MANAGEMENT SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

4 Planning Questions to a Managers and Their Answers

2010-05-05T05:58:00.000-07:00

What are the tasks to complete the project?

When you are a project manager first of all you should know and realize what are total tasks to meet the project. Count them and write them on separate pages.Even you can make files to manage them.if the tasks are big then you can assign them to your team members.

How long should each tasks take to complete?

Now take the first task and start estimating the time to finish it. your time must be realistic not emotional. I mean from emotional that mostly project managers wishes to complete the tasks as soon as possible and ignore the realistic approach. So make a right time schedule for each task and write them into their files.

Who will do the tasks?

A project manager must have a team of efficient and qualified people whom he will assign the task according to their abilities. This will be very useful if you assign right man for right task. It is the only phenomena that will decide the success of your project.

What risk could interfere with timings of my schedules?

Now is the time when you have to make research for hurdles that will come in scheduling of your project.

Think, plan and remove them. You just try to make those people successful whom you assign the tasks and after completing the tasks they will make you more successful more powerful.
The source of this article is COMPANIES MANAGEMENT. For first two point you can take help from project management softwares.

Remember 20 Points to Get Success in Management

2010-05-04T04:56:00.000-07:00

1. You will receive opportunities. You must prepare for them. They will continue to come as long as you are ready.Some may not look like opportunities at the time, and some will be better than others. You cannot take care of all of them properly, so you must carefully choose the best and forget about the rest.

2. There are no mistakes, only lessons.

3. A lesson is repeated until learned. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson. Learning lessons does not end.

4. There is never enough time.

5. There is never enough information.

6. There will always be a better way, but there is never a better time than now.

7. Ask always: "Is there a better way to do this?"

8. Project confidence. Soon, you may even feel confident.

9. Never embarrass your boss.

10. Tell your people to tell you about problems before they embarrass you.

11. Deliver bad news as soon as possible.

12. Your credibility is made up of requests and promises. Learn to make and keep both, and don't waste either.

13. Getting it done is what it is all about.

14. Taking care of your customers (clients) and your staff is good business.

15. Avoid surprises, except those that are pleasant surprises for your customers (clients).

16. Your customers (clients) needs come first, your staff's needs are next, and your needs rarely matter.

17. Keep the big picture in focus.

18. That which is measured is improved.

19. Your expectations of others become true.

20. Your answers lie with you. You get to make all the important choices.

Source of this article is COMPANIES MANAGEMENT

Marketing Campaign

2010-03-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

“Business has only two functions - marketing and innovation.”

Marketing is the process by which companies determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It is an integrated process through which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return.

The description of a “campaign” is that it must be:

1# Task-based

2# Have a purpose

3# a declared target

4# An outcome targeted

5# Finite

6# Limited in time

7# Bound by a start and an end

8# Maximises social tools to create an “interest spike”

Around the date of the campaign – interest leading up to, during and immediately after the event and of course have an ethical exit strategy. If it’s a game or competition, a known and obvious end date.Campaigns give Corporate a chance to baby-step into social media. No, of course they are not your full social media strategy, but they offer an entry point, the opportunity to get one’s feet wet without alienating the shareholders and board of directors from the get-go.

Software may also be used for it and proper trainings should be held for it.

Marketing Campaign

2010-03-11T13:05:00.000-08:00

Marketing Campaign

TOP5 Self-Confidence Tips

2010-02-22T08:10:00.000-08:00

Our knowledge gives us confidence. Low knowledge low confidence. More knowledge More confidence. If you're having a confidence crisis at home or at work, try these tips on how to give yourself a lift.
1. Think back. Try to remember the positive things you've done in the last six months and write a list of your achievements. You’ll be surprised how long it is.

2. Listen out. Are you being praised? It may not be obvious, but a lack of complaints from a generally stroppy boss or partner means just as much.

3. Write down the 10 things you like about what you do. And then another 10. They’re out there, so if you can’t think of them keep trying.

4. Celebrate your quirks. Your magic is in your individuality and this is a much greater strength than just fitting in.

5. Imagine total freedom.

Write down how you would spend your day if you had the time to yourself. Now do it, or at least work out how you can make it happen.

How to Make TO-DO List

2010-02-15T23:48:00.000-08:00

While creating and using to-do lists is relatively simple, there are some tips and tricks you can use to multiply their effectiveness. Below I’ll share with you the 10 tips I learned with my to-do lists over the years.
1. Choose the Right Medium
2. Leave the List Visible All Day Long
3. Start Your Day with Your To-Do List
4. List Tasks for That Day Only
5. Put the Important Tasks On Top
6. Have A Separate Section To Write Down Ideas and Notes
7. List the Things You Are NOT Supposed To Do As Well
8. List A Realistic Number of Tasks
9. Take Your Breaks Between Tasks (And Not Inside Them)
10. If You Miss A Task, Send it to Tomorrow’s List

Solve Problems Like a Genius Mind

2010-02-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

Genius level thinking is not reserved only for highly mentally gifted. Geniuses have a system for how to work through problems, which they may or may not be conscious of. Once you learn the system, you can use it to solve problems the way geniuses do. The difference between them and you is that they've simply used their system longer than you have. Once you gain some practice with it, internalize it, and begin to use it automatically, the people in your life will see you as a genius to.

Here are the 7 steps to genius level problems solving.

1. Identification

In most cases, we tend to think that the symptoms of a problem are the problem itself. We then set off to address the symptom. After our time and effort has been spent, the symptom has been temporarily eliminated. Since we did not solve the root cause of the problem, the symptoms will return again and again. Geniuses spend a large portion of their problem solving time in identifying the true problem. They understand that a problem can be resolved once and for all if they can identify its causes. When the root causes of a problem are found, all of the symptoms of that problem also vanish. It's the equivalent of killing 10 birds with one stone.

Plan on spending a lot of time and thought on finding the real problem. If you begin with a symptom, ask yourself what causes it to be a problem for you. When you find an answer, ask yourself again what cause it to be a problem for you. Somewhere between 5 and 10 "why's" deep, you'll find the root cause of the problem.

