There are many things that need to be kept in mind
when operating a business to ensure that it is running as smoothly as possible.
This is true of the finances of your business, as well as the efficiency with
which your entire business runs. Although there are almost an endless number of
tips which could be given to help you in this regard, here are a few that you
will find can be incorporated into your business and you will see almost
immediate results.
One of the first things that should be considered
is the financial standing of your business. Using a business performance
management software program can assist you in determining the status of your
business effectively. This type of business intelligence performance software
allows you to input data from your business and it gives you reports that can
allow you to identify problems and strengths within your business. Make sure
that you are taking advantage of this type of software regularly and making any
changes that are necessary as soon as they become necessary. The more
frequently you do this, the easier it is going to be for you to make the
changes because they will be caught early.
If you find your business is getting into financial
trouble, there are some things that you can do which will help turn the tables,
so to speak. For example, if you are getting payments from your clients and
some of them tend to pay slowly, you could encourage them to make a faster
payment. In some cases, they are not going to be willing to change at first,
but if you offer them some type of incentive, they may make the changes
quickly. As an example, offering a certain percentage off of the bill can make
a difference in getting those clients to make the payment early. Of course, you
would want to ensure that you have enough overhead to make this a feasible
option before taking advantage of it.
From time to time, it may also be necessary for you
to renegotiate the contracts that you have with your clients. Many businesses
do this on an annual basis, giving themselves a raise regularly to keep up with
the cost of living. If you have allowed many years ago to go by without raising
your rates with your clients, now is the time to make a change. You will find
that it benefits you, and when you do it regularly, it also becomes expected by
your clients. In that way, you will not be worrying as much about their
response.
Putting these few tips into practice can help you
to build your business and to keep it afloat. Make sure that you are regularly
looking into the health of your business and making the changes that are
necessary to keep it healthy. When you do so, you will not only find that your
business is working better for you, you will find that it is growing regularly.
That is something that every business owner strives for.
The author of this article has over 25 years of
experience with utilizing business performance management
and business intelligence performance
tool to help it's operation run smoothly. During his free time he loves giving
out business seminar advising people how to improve their business operation
system.
In the 1980's, a high profile speaker in the mulch-level marketing field, came to Toronto and agreed to meet with a group of
professional speakers who were making more than $100,000 a year. It was a small
group. No doubt they felt self-congratulatory as they waited for him. He
arrived and they talked awhile and then he said "You all seem like smart
people. Why aren't you doing better?"
'Why aren't you doing better'? What a great
question. I ask myself and my clients that continuously. I always have an
answer and it's always flawed. The truth is, there's never a really good
excuse. I love the question. I love the challenge.
For example, I have had this manuscript simmering
away on my computer for more than 20 years. It has gone from handwritten to a
typewriter to more than one computer. Remember floppy discs? It has crashed and
burned more than once and been resurrected. Still it sat on my computer - 180
pages - smouldering away.
One day, I decided I would finish it in 30 days.
So I took my manuscript which seemed like an
overwhelming project, listed everything I had to do to finish it, added a
timeline, divided by thirty and guess what? It amounted to only 15 minutes a
day. I have now finished the manuscript. As the poet T. S. Eliot said 'A poem
is never finished, it's abandoned.'
Of course, it's turned into a different 30 day plan
based on getting it out there, rather than getting it finished. Then I took
that 30 day plan and applied it to my other projects. As a bureau owner and
marketing consultant to speakers, I have about 20 on the go.
What would happen if I applied the 30 day project
rule to them? I tried it. I listed my goals, my long term and short term
objectives, listed everything I needed to do to complete that particular
project, estimated a time for each activity, added up the time and divided by
thirty.
I'm a great ideas person but if I am not careful to
ground the good ideas and let the not-so-good ideas float away, I'll just end
up whistling Dixie to four blank walls.
What are your organizational challenges? Imagine
what you can accomplish by applying a thirty day plan to your projects. I
challenge you to do just that.
