Tis' the season for business and corporate gift-giving! If you believe in the law of reciprocity, and if your business is the least bit successful you must; you know that giving back is not only the right thing to do, but it's very smart business as well. Let's look at some of the benefits and mechanics of Christmas and holiday gift-giving. * WHY DO IT AT ALL? Gift giving is an excellent way to not only say thank you for all the business and continued loyalty your clients and customers have sh More..

Never Wrestle with a PIG

The business books at the library and book stores fill many shelves. Some authors tend to run a little long at the keyboard. There is one voice that stands out from the crowd, Mark McCormack. Mark McCormack is the founder of the International Management Group (IMG) and was the guy who became Arnold Palmer's agent in 1959. At the time, although enormously successful and popular, Palmer had only one endorsement deal - with Heinz for $500 a year (and as much ketchup as he wanted). Mark and Arnie' More..

The 3rd Plan Missing from your Business

If you're like most people, you probably started with wonderful ideas of fulfilling your dreams, to be successful and to take charge of your own destiny. I hope you have achieved those or are well on your way. You wouldn't think of starting your business without a business plan and you shouldn't even consider marketing your product or services without a marketing plan. A solid business plan and marketing plan are your roadmaps to help you to know where your going, how to get there and to achie More..

Making Assumptions - A Critical Communication Mistake In Business And In Your Personal Life!

We draw conclusions about people through observation, their behavior, past experiences, other people's comments, etc. We assume who people are, what they think/need/want with such speed we fail to recognize how our own viewpoint colors the way we connect with and relate to people and situations. We even hold assumptions about ourselves! Let's focus for a moment on verbal communication. Making assumptions has become a part of the way we communicate (or don't communicate) with each other. During More..

Keep The Faith - Transform The Fear

FEAR! To what extent does fear rule your life? How is fear controlling or motivating you? Bring up the topic and watch people react. Our lives incorporate so many beliefs about fear- reinforced by what we tell ourselves and what we hear from others. Is it any wonder that finding peace and serenity becomes such a challenge within a strong climate of negativity? Does fear have any positive value? Yes! Alerting us to danger, exercising discernment to insure safety, and weighing the consequences to More..

Keys to Feeling Powerfull In An Uncertain World

Life has always been full of uncertainties. Over the last several years with downsizing, bankruptcies, scandals, crime, the economic environment, and the threat of war, people are feeling power-less, fearful, and stressed about their present and future lives. I know people give their power away, often in ways they don't realize. #1 SECRET to Being "In Power" No matter what life situation you are experiencing; your interpretation (perception/attitudes) towards that situation is the key to shift More..

Top 10 Things Every Business Should Provide for Every Worker - Including the Boss!

Doing business and meeting the needs of workers is increasingly complex. Employees and managers often prefer a cafeteria-list of fringe benefits (a "flexible spending account") so they can choose increased health care, child care or more time off as their individual preferences dictate. But underneath these specifics, there are central needs that most of us want from our work. Money can not buy happiness, and by itself it will rarely purchase a loyal, highly motivated staff (even in a one-person More..

Dealing with Difficult People

You know, this would be a great business if it weren't for having to deal with people all the time? OK, so maybe I've exaggerated things a bit, but we've all certainly heard that saying before. Why does that sentiment ring true for so many folks? Obviously it's because of all the people challenges we're presented with in our business. Virtually every one of my clients over the years has brought up the subject of dealing with difficult people. There's no escaping the fact that they come into eve More..

The Top 10 Requirements for Your Business to Become and Remain Profitable

We live in a relentlessly competitive world. The daily pressure to work "better, cheaper and faster" can make even talented business owners and entrepreneurs lose site of first principles. As you cope with the decisions and details of running your business, focus on the fundamentals! Regardless of the type of business or the products or services you sell, here are my suggestions for the Top 10 Basics that will make your fortune: 1. Customer Benefits. You and your customers must clearly understa More..

25 Super-Practical Steps to Build Your Business!

For the past several weeks, we have focused on some wonderful but (to my way of thinking) rather fancy ideas about life. I wrote about motivation (I don't believe in it). I wrote about sorting out priorities (I do believe in that!). And I wrote about the 4 traits of highly successful people. I love that stuff! But I believe most of you subscribe to TIP's for help in actually running your office from day to day. Most of you have told me you're professionals in private practice, or owners of small More..

Riding the Waves to Success

Last week I was confused and frustrated about a few thingsrelated to one of my businesses, and a bit upset with myselfand "The Universe." As a result, I went into a deepmeditation to get some clarity and help. In response to my questions and requests for help, myDirector/Inner CEO asked to me make a shift in the way I waslooking at my business affairs (although as you'll see, theadvice I got applies to personal life too). He suggestedthat I start looking at the ebb and flow of opportunities inm More..