2. Mindset

When we have a "big" problem in our lives, we sometimes become overwhelmed by it. We see it as insurmountable. We don't believe we can get passed it and it becomes a major source of stress and worry. Since we can't see life without this problem, it seems unsolvable. Our thoughts repeat on the phrase, "it's impossible". Our mindset is that this problem has us in its grasps. Geniuses believe that all problems are temporary and solvable. Think about a major problem in your life 3 years ago. Remember your mindset at that time? You didn't know how you would ever get passed that situation. Yet, here you are 3 years later. As you look back to 3 years ago, you realize that the problem that was gigantic then is either greatly reduced or not a problem at all today. Geniuses start with that perspective in mind. They know that it's usually not as bad as it seems today. Also, they don't waste their time thinking about aspects of the problem that they cannot change. They know that a major part of any problem is their thoughts about it. So, if they can't change a circumstance contributing to a problem, they focus on the aspects of the problem they can change.

Understand that new problems create new perspectives. Therefore, welcome the challenges because they stretch your minds. It is that mental stretch and growth that allows you to see major problems from 3 years ago as minor today. Fast forward the process. View problems as challenges, know that they are temporary, and that a solution can be found.

3. Vision

We typically direct our minds toward what we should do as the first step towards solving a problem. Then, we focus on the next step, and then the next. Eventually, we may hit an obstacle that makes the solution path we were following ineffective. So, we try again with a new first step, and another, and another to see where that leads. This can often result in frustration, lack of faith in how things are going, and the creation of brand new problems while trying to solve the current one.

Geniuses make their first step visualizing the end state. They focus on a vision of the true problem and all of its components and symptoms solved. By doing this, they begin to understand how it will feel once the problems are solved, and they receive clues from that vision as to the correct solution path.

In "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," Stephen Covey lists one habit as "begin with the end in mind". This is what geniuses do, and you can do it too. Know where you are going before you try to get there. Knowing the end state, and keeping it in mind until the problem(s) is/are solved is a major contributor towards resolution.

4. Brainstorm

When someone begins to think of solutions to a problem, they tend to think about problems in their past and how they solved them. Sometimes there are great clues there. Other times, the current problem is unique enough to require a fresh perspective. Also, fixing the real problem may require a multi-layered solution verses a standard one-action reaction.

Geniuses brainstorm. They will sit down and think through dozens of solutions. Even the solutions that at first glance they may think won't work are viable solutions for them at this stage. Even when they think they've found solutions that are perfect, they keep going. They come up with as many solutions as they think they can, and then squeak out a few more until they have 20 - 30 possibilities. Then the magic happens. Combinations of those possibilities jump out to sometimes form brand new solutions to completely solve the problem. When they are done, they know that the problem will be solved, and they know exactly how it will be done.

Take out a pad and a pen. Write down 20 - 30 possible solutions for the real problem you've identified. You'll find that it's easy to get the first 10 down on paper. Typically, you'll find that the next 5 are a bit off the wall and unrealistic. However, those last 5 to 15 possibilities are where your creative juices start to kick in. You switch from pulling solutions from your memory and begin creating new possibilities. This is the stuff of genius level thinking!

5. Plan

Most of us never plan our solutions out. We keep throwing stuff at our problems until something sticks, we go with it, and we hope for the best.

Geniuses plan. Armed with the vision of the end state, and a solution or a group of solutions, they create a plan to implement those solutions. They determine what they need, help they need to request from others, the timeline it needs to be done within, and they move forward.

Many of us have no problem planning out a vacation, a birthday party or a night out on the town. Those are the same skills you'll use here. The difference is that instead of a fun evening, you'll successfully eliminate a major problem from your life permanently. Isn't that worth taking some time to plan for?

6. Act

Procrastination, perfectionism, and denial are the enemies of action. When we know there is something major we must do, many of us all of a sudden find 10 other things that we think we need to do right now. We spend the time on things that can wait and ignore the major problem we could resolve right now. Also, we often stop our own progress because we don't think we have everything perfect. We'd rather not act and wait until we have everything perfectly laid out than to begin making strides towards resolution.

Geniuses act. They act now, they act swiftly, and they act with confidence. It's not that they know all of the answers. They are confident in knowing that they will make mistakes and learn from them along the way. They don't allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good, as Barrack Obama often says. When the time comes to act, they do so.

Don't wait. Now that you have a solution to a problem you once thought was big and overwhelming, don't sit on it. Know that mistakes are a part of the process, and that you will make far less mistakes moving through these steps than just trying anything. Trust the process, trust your solutions and trust yourself.

7. Adjust

There are some folks that are going to do what they want to do, even when they know their plan has a flaw. Rather than change course along the way when necessary, they move forward as if their plan was written in concrete and they have no other options.

Geniuses monitor their progress against the end state vision they have in their mind and adjust course along the way to ensure they fulfill that vision. They understand that as they proceed along their plan, they learn more, get smarter and need to make adjustments here or there if they are going to succeed. They are committed to their end state vision. They understand that their plan is a means towards that end.

Observe the results you are getting, project your thoughts forward to see if you are on track towards your end state vision, and adjust your plan as needed. No plan is perfect, and all plans need fine tuning as you move further down the solution path. Adjusting the plan here are there doesn't mean the plan was bad. It's a natural part of the process that should be embraced if there is a need to succeed.

These seven simple steps will aid in solving any problem you come across.

Practice using this system and you can become a genius-level thinker.

Motivation

2010-02-05T06:32:00.000-08:00

This is the best video on Motivation. I would like to Share it with my friends. Here are my fifteen tips for motivation.

1. Talk about your plans and tell someone about it, and you'll notice your level of motivation rising.

2. Talk about anything you're passionate about, and transfer the energy created to your mind power goals. If talking politics gets you going, for example, do that, and then work on brain exercises, while connecting the two in your mind (Think "With more brainpower, I can find a new way to change things politically" or maybe just that you'll win more arguments).

3. Strengthen your desire. Seeing the rewards of your effort clearly motivates you. A good salesman can have you living in your imagined dream home in minutes, and you'll feel motivated to do anything to make it real. Learn to be your own salesman.

4. Use pain. Neuro-linguistic programming teaches you to link pain with inaction. (Be careful with this one - it isn't for everyone.) If I imagine myself on the couch wasting time, and then see myself looking at a lousy bank statement, I'm motivated to get to work. You could try seeing yourself in a room where you are the least intelligent person - but then see yourself returning with increased mind power.

