HUMANITAS MAXIMUS -- SELF- GROWTH, SELF- DETERMINATION AND LEADERSHIP.

Personal and Professional Growth - Don't Go It Alone!

2011-07-18T10:49:00.002-04:00

Most people do not like to work alone, in isolation -- at least not for long expanses of time and when facing difficult decisions. Generally speaking, asking for advice (a kind of "virtual teaming") and developing relationships with mentors, advisors, and experts might solve two common career/ entrepreneurial problems at the same time:

1) Getting over the feeling of isolation, and engaging in too much unhealthy introspection and self-doubt;

2) Getting the help and advice you need for better decision making and growth;

Never underestimate the benefits, both psychological and strategic, of developing a support network. Two words? Friendly Support.

Read on...

You will always need help and advice for your business, as you will for your life and professional career advancement. With growth and with forward momentum, your needs will actually increase; but then, you will have greater financial resources to barter for what you need, and a better-established network of tried-and-true support and resource providers to provide you with help and advice

If you are a smaller but rapidly-growing business, or a professional at the beginning of his or her career, there are many sources from which to choose -- the trick seems to be just how to ask for the advice or help that you need.

The resources can generally be found by doing a series of simple Google searches under a number of general search terms. A great number of these services are provided through various government agencies (at different levels...city, state, industrial district, province, national) at little or no cost. More of these can found by speaking with departments of commerce, business development offices, economic development offices, free trade zone administrations, embassies and consulates (especially for import or export ventures), and through participation and inquiries in a number of social media groups. There are often professional associations or societies which specialize in the type of guidance or resources which you need.

Some very valuable mentors, advisors, prospective directors, co-venturers and even investors can be found through properly-focused networking.

Once again, the issue is how to ask.

Here are some very general guidelines:

1. Before engaging in any discussions, prepare a list of exactly what types of help you need, and in what capacity;

2. Try to make inroads to sources of advice and help before your situation becomes urgent.

3. Be extraordinarily polite, straightforward and honest about exactly what your needs are. Show your appreciation and gratitude for the time that any prosective advisor or helper is prepared to spend with you. Personalized thank you notes (via email, with your communication coordinates, company name, and a brief reference to the nature of your company's business included).

4. Choose your words with diplomatic precision when asking. It is far better to say "I know that a person with your background and in your position must be extraordinarily busy, but I'd be very grateful if you would lend me some of your expert insights into ... If this time is inconvenient, please let me know when I may call you so as not to disrupt your day...," than "We need somebody who...".

5. Do a thorough Google search on the person with whom you will be speaking so that you can show that you took the time to learn about his or her education, experience, expertise and achievments. People are flattered (unless they are in the Federal Witness Protection Program) to learn that you cared enough to invest some of your time getting to know about them;

6. Be prepared with an executive summary, a comprehensive bio, or a PowerPoint business profile which you can easily attach to an email and send to the persons with whom you speak. If you host these on a fileserver, provide a live hyperlink so that your newly-discovered ally may easily download them. Show that you are organized, prepared, enthused and likely to succeed in your efforts;

7. Take a brief period of time to interview your newly-developed contact -- to ask questions about his or her life's experience. People love to talk about themselves (with the exception of those suffering from catatonia and those working as undercover crimefighters). Be patient. Listen. Learn. Give sincere praise. Show admiration.

8. Always follow-up with these important Human Assets to let them know that you are taking their advice and that you are putting their suggestions into play. It will please them to know that A) you've taken them seriously, and B) that you are responsible and respectful enough to report to them.

If you are prepared, polite and demonstrate some humility, these people will quite often go out of their way just to be extra helpful.

Start Googling for the resources that you need. And use the telephone to establish contact at first. If they are too busy or unavailable, follow-up with an email inquiring as to their avialability, being certain to mention that you had first tried to reach them by telephone directly.

Faithfully,

Douglas E Castle
http://entrepreneurialadviceandinsights.wordpress.com/
http://humanitasmaximus.blogspot.com/
http://www.tnnwc.com/