Cathleen Fillmore is a speaker’s bureau owner, a
journalist and a marketing consultant to speakers who want to make more money
doing what they love. She is a member of Meeting Professionals International
and author of The Six Figure Speaker. She works with speakers to create a
powerful position in a crowded marketplace and develop a strategy that takes
them to a new level. She runs the bureau, leads an annual seminar and consults
one on one with speakers
We all know that no women would ever wish to become
a single mother and see her child suffer for having a broken family but still
nobody can ever predict what our life would be; only God knows what his plans
for each of us. So if you are one of those single mother out there don't be
sad, Cheer Up, life goes on. Even though your boyfriend or husband left you
intentionally or because of death, don't lose hope because you're not alone.
You are blessed of having a child so there is still a reason for you to
continue with your life and moved-on.
But still, we can't deny the fact that the life of
a single mother is always surrounded with greatest fear, anxiety, worries and
stress on how they to deal to the chapter of their life of having a child
without a father. But worry no more because we can help you take away all your
fear, worries and anxiety and give you advices on how to manage your stress.
If you always feel stressed and don't know how to
manage it, it may bring harm to your health and may lead you for having an
emotional imbalance so we must handle our stress with proper care.
Here are Some Ways in Handling Your Stress
• Always think positive and look for the brighter
side of life.
• Set goals and dreams for you and for your
child/children
• Always spent quality time to bond with your child
every day and always have an open communication.
• After a long and stressful week at the office,
invite your child for an out-of-town trip and do some adventure activities
together.
• Have a healthy and balance diet
• Do the things that would make you happy, inspires
you and can bring back the beautiful smile on your smile and these activities
may include, gardening, singing, writing articles and engaging in different
sport activities.
• Spend time with your friends or office-mates once
in week
• Live your life to the fullest and always take
away all the anger, insecurities and pain in your heart.
So if you often feel stress just follow these simple
ways and I'm pretty sure that from the time you know how to manage your stress,
you will be away from any harmful effects of stress to your body and will give
you a younger and blooming looks again like a teenager.
It's again time to consider some tips for
introducing change within an organization. In the words of John Lilly, 'Our
only security is our ability to change'. Now, who does not want to be secure in
this world? Which organization does not desire security? I don't know of any.
We should therefore embrace change. Quoting John F. Kennedy, 'Change is the law
of life and those who look to the past or present are certain to miss the
future'. If you desire to see the future in your organization then you need
change. However, what are some of the considerations that come into focus when
introducing change?
- The timing of your change agenda is vital. For a start, you should be wise about when to introduce the change agenda you have. If your timing is not appropriate you may miss out on getting the initial support you require. You could make use of organizational planning sessions, workshops etc to table your change agenda. On such occasions you can talk about the potential benefits of change and also the opportunity cost of ignoring change. Do you know that some people only appreciate change when they know the pain of not changing? Have you ever experienced how people react with shock to some realities of avoiding change? With a good start you can go far with your change agenda.
- How about the nature of people you use to anchor and drive your change? Using certain kinds of people will make change appear good and appetizing in your organization. If you get the support of such people you will have limited resistance. Don't you think so? Influential people such as opinion leaders, role models etc. are the best people to get on the side of change first. If you succeed, the rest will most likely flow with them. Do you think your change agenda will find support if you use people who hardly matter in the organization? I very much doubt it. If you don't appreciate this point, try implementing change under the leadership of the most hated manager. I'm sure you won't like the results. Additionally, you also need to choose wisely your change leader. This is the change maker or change catalyst - someone who oversees the change.
- The speed of change in an organization is also worth considering. While many times organizations are advised to change rapidly, there are also some benefits in doing the reverse. Now, wisdom is required in assessing this. Factors such as the nature and size of the organization, the kind of change, the change rationale etc should guide you on the pace of change. Don't you agree with me? Haven't you experienced or been part of the kind of change that leaves people wondering whether they are changing at all? Gradual and incremental change often dislodge resistance because one thing is taken at a time. Before the staffs start organizing resistance, they have already changed or are deep in the middle of change. By the way, this is not trickery - it is wisdom. You can choose what you want but at the end of the day you will be either a successful change manager or not.