5. Be truly interested. If you really don't care about something, it will be almost impossible to feel motivated. If however, it's just a task you're having trouble with, connect it clearly in your mind to the greater goal. I don't like typing, but when I se the finished lesson in my mind, I'm ready to work.

6. Have the proper mental state. It's hard to be depressed and motivated. Resolve some of your negative feelings if you can. At least take advantage of your ups and downs, by doing your mind power work when you're in a better mood.

7. Take any small step. There is momentum in action. Any small step towards your goals feeds your motivation. If I force myself to write the title and first line of an article, I usually end up writing the whole article. Commit to five minutes of creative problem solving exercises, and you might find yourself doing them for an hour.

Sometimes, the biggest problem is a lack of energy. Some of the above self motivation techniques address this issue indirectly, but here are some more energy boosters:

8. Music. Different types have different effects on us, so experiment. When you find music that energizes you, keep it ready.

9. Energy drinks. The verdict isn't in on most of them, but it's a cheap option to try. I seem to get a boost from the ones with Ginkgo Biloba in them.

10. Coffee. The original energy drink. Caffeine can make you more tired if it's abused, but short-term, it can work wonders.

11. Better sleep. As long as you get at least five hours of sleep, the quality seems to be more important than the quantity.

12. Deep breathing. Three slow deep breaths through your nose will help oxygenate your blood, and especially seems to wake up the brain.

13. Moving your body. Washing the dishes, or walking around the house can boost energy levels.

14. Hot and cold showers. A minute of hot water, a minute of cold, alternating for six minutes. This isn't for those with weak hearts, but it will wake you up. Incidentally, research shows it also revs up the immune system.

15. Outdoors. Sometimes a little sunshine and fresh air can be very energizing.

Goal Setting

2010-02-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

Goal Setting has proved to be a very powerful for me as a leader. With having concrete aims and goals, and with having a plan to meet those goals, I have achieved much success and achieved more than I dreamed possible.

Goal setting is a major part of any leader's job description. Without setting goals for yourself, your employees, and your company; you will have a difficult time knowing what strategies to employ and aligning the activities of the team.

Goals provide a measuring stick with which you can determine whether you are on the right track and making progress in a timely manner. But in addition to being a measuring stick, goals are far more important for the sense of achievement that you and the team gain once a goal has been reached. Achieving just one goal, which at one time seemed too far beyond your reach, will give you such immense satisfaction that it will spur you on to set even tougher goals and work that much harder to reach them.

Here are four simple steps that I have used year after year for setting goals:

1) Put your Goals on paper: It is essential that you write your goals down. Make all goals very visible. Have team goals posted on the wall for the team and have your personal goals in your planner. I write my goals in two places: 1) in my daily planner and 2) on a set of index cards that l have posted in my office and at home. As Brian Tracy, in his book, Create Your Own Future, reveals "A full 97 percent of adults have no written goals. When you make out a list of 10 goals that you want to accomplish in the next 12 months, you move yourself into the top 3 percent of people living and working today. By the simple discipline of committing your goals to paper, you join the elite." Keep your goals in front of you and the team.

2) Make Deadlines:When putting your goals down on paper, specify a date by which each one should be met. Both for my company and individual goals I set five year and one year goals. I work backwards from the goals furthest out and set dates then seem more realistic and not overwhelming. Too often we try to cram too many goals into too short of time. Be realistic with yourself and your team. Do not create a very tight deadline which is unachievable, but also do not give yourself two years to accomplish something that can be done in one.

3) Deliver Results: Once you have set your goals, set dates for achieving, begin identifying and acting on the tasks that support each goal. Begin to deliver results one task at a time. I would outline major tasks for achieving goals over the four quarters of the year. At the end of each quarter, March, June, September and December I would review my progress and the progress of the team making adjustments or adding new goals if appropriate. This quarterly review of progress allowed for changing circumstances, a sense of real accomplishment and ongoing action.

4) Celebrate: When you do reach a goal, irrespective of how big or small, take the time to celebrate your achievements and that of your people! I love celebrating what I call the small victories of achieving a milestone toward a goal and the victory of achieving the goal. Simple celebrations include a special lunch out, a gift of a night out to the movies, or an afternoon off to meet friends for a glass of wine. Take the time to plan your celebrations and enjoy them!

Vision for Leadership

2010-02-01T11:38:00.000-08:00

I believe clarity is key to any leader's development. You must be clear about where you are headed, what is your vision, what is your purpose. One of the main secrets to being successful is to take the time to think through what is important to you. Being clear about what motivates you, and knowing your values, allows you to make the right choices in life supporting your clear vision. If you do not know where you are headed in life, there is no way you can make a success of it, let alone guiding others to do well.

I believe all of your life experiences, good and bad, help to define who you are. Taking the time to establish your personal vision is critical. I refined my own vision over several years. I attended leadership conferences, hired a business coach, read books and listened to many audio CD books. As in business, lots of input, research and thoughtful discussion are necessary for creating a vision. Start where you are now with a clear vision and refine it over time.

A leader with a vision, who knows where she is heading, is able to make decisions amongst tough choices. I have come across many people in life who complain about how unlucky they are, and how they cannot get a break no matter how hard they try. But when you ask them what it is they want to accomplish, or what their goals are, you get answers like, "Maybe I'll do this..." "Perhaps I should try that." "I'm not entirely sure..." etc. This indicates that the person clearly has no confidence or clarity about where they are headed and struggle to decide amongst even the simplest of choices. And yet they complain about not being successful.

Know your values and Unleash Your Leadership Power!

2010-02-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

A person who knows his/her own values, beliefs, and principles is much more likely to be a good leader than someone who does not know herself or chooses to remain blind to her ethics and values. This tip will outline how self-knowledge can take you on the path to great leadership.

Simply defined, leadership is all about building strong and loyal followers. To be a good leader, you need to have people who follow your lead and excel at everything that they do because of your leadership. But how do you build follower-ship? Well, contrary to what most people believe, others do not follow you because of the things that you have done or what you can do, but more so because of who you are being. And who you are being is only determined by knowing your values.

Values add character and substance to your personality, which in addition to your style, is what will drive how you use your leadership power. Good leadership demands self-discipline, which can only come from knowing your values and what you stand for. If you are in tune with what you believe, and also live by such beliefs; then what drives you is your character and not your emotions. And being character driven - that is the hallmark of a true leader.