CNN Student News Offers Students Job Hunting Advice (freetech4teachers.com)
Top 10 Alternative Ways to Search Google (bjconquest.com)
Career Advice Tuesday - A Conference First Timer's Guide (Part I) (infosecleaders.com)
The best career advice I have... (timesunion.com)
Career Advice Wednesday (oops): Getting Off the Horse (infosecleaders.com)
Why Doing What You Love Is the Worst Career Advice (5min.com)
10 Amazing Google Search Tips To Help You Find What You're Looking For (businessinsider.com)
Education Requirements For A Sales Career (businessinsider.com)
Make the Most of Your Small Business (outofoffice.fedex.mediacdt.com)
Gettin' to Know GetListed.org (seomoz.org)
Google Calls on Graduates to Promote Apps in Their Workplace (pcworld.com)
What Advice Would You Give Young Entrepreneurs? (blogs.constantcontact.com)
Is the Internet a Good Source for Project Management Newbies? (brighthub.com)
57 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed (mashable.com)
Five pieces of advice for aspiring restaurateurs (theglobeandmail.com)
SCORE: Counseling and Resources for Small Business Owners (brighthub.com)
About Starting a Small Business (thinkup.waldenu.edu)
The New World versus the Old World: Are You Being Left Behind? (dumblittleman.com)
Google: Growth, And CEO Page's Turnaround, Spike Estimates, Price Targets (blogs.barrons.com)
Death by PowerPoint? More like suicide. (kulturnytech.com)
Leadership And Mentoring: Dangerous Businesses And Tough Love. (aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com)

---------------
NOTICE: This article is Copyright © 2011 by author Douglas E Castle with all rights reserved. It may be republished without permission provided that it is published in full, with all hyperlinks and exhibits left intact, and with full attribution given the author. This article does not contain or constitute medical, health, psychological, legal, regulatory, investment, securities, financial, tax, or any other form of professional advice -- the reader acknowledges and accepts this disclaimer. Further, the reader indemnifies and holds harmless both the author and all publications in which this article appears of any damages, claims, loss, responsibility or liability emerging from the reader’s utilization of any information contained herein.

About This Author: Further information regarding this author’s professional experience, expertise and service offerings can be found at ABOUT DOUGLAS E CASTLE

Other Blogs And RSS Feeds By This Author: A comprehensive list of blogs and RSS feeds on various subjects written or moderated by Douglas E Castle may be found by clicking on the orange icon below.

This Blog Is Powered By TNNWC Group, LLC ™

Contact This Author Directly: Click HERE for an instant pop-up form.

You may follow Douglas E Castle on TWITTER

The author highly recommends that each of his respected readers becomes Pinglerized (a Lingovation™) in order to maximize SEO, search engine ranking, and to exponentially increase both unique visitors and recurring traffic to your website or blog. Leverage this wonderful technology.

The author wishes to thank the following resource providers:

Feedburner, CoolText Graphics, JavaScript Free Code, Zemanta, Google, WordPress, Widgetbox, and Wikipedia
---------------

"Political Posturing Versus Honesty - Domestic And International Sabotage."

2011-06-25T22:15:00.000-04:00

In the ritual of politics, the art of deceit (either through lying, omission or conflictory action) is, apparently a necessity. Politicians want to announce what they they believe their respective constituencies want to hear ("on the record"), but their actions tell much more about what they truly desire. I have discussed this type of two-faced conduct more than once in The Internationalist Page Blog, and with numerous other blogs which I author through the TNNWC Blogosphere.

An Illustrative case-in-point follows: An entire legislative body vociferously condemns a president's participation in a military incursion, claiming an "abuse of a certain 'War Powers Act' " -- even citing that the president's action is unlawful as well as distasteful.

Ironically, after condemning the president's action by an overwhelming majority, the same representitives of the populace agreed to continue funding the 'allegedly legal' activity. This would seem to be tacit support of a military action that this same hypocritical pack of self-righteous and pedantic prevaricators had just condemned in the most severe terms.

An excerpt from a New York Times article follows. Please read it, and come back here [ I'll be waiting impatiently...and come back soon because you know how much I worry]:

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Friday, June 24, 2011 -- 2:51 PM EDT
-----

House Spurns Obama on Libya but Does Not Cut Funds

The House of Representatives dealt a symbolic blow to President Obama on Friday by resoundingly failing to approve a bill authorizing the contentious military operations in Libya. But the House stopped short of a total desertion of a war-time president by also rejecting a measure to limit financing to support the military operations.