Organizations thrive or fail due to various factors
but decision-making is one of the vital ones. Your decision to implement change
should be supported by your decisions on how to go about it. Isn't this
reality? When you make the wrong decisions on how to introduce and implement
change in your organization, you pay a high price. The reverse is true when you
make the right decisions. You should consider the above tips when thinking
about change management in your organization. I do hope you will get some benefits
from utilizing these tips.
Stop Wasting
Your Time!
Does article writing sometimes make you feel like
poor Gertrude? You set a goal. You vowed to write no matter how long it took.
Time passed while a multitude of emotions swept over you; the words just
wouldn’t come!
Avoid meeting the same demise as Gertrude. Be more
productive and get more out of your article writing efforts by considering how
much quality effort you’re putting into your article writing.
Measuring how much time you’re putting into your
articles on a daily and weekly basis will allow you to set reasonable article
writing goals to become more efficient. Find what works for you so it
fits around your lifestyle and your other responsibilities. In
turn, your efficiency will help you become a better Expert Author and help
amplify your platform.
Here‘show:
First, identify your goals. Every task you perform should be related to a goal, whether it’s professional or personal. For instance, writing articles might be related to a goal to become an authority in your niche. Write your goals down.
First, identify your goals. Every task you perform should be related to a goal, whether it’s professional or personal. For instance, writing articles might be related to a goal to become an authority in your niche. Write your goals down.
Next, release the time hounds. Faithfully
track your activities and the time spent on those activities for at least one
week. Use this Article Writing Plan Time Sheet
(downloadable PDF) by writing down keywords for tasks, e.g. Draft, Write,
Proofread, Email, Facebook, etc., and indicate the time you spent on each task
(e.g. 20 minutes). Be as accurate as you can by noting the time spent. Also, if
you’re performing another task and you “quickly” squeeze in another task, like
checking your email, jot a note down on your time sheet.
Finally, stay the course. It will seem like
you’re spending a lot of time just tracking your time. You may become
frustrated as you start seeing how much time you spend on particular tasks,
similar to counting calories and discovering just how many calories are in your
favourite treat. Stay the course.
After at least 7 days of tracking, review the
contents of your time sheet.
- Identify Time Sinks: A
time sink is an activity that takes up huge chunks of your time. Determine
which of these time sinks were reactive (putting out fires) and those that
were proactive (planned). Once you’ve determined your reactive time sinks,
consider how you can adjust your schedule to proactively prevent reactive
tasks.
- Be Distraction Honest:
Outside distractions and even self-induced distractions can break your
productive focus. Identifying these will help you hone in on a pattern you
can plan around (e.g. time sinks, family, etc.) to come up with
distraction-defines strategies.
- Inattentive Tasking: Multitasking can seem like the most productive period of your day, but
it’s a little like driving while texting, talking, monitoring your GPS,
and finding your favorite song – something is going to go wrong because
nothing has your full attention. If you find you have performed a ton of
other little tasks while performing a larger task, try scheduling these
little tasks and be disciplined to limiting your attention during those
times to avoid inattentive tasking on more important tasks.
- Assess Your Goals: How many tasks on your time sheet were goal-oriented tasks? How many were not? If you find your time fleeting before you and you aren’t closer to achieving your goals, it’s time to reassess the situation and strategically plan.
Find the times of your day you are the most productive
for particular tasks and play around with your schedule. What works for one
Expert Author, may not work for you and your lifestyle. Experiment. Find your
prime time for each task by measuring your level of productivity and how much
closer you are to achieving your goals. Then, when you’re ready, try planning
your article writing with this Editorial Calendar system.
Gain confidence in your article writing efforts
with this effective system. What are your time sinks? Do you have a great time
management strategy? Share your suggestions and questions in the comments
section below!
