Browse Management Skills

To mentor means to share trusted wisdom with the mentees during the mentor-mentee relationship. That is, mentors share the truth of their practical experience when the mentees are ready to listen. Sometimes, even when they are not ready to listen! Mentors have a vested interest in the success of their mentees. They share their insights in a friendly, conversational way to encourage their mentees to live their great lives and create well-living workplaces.

Close your eyes and think back to the time when you first started your business. Remember the day when you sold your first product or service, or when you officially launched your website? Can you recall the time and effort you put in and how excited you were to finally get the business off the ground? You were giddy with great expectations and life was feeling pretty good. Maybe your start date wasn't all that long ago or maybe a few years have already passed.

When you're holding regular accountability meetings with your people, it's natural for personal issues to come up. If you're still stuck in "leave your personal life at the door," thinking, get over it - that's old school, and will keep you stuck where you are now. If you want better results, face the fact that personal and professional issues are bound to intermingle at work, and taking care of the personal stuff WILL take care of the business stuff.

This article explores three sources of cost-reducing help that most businesses ignore: strangers, volunteers, and unemployed people. Think of the unifying themes for this lesson as helping to overcome the unattractiveness and tradition stalls. Let's begin by considering what strangers can do to help your enterprise reduce costs for all stakeholders through applying zero-based analysis to providing the minimum core offering. How Can Strangers Contribute to Reducing Costs for all Stakeholders by 96 Percent?

A few weeks ago, a friend and I were biking on a trail. Beautiful day, great ride, and then all of a sudde I heard this huge “pop!” - it sounded like a gun going off! Now, I’ve been biking trails for 15 years and I’ve never had a flat tire, never mind a blowout. I had no idea what it would sound like, but that’s exactly what it was. Thankfully, I knew the trail well, and was able to borrow my friend’s bike, ride back to the car, and bring the car back to pick her up. But it got me thinking, what if? What if I’d been alone? What if I’d forgotten my cell phone?r

Before you call your next meeting, the FIRST step is to decide if it is really essential. To determine that, ask yourself the following: - Is this meeting essential? - Can we do without it? - Can we accomplish the task without a meeting? - Can it wait another week? - Can we get things done with few meetings? Then, if you have decided a meeting is the best way to accomplish your objective, the following tips can help you conduct more effective meetings:

I’ve been lucky enough to indulge two passions to forge my career: marketing and golf. I’ve come to notice some striking parallels between them: the same thought processes that make us winners in sport are the same ones that can help us win in business. Winning shots start with thinking

We see a very clear-cut request coming from Jesus on many occasions. The message is always the same – “Follow me”. We also notice many objections and answers to this simple request, and with it His response. We will look at this request today and the various responses, and find out where we are… Firstly the people that listened.

I was inspired to write this article after reading an essay arguing for becoming a salesperson, rather than a CEO ... claiming that a salesperson's hours are shorter, the stress is less, and moment-to-moment tasks are more enjoyable. That didn't make sense to me. While I certainly know some stressed-out, overwhelmed CEOs, I know many more hopelessly frustrated, discouraged salespeople. Yes, it's no fun to lead a failing organization. It's even less fun trying to sell offerings for such a faltering company.

You've heard it said that "Successful People Do the Things Unsuccessful People Don't Want to Do." There's a great deal of truth in that statement and it demonstrates the value of accomplishing goals by overcoming procrastination. It's important to first understand why you are procrastinating and then take steps to overcome those tendencies. There are 5 important steps to take, as follows:

In my last article, "Have You Uncovered Your Theme for 2013?" I gave you six steps you can take to uncover your theme for the year ahead. You can take these steps as an individual and also as a company or team. Let me tell you about something very powerful that happened to me just a few weeks ago, while creating my own theme for 2013.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

People literacy is knowing how to read and understand the behavioral style differences of others. Every Manager has experienced the frustration of not understanding why one management approach that works beautifully with one employee is ineffective with another. That’s because what we think would be motivating isn’t always motivating to someone else. The same principle applies to client and co-worker relationships. We “click” or connect with some individuals and understand each other. But we also work with individuals who approach things differently.

Four simple marketing strategies for keeping your head above water: Can you remember back when we didn't have laptop computers, mobile phones and tablets? Yes, I may be giving away my age, but I'll ask the question anyway. Can you remember back to what your life was like without all this technology?

There are few things in your career that will cause as much anxiety as the notion of asking for more money from your boss. However, most of us will find it necessary at one time or another, and it's a good idea to have a firm game plan going into it so that you can maximize the effect of your ...

This is a true story – heard every day – from all walks of life.

You know how you can have a stack of papers piling up on the corner of your desk? You see it there every day. You dread dealing with it. Maybe even try to ignore it, yet when you are on the phone, it distracts you. You can’t help but take a peak. Maybe even pick up a piece of it, thinking you can multi-task while on the phone. In miscellaneous ways, it gnaws at you for days or weeks – even months. And then it comes time to go out of town, perhaps headed for that much needed vacation and you kick into overdrive and PRESTO – that pile is done.

