Blog Carnival of Business Stories and Anecdotes

Storytelling is a wonderful tool in business and each fortnight I want to hold a blog carnival of anecdotes and stories that either motivates you or that you can use as part of your presentations. If you have a blog article to submit for future carnivals then here is the link

Charles H. Green presents Trust Tip 45: The Three-Second Rule posted at Trust Matters, saying, "The three-second rule can help you win your audience before you even begin telling your story."

Anna presents Corporate Diarrhoea at The Engaging Brand

Praveen presents Business Lessons From Goldman Sachs posted at My Simple Trading System.

Heather presents Using Podcasting as a Business Tool posted at Women in Podcasting

Ruth Mitchell presents Creativity Can Lead to Longevity posted at Buy Outside the Box, saying, "Creativity is the key to quality of life."

Alan presents Its all about Family - Keys to Unlock your Inner Potential posted at Made to Be Great.

Jack Yoest presents Mothers Working At Home posted at Reasoned Audacity, saying, "More and more women are turning to home-based businesses as a way to find emotional balance with their work and with their children.

Jimmy Atkinson presents How to Ace Your Job Interview: 88 Surefire Tips and Tricks | OEDb posted at OEDb: Online Education Database.

Debra Moorhead presents The Wal-Mart Pharmacist posted at Debra Moorhead.com

Laura Ricci presents Two Steps for Change posted at Laura's Winning Ideas, saying, "Teaching a principle of changing behavior with a story"

Karen Lynch presents Showing up for Success posted at LivethePower, saying, ""Showing up" means more than just physically being there."

Alan presents Risk Taking - Living life to the fullest posted at Made to Be Great

Barbra Sundquist presents Who Pushes Your Buttons? posted at HomeBusinessWiz..

Wilson Ng presents Profits Straight to the Bottom Line posted at Reflections of a BizDrivenLife, saying, "As a business owner, understanding your cost structure in view of optimizing bottom lines, and maximizing price making decisions is a must."

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Business 101: Teaching Myself Entrepreneurship posted at The Digerati Life.

Debra Moorhead presents “The Science of Getting Rich” Evaluated, Part Two posted at Debra Moorhead.com.

Vahid Chaychi presents 7 Common Things Between a Good Website and an Active Volcano! posted at Internet and Search Engine Marketing, saying, "There are 7 common things between a good website and an active volcano. If your website has these 7 common things, it is a good one otherwise you have to make some changes in it."

Benjamin Yoskovitz presents Always Gunning For The Next Big Score posted at Instigator Blog, saying, "Using a personal experience of being in a cab (and being surprised by it) I try and related those experiences to business and ways of succeeding in business."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
anecdotes and stories for business
using our
carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page.

Humility and Humour for Leadership Development

With all the stress and strain of everyday life, you can easily lose a sense of humour and a sense of reality. Well, remember Rule 6 as described by Omar Khan in Timeless Leadership.

Two world leaders were sitting in Conference. The host leader saw one of his staff fretting and fuming. He looked and said "Remember Rule 6". The staff member relaxed and moved on. The other world leader was intrigued. Then a few minutes later a Cabinet minister came in highly vexed, again the host said "Remember rule 6" the minister chucked and relaxed.

The other world leader then asked "What is this miracle rule?" The host said "DTYSBS - Don't take yourself so bloody seriously! The rule is to remind us that we are all human, what we're worrying about today we probably won't even remember in six months and the best way to engage our creativity to deal with the situation is to disengage our ego!"

The other leader said "And what are the other rules?" The host turned and said "Oh we haven't made those up yet!"

Emotional intelligence is a key part of management and leadership. Understanding the need for self control and also humility is a key part of being successful.

Coaching Talent

A prominent college professor announced to his class that they would sit the final exam on their 1st day. The challenge would then be how they could learn together enough material to ensure that when it came to the day they would pass with an A grade.

What this did was first show that people did need to learn, it also gave the students the vision of achieving an A grade. He was showing them what the future was going to be like and stoking their imagination to work hard to achieve success.

At work this is also critical - sit down with your people and ask them what they want to achieve and how you can help them achieve it......give them hope, give them an idea of what success will look like.....motivate them to succeed.

