Ideas to Inspire Business

We believe that the power of blogging is sharing ideas, inspiration from all over the web...here are some articles to inspire you.

Chris Russell presents Enhancing Human Performance posted at Productivity Planner, saying, "Knowing why people behave the way they do on the job is the key to gaining commitment to continuous improvement. A manager must understand peoples needs in order to increase motivation and therefore meet the needs of the organization."

Stacey Derbinshire presents Leveling the Playing Fields posted at Starting a Small Home Business, saying, "The lifeplan of school, college, and get a job is the paradigm most are trained to follow. However, only a small percentage of those who follow this plan end up with any level of wealth or financial satisfaction in their secular life."

Millionaire Mommy Next Door presents Memories are made of the things we DO, not the things we BUY posted at Millionaire Mommy Next Door, saying, "Should we buy a boat? Or would we rather go fishing?"

TherapyDoc presents You're not the boss of me: Playing defense posted at Everyone Needs Therapy

Rickey Henderson presents Beard Watch 2007 Update posted at Riding with Rickey, saying, "A story about one man's commute home from work. And his quest to grow a beard."

Vahid Chaychi presents Get Inspired by the Success Stories and Interviews posted at Internet and Search Engine Marketing, saying, "You may get disappointed while starting a new business and it has not given any good result yet. Most people give up at this point and stop working. One of the best things that prevents you to give up, is reading the success stories and interviews of successful people in your niche. Learn how to find and read them every week."

Steven Silvers presents PowerPoint presentation on news story about business school requiring PowerPoint presentation from applicants. posted at Scatterbox at stevensilvers.com, saying, "University of Chicago Business School will require applicants to submit a four-slide PowerPoint presentation to be considered. Here’s my one-slide PowerPoint presentation on what this means."

edithyeung presents Steps You Must Take to Run a Successful Meeting and Say Goodbye to Boring Meetings posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..

FitBuff presents Brain Gym Exercises: Get Fit, Get Smart posted at FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, "Ever been at work or faced with a problem and thought to yourself, "Hmm, I sure wish I had a few extra neurons to help me come up with a creative solution?"
Who hasn't, right? Well, check out this new study that shows you how you can literally increase the number of neurons your brain produces!"

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

Personal Branding and PR

For centuries people have managed their reputation...personal or leadership branding are new phrases but the principle stands the test of time. Your own PR is as much about perception as reality - now I firmly believe in being authentic but always remember that your public image is as important in career as well as what you do.

Augustus, the first Roman Emperor managed this paradox well. He appeared humble, publicly playing down him importance and rejecting the idea he was a god! Whilst saying this, he was rebuilding the city....great for the people...oh and a giant monument to himself with a 42m high family mausoleum in Rome.

The image he created was one of rebuilding the city, humility, a good leader...so therefore the monument was something that the people wanted...something that recognised his worth.

Creating value is the key to your public image.....selling your worth won't work, it is about delivering value consistently so that the public sells your brand for you. Was it JFK who said "Ask not what the country can do for you but what you can do for your country".....well, if we change that to "Ask not what the company can do for you, but what you can do for your company" then you are well on the way to managing your reputation successfully.

Lessons from an Arts Festival

The largest arts festival in the world is the Edinburgh Fringe. However when it started it was not a major initiative it was a small gathering of 8 theatre companies. The festival has grown through word of mouth and year on year.....like many businesses.

There is a lesson here for leaders - as much as you want success today, big success now...it takes time. You cannot engage all your employees or potential customers in one fell swoop. It is about continuously doing the right thing, about getting key people to engage and let them "sell" the ideas to other people.

That is why web 2.0 is a fantastic tool to engage people. If you use them correctly, then you will build customer and employee evangelists who will market your ideas for you.

How to keep Employees

Welcome to today's carnival which looks at how to retain talent, how to develop talent.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Training the Aging Workforce posted at SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution, saying, "Training will be an important component of retaining baby boomers in the work force."

Chris Russell presents Enhancing Human Performance posted at Productivity Planner, saying, "Knowing why people behave the way they do on the job is the key to gaining commitment to continuous improvement. A manager must understand peoples needs in order to increase motivation and therefore meet the needs of the organization."