Knowing your values also gives you precious insight into your strengths and your flaws. When you identify your own strengths and limitations, it is easy to recognize them in other people as well. This helps you, as a leader, to determine who is right for which task and motivating others to do the job right, which is what good leadership is all about.

Any work or deed which provides you with the chance to use your strengths and values will not only turn out to be highly successful, but will also give you utmost satisfaction and pleasure. Knowing your beliefs and values will help you to set your priorities and goals, which in turn will help you to express what you want from others, thus bringing about effective leadership. By identifying your principles and values, you can build standards for others to work by and follow, thus making you a good leader.

Effective use of leadership power can only begin when you can develop your own philosophy of leadership, for which, you need to understand your own values which drive your decisions. Once you have identified your values, you will be able to see clearly what drives you. Only after you can do this for yourself, can you expect to help other people realize their leadership potential - and that is truly rewarding for any powerful leader.
Know your values and Unleash Your Leadership Power!

Leadership Mistakes

2010-02-01T11:09:00.000-08:00

The journey to leadership involves making mistakes. Mistakes are the seeds of great learning. If we are not making mistakes then we are not stepping out of our comfort zone and continuing our professional development. The key to great leadership, however, is recognizing when a mistake is made and taking responsibility for its impact. Leaders strive to become aware of what some of the most common mistakes are and try to avoid making them.

1-Forgetting What You Stand For.

Nothing is more confusing than to have a leader say one thing and act in a manner distinctly opposite. Sayings like "Walk the talk", have become popular as simple reminders of how important keeping your behavior and your words aligned.
2-Sounding Like Your Mother.

There can be a fine line between communicating with respectful authority versus parental commands. Using the commanding, intimidating, diminishing phrases that many of us grew up with fall out of our mouths so quickly we may surprise ourselves. I remember once using the phrase - 'I have a bone to pick with you" with one of the employees in my department. The moment I said it, I knew it was inappropriate and yet the situation which I was attempting to address reminded me very much like the one where my behavior when I was six require discipline by my mother. "Because I said so", "Do as I say" are not motivators and a leader's influence will soon wane if your style of communicating consistently borders on sounding like a parent.

3-Lacking Laughter, a Sense of Fun.

The nature of running and leading a company or department is serious business and so bringing a sense of humor and lightheartedness to the workplace can be both refreshing and rejuvenating. Taking a moment to laugh over the phrase "having a bone to pick with you" is reminder that we are all human. Leaders need to find the balance that relieves all work and no play for their teams and themselves.

4-Holding Back Information, Not Sharing What’s Needed.

Leaders have access to so much information. Many times leaders fall into the trap of censoring information; withholding information. The reasons are endless - "That involves sales, not us", "The employees will misunderstand why this is needed", etc. Leaders are role models. Leaders are the examples for others on what is acceptable behavior. An approach of withholding information can be go both ways - From the leader and to the leader. Setting the stage for open communication can be the key to not being blindsided. Sharing all kinds of information in a direct and interactive way shows a respect for others and their ability to handle information responsibly.

5-Failing to Acknowledge Progress.

The day to day tasks, meetings and deadlines can consume us. As a leader not only is the present day activities looming but we must also be looking to the future. Failing to reflect and take a good look at how far an individual, a team or whole department has come is a missed opportunity! Celebrating the small victories - a milestone met, a cost savings realized, a client compliment - can energize and motivate for weeks to come. Burnout from the pressures of both home and work activities is looming near for many workers. As a leader the effort to acknowledge a job well done, a great presentation, even acknowledging the tenacity to stick with a project can make someone's day.

Remember no one is perfect and leaders' exposure to feedback that are reminders of this is overwhelming at times. Keep these common mistakes in one of those "mind files" so a flag of caution is certain to be raised when a mistake is about to be made. And certainly, remember a simple apology and taking responsibility for your mistakes can make an otherwise long recovery much smoother and simpler.

Top10 Time Management Tips

2010-01-28T09:43:00.000-08:00

Time management skills are especially important for small business people, who often find themselves performing many different jobs during the course of a single day. These time management tips will help you increase your productivity and stay cool and collected.

1) Realize that time management is a myth.

No matter how organized we are, there are always only 24 hours in a day. Time doesn't change. All we can actually manage is ourselves and what we do with the time that we have.

2) Find out where you're wasting time.

Many of us are prey to time-wasters that steal time we could be using much more productively. What are your time-bandits? Do you spend too much time 'Net surfing, reading email, or making personal calls? Tracking Daily Activities explains how to track your activities so you can form a accurate picture of what you actually do, the first step to effective time management.

3) Create time management goals.

Remember, the focus of time management is actually changing your behaviors, not changing time. A good place to start is by eliminating your personal time-wasters. For one week, for example, set a goal that you're not going to take personal phone calls while you're working. (See Set Specific Goals for help with goal setting.) For a fun look at behaviors that can interfere with successful time management, see my article Time Management Personality Types. Find out if you're a Fireman, an Aquarian or a Chatty Kathy!

4) Implement a time management plan.

Think of this as an extension of time management tip # 3. The objective is to change your behaviors over time to achieve whatever general goal you've set for yourself, such as increasing your productivity or decreasing your stress. So you need to not only set your specific goals, but track them over time to see whether or not you're accomplishing them.

5) Use time management tools.

Whether it's a Day-Timer or a software program, the first step to physically managing your time is to know where it's going now and planning how you're going to spend your time in the future. A software program such as Outlook, for instance, lets you schedule events easily and can be set to remind you of events in advance, making your time management easier.

6) Prioritize ruthlessly.

You should start each day with a time management session prioritizing the tasks for that day and setting your performance benchmark. If you have 20 tasks for a given day, how many of them do you truly need to accomplish? For more on daily planning and prioritizing daily tasks.

Start The Day Right With Daily Planning.

7) Establish routines and stick to them as much as possible.

While crises will arise, you'll be much more productive if you can follow routines most of the time.

8) Get in the habit of setting time limits for tasks.

For instance, reading and answering email can consume your whole day if you let it. Instead, set a limit of one hour a day for this task and stick to it.

9) Be sure your systems are organized.

Are you wasting a lot of time looking for files on your computer? Take the time to organize a file management system. Is your filing system slowing you down? Redo it, so it's organized to the point that you can quickly lay your hands on what you need.

