Why is Planning So Important

In his book, "What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School," Mark McCormak made an interesting discovery about the 1979 graduating MBA class. Within the group, 3% had written goals, 13% had thought of some goals and the balance were just thrilled to be out of school (I am sure you remember those feelings).

The interesting part was what happened ten years later. Here are the results of their success after a decade:

The group that had non-written goals were making TWICE in the field compared to the 84% of those who had no goals leaving Harvard.

The group with written goals was making TEN TIMES what the other 97% were making on average.

I think you would agree that the folks at Harvard have a long history of knowing what they are doing. So if the top 3% were able to make TEN TIMES the money as everyone else by simply writing out their goals, why aren't you doing it?

We are already through the hardest part of the 'recession' and yet people and businesses are still worried that our economic situation is dire. Resolutions made back at the beginning of the year, to get in better shape, to be a better golfer, to give more to charity, to be the best parent or spouse or partner that you could be may be starting to fade if they haven't already. But who says making and keeping resolutions is just for the beginning of a year. Why wait?

Make sure that one of the resolutions you set and keep right now is to make a strong plan for yourself and your business; ones with enough detail that you can actually make progress against them on a consistent basis.

Write down ALL your goals you have for the next year. Then, find someone to share them with and have them check up on you monthly (quarterly at a minimum) to see if you are making progress. Have them hold you accountable with winnings and loosing for completion.

ActionTIP: Make milestones and chip away at each goal a little everyday so the overall picture doesn't seem so overwhelming.

If you do this, then it won't be long before you are making TEN TIMES more than your competition.


 

5 Ways to Massive Profit

Hello everyone.

You will have read my blogs on networking and the power of such events. Here I am pictured with the global expert in business networking, the founder of BNI, Ivan Misner. Probably the farther of business networking as we know it. The notion of 'givers gain' is one which underpins my approach to business, creating synergy within business and business types.

To that end I would like to share with you all my most recent presentation from my last networking event; Sandy Parks (Exeter Chiefs Rugby Ground) first B2B Exhibition. I gave a presentation on 5 WAYS TO MASSIVE PROFIT. It is made up of two 10 minute presentations which will help focus your efforts on increasing your profit.

'You'll need to get into action once you have watched them'.

Enjoy.

Ten Principles of Leadership

ActionCOACH Founder and Chairman Brad Sugars believes, when people decide to respect you as a leader, they observe what you do so they can know who you really are.

People then use this observation to tell if you are an honourable and trusted leader, or a self-serving person who misuses authority. A good leader has an honourable character that selflessly serves his/her organization. In your employees' eyes, your leadership is everything. Your activities affect the organization's objectives and their well-being. According to Brad Sugars, a respected leader concentrates on three key areas:

• Be - what he/she is (beliefs and values)
• Know - what he/she knows (job, tasks, human nature)
• Do - what he/she does (implement, motivate, and provide direction).

For more on Brad Sugars' "Be, Do Have," take a sneak peek at his YouTube Video below. What makes a person want to follow a leader? People want to be guided by people they respect and who have a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future.

The Three Most Important Keys of Leadership:

Studies have shown that trust and confidence in top leadership is the single most reliable predictor of employee satisfaction in an organization. Effective communication by leadership in three critical areas is the key to winning organizational trust and confidence, and involves:

1. Helping employees understand the company's overall business strategy.
2. Helping employees understand how they contribute to achieving key business objectives.
3. Sharing information with employees on both how the company is doing and how an employee's own division or department is doing - relative to strategic business objectives.

So basically, you must be trustworthy and you have to be able to communicate a vision of where you are going.

Brad Sugars' 10 Principles of Leadership:

1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement. In order to know yourself, you have to understand your "be", "know", and "do" attributes. This is possible by continually strengthening your attributes by reading and self-study.
2. Be technically proficient. As a leader, you must know your job and have a solid familiarity with your employees' jobs.
3. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions. Search for ways to guide your organization to new heights. And when things go wrong, do not blame others.
4. Make sound and timely decisions. Use good problem solving, decision-making, and planning tools.
5. Set the example. Be a good role model for you employees. They will believe what they see - not what they hear.
6. Know your people and look out for their well-being. Know human nature and the importance of sincerely caring for your workers.
7. Keep your people informed. Know how to communicate with your people, seniors, and other key people within the organization.
8. Develop a sense of accountability, ownership and responsibility in your people. These traits will help them carry out their professional responsibilities.
9. Ensure tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished. Communication is the key to this responsibility.
10. Train your people as a team. By developing team spirit, you will be able to employ your organization, department, section, etc. to its fullest capabilities.

