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Kevin Eikenberry - EzineArticles.com Expert Author
Kevin Eikenberry is a speaker, trainer, consultant, author, and entrepreneur. Kevin is the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that provides a wide range of services, including training delivery and design, facilitation, performance coaching, organizational consulting, and speaking services. Kevin has worked with Fortune 500 companies in the areas of leadership, consulting, customer service, teamwork, creativity and developing potential. His client list includes, the American Red Cross, Chevron ... [More]
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Kevin Eikenberry Email Alerts
- It's Time to Go Back to School
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] In my mind, those three words together conjure a whole swirl of thoughts emotions and memories from shopping for school clothes, to new teachers and friends, to fresh notebooks and more than a little anticipation of what is to come. And while you are likely reading this as an adult and you aren't preparing to put yourself back in a classroom this fall, I`m suggesting you should, though perhaps not in the traditional sense.
- Motivation Or Inspiration - There is a Difference
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Often on airplanes people ask me, in casual conversation, what I do for a living. After explaining it in a few sentences, they often knowingly smile, and say:
- The Most Powerful - And Potentially Dangerous - Question of All
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Why? We hear it all the time (especially from kids) and ask it often (more on that later). "Why?" is a question used in all sorts of situations, and its prevalence should hint to its usefulness.
- What You Can Learn From Christopher Columbus
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Looking for insights into leading your team, organization, association, family or more? This leadership and learning expert offers these five lessons from Christopher Columbus.
- Unlocking the Biggest Communication Challenge
[Business:Workplace-Communication] And you communicate in every role you play - friend, colleague, parent, spouse, coworker, leader, you name it. Since we communicate all the time, you'd think we'd all be pretty good at it, yet sadly that isn't the case.
- 4 Reasons You Need Bigger Goals
[Self-Improvement:Goal-Setting] The fastest way to mediocrity is to consistently set really attainable goals. This leadership and learning expert offers four reasons why setting BIG goals is the way to go.
- 4 Ways Goal Alignment Creates Great Leverage
[Self-Improvement:Goal-Setting] "Working hard" doesn't always create massive success. This leadership and learning expert suggests four ways goal alignment creates the leverage required for higher team performance and massive goal achievement.
- 5 Ways to Share Your Leadership Influence
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] You are influential far more than you may think. As a leader everything you do is noticed, analyzed and dissected for meaning. This leadership and learning expert suggests the five ways your influence is shared with your team and others.
- Programming Your Personal Remote Control
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] You have the power to create the future of your dreams - especially when you program your personal remote to automatically do the things successful people do. This leadership and learning expert offers a quick-start guide to programming your remote.
- Take a Tip From Tiger, Lance and Kobe
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] The greatest achievers - in any profession - have coaches who help them achieve higher levels of success. This leadership and learning expert shares why leaders can benefit from following the lead of all other great achievers.
- 5 Reasons Why Creativity Matters to Leaders
[Self-Improvement:Creativity] This leadership and learning expert says to be a truly effective leader takes a fair amount of creativity. Here are five reasons why creativity matters to all leaders.
- Will You Graduate Or Commence?
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Is there a difference between graduation and commencement? This leadership and learning expert says there absolutely is and offers five choices you can make to change your life for the better, forever, when you make the distinction between the two.
- How to Become Well Connected
[Business:Networking] Make sure you get the most out your next conference and/or off-site meeting by making networking an objective. Learn these 11 ways to get more connected.
- The Best Gifts Ever
[Self-Improvement:Personal-Growth] The five gifts that keep on giving - no matter the occasion. I don't know about you, but I can pretty easily make a top five list of gifts I've received for my birthday or Christmas. Some things stand out for their usefulness, some for the thought that was behind them and some just because they were cool.
- 5 Ways You Serve Others As a Leader
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Serving others is a fundamental role of being a leader. Learn 5 ways you can - and should - be serving those you lead.
- The Unexpected Perils of Balance
[Self-Improvement:Time-Management] A leadership and learning expert says striving for balance may not be the best goal. He shares four reasons why and what you should think about instead (or at least in addition to) creating balance.
- The Best Things to Plant in Your Life
[Self-Improvement:Personal-Growth] All farmers know you can only reap what you sow. A leadership and learning expert offers six things to plant now to make your future even more remarkable.
- How to Lead in Tough Times
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] No matter the news, in times of bust or boon, the only way to thrive is to focus on what you can control. A leadership and learning expert suggests five things you can do to lead more effectively - especially in tough times.
- It is Time For Spring Cleaning!
[Self-Improvement:Personal-Growth] I don't know how spring cleaning became a tradition, and I know that phrase means different things to different people. And while some of that cleaning could take place at any time of the year (and often does), there's just something about the spring to help you think about airing things out and fluffing things up for the coming months of growth. While this makes sense for homes, it makes at least as much sense for lives. Your year is starting to heat up and there are many opportunities, you also may feel like you're coming out of a long winter mentally... so it's time. Here are five things you can do to prepare yourself for better results the rest of the year!
- Speed Kills
[Business:Management] Even in our 24/7 world where speed is king and rapid results are revered, a leadership and learning expert says you need balance and to recognize that speed doesn't always get you to your destination in the fastest way. You've all heard that on the highway speed kills. When you drive too fast you put yourself at greater risks of both being in an accident and suffering grave results if that accident happens. And yet, most people speed.
- The Case For Customer Partnerships
[Business:Customer-Service] A leadership and learning expert encourages you to consider moving your goal far beyond having satisfied Customers to creating partnerships with them. He offers six reasons why the benefits far outweigh the efforts required to create them.
- Why Being a Fool Isn't So Foolish
[Business:Change-Management] Sometimes "playing the fool" can help the people you lead more than you being the ultimate expert. A leadership and learning consultant says downplaying your knowledge can sometimes lead to better results.
- Three Ways You Can Learn From Movies
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Movies-TV] Whether you watch several a week or haven't been to the theater in years, movies are a part of your life. A leadership and learning expert shares three ways you can learn from movies.
- Success in the Stairway - Your Path to the Top
[Self-Improvement:Success] A leadership and learning expert reminds you there is no such thing as a free lunch. Success requires effort - so remember to take the stairs!
- Getting Back to Basics
[Business:Change-Management] A leadership and learning expert says you have to build solid leadership skills on a solid foundation. Your leadership foundation comes down to six words, and only you know what they are.
- The Overlooked Secret of Networking Success
[Business:Networking] The most overlooked opportunity to network is not out in the world, but right inside your organization. A leadership and learning expert offers eight ways to master internal networking.
- You've Gotta Let Somebody Else Drive
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] You can find leadership lessons everywhere you look. To get better at something/anything, you must move it from a current, subconscious habit and make it a conscious act again. Learning is a conscious act - and when it's a new skill you probably aren't very good consciously. As you progress in the skill and things become easier/routine, you seldom get back to a conscious level because your subconscious does all the work.
- Unwrap Your Present!
[Business:Management] Living in the present is a powerful habit for ourselves and a wonderful model for those you lead. You can kick start your leadership efforts and become the leader you were born to be with a free 2-month trial. As I write this about a week before Christmas, this seems like a particularly relevant topic. Many of us are thinking about presents - who we still need to buy for, what to get them, when we will wrap those gifts and when we will get it all done. Some of us, whether the young or the young at heart, are even thinking about that magical moment when we will unwrap the gifts we`ve received.
- Want Feedback?
[Self-Improvement:Personal-Growth] Feedback is a powerful tool for personal development. If you want to be more effective in any part of your life, getting better feedback can help.
- Five Ideas For the New Year
[Self-Improvement:Techniques] The beginning of the year is a typical time to read these types of suggestions. In many ways we ascribe a special significance to the beginning of the year as a time to proactively do things to improve our future. These actions are just as relevant whenever you may be reading (or re-reading) this - at any time of the year.
- Get More Connected and Get Better Results
[Relationships] If you want to make a bigger difference in your world and have more fun doing it, you must build deeper relationships with others. Leadership and learning explains why that's true and how to do it.