Sales manager skills are a given in any high performing
sales manager. You know the ones we are talking about? Hiring, firing,
performance management, sales coaching, business planning, motivating a sales
team to name just a few. None of these will be delivered though if your sales
managers are unable to do this one key skill. What is it? Communicate.
In this particular article we will cover the
powerful aspect of nonverbal communication which is an important first step to
improving your communication skills.
I know this is logical and yet most sales directors
will gloss over this 'basic' skill. The true power of communication delivered
in a thoughtful way will enable the most amazing results. A dictionary
definition of communication centres around the ability to transmit messages
from one person or place to another. Seems reasonable? For a sales manager they
will also need to ensure that the information they communicate then gets acted
on by whomever they are communicating it to.
One pre supposition about communication is that you
cannot not communicate. Let's explore that a little. We communicate not only
with the words we speak, in fact the most powerful way we communicate with
others is through our body language and voice. Albert Arabians classic
research identified that 93 per cent of the way we communicate is through our
body and voice. With only 7% coming from the actual words and phrases we use.
This seems to be particularly so when people have
positional power. For instance in our case a sales manager and her sales
representative. Ensuring that communication is congruent is key.
Using a practical example of sales coaching. If a
sales manager is giving feedback and advice a softer open body approach and
style will make a big difference to the result's that are achieved. A fixed
body position and voice tone will not be as motivational for the sales
representative on the other end of the communication. This is where the
technique of mirroring body language can work to build rapport and trust in the
communication process.
The good news is that powerful communication skills
can be learn. The first step is awareness about how you are currently
communicating. What is the voice tone you use? How are you standing? How fast
do you talk? How close do you stand to the person that you are communicating
with? What is your eye contact like?
When you ask many sales managers this question some
have awareness and many don't. A great exercise is to observe someone else.
Watch the interaction and how it flows. By doing this you will have insight to
your own and others behavior. If you are really serious about improving the
way you communicate non verbally, watch yourself on video. Many a presentation
skills course has made a significant difference to how people communicate
purely by showing the delegates how they physically and tonally communicate.
Addressing nonverbal communication consistently has
one of the biggest impacts on your power to communicate in a way that is acted
upon.
So what next? Time to take some action. As an
initial first step, if you are brave enough ask your colleagues and even
significant other how they perceive you, through your nonverbal communication.
You might just be surprised.
One of the most important but underrated skills
leaders and managers need to be able to manage performance well is emotional
intelligence. If you are predominately a thinking leader then you may well be sceptically, but please bear with me.
Three categories of performance management
If you are like most organization the hierarchy of
performance management falls into 3 broad categories:
People who:
a) Under perform
b) Perform averagely/competently
c) Perform over and above requirements
A number of organization give more focus to
under-performance and over-performance. Why? Because unchecked
under-performance permeates the rest of the organisation and multiplies as it
impacts on every member of the team. Over-performance cries out to be
recognised. Quite often organization depend on and excel because of star
performers, and with a mixture of gratitude and desire to keep performance at
that level, reward systems are introduced.
The Employment Practices report by Perth shows for
nearly 70% of people surveyed, action for poor performance was taken for less
than 5% of employees. Although I don't particularly subscribe to bell curve
comparisons, some latest models advocate average rates of over-performance
equate to some 16% of total workforce. If you add both together then you are
talking about 21% of your employees. If you do the maths, there is a
possibility that up to 79% of your employees are average or competent
performers.
So yes, the figures are fairly subjective, but my
guess is unless you are a top performer in your industry it's likely that the
majority of your people fall under the "average or competent
performance" criteria.
As a performance manager you have distinct
functions for each category of performer. And you need to performance manage all
of your people, not just extreme performers. You will be more effective in
achieving results if you use emotional intelligence techniques to enhance your
management of each category.