Tupelo Kenyon presents Facing Fear with Deliberate Awareness posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, "Fear is over-rated. We do it to ourselves. Fear has no reality other than our attention to it. Deliberately steer your attention to pictures in your imagination that emphasize what you want to happen – (instead of what you most dread) . . . and the fear dissipates. (Enjoy soothing instrumental music as you read plus songs with lyrics related to each article – all free.)"

Warren Wong presents Make People Comfortable By Greeting Them Right posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, "Do you know how to make people comfortable when you meet them? Here's a couple of tips to make them feel right at home."

Erek Ostrowski presents Management Coaching: How and When to Give Feedback posted at Verve Coaching, saying, "If you hold back or worry about how you’re coming across, you’ll teach the people who work for you that they need to hold back and worry about how they come across…"

Charles H. Green presents The Dark Side of Trust? Not! posted at Trust Matters, saying, "Harvard claims the key to trust is micromanagement, but you can distinguish yourself as a great employer by letting go enough to let trust flourish."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of how to keep employees using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our
blog carnival index page.

If it ain't broke...fix it!

Often we wait until something is broken before we fix it....why not fix it before it is broken.

A great example is Dick Fosbury. People had a way of teaching the high jump - it worked. But Dick Fosbury reinvented the method. He developed a revolutionary approach that took high jump to ...new heights!

He didn't have exceptional strength or speed but what he had was a revolutionary approach that brought him a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics.

He did not listen to the critics, the people who banned the technique...he believed in his ability to create a new method that would help him achieve his dream

Do you wait until it is broke, or do you challenge the norm, do you challenge yourself and your team to continue improving?

Carnival of Leadership Development

Welcome to the August 16, 2007 edition of carnival of leadership development.

Pete Johnson presents If the picture sucks, is it still worth 1,000 words? posted at Nerd Guru, saying, "An overly complicated diagram in a presentation can easily lose your audience. In this article, the importance of simple graphics are stressed and, when a complex picture is required, a technique for easing the visual burden is discussed."

Aaron M. Potts presents Barriers to Personal Growth - What Service are you Providing? posted at Today is that Day.

Jane Chin presents A Danger of "Too Much Experience" posted at On Careers and Life, saying, "How often are you the victim of your own knowledge and experience?"

rck@TheRoadtoCEO.com presents How to React to Criticism posted at Get More Done with Activity Logs

Jeanne Dininni presents Show 'Em Who's Boss posted at Writer's Notes, saying, "This is a satirical article that actually tells the reader how NOT to succeed in leadership."

Karl Goldfield presents Building a plan: Finding Talent - Unearthing potential and making stars posted at Coaching sales champions.

Matthew Paulson presents How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking posted at Getting Green.

Ivan Rios presents How to Deal With Envy posted at artofleading.net.

Christopher J. Brunner presents The Balance of a Leader posted at GreatFX Business Cards, saying, "Being a good, strong, dependable leader is all about balance."

Ivan Rios presents Mistakes Happen: How Do You Respond? posted at artofleading.net.

Ivan Rios presents When To Lose posted at artofleading.net.

Pushpa Sathish presents The Business Blogging Toolset: 100 Resources for Entrepreneur-Writers posted at Bootstrapper.

Bhupendra Khanal presents Top 10 Mantra for Professional Success posted at Analytics Bhupe, saying, "First decide to lead and then work to make that happen."

Charles H. Green presents Deer in the Headlights Decison-Making > Trusted Advisor Associates > Trust Matters posted at Trust Matters, saying, "When faced with unexpected surprises the way most people react is to just do the same thing - they freeze, and can't adapt."

Tupelo Kenyon presents Facing Fear with Deliberate Awareness posted at Tupelo Kenyon,

SJ Yee presents Talent is never enough posted at Personal Development for the Book Smart.

Gary van Warmerdam presents Being Optimistic With Awareness posted at Happiness, saying, "In the best selling book Good To Great Jim Collins advises us of the perils of being optimistic. That same awareness can serve us in other areas of our life as well. The key is to have the awareness to discern the good optimism from the dangerous optimism."

rck@TheRoadtoCEO.com presents A Motivation Secret of Top Performing Managers posted at Get More Done with Activity Logs

Ivan Rios presents Let Them Think posted at artofleading.net, saying, "How to influence and deal with Analytical people."

Pete Johnson presents Who's in charge? Understanding group dynamics posted at Nerd Guru,

Christine Kane presents What?s Easy. What?s Not. posted at Christine Kane's Blog.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Training the Aging Workforce posted at SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution, saying, "A clear trend that will influence HR and training policies."

