Hacker Speak

We must keep in mind that as well as by increasing income, profits can be improved by reducing expenditure and using your time more productively. A simple and often forgotten aid to doing so is business performance management software.

It’s common knowledge that a profitable company customizes its workflow to the strengths of each staff member in order to get the best from them. The core problem has traditionally been in identifying and collating this data.

Determining and keeping track of progress through employee appraisal on its own can turn into a huge task. The first step is to bring employee performance appraisal systems into play. Once this is done you can appraise the work of each worker. Should you be using traditional methods, your next move will be the manual analysis of all the raw data you will have obtained simply to be able to follow further progress and define goals.

With performance appraisal software, you can just study the different metrics to pinpoint what these goals should be and then chart the employee’s advancement. This removes the demands on your time and is likely to be far more useful. It’s also possible, of course, simply to use the software to record raw data like performance review forms and to examine these items yourself. Performance management software doesn’t only help employees. It’s often valuable to study suppliers and clients to be better able to pace your purchasing and conserve money. You can find out who provides products with the best quality, at the lowest prices and also reveal those with bad damage records or poor delivery times. When it comes to clients - retailers, affiliates, or similar - this kind of software can help there, too, telling you exactly who your best seller is, their loss percentage and any similar troubles, and acting as a reminder of any payment issues. Using this information you can adjust your system of orders and supplies to boost income and cut expenses. Who couldn’t benefit from that? With this data you can determine your best target audience. With this in mind advertising is free to become more effective and quicker to plan.

You can study your sources to reduce costs and watch your target market to maximize profit employing performance appraisal software. It also smoothes out the employee performance review and helps set unambiguous targets for your employees extremely. How much you can achieve almost seems unlimited with performance management software backing you up.

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Strategic alliances are increasing at a rapid rate. It is
good for business, good for the consumer. A strategic
alliance is similar to a joint venture. Everyone remains in
his or her own entity, yet come together for a single
purpose or period of time to create something that could not
otherwise be created.

There are cautions and rightly concerns one must consider
before entering into a strategic alliance with other people.
For instance, evaluating each partner’s value and
capabilities for alliance is mandatory before agreeing to an
alliance. The who, what, when, where and whys all need
clarification with failsafe boundaries.

There are many considerations when developing a strategic
alliance, here are six main areas along with questions that
you will want to answer to help you determine your own
readiness for an alliance.

1. Assessing contributions. What do you or each partner
bring to the alliance? What is each person’s purpose and
goals?

2. Agreeing to the terms. This has three parts: (1) area
of interest, (2) net benefits, and (3) joint operations.
What interest is yours and what is theirs. Strategic
interests must be similar and materials or services
comparable. Economic interest must have enough benefits for
each to remain committed and minimize trade. There must an
operational agreement.

3. Agreement on task and skills. Who is the apprentice on
what? Who will be name master on what? Who is going to
specifically be responsible to complete what task? Who is
going to learn what? What is the division of duties?

4. Defining and measuring progress. Who is going to define
or handle sales? What target market will be pursued and
when? What is the process chart for a new product or
service? How will the revenue be generated and distributed?
What will occur if the measurements aren’t met?

5. Progress and time. Who is tracing the progress and the
time invested? Is the time to be contributed equal or is
there a trade-off for other resources? Who and when will
the progress reports be regularly discussed and completed?
Is there going to be a board that will monitor equality and
fairness?

6. Points of tension. When there are points of tension, and
there always is so don’t kid yourself that there never will
be, is an outside source going to be the arbitrator? When
tension occurs does it need to be expressed in writing first
and then discussed? Is there a cool-down period that is
required? Who is going to sign off on checks, balance the
checkbook, and monitor cash flow?

So many questions, so little time. Yes, I understand,
however, this one time you want to stop and open time,
address these questions, and any others might need to be
addressed.

© Copyright 2004, Catherine Franz. All rights reserved.