- Five Positive Ways to End Your Year
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Sometimes you just need to do something for you. These positive habits are a great start for any future success in your life.
- Are You a Change Champion?
[Business:Change-Management] You have to be more than a manager - and even a leader - to have real lasting, impactful change in your organization and in your life. Think back to a time when you were really excited about something that was changing.
- You Need More Than Goals
[Business:Management] It takes more than goals to achieve greatness in any life endeavor. A colleague recently told me "people aren't interested in goal stuff anymore - because they feel they already know it." I nodded knowingly, but after our conversation I couldn't get my unasked question out of my mind.
- How Productive Are You?
[Business:Productivity] I don't know anyone who doesn't want to be more productive. We buy time management books, go to courses, try new software, read blogs dedicated to productivity and search for the best system to help us get more done in the time we have.
- Lessons on Learning From Trace Atkins
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Learning opportunities present themselves every single day in every situation - from the exceptional to the mundane. Here are three ways to guarantee that you don't miss those opportunities.
- The Dangers of Delegation
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Remarkable leaders cannot do everything themselves and still be remarkable. These are the dangers of delegation and how to overcome those possible setbacks. Being a successful delegator will help you become an even more remarkable leader.
- Making Feedback Easier to Swallow
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] If a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, then what makes the "feedback sandwich" more palatable? Here are three ways to make "The Feedback Sandwich" a little easier to digest - when you're giving feedback and when you're receiving it.
- Incorporate More Learning Into Your Life!
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Take make improvements any area of your life, you must experience learning. Here are five intentional things you can do to incorporate more learning into your work and your life.
- Make a Decision!
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] When's the last time you struggled to make a decision? When's the last time you missed a great opportunity because you just couldn't say yes? Making decisions - in a timely fashion - can make or break you, in business and in life. Here are five barriers to decision making - and more importantly, how to get past the barriers.
- 7 Steps to Mending Broken Working Relationships
[Business:Workplace-Communication] Unless you're a one-man or one-woman operation with no Clients, no colleagues and no Customers - you are going to have plenty of interactions with people. With interactions - electronic or in person - come the chance for misunderstandings and sometimes wounded relationships. Here are seven band-aids for wounded relationships.
- The Biggest Transition of All
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] How would you feel if your new CEO had no experience as the Chief Officer? How would you feel if your new CEO had no experience as the Chief Officer - and - had to replace his or her entire senior leadership team before assuming office - everything from vetting the candidates to offering them jobs. Every 4-8 years Americans find themselves watching as the most visible leadership team in the world transitions from one leadership team to another. Here are suggestions for the new President and how you can learn from this experience.
- What is Your Team Committed To?
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Of the many things that predict if a team will be successful, team commitment is often overlooked. Committed teams often are more productive with less stress than their less committed counterparts.
- Got Boredom?
[Self-Improvement:Techniques] I'm SO bored!" When's the last time you thought that, or suspected someone on your team did? Boredom impacts retention, job satisfaction, work quality and more. Here are five solutions to overcoming boredom on the job (and beyond).
- How Do You Create Wow?
[Self-Improvement:Success] Do you regularly Wow your Clients? Is creating Wow opportunities a part of your organizational culture? How much time do you spend thinking about creating Wow for those around you - professionally or personally? It's time to find the Wow in your organization and in your personal life, and this article will show you how. You'll increase Customer satisfaction - and find new opportunities and rewards in the process.
- Five Reasons We Aren't More Innovative
[Self-Improvement:Innovation] Four fears and one fact about why people aren't more innovative. If you have great ideas that never seem to be implemented, your stumbling block may lie within one of these five ideas. Implementation is the real key to innovation or it's just another good idea.
- Six Steps to Innovative Action
[Self-Improvement:Innovation] Innovation starts with ideas, but doesn't end with them. True innovation requires acting on ideas. The simplest way to act on more ideas is to develop a process for innovation. These six steps will help you create your innovation process and will lead you to greater results - no matter the project, problem or opportunity.
- 7 Ways to Succeed As a Leader in a 24-7 World
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Does your Blackberry need to be surgically removed from your hand? Do you spend more time working at home than hanging out with your family? How often do you send work emails after 10pm? Our 24/7 society does not lend itself to 40-hour work weeks. Technology offers many, many benefits, as long as you don't become a slave to it. More than survive, these 7 ideas will help you thrive as a leader and beyond.
- What We Can Learn From the Biden-Palin Vice Presidential Debate
[News-and-Society:Politics] I watched the Vice Presidential Debate from two perspectives. As a voter I wanted to hear what both had to say. But I also wanted to see what I could glean from it from a leadership development and learning perspective.
- How Do You Celebrate Your Birthday?
[Home-and-Family:Holidays] More than singing, cake and candles, here are 12 very specific - and easy - things you can do to celebrate your birthday. These also can be adapted to celebrate milestones at the office or on the job site. But remember, how you celebrate isn't nearly as important as making a few minutes to actually celebrate. Happy Birthday - whenever it is!
- What Yardstick Do You Choose?
[Business:Customer-Service] I used to frequently facilitate a five day workshop. As a part of the process for this workshop, we had a Thursday night dinner where all of the participants got together and celebrated the week - even though there were a few more hours of workshop remaining.
- Amp Your Attitude Today!
[Self-Improvement:Positive-Attitude] Having a good attitude impacts more than your personal mood. It impacts your office, your team and your organization's bottom line. Plus people with positive attitudes are the ones others want to be around. Here are seven ideas to help you amp your attitude today!
- Celebrate Like You Mean It
[Business:Team-Building] When's the last time you went to a really great celebration at work? Do you honor achievements or people? Does the 'committee' plan the party and the boss 'try' to show up? Celebrations are important, but important celebrations are more impactful and meaningful. Maybe you need to consider why you're celebrating in the first place.
- Make The Jump To Better Decisions
[Business:Management] You make 100's, if not 1000's, of decisions every day - from routine to life changing and every where in between. Most decisions are made relying solely on past experience, intuition and quick judgments - which isn't all bad. However, some decisions, especially those relating to new ideas or new ways of life, are better decided after an intelligent JUMP rather than jumping to conclusions.
- It's More Than Rest And Relaxation
[Self-Improvement:Stress-Management] Bears, tulips and trees know something many people don't: taking a break is a good thing. When is the last time you were truly rejuvenated? If you can't remember - or if you need a vacation after your vacation - you need to consider making time for some real 'R, R and R'. Your boss, your team, your family, your friends and YOU will be glad you did.
- Don't Fence Me In
[Business:Change-Management] Part of a leader's job is to create the boundaries for those being led. Even though boundaries are necessary, if they are set unclearly or incorrectly, they can stifle productivity and creativity rather than create the support and help they were designed to provide. These five suggestions will help you examine your fence posts and encourage you to expand your team's boundaries.
- Improve Your Tomorrows By Asking One Question Today
[Self-Improvement:Techniques] Realizing your potential requires intentional, consistent and continual learning. You have the power to make learning intentional, consistent and continual - for yourself and others - by answering one simple question.
- Maintaining And Building Momentum
[Business:Productivity] Recognizing and using momentum to your advantage is one way to propel successful projects, teams and organizations. Maintaining and building positive momentum is one to insure positive results. This article offers five ideas on doing just that.
- Why I'm Not Participating In The Recession
[Business:Change-Management] No matter what economists and pundits say, when you focus on Customers as much as (or more than) spreadsheets you will bust through any economic downturn with upward financial trends. Building solid Customer relationships - in every economy - is the key to staying in the black and keeping your company on track.
- I Want To Win! - The Power And Pitfalls Of Competition
[Business:Strategic-Planning] What role does competition play in your life and your results? Competition and a competitive spirit can be one of the most powerful productivity levers - or one of the most destructive forces - on the planet. The key to harnessing this power is to understand it and learn how to use it productively.
- It's Not Easy Being Green
[Self-Improvement:Coaching] Experts often are tapped to coach beginners, but often experts struggles to bring those beginners along. Not because they don't know the subject area, but because they can't remember what it's like being a beginner. These tips will help you be a better coach of beginners, and veterans too.