Positive Thinking - The Power of a Manager

Seeing the positive side of life is important for leaders. Here is a little story

"There was a medieval knight who attended a dragon slaying school - he was afriad so Merlin gave him a sword with magical powers and after that he slew dragon after dragon. Then one day Merlin sprung a trip on the group - the students rushed off but later the medieval knight realised that he had picked up the wrong sword. But he carried on and when faced with the next dragon, he slayed it. He was so proud and rushed back to tell Merlin - Merlin laughed and said "I thought that you would have guessed by now; none of the swords are magic. The magic is you believing."

As a manager you are like Merlin and can give all of your team that belief that they can achieve anything - a magic phrase....."I trust you, go on do it, I beleive in you."

It's about the team, teamwork wins

Who is really important in your organisation - EVERYONE!

A little story....

A sea captain and his chief engineer got into an argument about which one was more important to the ship. Finally they decided to swap jobs for a day.

The Chief went up to the bridge and the Captain went down to the engine room. After a few hours, the Captain suddenly appeared o deck, covered with oil and soot.

"Chief!" He yelled, wildly waving a monkey wrench. "You'll have to come down here! I can't make her go!"

"Of course not!" said the chief "We're aground"

Collaborating as a team is vital to any organisation and should be an important value to hold. Teamwork helps us all be the best of the best. We need each other to succeed, value diversity, value each other....

Blog Carnival of Management Tips

I love sharing information, development tips and great thinking so please find below a list of entries for managers to develop their skills. Enjoy!

Dennis presents 20 Questions to Change Your Life posted at A Pile of Coins, saying, "(Re-)evaluate your work-related goals and achievements"

Praveen presents Business Lessons From Goldman Sachs posted at My Simple Trading System.

Charles H. Green presents Seductive Statistics posted at Trust Matters, saying, "The risk of measuring humanness is that you destroy the thing you’re measuring."

David Maister presents A Case Study in Professional Ethics posted at Passion, People and Principles, saying, "Real managers have the guts to "take it on the chin" in front of clients for a team mistake, even if a junior is at fault."

Walt presents No Plan B! posted at Walt Nation!.

Sagar Satapathy presents Silence Can Kill (Your Project) posted at Project Management Source.

Anna presents 10 Free Ideas to Develop Your People at The Engaging Brand

Debra Moorhead presents How to Set Clear, Definite Goals posted at Debra Moorhead.com.

Podcast Freq presents 6 Podcasting tips for business

That concludes this edition. If you have an article to include then don't forget to submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of management tips using our
carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page.

Taking Personal Responsibility

A young stablehand was allowed to join a senior horsemen on a trek but was given a very slow horse. He soon lost the others and it began to rain very hard. All the men get soaked but the young rider quickly dismounted, took off his clothes, folded them into a neat pile under the horse and sat on them until it stopped raining.

When it stopped raining he got dressed and returned home for lunch. The others were amazed at how dry he was.

Thinking that the slow horse was the reason for him being dry, the next day he was given the fastest horse and the rain fell again. The lead rider on the slow horse got drenched and walked in blaming the stablehand. The stablehand looked and said "Perhaps it was not the horse but the fact you took no responsibility for staying dry"

There are many things as employees that we cannot change but we can take responsibility about how we deal with the situation. How many of us see people complain about lack of budget, lack of resources, lack of time but successful people spend their time, not complaining, but making most of the resources at hand - which are you?

Beating the Competition

A quote from Mark Twain helps us understand our competition

"The best swordsman shouldn't fear the 2nd best: no the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn't do the thing he ought to do, and so the expert isn't prepared for him; he does the thing he ought not to do and often catches the expert out and ends him on the spot."

At work we need to concentrate on being the best, and learning from the young companies who think and act differently. The second best is watching you, but the younger companies are looking for a differentiating factor. To be a leader of a successful business make sure that you are at the head of the pack but then learn from new starters. This is also true for learning from the new managers...they might not have the experience but they do have new ideas.

Handling Pressure

To show how to how to handle pressure a little story....

A leader raised a jug of water and asked "How heavy is this?" The team tried to guess the weight and the leader then said "The weight does not matter. What matters is how long you hold it for, if I hold it for a minute no problem. If I hold it for a day, it will lead to serious pain. The longer I hold it the heavier that it will seem to be"

"The same is true for stress. As you carry a burden, it becomes increasingly heavy. You have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When you are refreshed, you can carry on. So before you return home tonight put the burden of work down. Don't take it home. You can pick up the burdens tomorrow. Relax; don't think about it until after you have rested."