10) Don't waste time waiting.

From client meetings to dentist appointments, it's impossible to avoid waiting for someone or something. But you don't need to just sit there and twiddle your thumbs. Always take something to do with you, such as a report you need to read, a checkbook that needs to be balanced, or just a blank pad of paper that you can use to plan your next marketing campaign. Technology makes it easy to work wherever you are; your PDA and/or cell phone will help you stay connected.

You can be in control and accomplish what you want to accomplish - once you've come to grips with the time management myth and taken control of your time.

How can you manage your stress levels? Here are my top 3 tips!

2010-01-20T01:47:00.000-08:00

1. Be Organized.
If you are leaving tasks open ended or failing to follow through this will have a massive impact upon your stress levels. You need completion in these areas, write down what is outstanding and either do them or bin them on a regular basis.
2. Exercise
You need to get away from it all and have a regular exercise program. Even if this is just a walk around the park, you nee to take some of your frustration out on the treadmill, on the punchbag or simply strolling around the park and taking in the fresh air can make you feel fantastic.
3. Relaxation and Rest
Mental stress is caused by an overuse or misuse of the mind. For instance, if you perform intense mental work many hours a day, or if you work long hours on the computer, it can cause
an imbalance in Prana Vata, the mind-body operator concerned with brain activity, energy and the mind.
To address this make sure you get a good nights sleep, have a regular massage, try aromatherapy, meditation or just go to a ball game!
Anything where you can just switch off, even if it is just for an hour or so.

7 Habits For Highly Effective Mind Power

2010-01-20T01:36:00.000-08:00

It's a rip-off from a famous book about 7 habits, and numbered lists give form to ideas, making them more practicable. Being specific helps. Goal-setters know "$90,000" is a more influential goal than "more money." "7 habits" is likewise more catchy than "some good habits." Create your own mental forms - there's a good habit to start. Then develop the following seven habits as well.

1. Take care of your body.
General health is conducive to mind power, of course, but you should also develop a few specific habits, like eating fish and other brain foods daily, or taking walks three times a week.

2. Take care of your brain.
A routine of weekly chess matches, regular reading, intelligent conversation, or crossword puzzles can exercise the brain and keep it strong. If you find music that help you think, get in the habit of using it.

3. Question everything.
Make it a habit to identify reporter biases every time you watch the news, or to challenge the assumptions hidden in every conversation.

4. Identify essentials.
McDonalds doesn't make better burgers, so why are they successful. Start looking at every concept, thing and situation with the question in mind, "What is essential here?"

5. Be a problem-solver.
A fun and possibly productive habit, is to look at everything with the thought, "How can this be done better?" Practice a few specific problem-solving techniques until you find yourself using them "before you know it."

6. Be self-aware.
It's crucial to maximum mind power that you learn to see your own strengths and weaknesses. You also need to know what's going on in your head, just below consciousness. There will be more on this in the next lesson.

7. Use your knowledge.
If you don't put your thoughts into action regularly, your brain may engage in fantasy more than productive thought. You're basically telling it that thinking isn't relevant to the real world. Play mental games for fun and training, but also be sure to apply the lessons learned to real problems.

You probably noticed that each of these 7 habits is really a collection or category of habits. Don't stress over how many you develop or how fast. The important thing is to just keep working on yourself.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

How To Develop A Habit

2010-01-20T01:28:00.000-08:00

Use notes, lists, and friends to remind you to consciously repeat a behavior or action. Use "triggers" too. Those are things that remind you. If you do a quick meditation each time you get in your car, the car becomes your trigger. The morning alarm, seeing the sun, a place - anything can be a trigger.
Basically, you need to use anything you can to remember to do the things you want to become habit. Some psychologists say it takes about three weeks to form a habit, which seems about right, but we're all different. Consciously repeat an action or behavior until it becomes automatic - and that's how long it takes for you.

Problem Solving Techniques

2010-01-13T04:12:00.000-08:00

Change of perspective. Try pretending you are rich, poor, a child, a visitor from another planet. How do you see the problem from this new perspective? Einstein imagined riding on a beam of light, and used the insights from that to come up with his theory of relativity, so this technique has been known to work.

Attribute listing. Used by research-and -development departments of many companies, this method starts by identifying existing attributes. These may including physical, social, emotional and whatever other aspects that occur to you. You then work on one attribute at a time.

Designing a baby seat for cars, for example, might start with appearance. Will a different color sell better? The attribute of comfort might be examined to create a new padding. Emotional considerations may lead to seats that "feel" safer to parents, perhaps with a name change ("Guardian Angel Car Seats?"). Looking at the attribute of mobility could lead to lighter designs, or seats that become backpack child-carriers.

Seeing the solution. Try clearly imagining what a successful outcome would look like. For example, restaurant employees often don't clean well, because they can't "see" the mess they work in. The owner might find that a daily checklist doesn't work. Then he imagines a successful outcome - a health inspector looking around, and commenting on how clean things are. This mental picture suggests that outsiders more easily see what's wrong, giving the owner the idea of weekly "inspections" by a friend, customer, or anyone from outside the business.

Challenge your assumptions. This can be a powerful problem solving technique, especially for personal issues, where there are so many hidden assumptions. The kids are fighting over the television, and you are tired of it. You may be assuming the following: 1. You need to have a TV; 2. Fighting over the TV is the problem; 3. The fighting needs to stop; 4. It's your problem.

What solutions does challenging these assumptions suggest? 1. Get rid of the TV, or limit it's use; 2. Deal with the general issue of the kids' behavior; 3. Leave the room, close the door and let them fight; 4. Tell the kids it's their problem, and they have a week to come up with a solution, or the TV goes.

Random Input. Look around, and randomly pick an object, then ask what it might teach you about your problem. Stressed out by driving? A mailbox might suggest using the mail and phone more to avoid driving places. A toy truck may remind you that it's less stressful to drive a smaller car. A map could give you the idea to move to a less-busy town. What can a bird, a bike, a lamp, or a blanket tell us about the problem of stressful driving?

You'll have many silly ideas when using problem solving techniques like this one. Don't be too dismissive of them, as they sometimes trigger a thought that's more useful. "Tired of job," plus "snow," may rattle around in your brain for a minute, to become "snow... melts, and runs into little streams... little streams add up to bigger streams... If I had several other streams of income, I wouldn't need my job." Work with each random input for at least a few seconds before moving on to the next.