- The ABC's of Coaching Success
[Self-Improvement:Coaching] Coaches can have an enormous impact on their team's success in the boardroom, on the playing field, in a rehearsal hall, anywhere. Building successful coaching relationships comes down to the ABC's: accountability, belief and conversation.
- Six Ways to Read More Effectively
[Reference-and-Education] When you are reading for more than pleasure (meaning something other than a novel or a fun magazine), you likely are interested in putting some of what you are reading to use on the job, with your volunteer organization, in your home, etc. Learning expert, offers these six tips to make your all of your reading more valuable.
- Sail the C's for Successful Collaborations
[Business:Team-Building] If getting more things done with greater success sounds good to you, then strengthening collaboration skills would be a great thing to consider. Using these "seven C's" will help every team - even the best ones - perform better and achieve more results.
- Your Role in Creating Your Work Environment
[Business:Management] "We need to clear the air." "Something about that stinks." "I just need a little fresh air so I can think." Ever heard - or said - one of these lines (or something similar)? Leaders are more than partially responsible for the "air" inside an organization. They create and/or influence the culture in many ways like air fresheners impact the rooms where they are working. Here are some tools you can use to better influence your culture (or the air in your organization).
- Making These Decisions Will Change Your Life
[Business:Change-Management] The ability to choose is one of the greatest gifts humans have. However, the gift is only yours when you choose to consciously use it. You make hundreds, if not thousands, of choices every day - often with no realization that you even made a choice. What to wear; what to eat; where to go; wear a coat; every single thing you do involves making a choice. However, making these choices - every day, more than once - will impact your future in very positive ways, if you choose.
- Eight Uncommon Approaches to Better Presentations
[Business:Presentation] Ever sat through a painful presentation? Ever given a painful presentation? Ever wished you had some ideas about how to make your presentations more effective and way less painful? Your wish is granted with these 8 uncommon suggestions to make even the most common presentation outstanding.
- Leadership Lessons from Presidential Campaigns
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Presidential politics isn't business, but these very public events do offer you opportunities to learn and apply lessons that can benefit you and your organization. Here are four areas you can apply to your business life beyond the sound bites and political posturing.
- Are You a Great Listener?
[Relationships:Communication] There is more to great listening than just knowing how to be a great listener. You already know 'how' to do it. Beyond the skills, great listening is about intention, attention, and effort.
- Training is an Event, Learning is a Process
[Business:Management] There is more to learning than opening a book or attending a conference. There also is no guarantee that real learning will take place, unless you choose to learn.
- What Do You Expect?
[Self-Improvement:Success] The Rolling Stones said "you can't always get what you want"; and they may be right. However, you almost always get what you expect. So, what do you expect?
- The Antidote for Unsuccessful New Year's Resolutions
[Self-Improvement:Goal-Setting] Many people spend some time at the end of the year working on the New Year. These people typically fall into two groups: those who use the end of the year as a way to be introspective and look back on the past year, and those who spend time looking forward; setting goals and planning the coming year.
- Five Keys to Great Questions
[Business:Change-Management] You likely have learned that asking questions is one of the most important things you can do to become a better leader and a better learner. However, there is more to asking the right question that just making the words come out of your mouth. Here are five things you can do to make your questions even more meaningful.
- Exercise Your Learning Muscles
[Business:Change-Management] Your brain isn't a muscle, but the more you use it and challenge it and work it, the more powerful it will become; much like weight training builds your muscles. These three suggestions will help you train your brain.
- What is the Most Important Question You Can Ask?
[Business:Change-Management] So what is the most important question you can ask? Is there just one? Being a good listener and asking better questions are hallmarks of all remarkable leaders, but is there maybe just one 'most' important question that you need to have at your disposal?
- I'm a Salesperson?
[Business:Sales] You may not be selling a particular product or service, but you do have to sell your ideas and solutions every day. Sales professionals are selling ideas and solutions too, and we can learn a few things from the best salespeople - no matter if it says 'sales' in your title or not.
- One Important Choice
[Business:Workplace-Communication] Your life is filled with choices every day - from the simple to the sublime. But this one, fundamental choice impacts every decision, every choice, every opportunity in your life - and you may not even realize it's your choice to make.
- Am I on Track Towards My Goals?
[Business] For climbers, reaching the peak of the tallest, most challenging, mountains usually means taking many, many switchbacks along the way. It's rarely a straight line from the bottom of the mountain to the peak. The same can be said for achieving the most challenging, boundary-stretching goals. The path from setting the goal to achieving the goal typically doesn't move directly from beginning to end. Here are five lessons to learn from the switchbacks.
- The Magic of Memory Lane
[Self-Improvement] As humans we have the amazing opportunity to learn from our experiences. Ultimately, that's how we grow and become better at what we do. When we take the time to connect our past - both recent events and lessons even from childhood - to our current situations and goals, then magic can happen.
- Where Do I Belong?
[Business:Change-Management] As humans, we want - actually we need - to feel a sense of belonging. Belonging provides meaning, context and value in our lives. It also provides a feeling of comfort and security that can't be found in many other ways. Help each person within your organization feel that sense of belonging and you will help more than the bottom line. Here's how.
- A Starter Collection of Questions
[Business] If you haven't started your own collection of questions, now is the time to start. Most people collect things that are meaningful or valuable or pleasing to the collector (baseball cards, cookbooks, art, anything). Questions are no different. Here's a list to get you started.
- 7 Ways to Harness the Power of Questions
[Business:Change-Management] We all ask questions every part of every day from "Did you sleep well?" to "How can we come in under budget?" to "What was the best part of your day?". Simply asking questions isn't enough - you already do that - asking better questions is the key to more success and greater achievements. This article offers 10 ideas separated into three categories designed to help you ask great questions.
- The Power of a Symbol
[Business:Branding] Symbols can be powerful reminders and amazing motivators. And they don't have to be $500 crystal goblets to be most effective (although those are great). The power of symbols lies in what they represent, not the symbol itself.
- Leading the Day After - Leadership Opportunities after the Project is Over
[Business:Networking] You've completed the task - great! Now what? There's still plenty to do once you've finished the job.
- Ten Ways to Nurture Your Network
[Business:Networking] How many active phone numbers are in your personal network? Active numbers being the key words in that question. It takes more than thoughts to keep personal and professional relationships meaningful. Here are 10 things you can do today to nurture your network.
- Seven Steps to Getting Started with Goals Setting
[Business:Networking] If you know setting goals is the key to your success, why don't you set them? Sometimes just getting started is the only hurdle you need to overcome. These seven steps will help you get started with goal setting and get onto some serious goal achieving.
- Getting Greater Creativity by Getting Past the Fear of Failure
[Self-Improvement:Creativity] Creativity often is hindered by the fear of failure. Leaders can help reduce that fear and therefore generate much higher levels of creativity within their teams and organizations. These seven suggestions can help move people from fearful to fearless.
- Feedback Isn't Enough
[Business:Networking] Benchmarking current performance and evaluating past experiences is important. However, there is another piece element to improving performance and productivity - feedforward.
- Three Techniques for Better Feedback and One Big But
[Business] Feedback is a critical piece for performance improvement - in any area. However, many cringe at the thought of giving feedback. These techniques will make the feedback process more successful for the giver and the receiver.
- Simple Stories Sell Ideas
[Business:Networking] Telling a story is a wonderful way to teach, to explain or to sell something. Making your story splendidly simple will make it easy for you to remember - and even more importantly - easy for your listener to relate. Here are five tips to keep it simple.
- Get Your Message Across by Creating Powerful Stories
[Writing-and-Speaking] Since the beginning of time man (and woman) has used stories to communicate. Choosing and creating the right story is critical to effectively communicating your message. If you don't select the right story to present or support your message, it won't matter how effective the telling of that story is. Here are tips on choosing and creating the stories to successfully convey your message.