Read More:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/house-takes-up-a-rebuke-to-obamas-libya-policy/?hp&emc=na
####

Entrepreneurs, conducting their businesses globally (refer to TNNWC's International Connections Service - "ICS") have no need to posture, position and lie. They are truly the world's future "citizen ambassadors." And their greatest thrust will be in the areas of a) honest commerce, and b) the spirit of cameraderie. Some helpful links follow:

Communicate: Make Yourself Understood, and Listen To Others Carefully! [A Quiz Follows]

2011-06-20T16:57:00.001-04:00

"There is a science (and a component of art) to communicating clear instructions or directions. There is also a corresponding science (and a component of art) to following instructions or directions precisely. It is quite rare to find a person in whom either of these skills is well-developed; it is almost inconceivably rare to find a person in whom BOTH of these skills are well-developed." - Douglas E Castle

This delightful Braintenance offering is brought to you through the good offices (I haven't actually visited them, so I'm merely being polite) of Dr. Daniel Benor. Every project manager, management consultant, engineer, CEO, COO, attorney, physician, leader and entrepreneur should take this test. The paradox here is that very intelligent individuals have a natural tendency to be impatient, and to "jump the gun" to arrive at answers. In this particular test, the performance advantage is on the side of the more studious and methodical among us.

Fact: The most obvious things tend to elude even the most clever minds.

The best aspect of this test is not what it measures -- it is that in taking the test, itself, you will receive a valuable lesson in how your mind works. Think of the educational efficiency of this device: You actually learn by the act of taking a test. Elegant, eh?

It presents a wonderful opportunity to test your Practical Intelligence Quotient in the form of several quick questions. Read the instructions carefully before you begin.

Hint: Do not assume anything. Utilize all of the facts presented to answer the questions, one after the next. Your growing (cumulative) knowledge base will help you to answer each question in the sequence correctly. When you've finished, you will likely want to forward this article to several friends and colleagues, as well as some of your family members, if you are actually on speaking terms with them.

----------------

There are 4 simple questions. Don't miss one.

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

Stop and think about it and decide on your answer before you scroll down.

The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

2 How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator?

Wrong Answer.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions..

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend .... Except one. Which animal does not attend?
Correct Answer : The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory. Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer:? You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

---------------
According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, approximately 90% of the Professionals whom they tested got all of the questions wrong, but many of the preschoolers who were given the same test arrived at several correct answers.

Anderson Consulting Worldwide says this conclusively proves the theory that "most professionals do not have the brains of a four-year-old."

------------

TNNWC believes that the above conclusion is a bit ridiculous, overly generalized and poorly-worded (I personally detest the part about the "brains of a four-year-old": because A) someone is apparently confusing the plural with the singular and the notion of intelligence with brains; and B) depending upon your interpretation of the Anderson conclusion, this does not preclude the lugubrious possibility that these tested professionals do not have, either in their offices or their homes, the actual brains of four-year-olds preserved in mason jars [ecch!].

But the one useful conclusion derived from this exercise upon which our TNNWC Experts and Advisors would agree would be that presumptions can be hazardous in effective decision making.

Did I hear someone say "Amen?"

Faithfully,

Douglas E Castle

Title Of Above Article: IQ: What Is Your "Practical Intelligence Quotient"?

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Measure of Intelligence . . . (Part I) (jaswrites.wordpress.com)
IQ, Motivation, and Success in Life: It's Less About The Intelligence and More About The Incentives (bigthink.com)
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Raising Confident Daughters (teens.webmd.com)
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Pesticide Use Tied to Lower IQ in Children (wired.com)
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The Greatest Leaders Must Be Mentors, Trainers And Teachers. (entrepreneurialadviceandinsights.wordpress.com)
CEO Go-Daddy Bob Parsons Kills Elephant for Vacation Sport (technorati.com)
Education Woes, and Finding Fault (technorati.com)

About This Author: Further information regarding this author’s professional experience, expertise and service offerings can be found at ABOUT DOUGLAS E CASTLE

Other Blogs And RSS Feeds By This Author: A comprehensive list of blogs and RSS feeds on various subjects written or moderated by Douglas E Castle may be found by clicking on the orange icon below.

This Blog Is Powered By TNNWC Group, LLC ™

Contact This Author Directly: Click HERE for an instant pop-up form.

You may follow Douglas E Castle on TWITTER

The author highly recommends that each of his respected readers becomes Pinglerized (a Lingovation™) in order to maximize SEO, search engine ranking, and to exponentially increase both unique visitors and recurring traffic to your website or blog. Leverage this wonderful technology.

The author wishes to thank the following resource providers:

Feedburner, CoolText Graphics, JavaScript Free Code, Zemanta, Google, WordPress, Widgetbox, and Wikipedia
---------------

SENDING SIGNALS! - find us at http://SendingSignals.blogspot.com ”Communicate with Precision and Power.”