Assume the absurd. Then make it make sense. "Put our store in the customer's house" was absurd until there were shopping networks on TV.

Ask people. They may have good ideas, but in any case this helps you be sure that you are not overlooking anything obvious.

Solve problems by causing them. Think of all the ways you could make a problem worse, and each of these may suggest a partial solution.

Write it down. Then find another way to express it, and write that down. Write everything that comes to mind, and later you can sort through your notes for the good ideas.

Break it down. It's easier to motivate yourself if you attack one part of a problem at a time, and many problems are really a collection of smaller problems.

Sleep on it. Outline a problem in your head before bed, then let your subconscious mind go to work. It's a good idea to have a pen and paper available, ready for any middle-of-the-night inspirations.

Designing a Presentation

2010-01-13T03:20:00.000-08:00

Think of a presentation in terms of a journey; designed to take an audience to a pre-planned destination. Use this analogy to identify the key points of your message, prioritize them and allocate each one an appropriate time slot.
There is a simple structure into which nearly all presentations should fit. This comprises three clearly identifiable parts - an introduction, followed by a main body and finally a conclusion.
This is often expressed as:
1. Tell them what you're going to tell them,
2. Tell them,
3. Tell them what you've told them.
A good guide for the breakdown of a presentation is the 10/80/10 rule - whereby the introduction and conclusion are each allotted 10% of the presentation time, with the main body comprising 80%. For example, a 30 minute presentation would have a 3 minute introduction and conclusion and main body lasting 24 minutes. This formula can be applied to any length of presentation - as it reflects a good breakdown from the audience’ perspective. In researching and collating the material that you need and devising your key points you will have been concentrating on the main content of your presentation. This is fine, as the most effective and efficient way to prepare your presentation is to construct it in the following order; Main Body, Introduction, then the Conclusion. It is usually best to plan your presentation to have a question and answer session at the end. This will enable you to deliver your message and then end strongly with a clear and concise conclusion, before entering the relatively unpredictable area of tackling questions from the floor.
Identifying Key Points
In structuring your presentation you may find it useful to divide your journey into a series of stages. You are then faced with the challenge of deciding how many stages there should be and what should constitute a stage. It was also recommended that you should look at your aim statement and try to develop between three and five key points that you would like to drive home. This represents as much information as most people are able to take away from a presentation.
These key point messages can be considered as the intended destination for each stage of your journey. In other words key points are synonymous with stages in the same way that the aim statement is synonymous with the destination. If you are working in a familiar subject domain the key points may well be apparent; but what if the subject isn’t familiar and the key points are not self-evident? So follow my blog for more.

6-Tips for Communication

2010-01-13T02:56:00.000-08:00

Communication is a skill and like any skill it requires practice. It is improvement through practice that differentiates a skill from other forms of knowledge. Understanding the theory of communication and effective presentation will not in itself make you a brilliant communicator or presenter but should make you aware of how to maximize the impact of your presentations. The most important thing to remember is that the message that you intend to communicate is likely to be misunderstood. Therefore, in addition to carefully preparing and presenting your message, stay alert for any signs that your audience are mis-interpreting it. It is up to you, the presenter, to continually check that your message has been received, understood,correctly interpreted and filed in the receivers mind.

We will now examine each of the six steps of the communication model in slightly more detail with a view to introducing some guidelines that should help to promote more effective two way communication.

• Step1 - Ensure that your audience are tuned in and paying full attention to what you are about to say. Once you have the attention of the audience the communication of the message can begin.

• Step2 - Each recipient listens to the message.

• Step3 - Each recipient will have some feeling about the message and will interpret its meaning.

This is often done in the light of individual attitudes and prejudices or alternatively with reference to previous experience or associations. Your problem is that the audience may not feel and interpret in the way that you intended. The result may range from a simple failure for the message to hit home, through to a serious misunderstanding.

• Step4 - Each recipient may respond to the original message.

• Step5 - You have now become the receiver, and should listen carefully to the message.

• Step6 - You will feel and interpret.

Please follow my blog for more.

"How to save your inspiration and avoid motivation rot"

2009-12-27T13:33:00.000-08:00

When we start a project with some object and a purpose then a lot of things inspire and instigate us. But as time passes these inspirations become fake, forged and hollow. Only because when a fresh idea stays in mind for some time it loses its newness, bloom, novelty and originality. This phenomenon is called motivation rot. So to save the worth of that idea and to avoid the motivation rot a lot of technical tools can be used.

Habit of making note is very useful because it is the only way to capture an idea when it is flying in its boom. Here it is realized that an idea is just like a flying bird. So it should be capture otherwise it will flew away. But this habit can be accomplished by keeping a notebook and pen with yourself for all the times because nature can bless you an intuition anytime and anywhere. So get ready for it anywhere and anytime.

After writing an idea on notebook also write the first available time for planning that idea . It is very important to grow a crop from seed of that idea. Also write down the time duration required for that planning and the time to take a quick action for that plan. This simple strategy will save your inspiration and avoid motivation rot".

Now Write down these 5 steps to save your inspiration and avoid motivation rot.
1# The idea.
2# First available time for strategic planning.
3# Time duration for planning.
4# Most suitable time to start.
5# The possible time to finish the project.

Now start dreaming with that idea and fly with that idea because some one said that an idea is just like a flying bird so fly with it and enjoy the flight.

