When influencing others you seek to affect the behaviours, thinking and feelings of others through what you say or do.  This is part of the process in negotiations, presentations and meetings designed to engage and build commitments.  In these types of interactions you are balancing the need for a result with the maintenance or development of the relationship.  Too much emphasis on one at the expense of the other may mean you do not reach a wise outcome or sustainable solution. The range of ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Some time ago I attended a birthday party and met a young guy who just happened to be 30. I say young because when you're 47, that is a young age! He told me about his career in a major corporate company where he's been working for the past 3 years. John was complaining about the extremely long hours he works'sometimes from 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. weekdays and often on weekends. He bemoaned the fact he was tired and stressed and so was everyone else he worked with. I asked him why he continued ...
Read the rest of this entry »

"Joan, I'm working so hard and I'm not getting anything done!" I have heard some version of this cry of frustration by many an entrepreneur. It's a common complaint voiced by those of use who sought the freedom to have complete authority over our schedules, only to find ourselves unwittingly shackled by old ways of operating. It does not appear to matter that we are independent professionals or business owners, we live in a world shaped by the rules of corporate life. Most of us came from jobs ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Aspiring and professional speakers, alike, are always interested in honing their speaking expertise. There is always room for improvement and innovation in everything we do. There are so many things that we do as speakers which become second nature over time. But for the newer speaker, sometimes a gentle reminder of what we are supposed to be doing is in order. These ten points will serve as a way to bring back to mind what we should be mindfully aware of as we prepare for and deliver ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Negotiation is an interpersonal process where each party wants to achieve a certain level of influence.  Influence means causing others to change their thinking, feelings or behaviour in some way as a result of your words or actions.  Your motivational values ' the ways you view the world and how things go ' will create preferred ways of operating which are important to take account of. Your influencing style is a preference built from the motivational values that have served you well in the ...
Read the rest of this entry »

However, large or small the meeting, location is key. Your environment, formal or informal, helps set the necessary mood and ambiance for the meeting to take place. Think about choosing a comfortable, yet stimulating environment that encourages attendees to concentrate, but beware of making it too cozy and relaxing that they're likely to fall asleep. When thinking about the right location, consider the meeting objectives, the length of the meeting and, of course, your budget. Decide ...
Read the rest of this entry »

This month, I experienced the misfortune of having two laptop computers break down on me within a single week. One laptop was less than eight months old; the other had failed five times in less than two years. As you can imagine, I was extremely displeased. It's always painful to see a loved one die. I'm not hear to bitch about flaky computers, though. (Believe me, I've done plenty of that!) No, I'm here to talk about the very different experiences that I had with the customer ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Staying Cool When the Job Heats Up by Dale Collie Jobs are heating up. We're all feeling the pinch of hiring freezes and information overload. Workplace stress is increasing right along with the workload. Headaches are turning into migraines; back pains are driving us to the chiropractor, and minor irritations are causing tempers to flair. In addition to our personal reaction to stress, it is taking its toll on the bottom line. Stress is driving up the cost of health care, and we can see a huge ...
Read the rest of this entry »

There is so much about 'customer service' in the media these days and, well, yes, maybe things aren't what they were. But you can do more, much more as a customer, to get the best results for yourself. It's in your hands... We all want great service, whether we are buying our weekly groceries from a store, or want a billing hitch resolved at our local utilities provider. Whether it's getting our car fixed, or a great meal in a restaurant. So we can holler and complain about how poor customer ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Can you establish good business credit if you have bad personal credit? The answer is yes...but with a few caveats. Business credit reports and personal credit reports are generally completely separate databases for legal reasons. However, there are some exceptions in terms of how independent that information may be: -- If you are operating as a sole proprietor or Limited Liability Company, it is difficult to separate your personal and business credit. A corporation is a much better structure ...
Read the rest of this entry »

It has long been known that until something is sold, nothing else happens. The selling profession is therefore one of the most challenging and most profitable career paths one can choose. And for those with an innate ability to sell, it can be gratifying and profitable from day one. Others, who may want the income and freedom that comes from sales but who are not as naturally gifted, will benefit from a few specific tips on their way to improving sales. First, acknowledge what type of sales ...
Read the rest of this entry »