Catherine Franz, a eight-year Certified Professional Coach,
Graduate of Coach University, Mastery University, editor of
three ezines, columnist, author of thousands of articles
website: http://www.abundancecenter.com
blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

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The Sales Director had organised a great conference; the venue was first class, the service excellent and the content of the workshops and presentations very motivational. The only potential “fly in the ointment” was the team-building afternoon which was scheduled to take place outdoors as evidenced by the memo outlining the fact that waterproof jackets, trousers and boots should be brought along to the conference.

The “rumour-mill” was working overtime. “We’re going abseiling.” claimed one sales representative. “No, I have heard it is an orienteering challenge.” claimed another. “That river close by must be in the equation. Maybe there are canoes involved - or even rafts!” Minds were going into over-drive and with the rain starting to fall and the cloud cover starting to not only increase but appear to get lower and lower, a gloom descended both in weather terms and in terms of individuals’ motivation. The bar presented a much better option!

There was a surge of interest in the late eighties and nineties in “outward-bound” type team building exercises involving very challenging physical activities centred around canoes, rafts, abseiling and generally “roughing it”, but there is a lot of anecdotal feedback that this type of the teambuilding tends to support individual development as opposed to actually developing teams.

What is potentially needed are less strenuous outdoor team activities that not only challenge both team and individual but also create experiential learning that participants can take back and apply with their teams in their own work environment. The activities also have to be fun and not induce a fear of one’s personal safety being compromised!

The Sales Director had seen the outdoor management and team task approach done before and was convinced that the “non-arduous” type of outdoor team activity was the way forward. At the pre-event brief, expectations were managed and fears subsided. No, there was no abseiling, rock-climbing, canoeing or orienteering. Instead each sales team had a number of outdoor tasks to achieve in a specific timeframe and each team would be observed by an external coach supported by a “safety-advisor” who knew the tasks “backwards”. Each team would be scored on their planning, decision making, communication and flexibility in their attempts to undertake the various tasks which involved doing a number of things with pipes, cages, ropes, ladders, balls, and an assortment of other implements and structures. The sense of relief around the room was very evident but there was still a sense of “what I am going to learn from this?” around, especially as the rain continued to fall and the darkness closed in!

Why outside? Performing tasks outside has several advantages to performing them indoors. Firstly, it takes the teams out of their work environment and gives them a release from the pressures of the office or the conference room in the hotel. Even the rain and wind can be a refreshing change from the constant ring of the mobile and the dulcet tones of the manager! Secondly, the sheer movement from one location to the next frees up the mind and also releases energy for use both physically and mentally. Finally a good picturesque location can very inspiring and motivational. The great outdoors also gives people space to think and space to move, something which can be severely constricted when attempting to do tasks indoors with large groups of teams.

Our sales teams are now being introduced to the tasks and although there is a great deal of energy and excitement about there are varying degrees of focus and planning appears to be at minimum. All the energies are being used up in the teams “diving” into the first task. Different ideas and opinions are being voiced; some listened to, others ignored. Some people are coming “to the fore”, others starting to become more silent and “slinking” into the background. As they are timed events, the pressure to complete the task rises and voices are raised along with tensions. Frustrations of some become more evident, especially when the “safety adviser” deducts points for several of the task rules and constraints being ignored! Finally the whistle sounds for the end of the first task. There is a sense of relief that it is all over coupled with a sense of “we can do better at the next task!” Others appear to hope that the ground opens up and swallows them!

The coach, as observer, holds a post-task de-brief. They ask the team to do a self-assessment: What did they do well as a team? What didn’t work so well? What are they going to do next time as a result of the learning they have taken from task number one? The coach also gives their own feedback based on their observations of how the team formed, planned, communicated, made decisions, resolved conflict and generally worked together. The teams now move on after the de-brief with an action plan that should ensure they are more cohesive in how they tackle the next task overall.

The lessons learned are heeded and the next task is again taken on with vigour but this time the initial energy is focused in on planning how best they are going to tackle the task. There is more listening, putting forward of ideas and alternatives and better use of their resources is evident. The team have learned from their first experience and are continuing to learn with the support of their coach. After each task a de-brief is held and you can actually feel and see the teams started to gel as they work on each task. The rain is still coming down but nobody is aware of it - they are too focused on the task and on how they are working together. They may actually be enjoying the experience!