- What to Do When People Don't Like You
[Business:Networking] Leaders challenge the status quo. Sometimes promoting change can lead to hurt feelings and/or someone on the team "not liking" the boss. This resistance can be overcome, and sometimes even a positive thing, when it is handled appropriately by the leader. Here are five things you can do to when you get the sense that things aren't going well and that people "don't like you."
- Balancing Positive and Negative Feedback
[Business:Networking] There is an art to giving someone balanced feedback. This article discusses the four types of feedback and how to use each type most effectively to help others be more successful.
- Preparing a More Powerful Presentation
[Business:Presentation] Your next presentation can pack a powerful punch if you spend just a few thought-filled minutes answering three relatively simple questions before you sit down to write your speech or create your slides.
- Six Keys to Really Enjoying Your Vacation
[Self-Improvement] When is the last time you were 'really' on vacation? No Blackberry, no cell phone, no faxes at the hotel? You can take a vacation. You need to take a vacation. Your family and friends need you to take a vacation. Actually being on vacation is a choice. And here are some tips to making the choice work for you.
- What Now? The Critical Choices You Face With Every New Idea
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] With every idea comes a critical question- do I take action or do I do nothing? Often doing nothing is the decision but the question has never been deliberately asked. Being deliberate in making this decision will help you be more productive and more fulfilled.
- The Best Way to Deal with Tight Timelines and and Big Challenge
[Self-Improvement:Time-Management] Legendary basketball coach John Wooden said "go fast, but don't hurry." To finish projects and thrive under pressure you need a game plan for finishing fast, but not hurrying. Try these ideas to help make timelines, deadlines and challenges feel much more manageable.
- The Law of Attraction in Action
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] The Law of Attraction states we are continually attracting things into our life that are consistent with the energy we are putting into the world. Understanding this law and applying it correctly can transform your organizational culture and management practices.
- Be Present - Seven Ways to Be More Productive and Enjoy Life More
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] Each and every day is a gift. These seven tips will help you live and work in the moment - no matter the distractions or the stress level.
- GAME Your Way to Greater Productivity
[Business] When employee focus turns to major events outside the workplace (like the NCAA Basketball tournament, a major holiday or the Super Bowl to name a few) try the GAME approach as an antidote to lost productivity. Using the GAME approach in times of distractions can help managers lead more proactively, maintain or grow productivity and increase team morale.
- Be a Better Listener With These Great Questions
[Self-Improvement] Better listening is a skill that will serve you well - professionally and personally. Being a better listener often means asking better questions - and then really hearing the responses. Here are four types of questions to ask when you really want to listen.
- When Mistakes are OK
[Self-Improvement] We all have our own comfort levels when it comes to risk taking and the potential for making mistakes - especially on the job. However, problem solving and challenging status quo may cause a few mistakes along the way. Here are four times when making mistakes should not be cause for concern.
- Seven Ways to Build Trust as a Leader
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] Trust effects every aspect of leadership. Higher levels of trust within your team generally mean changes are adopted more easily, higher levels of productivity and greater team morale. These seven "gets" will help you develop more trusting relationships - on the job and off.
- Communicating Decisions-Seven Things to Share
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] Ever wonder why your team just doesn't seem "to get" what you're saying - especially when it comes to decisions and plans that effect the team's future? Maybe there's a better way to communicate so your team - and others within your organization - will really hear what you're saying.
- Putting Out Fires-Stop-Drop-and Role
[Self-Improvement:Time-Management] Smokey the Bear isn't the only one dealing with fires on a regular basis. Many leaders say fire fighting is high on their list of things to do. Take a tip from fire fighters to more effectively fight fires in your organization.
- The Power of Gratitude
[Self-Improvement] As children we were always told to say "thank you" after someone had done something nice for us. As adults, that gratitude should still be shown and this can make us all healthier, happier, and more productive. Here's how.
- Using Stories to Inform and Influence
[Business:Presentation] We've all loved to hear a good story from the time were little children hearing them at bedtime. If you're having trouble helping your audience understand your message, perhaps giving your message in story form could help.
- Why We Avoid Resistance
[Self-Improvement] Avoiding resistance can be detrimental to change efforts and to organizational growth. Harnessing the energy inherent in resistance can lead to powerful results and more buy-in for new ideas.
- Seven Reasons People Don't Set Goals and How to Overcome Each of Them
[Self-Improvement:Goal-Setting] If you had a dollar for everytime someone mentioned goal setting, would you have a big bank account? If we all know goal setting is important for success and for our piece of mind, why do so many of us fail to ever set any goals? Here are seven reasons why we don't set goals, and seven jump starts to your goal setting efforts.
- Just 30 Minutes a Day- The Value of a Half Hour
[Self-Improvement] Give yourself 30 minutes each day, and you will be amazed at the difference that relatively short amount of time will make in your life. You can change your world - and the world of others - in just 30 minutes a day.
- Seven Ways to Get From Whining to Winning
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] If conversations around the watercooler begin with "If only…" and/or "That department is so…", chances are you may have a few whiners hidden throughout the organization (maybe they're not so hidden). There are ways to turn whiners into winners from the inside out.
- Beyond Either/Or Thinking
[Self-Improvement] We don't always have to choose either option A or option B. What if it makes better sense to do both? Instead of limiting yourself to one 'right' solution, what if you take a minute to examine the viability of both?
- Seven Reasons Why Goals Matter
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] There is sweet satisfaction when a goal is met or exceeded. Many - if not all - have heard about the power of goals and goal setting. For the unconvinced - or those who might need a refresher - here are seven reasons why goal setting really matters.
- The Fallacy of Performance Reviews
[Business] Year-end often means the annual performance review dance is about to begin. Our suggestion - don't do them at all if you're only doing once a year! Performance reviews need to be ongoing to be most effective for you and your employees.
- Time to Celebrate?
[Business:Workplace-Communication] Is your organization a "celebrates everything", a "celebrates nothing" or a "happy medium on the celebrating" kind of place? Celebrations in the workplace can be a very positive piece of your employee relations puzzle, but only if they are done at the right time for the right reason.
- I Just Wish They'd ... Seven Keys to Helping Mediocre Performers
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] When it comes to employees turning "mediocre" into "magnificent" could be as simple as changing your attitude about their capabilities and/or commitment.
- Creating a Powerful Project Vision
[Business] Every project - large or small - needs a vision outlining what success looks like and how the project team will make success a reality. Here are four steps to creating that successful project vision.
- Working With Passion
[Business] Are you having enough fun with your work or your volunteer activities? If not, maybe you need to reevaluate where your passion is. When we are working on things we are passionate about, time and effort seem to fade away and work becomes fun again.
- Overcoming Negativity in the Workplace
[Self-Improvement:Positive-Attitude] Certainly, we all have "those days" when it might seem like the cosmos is conspiring against us, but hopefully negativity is not an everyday feeling for you or your organization. In either case (short-lived or chronic negativity) there are a few relatively simple steps you can take to overcome the negativity and get back to positive productivity.
- How You Impact Your Organization's Culture
[Business:Change-Management] Every organization - big or small - has a unique culture. The culture is defined by every member of the organization - not the executives alone. And every team member has the opportunity - really the responsibility - to challenge the organization's culture if it isn't as successful as it could be.
- Improving Communications with Customers or Clients
[Business:Customer-Service] We all communicate in some fashion every single day with our Clients or Customers - and we all have Customers (look across the dinner table tonight if you don't believe me). If the old adage "practice makes perfect" is true, you'd think we all would be outstanding communicators. Fortunately, there is hope for all of us.
- Why Learning is a Leader's Most Important Skill
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] When considering skills that describe effective leaders does learning make the top of your list? There are at least four reasons why committing to life-long learning is a critical underlying choice for all leaders to make.
- The Pause That Refreshes - Five Times When a Pause Can Improve your Results
[Self-Improvement] When's the last time you purposely paused? It could be as simple as a little silent time during a presentation to help emphasize your point, or as planned a 'real' vacation day. Here are five tips for adding a purposeful pause to your life.
