This month, practice handling problems with elegance and ease. The way to do this is to let go of your attachments, as well as the emotion and drama you create when you don’t get what you want. Just stay present and handle one situation at a time with an open mind and an open heart. Trust yourself and trust the universe that everything will work out in the end.
The bottom line is that if you become a master at handling problems, what can stop you from happiness and wealth? The answer is NOTHING!
Daily Declaration:
I am bigger than any problems.
I can handle any problems.
Nothing will stop me from getting rich.
I have a millionaire mind!
By T Harv Eker
“Zig Zag” Your Way to Success!"
Although we'd prefer everything go perfectly straight from beginning to end, our journey to success seldom turns out that way.
In fact the "straight" route is completely unnatural. Did you know there are no perfectly straight lines in the universe? Everything is energy. Energy travels in waves. Therefore "straight" doesn't even exist. Yet, notice how when things go a little off course, most people get frustrated, get down, and want to give up.
So why do we get upset when things don't go the way we'd like them to go? Because we have an "expectation" that is virtually impossible to meet.
The simple truth is that the journey to success is full of twists, turns, ups, downs, stops and reverses. By fully understanding this fact, you can now begin or continue your journey knowing that you, like everyone else on this planet, will have to "zig zag" your way to success!
The beauty of this knowledge is that you won't be deluded into having unrealistic expectations of the "straight line to the top" syndrome. Without these expectations chances are you won't get as upset or even give up, when things aren't going your way, because you know being off track is normal and therefore "perfect".
A good example of what I'm talking about is man's mission to the moon in 1969. During that extraordinarily successful flight do you know how often the spacecraft was actually "on course"? Believe it or not, it was straight on path only 3 percent of the time. That means it spent 97 percent of the time, "off course"! That also means it spent the majority of its time, "correcting".
The same holds true for the journey to success. Expect to spend a large amount of your time, "correcting".
This is why "perfectionists" have a difficult time being highly successful. Perfectionism is a form of fear. It is usually based in the fear of failure or the fear of disapproval. In either case, perfectionism often leads to paralysis. Perfectionists are scared to death of making mistakes and therefore either avoid taking action or are painfully slow.
The truth is, most people are afraid to make mistakes. It's no wonder, since many of us grew up being embarrassed or "punished" for our mistakes. Yet if you want to succeed, you must be willing to accept mistakes and inefficiencies as part of the journey.
I'm sure you've heard of Babe Ruth. He was known as the home run king of baseball. What many people don't know, however, is that he was also the "strike out" king!
Mistakes are our natural way of learning. They are the "feedback" we need for correction.
Let me share with you the Ultimate Success Formula:
TAKE ACTION, GET THE FEEDBACK, LEARN, MAKE THE CORRECTION, TAKE MORE ACTION, ETC. Repeat this process again and again until you reach your goal.
As long as you continue this cycle, and NEVER GIVE UP, in the long run, can you see how it is it virtually impossible to fail?
This month adopt the attitude that correction is natural and focus on continuously acting and correcting until you get to wherever you want to go.
The secret to success is to "zig zag" your way to the top. The secret to happiness is to smile along the way.
DAILY DECLARATIONS:
Correction is natural.
Mistakes are how I learn.
I expect a winding road.
I never give up.
I zig zag my way to success.
By T Harv Eker
In fact the "straight" route is completely unnatural. Did you know there are no perfectly straight lines in the universe? Everything is energy. Energy travels in waves. Therefore "straight" doesn't even exist. Yet, notice how when things go a little off course, most people get frustrated, get down, and want to give up.
So why do we get upset when things don't go the way we'd like them to go? Because we have an "expectation" that is virtually impossible to meet.
The simple truth is that the journey to success is full of twists, turns, ups, downs, stops and reverses. By fully understanding this fact, you can now begin or continue your journey knowing that you, like everyone else on this planet, will have to "zig zag" your way to success!
The beauty of this knowledge is that you won't be deluded into having unrealistic expectations of the "straight line to the top" syndrome. Without these expectations chances are you won't get as upset or even give up, when things aren't going your way, because you know being off track is normal and therefore "perfect".
A good example of what I'm talking about is man's mission to the moon in 1969. During that extraordinarily successful flight do you know how often the spacecraft was actually "on course"? Believe it or not, it was straight on path only 3 percent of the time. That means it spent 97 percent of the time, "off course"! That also means it spent the majority of its time, "correcting".
The same holds true for the journey to success. Expect to spend a large amount of your time, "correcting".
This is why "perfectionists" have a difficult time being highly successful. Perfectionism is a form of fear. It is usually based in the fear of failure or the fear of disapproval. In either case, perfectionism often leads to paralysis. Perfectionists are scared to death of making mistakes and therefore either avoid taking action or are painfully slow.
The truth is, most people are afraid to make mistakes. It's no wonder, since many of us grew up being embarrassed or "punished" for our mistakes. Yet if you want to succeed, you must be willing to accept mistakes and inefficiencies as part of the journey.
I'm sure you've heard of Babe Ruth. He was known as the home run king of baseball. What many people don't know, however, is that he was also the "strike out" king!
Mistakes are our natural way of learning. They are the "feedback" we need for correction.
Let me share with you the Ultimate Success Formula:
TAKE ACTION, GET THE FEEDBACK, LEARN, MAKE THE CORRECTION, TAKE MORE ACTION, ETC. Repeat this process again and again until you reach your goal.
As long as you continue this cycle, and NEVER GIVE UP, in the long run, can you see how it is it virtually impossible to fail?
This month adopt the attitude that correction is natural and focus on continuously acting and correcting until you get to wherever you want to go.
The secret to success is to "zig zag" your way to the top. The secret to happiness is to smile along the way.
DAILY DECLARATIONS:
Correction is natural.
Mistakes are how I learn.
I expect a winding road.
I never give up.
I zig zag my way to success.
By T Harv Eker
Rich People Think Differently By T. Harv Eker
You already know that rich people think differently than middle class or poor people – in every facet of life. But especially when it comes to money. That's why they're rich. Their choices and decisions just naturally produce wealth.
Rich people think with their wealth files – beliefs and attitudes that produce wealth. A few months ago, we started installing those new wealth files into your mind. With the new files come new choices. Remember that you can actually catch yourself when you're thinking like poor and middle class people. Then consciously shift your focus to think like rich people.
The concepts – the new files – you're learning are simple but very profound. They make real changes for real people in the real world.
These Action Steps are training your mind to think the way rich people think. You're well on your way to having a millionaire's beliefs and thought habits!
Just remember it's imperative you put each file into action as quickly as possible so that the knowledge can move to a physical, cellular level. So it can create lasting and permanent change.
So Here are Millionaire Mind Action Steps #7
Wealth File #4Rich people think big.Poor people think small.
There was a trainer at one of our seminars, not too long ago, who went from a net worth of $250,000 to over $6 million in only three years.
When we asked him what his secret was, he said, "Everything changed the moment I began to think big."
And the reason is simple. The more people you serve, the bigger your income.
Remember where, in Secrets of the Millionaire MindTM, I told you about my chain of fitness retail stores? Before I opened my first store, I intended to have a hundred successful stores. My competitor, on the other hand, had the intention of building only one successful store.
What was the result?
• She sold a lot of product -- I sold a lot more.• She earned a decent living -- I got rich!
My question for you is this: Do you want to play in the big leagues?
Or do you want to play in the minors?Do you want to play it big? Or play it safe?
You see, the reason most people don't choose to play it big is because they're afraid to.
But hear this: You don't have the right to play it small. Your life is not just about you. It's also about contributing your special gifts to others. To the world.
All your gifts were given to you for a reason; to use and share with as many people as possible. You need to start thinking bigger and decide to help massive numbers of people--thousands, even millions.
The more people you help, the "richer" you become, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and definitely financially.
But if you decide to indulge your ego and allow everything to revolve around you, you and nothing but you, you'll never live the life you were meant to live.
The world doesn't need more people playing small. It needs you to start playing it big.
Stop hiding out and start stepping out. Stop needing and start leading.
Start sharing your gifts. Stop hoarding them or pretending they don't exist.
It comes down to this: If not you, then who?
Small thinking and small actions lead to being broke and unfulfilled. Big thinking and big actions lead to having both money and meaning.
The choice is yours!
Action #1 - Get out a notebook or a piece of paper and write down what you believe to be your "natural talents." These are things you've always been naturally good at. Also write how and where you can use more of these gifts in your life -- especially in your work life.
Action #2 - Write down or brainstorm with a group of people how you can solve problems for ten times the number of people you affect in your job or business now. Come up with at least three different strategies. Think "leverage."
Action #3 - Declaration : Put your hand on your heart and say, "I think big! I choose to help thousands and thousands of people!"
Touch your head and say..."I have a millionaire mind."
Good job. Now practice this principle over the next 30 days and watch your mind, thoughts and financial life transform.
Rich people think with their wealth files – beliefs and attitudes that produce wealth. A few months ago, we started installing those new wealth files into your mind. With the new files come new choices. Remember that you can actually catch yourself when you're thinking like poor and middle class people. Then consciously shift your focus to think like rich people.
The concepts – the new files – you're learning are simple but very profound. They make real changes for real people in the real world.
These Action Steps are training your mind to think the way rich people think. You're well on your way to having a millionaire's beliefs and thought habits!
Just remember it's imperative you put each file into action as quickly as possible so that the knowledge can move to a physical, cellular level. So it can create lasting and permanent change.
So Here are Millionaire Mind Action Steps #7
Wealth File #4Rich people think big.Poor people think small.