Two and a half hours later the fourth and final task is completed and along with the sigh of relief you can detect a real sense of achievement and also of pride in what they have achieved as a team. A final de-brief is held in the bar and the coach summarises the events of the afternoon. What has been achieved in terms of them working more cohesively as a team? How does what happened that afternoon relate to the workplace and how are they going to translate what they learned about themselves and the team into practical strategies that will ensure the team delivers more business for the company? The final act is for the team leader to build an action plan for the team’s development so that the learning from the day is not lost in the “hurly-burly” of the workplace. The team now has a way forward.

From the initial fear and scepticism, the energy evident at the awards ceremony is proof of how “outside team development” can motivate both individuals and teams. Which team won is almost incidental and although the usual “boos” and cheers go up, the feedback indicates that not only was the whole experience fun and enjoyable, important lessons have been learned that will move the sales teams forward in their quest of improved results.

Oh, and despite the rain, the scenery was excellent. And not a canoe in sight!

The above story is a generic one based on a number of similar interventions with pharmaceutical companies. What actually have these companies learned from the experience of ‘outdoor’ development? Feedback from participants indicates that these events can produce the following:

• Greater understanding of each team member and their strengths and development areas.

• Similarly, gaps in capability within the team as a whole can be identified and plans put in place to rectify the capability gaps.

• An increased understanding of team dynamics and processes along with a chance to start to develop the team-working skills that are needed to productively implement team processes.

• A chance to ‘get away from the workplace’ and take time to analyse present team performance and how best the team can move forward and improve productivity.

• An opportunity for the manager to build their leadership and coaching skills.

• An opportunity for teams to air concerns, hopes, fears and ideas.

• Much of the above only occurs when excellent coaching and facilitation takes place during the event. In other words, doing the tasks does not guarantee results alone!

• Fun assists and enables learning!

There are, though, downsides to ‘outdoor’ development:

• The weather! If it rains heavily and continuously it can be de-motivating and uncomfortable.

• If the facilitation is not first class then the learning taken from the tasks can be minimal, especially when attempting to link the learning from the tasks to what happens in the workplace.

• The tasks should be done in an environment as free from ‘interference’ as possible. Getting teams to manage complex tasks in full view of the kids from the local housing scheme can sometimes be off-putting!

• Similar to every training course if there is no follow up of action plans based on the learning then the chances are that little will change so there is little return on investment. A mechanism of follow up must be agreed.

• Tasks have to be changed and adapted routinely to avoid the danger of participants having perhaps done the same task on a previous programme.

Overall, ‘outdoor’ team development is another intervention that can be added to the Training or Sales Manager’s armamentarium of development interventions. It is one which is innovative, challenging and fun. Provided this type of development is facilitated by a specialist and competent coach, the learning that can be taken about how individuals and teams operate whilst performing the tasks, can be translated into what they need to do to be more productive in the workplace.

A recent participant in this type of event commented: “The early tasks were mentally challenging as opposed to being over-physical. In fact had we not disagreed so much in terms of our planning and our execution they might have been enjoyable! However, the coach enabled us to look at our behaviours and processes and as a result we managed to pull together more productively so that we were much more successful in the remaining tasks. It was also helpful to be able to link what we had achieved into how we could operate more effectively as a sales team back out in the field.”

Further Reading:

The New Why Teams Don’t Work (Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc 2000) Harvey Robbins, Michael Finley.

The Successful Coaching Manager. (Troubador Press 2003) Allan Mackintosh

Outdoor Management Development. (Gower 1994) John Bank.

About the submitter:

Allan Mackintosh is a Performance Management Coach with Reivers Development who specialise in outdoor management and sales team development. Allan is also the author of The Successful Coaching Manager and creator of the OUTCOMES® and CARERS performance coaching models. He can be contacted at allan@pmcscotland.com or on 00 44 292 318152 web: http://www.pmcscotland.com

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I have no financial interest in the success of Bag The Elephant by Steve Kaplan. I have never met Steve nor John E. Peppers, the former P&G Chairman and CEO who wrote the forward.