- Dealing with Disappointment
[Self-Improvement] A big event, a jumpstart and an antique tractor - combine these three seemingly unrelated items for an interesting life lesson - for work and for home. Even if you have no interest in tractors - or big events - there's a lesson here for you.
- Your Thirty Golden Minutes
[Self-Improvement] We all can be more healthy, wealthy and wise in just 30 minutes a day. It's not too good to be true, but it will take a little work. But then creating new habits always does.
- Shhh...How About a Little Quiet Time?
[Self-Improvement] When things were getting a little harried, Mom said it best . . . "I think we need a little quiet time." Mom's advice is true for leaders (and all professionals) too - now more than ever.
- Seven Lessons to Learn from Great Salespeople
[Business:Sales] No matter your job title or position, everyone (and we do mean everyone) is in sales. You may not be selling cars or widgets or clothing, but we all rely on the - sometimes not so subtle - art of persuasion on a regular basis. If you want to have more success in selling your ideas or more people adopting your recommendations (and who doesn't) great salespeople can be great mentors.
- How Leaders Can Achieve More by Doing Less
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Who wouldn't want to achieve more by doing less? By doing less of just one thing - you have the potential to increase collaboration, the creative spirit and trust. But make no mistake, it's not an easy fix. This is one tough thing for many of us to do less.
- Finding Mentors in Your Memory
[Self-Improvement] Traditional mentoring strategies may be limiting in some cases. Contrary to popular belief and practice, we don't have to meet or have a conversation with our mentor in order to benefit from their guidance. In fact, our mentors don't even have to be alive. Some simple questions can help us "mentor ourselves."
- Turning Your Ideas into Action
[Self-Improvement:Motivation] If they are not implemented, ideas are just words on paper - or thoughts drifting through our minds. It takes action to turn creative thoughts into real solutions. The 'six gets' can help you implement the ideas you have created or the tasks that have been delegated to you.
- A New Way to Look at Your Career
[Business:Careers-Employment] The demands of today’s fast-paced business-world can get overwhelming. It might be time to step back and take a minute to consider your career, your productivity, your success and your satisfaction in a new – but decidedly old – way. I encourage you to think of yourself as a craftsman – and find new satisfaction – and opportunities – in your work.
- After the Uncomfortable Pause - Seven Questions to Immediately Spur Greater Creativity
[Self-Improvement:Creativity] Don't let the creative thinking end after the initial, 'top of mind' ideas have been thrown out there. There are more good ideas to be had – that might be better solutions to the problem – we just need to delve a little deeper.
- You are Too Busy to Move That Fast -- Why Going Slower May Get You Far Greater Results
[Self-Improvement] We are all busy and everything may be telling us to move faster and get on with out tasks at hand. But it is important to remind ourselves (and others) the benefit of slowing down.
- Consensus - What It Is And When To Achieve It
[Business] When the stakes of a decision are high, or a high level of commitmentis needed from every involved person, then the time required to reach a concensus is a worthwhile investment.
- Seven Ways to Improve the Results of Your Leadership Development Efforts
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] This article outlines seven specific things you can do to improve your leadership development efforts. Implementing any one of these suggestions will prove a valuable supplement to what you are already doing. Implementing most or all of them will yield or more confident, competent and prepared leaders than your existing development efforts by themselves ever will.
- Why Most Leadership Development Efforts Fail
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Organizations invest large amounts of time – and even more money trying to develop their leaders. Unfortunately much of that investment doesn’t get the return it should. This article tells you why.
- The Most Misused Tool in Meetings
[Business:Team-Building] This article will describe the most effective uses of the issue bin or parking lot – a tool often used incorrectly and counterproductively.
- A Creative Journey – Using a Magazine to Heighten Creativity and Learning
[Self-Improvement:Creativity] Go to your local newsstand and pick up magazines you wouldn’t ever read and read them for ideas, connections and trends. This is an often repeated example of using outside stimulus as a way to jumpstart our creativity. This article is an example of someone following this process to heighten creativity.
- Creating Your Own Spring Break Without Traveling Anywhere
[Self-Improvement] This article will give you specific ideas on how to take a vacation – in the spring or any other time of the year – without booking any travel at all.
- Make a Connection – Seven Secrets to Great Handshakes
[Business:Networking] This article reminds us of the importance of a great handshake and provides specific ideas to make your handshakes great.
- Write to Remember – Seven Keys to Better Note Taking
[Self-Improvement] It’s a line most of us don’t cross – we either are note takers or we aren’t. While this article may not make the die-hard non-note takers convert, it will give them some tools to try. And even the most avid note takers will get some new ideas to add to their approach.
- To Team or Not to Team?
[Business:Team-Building] This article helps you think about the question – to team or not to team... and provides you with some illuminating, and perhaps surprising answers.
- Creating Greater Success Through Reflection
[Self-Improvement] If I could give you a tool or resource that would change your life in positive ways, change your results, create more happiness in your life and help you get better at anything you desired . . . And if I could promise you that this tool would cost you nothing, require only yourself and could be used at any time . . .
Would you be interested?
- The Three Sources of Coaching and Feedback
[Self-Improvement:Coaching] All of us want to improve at something at some time in our life. And all of us find ourselves in the position to help others improve. One of the tools that aids in this improvement is coaching.
- Seven Ways to Enhance Organizational Culture
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] For a whole variety of reasons, organizational culture is important to the health or viability of any organization. This article will give you some specific things you can do to act on the importance of your organizational culture.
- Seven Reasons Organizational Culture Matters
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] Many of us spend more time with those we work with than we do our families. For us to be content and fulfilled people, that time must be valuable for more than a dollar. . .
- Five Questions to Ask Before Forming a Team
[Business:Team-Building] A project or challenge comes up and many people, without thinking, immediately form a team to research, solve the problem and implement the solution. Teams can be a very powerful way to solve problems and implement massive improvements. But teams aren’t the right answer to every situation.
- Creating Successful Team Charters
[Business:Team-Building] Do you have a team that is frustrated, not making progress, or unclear about expectations? There is one single thing that can alleviate or eliminate these challenges and get the team off to a solid start…a team charter.
- Top 7 Reasons Why Team Charters Improve Team Success
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] The team charter is a document that serves as both guidance and a roadmap for any team’s success. When used most effectively, this tool clarifies the purpose for the team's existence and documents the agreements amongst the team members.
- Developing the "Both and" Mindset
[Self-Improvement:Success] Typically people have an "either or" mindset which inevitably leads to suboptimal solutions, and under satisfying compromises. By switching to the "both and" mindset you can become more successful and paradoxically create greater clarity and balance in your life.
- Creating a New Standard of Excellence – Six Things You Can Do
[Business:Customer-Service] When you are good, people will notice. When you are excellent, they will rave. Below are six steps that you can take to continue to raise your own standards of excellence. These steps will make it easier than ever to stand out, be noticed, and have greater levels of success and satisfaction.
- It Takes More than Effort to Get Results
[Self-Improvement:Success] The truth is, what we really need to do is work smarter not harder. There are many things we can do to work harder, including building our skills, our capacities, our network, and our experience.
- Fun and Learning - A Deeper Connection
[Self-Improvement] Training techniques and ideas all focus on the learning process. And while the process is important; when we focus too closely on a process we can lose sight of the result of real learning.
- Personal and Professional Development - What's the Difference?
[Self-Improvement:Personal-Growth] The bottom line is that we are complete humans, and as such we take our entire work knowledge home, and bring all of our personal knowledge and experience to work. So any form of growth or development will benefit you both personally and professionally.
- Five Reasons to Make Meetings More Fun
[Business:Management] The average person spends more time in meetings than they'd like to. The average manager spends the majority of their workday in meetings. Given these facts, shouldn't meetings be more fun?
- It's Your Move: The First Step to Accountability
[Business:Management] A lack of accountability is frustrating. Tremendous productivity and efficiencies can be gained when more people are accountable for completing their tasks, commitments and expectations.