Healing Power of the Mind – The Best Medicine

2009-12-24T16:31:00.000-08:00

When you have just recovered from illness like heart attack, stroke, your doctor will always give you advice on how to regain back your health. These advices can be quit smoking, a balanced diet and regular exercise and also take your medicine regularly.. However, other than these advices, the healing power of the mind is also an essential and powerful weapon and medicine to your road to recovery. In 2002, the Mayo Clinic done a research and reported that people who are pessimistic about life don’t live as long and happily as optimistic people. The finding confirms what health professionals have believed for a long time. People who expect the worst and think of negative thoughts have more trouble coping with significant illness. Hopeful and optimistic people who are excited about their recovery recover more quickly and live more active lives. Bottom line: stay in touch with your mind, be in constant positive thought to activate the healing power of the mind. How do constantly think of positive and healthy thoughts? First, determine on an easy task and take small and stable step to accomplishing it. Reward and take a break every time you achieve your target. Take note of your stress levels. If you become angry, feel hopeless or numb yourself through addictive behavior, actively adopt a brighter outlook. Just remember that though you do not have the power to control what really happens in your life, you have the power to take a positive response to the matter. Make a list of the things you want to accomplish, the places you want to go and the people you want to see and do something fun to stimulate a positive perspective.
You can make your mind to rapidly change your thoughts from negative to positive. If you find yourself thinking about your disabilities of your body, stop and start to appreciate all the things it can do and feel the excitement in you growing. Seriously limit or even stop going out with negative people unless they change. Try this exercise: Every time you stop at a light while you are driving, listen to your self talk. If you are thinking about a fight with your spouse, replaying a stressful and painful thought at work, or beating yourself up for running late to your next appointment, replace those thoughts by thinking about something good that happened during your day. Feel the joy in you. The healing power of the mind begins with your positive thoughts. Your mind is the most effective medicine to illnesses and constantly stay in touch with it.
You may ask if there is any connections between negative thoughts and illnesses. Well, I personally believe it does. When there is mental unrest, it affects the body as well. A physical symptom is a signal which your body is communicating to you to tell you that something is wrong and has to be dealt with. It is bringing to your attention a problem in your emotions, thinking or environment that is non-beneficial or harmful to you, so you can face it and resolve it.
Illnesses arise because the result of being ignorant of the constant signals our bodies alert us. When they become more serious, most people will then take actions to consciously change their state of mind to recovering it. However, there are still stubborn people who refuse to take action to change their mental and physical state.
Be aware of what your body is trying to tell you. You also need to know that your body and mind works as one. Either one can lead and the other will follow. But the mind is the overall in charge. The power of your mind has the ability and capability to override the body. Simply put, when you are always indulge in negative thoughts, illness arise faster.
Having the mindset that all your thoughts and emotions control your physical well-being rather than the other way around is to represent things in a way that empowers you. Think of things that empowers you rather than the other way around. When your mind is filled with positive thoughts, you have the the healing power of the mind on your side. When your mind is being controlled by negative thoughts, you are being controlled by the negative thoughts.
The most effective way to real and quick healing is to be healed both mentally and emotionally rather than just working on curing the physical ailment. The system of psychoneuroimmunology (the way the mind affects the nervous system which in turn affects the immune system).
Remember the best and the least expensive medicine to recovery of any illness is the healing power of the mind. Harness your mind power today!
Secrets of Self Hypnosis- Unconscious mind
Self-hypnosis is fast becoming one of the most popular method which can prove beneficial in successfully in solving our life’s problems. Self-hypnosis is about taking the courage to admit your own problem and taking action to solve it and bring changes to your life. It is suitable for anyone who wants to change their habits, their personality to make their life better through the power of the unconscious mind.

Believing Power of the Mind

2009-12-24T16:24:00.000-08:00

Hypnosis is more effective and works more quickly than traditional talk-therapy or psychoanalysis and even medicines. In a hypnotic state, you are able to accept new strategies, ideas and you can more effectively and efficiently process the emotions linked to the experiences, which created pain, fear.

Through Hypnosis you communicate with your subconscious mind power, which puts YOU in control of your subconscious mind—the most powerful and the most dangerous tool in your body. You can build positive beliefs in your subconscious mind or negative beliefs. Thus, always stay in touch with your subconscious mind.

But the vital aspect of why they recover so fast is the realization that they can actually choose to feel in a totally upbeat and positive way. You too can make use of the healing power of the mind. Let me show you how.

1) Admit and accept that you have an illness. (the hardest and most important step

You may think that I am absurd but life’s problems are not solved by denying their existence. Many people actually find it hard to admit to themselves they have an illness. The most important step you can take in healing would be to accept your present circumstance, but to positively expect that you can heal yourself using the powers of your mind and live life again.

2) Commit yourselves to it and take action

Seek treatment that suits you and do the necessary individual research on you illness like the diet you should be eating. Getting treatment lets you assume control over your life again. This lightens the feeling of helplessness; hence, you can think better and make the right and necessary decisions.

3) Take comfort in a Higher Power.

It would even better for your recovery if you seek comfort from you religion. It gives you the power and confidence in battling your illness.

The power of your mind can be used as a medicine or a poison. Stay in positive touch with your mind, and it becomes your medicine. On the contrary, neglect your mind, it becomes your poison.

Mind Power- Inner Psychology to Success

2009-12-24T16:16:00.000-08:00

The term mind power and the subconscious mind power are described in many different ways. In the psychosomatic sense mind power is labeled as ability to have emotions, imagination, memory, and will; and subconscious mind power is labeled as part of the normal individual’s personality in which mental processes function without consciousness under normal waking conditions. 1. How Mind Power and Subconscious Mind Power work

2. How to use Subconscious Mind for success

Mind power is our conscious mind, the way we think. The mind is similar to a constantly flowing spring however a natural spring cannot send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening, nor yield both salt water and fresh. So it is with the mind and its thoughts; it cannot equally think negative and positive thoughts at the same time. One will rule the other.

Since the mind reflects habitual thoughts, it is therefore our responsibility to influence our mind and brain with positive emotions, thoughts and energy as the dominating factors in our mind. Mind power is beyond positive thinking or brain power, it is thinking than believing what you think that will manifest your reality. Since this mind power is power of thought and beliefs, and these thoughts and beliefs will create the outcome of your now, you will want to stay aware to the reflections you are thinking.

Now mind power is a dual system that includes your power of thought(brain) and your subconscious mind. We all have subconscious mind power; it can be as small as smiling at your boss in the hopes of improving the odds of acquiring a raise.

It can be the way you unconsciously handle a situation whether appropriately or not. Power of the subconscious mind comes from the thoughts and beliefs of your the power of the your mind. However you think and believe is what your subconscious mind power will produce. This is done continuously, one minute at a time. Every thought nourished regularly by your mind power will activate your subconscious mind to generate those thoughts and energy whether good or bad into your life. This is how you’re present and future is created. mindpowers

Your mind power and your subconscious mind work together and they fashion your reality. Let’s use a parallel to help you visualize how this works. Your subconscious mind power is similar to fertile soil that consents to any seed planted inside it. Your habitual thoughts and beliefs are the seeds which are being continually sown and they will eventually produce a crop. So if you plant weeds you will get weeds, if you plant fruit, you will get fruit. In other words, you reap what you sow. Now the conscious mind is the gardener, and it is the mind power to choose what reaches our inner garden- the subconscious.