There was a trainer at one of our seminars, not too long ago, who went from a net worth of $250,000 to over $6 million in only three years.
When we asked him what his secret was, he said, "Everything changed the moment I began to think big."
And the reason is simple. The more people you serve, the bigger your income.
Remember where, in Secrets of the Millionaire MindTM, I told you about my chain of fitness retail stores? Before I opened my first store, I intended to have a hundred successful stores. My competitor, on the other hand, had the intention of building only one successful store.
What was the result?
• She sold a lot of product -- I sold a lot more.• She earned a decent living -- I got rich!
My question for you is this: Do you want to play in the big leagues?
Or do you want to play in the minors?Do you want to play it big? Or play it safe?
You see, the reason most people don't choose to play it big is because they're afraid to.
But hear this: You don't have the right to play it small. Your life is not just about you. It's also about contributing your special gifts to others. To the world.
All your gifts were given to you for a reason; to use and share with as many people as possible. You need to start thinking bigger and decide to help massive numbers of people--thousands, even millions.
The more people you help, the "richer" you become, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and definitely financially.
But if you decide to indulge your ego and allow everything to revolve around you, you and nothing but you, you'll never live the life you were meant to live.
The world doesn't need more people playing small. It needs you to start playing it big.
Stop hiding out and start stepping out. Stop needing and start leading.
Start sharing your gifts. Stop hoarding them or pretending they don't exist.
It comes down to this: If not you, then who?
Small thinking and small actions lead to being broke and unfulfilled. Big thinking and big actions lead to having both money and meaning.
The choice is yours!
Action #1 - Get out a notebook or a piece of paper and write down what you believe to be your "natural talents." These are things you've always been naturally good at. Also write how and where you can use more of these gifts in your life -- especially in your work life.
Action #2 - Write down or brainstorm with a group of people how you can solve problems for ten times the number of people you affect in your job or business now. Come up with at least three different strategies. Think "leverage."
Action #3 - Declaration : Put your hand on your heart and say, "I think big! I choose to help thousands and thousands of people!"
Touch your head and say..."I have a millionaire mind."
Good job. Now practice this principle over the next 30 days and watch your mind, thoughts and financial life transform.
How To Make Self Improvement Work Every Time
There is an inherent problem with the approach most people take to self improvement of any kind. There is a presupposition that there is something wrong that needs fixing. Perhaps it is true that there are areas in their lives that they wish to change. However, the mindset with which they approach transformation will very often NEGATE any positive results they might have. Why? Because all of their focus is on the PROBLEM they are trying to solve, rather than their vision for what their life will be like without the alleged problem.
There is a very basic physical natural law which ultimately determines ANY success on ANY level. This law dictates exactly what our experience will be from moment to moment. Best of all, this law is fully under our control at all times, even if we are not aware of it.
This "law" is the Law of Attraction. Most of the time, you hear about this law in terms of how it will help you to attract wealth or abundance in general. However, the Law of Attraction transcends just those basic desires. The Law of Attraction dictates that you will receive back exactly what you "vibrate"...that is, what you are FEELING. Where is your attention? Is it on the feelings associated with the problem, or with the feelings of no longer having the problem?
If you approach self improvement material with the desire to "get rid of the problem", and if all your feelings are on how terrible or frustrating this "problem" is, Universal Law dictates that you will simply attract MORE of those feelings...more of the circumstances that brought the problem to you in the first place. The Universe isn’t "out to get you". It is simply responding to the "request" that you are putting out by way of your feelings.
If, however, you approach your self improvement solutions with high positive feelings associated with what your life WILL be...if you visualize your success with your program of choice on all sensory levels, particularly on the level of EMOTION, you will literally magnetically ATTRACT the success you are looking for! Miracles will occur!
While this may sound very "mystic" or even preposterous, I submit to you that EVERY aspect of your life right now has been brought to you in perfect response to your prevailing thoughts and beliefs which directly effect your emotional state, which in turn causes you to emit very specific and magnetic frequencies which attract like frequencies.
We must never forget that beyond simply being flesh and bone, we are, at a molecular level, ENERGY. And our personal energy obeys the same physical laws as all other Energy which we study more traditionally.
The wealthiest, most successful people in the world use the Law of Attraction (albeit often unconsciously) to effortlessly bring into their lives whatever they envision. This could be wealth, successful businesses, or satisfying relationships. Or, it could simply be wisdom, peace of mind, and a sense of purpose.
The big secret is that you truly CAN have whatever you want, regardless of how "pie-in-the-sky" this may sound. You need only learn a few key concepts about HOW to ask for what you want to begin receiving it in abundance! Despite what you may currently believe or have been taught, it is not the purpose of our lives to struggle, to work hard for years, or try to "figure things out". Our job is to do what we love to do. When we do that with full trust and knowing that doing so will naturally attract our deepest desires, we become powerful magnets, which absolutely assures our success.
By Bob Doyle
There is a very basic physical natural law which ultimately determines ANY success on ANY level. This law dictates exactly what our experience will be from moment to moment. Best of all, this law is fully under our control at all times, even if we are not aware of it.
This "law" is the Law of Attraction. Most of the time, you hear about this law in terms of how it will help you to attract wealth or abundance in general. However, the Law of Attraction transcends just those basic desires. The Law of Attraction dictates that you will receive back exactly what you "vibrate"...that is, what you are FEELING. Where is your attention? Is it on the feelings associated with the problem, or with the feelings of no longer having the problem?
If you approach self improvement material with the desire to "get rid of the problem", and if all your feelings are on how terrible or frustrating this "problem" is, Universal Law dictates that you will simply attract MORE of those feelings...more of the circumstances that brought the problem to you in the first place. The Universe isn’t "out to get you". It is simply responding to the "request" that you are putting out by way of your feelings.
If, however, you approach your self improvement solutions with high positive feelings associated with what your life WILL be...if you visualize your success with your program of choice on all sensory levels, particularly on the level of EMOTION, you will literally magnetically ATTRACT the success you are looking for! Miracles will occur!
While this may sound very "mystic" or even preposterous, I submit to you that EVERY aspect of your life right now has been brought to you in perfect response to your prevailing thoughts and beliefs which directly effect your emotional state, which in turn causes you to emit very specific and magnetic frequencies which attract like frequencies.
We must never forget that beyond simply being flesh and bone, we are, at a molecular level, ENERGY. And our personal energy obeys the same physical laws as all other Energy which we study more traditionally.
The wealthiest, most successful people in the world use the Law of Attraction (albeit often unconsciously) to effortlessly bring into their lives whatever they envision. This could be wealth, successful businesses, or satisfying relationships. Or, it could simply be wisdom, peace of mind, and a sense of purpose.
The big secret is that you truly CAN have whatever you want, regardless of how "pie-in-the-sky" this may sound. You need only learn a few key concepts about HOW to ask for what you want to begin receiving it in abundance! Despite what you may currently believe or have been taught, it is not the purpose of our lives to struggle, to work hard for years, or try to "figure things out". Our job is to do what we love to do. When we do that with full trust and knowing that doing so will naturally attract our deepest desires, we become powerful magnets, which absolutely assures our success.
By Bob Doyle
12 Reasons Why Most People Don't Get Wealthy
According to Wallace Wattles, in his popular wealth treatise called the Science of Getting Rich, said that, "There is a science of getting rich, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic. There are certain laws which govern the process of acquiring riches, and once these laws are learned and obeyed by anyone, that person will get rich with mathematical certainty."
It is true. Those who make wealth know that it comes about by application of simple rules and principles. Those who don't make wealth don't know about these simple things, and so they assume that wealth is a result of luck or pure chance or something just as superstitious or silly.
Anthony Robbins is one of the top success coaches in the world, having coached star sports players, heads of states and Fortune 500 executives. In his Get The Edge program, he listed down 12 specific reasons he has come to observe to be the leading causes for most people's lack of wealth. Here they are.....
1. They never decide and really define, very specifically, what wealth means for them. The keyword here is specifically. Can you imagine how hard it would be to build a car or a plane without making a blueprint or sketch drawings of it first? You have to know what your target is before you go chasing after it.
2. They make wealth a moving target instead of a fixed one (this is related to point one above). Once you have your target, fix it. Don't change it until you reach it. You must accomplish each step, celebrate, and then set course for a new step, a new target.
3. They define it in a way that seems unreachable. You only achieve what you believe. No more, no less. So you must make it believable for you. Set goals that will make you move forward and stretch, but not too high that even you yourself don't believe you can. Take the biggest step you believe you can, achieve it, then take the next biggest you believe you can. This will build positive reinforcement in your self-confidence as well.
4. They never start. Ok, this is obvious. If you keep thinking about it forever, it will forever remain in the thought level. You have to act! Start somewhere, anywhere! Only after you start do you begin to get some feedback which will help you plot your course better. The aircraft has to first take off before it starts to adjust course for its destination. You must start, somewhere, anywhere, doesn't matter, just start! Act!
5. They never make it a must. Let me explain what it means to make it a must. It means marshalling all your intent, your will, your direction, into one singular flow that is directed towards your goal. All obstacles are viewed as challenges to be overcome. You will meet obstacles, and so expect it, but also expect to move forward anyways. Use your obstacles to develop strength and skills, don't run away. Find out how to go past them. Find out! There is always a way, always. And if your emotions are acting against your desire, embrace them, learn what they are, know yourself, but keep moving forward. Make it a must, and it will happen. Guaranteed. You don't know in how many steps it will take, but you know it will happen.
6. They don't have a realistic plan. If you want to do something, find out how it is done from someone who has done it before. Make a realistic plan. Copy from those who have succeeded before you. But don't throw away your intuition. Your intuition is extremely powerful once you learn how to listen to it with practice.