Few books allow for the techniques of big business to be translated into scaleable tools and tactics, equally applicable to big and small businesses. When I come across books that transcend scale, I tell as many people as will listen or read my ideas.

I am a former Senior Vice President, Brand Strategy Director for BBDO Atlanta, working on Cingular with a half-billion-dollar advertising budget. Many people mistakenly think that this experience naturally lends itself to helping a local small business–few business skills transcend such disparity in scale.

What’s applicable to a business of any size? Strategy and attitude. Bag The Elephant is about strategic thinking and a successful business attitude, elements Steve Kaplan points out are inseparable. Most books on attitude lack the strategic thinking to fortify a sustainable positive attitude. If you’re the captain of the Titanic and you’re on the deck as it’s sinking, I guess the best thing is to keep your humor and smile. However, it is a whole lot easier to laugh that afternoon if the previous night you had decided to go slowly and avoid the icebergs. But, avoiding icebergs isn’t enough to run a successful business; you need passengers for your financial journey.

When I share what I’ve learned from Bag The Elephant with friends, some explain that they don’t need a book on sales techniques to win big clients. These folks explain that they’re too busy with making this quarter’s nut to change their overall sales strategy right now. But, maybe they’ll read this book next quarter.

Bag The Elephant isn’t about sales techniques for landing bigger clients. Yes, some specific tactics to that end are in the book. What I found was that Bag The Elephant is about approaching your business from a perspective that is systemically different from the way I see most people approach business.

I gave my copy of Bag The Elephant to my friend Rich Goidel who runs a five-person shop called Media Firma. Within a week he realized a $3,000 profit specifically attributable to reading this book. Why? He didn’t learn a phrase that helped him close a deal; he was looking at his client’s business differently, which helped him ask a question about his client’s business. Increasing your sales isn’t about becoming a better salesman, it’s about becoming a better businessman, and that’s what will be rewarded monetarily.

Seeing business differently will yield sustainable changes in effectiveness. This is mental synergy. Synergy, that business buzzword too often abused in meetings. R. Buckminster Fuller coined the word “synergy”. The definition was 1700 pages long and contained in two books: Synergetics and Synergetics II. The shorthand of synergy is “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” but that doesn’t always equal increased productivity. Synergy is about an internal restructuring where the new whole was unpredictable by looking at the original parts.

Bag The Elephant takes what you already know and helps you restructure these ideas. Perhaps my favorite aspect of this book is that Steve Kaplan doesn’t use business buzzwords like synergy.

Ben Mack–
Recover Ad Executive;
Novelist: Poker Without Cards–
http://www.PokerWithoutCards.com

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Imagine that you’re a sports coach and you need a new player on
the team. Would you walk up to someone in the street and say -
“I want you to come and play for my team. I’ll train you to
become the best player in the country.” Sounds a bit ridiculous
doesn’t it?

What you’d probably do is watch players in other teams. On the
other hand, you might decide to find some young player that you
could develop for your team. So you’d spend some time looking
for players in schools and colleges.

What is it you’re looking for when you’re watching these young
people or more established players? Is it experience of the game
or perhaps an all round knowledge of how it should be played or
even just a good all round player. All of these would be good to
have but what you’re really looking for is - talent!

You’re looking for that gift or flair or capacity to achieve
your outcomes. If you’re looking for a goal keeper, then you’re
looking for someone with that extra something that keeps the
opposition from scoring. If you’re looking for a shooter, or a
winger or a quarter back then it’s the same story, you’re
looking for talent.

It doesn’t really matter how long they’ve been a player or
whether they have a great knowledge of the game - you just need
them to produce results.

It’s no different when you’re picking someone new for your team
- you’re looking for talent. And it’s a different talent for
every job. It could be:

*The talent to strip down an engine and rebuild it in record
time *The talent to make other people feel at ease *The talent
to produce reports that are clear and easy to read *The talent
to persuade people to buy your product or service

Be absolutely clear what you need this person to do - keep in
the forefront of your mind the outcomes that you’ll be
ultimately judged on.