Under-performance and emotional intelligence
Your aim is to either get your employee to perform
to standard or to leave the organisation. Whilst being very clear about your
expectations in performing to standard; in order to avoid conflict and be
effective, you need to be able to display at least two emotional skills:
a) Detachment from the outcome. In order to
give your employee the best chance, you need to distance yourself from
pre-empting the result. If you do this, your employee will be able to
self-select whether they are able to raise their game, or they will voluntarily
leave as they know themselves they are in the wrong job.
b) Put aside your feelings. Quite
often, poor performers cause you headaches and it's common to assume an
attitude about them. Or conversely you worry about the consequences for them
and this inhibits being assertive. It is understandable, because
under-performers increase stress levels, and utilize effort which could be
directed elsewhere. The majority of people who under-perform are just as
horrified about the situation as you. By putting aside your feelings and being
impersonal and practical, you are in a position to listen and make sound
win/win decisions.
Average performance and emotional intelligence
Managing is a stressful business and you have a
multitude of tasks and issues to deal with; many decisions to make, planning to
be done, well you don't need me to tell you how busy it is. The problem is, the
majority of your people who don't cause you problems, and get the work done are
working in their comfort zone and it's hard to find the time to raise the bar
for them. Your main task for this category is to use their talent, time and
goodwill to drive up performance. You can do this in a number of ways, but
setting stretching objectives designed to drive up pockets of performance
across the board is the key. The EI skills needed to do this are:
a) Put aside your limiting beliefs about your
employees. The biggest mistake is holding the belief that people have
reached a limit of capability and capacity. Often leaders make assumptions that
people can't or won't do better. But more often than not, if you genuinely
believe in someone, and give them the right encouragement and support, they
will rise to the challenge.
b) Be patient about results. We are
creatures of habits. When you raise expectations of your people, then it will
take them a little while to change the way they have always done things. If you
are patient and encouraging and restate your belief in their ability to do
better they will eventually get there and your business will benefit from all
of that renewed effort.
Over-performance and emotional intelligence
I don't know about you, but I have often nearly
been on my knees with gratitude when self-starters have driven through tricky
situations, or taken initiative and made my life easier, gotten great results
and done a great job. Given the choice wouldn't we all like to have these
people in our midst? But while you need to hold the vibe of gratitude you need
to remember your function for these people, and in this situation it is
two-fold. You need to reward great performance and you need to help these great
performers get where they need to be. Hopefully that will be in a career in
your company, but if it isn't you still need to help them. In order to achieve
this effectively there are two attitudes you must hold and it takes some
emotional maturity to achieve:
a) Letting go. Your star performers will more
than likely move on. One of the most emotionally intelligent stances you can
achieve is recognizing when someone you manage will likely progress their
career further than yours. Even trickier is realizing that your star performer
will move onto another business. It's easy to fall into the trap of limiting
the help you give, or the development you make available to star performers,
because they may leave taking all your investment with them. But investment is
never lost. They will appreciate and give you accolades for the helping hand
they received and your reputation as an employer of choice will grow.
b) Understand each has their own path and guidance
to follow. I remember losing a star performer and thinking
they were making a big mistake. I also thought they were leaving for the wrong
reasons. I would like to say I put my EI head on and gave them my blessing to
leave, but I didn't. I told them I thought they were making a mistake. Did they
change their mind? No. They left and although a rocky road; they went on to
even bigger and better things and leveraged change they might not have been
able to had they stayed working for my company. Respecting others' own choices
is key to great performance management, and in the long run your company will
benefit, because your employees will know you have their best interests at
heart.
Every day, I receive questions from clients about
their struggles in meditation. Many people wonder what to do if their mind
wanders, uncomfortable feelings come up, their back or neck hurts, or they find
their minds busy with everything other than their meditation cues. What if they
aren't feeling what is described? What if they can't visualize? What if they
just can't seem to relax, no matter how hard they try? I've discovered four
questions you can answer before your meditation practice that will make the
whole process easier, more enjoyable, and successful.
Answer These Four Questions for Success in
Meditation
1. What is your routine-specifically?
I divide this question into two parts:
A) What is the technique you're following?