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Maximize Personal, Professional and Business Creativity

2011-05-29T14:17:00.001-04:00

How do you maximize your value as a Human Asset, both to yourself, and to those around you? One way is to increase your creativity, Creativity is at the start of every process -- starting with Genesis. In the words of a great philosopher, "As ye think, and as ye will, so shall it be."
"Creativity is the spark which ignites and incites innovation, entrepreneurship, invention, scientific and social breakthroughs, the creation of great works and all of society's progress. To find the wellspring of creativity and to be able to access it at will is every thinker's dream." DC

Where do brilliant ideas come from? Those ideas which produce insights, breakthroughs and inspiration for inventors, entrepreneurs and leaders? For great Mathematicians and scientists? For Artists?

I have heard numerous references to the "Akashic Records," "Cosmic Consciousness," the "One Universal Mind," "Spirit Guides," "Guardian Angels," and "Masters." I have yet to endorse any of these individual terms, or the theories which underlie them, but I will admit that there is something there.

Perhaps the source of it is subconsciously internal (within us), or perhaps superconsciously internal (within us, but sparked by access to some giant, timeless outside body of knowledge and energy which we do not quite fully understand.

For the purposes of self-growth, professional achievement and business success, we are always looking for ways to tap into a reservior of creativity -- wherever and whatever it actually is. Some of us attempt to access this through groupthink and brainstorming sessions, meditation (transcendental, hypnotic, transmission, yoga, visualization, lucid dreaming, NLP, subliminal videos and tapes, listening to Mozart and the like) or other techniques.

What does matter is that we keep our minds open to some of these amazing possibilities -- perhaps we should even experiment with a variety of them to "open the door" to inspiration and energies that ordinarily seem elusive to us. I would urge you to experiment in the laboratory of your life.

In BRAINTENANCE, ENTREPRENEURIAL ADVICE AND INSIGHTS, REASON OUT OF RANDOMNESS and in numerous of my other blogs I have alluded to this...

Inventors, Entrepreneurs and Leaders: The Ultimate Creative Resource

On this subject, I received the following email today with an embedded video about celebrated author Napoleon Hill and one of his "secrets."

I do not endorse the producers of the newsletters or the video, either in terms of agenda, philosophy, content or product, but I definitely recommend that you give the brief letter and the video some serious consideration:

---------------

Back in 1937, a man by the name of Napoleon Hill pissed off a lot

of people.

The source of this consternation was his book called 'Think and

Grow Rich'.

In this book was a mental visualization technique that Hill himself

was hesitant to even reveal - and that his publisher was this close

to axing, for fear of public backlash.

It was called the 'Invisible Counselor' technique.

What exactly is it?

Hill describes it as a visualization exercise that allows you to tap

into the imaginary minds of anyone living or dead, to source ideas

and inspiration.

Which means you could use it to have a chat with Gandhi. A coffee with

Churchill. Or a meeting with Socrates.

Weird? Fascinating? Impossible? You decide - check out this video:

>>> The Invisible Counselor technique (no sign-up necessary), or go to http://www.quantumjumping.com/special/counselors-technique.

---------------

I would enjoy hearing your thoughts on the matter, if you would simply return to this page after watching this thought-provoking video abou the author of Think And Grow Rich.

Faithfully,

Douglas E. Castle, Chairman, TNNWC Group, LLC

Subject categories for this article:

The Universal Mind
Uncategorized
Uncategorized
Accumulating a WAR CHEST.
Adaptation and Flexibility
Adding Value
Anger Management
Assessing Needs
Attitude
Behavioral Psychology
Betrayal
Better Relationships
Brainstorming
Branding
Bullying
Business Planning
Buzzing
Capital Sources
Cashflow Issues
Changing Direction
Coaching and Mentoring
Collections
Committees
Communications
Compensation
Compete or Collaborate?
Conflict Resolution
Contracting
Converting Liabilities
Coordinating Multiple Projects
Courage
Cowardice
Creative Positive Visualization
Creativity
Credit and Collections
Credit Sources
Crisis Resolution
Customer satisfaction
Decisionmaking
Decsionmaking
Delegation
Diversification
Drastic Measures
Eliminating Liabilities
Employee Benefits
Espionage
Expectation Management
Exploration and Experimentation
Focus
Forecasts
Forming Alliances
Gathering Intelligence
Getting Answers
Getting Attention
Getting It Done
Giving Instructions
Hiring and Firing
Hypnosis
Identifying Your Assets
Identifying Your Liabilities
Implementation In Increments
Inbound Marketing
Incentives and Inducements
Increasing Revenues
Inspirational Quotes
Inspiring Creativity
Integrity
Internationalism
Interns
Intuition
Leadership
Leading By Example
Listening
Loyalty
Management
Market Research
Marketing and Media Mix
Meetings
Metaphors
Monitoring Systems
Motivation
Negotiating
Networking
News Releases
NLP and Subliminal Suggestion
Offensive and Defensive Strategies
Organizational Structure
Outbound Marketing
Outsourcing and Offshoring
Ownership
Preparing For Change
Problem-Solving
Problem-Solving Skills
Project Management
Putting Your Assets To Work
Reaching Agreements
Rebellion
Recreation
Reducing Employee Turnover - Increasing Loyalty.
Reducing Unproductive Costs
Regulatory Issues
Rewarding Achievement
Rewarding Effort
Scripting
Self-Growth
Service Bartering
Setting Up Systems
Slogans
Social Media
Strategic Co-Ventures
Stress Reduction
Surveys and Polls
Tasking Triage
Team-Building
Technology
Telecommuting
The Critical Path
Time Management
Trends
Trust
Uniting and Dividing
Visualization
Volunteers
Working Environment
Working With Different personality Types