- Have Yourself an Awful Little Christmas
[Home-and-Family:Holidays] Having a strong vocabulary is valuable, and improving our vocabulary is a worthy self-improvement goal. And thinking about our vocabulary around the holiday season can actually improve our Christmas spirit.
- The Power of the Pen
[Business:Workplace-Communication] Every leader, supervisor, coach, team member and parent has been told of the value of giving positive feedback. If you want to give positive feedback, consider doing more than telling people how you feel, start writing it down.
- Nine Ways to Get Your Productivity Up!
[Self-Improvement:Motivation] Regardless of the reasons for your lack of energy or passion, there are specific, predictable ways to get past the funk. When you apply these suggestions you will lift both your spirits and your productivity, and begin to give you your rhythm back.
- Seven Ways to Make Your Customers Feel Important
[Business:Customer-Service] If we put all of our focus on processes, systems, strategies and procedures we may lose track of something very important. Customers are people first.
- I Wonder Where the Wonder Went
[Self-Improvement:Inspirational] Seeing the wonder in things around us is one of the ways we make our lives more meaningful and enjoyable. The key is to add more wonder to life by re-capturing past wonder, and finding new wonder in the things we do each day.
- The Words Do Matter
[Self-Improvement:Motivation] Words can make a big difference in the lives of others and in our lives as well. It is important to remember the words we choose do matter.
- Getting Past Major Learning Barriers
[Business:Careers-Employment] There are some common barriers that get in our way of being the most productive learners in training: we are forced to be there, we don’t see the learning as relevant or valuable, and we feel like we already know the material. While these barriers are real, there are things we can do to jump over or break through these barriers – to make the time invested in these situations more valuable and useful to us.
- Eight Ways to Generate More Ideas in Groups
[Business:Team-Building] We know that if we generate more ideas we have a better chance of finding better ideas. Your goals should be to have a variety of approaches to help stimulate idea creation in your repertoire. By doing this you will improve the overall quality of ideas by virtue of having more to choose from.
- Five Reasons to Bring Your Heart to Work
[Self-Improvement] What do you bring to work everyday with you? If you don’t bring your heart, you are missing tremendous opportunities. Here are five reasons why you should bring your whole self, heart included, to work each day.
- Four Reasons to Set Group Goals Collaboratively
[Business:Team-Building] We need set goals for our groups/teams or the larger organization. While we may instinctively know that we should include people in the creation of goals they will be working to achieve, too often the press of time and the lure of expediency leaves leaders setting the goals, and simply sharing them with those charged with achieving them.
- Happy Halloween
[Home-and-Family:Holidays] Halloween has never been my favorite holiday. But little did I know that beyond the witches and goblins, there was a lesson for me to smile and move on.
- The One Thing That Matters
[Self-Improvement:Success] If you are reading this article, however you found it; I know something about you. You have a desire, perhaps even a burning one, to assimilate new information in hopes that the new information will improve your results.
- Lead By The Right Example
[Business:Management] We’ve all heard that leaders should lead by example; that people pay more attention to our deeds than our words. What is implied by this truth, but not always articulated, is that people will follow whatever example we set.
- Going Beyond Goal Setting
[Business:Strategic-Planning] People don’t set goals now because they didn’t achieve the ones they set in the past. Stop making the goal setting process the focus, and start putting the focus on goal achievement.
- Four Questions About Leadership
[Business:Management] I hear four questions asked about leadership often. This article gives a short answer to each of these important questions.
- Praise Matters
[Business:Management] As a coach, someone helping people improve their performance for the benefit of both the individual and the organization, there are typically two types of feedback that you could provide on their performance at anytime. The most important and most overlooked is positive feedback which I call praise.
- How and Why to Start a Business Book Club
[Writing-and-Speaking:Book-Marketing] I suggest and encourage business book clubs. Maybe you would like to start one within your organization or maybe you would prefer to build one among colleagues from outside of work. Either way this article will outline the keys to help you build a successful single event or long-term club.
- Being a Continuous Learner
[Self-Improvement] Continuous learning is an attitude and a set of behaviors that allow us to succeed in our ever-changing environment, and is the best lever we have to turn who we are today into who we want to be tomorrow.
- Nine Reasons Why Mentoring Matters to You
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] In this article I’m going to show you why, despite the competition for our time and energy, being a mentor is one of the best things you can do.
- After Hurricane Katrina - Seven Things You Can Do
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] The list that follows after the destruction of Hurricane Katrina is not meant to stimulate your thinking. It is meant to stimulate action. All of us can do all of these things. And in doing them we will not only be helping others, we will be helping ourselves deal with and grow from these events as well.
- Five 'Mores' to Enhance Your Performance
[Self-Improvement:Motivation] When you think about the most successful, happy, fulfilled people you know, you could probably identify some characteristics these people have in common. Several years ago, when thinking about that question, I identified several things that those people shared that I wanted to incorporate into my habits more consistently. Below are five actions that when these actions are taken more often, they will become habits that will greatly impact our performance – in all parts of our life.
- Seven Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Vacations
[Travel-and-Leisure:Vacation-Rentals] Vacations are important to our mental, physical and emotional health. They provide us a chance to relax, change our perspective and reconnect with parts of ourselves that we might misplace during the daily routine. This article is meant to help you enjoy and benefit more from the vacation, regardless of where you go, or what you do.
- Accountability Equals Meeting Success
[Business:Management] Teams face this situation all the time. Who is accountable for actions once the meeting has ended? Below are four simple steps to solve the accountability problem in your meetings.
- Problem Solving the Problem Solving Meeting
[Business:Management] The most common and best reason for a meeting though is to solve a problem. A meeting is a great place to do this – you get a variety of people with a variety of experiences, knowledge and perspectives together to ensure that the best possible solution is identified and that all of the important considerations have been taken into account. The problem is that while the venue and the people might be correct, often the process is flawed. It is flawed because one question hasn’t clearly been asked and answered.
- The Golden Key to Meeting Success
[Business:Management] We all attend many meetings. The fact is that most meetings are too long, unfocused, too frustrating, and unproductive and yet meetings are a valuable way to gain collective understanding, buy-in, agreement, and consensus. Since meetings are necessary and can lead to important results, we need to figure out how to make more of them successful.
- Leadership and The Dirty Work
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] As a leader doing the dirty work or grunt work will build commitment. It will help show your organization that all work is important. It will make you a better leader.
- Being Other Focused
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] The best question we can ask as leaders is what can I do today to be more focused on others. When we focus on others, our leadership helps other succeed.
- A Model of Happiness
[Self-Improvement:Happiness] Happiness is within your control. There are several things we can do to intentionally improve our happiness.
- Dream Bigger!
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] When we dream bigger as leaders we create a powerfully motivating energy that can lead an organization, a department or a team forward with amazing speed. We create new more powerful expectations for those around us and ourselves.
- Got A Meeting Planned? Ask This Question
[Business:Management] Meetings – they are a fact of our business lives. And while the number of meetings and the amount of time you spend in them may vary based on your job title, it is hard to argue that they are a significant part of business life today. Answering this question carefully is the fastest way to improve our meetings.
- Creative Emulation
[Business:Marketing] In business we have a number of ways or tools that we use to stimulate improvement such as brainstorming, benchmarking and problem solving. While these can all lead to improvement, they can be too introspective. There is an easier alternative to create breakthrough improvement.
- You Can't Not Communicate
[Business:Management] Most of us would like to be better communicators. As leaders, co-workers, team members and in all of the other roles we play both professionally and personally, we know that communication is a major key to success. That is why you can’t not communicate.
- Increasing the Return on Your Training Investment
[Business:Management] Picking training for your team or organization doesn’t always mean people will apply what they learn. It takes more than good training to ensure a good return on the money (and time) invest in training. As a leader, it is our responsibility to find ways to increase the return on our training investment.
- Unveiling the Value of Your Expertise
[Business:Management] All of us have knowledge, expertise, and experience that others can benefit from. We all can contribute to other’s success with our expertise. Below are ways to improve our ability to succeed in having our expertise used successfully by others.