Every person carries a degree of stress and indeed a degree is great to keep you motivated and energised. But remember the longer you hold on to it, the more pain it will cause you. Learn to recognise it in yourself and others. Take a break, go for a walk, give your body the refreshment it needs.

Self Development and Building a Team

A native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he felt. He said "I feel as if I have 2 wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is vengeful, angry and violent. The other wolf is loving and compassionate." The grandson looked at his grandfather and said "Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?" The grandfather looked and said "The one that I feed"

Often we don't stop and feed the compassionate side of us. You choose whether to be angry or to inspire. I know which one I like to choose as inspiring others is one of the best feeling in the world, to see your team grow and develop because of YOUR leadership...wow!

Carnival of Management Tips

Welcome to the February 13, 2007 edition of carnival of management tips.

Charles H. Green presents The Horizontal Imperative posted at Trust Matters, saying, "In a horizontal world, power comes from influence, not authority."

Anna presents Getting Promotion at Work at The Engaging Brand

David Maister presents Learning to Manage - new careers podcast episode posted at Passion, People and Principles, saying, "This podcast episode examines the skills new managers will need to excite, energize, organize, and produce with your team."

Krishna De presents 5 keys to authoring your business book posted at Krishna De.

Podcast Freq presents 6 podcasting ideas for Business

Gazzali Maidin presents Attract Your Customers posted at beneficial Learning for Outstanding Generation.

Millennium Mommy presents If You Think You Could... posted at Priscilla Ortiz - Journal to Prosperity, Path to Freedom Inc., saying, "This article shows the power of a team."

Sagar Satapathy presents 25 Web-based Tools to Make you a More Effective Manager posted at Project Management Source.

Daniel Scocco presents Competitive Advantage: Responsiveness to Change posted at Innovation Zen.

Erek Ostrowski presents Organizational Culture: The Keys to the Kingdom posted at Verve Coaching, saying, "Understanding the role that culture plays in defining an organization’s potential gives you the keys to the proverbial kingdom."

Jane May presents The Informational Interview posted at Career Ramblings.

Vahid Chaychi presents Get Inspired by the Success Stories and Interviews posted at Internet and Search Engine Marketing, sOne of the best things that prevents you to give up, is reading the success stories and interviews of successful people in your niche.

Debra Moorhead presents Personal Strategic Planning posted at Debra Moorhead.com.

lecentre presents Top 10 Reasons Google Sucks My Chia Pets posted at Bookworm SEO, saying, "If you want to be a succesful manager, don't duplicate these mistakes from Google. Do treat small business with equal respect as big business. Do fight spam and scams. Do have policies that are universally applied."

Brian presents Hard Truths for Leaders posted at Brian Nick.

Matthew Paulson presents How To Deal With Friends and Coworkers Involved in Quixtar and Other MLM Schemes. posted at Getting Green.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
carnival of management tips
using our
carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page.

Having a Positive Influence

During your week it is not about went wrong that matters, it is about your reaction to it. Things will go wrong, that is a fact of life, successful people manage their reaction to the events.

During this week write down your reaction when things go wrong. Mark it with a plus or a minus. Your aim should be a 3.5+. This way you don't destroy the optimism, the desire in your team to achieve the vision. Smile, show that problems occur and it is how we react as a team that will keep us on track. The more you react positively, the more your team will....

Carnival Of Management Tips

Welcome to the February 9, 2007 edition of carnival of management tips.

Anna presents Work/Life Balance at The Engaging Brand

N Rana presents Euranus Reviews - Money Making posted at Blogging the Deeds, saying, "Still everything greek to me. Oh lord, please help."

Wilson Ng presents Making Employees Productive posted at Reflections of a BizDrivenLife.

Emmanuel presents How to harness the Intelligence of Customer to solve your problems posted at Comments on: There is a science to get rich.

Jeff Burkey presents Say Goodbye to Outlook and Say Hello to Ziggs posted at HedgeFundDomain.

Billy Smith presents The “Golden Rule” of Leadership « The Organic Leadership Blog posted at The Organic Leadership Blog, saying, "Thanks Anna!"

Podcast Freq presents Podcasting Ideas and Motivation

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
carnival of management tips
using our
carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page.