7. If they have a realistic plan, they never follow through on the plan. Well, if you don't follow the plan, who will?
8. They give responsibility to others ("experts") instead of to themselves. This way, they never really learn how to do it, and if there are failures they never learn why the failures happened and so they are bound to repeat them. It is a good idea to get advice, but do it yourself. At least understand it yourself even if you will delegate the actual doing.
9. They give up when they face challenges. Going through the challenges is what has made people rich, not giving up. Look, there are always challenges. So get used to that. You will only get where you wish to get to if you are willing to face the challenges along the path. All challenges are opportunities dressed in work clothes, remember that. After the challenge is over, you will discover the amazing fruit it held for you.
10. They fail to conduct their lives as a business; they never ensure that they make a profit year by year. Get a personal finance package like Quicken or Microsoft Money. you need to have budgets and cash flow statements for your personal finances and your businesses. It is easy with those software packages. If you don't keep records and track, you wont know when you are making or losing money until it is embarrassingly too late.
11. They allow other people's ideas to affect their decisions unreasonably. There will always be people who don't believe in your way, or who are pessimistic, who try to pull you down, or whatever. And they will sometimes be your closest friends and family. You cannot change that - they have a right to be who they are. It is OK. Allow them their thoughts, don't judge them for that, but don't feel obligated to accept their thoughts of follow their way. Don't allow other people, now or from the past, unreasonably affect your decisions. Allow them their way, and you live your way.
12. They don't get quality coaching. This is extremely important! Coaching is simply getting mentored by someone who has succeeded wildly in the area of your interest. Get coaching! Our education system hardly equips us for real life, so don't assume that because you went to college you are properly equipped. Hardly. You need to keep learning. The most successful people attend seminars, read books, join mastermind groups and clubs, find mentors, network, and even hire expensive personal coaches to make sure they succeed.
How many of these reasons can you identify with? Well, now that you see the reasons, you now can look at yourself and make sure that you don't follow ways that are known to not lead to wealth. Follow what works and it will work. And don't forget to enjoy yourself along the way.
It is true. Those who make wealth know that it comes about by application of simple rules and principles. Those who don't make wealth don't know about these simple things, and so they assume that wealth is a result of luck or pure chance or something just as superstitious or silly.
Anthony Robbins is one of the top success coaches in the world, having coached star sports players, heads of states and Fortune 500 executives. In his Get The Edge program, he listed down 12 specific reasons he has come to observe to be the leading causes for most people's lack of wealth. Here they are.....
1. They never decide and really define, very specifically, what wealth means for them. The keyword here is specifically. Can you imagine how hard it would be to build a car or a plane without making a blueprint or sketch drawings of it first? You have to know what your target is before you go chasing after it.
2. They make wealth a moving target instead of a fixed one (this is related to point one above). Once you have your target, fix it. Don't change it until you reach it. You must accomplish each step, celebrate, and then set course for a new step, a new target.
3. They define it in a way that seems unreachable. You only achieve what you believe. No more, no less. So you must make it believable for you. Set goals that will make you move forward and stretch, but not too high that even you yourself don't believe you can. Take the biggest step you believe you can, achieve it, then take the next biggest you believe you can. This will build positive reinforcement in your self-confidence as well.
4. They never start. Ok, this is obvious. If you keep thinking about it forever, it will forever remain in the thought level. You have to act! Start somewhere, anywhere! Only after you start do you begin to get some feedback which will help you plot your course better. The aircraft has to first take off before it starts to adjust course for its destination. You must start, somewhere, anywhere, doesn't matter, just start! Act!
5. They never make it a must. Let me explain what it means to make it a must. It means marshalling all your intent, your will, your direction, into one singular flow that is directed towards your goal. All obstacles are viewed as challenges to be overcome. You will meet obstacles, and so expect it, but also expect to move forward anyways. Use your obstacles to develop strength and skills, don't run away. Find out how to go past them. Find out! There is always a way, always. And if your emotions are acting against your desire, embrace them, learn what they are, know yourself, but keep moving forward. Make it a must, and it will happen. Guaranteed. You don't know in how many steps it will take, but you know it will happen.
6. They don't have a realistic plan. If you want to do something, find out how it is done from someone who has done it before. Make a realistic plan. Copy from those who have succeeded before you. But don't throw away your intuition. Your intuition is extremely powerful once you learn how to listen to it with practice.
7. If they have a realistic plan, they never follow through on the plan. Well, if you don't follow the plan, who will?
8. They give responsibility to others ("experts") instead of to themselves. This way, they never really learn how to do it, and if there are failures they never learn why the failures happened and so they are bound to repeat them. It is a good idea to get advice, but do it yourself. At least understand it yourself even if you will delegate the actual doing.
9. They give up when they face challenges. Going through the challenges is what has made people rich, not giving up. Look, there are always challenges. So get used to that. You will only get where you wish to get to if you are willing to face the challenges along the path. All challenges are opportunities dressed in work clothes, remember that. After the challenge is over, you will discover the amazing fruit it held for you.
10. They fail to conduct their lives as a business; they never ensure that they make a profit year by year. Get a personal finance package like Quicken or Microsoft Money. you need to have budgets and cash flow statements for your personal finances and your businesses. It is easy with those software packages. If you don't keep records and track, you wont know when you are making or losing money until it is embarrassingly too late.
11. They allow other people's ideas to affect their decisions unreasonably. There will always be people who don't believe in your way, or who are pessimistic, who try to pull you down, or whatever. And they will sometimes be your closest friends and family. You cannot change that - they have a right to be who they are. It is OK. Allow them their thoughts, don't judge them for that, but don't feel obligated to accept their thoughts of follow their way. Don't allow other people, now or from the past, unreasonably affect your decisions. Allow them their way, and you live your way.
12. They don't get quality coaching. This is extremely important! Coaching is simply getting mentored by someone who has succeeded wildly in the area of your interest. Get coaching! Our education system hardly equips us for real life, so don't assume that because you went to college you are properly equipped. Hardly. You need to keep learning. The most successful people attend seminars, read books, join mastermind groups and clubs, find mentors, network, and even hire expensive personal coaches to make sure they succeed.
How many of these reasons can you identify with? Well, now that you see the reasons, you now can look at yourself and make sure that you don't follow ways that are known to not lead to wealth. Follow what works and it will work. And don't forget to enjoy yourself along the way.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Do you have a great idea?
Do you have a great idea?
Check out these tips to get creative
IN TODAY’S business world, the difference between success and failure is not whether you have a great manufacturing process, you can cut costs better than anyone else or even that you are first in the market.
Today, the real, long-term competitive edge is the ability to have great ideas. Not merely that, it is the ability to keep having them as the competition innovates to respond to your moves.
But how do you get ideas? And, more importantly, how do you keep getting ideas? Here are five tips to help your company and its people become idea-generating machines.
Feed your brains
How many great ideas were born at a grey desk in an even greyer office? Very few.
Albert Einstein used to daydream in a park. Thomas Edison used to go fishing when he wanted to create a new invention. The world’s most prolific inventor with over 1,400 patents to his name, Shunpei Yamazaki, goes swimming underwater.
So don’t just sit there, do something. Go for a walk. Ride a bike. Go to the cinema. Read a book. Whatever gets your creative juices going, do it — because the last place you’ll find a great idea is behind a desk.
Tolerate ambiguity
The world isn’t black and white; it’s a thousand different shades. Yet we spend our whole lives looking for the right answer. In business, there may be no right answers but there are possibilities.
Examine them, think them through. What would you do if your company had unlimited funds? This is called the Li Ka Shing technique. Come up with 10 possibilities as if funds were no problem.
Then examine these ideas to see how they may be implemented more inexpensively, more quickly or more slowly. The possibilities are endless if you dream a little.
2 + 2 = 5
Your people are your greatest asset. Within every organisation, there exist ideas, opportunities and knowledge. Give these ideas their day in the sun.
When was the last time you solicited ideas from your staff? When did you last sit down together and brainstorm an issue? Do you have a formal way for your staff to give you ideas? You might not find the right answer but you will find a lot of new ways of looking at the problem.
Fail more often
It took Edison 10,000 experiments to get the light bulb right. J. K. Rowling submitted Harry Potter to more than 50 publishers before somebody decided that it was worth printing. Alexander Fleming failed with the experiment he was doing but discovered penicillin.
Don’t be afraid of failure. It brings knowledge that something didn’t work. Try something new — you can always go back to what you did before. Calculated risk-taking is the forte of the great manager. If you don’t take risks and stand still, pretty soon somebody else is going to run you over.
Keep learning
Never stop learning. Not only in your field, but in others as well. The inventor of the ballpoint pen was a journalist. The man who created the mechanical adding machine was a philosopher. The creator of bubble gum was an accountant.
Next time you stop by a magazine stand, buy one you have never read before. You may find new ideas, processes and ways of thinking in areas that you would never have considered. Take courses and get your best people to take them as well. Life-long learning is exactly that — a life longing to learn.
These are just a few ways to get your best people to come up with more and better ideas. There are hundreds of others you can discover for yourself.
Creativity and ideas are not an option for companies any more. They are must-haves. Is your company up to the challenge?
Check out these tips to get creative
IN TODAY’S business world, the difference between success and failure is not whether you have a great manufacturing process, you can cut costs better than anyone else or even that you are first in the market.
Today, the real, long-term competitive edge is the ability to have great ideas. Not merely that, it is the ability to keep having them as the competition innovates to respond to your moves.
