What is Your Nascar?

When IDEO wanted to redesign an operating room, it found insights from the NASCAR team. The way that the team worked together safely and quickly, despite the time constraints.

Too often managers think that they have to come up with the solution...not so, what you have to do is recognise the problem, or even better the potential problem, and search for a solution. That search should not be limited to you, to your team. Look outside to other departments within your firm and also other firms that face similar issues...what is your NASCAR?

Carnival of Leadership Development

One thing we try and do here is to help people think about their own development and the development of others. Today we look at articles that are centred around developing leadership. Enjoy!

Anna Farmery presents Magic Tricks for Great Leaders posted at The Engaging Brand.

Tupelo Kenyon presents Work– Just a Job or Visible Love? posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, "Do you love what you do and do what you love? Here's a step-by-step method on how to put your passions to work and start living the life you were born to live. "

Wanda Grindstaff presents Summer is Over, Is it Time to Focus on Success? posted at Creating Abundant Lifestyles.

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

Ralph Jean-Paul presents Be Smarter in 30 Days posted at Potential 2 Success, saying, "Become a better leader by increasing your critical thinking skills and your ability to relate to others."

Ivan Rios presents Slow Down?Think?Act posted at artofleading.net.

Claudia Juarez presents What was the mission statement for? posted at A reality blog - Will I succeed?, saying, "When your business is not going as planned, it's time to review your mission statement"

Luke Houghton presents Does it pay to do the right thing? posted at Luke Houghton, saying, "It's important to do what's right. Read this to learn why."

Ariel Laurel Strong presents Instinct « The Cloud of Unknowing posted at The Cloud of Unknowing, saying, "Take the step beyond theory and training. Listening to the inner voice of intuition and instinct can make you a better leader, whether it is on an emergency scene or in a board room."

Jack Yoest presents Management Training Tip #2: Writing an employee evaluation? Try 101 helping sentences. posted at Yoest.com, saying, "Academia and the Army have one thing in common.Perhaps the only intersection is the willingness to share with with fellow servicemen or teachers various helps needed for the efficient and effective transference of knowledge."

Karl Goldfield presents Building a plan Part 4b: Get to know your superiors, reports, and peers (Just hired) posted at Coaching sales champions.

Tom Stanley presents Dream Your Own Dream posted at Tom's Franchise Information Blog, saying, "When you are considering owning your own business, a franchise may seem quite appealing. But instead of starting with someone else’s idea, why not start with your own?"

Jason Rakowski presents How to Deliver the Ultimate in Customer Service Delight posted at Learn Good Customer Service, saying, "With the right approach you can add wow factor to your customer experiences and develop mutually beneficial long term relationships with them."

Chris Russell presents Office White Noise posted at Productivity Planner, saying, "The reason office white noise machines are being implemented in office environments is that they provide a calm and soothing working environment, which leads to better productivity."

Stacey Derbinshire presents Business Plans - An Outline for the New Entrepreneur posted at Starting a Small Home Business

wilson ng presents MultiTasking for Productivity posted at Reflections of a BizDrivenLife, saying, "Doing few important tasks well may be more crucial to your success than doing many tasks haphazardly."

Daylle Deanna Schwartz presents Making Your Mistakes Count posted at Lessons from a Recovering DoorMat.

Fred Black presents Why Does it Feel Wrong to Feel Right? posted at Fred Black: Internet Business Blog..

Christopher J. Brunner presents Leaders Can’t Do It Alone posted at GreatFX Business Cards, saying, "The term leader is defined as “a guiding or directing head,” which indicates that, as a leader, you must have people to guide and direct. Leaders can’t be leaders without followers."

Jason Jacobsohn presents Learn to be Patient or Else… posted at Networking Insight.

Charles H. Green presents Trusted Politicians posted at Trust Matters, saying, "Leasing as a politician is about moving to the majority - or in cases of real leaders - creating a majority. Politicians without a majority soon become ex-politicians."

SJ Yee presents Nick Vujicic, the man with no limbs, on Perspective, Vision and Choices posted at Personal Development for the Book Smart.

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.

The Secret of Career Success

Peter Drucker once said

"The critical question is not 'How can I achieve?' but 'What can I contribute?"

For me, this is the key to career success. Contribution will always be recognised, contribution is measurable, contribution gives a sense of personal achievement.

To be able to contribute you need to constantly develop, constantly learn and expand your knowledge..this takes effort but is a lot more interesting than being bored "hoping" that someone may recognise your declining potential!

Love Your Competitors

I love this quote from Bruce Jenner at the Olympic games.

"I love my competitor; he brings out the best in me"

What a wonderful way of looking at competition - whether internal or external.

Competitors are not to be feared they are to be embraced as your motivation to keep growing, keep learning. Competition can be used as fuel for your motivation, a fuel for your next targets, a fuel for your career and talent.

Imagine how boring it would be without competition!

3 Tips on How to Motivate Your Team

Motivation is a key part of improving productivity and therefore achieving your goals. Here are 3 quick techniques that I use to improve motivation

1. Spend a 30 minutes each day walking or talking to your team. Make sure you are asking them about how they are feeling, ask about their life outside of work, ask what is going well, what is their biggest concern. Time invested here is so important to show that you care, that you value them not only as a team member but as a human being.
2. Hold a monthly session with small groups of people who are direct reports of your direct reports.....no agenda...just ask them for their ideas...how can we make our work lives better, what is working well and we want to do more of, ask about their understanding of goals/objectives.....then act on the feedback.
3. Use surprises to break the monotony. Be it holding meetings outside, giving each person a small budget to woo their internal customers, thanking them with a treat, send cards to individuals with personal messages about achievement, go and work alongside during busy times....and understand their issues.
   