Jimson Lee presents The Key to Successful Leadership posted at Speedendurance.com, saying, "Are leaders made or born? Read on..."

james presents Overcoming Shyness: Tips for making effective eye contact posted at you shy devil you, saying, "Eye contact is one of the most fundamental forms of body language. Here are 5 1/2 tips on making more effective eye contact."

Jack Yoest presents Watch For Upwarding Leaping Monkeys posted at Yoest.com, saying, "Managers, are there monkeys leaping up on your backs?
The monkey is the next move after the boss and subordinate part after talking — all too often the boss has the next move. The staffer has ‘delegated’ a task up to the boss.An upward leaping monkey."

Matt presents 2 Useful Tips for Improving Creativity posted at Realigned Living, saying, "Being creative is important for any leader - this post goes into two tips I have found to be extremely useful in becoming more creative."

Marenda presents Leadership Development 101 posted at Living life Abundantly Marenda.Biz.

Lousie Manning presents Are You A Good Facilitator? posted at The Human Imprint, saying, "Facilitation is an acquired skill and the ability to facilitate effectively improves more and more with experience."

Chris Russell presents Enhancing Human Performance posted at Productivity Planner, saying, "Knowing why people behave the way they do on the job is the key to gaining commitment to continuous improvement. A manager must understand peoples needs in order to increase motivation and therefore meet the needs of the organization."

Stacey Derbinshire presents Leveling the Playing Fields posted at Starting a Small Home Business, saying, "The lifeplan of school, college, and get a job is the paradigm most are trained to follow. However, only a small percentage of those who follow this plan end up with any level of wealth or financial satisfaction in their secular life."

Ben Yoskovitz presents What's The Cornerstone of Any Great Relationship? posted at Instigator Blog, saying, "Looking at the importance of trust and going with your gut as a leader."

Luke Houghton presents Life skills: an overview posted at Luke Houghton, saying, "The skills you need to make it"

Marc and Angel presents Force of Character: Taking Ownership of Your Actions posted at Marc and Angel, saying, "It’s easy for someone to take ownership of success, but when the headlines read “failure” only those possessing “force of character” have the influential capacity to shine."

Warren Wong presents Make People Comfortable By Greeting Them Right posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, "Do you know how to make people comfortable when you meet them? Here's a couple of tips to make them feel right at home.

Jay Gordon Cone presents CEOs Know: The Soft Stuff Is the Hard Stuff posted at Interaction Associates - Thought leadership and practical tools for collaboration., saying, "CEOs admitted in a recent study that financial results are only part of the picture of the health of their companies. Leaders must learn a new balanced view of success in order to lead well.

FitBuff presents New York Jets Listen to Mozart on the Football Field posted at FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, "Do you believe in "The Mozart Effect" -- the idea that certain pieces of classical music can increase your intelligence and cognitive abilities?Believe it or not, an entire NFL team does!"

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

Employee Engagement

Aristotle said

"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work"

I love this quote as it sums up in 9 words why leaders should be concerned with the "happiness" of their employees at work. If people feel values, if they feel listened to, if they feel their work is meaningful...then this will be reflected in their work.

Successful Careers Are Made, Not Given

We can often see rich, successful people and forget the work they put into their career. Warren Buffet is a hugely successful businessman, built from a desire to succeed. There is a profile of Warren Buffet in the Telegraph, it starts

"When Warren was 12 his father won a seat in Congress and the family moved to Washington. There he took on five paper rounds and by the time he was 14 had saved enough money to pay $1,200 for 40 acres of farmland in Nebraska. After acquiring this land he rented it out."

In a world of instant messaging, speed of communication, constant change - we can forget that success needs hard work, it is built over time. There is no short term fix, there is no short cut for working hard at creating the future that you want.

Understanding why people reject your idea

A great example from history is Galileo who claimed that the sun was at the centre of the solar system. Did everyone celebrate the idea, did people welcome this thought, did he get promoted(!) at his next appraisal?

Far from it, he faced persecution from the Church. Why? Was it the idea that they rejected, no it was how the idea made them feel, it would not have mattered what was at the centre they were thrown as someone was advocating a theory that was different to theirs.....years go by and the principle stays true.