But how do you get ideas? And, more importantly, how do you keep getting ideas? Here are five tips to help your company and its people become idea-generating machines.
Feed your brains
How many great ideas were born at a grey desk in an even greyer office? Very few.
Albert Einstein used to daydream in a park. Thomas Edison used to go fishing when he wanted to create a new invention. The world’s most prolific inventor with over 1,400 patents to his name, Shunpei Yamazaki, goes swimming underwater.
So don’t just sit there, do something. Go for a walk. Ride a bike. Go to the cinema. Read a book. Whatever gets your creative juices going, do it — because the last place you’ll find a great idea is behind a desk.
Tolerate ambiguity
The world isn’t black and white; it’s a thousand different shades. Yet we spend our whole lives looking for the right answer. In business, there may be no right answers but there are possibilities.
Examine them, think them through. What would you do if your company had unlimited funds? This is called the Li Ka Shing technique. Come up with 10 possibilities as if funds were no problem.
Then examine these ideas to see how they may be implemented more inexpensively, more quickly or more slowly. The possibilities are endless if you dream a little.
2 + 2 = 5
Your people are your greatest asset. Within every organisation, there exist ideas, opportunities and knowledge. Give these ideas their day in the sun.
When was the last time you solicited ideas from your staff? When did you last sit down together and brainstorm an issue? Do you have a formal way for your staff to give you ideas? You might not find the right answer but you will find a lot of new ways of looking at the problem.
Fail more often
It took Edison 10,000 experiments to get the light bulb right. J. K. Rowling submitted Harry Potter to more than 50 publishers before somebody decided that it was worth printing. Alexander Fleming failed with the experiment he was doing but discovered penicillin.
Don’t be afraid of failure. It brings knowledge that something didn’t work. Try something new — you can always go back to what you did before. Calculated risk-taking is the forte of the great manager. If you don’t take risks and stand still, pretty soon somebody else is going to run you over.
Keep learning
Never stop learning. Not only in your field, but in others as well. The inventor of the ballpoint pen was a journalist. The man who created the mechanical adding machine was a philosopher. The creator of bubble gum was an accountant.
Next time you stop by a magazine stand, buy one you have never read before. You may find new ideas, processes and ways of thinking in areas that you would never have considered. Take courses and get your best people to take them as well. Life-long learning is exactly that — a life longing to learn.
These are just a few ways to get your best people to come up with more and better ideas. There are hundreds of others you can discover for yourself.
Creativity and ideas are not an option for companies any more. They are must-haves. Is your company up to the challenge?
Dealing with job loss
Dealing with job loss
After the initial shock of losing your job subsides, you have to get back on your feet again. Here is a practical guide on how to do it
THE solution to handling job loss is to accept it, deal with the situation and start aggressively looking for a new job. Running away and hiding is not going to solve anything.
You are going to feel angry, depressed and frustrated, but at the end of it all, you are going to have to deal with it. It will be easier if you:
Accept reality
One of the first things you have to do when you are without a job is to accept the harsh reality that you have no job, no income, and you have to start looking for a job all over again. Anger, frustration, shock and acceptance are the emotions you will go through.
Once you accept the facts, you have to figure out what to do next. What are you going to do to get through this situation? This is the first question you should ask yourself.
Understand your finances
Most people have a false sense of security where their finances are concerned. They think that they have enough money to live on for the next year or the next few months and that this will give them sufficient time to find another job. This is not the case. Meet with your accountant and find out the true condition of your finances.
You may not have enough money to support you for the next three months, let alone one year.
The position of your finances will help you understand and evaluate what needs to be done next.
Do you need to take up a temporary job to support yourself or your family while you work at getting the ideal job? Do you need to take a loan? These questions, once answered, will help you chalk out a plan.
While understanding your finances, you also need to assess your cash flow, debts, savings and assets.
Formulate a plan
This is the most important step in dealing with your job loss. Formulating a plan gives you a systematic and step-by-step guide on what to do and when.
The first step is to get your entire family involved. This means informing your kids, your spouse, parents and in-laws that you are now without a job. This will help them to be more supportive towards you. They can help you to save money by cutting down on expenses.
Always prioritise your debts. Knowing which bills are of utmost importance and which need to be paid first is necessary to avoid any financial problems right from the start.
Expenses and income needs to be proportioned. This helps you to know about your spending power. Avoid using your credit card as much as possible. Inform your creditors of your situation as this will help them be more understanding towards you.
Get a credit counsellor to handle your finances and to help you with your credit and creditors.
Get the right perspective
You have lost your job and are unemployed. It is a bad thing, but you need not look at it that way. Looking at it with a positive attitude gives you the right perspective to deal with the situation.
To have the right perspective, you need to accept that bad things happen, that this is a temporary phase and will pass, and that the important thing is to focus on the things you have and not what you are missing.
Dealing with a job loss is not easy; it happens to many and to the best. The key to recovering is doing it with grace and dignity. –
After the initial shock of losing your job subsides, you have to get back on your feet again. Here is a practical guide on how to do it
THE solution to handling job loss is to accept it, deal with the situation and start aggressively looking for a new job. Running away and hiding is not going to solve anything.
You are going to feel angry, depressed and frustrated, but at the end of it all, you are going to have to deal with it. It will be easier if you:
Accept reality
One of the first things you have to do when you are without a job is to accept the harsh reality that you have no job, no income, and you have to start looking for a job all over again. Anger, frustration, shock and acceptance are the emotions you will go through.
Once you accept the facts, you have to figure out what to do next. What are you going to do to get through this situation? This is the first question you should ask yourself.
Understand your finances
Most people have a false sense of security where their finances are concerned. They think that they have enough money to live on for the next year or the next few months and that this will give them sufficient time to find another job. This is not the case. Meet with your accountant and find out the true condition of your finances.
You may not have enough money to support you for the next three months, let alone one year.
The position of your finances will help you understand and evaluate what needs to be done next.
Do you need to take up a temporary job to support yourself or your family while you work at getting the ideal job? Do you need to take a loan? These questions, once answered, will help you chalk out a plan.
While understanding your finances, you also need to assess your cash flow, debts, savings and assets.
Formulate a plan
This is the most important step in dealing with your job loss. Formulating a plan gives you a systematic and step-by-step guide on what to do and when.
The first step is to get your entire family involved. This means informing your kids, your spouse, parents and in-laws that you are now without a job. This will help them to be more supportive towards you. They can help you to save money by cutting down on expenses.
Always prioritise your debts. Knowing which bills are of utmost importance and which need to be paid first is necessary to avoid any financial problems right from the start.
Expenses and income needs to be proportioned. This helps you to know about your spending power. Avoid using your credit card as much as possible. Inform your creditors of your situation as this will help them be more understanding towards you.
Get a credit counsellor to handle your finances and to help you with your credit and creditors.
Get the right perspective
You have lost your job and are unemployed. It is a bad thing, but you need not look at it that way. Looking at it with a positive attitude gives you the right perspective to deal with the situation.
To have the right perspective, you need to accept that bad things happen, that this is a temporary phase and will pass, and that the important thing is to focus on the things you have and not what you are missing.
Dealing with a job loss is not easy; it happens to many and to the best. The key to recovering is doing it with grace and dignity. –
Practise your feedback skills
Practise your feedback skills
It’s never too early to develop and refine your skills in the fine art of providing feedback
WHEN carried out properly, performance-based feedback has the power to motivate staff and bring out the best in them. It can lead people to discover new talents and reach untapped potential. It’s a skill that is no longer solely the domain of managers, but is increasingly being used by peers and subordinates.
Younger workers entering the workforce expect more opportunities to give and receive feedback than previous generations. But it’s not simply a matter of dishing out criticism and praise. Providing effective feedback is a skill. In fact, delivering feedback poorly is much worse than not delivering it at all.
First of all, let’s get one thing straight. The use of negative feedback should not be a technique in your career toolkit. Make a rule early on not to give negative feedback to or about others, because by the time you reach the leadership stage of your career, you may find it damaging your credibility.
Managers who criticise without providing alternatives, solutions or incentives for change risk losing the regard of their team and may be seen as short tempered and unprofessional. Feedback should be a fair, measured and an ongoing process, always given confidently and clearly. It should be well timed and never given in the heat of the moment.
Discard the idea of negative feedback and think only in terms of constructive feedback. Rather than criticising an individual’s performance, ask instead how you can provide support, how something could have been done differently and explain how you would like things done in the future.
When providing commentary on a particular incident, focus on what happened, the decisions made or the behaviour, if need be. Although feedback should be tailored to individuals, it should never become personal.
When delivering feedback, be specific about what you expect and make sure constructive feedback is given in a timely manner. While you should choose the right time and place to discuss feedback, keep in mind that no one wants to be reminded of something that went wrong weeks or even days ago. Whenever possible, deal with a situation when it happens and look to the future by planning what to do differently next time.
Remember that praise should not be reserved for when a job is done perfectly, but should also be given when improvement is demonstrated. Praise is an excellent motivator and it will drive employees to perform.
Strangely enough, constructive feedback is often given at the expense of positive praise. Although
praise can motivate staff and drive the performance of a team, often the most talented employees
receive less attention for their efforts than their under-performing colleagues. The message here is
simple - take the time to give praise! Don’t imagine that your employee or colleague knows when he has done a great job and doesn’t need to hear it.
Finally, consider the purpose of the feedback you give and ask yourself what you are trying to achieve. Are you trying to raise morale, improve performance, address shortcomings or simply give recognition? Align the style of your feedback to the desired outcomes. As always, keeping an eye on your goal will provide guidance as to the method and message you should use.
n Article contributed by Mastura Diana Jaffar, managing director of DBM Malaysia, which offers human resources solutions.