- Seven Ways to Get the Most Out of the Next Training You Attend
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] Sometime soon you will be attending training that you are paying for or it may be something your organization is investing in. Many people approach training as an adult much like they approached classes when they were in school – and those strategies aren’t always the best ones to maximize the value from a learning experience. Regardless of the length, situation or topic, there are some very specific things that you can do to convert the experience into useful learning you can apply in your work and life.
- Why You Should Hold One More Meeting
[Business:Management] One more meeting can help your business grow and change. One more meeting can give you new opportunities to explore and improve your results. Not just any meeting, more specifically, an idea meeting.
- Five Ways to Be More Encouraging
[Self-Improvement:Positive-Attitude] We all need encouragement. Even the most callous, hard headed self made person needs encouragement to stay on track and move forward. Encouragement will have a positive impact on our results and satisfaction in a variety of roles we play in life – from leader to co-worker to team member to parent to family member.
- Credibility - A Golden Key to Becoming More Influential
[Business:Management] Regardless of our role, rank or seniority; no matter what our job, we can all benefit from being more influential. After all we are all trying to influence others all day long. And one key to achieving that greater influence is credibility.
- Nine Ways to Contribute to Project Team Success
[Business:Team-Building] The world of work has changed. It used to be that most of us worked as a part of a process, whether on an assembly line, managing interactions with Customers, or any one of a thousand other processes. Processes are ongoing, repeatable and never have an ending. If the nature of our work has changed, it is important to think about some of the skills that will help us succeed in this different world.
- Aligning Teams with Organizational Goals
[Business:Team-Building] Teams can’t succeed in a vacuum, but far too often that is what organizations expect them to do. It takes effort to get a team in alignment with the organization’s goals and strategies. And it is impossible when those goals and strategies don’t exist. Read below to discover ways to build stronger alignment between the team’s work and the organization’s goals.
- Re-Energize Your Brain
[Self-Improvement:Creativity] We get in ruts, we build routines and we develop habits, and in doing so we often don’t use our brain the way we could. Below are eight ways you can re-energize, re-invigorate and do some ongoing maintenance for your brain.
- 7 Key Items To Include In Your Email Signature File
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Email-Marketing] One of the most important and often overlooked methods of promoting your on line business or service is your email signature file (sometimes called a "sig"). There are two types of signatur...
- Blogs and Networking
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Blogging] The new “must have” in terms of a website is a blog. While blogs can come in all shapes and sizes, a blog is just a very simple way to publish a journal, record of events, thoughts, ideas or whatever the author wants to write about. A blog can also be a powerful communication tool to use for networking.
- Five Ways to Turn Resistance into Opportunity
[Business:Management] Resistance. It isn’t something people cherish or enjoy encountering. We experience resistance everywhere at work. I’ve had leaders and supervisors tell me that resistance is the number one problem they face but I don’t agree.
- Manage or Lead - Why the Difference Matters and What to Do About That Difference
[Business:Management] Many books have been written about managing people, and an equally large number have been written about leadership. Some use the words manage and lead interchangeably, and some talk about the differences between the words, building a distinction based on style or behaviors. With all due respect for these books, let me make it simple - Manage things and lead people.
- Five Reasons Why Leaders Fail to Create Successful Change
[Business:Management] Let me be clear. There are far more pitfalls than these and far more possible reasons change doesn’t have the desired effect. The key in this title isn’t “Five Reasons,” it is “Leaders Fail.” Yes, there are many variables that can influence the success of change – but some of them must be owned by those leading the change.
- Get Over Yourself
[Business:Management] Let me tell you a secret. Things don’t always go the way we want them to. Let me tell you another secret. We don’t always hear what we want to hear. These two statements are hardly secrets; we all know they are true. If they aren’t secrets, then why do we act surprised when it happens?
- Seven Ways to Improve Your Results with Follow-up
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] One of the most important and yet overlooked skills in business today is follow-up. This applies to many parts of our business: Customer service and care, marketing, leadership, networking, branding, and more. It is a habit and a discipline that, when used effectively and regularly, will change your results and your life.
- Putting Your Ideas Into Action
[Self-Improvement:Innovation] Ideas are everywhere. Each idea that we encounter, whether we create the idea, synthesize it from somewhere else, or hear it, is a possible opportunity. Just a possible opportunity. It doesn’t matter how promising, exciting or applicable the idea is, or how big of an opportunity it might be, it is just a possible opportunity, unless you take action on it.
- Become an Idea Collector
[Self-Improvement:Innovation] Ideas are the lifeblood of improvement in any area of our life. But we can’t always implement the ideas we get the minute we get them – and sometimes these strokes of genius get misplaced or lost in our minds. Here are ways to become an idea collector starting today.
- Setting Clearer Performance Expectations
[Business:Management] The annual performance review. The concept behind the performance review or evaluation is a good one. Unfortunately these meetings are ineffective at best and counter-productive at worst. It is our responsibility as supervisors and managers to set clear performance expectations.
- Listening When You Don't Want To
[Business] We all know listening is an important skill. In certain situations like a second date, when comforting someone who is hurting, and when helping someone we care about we are really good listeners. But what about the times when we don’t want to listen…
- Look Back, Look Forward and Learn
[Business] Our calendars are full, and our to-do lists are long. Today we argue our time is limited and too valuable to stop and just think. Even so, there are a variety of times in our professional and personal lives when we will especially benefit from looking at the past to help us prepare to be more successful in the future.
- Five Ways to Turn Small Projects into Professional Success
[Business] Yes, there have always been projects. But never before has it been so important for every person to be able to lead, manage or participate in projects of all sizes. Here are five things you can do today to excel with small team or personal projects.
- Solving the Problem Solving Problem
[Business:Management] Too frequently, organizations and people want to rush to a solution and in doing so waste time, resources and the equity in their relationships by battling over solutions to different problems. “A problem half stated is a problem half solved.”
- Top 10 Ways to Use Quotations to Be Healthier, Happier and More Productive!
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] Most people have at least one favorite quotation from a famous or not-so-famous person. Learn how to use your favorite quotations to improve your life and your results.
- Something to Chew On
[Business] We can value, learn from and use processes of the past; and still look forward to, try, and create innovative processes in the future. These two things don’t have to be contradictory.
- Goal Believing is the First Step to Goal Achieving
[Self-Improvement:Goal-Setting] Setting goals is an important. We can’t reach goals if we don’t set them. But is goal setting really the objective? No. What we really want is goal achievement.
- The Power of Reflection
[Business] As professional and individuals who want to make a difference, reach our goals, achieve more, to in fact, unleash our potential, we need to be continuous learners. And to be the most effective continuous learners, we must learn to harness the power of reflection.
- Get Focused, Get Results
[Business] We all know how important focus is, focus of all kinds. Realizing how important isn’t enough – we have to master the art of focusing. This article will target three specific areas with specifics suggestions for practicing improved focus: planning, questioning and removing.
- Go Slow to Go Fast
[Business] I've been telling people this for several years. Why is it that we often focus on the task – solving a problem – much more that on the process?
- Expect to Get! A Fail Safe Formula
[Business] People ask me about unleashing their potential – how to do it, what steps to take and more. Because of this recurring and important question I have worked to distill part of the answer into a formula. This formula will help us because if we can identify the inputs and use the formula correctly, we can improve our performance, and provide greater service to others, as we reach towards our potential.
- The Gift of Gratitude
[Business:Management] Gratitude might seem like a soft or even an obvious subject to you. Perhaps you would rather read about a leadership lesson or a marketing approach or even a motivational technique. If that is what you are thinking, I urge you to read on. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
- Beyond Time Management - Seven Ways to Leverage Your Time for Greater Results
[Self-Improvement:Time-Management] Most of us have a to-do list. While a to-do list is a valuable tool to help us stay on track for the urgent tasks of the day that isn’t the focus of this article. It is about taking the limited time resources we have and determining how to leverage that time for greater results in our lives. When we use a lever we use specific, correct actions to create great results.
- Are You Playing or Practicing Leadership?