Make sure that you understand that to be successful in convincing people of an idea, you must address their feelings, their preconceived ideas, their sense of holding on to the past. Then present the idea as a solution to an existing problem - not as a revolutionary idea that will change the centre of their universe.

People reject what they don't understand, they fear big change...to get an idea accepted you need to ease the audience into the future....

Carnival of Anecdotes and Stories for Business

Welcome to the August 10, 2007 edition of anecdotes and stories for presentations. Do you want some articles to inspire your leadership, to motivate your team at work?

Charles H. Green presents Juries, Courtrooms and Linear Thinking > Trusted Advisor Associates > Trust Matters posted at Trust Matters, saying, "Once upon a time a jury said "a pox on both houses"."

Laura Young presents Play the Ball Where the Monkey Drops It posted at Dragon Slayer, saying, "A great story submitted to me by a blog reader the I imagine many of you would find useful."

Anna presents Leadership Tips for the Summer at The Engaging Brand.

Louise Manning presents Latin quotations posted at The Human Imprint.

Rickey Henderson presents What Rickey Learned from Jury Duty posted at Riding with Rickey.

Praveen presents My Simple Trading System: The Old Man, the Boy, and the Donkey posted at My Simple Trading System.

Millionaire Mommy Next Door presents The Millionaire Mommy Next Door Recipe for Success, Wealth & Happiness posted at Millionaire Mommy Next Door, saying, "Add ingredients generously and mix thoroughly to blend."

Ivan Rios presents 5 More Contradictions That Will Make You a Better Leader posted at artofleading.net.

Sue Massey presents The Price Of Ignoring What?s Wrong posted at Business Management Life, saying, "I talk about how it's important for employees to feel good about their job."

Karl Goldfield presents Coffee Break Pt 1 Finale - Part 1 posted at Coaching sales champions, saying, "A post with 31 listings of people's funniest interviews."

Charles H. Green presents Negotiation and the Short Term Performance Trap posted at Trust Matters, saying, "The Prisoner's dilemna tells us a lot about the nature of long term and short term thinking."

Eric Hudin presents You Can Make More Working Less posted at Everyday Marketing Ideas,

Pete Johnson presents Who's in charge? Understanding group dynamics posted at Nerd Guru, saying, "A anecdote involving a significant family event that sheds light on how understanding group dynamics can increase productivity."

Alvaro Fernandez presents Top Ten Tips for Women Who Lead Men posted at SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution, saying, "Some of these tips may be fun to share..."

Jack Yoest presents Close the Sale: Make the Pain Worse posted at Yoest.com

Luke Houghton presents Problems Problems Problems… posted at Luke Houghton, saying, "Article about problem definitions"

edithyeung presents 7 Phrases Successful People Would Never Say posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..

wilson ng presents Never Assume posted at Reflections of a BizDrivenLife, saying, "Funny situations or expensive mistakes occur when we assume. We always think we know what the other person wants, or thinks. Don't guess! Why not just ask?"

Jeremy Hitchcock presents Redesign time posted at WTTF: Welcome to the Future, saying, "Be thankfull we don't live in the age of time travel."

TherapyDoc presents Everyone Needs Therapy: Denial and the Predator posted at Everyone Needs Therapy, saying, "The power of denial usually fits into presentations somewhere."

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

Having a long term view

With the hustle and bustle of everyday life, you can lose focus on the long term aim of your work. Not just the financial targets but the real purpose behind your work.

Here is a story to inspire you to think about the long term.

1)Henry Ford's first company lasted only a year because the shareholders saw it as a money making concern.
2)Henry Ford left his second company after just 18 months because he believed that the board's desire for profit bred a fear of failure.
3) In the 3rd company Henry Ford sacked a backer to follow his dream democratising the motor car.
4) It took him 9 years to get the production cost down to $345 and saw sales of 730,000 a year.

The great leaders in history of all had a strong sense of purpose, a reason for being...not just the money. The money comes when you start producing against the vision. Think Google, think Microsoft...their dreams were higher than money...and yet 2 of the most profitable companies in modern history.

What is your purpose?

Carnival of Leadership Development

Welcome to the August 1, 2007 edition of carnival of leadership development.

Krishna De presents How to ensure you ask powerful coaching questions posted at Talking Coaching: changing the world through coaching.
Warren Wong presents Just Do It posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, "Are you pondering over a task? Are you not sure if you should do it? Here's why you should just do it!"

Louise Manning presents Mediation Leadership posted at The Human Imprint.