For years, the role of executive coaching services was looked on as something for the losers and incompetent. A kind of remedial class for executives. No one considered a life coach something to be pursued. As managers and leaders moved up in a business they were supposed to handle more responsibility. This was to be done without any outward sign of weakness. In this day and age things have improved a lot. Seeking support isn't something the ones who can't handle it do, it's what the ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever been to a meeting that seemed to be going nowhere and was a waste of yours and everyone elses time? Or have you ever been to a meeting where you wondered what had been agreed? Only to show up a month later and find out that there had been no progress, partly because no-one knew what was expected of them. So they kept quiet with their heads down! How frustrating! To save this being a problem, one possibility that works really well is to have someone capture actions and who is ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Introduction Supervising is like parenting. These are two of the most important jobs any one can do, but few people are adequately prepared or trained to do them. Most people learn by trial and error with varying degrees of success. But both jobs are far too important to be left to chance and the good news is that you can learn with some help and guidance how to be successful in them. This article will help you to be a more effective and efficient supervisor. Supervisor's Role In one sentence, ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Introduction Supervising is like parenting. These are two of the most important jobs any one can do, but few people are adequately prepared or trained to do them. Most people learn by trial and error with varying degrees of success. But both jobs are far too important to be left to chance and the good news is that you can learn with some help and guidance how to be successful in them. This article will help you to be a more effective and efficient supervisor. Supervisor's Role In one sentence, ...
Read the rest of this entry »

To maximise profits, it has become fashionable to place some of your support requirements with 'experts', to allow you to focus on core activities. Especially for small businesses this can work well, but with larger organisations, unless you get it just right, it can be a lot more trouble than it's worth - and cost you a lot more. There's a great little article ('Business Lifeforms') on the back pages of the UK's leading management magazine, Management Today each month. It's a spoof (at least ...
Read the rest of this entry »

For business to be successful, you have to take every step possible to make sales, control costs, be profitable. Yet there is an asset that so often gets looked over. The very people you employ. And if your work it right, they can bring in rewards like you never thought possible. As a business asset, they don't sit well on the P&L statement. They aren't valuable like a piece of machinery, or an office block. There is no assignment of currency with which you can measure them. But living and ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Customer service is a fundamental quality that every business must have. The higher the standard, the higher the return on the investments you make. But just how do you measure your performance, in an easy-to-use way? It's really quite simple... It might sound quick and simple, to say how well your business does in satisfying it's customers. Hearing such as:- "We're increasing our turnover by 14% year to date" "Our customer complaints are now less than 4% or our transactions" ...might sound ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Campus Location Located in Dhahran, the campus is between the headquarters of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Saudi Aramco and the Dhahran Air Base. It is near the Arabian Gulf and is seven kilometres from Al-Khobar city. The port city of Dammam is 20 kilometres away. The oil-producing town of Abqaiq is located 70 kilometres west, and the ancient oasis of Al-Hasa is about 130 kilometres south of the campus. The island of Bahrain is 35 kilometres from the Saudi coastline. The "Jabal" Hill The ...
Read the rest of this entry »

In all the businesses we conduct, there are customers. And they are the life-blood to us. It's TRUE! Despite all the million and one things we are doing - we've got to have paying customers! Nevertheless, just five things will dictate success or failure. Have you got them right? You can boil down the difference between successful businesses and the rest in how they work with their customers, in just five areas. So, what does this mean?

What They Want Selling what your customers really want is

...
Read the rest of this entry »

Confronted with difficult dynamics of economic environment, businesses put an increasing emphasis on finance, management. Accounting and audit becomes more important and relevant to our daily life- as a bridge. Audit, financial, & business related education / literacy is not the only permeate in people's life but also control vital business arteries and eventually; the entire economic systems which exposed to such a business world.   I feel strongly that it is necessary to prepare everyone ...
Read the rest of this entry »

In the form of a simple easy to use checklist, you can score how well you are doing out of 10. Better still, ask them. It's like what they describe as a mini-360o, where your people get the chance to give you feedback. Only here it is a lot easier and far far cheaper! But then it's how you handle the results of feedback that counts the most. Scoring gives you focus and a better way of moving forward than some nebulous measure like 'Good' or even 'Excellent'. And that measuring is what can and ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Meetings are valuable components of organisations. Yet they need process, discipline and leadership/facilitation to work best. Working at getting them right is one of the most value-creating activities any organisation can embark on. But it doesn't always work that way... Sometimes, better than giving advice about how to run things well, it can be useful to have a hit list to notice to help you identify when things are less than productive. Meetings can be hugely productive, especially if you ...
Read the rest of this entry »

    Self Leadership International is committed to providing leadership training and executive coaching among corporate individuals. One of the leadership development programs that Self Leadership International offers is the leadership training for managers. It is a 2-day training that presents a detailed analysis on successful leadership and management. On the first day of the training, topics covered include:

• Defining Self Leadership which tackles increasing self-awareness and achieving

...
Read the rest of this entry »

What does it take to make businesses perform extremely well? Such that they do above and beyond expectations. It's when your people work together in incredible ways, to create far more than you might expect. It's where they are in a special place when they work together. And to get there, they have to be in a culture that is very special - and you can create it in your business too! Here are ten key points that will make a big, big difference:-

Build Great Relationships Take the time to

...
Read the rest of this entry »