Enhancing the Motivational Climate of Your Workplace

It has been well documented that employees' productivity and job quality increase when we are made to feel welcome at work. In other words, when the motivational climate is enhanced to meet their needs they produce quality work at the 100% rate. The source that caused them to produce at such high standards came from their employer's attempts at enhancing the motivational climate. As a result, they came to work, not because they had to, but because they wanted to. By listening to your employees More..

Reducing the High Cost of Absenteeism

Employers pay a high price for absenteeism, often more than they may realize, in terms of both financial and production losses and employee morale. Managers may view the tasks of finding a substitute employee as a short-term inconvenience; however, absenteeism frequently has more serious long-term effects. Employers can, nevertheless, ensure that employees report in regularly and remain on the job. Before employers can determine the best way to combat absenteeism, they must identify the organiz More..

New UK Laws on Staff Dispute Resolution and Disciplinary Procedures

October 2004 saw the introduction of the Employment Act 2002, which has brought a new approach to staff dispute resolution. It has long been acknowledged that disputes in the workplace are disruptive, stressful, and costly Ã¢â‚¬â€œ both for employers and employees. Once time and legal expenses are taken into account, the average cost of an employment tribunal for a UK employer is Ã‚Â£2,000. In addition, it is said that 50% of employees who take a case to a tribunal end up in lower paid or lower More..

Hire People For What They Do Best

I recently flew from Seattle to Atlanta, I realized, just as we began our taxi, that it takes hundreds of support personnel to maintain a flight. I saw the woman at the check-in desk, security, pilots, luggage handlers, flight crews, air controllers, and the various staff physically on the tarmac doing whatever people do on an airport tarmac. Just as it takes hundreds of people to make a flight a reality, it takes a small army to run a business. One thing I have learned in my short-life of busi More..

Why We Judge

Judgment is the process of forming an opinion of something by making a comparison. While judgment can play an important role in decisions we must make to live productively, sometimes the thoughts we hold are what prevent us from having what we most desire. Judgments are based on thoughts we hold about people and things. These thoughts are the filters through which we view our world. The limiting beliefs that we hold about ourselves, about what we can or cannot do, are judgments. Judgments can More..

Read more About Knowledge Mapping

Communicating Effectively In The Workplace: Four Vital Steps

Ineffective communication is a major, yet avoidable, obstacle to business productivity. And yes, it can be avoided. Given the will, the bleakest of situations can be turned around for the better. Management must face squarely the challenge of formulating strategies to encourage personnel to communicate effectively. On the other hand, managers themselves have to set the example. They need to realize that successful communication is no one-way process. On the contrary, repricocity is the essen More..

How Invisible Communication Barriers Kill Productivity

Many kinds of interferences or disturbances can confuse a message. Communication specialists call them ''noise.'' A noise is anything that competes against communication. Obviously, if we want our communication to be effective, we have to be continually on our guard to detect such noise, whatever the source. When we find it, we must drown it out. Or better still, eliminate it altogether. Of course, before we can overcome such barriers, from wherever they come, we must be able to recognize them More..

Change Management: Getting Everyone on Board the Change Train

How do you get everyone on board the change train that is gaining speed and heading out of the station? How do you get your people to, not only go through the motions, but also actually "buy into" the changes that are necessary? People's resistance to change is not entirely irrational; it stems from good and understandable concerns. Here are the six most common reasons people resist change and tactics to convert this resistance to commitment. Surprise, Surprise! People are easily shocked by dec More..

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Define the Problem First

Define the Problem First. It seems obvious, but how many times have we gone to a problem-solving meeting and the discussion started with either whose fault was it or an assertion about the proper solution? Explain what the problem is-what went wrong, what are the symptoms, what is the impact on your business and your customer's business. These are the things that someone knows at this point in the problem solving process. If the someone is not you, and you're leading the problem-solving effort, More..

How Managers Can Turn Failures Into Successes

Although there are real, external reasons for managerial difficulty - including massive reorganization after takeovers and the realities of discrimination due to age, sex, and race - managers fail most often for reasons they themselves create. These reasons include ignoring the application of emotional intelligence, failure to recognize individual motivation to be effective, and a failure to adapt to change and rebound from setbacks. With only slight modifications, the context of the following More..