Customer Connection for Customer Service

When a Company reviews their customer service, they often review process and systems...that's fine but that is only part of the story. Process reliance is about delivery but it has no emotional connectivity.

You also have to review how people are connecting with the customer, if people are using their energy "sticking to the process" it is removing emotional energy to connect with the customer. I always say to my people "Please the customer not your boss!" Then tell me what you did if it is outside the process...we then review the process, develop the customer service skill if it was needed and think of how we can build this into our future service.

So remember, yes the process needs work....but the people need energy!

Carnival of Leadership Development

Here is this weekends carnival of leadership development - I hope you find it inspires you to reach that potential that is inside of you.

John Wesley presents 8 Moves to Make When the Chips Are Down posted at Pick the Brain.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Training Games and "Games" posted at SharpBrains, saying, "Explaining how to navigate through the growing number of "brain training" claims."

Phil B. presents 13 Steps to be Productive « Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, "Ever wonder why some people are so productive all of the time while other people never accomplish anything?"

Charles H. Green presents The Dark Side of Trust? Not! posted at Trust Matters, saying, "Harvard claims the key to trust is micromanagement, but real leaders know the key to trusting relationships is letting go enough to let trust flourish."

Jason Rakowski presents Building Relationships In Business - Why It?s So Important posted at Learn Good Customer Service, saying, "There are several different types of relationships that a business owner should be trying to obtain. This article will take a look at three of them that I feel are a must have!"

Chris Russell presents Employee Retention Through Talent Management - What Does It Take To Retain Employees? posted at Productivity Planner, saying, "Companies with high employee turnover rates are losing valuable resources in addition to money. It costs a good bit of money to advertise to fill positions; interview potential employees; and train new employees. This can be particularly expensive if the high turnover rate is for middle or high level positions. Many companies and organizations are embracing HR talent management programs that evaluate the issues of employee retention."

Dr Martin W. Russell presents The Key Life Principle? posted at Dr Martin W. Russell.

Ralph Jean-Paul presents Be A Presence In Any Room posted at Potential 2 Success, saying, "All leaders are confident and the great ones have a presence. Learn how to walk into any room and project the qualities of a great leader."

Kevin Bedell presents What's the best question to ask? posted at 21st Century Citizen.

Phil B. presents The Right and Wrong Ways to Boost Morale « Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, "I think morale has reached an all time low where I currently work, and I would guess that the same is true where you work too."

Nithya Powlin presents How to Get Your Stuck Projects Unstuck posted at Never Another Job.

Charles H. Green presents It's a Dog Eat Dog World, Isn't It? posted at Trust Matters, saying, "In an emerging business world that throws everyone together in constantly permutating ways, that old competitive nature we prized decades ago is becoming a bit of a millstone."

Karl Goldfield presents Building a plan Part 3: Hunters, Gatherers, Communicators, and Collaborators posted at Coaching sales champions.

Rolf F. Katzenberger presents Successful meetings, or: The Great Commandment of Communication posted at Evomend | Timeless resources for personal organization., saying, "You've completed the room reservation in time. You've arranged for coffee and beverages. You've set up the agenda and mailed it in advance to all participants. All feedback has been incorporated, of course. All flip chart supports are loaded with fresh pads of paper. Then the meeting begins. Discussion starts. After a while, you feel like you'd rather be amidst a bunch of howler monkeys during their mating season. Why isn't anybody listening?"

Ben Yoskovitz presents The 4 Immutable Laws of Giving Great Proposals posted at Instigator Blog.

Warren Wong presents Be A Good Manager By Letting People Learn And Grow posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, "Information on the common mistakes an new manager makes and tips on how to be a good manager."

Tupelo Kenyon presents Integrity Through Self-Reliance posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, "When you live your life as if the whisperings from your soul really matter, you are living life in your own way, on your own terms, based on your own realizations on what is right . . . what is good . . . and what is true for you. You are tuned into your own station. The signal you are receiving and the message you are broadcasting with the story of your life are both on the same frequency. You are joyfully and gratefully choosing your favorites from the buffet of life. (Enjoy soothing instrumental music as you read plus songs with lyrics related to each article – all free.)"

Laura presents Top 20 Facebook Apps for Entrepreneurs posted at Online University Lowdown.

Luke Houghton presents 5 ways to think strategically posted at Luke Houghton, saying, "Being a leader means being able to see the bigger picture view of what's happening. This article outlines 5 creative ways to see the bigger picture."

Ant presents 5 Ways To Not Get Your Point Across posted at The Beef Jerky Blog.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Fitness Program 2.0, MindFit, and much more on Brain Training posted at SharpBrains, saying, "Review and commentary on several New York Times articles related to "brain training""

Samir Bharadwaj presents 5+1 Simple Ideas For Brainstorming With A Dictionary posted at SamirBharadwaj.com, saying, "The currency of entrepreneurship is ideas. If you're like most entrepreneurs, you don't always have the luxury of brainstorming for new ideas in a group. So, here are some tips for coming up with ideas all by your lonesome, with a little help from your humble dictionary."

David B. Bohl presents Fulfillment and Leadership : Slow Down Fast Today! posted at Slow Down Fast Today!.

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.

Persistance for Profit

I love this quote from Craig Newmark

" There's no genius behind it. It's persistence and listening to people"

Two wonderful qualities for a successful business.

Business is a journey, a winding journey that has many roadblocks and traffic jams....to be successful you need to have a desire to break through those blocks and find a new path to profit. Persistence is the fuel and listening ensures that you have chosen the right path.

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.