It’s never too early to develop and refine your skills in the fine art of providing feedback
WHEN carried out properly, performance-based feedback has the power to motivate staff and bring out the best in them. It can lead people to discover new talents and reach untapped potential. It’s a skill that is no longer solely the domain of managers, but is increasingly being used by peers and subordinates.
Younger workers entering the workforce expect more opportunities to give and receive feedback than previous generations. But it’s not simply a matter of dishing out criticism and praise. Providing effective feedback is a skill. In fact, delivering feedback poorly is much worse than not delivering it at all.
First of all, let’s get one thing straight. The use of negative feedback should not be a technique in your career toolkit. Make a rule early on not to give negative feedback to or about others, because by the time you reach the leadership stage of your career, you may find it damaging your credibility.
Managers who criticise without providing alternatives, solutions or incentives for change risk losing the regard of their team and may be seen as short tempered and unprofessional. Feedback should be a fair, measured and an ongoing process, always given confidently and clearly. It should be well timed and never given in the heat of the moment.
Discard the idea of negative feedback and think only in terms of constructive feedback. Rather than criticising an individual’s performance, ask instead how you can provide support, how something could have been done differently and explain how you would like things done in the future.
When providing commentary on a particular incident, focus on what happened, the decisions made or the behaviour, if need be. Although feedback should be tailored to individuals, it should never become personal.
When delivering feedback, be specific about what you expect and make sure constructive feedback is given in a timely manner. While you should choose the right time and place to discuss feedback, keep in mind that no one wants to be reminded of something that went wrong weeks or even days ago. Whenever possible, deal with a situation when it happens and look to the future by planning what to do differently next time.
Remember that praise should not be reserved for when a job is done perfectly, but should also be given when improvement is demonstrated. Praise is an excellent motivator and it will drive employees to perform.
Strangely enough, constructive feedback is often given at the expense of positive praise. Although
praise can motivate staff and drive the performance of a team, often the most talented employees
receive less attention for their efforts than their under-performing colleagues. The message here is
simple - take the time to give praise! Don’t imagine that your employee or colleague knows when he has done a great job and doesn’t need to hear it.
Finally, consider the purpose of the feedback you give and ask yourself what you are trying to achieve. Are you trying to raise morale, improve performance, address shortcomings or simply give recognition? Align the style of your feedback to the desired outcomes. As always, keeping an eye on your goal will provide guidance as to the method and message you should use.
n Article contributed by Mastura Diana Jaffar, managing director of DBM Malaysia, which offers human resources solutions.
Do your homework
Do your homework
Working from home means you are in charge — of yourself and your productivity
OPERATING a small business from the convenience of your home seems enticing. You work at your own pace and on your own time, and you are free from dealing with difficult colleagues, putting up with morning and afternoon rush hours, and getting stuck in a 9-to-5 routine.
This means more time for yourself and with your family and friends.
But before you quit your job to become your own boss, you should be aware that working at home poses challenges that may decrease efficiency and effectiveness levels, putting the quality of work at risk.
Some people find it difficult to concentrate on their tasks because of the inevitable distractions at home.
To make the most of a flexible and convenient way to earn a living, you need to have full control over it.
Here are a few tips to ensure that working from home is a positive, productive experience:
1 Plan your working hours
It is important to schedule working time — and make it clear that you don’t want to be disturbed during these periods unless there is an emergency you need to attend to.
Inform your family members and friends so that they will refrain from barging into your work area.
When your work is done, turn the computer off and leave your work area. Working from home sometimes may mean putting in longer hours than what you might do on your regular workday.
Be disciplined. Stick to your schedule and avoid checking your e-mail in the midst of time with your family.
Ensure your work does not eat into your personal time, and vice versa.
2 Manage distractions
E-mail is a necessary tool for your business but it can also be a huge distraction. So switch off the option that alerts you to incoming messages.
It is a natural tendency to want to read new e-mail messages, but that will keep you from focusing on the task at hand, whether it is keeping your accounts in order or writing a business proposal for a customer.
Schedule specific times — preferably morning, noon and late afternoon — to check your inbox instead.
Working at home gives you freedom over your working space, but you have to be accountable to yourself.
Guard against distractions like downloading music, surfing the Internet or socialising with your friends in the chat room during your work hours.
When you are juggling taking care of your children and running a home business, you may find it useful to hire a babysitter to assist you.
Alternatively, you can talk to your children about your situation. Tell them to play quietly in designated area or install a monitor so that you can check on them from your work area.
3 Create an ideal work environment
You will achieve productivity at work when you have an organised workstation at home.
Keep your desk clutter-free by eliminating space killers, such as unnecessary ornaments, and creating an effective filing system for important documents.
Classify these documents according to importance — “urgent”, “keep in view” or simply “in” and “out”. Label all your folders and create sub-folders within them to further classify your work.
Have a dedicated space for your work files and office supplies and be scrupulous about weeding out what doesn’t belong there.
When you work at home, don’t let your personal grooming standards drop. Dressing smartly for work can apply to a home business environment too.
Not only will you feel good, you will feel ready to meet the professional demands of your working hours. So ditch the sloppy T-shirt and track pants and put on a smart-casual outfit that is comfortable without compromising on style.
4 Get out there
Working and living in the same space can be boring.
Break the monotony with a short trip to a nearby mall for a cup of coffee if you usually have one at home. Or take your laptop along and do some work at the café — many places are equipped with wireless Internet services.
Set aside time for exercise. Take a brisk walk or jog around your neighbourhood.
Physical activity will revitalise your mind, body and spirit. You will be in a better frame of mind to plan activities for your family and to think of ways to grow your home-based business
Working from home means you are in charge — of yourself and your productivity
OPERATING a small business from the convenience of your home seems enticing. You work at your own pace and on your own time, and you are free from dealing with difficult colleagues, putting up with morning and afternoon rush hours, and getting stuck in a 9-to-5 routine.
This means more time for yourself and with your family and friends.
But before you quit your job to become your own boss, you should be aware that working at home poses challenges that may decrease efficiency and effectiveness levels, putting the quality of work at risk.
Some people find it difficult to concentrate on their tasks because of the inevitable distractions at home.
To make the most of a flexible and convenient way to earn a living, you need to have full control over it.
Here are a few tips to ensure that working from home is a positive, productive experience:
1 Plan your working hours
It is important to schedule working time — and make it clear that you don’t want to be disturbed during these periods unless there is an emergency you need to attend to.
Inform your family members and friends so that they will refrain from barging into your work area.
When your work is done, turn the computer off and leave your work area. Working from home sometimes may mean putting in longer hours than what you might do on your regular workday.
Be disciplined. Stick to your schedule and avoid checking your e-mail in the midst of time with your family.
Ensure your work does not eat into your personal time, and vice versa.
2 Manage distractions
E-mail is a necessary tool for your business but it can also be a huge distraction. So switch off the option that alerts you to incoming messages.
It is a natural tendency to want to read new e-mail messages, but that will keep you from focusing on the task at hand, whether it is keeping your accounts in order or writing a business proposal for a customer.
Schedule specific times — preferably morning, noon and late afternoon — to check your inbox instead.
Working at home gives you freedom over your working space, but you have to be accountable to yourself.
Guard against distractions like downloading music, surfing the Internet or socialising with your friends in the chat room during your work hours.
When you are juggling taking care of your children and running a home business, you may find it useful to hire a babysitter to assist you.
Alternatively, you can talk to your children about your situation. Tell them to play quietly in designated area or install a monitor so that you can check on them from your work area.
3 Create an ideal work environment
You will achieve productivity at work when you have an organised workstation at home.
Keep your desk clutter-free by eliminating space killers, such as unnecessary ornaments, and creating an effective filing system for important documents.
Classify these documents according to importance — “urgent”, “keep in view” or simply “in” and “out”. Label all your folders and create sub-folders within them to further classify your work.
Have a dedicated space for your work files and office supplies and be scrupulous about weeding out what doesn’t belong there.
When you work at home, don’t let your personal grooming standards drop. Dressing smartly for work can apply to a home business environment too.
Not only will you feel good, you will feel ready to meet the professional demands of your working hours. So ditch the sloppy T-shirt and track pants and put on a smart-casual outfit that is comfortable without compromising on style.
4 Get out there
Working and living in the same space can be boring.
Break the monotony with a short trip to a nearby mall for a cup of coffee if you usually have one at home. Or take your laptop along and do some work at the café — many places are equipped with wireless Internet services.
Set aside time for exercise. Take a brisk walk or jog around your neighbourhood.
Physical activity will revitalise your mind, body and spirit. You will be in a better frame of mind to plan activities for your family and to think of ways to grow your home-based business
What’s the best way forward?
What’s the best way forward?
Improve your leadership skills by raising questions
GOOGLE the word “leadership”, and the search engine will give about 155,000,000 references for it on the Internet.
Leadership is one of the most studied, investigated and talked about topics, and it affects everybody.
Even if you are not a corporate leader, you often are in situations at work or in your personal life that require you to show leadership.
According to Harvard psychologist Daniel Goleman, the author of the bestseller, Emotional Intelligence, a key part of leadership is a leader’s self-awareness.
In other words, a leader must be in touch with his internal states, preferences, resources and intuitions. I call it simply the art of knowing “where you are”.
Imagine someone calls you on the phone, and you invite him over. He asks for directions on how to get to your place.
To do so, the first question you must ask is: “Where are you?”
If you don’t know where he is, your leadership in giving him directions will be useless.
All direction, advice, counsel or assistance comes, first, from an understanding of where someone is.