Use your talent, be happy

It’s important the person you employ is happy in their new job.
Think for a moment about something you’re good at, a talent that
you have, something you can do better than lots of people. Do
you enjoy doing whatever it is, does it make you happy? I’m sure
it does.

When people use their talent in their job - what they do best,
it makes them happy. It makes the customer happy, it makes the
boss happy and it makes the person more productive. Sad to say
it’s not like that out in the world.

The Gallup Organisation did some research by asking millions of
employees from countries throughout the world to respond to this
statement -

“At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every
day.” The results were staggering; only 30% of employees were
able to reply in the affirmative. And it’s extremely unlikely
that the remaining 70% will achieve world-class performance.

If you want success in your business and in your team - Pick
people for what they do best, what they have a talent for.

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Conducting a seminar is a great way to communicate your ideas or introduce new technologies. It is useful to know some guidelines when you have to conduct a seminar. I understood the importance of this both as a attendee and a presenter myself.

Preparing your presentation

A successful seminar is the result of careful preparation of your speech and your presentation material. Here is how you can do it.

Research your subject

If you are called to speak on a topic, probably thats because you are already have some knowledge of it. Even so, you need to reference from at least 2 different books. This helps you address and include points you have not thought about. It also helps you determine a flow for the seminar.

Preparing the presentation

Include a presentation. Presentations help the audience to understand the underlying points that the speaker has to say especially if the subject is rather vague.

The presentation should have an Introduction and a conclusion. The introduction can include a summary of the topic and a brief overview of what the speaker will be saying for the rest of the duration of the seminar.

The speaker should determine how long the seminar will take and accordingly create the presentation slides. Thumb of rule is approximately 2-3 minutes per slide if the speaker intends to skim through the slides quickly. And around 5 minutes per slide if the speaker intends to explain the slides with small examples. For example, if the seminar is supposed to be 40 minutes long, there should be around 16 slides if the speaker intends to quickly skim the contents of the slide.

Make sure the content has a “flow” to it. By flow I mean that the content that comes later can depend on the content which comes in first, but not the other way around. This is a common mistake. The speaker tends to explains a point that should have come in later, in the beginning itself. This tends to confuse the attendees because they have not gained enough insight into the topic to be able to grasp the new information.

The Look and feel of the presentation is extremely important. Avoid too flashy and too plain presentations. A presentation with extraordinary text effects look naive and detracts from the importance of what the speaker has to say.

At the same time, avoid plain presentations as the attendees perceive that the speaker has probably not prepared enough. Use well designed presentation templates which are freely available or at a low cost. The text size of primary points should be uniform as far as possible. Secondary points should have a smaller font size to show its reduced significance. Secondary points are indented under primary points.

Include pictures or graphs instead of text wherever possible. Management Guru CK Prahalad, in a seminar on India’s innovation possibilities, explained the efficacy of the Jaipur Foot in a picture that showed a physically challenged person running with the Jaipur foot. Though the audience had already heard about the Foot, they were visibly amazed and touched as they saw the picture.

The way text is arranged on the presentation slides is also important. Speakers sometimes make the mistake of putting up points and their respective explanations also. Not only does this practice increase the number of slides, but it is a sure shot way to lull the audience into sleep. So thumb of rule is to use minimum text, and make sure whatever text you put up is a point, not an explanation of a point. If you intend to give out detailed points for reference, do not include them in the slide. It just makes them cluttered and anyway the audience just cannot keep up with the stream of points you list out to them during the seminar. Use handouts instead for such points.

It is very important to include within the seminar content, examples and case studies. Examples illustrate the speaker’s point in a more interesting way which the audience is immediately able to relate to. Examples and case studies have the power to touch an audience, relate to similar experiences and thereby be eager to learn more. Sometimes small jokes too make the seminar livelier.

Handouts

The speaker should prepare handouts as well, especially if the audience is small. Handouts will contain all main points of the seminar as well as those detailed points which cannot be included in the seminar slides but are useful for reference later. Include within the handout, a list of any reference books used to prepare for the seminar. This helps the audience to read or followup on the same topic later.

