I came across this chapter title in a sales support book for an internet marketing product a contact of mine was showing me. They were doing the “soft-sell” on me, y’know, just showing me the product, no pressure and all that. The book came as part of the package and it was a really interesting read, if the product had been of interest to me, I would have been tempted just to get access to the book. Anyway as part of the sales pitch the author talked about how so many…
Tweak Your Biz » Management
Sugar Frosting Coated Dog Cr#p
by on April 16th, 2010 33 Comments
And then there was Sex – Manager as Leader (really!)
by on April 13th, 2010 18 Comments
OK, so I meant to write “And then there was six”, but it got your attention, right? Well, I am going to go back on my word now, and talk about the Manager As Coach – again! This really is the final part of a five part series: Manager as Coach – Part 6 There is one management skill that should have a post all to itself when talking about the effective Manager, and that is the skill of Leadership. If you lead, others will follow. I promise! Any demonstration of authority, expertise,…
Slow Down….
by on April 12th, 2010 19 Comments
This is a true story One evening, on my way home from the office, I was changing trains in one of Paris’s more busier stations when a man pushed his way past me running like crazy for his train. Nothing unusual with that as rushing, pushing, shoving, honking and impatience has become a way of life for too many people. About 20 steps in front of me this man slipped in something and fell in a spectacular fashion, bum first, then onto his back cracking his head on the ground and slid…
How Insane Are We?
by on April 7th, 2010 12 Comments
Einstein had some pretty quotes but my favourite one is the one that goes: “insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results” . It’s short, sharp and shockingly true. How many of us keep doing the same things, in the same way, hoping that something different is going to happen. Most of us aren’t even aware that that’s what we’re doing. And companies are no different. How many times have you seen a project go wrong only for…
Ask For Directions: More Results and Less Bust-Ups
by on April 1st, 2010 15 Comments
For all my talents I have to admit a few weaknesses – taking travel directions and following travel directions. Most women would comfort me by pointing out that this is a gender problem rather than an individual problem. Women may also point out that I should have an additional weakness – the inability to ask for help with directions when travelling. Many wives/girlfriends have experienced a journey (or more than likely plural) passing the same land mark numerous times. “I know…
How to retain people at work
by on March 30th, 2010 3 Comments
Job-Part of Life Cycle While meditating on the issue of retaining and attracting people, I realised, that every organisation in every industry is facing the similar problem in the background of this truth, that the world is fast changing, it is becoming flat, and people are exposed to so much information that knowledge can be acquired by anyone and at anytime (smart people are utilising it for good), work life cycle is decreasing, “Work Life Cycle”. In the given situation like this one,…
Stress Free Effectiveness is…
by on March 30th, 2010 44 Comments
Stress Free Effectiveness is basically this – the ability to focus completely on what you are doing at any given moment, and the knowledge that what you are doing is the most appropriate thing you should be doing at that moment. The issue for most of us is two fold: firstly it is difficult to completely focus on what you are doing because of interference from others and more importantly your own thoughts; and secondly, confidence you are doing the most appropriate thing at any given…
Less Mess = Less Stress
by on March 29th, 2010 43 Comments
How many of you have a messy desk? Do you have files, papers, magazines and piles of clutter all over it? Have you even forgotten what colour your desk is under the mess? If you said yes to any of these questions then perhaps the time has come to clean it. A clean and tidy desk will reduce stress and boost good time management. Some study suggests that about 15% of our time is wasted looking for misplaced files, paperwork or that post it that you scribbled a phones number or email…
You don’t know, who I know
by on March 26th, 2010 54 Comments
It always amazes me of just how narrow minded and short sighted some people are when networking. If you have attended a formal networking event before, you will know what I am talking about. Many people talking in a room and mighty few people listening! Oh yes and then the glazed eyes of the other person when you tell them about your business. Wow, how rude some business people can be. That said they are the losers, I have often had a great lead or a valuable contact that I could have…
“Failure is the tuition you pay for success” What Kotter learnt
by on March 24th, 2010 3 Comments
To get a better understanding of the components of successful transitional leadership, it is helpful to examine and understand its counterparty – failure. For his paper Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail, John Kotter meticulously researched the reasons why some change initiatives succeed and others fail – for this blog we can use ‘change initiative’ as a proxy for transitional leadership. But on a positive note, Kotter identified a series of inter-dependent phases that…
Janine Gilmour of Touchstone Advisory Services coaches business leaders who want to optimize results by amping up…
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