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] When we are diligent in practicing anything we are consciously practicing our skills. We are trying things again and again to get better. We are focused on fundamentals. Something happens to many of us though when we begin to get comfortable with our new skills – whether they are leadership skills or sewing skills or tennis skills. We stop practicing and start playing…
- Five Ways to Influence Change in Others
[Business:Management] If you want more effective teams, better Customer Service, higher creativity, more effective training, or more effective leadership in your organization, something has to become different than it is currently. Change must occur. The scope of the change doesn’t matter. All we need is to support and champion changes…
- Top Seven Questions for Starting Projects More Effectively
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] We all are project managers. Some of us manage projects like vacations or reunions, while others run implementations of new software systems, consolidation divisions of companies, launch new products, or build buildings. While the scale changes for different kinds of projects, and complexity changes as more people are affected and involved; at the core there are questions you can answer to help get any project off to a better start.
- ESCAPE the Pitfalls and Keep Your Organization Productive During the Holiday Season
[Business] It’s that time of year again. Shopping, parties and long lines everywhere. More vacations, more family commitments, and more stress. The holidays are a wonderful time of the year, and we will enjoy them more as leaders when we learn how to help our organization revel both in the season and their results. Following are some suggestions to keep the focus and results high as the bells ring louder and the shopping days disappear.
- We Are All Consultants
[Business:Consulting] Once you understand you are a consultant (inside or outside the organization) you can be more successful by understanding how the consulting process works, and what role you can play within it. Learn to have greater influence, be more persuasive and hone your consulting role!
- What's in a Name
[Business:Customer-Service] Different people call their Customers by different names. If they don’t have Customers, they have Clients, purchasers, licensees, users, patients, members, franchisees, or buyers. Each of these words carries meaning to those who say them. And those meanings say something about the health and long term success of the enterprise.
- Networking Events - Lose the Fear and Gain the Benefits
[Business:Marketing] Networking is an important part of helping any business or organization grow. If the thought of networking makes you sweat or you enjoy networking and could use a fresh perspective – this article is for you. You will learn one key to maximizing your networking efforts.
- Putting on a New Pair of Glasses - Gaining a Fresh Perspective
[Business] Our mental perspective is much like our eyesight. Without new glasses to help us see the world in new ways, we can gradually lose our focus, take things for granted or just assume we know how things are, even if they are blurry. We can always benefit from a fresh perspective…
- Five Steps Towards Greater Self Confidence
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Everyone, even the most confident of people, would like to have more confidence. Confidence leads to greater success for us and stronger leadership of others. And confidence is a skill you can build. Learn the five steps for greater confidence in any area of your life.
- Your Biggest Do it Yourself Project
[Self-Improvement:Motivation] Are you in need of motivation? Well then look inside yourself. You can be your own motivator in business and in life. This article give you fives ways to “Do It Yourself.”
- 10 Ways to Improving Your Client Relationships
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] One thing is true for all consultants; if we have any work, we have clients! One of the most important parts of our work is maintaining and enhancing our relationships with our clients. Maintaining and growing these relationships makes the time spent on a project more enjoyable, satisfying and effective…
- Seven Questions to Improve Your Business, Your Relationships, and Your Life
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] One of the most powerful tools we have as humans is our ability to ask questions. The more adept we are at asking them (and waiting for and listening to the answers), the more effective we will be. Here are seven great questions to use everyday.
- Super Preparation - Keys to Getting a Great Start to Every Presentation
[Business:Presentation] Novice and expert presenters alike have had the experience of feeling a little (or may be a lot) nervous before giving a talk. Since the opening of any presentation is critical to the message and the presenter’s credibility, and since this is often when presenters are most nervous and cautious, it makes sense to have strategies to make that opening the best it can be.
- 7 Key Dimensions of High Performance Teams
[Business:Team-Building] We can always look at the behaviors and skills of team leaders and team members in analyzing team performance and success, but it is also instructive to look at the overall team as well. The list of attributes that follows describes team units that are highly productive and successful.
- 8 Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills
[Business:Presentation] Improving your presentation skills is one of the best personal and professional investments you can make. This article list eight specific ways to become more confident, persuasive, and influential with groups.
- 12 Tips and Reminders for Team Members To Enjoy Their Team Experiences More
[Business:Team-Building] Do you realize how much productivity your teams never realize? This article will help individuals understand their strengths and roles better, become both more effective on teams, and learn how to help teams grow and mature.
- Cold Water Comments - What They Are and How to Manage Them!
[Business:Management] Cold Water Comments are those comments, phrases and ideas that are meant to discourage, disparage, discredit and generally douse your ideas. They can squelch creativity, cease your brainstorming efforts and disrupt the goal of a meeting. This article gives you specific things you can do to stop the cold water.
- Great Groups! - Getting a Group to Think Like a Genius
[Business:Management] Wouldn’t it be great to have an Edison or Einstein, or Mozart at your next meeting? If you had a genius at your meeting, do you think you might come up with better results? Let me be the first to tell you that those people won’t be at your next meeting. But there are some things you can do as a facilitator - some techniques and tactics that you can use with the group that will help them work better.
- Six Reasons to KISS
[Business:Management] Keep it Splendidly Simple! We can serve both ourselves and our clients better if we remember to keep our proposals, project plans, reports and other services more elegant, or simple. Learn six reasons to K.I.S.S.
- 9 Tips for Getting the Most From Your Conference Investment
[Business:Management] All professionals attend conferences, seminars, and trade shows each year. Through my observation and person experience here are my top tips for maximizing your time and monetary investment in these events.
- 6 Ways to Keep Things Simple
[Business:Management] We can have greater success with our Clients when we make our work processes and agreements simpler and more elegant. This article will give you ideas for making your contracts and commitments, projects and plans, reports and relationships with Clients simpler.
- 7 Reasons Why Training Doesn't Produce the Desired Results and What You Can Do To
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] Abraham Maslow said, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” As managers, leaders and change agents, we want to improve our organizational performance. This special report identifies seven common reasons why training doesn’t meet it's goals - even when it is the right tool - and more importantly - gives you some action steps to avoid these pitfalls.
- Seven Keys to More Effectively Leading Teams
[Business:Team-Building] Most organizations know that teams can be a very effective way to organize complex and interdependent work. Unfortunately, teams don’t automatically succeed, just because people are called a team. Teams need leadership to succeed. Learn specific keys to help you be a stronger team leader.
- Eight Skills of Highly Successful Consultants
[Business:Management] One way to look at your total skill set as a consultant (internal or external), is to consider your relative strengths in the three major portions of our work: designing “it”, delivering “it”, and selling “it”. These three skills represent the complete package for a consultant, regardless of what your expertise (your “it”) is. Here are eight skills that all of us as consultants can work on to improve.
- Ten Ways to Strengthen Your Reading Habit
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] Research shows that if you read ten books a year, you are in the top few percent of all people as readers. Simply stated, it doesn’t take much to be well read, but we do need to know how to get started. The following are ten suggestions to help you strengthen your reading habit – ways to find and make more time for reading.
- Identifying Potential in Ourselves and Others
[Business:Management] We all have untapped potential. The ability to be great mentors, leaders, professionals depends on our ability to unleash our own potential. This article will give you concrete steps to help you recognize and find that potential in yourself and others.
- Helping Others Develop Their Potential
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Most of us find ourselves in a position to help others achieve more of their potential than we realize. Sure, as leaders, supervisors, and parents we can see ourselves in that position; but the fact is that all of us are uniquely qualified to help at least one other person in our lives reach their potential. I believe it is part of our purpose in life to serve others in this way…
- Nine Steps to Help You Develop Your Potential
[Business:Management] Extraordinary potential exists in each of us. If we want to reach our potential, we must start by identifying our greatest areas of potential. With that knowledge, we must take a step-by-step approach to making that potential reality in our lives.
- Unleash It!
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] People are not all they can be. The organization is not all it can be. Both have tremendous untapped potential sitting there, waiting to be recognized and tapped. Both have potential waiting to be unleashed...
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