Performance Management - Getting The Most Out of Your Employees

Managing for Best Performance In it's simplest form, performance management is a common sense set of discussions that make sure people are clear about what they need to do, have the support to do it and get open and honest feedback on their performance. Any performance management process should answer 4 important questions for your employees: Direction: What do I need to do and how well? Feedback: How am I doing? Rewards: What happens when I do well? Support/Development: What happens when I n More..

Management & Leadership - Doing it right in the 21st Century

The Old Way - Command and Control Although workplaces and management styles have come a long way in the last decade, the command and control style of management remains common practice in many companies. This management approach basically means that employees are told exactly what to do, when to do it and even how it should be done. The manager is in charge, has all the answers, and fixes all the problems. It's no surprise that plenty of people find this approach demotivating - and that workpl More..

Profits and Business Success - 5 Profit Traps to Watch Out For

The old saying 'You have to spend money to make money' can be a dangerous one. Every business has it's costs, but not every business owner takes the time to distinguish between what is an essential expense, and what is a 'nice to have' expense. And on top of needless expenses, businesses can also lose potential profits through poor management processes and techniques. So let's have a look at 5 of the main culprits which contribute to lost profits and reduced success: Overheads Limit your over More..

Difficult Employees-Poor Performance - 10 Tips for Dealing with it in the Workplace

I personally struggle with the term 'managing people' - because I firmly believe that people cannot be managed - only processes and systems can. How many times have you heard it said - "Why won't my employees just do as they are asked?" Despite all our best efforts at 'managing', we have very little control over other people's actions, including the people that work with or for us. We can inspire, motivate, guide or threaten them, but the choice to act in a certain way is up to the individual. More..

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Use Your Time for Problems that are Truly Important

Use your time for problems that are truly important. Hard as it may be to walk away once you're aware of it, just because a problem is there doesn't mean you have to solve it. Ask yourself and your colleagues, "What will happen if we don't solve this problem?" If the answer is, "not much," then turn your attention to something more important. If you don't know what will happen, find out before you undertake a problem-solving project. It should be clear to you and everyone else involved that the More..

Don?t Get Down - Manage Up!

"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him." - Aldous Huxley Ever have one of those supervisors that just didn't quite get it? Perhaps you even wondered from time to time how in the world this person ever became a manager in the first place? The truth is that most of us, at some point in our career, will experience this firsthand. No doubt, it's a tough situation to be in when you work for someone whose leadership skills are less than desired. So More..

Dont Get Side-Tracked By The Nay-Sayers

You, the Entrepreneur, are 'normally' a type-A individual. One who has little patience with the establishment ~ he or she likes to do it 'his/her way' and that's OK if you know the system and have a plan to achieve your goals. MENTORING TEAM NEEDED -- IF ONLY! Wow! Someone had told me about the pitfalls.... the valleys.... the challenges. All of us have often said the same during the course of building our business?. especially about the PERSONNEL issues. Anyone can be successful. YOU, too! T More..

Faith is the LIFE-blood of Your ACTIONS before the Benefit -

Nothing has changed. Your ancestors lived by faith. Some planted crops and waited for the harvest. Others worked for the "boss" and by faith expected pay for their labor. Every venture, business or otherwise, is an act of faith. You ride in an airplane believing that you will reach your destination without consequence. Lost luggage is a given. IN THE BEGINNING Life is lived "one-step" at a time. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step and then another. Drive to the West Coast from More..

DIVERSITY is a BIG word -- With A HUGE Business IMPACT

Second thought! Just in case. YOU or someone you personally know may fit the following picture of success which may carry too much risk for comfort. You can sit back and simply enjoy the day. Let tomorrow take care of itself. Can't you just hear it? I've got my money "salted" away in a safe place. Getting great returns. No risk! Where? I'm invested in the dot.com firms ofthe future..... remember the bubble that burst? YOUR BUSINESS Obviously, you get the point. There is little need to bashth More..

How to use NLP for Business?

What is Neuro-Linguistic Programming? Neuro-Linguistic programme is nothing but the study of human excellence. It is an art. It teaches you to be at the very best. It can change your life once for all. Neuro refers to your nervous system, the mental bridge of senses through which you feel, taste, hear, see and smell. Linguistic refers to our ability to use language, gestures and habits that reveal your thinking and belief and Programming refers to the way you can program your thoughts and behav More..

Why People Resist Us

There's a one-word reason most ideas never see the light of day: Resistance. Resistance is often behind the glassy-eyed stares you get following a presentation, the sarcastic put-downs you have to put up with when you describe your vision for a new product or service, and other people's abrupt departure from the water cooler when you approach, enthusiastic and ready to share an idea. What people are saying to you, either directly or indirectly is, I've heard your idea and I don't get it, I don More..

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