Listen to your voice

The speaker should listen to his seminar using a Dictaphone( or tape recorder) and play it back. It is possible to immediately detect the parts of the seminar that could be corrected or which don’t sound right. If the seminar sounds interesting to the speaker, chances are that others would also feel so.

During the seminar

Once the seminar is prepared, relax!! Most of the work is done.

List out your seminar itinerary
The speaker should make sure that the audience knows how long this is going to take. Give a brief idea on the important aspects of your speech so that the audience is aware where they are during the seminar. Then start with an introduction. Many people fail to give out a decent introduction before they delve into the subject, perhaps because they want to be quickly done with the main parts. An introduction helps bring people into sync with the subject. The speaker can also emphasize the benefit the audience will get by hearing the seminar out. It would be something like this “The topic I am going to speak today is about xxxxxx and through this I hope you will be able to gain yyyyyy.”

Style of speaking

The speaker’s voice should reach everyone, especially if it is a large audience and if there is no adequate sound system. Not able to clearly hear is probably the first way to lose interest. Similarly the seating should be such where everyone can easily see the speaker and the presentation.

The speaker should be relaxed and should be able to casually bring out examples of as many points he is taking. Examples have the power to immediately make the audience understand the point and be in sync with the speaker.

Speaker’s attention has to be on the audience. The speaker can probably glance occasionally at the presentation, but remember to make eye contact as often as possible.

The general thumb rule in a seminar is for the audience to understand the subject first before asking questions Interactions can be initiated after the seminar. But during the seminar the speaker is the one who has to be strictly speaking. While an interactive seminar may seem more lively for the speaker, in fact it is lively only for the speaker and for the person who is asking questions. Others immediately lose interest. So in the interest of the larger audience, the speaker has to make sure he does not lose grip over the audience even for a minute. That means avoiding asking audiences questions during the seminar or encouraging discussions during the seminar.

So how do people ask questions. They should do it after the seminar during a Question answer session. Any questions they have during the seminar should be written down by the audience and asked after the seminar. The speaker could make these rules clear to the audience prior to starting with the seminar.

After the seminar

After the seminar is over, there could be a question answer session where audience can ask questions. As the audience is more aware of the subject now and not burdened with their own questions, they can easily understand the replies to other questions.

Now the speaker could try to get feedback from the audience about your seminar. Of course this applies only if the seminar is conducted within a company or among people who will come back for more seminars. The speaker should try to understand if the subject was interesting to the audience and in particular “useful” to them or their department. This way it is possible to understand whether to continue to build on the details of the same or similar subjects in your next seminar.

In Poornam’s Development department, we conduct feedback sessions after every seminar to know whether the topic is useful for further implementation within the department. This way we were able to include JAD (Joint Application Development) and Inspection Review methods to our processes. The seminar became an extremely useful method to increase the knowledge level of staff and to improve our processes also. If the feedback session wasn’t there, probably people would have forgotten about the seminar and its uses to the department. Remember the speaker is a powerhouse of information on the topic and that knowledge should not go waste if it is useful to the organization.

Conclusion

Finally ensure that seminars are always are conducted in an organisation. Besides drastically improving kowledge levels, it brings about an understanding of the immensity of the vast unknowns in our profession or for that matter any profession. This in turn eradicates complacancy.

Another surprising benefit of conducting seminars within organisations is the increased confidence levels found in the speakers. Generally once a speaker has conducted a seminar, he rarely stops conducting seminars and goes on to become good enough to speak outside the company to a more general audience.

As complacancy is eradicated, a renewed interest in learning is developed and most speakers turn to writing articles and reading more books. Most importantly, the fresh inflow of new ideas enters the organisation as many of these ideas are implemented. The audience which listens to the seminar already know much of what is spoken and are ready to accept changes brought about by the new systems introduced as a result of the new ideas introduced by the speaker.

All in all, seminars benefit the orgnisation, the audience and most importantly the speaker.

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“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Remember that question from your younger days? Adults seem almost programmed to ask it, don’t they? Maybe you remember asking that same question to your own or another’s child recently. Remember?