B) What do you do when you're distracted from your
technique and/or the technique doesn't seem to be working?
First, let's talk about meditation technique. While
all meditation involves some way of guiding your attention, there are many
different meditation styles. It's important to understand the specific cues of
your meditation practice before you begin. In other words, you've got to know
the steps in order.
If you follow a guided meditation audio, this can
help-at least until you've learned the sequence well. For example, you might
first remind yourself of your intention for meditating, then go through posture
cues, then pay attention to your breath or adopt some way of attending to your
inner experience, and then know what to do when you find yourself distracted.
You've decided to practice meditation for a reason.
You're meditating to get some result. It's important to know what you want to
get out of meditation, so you choose a meditation technique that will point you
toward that result. For example, many people practice meditation to relax their
body, calm their emotions, quiet their minds, and connect to inner wisdom.
These are some great reasons to meditate and meditation is one of the best
practices to achieve those results.
Unfortunately, many people do not understand the
process by which meditation gets to those results. This may lead them to think
the practice is harder than it is and/or give up before they've gotten what
they desire. It's important to understand what happens during meditation in
addition to those great feeling benefits you're seeking.
Some experiences you'll have during meditation may
seem to run counter to your expected outcome. For example, when you begin to
meditate, you might become more aware of how busy your mind is, how many
feelings you have, or how tense your body is. When you experience these things,
it would be natural to think, "Hey, this meditation isn't working."
Yet, this is exactly how meditation works. When
those experiences, or any others, come up, the practice of meditation is first
to recognize them and accept them completely. Rather than trying to get rid of
distractions; you notice them, accept them, and even welcome them. The same for
negative emotions, self-judgments, tightness in your lower back, a sound in
your environment, or anything at all. Accept it all as part of the natural
process of meditation.
Just to be real clear on this point, whatever
happens as you meditate, recognize it, accept it, and welcome it into
awareness. You then have a choice to let it go and return to your meditation
cues. This conscious intentional action changes your relationship with whatever
is going on inside or around you. You realize that no matter what happens, you
have a choice in how you relate to it. This is a powerful realization that can
change your life!
So, knowing your meditation cues and what to do
when you've wandered from them will make your meditation practice so much more
relaxed, easy, and successful. You then understand that anything that happens
during meditation is natural and O.K. and you can choose to observe it, let it
go, and return to your meditation cues. As you do that again and again, you'll
experience the positive benefits of your practice.
2. When will you practice? I am a big proponent of
meditating first thing in the morning to shift into a more conscious,
intentional mindset for your day. Another great time to meditate is at night,
right before bed-time, to unwind from the day and more easily shift into sleep.
Meditation can also give you a great break during a stressful day.
For your meditation to be most successful, it is
helpful to have one consistent time that you schedule for meditation every day.
This builds peaceful, present, clear awareness into your life on a daily basis.
Anything you do every 24 hours becomes a consistent part of your baseline
experience in the world. When you repeat something once a day it is much easier
to return to that experience whenever you need to. So, decide when you will
meditate every day and for how long, ahead of time, and adjust your schedule as
you see what works best for you.
3. Where will you meditate? Define a specific spot
for your practice. Make sure your environment is conducive to meditation, so
your practice is more effective and enjoyable. For example, meditate in a
quiet, private place, with good air flow, a comfortable seat, and minimal
distractions. Silence your cell phone and make sure others know that you're
taking some "quiet time," so they won't interrupt you.
4. What resources will you need to be most
successful in your practice? Make sure you have everything you need ahead of
time and in the location where you'll practice. For example, you'll need a
comfortable seat that's the right height. If you're listening to a guided audio,
you'll need a CD or mp3 player. Perhaps you want some inspiring pictures or
quotes to get you in the mood. If you don't have a quiet environment, you might
want some white noise, like a fan, to block out background sound. Make sure you
have your resources gathered in the right location ahead of time.
If you answer all four of these questions and do
what is needed before you sit to practice, your meditation will be so much
easier and more successful.