Real riches according to Napoleon Hill [Robert Oosthout] (ecademy.com)
5 things I learned from a MD inventor and serial entrepreneur (kevinmd.com)
Douglas Castle's Blogs And RSS Feeds On WordPress (douglascastle1.wordpress.com)
Napoleon Hill's Thought of the Day - Get Yourself Under Control (mymindsetmatters.wordpress.com)
Napoleon Hill once again [Robert Oosthout] (ecademy.com)
Get the Master Blueprints for Success (mindwareforum.com)
Think and Grow Rich (yourpositivethinking.wordpress.com)
"It's a Way to Liberate Yourself (nomoneynoproblem.wordpress.com)
Procrastinators Rule Among Wishful Entrepreneurs (businessinsider.com)
A Business Leader Can Think Too Much About Thinking (douglascastle1.wordpress.com)
Free Copy of Newest Napoleon Hill Foundation Book The Path To Riches (tomtootallcunningham.wordpress.com)
About Tnnwc - Summary (douglascastle1.wordpress.com)
International Business - Entrepreneurial Trends [Volvo In China As A Case In Point] (douglascastle1.wordpress.com)
Procrastinators Rule Among Wishful Entrepreneurs (startupprofessionals.com)

Thank you, as always, for reading me.

Douglas Castle’s Blogs And RSS Feeds
For a complete list, click on the RSS icon below:

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We are a collaborative entrepreneurial, creative organization offering you hands-on, personalized assistance in every aspect of achieving your monetization, profitability and financial sustainability objectives, domestically and globally.

We don’t just coach you or offer you pre-packaged, push-button solutions – we listen to you, analyze your exact needs, and work within your budget to: 1) create your tool kit and 2) work as your partner to implement your plan by supporting you in the most efficient and productive use of every tool.

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To receive our newsletters, publications, information bulletins and alerts, simply join us as a Member. Membership is free and the benefits are unequalled anywhere.

Just go to our home page, and click on the “JOIN US” button.

---------------

Be Decisive - Settling Is For Dust, Not For Persons Of Achievement.

2011-05-13T20:44:00.000-04:00

Q: How many times have you heard somebody complain (paradoxically) by answering the age-old question, "How are you doing?" with "I guess I can't complain..."?

A leader minimizes the time spent complaining, and maximizes the time spent changing things by taking constructive, precipitous action.

Only three components are truly necessary to achievement.

The first one is the seminal moment in the evolution or discovery of an idea, a motif or a notion. You visualize it. You look at where you are, and where you'd prefer to be. If you merely stop at the point of visualization, you will never achieve anything, and you never will have even communicated yout thought to someone who might be driven enough, or inspired enough to act.

The second one is where you express it to another person or group of people. Sometimes, if time is of the essence, you merely mouth the words to yourself. But words give a sort of life to thoughts. Words can lead to change; but only if those words translate into physical action.

The third is the one that is seldom reached; and when it is initiated, it is very commonly abandoned, or subjected to procrastination -- it is relegated to a position of less importance, and it recedes into the distance of memory.

Three steps:

1. THOUGHT

2. WORD

3. ACTION

Sometimes it is advisable to omit the second step. Sometimes it is advisable to push forward hard on the third step -- sometimes action must be sustained to achieve momentum -- to get the Jeep over the hill; and, then again, sometimes you take an action that produces a counter-reaction which requires that you change your course of action again. The process is dynamic, and constantly requires fine-tuning.