I do.

And - do you remember any of your own answers to that question? I know it probably changed many times throughout the process of “growing up” but can you remember some of the answers?

I remember some of mine: policeman, fireman, architect, lawyer. I’m sure there were more but can’t remember too many at this point. What I do remember is the feeling that went along with the decision of choosing one or another. It was a feeling of being in a position of importance. To be able to help others in need or to be looked upon with respect and admiration because I created something really great.

I didn’t know it then but I was expressing the drive to be a leader. Maybe not the ‘top’ leader like a general or the president but a leader who made things happen in the world. I wanted to be someone who lead the way, not followed. Many people would say that I, and many greater men and women before me were born or destined to be leaders - as though fate had somehow selected us at birth to be who we are today. I know that many believe that leaders are born, but I can assure you that leaders are made.

Contrary to popular belief, birth has nothing to do with being a leader. However, learning to develop the traits of confidence, compassion, respect, and many more, do. Having a vision and the ability to communicate that vision to others - setting down a workable plan and having the discipline to act upon that plan until the vision, goal or dream has become real in the world - are the signs of a leader.

I believe that whenever we feel the drive to step out of our day-to-day routine - to volunteer time and energy to a local cause like the fire department, Scouts, or other group - and yes, to join a martial arts school - we are seeking to get back to that drive toward leadership.

Everyone, whether secretly or publicly wants to be a leader. Parents want their children to grow up to be leaders - not followers. It’s a natural drive. But, many of us either have not been ‘lucky’ enough to encounter role models in our lives who pointed the way or showed us how, or we did and didn’t recognize the gift presented to us at the time. What if we didn’t overlook the gift hidden in the question? What if we didn’t forget the dreams of the child still there within us?

In the martial arts, the symbol of leadership is the Black Belt. In many arts, like ninjutsu, it ’s not so much the belt as the rank, skill, or title of authority that tells others that you have more to offer than a physical ability to defend yourself.

The true master is the person who is strong enough to do whatever is necessary. He or she is powerful enough to do real damage but exceeds that ability with the power of choice - the power to choose peace over conflict. And you can see it when they move. You can feel it when you’re near them. You can sense it when they speak.

Unfortunately, many people want to be leaders and many more tell you to take more responsibility (another important trait of a leader) and go after what you want, but, there just aren’t that many who will show you step-by-step, just how to go about doing it like a good martial arts master. I feel especially fortunate in this respect. Fortunate to have encountered teachers, guides and role-models in my own life that were strong and powerful enough to have shared with me the knowledge for taking charge of my life. Knowledge that I can now pass on to my children and students.

So, what about you? Are you living up to your fullest potential? Are you ready to join others just like yourself on the path of the Warrior Leader? Are you ready to stop dreaming and start living?

We’re waiting for you!

Jeffrey M. Miller is the founder and master instructor of Warrior Concepts International. A senior teacher in the Japanese warrior art of Ninjutsu, he specializes in teaching the ancient ways of self-protection and personal development lessons in a way that is easily understood and put to use by modern Western students and corporate clients. Through their martial arts training, his students and clients learn proven, time-tested lessons designed to help them create the life they’ve always dreamed of living, and the skills necessary for protecting that life from anything that might threaten it. To learn more about this and other subjects related to the martial arts, self-defense, personal development & self-improvement, visit his website at http://www.warrior-concepts-online.com

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Whether we like to admit it or not, other people’s opinions of us really do matter. The opinions we have of ourselves, matters even more. Think about this for a minute. What separates the haves from the have-nots? Nothing, but your own fear and insecurities.

It has been said many times that “Americans love a winner” and that nobody remembers who came in second. The truth is like the joke that goes; this guy was praying to God everyday to win the lottery. After weeks and weeks of prayer the guy asked God why his prayers were going unanswered. God replied; you need to at least meet Me halfway and buy a ticket!

Wishing doesn’t always make it so - not without applied effort. You need to take a gamble on yourself, a leap of faith if you will, and you will learn that the only difference between the haves and the have-nots is the overcoming and mastering of these fears.