In your own life, it is the same. To get to where you want to go, you must first know where you are.
This “art of waking up”, as one writer called it, marks a leader as someone people want to follow.
Nathan Hobbs, principal consultant at Business Psychology Consultancy, puts it this way: “Self-awareness is at the centre of all learning and development and is an important skill needed to manage our own behaviour alongside colleagues in the pursuit of an organisation’s goals.
“It is at the heart of effective leadership. Increasing self-awareness enables any member of staff to reflect more knowingly on their work performance and identify means of self-improvement.”
People naturally respond well to those they respect and trust.
Emotional intelligence is not just about “being nice”. It is about getting results in the midst of working with and through others.
Once you are aware of the working styles of the leaders and teams around you, you are able to assess, assimilate and accommodate those styles which best enhance your own style.
In essence, you build trust and respect. Becoming self-aware is about observing, learning, and teaching yourself.
As you become self-aware, you begin to become aware of others and discover better strategies for leading and working with your team.
Researchers Robertson and Walt report the findings of a recent multinational study of nearly 100 chief executive officers, conducted by the Andersen Consulting Group.
The research findings report 14 skills considered essential to effective leadership now and in the future.
Some of these skills include the ability to:
·think globally,
·create a shared vision,
·embrace change,
·live the right values,
·demonstrate personal mastery, and
·share leadership.
Similar to other noted writers in the field, Robertson and Walt write that no one set of universal guidelines exists in the area of leadership development.
Leadership, they say, “is grounded in a high degree of self-awareness and the ability to leverage on those personal strengths that set each individual apart”.
They further suggest that the ideal outcome of self-awareness is a “congruence of individual strengths and the job”.
The challenge is that self-awareness cannot be taught.
I cannot tell you what is going on inside of you. You are the only one who knows.
One of the simplest and most powerful tools to help each person understand himself better is to work with questions.
On a personal note, one of the marks of freedom for myself and my “growing up” was that I found I had a choice to change the questions I asked myself.
The simple act of changing the question from “What is wrong with me?” to “What can I learn in this situation?” freed me from self-doubt and insecurity, and gave me a confidence I had not known before.
Imagine for a brief moment what it would be like if people in your organisation were more aware of themselves.
What if they all understood their strengths and weaknesses?
What if they didn’t have to blame others and accepted responsibility when things went wrong?
What if they could ask questions of any situation to better understand it from a different perspective of those involved?
If these things began to happen, a team or organisation would know itself and as a result have more confidence in its ability to succeed in a changing world
Improve your leadership skills by raising questions
GOOGLE the word “leadership”, and the search engine will give about 155,000,000 references for it on the Internet.
Leadership is one of the most studied, investigated and talked about topics, and it affects everybody.
Even if you are not a corporate leader, you often are in situations at work or in your personal life that require you to show leadership.
According to Harvard psychologist Daniel Goleman, the author of the bestseller, Emotional Intelligence, a key part of leadership is a leader’s self-awareness.
In other words, a leader must be in touch with his internal states, preferences, resources and intuitions. I call it simply the art of knowing “where you are”.
Imagine someone calls you on the phone, and you invite him over. He asks for directions on how to get to your place.
To do so, the first question you must ask is: “Where are you?”
If you don’t know where he is, your leadership in giving him directions will be useless.
All direction, advice, counsel or assistance comes, first, from an understanding of where someone is.
In your own life, it is the same. To get to where you want to go, you must first know where you are.
This “art of waking up”, as one writer called it, marks a leader as someone people want to follow.
Nathan Hobbs, principal consultant at Business Psychology Consultancy, puts it this way: “Self-awareness is at the centre of all learning and development and is an important skill needed to manage our own behaviour alongside colleagues in the pursuit of an organisation’s goals.
“It is at the heart of effective leadership. Increasing self-awareness enables any member of staff to reflect more knowingly on their work performance and identify means of self-improvement.”
People naturally respond well to those they respect and trust.
Emotional intelligence is not just about “being nice”. It is about getting results in the midst of working with and through others.
Once you are aware of the working styles of the leaders and teams around you, you are able to assess, assimilate and accommodate those styles which best enhance your own style.
In essence, you build trust and respect. Becoming self-aware is about observing, learning, and teaching yourself.
As you become self-aware, you begin to become aware of others and discover better strategies for leading and working with your team.
Researchers Robertson and Walt report the findings of a recent multinational study of nearly 100 chief executive officers, conducted by the Andersen Consulting Group.
The research findings report 14 skills considered essential to effective leadership now and in the future.
Some of these skills include the ability to:
·think globally,
·create a shared vision,
·embrace change,
·live the right values,
·demonstrate personal mastery, and
·share leadership.
Similar to other noted writers in the field, Robertson and Walt write that no one set of universal guidelines exists in the area of leadership development.
Leadership, they say, “is grounded in a high degree of self-awareness and the ability to leverage on those personal strengths that set each individual apart”.
They further suggest that the ideal outcome of self-awareness is a “congruence of individual strengths and the job”.
The challenge is that self-awareness cannot be taught.
I cannot tell you what is going on inside of you. You are the only one who knows.
One of the simplest and most powerful tools to help each person understand himself better is to work with questions.
On a personal note, one of the marks of freedom for myself and my “growing up” was that I found I had a choice to change the questions I asked myself.
The simple act of changing the question from “What is wrong with me?” to “What can I learn in this situation?” freed me from self-doubt and insecurity, and gave me a confidence I had not known before.
Imagine for a brief moment what it would be like if people in your organisation were more aware of themselves.
What if they all understood their strengths and weaknesses?
What if they didn’t have to blame others and accepted responsibility when things went wrong?
What if they could ask questions of any situation to better understand it from a different perspective of those involved?
If these things began to happen, a team or organisation would know itself and as a result have more confidence in its ability to succeed in a changing world
Talk your way to the top
Talk your way to the top
Don’t be scared of talking in public — here are some tips to help you become a confident speaker
THE number one fear in the world is speaking in public. Dying is number 6. That’s right — people would rather die than speak in public!
Often, the reason why someone doesn’t get a job or is not promoted is not that they don’t have the qualifications, it is simply that they can’t express themselves. Don’t be the world’s best-kept secret. Learn to speak your way to success.
As a full-time professional speaker, trainer, facilitator and consultant, I’ve made my living with my mouth for over 25 years. If there is one thing I’ve learned how to do, it’s how to speak in public.
While there is no substitute for years of experience, here are a few simple steps for you to practise your speaking skills to get you on the road to success.
JOIN TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL (TMI
Join a Toastmasters club. At every meeting, you will either be given a chance to speak impromptu for two minutes, evaluate another speaker, lead the meeting or evaluate a speaker.
With weekly or bi-monthly exposure to the lessons taught by toastmasters, you cannot help but improve.
RELAX AND PAUSE
An old Pepsi soft drink advert used to go: “The pause that refreshes.” That mantra can do some good for anyone who wants to be a better speaker.
If you are afraid or nervous or just uncomfortable with speaking in a group, first capture the attention of the group with a gesture or comment and then pause while you collect your thoughts.
For example, say, “Excuse me” or “Just one moment, please.” Then pause while you collect your thoughts and then say what you wanted to say. You’ll generally have their attention and your comment will carry more weight.
DISCARD OUTDATED TIPS
Forget ridiculous notions like, “Imagine the audience in their underwear” or “Look over their heads and not into their eyes so you won’t get nervous.”
Instead, look at an individual in the audience and speak just to that one person for a time. Then look for another friendly face and talk to that person.
Public speaking is sharing with people, not talking at people. Also, you are much more likely to relax if you think of it as only speaking to one person at a time as opposed to speaking to a group of 10, 100 or 1,000.
BREATHE CORRECTLY
A short, choppy breath pattern can add to your nervousness and make your words come out in stutters and spurts.
Practise slow, rhythmic breathing. Take a deep breath with your pauses and speak up with confidence. This will also lower your heart rate and calm your entire being.
SMILE
Unless your subject matter is someone’s death, smile and show you are enjoying the experience. A smile reduces your tension, helps you think by releasing endorphins into the brain and relaxes your audience as well. Even if you are dealing with a serious matter, a smile can really make a difference and lighten the mood.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
This is a simple model that will never let you down. Tell your audience what you are going to tell them; tell them; tell them what you told them.
This simple formula gives you a framework for public speaking and helps people remember your point(s). Telling them the outline or key topics you will cover prepares them mentally to absorb the information and may prevent them from interrupting you.
Then sharing the information in a simple and straightforward manner is easier after you have already laid out your plan of attack.
The review at the end adds emphasis and helps to remind them of your most salient points.
OPEN WITH PIZZAZZ AND CLOSE WITH PUNCH
Make sure you memorise your opening and closing to ensure your success.
Knowing your opening and closing verbatim lets you relax as you know exactly how you will start and gives you the confidence that at least you’ll end it right.
If you can’t memorise the start and end of the talk because it is impromptu, then make sure you capture your audience’s attention with a quip, quote, comment or joke at the beginning. Master speaker Dottie Walters always says: “Open with a laugh and close with a tear.”
An alternative is to finish with a call to action, a quote, a dramatic gesture like having them stand and pledge to do something or even finish with a gimmick.
TALK THE WALK YOU WALK
Talk about what you know. Share your ideas based not only on your opinions, but about what you’ve researched or lived through.
Don’t tell other people’s stories, tell your own. Be the original article when you speak and you will have not only people’s attention, but their respect when you are finished.