Do you ever wonder how it is that some small business owners seem to have both an off-line and online presence? They might even be the same size as you in terms of staff or perhaps even a soho-entrepreneur and yet it appears that they've got a marketing team equivalent to that of a ten people. You wonder how on earth are they pushing out all of that content in some many places and running their business at the same time.

Executive Summary Does your sales force seem to be treading water on certain sales opportunities? Is the same information coming to you each month when you ask penetrating questions about prospects? Does it appear progress moving an account to closure is bogged down? You say ‘there must be a ...

We consider an older concept in this article, one that has often been applied to cost-reduction thinking: zero-based analysis. You may know this concept as "zero-based costing." Zero-based analysis reverses the usual way of thinking in which many people start by looking at how to remove costs from what is already being spent. Zero-based analysis starts, instead, by assuming that no costs need to be spent and grudgingly adds costs only after being convinced that they cannot be avoided.

What's the opposite of command and control leadership? Caring. We're talking about simple human caring, and it's something all your people need if they're going to achieve the goals you want them to achieve. In a Fast Company article ("The CEO's New Clothes"), Linda Tischler maintains that Morgan Stanley's Philip Purcell, Hewlett-Packard's Carly Fiorina, and Disney's Michael Eisner all lost their jobs because their management styles tripped them up. But not because of the ostensible reasons of "failed strategies, shareholder lawsuits, and missed earnings."

As a leader in your business, your job is to help each team member take personal responsibility for his or her behaviors, actions and results. Your responsibility is to guide and assist them in working toward their professional goals, and to help them eliminate the barriers to achieving those goals. You're there to empower them. You're not there to do it for them. The essence of my approach is empowerment. To empower is to give people power and authority, or remind them of their power and authority.

It seems the world is moving faster and faster these days. You constantly have information streaming to you from people in the office, meetings, email, voice message, texts. You’re trying to keep on top of it all and it can sometimes feel practically impossible. So what do you do? Begin by determining what's really important to get done. Separate what's important from what's just urgent. Don't Get Caught in the "Urgency Trap"

Genesis 1: 27 – 30 (NIV) So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Leo was a sales rep for a furniture company. Every day, he would visit different stores to offer his products. He covered a huge geographical distance, but always visited the same places - as regular as clockwork. There was one particular store that always said, "No." They already had a furniture distributor and there was no need to even have a meeting with Leo. The floor staff would always sent him away before he could even meet the buyer to describe how his service and products were different.

If people know, like, and trust your content, they will want to do business with you. It doesn’t take an ace marketing team to figure that one out. And yet, many brands fail at one of these crucial elements all too often. You don’t have to put all your effort into all of them all the time. But if even you neglected one, it will show in your performance. It is easy and simple to say all that, but what does it mean practically? Let’s take a closer look at these terms. What Does It Mean to Know?r

Are you blaming the economy for your business's lack of performance? I've got news for you: The economy has only exposed the real problems in your business, i.e., poor business development habits and lack of accountability. Here are the top 10 habits that could be responsible for the business development results you've been blaming on the economy:

Executive Overview Long before coaching became a recognized niche of and by itself, there was a long-standing belief in many sales organizations that coaching of employees was a fundamental management responsibility. Moreover, every professional sales trainer you spoke to, every textbook you ...

A presentation is more than simply standing at a podium and running through a series of PowerPoint slides. It is about engaging the audience and presenting your ideas in a clear, concise and persuasive manner. A persuasive presentation should change the emotional state of the audience so they believe and feel a decision must be made... right now. Your role as presenter is to motivate and incite the audience to act, think and feel differently as a result of what you've said so they will take some form of action.

Teams and organizations are constantly plagued by project execution errors and failures. These failures create an execution gap -- a gap between what an individual and/or team plans to do and what they actually do instead. Just as retention rapidly degrades after learning, so does project execution after strategic planning. So what can be done?

As a child, I grew up loving computers. I was the first kid I knew who was into BBS's (Bulletin Board Services). These electronic bulletin boards were hosted on a local computer and connected by modem to the rest of the world. A BBS could only provide for text and only one connection at a time: back in the day if a BBS had more than one line at a time it was way ahead. The idea of being able to download a file, much less a workable program, was there, but at 1200 baud, it would have taken days.

When you think of the word 'complex', do you ever think about what it has to do with project execution? Ask a management consulting firm to define 'complex' and you'll get a response like "well, it's a concept that can affect your life, your family, your team and your organization." That's because consultants understand that complexity lies in every aspect of strategic planning, whether at home or in the workplace, and that complexity is a concept that needs to be clearly understood in order to anticipate and overcome execution challenges.