But without action, all of the visualization and conversation in the world will never truly create change. Let your words always be a call to action.Faithfully,

Douglas Castle
http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/
http://www.LinkedIn.com/company/tnnwc

---------------

You must take action as soon as you know what needs doing.

There is always a point where excessive contemplation, consensus and growing inertia -- and that point is almost immediately after a brilliant idea is put into words.

Unless these words are put immediately into action, momentum is lost, and progress is actually reversed.

Here is something that I culled from a letter to me from Mark Joyner, the Founder of Simpleology (http://www.simpleology.com/):

Her name was Florence Nightingale, noted as the single most important pioneer of Nursing. She was born to a family of great privlege, but chose to spend her days tending to those wounded in battle. This quote bears repeating: "I think one's feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which bring results."

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

p.s. "Action" is the very thing which differentiates entrepreneurs from dreamers, and leaders from followers. Think about it. Then say it (even to yourself). And then, while it is still in the forefront of your consciousness, before it is obscured by an accumulation of the mundane duties and thoughts of the day, and tucked away in the world of "almost," - take that action.

As they say at Nike - Just Do It.

Excuses are for cowards - people afraid of failure, afraid of success, or too indolent and contented with the cozy cocoon of politically correct and acceptable mediocrity to push the envelope, or open the shades and allow the light to come streaming in.

SENDING SIGNALS! - find us at http://SendingSignals.blogspot.com ”Communicate with precision and power.”

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Douglas Castle's INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS™ BLOG.

Internal Energy Plus™ is based upon a system of mind-body learning and entrainment originally founded by martial arts Headmaster Soke Joseph Droual. It continues to be a work-in-progress.

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HUMANITAS MAXIMUS -- SELF-GROWTH, SELF-DETERMINATION AND LEADERSHIP. http://humanitasmaximus.blogspot.com/- "Learn, Dream, Plan, Implement and Achieve."

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The Frightening Journey To Being Successful

2011-05-03T10:35:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends, Colleagues, TNNWC Members, Bloggers, Entrepreneurs, Team-Leaders, Visionaries and Musicians With Their Songs Unsung:

"Fear is the pervasive fog that we must somehow walk through in order to see the clear, untarnished image in the mirror which shows us our gifts, our beauty, our opportunities and our best selves." - Douglas Castle

I am curious as to whether this greatness is within us at the start of our walk, or if the walk, of itself, makes us into the greatness that looks back upon us at the end of the dimensionless, all-enshrouding fog of fear.

My suspicion is that most of us see the fog rolling in and retreat, or we advance slightly, only to get lost wihin its indiscernible depths and remain there, prisoners in our own recognizance.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

http://DouglasCastleRSSFeeds.blogspot.com
http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com
http://www.LinkedIn.com/company/tnnwc
http://Braintenance.blogspot.com
http://TheNationalNetworkerWeblog.blogspot.com

Business Building Workaholics and Thei Psychological Health

2011-04-28T22:44:00.000-04:00

"A famous hunk of statuary, and a frequent target for pigeons."

Dear Friends, Fellow TNNWC Members, DAZZ enthusiasts, collaborators, and Jeffrey:

A business leader, entrepreneur, a workaholic or even an idle person with too much time available and too much gray matter can actually spend incessant mental cycles thinking about thinking, wearing his noggin to the nub.

This is why entrepreneurs and workaholic business and professional persons should take up hobbies, find sources of healthy irrelevent distraction and take frequent breaks from their activities. Things of a physical and repetitive nature (which require minimal cerebration) seem to work best.

By the way, have I mentioned anything to you about my either of my blogs, BRAINTENANCE at http://braintenance.blogspot.com/ or IMAGES BY DOUGLAS CASTLE at http://imagesbydouglascastle.blogspot.com/? I had not actually intended to do so, but it's too late now. A bell, as they say cannot be unrung. Sadly this mention of two of my other blogs seems like self-serving promotion, and will probably give this posting a certain advertorial flavor.

Please accept my apologies for my having mentioned the two blogs above, which, along with http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/, I shall not mention again.

And now for an example of a dangerous pattern of paradoxical and iterative thinking which can occur when one thinks too much about thinking. This is a strenuous intellectual activity which can cause permanent brain damage in the event that the damage is not temporary.

Below, for your review, is a bit of correspondence, with some of the information changed in order to protect the identity of one or more parties:

Subject: TEST TO DOUGLAS

Douglas,

This is simply a test to ensure my mail is getting through to you sending it from gmail.com online site. Simply reply when you receive this email.
- Your Associate

Dear Sir:

I refuse to dignify your "testy" email missive with a reply.