Article by Michael A. Podolinsky
Don’t be scared of talking in public — here are some tips to help you become a confident speaker
THE number one fear in the world is speaking in public. Dying is number 6. That’s right — people would rather die than speak in public!
Often, the reason why someone doesn’t get a job or is not promoted is not that they don’t have the qualifications, it is simply that they can’t express themselves. Don’t be the world’s best-kept secret. Learn to speak your way to success.
As a full-time professional speaker, trainer, facilitator and consultant, I’ve made my living with my mouth for over 25 years. If there is one thing I’ve learned how to do, it’s how to speak in public.
While there is no substitute for years of experience, here are a few simple steps for you to practise your speaking skills to get you on the road to success.
JOIN TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL (TMI
Join a Toastmasters club. At every meeting, you will either be given a chance to speak impromptu for two minutes, evaluate another speaker, lead the meeting or evaluate a speaker.
With weekly or bi-monthly exposure to the lessons taught by toastmasters, you cannot help but improve.
RELAX AND PAUSE
An old Pepsi soft drink advert used to go: “The pause that refreshes.” That mantra can do some good for anyone who wants to be a better speaker.
If you are afraid or nervous or just uncomfortable with speaking in a group, first capture the attention of the group with a gesture or comment and then pause while you collect your thoughts.
For example, say, “Excuse me” or “Just one moment, please.” Then pause while you collect your thoughts and then say what you wanted to say. You’ll generally have their attention and your comment will carry more weight.
DISCARD OUTDATED TIPS
Forget ridiculous notions like, “Imagine the audience in their underwear” or “Look over their heads and not into their eyes so you won’t get nervous.”
Instead, look at an individual in the audience and speak just to that one person for a time. Then look for another friendly face and talk to that person.
Public speaking is sharing with people, not talking at people. Also, you are much more likely to relax if you think of it as only speaking to one person at a time as opposed to speaking to a group of 10, 100 or 1,000.
BREATHE CORRECTLY
A short, choppy breath pattern can add to your nervousness and make your words come out in stutters and spurts.
Practise slow, rhythmic breathing. Take a deep breath with your pauses and speak up with confidence. This will also lower your heart rate and calm your entire being.
SMILE
Unless your subject matter is someone’s death, smile and show you are enjoying the experience. A smile reduces your tension, helps you think by releasing endorphins into the brain and relaxes your audience as well. Even if you are dealing with a serious matter, a smile can really make a difference and lighten the mood.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
This is a simple model that will never let you down. Tell your audience what you are going to tell them; tell them; tell them what you told them.
This simple formula gives you a framework for public speaking and helps people remember your point(s). Telling them the outline or key topics you will cover prepares them mentally to absorb the information and may prevent them from interrupting you.
Then sharing the information in a simple and straightforward manner is easier after you have already laid out your plan of attack.
The review at the end adds emphasis and helps to remind them of your most salient points.
OPEN WITH PIZZAZZ AND CLOSE WITH PUNCH
Make sure you memorise your opening and closing to ensure your success.
Knowing your opening and closing verbatim lets you relax as you know exactly how you will start and gives you the confidence that at least you’ll end it right.
If you can’t memorise the start and end of the talk because it is impromptu, then make sure you capture your audience’s attention with a quip, quote, comment or joke at the beginning. Master speaker Dottie Walters always says: “Open with a laugh and close with a tear.”
An alternative is to finish with a call to action, a quote, a dramatic gesture like having them stand and pledge to do something or even finish with a gimmick.
TALK THE WALK YOU WALK
Talk about what you know. Share your ideas based not only on your opinions, but about what you’ve researched or lived through.
Don’t tell other people’s stories, tell your own. Be the original article when you speak and you will have not only people’s attention, but their respect when you are finished.
Article by Michael A. Podolinsky
Attract the right talent
Attract the right talent
Talent acquisition has become a hot topic for biomedical sciences companies all over the world. With candidates now asking “What’s in it for me?” rather than saying “This is what I have to offer,” biotech companies need to change their approach.
Talent acquisition involves more than simple recruiting. It plays a crucial role within an overall strategic approach to gaining and maintaining a competitive advantage.
In practical terms, it involves planning, sourcing, assessing, hiring and orientation. During a talent crunch, successful hiring within a competitive environment requires companies to look at new strategies to hunt and attract top performers.
Define the talent needed
Hiring managers are often guilty of creating a list of dream requirements, hoping to find a perfect fit for the long-term needs of the company. Failing that, they hope to achieve at least an 80 per cent match with the ideal candidate.
Unfortunately, this method often results in long recruitment cycles, high costs and low placement success, especially for positions facing a critical talent shortage.
This approach is even less successful during cross-country hiring where differences in corporate culture and job responsibilities mean the desired combination of competencies or experience simply may not exist.
Employees are now staying fewer than five years with a company, and increasingly, working for a period of two to three years has become the norm. Therefore, when drafting job descriptions, it is important to separate the essential requirements from the less crucial skills.
This approach allows a company to increase its pool of targeted candidates, especially for critical positions that are hard to place. It also optimises salary cost-efficiencies.
Use a “pull” approach
The interview approach used for headhunted candidates differs from that used for people actively applying for positions. It is important to view talent acquisition as an ongoing process — if you do not hire them today, you may hire them tomorrow.
Hiring managers and HR personnel need to understand the compelling motivations that entice a person to consider new employment, and sell the opportunity and the company.
Keep to standards
A candidate may be shortlisted or excluded depending on who conducts the first interview. Get the same person to conduct all first interviews to ensure consistency and reduce the likelihood of excluding qualified candidates, especially for roles that are difficult to fill.
To avoid conflicting assessments based on different sets of values, multiple interviewers should use a competency chart to objectively assess the candidate on clearly defined and agreed upon criteria. This makes the process transparent and ensures that a record of the process is kept.
Encourage referrals
Employees and industry friends are a goldmine of information about top talent. Organisations should consider offering a range of rewards to employees who can refer talented professionals to the company.
Talk to experts
When looking for talented individuals in high demand, biomedical sciences companies can make use of executive and specialist search firms that have sufficient reach into both local and overseas markets.
These firms know where the right competencies can be found and can target their search more effectively. They also have greater experience in understanding the key influences on a candidate’s decision-making process and can work with hiring companies to create attractive pull factors.
Use effective PR
Various candidate acquisition methods such as on-campus recruitment drives, corporate websites, data mining and job advertisements can generate leads and attract the right candidates.
Effective public relations strategies can generate significant publicity for a company and create high brand awareness and product interest, creating additional pull factors to attract the right candidates.
article by Karen Tok, founder and managing director of ScienTec Search
Talent acquisition has become a hot topic for biomedical sciences companies all over the world. With candidates now asking “What’s in it for me?” rather than saying “This is what I have to offer,” biotech companies need to change their approach.
Talent acquisition involves more than simple recruiting. It plays a crucial role within an overall strategic approach to gaining and maintaining a competitive advantage.
In practical terms, it involves planning, sourcing, assessing, hiring and orientation. During a talent crunch, successful hiring within a competitive environment requires companies to look at new strategies to hunt and attract top performers.
Define the talent needed
Hiring managers are often guilty of creating a list of dream requirements, hoping to find a perfect fit for the long-term needs of the company. Failing that, they hope to achieve at least an 80 per cent match with the ideal candidate.
Unfortunately, this method often results in long recruitment cycles, high costs and low placement success, especially for positions facing a critical talent shortage.
This approach is even less successful during cross-country hiring where differences in corporate culture and job responsibilities mean the desired combination of competencies or experience simply may not exist.
Employees are now staying fewer than five years with a company, and increasingly, working for a period of two to three years has become the norm. Therefore, when drafting job descriptions, it is important to separate the essential requirements from the less crucial skills.
This approach allows a company to increase its pool of targeted candidates, especially for critical positions that are hard to place. It also optimises salary cost-efficiencies.
Use a “pull” approach
The interview approach used for headhunted candidates differs from that used for people actively applying for positions. It is important to view talent acquisition as an ongoing process — if you do not hire them today, you may hire them tomorrow.
Hiring managers and HR personnel need to understand the compelling motivations that entice a person to consider new employment, and sell the opportunity and the company.
Keep to standards
A candidate may be shortlisted or excluded depending on who conducts the first interview. Get the same person to conduct all first interviews to ensure consistency and reduce the likelihood of excluding qualified candidates, especially for roles that are difficult to fill.
To avoid conflicting assessments based on different sets of values, multiple interviewers should use a competency chart to objectively assess the candidate on clearly defined and agreed upon criteria. This makes the process transparent and ensures that a record of the process is kept.
Encourage referrals
Employees and industry friends are a goldmine of information about top talent. Organisations should consider offering a range of rewards to employees who can refer talented professionals to the company.
Talk to experts
When looking for talented individuals in high demand, biomedical sciences companies can make use of executive and specialist search firms that have sufficient reach into both local and overseas markets.
These firms know where the right competencies can be found and can target their search more effectively. They also have greater experience in understanding the key influences on a candidate’s decision-making process and can work with hiring companies to create attractive pull factors.
Use effective PR
Various candidate acquisition methods such as on-campus recruitment drives, corporate websites, data mining and job advertisements can generate leads and attract the right candidates.
Effective public relations strategies can generate significant publicity for a company and create high brand awareness and product interest, creating additional pull factors to attract the right candidates.
article by Karen Tok, founder and managing director of ScienTec Search
Don't tell me what to do
Don't tell me what to do
WHAT is micro-managing and what is not? Micromanaging has become a hot buzzword. I use it, and my clients use it.
The term can be misused. Perhaps it is time to better define the concept.
Micro-managing is usually synonymous with the “old way of doing things”.