The Process of Great Leadership:

1. Inspire a shared vision - Next, share you vision in words that can be understood by your followers.
2. Challenge the process - First, find a process you believe needs to be improved the most.
3. Enable others to act - Give them the tools, authority and methods to solve problems themselves.
4. Model the way - When the process gets tough, get your hands dirty. A boss tells others what to do; a leader shows it can be done.

Encourage the heart - Share the glory with your followers' heart, keep the pains in your heart - Human Relations:

• The six most important words: "I admit I made a mistake."
• The five most important words: "You did a good job."
• The four most important words: "What is your opinion?"
• The three most important words: "If you please."
• The two most important words: "Thank you,"
• The one most important word: "We"
• The least important word: "I"

WHY DO I NEED A BUSINESS COACH

Why Should You Have a Business Coach?

 

 

A Business Coach is just like a sporting coach. A sporting coach pushes an athlete to achieve optimum performance, provides support when they are exhausted and teaches the athlete to execute plays that their competition does not anticipate.

A sporting coach will make you run more laps than you feel like. A sporting coach will tell it like it is. And a sporting coach will listen.

The role of the Business Coach is to coach business owners to improve their business through guidance, support and encouragement. They help the owners of small and medium sized businesses with their sales, marketing, management, team building and so much more. Just like a sporting coach, your Business Coach will make you focus on the game.

The owners of small to medium sized businesses find it hard enough to keep pace with all the changes and innovations going on in today's modern world, let alone to find the time to devote to sales, marketing, systems, planning and team management, and then to run their businesses as well!

As the world of business moves faster and becomes more competitive, having a Business Coach is no longer a luxury; it has become a necessity.  Your Business Coach at ActionCOACH Northwest Houston is trained to not only show you how to increase your business revenues and profits but also how to develop your business so that you as the owner can work less and relax more.

Your Business Coach will become your marketing manager, your sales director, your training coordinator; your confidant, your mentor. Your ActionCOACH will help you make your dreams come true ...

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/007146672X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=007146672X&linkCode=as2&tag=visisuppandch-21

Networking - A Powerful Communication Tool

Professionals are constantly networking to grow themselves and their businesses. It really works. Some people, however, resist networking for whatever reason, be it that they are too busy or impatient or that they aren't confident enough to put themselves out there. Still others are trying, but may not be networking in the best way. The following tips will help you and your business gain an edge through effective networking. Prepare.

Before any networking interaction, prepare as well as possible by learning as much as possible about the potential connections you will be interacting with. By doing this, you can target questions and tailor the conversation in a manner by which you will be better able to relate to people and see how you could work together. In addition establish what you aim to achieve from networking and what you are looking to gain and offer. 

Don't look at it as work. If networking feels like a chore, you won't be getting anything out of it. Go in with a positive attitude and really get into conversations in which you're talking to and learning from each other. Organic conversations will follow and you will make a better impression. Be genuinely interested in the other networkers, not to keen to talk about you and your needs and wants.

Team up. By working with somebody else in your networking efforts, you might find yourself being more successful. One way of going about this is to an event and talk up the other person and their ideas. Spreading positive views will, whether or not they realize it, make people more inclined to feel the same way. Essentially, it is extremely valuable to have someone there to look out for and promote you. Another route is to establish a strategic relationship with someone who is already reaching and interacting with your target. 

Add value. Networking is a give and take process, and you should focus on the give. You will have to give before you get. If you do something helpful for someone or provide some form of valuable service or insight, you will make a much better impression on these people that are likely asked for favors and advice all the time. Relationships will develop, and you will be better off in the long run. Join the right group. Don't waste your time and energy being part of a group that isn't valuable. The people in the group should provide resources, knowledge, and a willingness to share, and they should be influential. Communication should be consistent, respectful, and professional, and the network should offer support in overcoming challenges and frustrations.

Don't go into a networking interaction with a sales pitch. By conversing openly and informally, you will find that people are more inclined to do business with you. Suggest topics that are not difficult to discuss and really pay attention. Listen well to the other person and stay involved in the conversation. Be engaging and enthusiastic, mind your manners, and smile. Interact with the right people. When you go to networking events, the amount of people that are there for you to reach out to can be overwhelming.  Find the right ones. Talk to the organizers and influencers who understand the inner workings and have a lot of connections.

Follow up. After any interaction, you probably promised some sort of follow-up, like a phone call or sending some information. You must actually do it. Following up with the people with whom you made connections will demonstrate interest and availability and increase the likelihood that a mutually profitable relationship will blossom. Business networking can help you make connections, close deals, grow your business, and increase your likelihood of employment, but only if done correctly. Put these tips into practice in order to gain success in your networking endeavours.