Yet in saying so, I have in fact dignified this very subject correspondence with a communication which could be construed as a reply, which is precisely what I'd hoped not to do. I am further upset by your clever means of trapping me into dignifying that which I had wished to not to dignify.

If you would be kind enough to dispose of this email without reading it (and forever remain silent about your having received it, or about my having sent it), your email to me shall in some fashion remain undignified by a response which you have (ostensibly) not read -- in effect, it would be as if I'd never been ensnared into sending it to you in the first place.

But there again, you've got me. For if you discard this email, the mere act of your having done so will have been at my instruction, which you most obviously could only have received through a communication initiated by me or one of my minions.

I will likely remain awake all night trying to resolve this unsolvable dilemma, which is extremely saddening, considering that I have already ascertained that the dilemma is obviously not resolvable.

Somewhere a tree is falling in a forest -- and although I shall not have heard it, it shall have made a noise.

I think that I need a break from work.

Douglas ("Diogenes") Castle

Douglas Castle

Chairman and CEO

TNNWC Group, LLC

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Douglas Castle - THE DAILY BURST OF BRILLIANCE .001™
http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/

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Douglas Castle Apologizes For An Annoying Technical Glitch.

2011-04-20T17:33:00.001-04:00

Dear Readers (Entrepreneurs, TNNWC Members, Colleagues, Business Leaders, Innovators, Project Managers, Commanders of Growing Companies, Braintenancers, Global Futurists, Internationalists, Marketers, Trend-Watchers, Trend-Setters, and Friends):

Subject: Douglas Castle Apologies for An Annoying Technical Glitch.

Q: Conspiracy or Catastrophic Compound Error?

It's simple. I am not certain whether it was due to a deadly conspiracy involving a collaborative effort among Twitterfeed, Hellotxt and Ping, or whether it was the result of an extremely unlikely catastrophic compound error (Do I sound paranoid? Are you talkin' to me?), but my status updates have been prodigiously posting themselves to many of my blogs without my knowledge or consent.

Since this began two days ago, I have had a "Blue Ribbon Panel" of "experts" working on solving the problem, and after much debate (mostly over who would be responsible to pay for lunches, and how much of a gratuity we should give the delivery kid), they have assured me that the mechanism has been repaired.

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused you, and I thank you for your patience and for reading me and my guest contributors.

Faithfully, and in the spirit of friendship,

Douglas Castle
http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/douglascastle
http://www.linkedin.com/company/TNNWC
http://www.TNNWC.com (the official website, soon to be released in Visionary Version 3.0 – please stay tuned!)

Douglas Castle’s Blogs And RSS Feeds
For a complete list, click on the RSS icon.

Crisis Management, Communications and Control

2011-04-09T09:57:00.001-04:00

Crisis Management and Communications.

This article written by Douglas Castle and originally published in Expert Advice And Insights From TNNWC, a publication of TNNWC and The National Networker Companies.

Every leader and team participant who plays an integral role in your company has an obligation to every colleague. If you are in an entrepreneurial enterprise or small business this obligation is all the more critical, in how it is handled and it involves observation, communication, messaging, problem-solving and reporting on the status of any anticipated or actualized crisis. While we'd all prefer to follow a strategic business plan and make incremental, expedient organized progress toward achieving our objectives, crises arise -- it is the nature of business (i.e., problem-solving to achieve an objective) to throw us the occasional crisis or catastrophe. Each one is a test.

If you either recognize or anticipate a crisis that you cannot immediately resolve yourself, you must:

1) Determine all parties within your company who may be affected, and how they may be affected;

2) Immediately notify the parties whose efforts could be a) damaged the most, and b) who are best equipped to handle the crisis so that those parties can make alternative arrangements, or attend to the critical issue. Information and intelligent, reasoned action can contain a small problem and keep it from being catapulted into a catastrophe. If the water is going to be turned off, if your web server is acting up, if the email system isn't going to be working, if payroll is going to tight, if a vendor is no longer qualified to supply your company or if an employee has been terminated, this message must be sent out to everybody affected with efficiency and immediacy;

3) Get the message out directly (yourself, without waiting for a committee meeting, or any other bureaucratic waste of precious time) via email, telephone, or text to all parties who will be affected or may be affected -- it is important, before a crisis ever emerges, that you have established multiple lines of communication to each member of your organization in case of emergency, and that you have a means of signalling that a crisis is in process, or that a crisis is anticipated;

4) Update all affected personnel of what actions are being taken to resolve the critical issue, what they can expect, and an estimated (conservative) timeframe for repair. This is what those folks in Human Resources refer to as "expectation management;"

5) Remember - early, honest notice of a crisis, and updates until it is resolved minimize the organizational and emotional trauma of the crisis, the ancillary damage that might otherwise be caused by a lack of information or by misinformation. A crisis should not be a big secret - it should be competently contained until it can be remedied and business can go back to "work as usual." [ahhh.....]