“Dinosaur” managers use the micro-management approach. The term essentially means to supervise every small step in the workflow process — hence, “micro”.
Those were the days
This method worked fairly well in the “old” production days, when assembly-line workers were uneducated and unskilled.
These workers normally did one routine step and that was it. They made few or no decisions. They had a minimum production quota.
Their breaks were monitored, their lunches were monitored and, of course, the time clock was monitored. Time was viewed as what was “bought” by the company.
Close supervision or micromanaging ensured that production levels were met. Management literally had to tell employees what to do and watch them to make sure they did it.
This system worked well when the workflow was simple.
Times have changed
As the business world became more complex, micro-managing became less effective. Time was not what the company bought and the worker sold. Productivity became the key.
As processes became more complex, workers were required to gain greater skills. Skilled workers became more in demand and could go elsewhere if not treated properly.
Skilled workers eventually found micro-managers offensive and, more importantly, optional.
After 2000, companies became more results-oriented. In an increasingly competitive business environment, they had to.
As time became even less of a factor in the results equation, motivation and innovation began to be understood as the real forces in productivity results.
Workers became employees and then associates and team members. Employees began to be viewed as assets and not just expenses.
Employers began to understand that employees could provide the greatest competitive advantage as well as the No. 1 management headache. In short, employees could make or break the company.
Don’t be an obstacle
Managers realised that good management meant maximising employee productivity, and this could no longer be accomplished by micro-managing.
Instead, knowing their staff and helping them to do their best was the best way to reach superior production levels.
Instead of being an obstacle, managers began to understand it was their job to remove obstacles, and time constraints were one of the last obstacles to fall.
Today’s managers are aware that they must constantly assess and improve their workplace processes.
They know that accountability is much more than putting in time and punching the clock.
They no longer insist on telling their employees how to do something because, often, the employee knows more about what he is doing than the manager.
Also, managers have learnt that employees not only can solve workplace problems, but they can create and innovate as well.
The employee that creates and innovates does not appreciate being treated like the assemblyline worker of the past. Many skilled employees feel their micromanagers do not appreciate their contributions.
Micro-managing was a process that worked reasonably well when the work was simple and the bottom line was simple.
As work became more complex, micro-managing lost its effectiveness.
In today’s workplace, micromanaging is responsible for many bad bottom lines, poor performances and bankruptcies.
With all the negatives, what’s to like about micro-managing?
WHAT is micro-managing and what is not? Micromanaging has become a hot buzzword. I use it, and my clients use it.
The term can be misused. Perhaps it is time to better define the concept.
Micro-managing is usually synonymous with the “old way of doing things”.
“Dinosaur” managers use the micro-management approach. The term essentially means to supervise every small step in the workflow process — hence, “micro”.
Those were the days
This method worked fairly well in the “old” production days, when assembly-line workers were uneducated and unskilled.
These workers normally did one routine step and that was it. They made few or no decisions. They had a minimum production quota.
Their breaks were monitored, their lunches were monitored and, of course, the time clock was monitored. Time was viewed as what was “bought” by the company.
Close supervision or micromanaging ensured that production levels were met. Management literally had to tell employees what to do and watch them to make sure they did it.
This system worked well when the workflow was simple.
Times have changed
As the business world became more complex, micro-managing became less effective. Time was not what the company bought and the worker sold. Productivity became the key.
As processes became more complex, workers were required to gain greater skills. Skilled workers became more in demand and could go elsewhere if not treated properly.
Skilled workers eventually found micro-managers offensive and, more importantly, optional.
After 2000, companies became more results-oriented. In an increasingly competitive business environment, they had to.
As time became even less of a factor in the results equation, motivation and innovation began to be understood as the real forces in productivity results.
Workers became employees and then associates and team members. Employees began to be viewed as assets and not just expenses.
Employers began to understand that employees could provide the greatest competitive advantage as well as the No. 1 management headache. In short, employees could make or break the company.
Don’t be an obstacle
Managers realised that good management meant maximising employee productivity, and this could no longer be accomplished by micro-managing.
Instead, knowing their staff and helping them to do their best was the best way to reach superior production levels.
Instead of being an obstacle, managers began to understand it was their job to remove obstacles, and time constraints were one of the last obstacles to fall.
Today’s managers are aware that they must constantly assess and improve their workplace processes.
They know that accountability is much more than putting in time and punching the clock.
They no longer insist on telling their employees how to do something because, often, the employee knows more about what he is doing than the manager.
Also, managers have learnt that employees not only can solve workplace problems, but they can create and innovate as well.
The employee that creates and innovates does not appreciate being treated like the assemblyline worker of the past. Many skilled employees feel their micromanagers do not appreciate their contributions.
Micro-managing was a process that worked reasonably well when the work was simple and the bottom line was simple.
As work became more complex, micro-managing lost its effectiveness.
In today’s workplace, micromanaging is responsible for many bad bottom lines, poor performances and bankruptcies.
With all the negatives, what’s to like about micro-managing?
Unleash your team’s creativity
Unleash your team’s creativity
Many leaders want more creativity from their teams but find it hard to nurture it.
Here are a few simple tips that will greatly increase any team’s creativity.
Define the challenge
This is the first crucial step to set the scene for creative solutions.
Due to the pressures of modern-day life, too many problems and challenges remain ill-defined and solutions are brought too quickly to the table. This is expediency, not creativity.
To present a challenge in a creative setting, one must first define as clearly as possible its root cause: Just ask yourself the question “why” at least three times.
This will help to formulate the challenge in a way that directs the solutions to the real problem.
Choose the team
It is an acknowledged fact that the most creative teams are made up of individuals with a diversity of backgrounds and experiences.
If a team is dominated by individuals who are risk-averse, that is, they prefer abiding by the rules and thinking of past solutions rather than new ones, creative thinking is unlikely to see the light.
But if the team is composed of individuals who are willing to experiment and bring new perspectives to the table, more creative alternatives will emerge.
Creativity in action
Numerous books have been written on nurturing creativity, but there are three fundamental techniques:
Brainstorming: This involves the free flow of ideas, from the unrelated to the most speculative. There is no right or wrong at this stage. It is simply compiling an inventory of all the ideas put forward without making a value judgment on any of them.
Thinking outside the box: This is the ability and willingness to make connections between seemingly unrelated issues. For instance, if you give two stones to traditional thinkers, they may arrange them is a certain pattern or construct something with them. The more original thinkers may strike them together, creating a spark and making a fire.
Challenging the obvious: When a proposed solution is rather obvious, it is usually based on tried and tested techniques. The less obvious alternative is to consider the differences and anomalies and what is actually missing and come up with a novel solution. This will lead to a new way of looking at old problems.
Reality check
When the most creative alternatives have been selected, you must make sure that they are also the most appropriate ones in the context in which you are operating.
Do a reality check by applying to each alternative a cause and effect analysis. This will enable the team to determine the possible consequences to the outside world during the implementation phase.
Implementation
The implementation of novel solutions takes courage because there is always a certain degree of risk involved.
More important, however, is the willingness of the team to experiment and learn as a continuous process. This will ensure progress and a competitive advantage over those who have elected for more traditional solutions.
Clearly defining the challenge and allowing the team a free flow of ideas will generate enthusiasm, motivation and the sense of belonging among team members and will boost the organisation’s productivity and image.
Many leaders want more creativity from their teams but find it hard to nurture it.
Here are a few simple tips that will greatly increase any team’s creativity.
Define the challenge
This is the first crucial step to set the scene for creative solutions.
Due to the pressures of modern-day life, too many problems and challenges remain ill-defined and solutions are brought too quickly to the table. This is expediency, not creativity.
To present a challenge in a creative setting, one must first define as clearly as possible its root cause: Just ask yourself the question “why” at least three times.
This will help to formulate the challenge in a way that directs the solutions to the real problem.
Choose the team
It is an acknowledged fact that the most creative teams are made up of individuals with a diversity of backgrounds and experiences.
If a team is dominated by individuals who are risk-averse, that is, they prefer abiding by the rules and thinking of past solutions rather than new ones, creative thinking is unlikely to see the light.
But if the team is composed of individuals who are willing to experiment and bring new perspectives to the table, more creative alternatives will emerge.
Creativity in action
Numerous books have been written on nurturing creativity, but there are three fundamental techniques:
Brainstorming: This involves the free flow of ideas, from the unrelated to the most speculative. There is no right or wrong at this stage. It is simply compiling an inventory of all the ideas put forward without making a value judgment on any of them.
Thinking outside the box: This is the ability and willingness to make connections between seemingly unrelated issues. For instance, if you give two stones to traditional thinkers, they may arrange them is a certain pattern or construct something with them. The more original thinkers may strike them together, creating a spark and making a fire.
Challenging the obvious: When a proposed solution is rather obvious, it is usually based on tried and tested techniques. The less obvious alternative is to consider the differences and anomalies and what is actually missing and come up with a novel solution. This will lead to a new way of looking at old problems.
Reality check
When the most creative alternatives have been selected, you must make sure that they are also the most appropriate ones in the context in which you are operating.
Do a reality check by applying to each alternative a cause and effect analysis. This will enable the team to determine the possible consequences to the outside world during the implementation phase.
Implementation
The implementation of novel solutions takes courage because there is always a certain degree of risk involved.
More important, however, is the willingness of the team to experiment and learn as a continuous process. This will ensure progress and a competitive advantage over those who have elected for more traditional solutions.
Clearly defining the challenge and allowing the team a free flow of ideas will generate enthusiasm, motivation and the sense of belonging among team members and will boost the organisation’s productivity and image.
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