Unfortunately, most of us do not have green thumbs because of lack of knowledge of this law, the psychology behind this success and because of this ignorance we have allowed all kinds of seeds, both good and bad, to enter. So our subconscious mind power will manifest failure, ill health and all kinds of misfortunes just as effortlessly as it will manifest success and abundance. However, it cannot manifest it both at the same time, which is why the need to constantly actuate the positive until the fertile soil of your subconscious mind power reaps only abundance.

Success is only a choice away.

Power of the Subconscious Mind – Your Inner Engine

2009-12-24T16:15:00.000-08:00

Subconscious mind power is being aware of what information enters your mind. This is critical as the subconscious mind runs on auto pilot and whatever information enters it is what it will process. 1.Positive affirmation

2.Subconscious mind power

3.Daily affirmation

Positive Affirmation is a declaration that what one is declaring will happen or will be. Positive affirmation is a way to plant positive seeds of hope, courage and victory into the subconscious mind. It is believed that faith is a form of affirmation as one believes the desires have already happened though it is not manifested yet. In other words faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the confidence of things not seen as though they were or are. Affirmations in the realm of ancient Christian faith convinced these Christians that nothing was impossible and they believed the impossible into reality. These Christians conquered kingdoms, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, and escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness they were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight and even received back their loved dead by resurrection.

Subconscious mind power is gaining victory over negative thoughts and with this victory overcoming our setbacks and failures. The subconscious mind is powerful and can alter your decisions in a negative way if allowed to do so. Even though something may be true your subconscious does not deal with if it’s true, it deals with what it believes is true.

Daily affirmations or declarations are a form of feeding the subconscious mind with proper food for thought that will manifest positive situations in one’s life. Proclaiming one’s faith without ceasing is one technique for daily affirmation. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.

Control Your Mind By self-hypnosis

2009-12-24T16:05:00.000-08:00

First thing first, self-hypnosis is not really about mind control. Well, self-hypnosis is the process of getting in touch with your subconscious mind. Getting in touch with your subconscious mind involves awakening and strengthening the subconscious mind. Our subconscious mind power is a very powerful tool. Hence, self-hypnosis is about linking our conscious mind to the subconscious mind. Hence, in order to utilize the full potential of our mind, it is crucial that we take time off from our busy schedule to talk and practice self-hypnosis. In case you still having doubts what is self-hypnosis, let me give you a simple analogy. Imagine you are driving a car for the first time. Since this your first try in driving a car, you will most probably feel nervous and be at your utmost alertness level. You will tend to drive slowly and carefully. However, once you master the art of driving and driving becomes your everyday routine, most of us did not even pay the slightest attention to the strategies required to drive a car. All the required steps to driving a car are all heavily implanted into our minds until we do not need to put in any conscious effort. It has by default become a part of the subconscious mind.

Hence, self-hypnosis is also like driving, needs lots of practice until we become masters of self-hypnosis. Again self-hypnosis is not really about mind control.

Now, you may ask what self-hypnosis can do for us? self-hypnosis is one of the methods to let our subconscious mind to communicate with our conscious mind. This can only be done when we are in a relax and comfortable state. When we do self-hypnosis, we reprogram me our mind such that our little computer functions automatically on the responses it has stored in early practice sessions.

Certainly, self- hypnosis is not about mind controlling.

With self-hypnosis, we can reprogram me ourself to get rid of unwanted habits like smoking, stage fright and nervousness. Furthermore, self-hypnosis can help you become a self-confident and high self-esteem man which can greatly make your life better.

So, how exactly do we do self-hypnosis?

There are 2 important you need to acquired to have a successful self-hypnosis.

1) A effective method which can make you in a trance

2) Something you really really want to change (you personality, your habits)

Let us now look at the things you want to change for the better. It could be anything ranging from your social life, your habits, your concentration, anything. Once you decided what you want to change, settle down with a pen and paper to do some writing. Do write about mind controlling other people, it won’t work.

The work you need to do is to write down a statement that encapsulates what you want as if you have it already. You’ll know you have the right statement when you get a pleasurable emotional reaction when you read it. The emotional reaction is important.

After that, you need to make a effort to create a strong mental picture of already achieving what you really want. The picture NEEDS AND MUST have a strong positive feeling to it. A strong positive feeling means you are feeling joyful, happy, ecstatic, excited.

Next, you need to know that your subconscious mind has 3 very powerful attributes. They are namely

Your subconscious mind believes in whatever you tell it whether it is right or wrong.

Your subconscious mind cannot comprehended negatives.

Your subconscious mind will make anything you tell it isn’t true to become true.

It is also crucial that you phrase your needs in a positive way. DO NOT PHRASE IT IN THIS WAY:

I am no longer unhealthy

I am not afraid of cockroaches anymore

I am no longer a chicken

Instead phrase it like

I am enjoying paying all my bills on time with money left over to go out for a meal once a week and a wonderful holiday twice a year.

Accompany this with images of you sitting cross-legged on your yacht with a group of admirers eager for your every word.

What works best are the images and words that emerge from within you.

Now back to the beginning – a method of inducing the trance where you can start re-programming your subconscious mind.

Make yourself comfortable, sit on a chair preferably. Concentrate your attention on your feet and ankles and release any anxiety or tension in them. Move to your lower legs and so on up your body, release any bit of tension. Release any tension also around your mouth and eyes.

Count from 10 to 1. Each time you count, tell yourself that you are becoming more and more relaxed until you are receptive to any positive messages. Repeat the messages that you have written and chosen earlier on. Repeat it until the phrase bring into your mind the fantasy you created. Make it as realistic as you can. Make full use of your five senses. When you have fully experienced this allow the image to fade. Allow the mantra to fade, and start to count yourself back up to waking awareness. Remind yourself that when you reach ten you will feel fully alert, refreshed and ready to enjoy the rest of the day/evening. And as I say, self hypnosis is not about mind control but an effective method to communicate with your unconscious mind to create positive new changes.