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The better that you manage a crisis, the less that it will pull you and your team or organization off course. In fact, well-handled crisis management doesn't create the desperation and/or confusion associated with negative surprises or exponentialized rumors -- it is more analogous to improvising lines in a play when you've forgotten part of the script.

How you handle a critical situation will determine if you are meant to lead, or merely menat to attend to the limited scope of your job. Going further, leaders are made because of how they have handled critical situations. For those of you who appreciate silver linings, a crisis represents an opportunity for leaders to develop and to be recognized. Now onward with your mission, captains, commanders and leaders of growing companies, both existing and to be recognized.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

Chairman and CEO

TNNWC Group, LLC

http://www.TheNationalNetworker.com

http://www.TheNationalNetworkerWeblog.blogspot.com

http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com

http://TakingCommand.blogspot.com.

http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/DouglasCastle

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Perspective - Your Character.

2011-04-06T17:26:00.001-04:00

Note: The article which follows originally appeared in The BRAINTENANCE Blog, prior to its publication in HUMANITAS MAXIMUS and THE INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS Blog. Each of these blogs is a planet orbiting about the TNNWC website (the star) in a vast constellation in cyberspace. Management, leadership, decision making, messaging, buzzing, blogging, reputation management, customer satisfaction and any other factor which affects us either as individually-purposed Human Beings, or as members of entrepreneurial enterprises made up of others working collaboratively. Any topic relating to the aforementioned areas of focus is fair game.

Dear Cranial Vault Keyholders and Honorary Cardholders:

To be a team leader, a manager, or a coordinator, you must lead by example, and you must be prepared to demonstrate the integrity of your character and the legitimacy of the motivations which precipitate your actions. You are being watched by others. What's more, you are constantly making choices and introspectively (as well as retrospectively) examining your own motives. Others may have to deal with your style of leadership or management, but you have to deal with yourself.

This is going to hurt just a bit, but you might want to think about who you are given these real-life situations:

1) You're the owner of a start-up business venture, and you are pushing the speed limit while driving your hybrid car in the left-hand lane (in the US). You are about to meet a major equity investor. You're running late. The fellow in the car directly in front of you is wavering from lane to lane without signaling, and gently tapping on the brakelights at seemingly random intervals. You scream "You flipping idiot!"

2) Your boss likes to come into the office very early in the morning, and after dinnertime in the evening at random times. He clearly wants to see who is working (by his standard, which involves employees remaining at their desks for many hours), and enjoys this "surprise approach." It is Friday evening, and you have a dinner date with your soul mate -- but you are breking into a sweat at the thought of leaving before 6:30 pm. You may be quite late for your date, who will be waiting at a restaurant where you've made reservations.

3) You are a soldier on the field of battle. An unarmed man, terrified, is kneeling on the ground in front of you with his hands atop his head, on his knees, pleading for his life. You believe that he is a civilian. Your commanding officer stands behind you, puts his gun up to the back of your head, cocks the trigger and says, "Shoot him, private, or I'll shoot you."

4) You have quit smoking after many years. You have not had a cigarette in four months. In your top office desk drawer, you have an unopened pack of cigarettes that you haven't thrown away, and cannot seem to part with...

5) You abhor cheating on examinations. You are in a very competitive class. Most of the other students cheat. They are circulating an unlawfully purloined copy of tomorrow's upcoming exam, obviously without the professor's knowledge. You think to yourself, "I hate cheaters. These people are disgusting. But if I don't get a high grade in this course, I'll lose out on my chance to get into a great graduate school program..."

In each of the above-proposed scenarios, what do you do, and how does that make you feel about yourself? Think hard.

Good Luck.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle
http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com
http://Braintenance.blogspot.com
http://ExpertAdviceAndInsightsFromTNNWC.blogspot.com

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HUMANITAS MAXIMUS -- SELF- GROWTH, SELF- DETERMINATION AND LEADERSHIP.

Personal and Professional Growth - Don't Go It Alone!

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Crisis Management, Communications and Control

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