Adam Pieniazek presents Leadership Tests posted at Adam Pieniazek, saying, "Discussing the leadership style of Jack Hartnett and Pernille Spiers-Lopez, as well as discussing the relevance of leadership assessments."

Christopher J. Brunner presents Enhance Your Image Through Your Words posted at GreatFX Business Cards, saying, "What you say and how you respond to others reflects upon your capabilities and attitude, so it's important to say things that enhance your image rather than harm it."

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

Jim Stroup presents A random climb up the career ladder posted at Managing Leadership,

Millionaire Mommy Next Door presents The Millionaire Mommy Next Door Recipe for Success, Wealth & Happiness posted at Millionaire Mommy Next Door, saying, "Add ingredients generously and mix thoroughly to blend."

Charles H. Green presents Is Neuroleadership More Than Reinventing Wheels? posted at Trust Matters, saying, "Is neuroleadership doing more than just codifying common sense? Are there any lessons leaders can take away from it?"

George Courtney jr presents The Authentic Bartender Blog: Three Steps To Increase Your Creativity posted at The Authentic Bartender Blog.

Ant presents 5 Distractions To The Nesting Entrepreneur posted at The Beef Jerky Blog.

Ivan Rios presents 5 More Contradictions That Will Make You a Better Leader posted at artofleading.net.

Sue Massey presents The Price Of Ignoring What?s Wrong posted at Business Management Life, saying, "I talk about how it's important for employees to feel good about their job. If you have employees you should read my article."

Bhupendra Khanal presents Top 10 Mantra for Professional Success posted at Analytics Bhupe, saying, "Leadership and success are not luck but decisions."

Rolf F. Katzenberger presents Personal, timeless organization: 4 suggestions for your checklist posted at Evomend | Timeless resources for personal organization.

Katie presents I’m Jobless & Remembering What Mattered Before the 9-5 World posted at Aridni,

Warren Wong presents Taking Risks posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, "Are you afraid to launch your own business? Are you afraid of losing what money you have? Here's why you shouldn't be."

Debra Moorhead presents Talk is Cheap . . . Or is it? posted at Debra Moorhead.com.

Jay Gordon Cone presents Facilitating Trust: What team leaders need to know posted at Interaction Associates - Thought leadership and practical tools for collaboration.

Christopher J. Brunner presents Showing Compassion posted at GreatFX Business Cards, saying, "In this post I discuss how, as leaders, we should show compassions to those who are less fortunate, and motivate others to do the same."

Ianternet presents Top 30 Entrepreneurs: My Input on Each posted at Ian Fernando

Peter25 presents Visualize Your Failure posted at Small Business.

Stephanie West Allen presents Your values: One way to lessen the stress of conflict posted at Brains On Purpose™, saying, "New information on how to reduce stress in stressful situations."

Mike Buckley presents Not So Smart After All posted at Mine Your Own Business.

Jim Stroup presents Clean plates posted at Managing Leadership,

Karl Goldfield presents Building a plan: Performance Expectations - A smidgen of Sun Tzu posted at Coaching sales champions.

Warren Wong presents My Partner?s Not Doing Enough Work! posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, "Do you find that your partner's not doing enough work and are angry for having to pick up the slack? Here's how to handle it."

Cade Krueger presents 3 Huge Steps On How To Leap From The Security Of A Job To A Home Business posted at Write To Right.

Charles H. Green presents Negotiation and the Short Term Performance Trap posted at Trust Matters, saying, "Leadership requires understanding how the short term very quickly becomes the long term, and how the long term determines short term success."

Charles H. Green presents When Business is Incontinent posted at Trust Matters, saying, "So often we know what we should do, nothing stands in our way, we want to do it... and yet we don't. Why?"

edithyeung presents 7 Phrases Successful People Would Never Say posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..

Ant presents Are you a Millionaire Yet? posted at The Beef Jerky Blog.

Ivan Rios presents 9 Surefire Ways to Be a Bad Leader posted at artofleading.net.

Chris Tackett presents How to Write a Headline and Grab Your Prospect by the Eyeballs! posted at Direct Marketing News

Eric Hudin presents You Can Make More Working Less posted at Everyday Marketing Ideas, saying, "Time management is a myth. Time doesn’t stop. There is no managing something you can’t control. What you can do is eliminate your wasted movements to become more efficient and effective."

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