Lesson on Self Confidence

My old boss used to tell this story about an electrician who went to a life coach:

Coach: What stops you noticing all the opportunities around you?
Electrician: Fear of failure
Coach: What would you like instead?
Electrician: Confidence
Coach: What stops you feeling confident?
Electrician: Fear of failure
Coach: What would you like instead?
Electrician: Confidence
Coach: Notice the loop? Now can I ask you - do you really want to change?
Electrician: Yes I want to. I want the confidence to make the changes
Coach: OK. SO imagine 3 light bulbs screwed into a board with a common cable. The first one is a 10 watt, second 100 watt and third 1000 watt bulb. Which glows the brightest?
Electrician: The third one
Coach: If the same cable brings equal power to each socket, what's the difference?
Electrician: Electrical resistance - ah, I see it is me that is resisting opportunity.
Coach: Life, like electricity consists of pure energy. It flows through all is us equally. There is no end to this supply - only you can cut it off through resistance. Stop blaming external factors and accept full responsibility for your actions.

Do you want to shine like a 1000 watt bulb - you can by not resisting the opportunities you face.

Making a difference

Here is a quote from George Bernard Shaw

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, make them"

This is a powerful quote - how often do we blame everything around us for not being "successful"?

I believe that we all make a difference, if we want to.....making it happen can be hard but that is what makes achievement feel so great. So if you are faced in your team with people who say "I can't because...." then ask them "How can we create the circumstances.... or What do we need to do to ensure success"

Carnival of Management Tips

Welcome to the February 6, 2007 edition of carnival of management tips.

Jane May presents Career Ramblings » Blog Archive » 8 Things Employers MUST Do To Find New Talent posted at Career Ramblings.

Anna presents Work/Life Balance at The Engaging Brand

Alexandra Levit presents The Age of Under-Empowerment posted at Water Cooler Wisdom.

Murad Ali presents What Type of Training and With Whom?: Getting a Return on InvestmentThe New Business World.

Benjamin Yoskovitz presents Fire Your Crappy Customers - The Homestead HubbubInstigator Blog, saying, "Looking at what it means to fire a customer and why you might do it.

David presents Crossing the IT and Business Divide posted at Worldwide Success.

Scott Lee presents Project Management:: Part 1 - 5 Key Phases of a Project posted at Dirty Mechanism.

Scott Lee presents Project Management::Part 2 - Building and Using a Team posted at Dirty Mechanism.

Murad Ali presents Psychology and Sales: Making them purchase. posted at The New Business World.

Mike Buckley presents Improving Your Game posted at Mine Your Own Business.

David Maister presents Sad Truths for Leaders posted at Passion, People and Principles, saying, "Great managers follow these 4 rules."

Charles H. Green presents Seth Godin vs. Peter Drucker posted at Trust Matters, saying, "Who is right about management issues: Seth Godin or Peter Drucker?"

Sagar Satapathy presents 5-Minute Tips To Improve Efficiency posted at Project Management Source.

Debra Moorhead presents How to Determine Your Top 20 posted at Debra Moorhead.com

Vahid Chaychi presents Time Is Passing. Are You? posted at Internet and Search Engine Marketing,

Heather presents Overcoming the fear of podcasting at WomeninPodcasting

Brian presents Manager Toolkit: Dialog posted at Brian Nick.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
carnival of management tips
using our
carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page.

Do you see what you want to see?

When we see only what we expect to see, we may miss what we should see.

An example, a study was undertaken at an airline desk. An agent began checking one traveller's tickets after a while he dropped a ticket and bent down to pick it up. A different agent who had been hidden behind the counter, stood up and continued checking tickets. Many of the travellers didn't notice the change. They were expecting a ticket agent, as long as one was there, their eyes were satisfied.

Think of how this could be affecting your behaviour. Do you see what you want to see? Are we missing a simple answer, or cutting through the complexity because we are used to the complex system. Are you missing a development opportunity in a team member skills?

Open your eyes, see what is there not what you want to see

Napoleon's lesson for Managers

People need variety in their roles, just like in their life.

Napoleon a man known to have affairs was at a sermon at Notre Dame on marital fidelity. Afterwards he invited the Cardinal to the country for the weekend. He served him with pheasant for breakfast, lunch, tea and supper. The cardinal said "Pheasant is a truly magnificent dish - but always pheasant?" Napoleon looked and said "Always Josephine?"

Now I am not saying affairs are good ! I am saying that no matter how great the job is when you appoint someone to the role, unless you bring variety to it, they will get bored, stale and usually leave.

How do you add value to people's roles? How do you extend their learning's or do you just let them get sick of pheasant!