Practicing successful leadership seems fairly simple - one acquires the positional authority to lead, and does so by influencing or guiding others. But too often, "leaders" assume that just because they've achieved total project execution under their guidance that they deserve the title. To be sure, leadership is a concept measured by benchmarked success and achievements, but it is also a long-term manifestation of your actions and influence upon others.

In today's management environment, new forms of and tools for corporate leadership development programs have emerged. One of the most popular development tools is executive coaching. The number of executive coaches has more than doubled in the past decade and corporate leadership development programs are utilizing their services more frequently. However, the fundamentals of executive coaching have actually been around for many years in the form of debriefing.

Where should you start as a leader and manager? Everything in the universe has a beginning 1. Your beginning was the fusing of 23 chromosomes from your dad with 23 chromosomes from your mum. And, hey presto you sprang into existence! 2. The Honda Corporation began when Soichiro Honda decided to attach a small motor to his push bike. 3. Geometry began when a chap called Euclid wrote down five self evident statements that he thought would be the starting point of the science of geometric maths. They were simple statements of truth that included the following:

Gravity can be a wonderful thing. It is an irresistible force that keeps us grounded on this big, beautiful, floating blue marble. It is even applicable to organizations in the form of organizational gravity. For example, I worked with an organization that coined a catch phrase for a challenge beyond its scope of control, deeming the situation a "gravity issue." They explained that "the situation is out of our control, much like gravity - you can't do anything about it."

Two unique sources demonstrated a strong link between the use of a project checklist and effective team building in January 2009: the US Airways incident in New York and the release of a study on medical checklists. The January 2009 Special Article of the New England journal of Medicine ...

Do you know what your business's core competencies are? Is there just one or are there many organizational attributes? If you answered that there are many, how would you describe them succinctly? Core competencies are one or a combination of a few unique or rare abilities; however, a description of core competencies is not simply a laundry list of various organizational attributes. It seems like a simple task, but naming your core competencies can be very difficult.

As the name implies, effects-based thinking (EBT) is an approach to strategic planning and decision making where the effects of specific actions are assessed, not in a narrowly defined and time-limited way, but through a perspective that is sensitive to broad-ranging and lasting impacts. Effects-based thinking is the opposite of short-sightedness or myopia.

What is the difference between a Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process that makes a modest difference in a company's operational and financial performance and an S&OP process that, year after year, enables a company to achieve its operational, business, and strategic goals? You don't have to look beyond the senior leadership team for the answer. Sales and Operations Planning (also known as Integrated Business Planning) is an executive management process for running the business.

People often ask me questions about workplace accountability. I figure if one person asks, more people are wondering, so I’ll be answering the questions on my blog so everyone can benefit. This time I’ll be answering two questions:

Do you dread public speaking? Do you avoid situations where you might have to stand up in front of others? You are not alone. Research once found that people feared public speaking even more than death! If like many people, you are filled with apprehension about presenting to groups, you can turn this around. Here are three steps to help you on your way to being a confident, successful presenter: Step 1: Tune in to WII FM Radio You will be presenting to a group of people. Why should they listen to you? They will be thinking:"Whats In It For Me?" Put yourself in their shoes.

Why do some teams perform well while others struggle? How can you assess how effectively your team is working now, and identify methods for improvement? Research shows that 85% of the reasons that teams of people succeed or struggle has more to do with interpersonal issues, than technical ...

The only one who will ever truly put your financialnwell-being first is you. When you arm yourself with facts,nand you develop your money-making strategies, you'll seenthat it is much less of a chore (and much more fun) to takencontrol of your finances than you might think. You can makenyourself ...

Joe Girard was the champion vehicle salesman for many years in the United States, averaging more than five daily sales of cars and trucks. What were his secrets? According to Mr. Girard, it was simply due to offering a fair price and being someone customers liked to buy from. Mr. Girard made the car-buying experience pleasant; he asked for referrals from customers to family and friends by sending out preprinted holiday cards monthly to everyone who had ever bought from him that said on the front, "I Like You."

There are hundreds of people who flock to network marketing businesses as if it were manna from the heavens. As in any business, getting quality leads is likely to affect the extent to which such businesses are successful. Most of the wannabe network marketers are ill equipped to get quality ...

In the workplace, we make presentations all the time, be it to internal or exte al stakeholders. One of the reasons many people fear making presentations to the boss or clients is they are afraid of being the focal point of everyone's attention and don't want to risk making a fool of themselves. Put your best foot forward every time! There are several things you can do to "fool-proof" your speaking event or business presentation so that you deliver your message well every single time.

Do you know how to provide collaborative leadership in a disciplined fashion? And how does one define disciplined collaboration? The current business and leadership literature touts the importance of collaborating in our turbulent world. Large and small businesses and teams struggle to wrap their heads around just what collaboration is.