The full article

This You Tube Video highlights all the salient points

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY-PEvX4ySs

Communication - Attention = No Results

Reading a great book at the moment, which really links into my effective listening posts; James Borg, Persuasion, The Art of Influencing People. Really got me thinking about just how effective we communicate and is summed up with an equation .......Communication minus attention equals 'no results'. Quite simply we might be hearing but are we actually listening?

How often he you been in a conversation seemingly listening, then part way through you find yourself wondering, maybe picked up on a piece of detail and gone off on a tangent in your mind. Suddenly realised, by which time you missed the point of the conversation. The problem here is a lack of awareness regarding the speed our brains can consume and process information; much faster than the typical person can speak. We generally pick up on key words, or elements within a conversation which spike our interest, process and think about that and conversely miss the point. A great example from the book, which you will all undoubtedly associate with:

What did you do this weekend?

Drove down to the coast with the kids, to Brighton, and stayed over night.

Oh Brighton. I haven't been there for years. Did you take the train?

No, I drove.

Did you go on your own?

How many of you have been giving a pitch and this scenario runs its course; after the pleasantries the other parties mobile rings. Excuse me whilst I take this call!  Then your disturbed by the secretary, another mobile call and so on; your message is lost the attention is lost. Or have you been the one with the lack of attention? Which ever the case the point is the same, the message is lost.......No results.

So what? This short blog is to raise awareness in maintaining and being attentive, keeping the interest levels on track be they your own or the other party. Next time you find yourself in a conversation be fully engaged and attentive, watch for those distractions, becoming distracted, listen for the detail and don't allow yourself to be distracted. You'll be amazed what you have missed in the past, the opportunities, understanding


and you'll see greater results in life and business.

Communication - Giving Feedback

How to give feedback

Before giving feedback make sure you remind yourself why you are doing it. The purpose for giving feedback is to improve the situation or performance of your colleague or employee.

You won't accomplish that by being harsh, critical, or offensive. So focus on the change you want to see rather than the problems you don't want to see.

Prepare your comments - you don't always need a script but you do need to be clear about what you are going to say. This helps you stay on track and stick to the issues.

The AEIOU model

This model can be used with groups, between two people, at any level of your team, group or organisation. ie project manager to team member; team member to team member, manager to manager. Focusing on collaboration or Win/Win outcome, the key to this approach is a concept known as Positive Intentionality (sounds complex but it's really simple).

Positive Intentionality assumes the other person means well and is not trying to cause a conflict. For example: Your Manager has delegated the coordination of a specific task to you because of your background and experience, and then constantly checks with you 'just to see how it's going'. You find this aggravating and you're beginning to feel that you're not trusted. If you approach your Manager to discuss this and begin with a question such as "Why are you constantly looking over my shoulder when you assign me to a task?" you come across as accusatory, automatically putting your Manager on the defense. With Positive Intentionality, you attempt to identify a positive reason in your Manager's mind for his or her action. Perhaps he or she simply wants to make sure everything is going right, or that you aren't overloaded.

After you've identified a positive intention, you can then use it to open the issue without putting your Manager the defensive. Start with "I know you're concerned about getting this workshop organised " you are identifying with your manager's concern rather than accusing his or her action.

Steps in AEIOU model........

A: Assume the other person means well. If you assume the other person is trying to cause conflict, the chances for effectively managing the situation are greatly reduced. However, if you attempt to identify a positive intention and state it to the other person, you substantially increase the possibility of resolving the differences.

E: Express your feelings. After you've indicated to the person what you perceive to be a positive intention, you then respond by affirming that position and expressing your own specific concern.

I: Identify what you would like to happen.In this step you non-defensively propose the changes you would like to see occur. Although you need to be firm in your approach, the language you choose is very important. Saying "I want" is extremely different from saying "I would like"

O: Outcome expected. Indicate the positive and the negative potential outcomes, but emphasise the positive expectations for both of you , Whats in it for me? (WIIFM?)

U: Understanding on a mutual basis. In this final stage, the aim is to get the other person to agree to your proposal. A good way to do this is to ask "Could we agree to this for a while and see if it works out for both of us?"

Of course there are always two sides to the story so you need to be ready to consider a compromise or alternative options in this step. So give some thought about the 'conflicts' that you are involved with or may be involved with in the future. Could the AEIOU process be a useful tool in managing it? What questions will you ask?

This Slide show also gives further insight to feedback:

Giving feedback from Power Hour Training

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Give-Feedback-to-Peers-or-Employees&id=7854842


http://www.slideshare.net/PowerHour/giving-feedback-24049007?from_search=1