Nothing comes your way without effort. I’m from the old school of thought that also teaches that if you didn’t earn it, it won’t mean as much to you as if you did. Expect the same in business. It may take you several attempts before you find just the right combinations of things that work for you. Just because the first couple or so didn’t work out mean that you’re a loser it means you’re a do’er, someone who’s willing to go out on a limb, someone who’s confident in there ability to stand and deliver when things may rise up against you.

These are the real winners - not because they necessarily succeed but because they tried.

Sometimes when starting a new business or venture everyone, at one time or another, will have their fair share of “nay sayers” Just don’t you be one of them! It would be all too easy to say I can’t do this and I can’t do that, but why?

Don’t ever give up or cave in to outside pressures or you will always be asking yourself “what if” and “I wonder”. No one ever looses who honestly tries. If you have a dream or vision for yourself, you owe it to yourself to a least try. In my experience most of the people I know who have been the “nay sayers” are those who have settled for second best or have given up altogether.

Today I want to start my own internet company and compete with the Fortune 100 company’s! Pretty simple statement right? You bet! Why not? Realistically, what do we need? While these examples are but the tip of the iceberg, they’re a good place to start;

• Desire
• Ambition
• Drive
• A willingness to succeed
• The ability to see loss as a stepping stone to success

Internet businesses are great places for people to latch onto their piece of a dream and the only place I know of where you can compete with corporate America equally everyday.

The only thing that can get in your way from realizing the dream is YOU coupled with your uncanny ability to shoot yourself in the foot. We have no enemies in business but ourselves and those nasty little voices we carry around that tell us we’re failures.

I don’t make a practice of using quotes but I stumbled across this one and I found it highly appropriate. The late great football coach Vince Lombardy was asked by a sport reporter about a loss his team had just suffered. The Coach replied; “we didn’t lose, we just ran out of time”

Tell yourself something long enough and you begin to believe it. Have other people tell you something long enough you’ll not only believe it, but you’ll magnify it as well! You do not have to know everything there is to know. Surround yourself with those who can bring to the table an asset that your business needs and one that you do not posses.
This worked for Andrew Carnegie and will work equally well for you.

Failure and defeat provide the fire we need to forge our will to achieve success. So rather then let defeat beat us down or call us a loser, embrace it, welcome it as a teacher and then move on never forgetting the lesson learned.

You are only a loser if you believe you’re as loser.

Chas Brothers is a Home Based Business Owner, Motivational Writer, and an Independent SFI Marketing Representative and may be reached at;
http://work-from-home-make-extra-income.com , http://work-from-home-exchange.com or brothec@msn.com

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Ever feel that you spend too much time shoring up the performance of some of your people? More time with one or two than with some of the others.

And doesn’t that just drain you? So think about those employees and how they are draining you and damaging the energy you have. The energy that could well be directed much more productively.

There are people in your business who just seem to be way off where you want them to be. They are behaving as they are and it’s perfectly their right to be the way they are. But not in your business.

If it doesn’t fit what you want, then you have two options (apart from just tolerating it, which I’m sure you don’t want to do):-

1. Make very clear what your expectations are in words of one syllable and write them down. Manage it closely and be prepared for 2.
2. Work out a way to take them from your business (remember - you are doing them a favour, because if they are in an job which is way different than they are, they will be very unhappy underneath).
3. There’s a 3. Recruit a lot more carefully in future.

• What do you observe in your team today?
• Who are the ‘keepers’
• Who are the ‘losers’ (the ones who suck you dry of energy)
• Who are the ‘Oooops, I should never have taken them on in the first place’.

Great learning too!

And just think about what you will do with the time! One of my clients, when asked to note the people who wasted his time in one week found that one person alone accounted for 30% of his time!

Solving that issue, which required a little focused attention, within two weeks had created that space for him. Space that he used to build his business way above target.

Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide,
mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He
has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website,
http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com.
(Note to editors. Feel free to use this article, wherever you think it might be of value - it would be good if you could include a live link)

…helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow…