It’s possible you work in an industry built on perfect. That you’re a scrub nurse in the Operation Room, or an air traffic controller or even in charge of compliance at a nuclear power plant. The rest of us, though, are rewarded for breaking things. Our job, the reason we have time to read […]
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Category: Stimulating Break of the day…
Mind Challenge of the day….
Pain,Money and B2B selling…
When you sell to someone at a business, it’s worth remembering that the pain their problem is causing belongs to them, while the money they have to spend, doesn’t. Any time you can cure their pain in exchange for their boss’s (or the shareholder’s) money, that’s a compelling offer. The challenge is actually being […]
The crowd will call you a fool…
When you do work that matters, the crowd will call you a fool If you do something remarkable, something new and something important, not everyone will understand it (at first). Your work is for someone, not everyone. Unless you’re surrounded only by someones, you will almost certainly encounter everyone. And when you do, they will […]
How to go faster….
How do you get to market faster than the competition? How do you become more efficient without violating the laws of physics? How do you save time, money and frustration? It all comes down to decision hygiene: 1. Make decisions faster. You rarely need more time. Mostly, you must merely choose to decide. The […]
To overcome an irrational fear…
replace it with a habit. If you’re afraid to write, write a little, every day. Start with an anonymous blog, start with a sentence. Every day, drip, drip, drip, a habit. If you’re afraid to speak up, speak up a little, every day. Not to the board of directors, but to someone. A little […]
Two heads or one…?
As a company gets bigger, there’s an inevitable split between the people who market what gets made and the people who design what gets made. At some organizations, it’s likely that these two people work in different buildings, and don’t spend much time together. One of the most important decisions made in the early days […]
Active listening…..
The kind of listening we’re trained to do in school and at work is passive listening. Sit still. Get through it. Figure out what’s going to be on the test and ignore the rest. Your eyes can glaze over, but don’t let it show. Try not to nod off. People are talking, and they’d like […]
What is the difference between commitmen...
We spend way too much time teaching people technique. Teaching people to be good at flute, or C++ or soccer. It’s a waste because the fact is, most people can learn to be good at something, if they only choose to be, if they choose to make the leap and put in the effort and […]
The enemy of creativity…..
is fear. We’re all born creative, it takes a little while to become afraid. A surprising insight: an enemy of fear is creativity. Acting in a creative way generates action, and action persuades the fear to lighten up.
Confidence is a choice, not a symptom…
The batter has already hit two home runs. When he gets up to bat for the third time, his confidence is running high… It’s easy to feel confident when we’re on a roll, when the cards are going our way, or we’re closing sales right and left. This symptomatic confidence, one built on a recent […]
Project management tips for work that ma...
1. Resist the ad hoc. Announce that this is a project, and that it matters enough to be treated as one. 2. The project needs a leader, a person who takes responsibility as opposed to waiting for it to be given. 3.Write it down. All of it. Everything that people expect, everything that people […]
A Super Simple Plan for the New Year
Don’t you love this time of year for thinking ahead and planning? You’ve got a year’s worth of vast, uncharted territory ahead of you. What will you do with it? Where do you want to be by the end of 2015? Goal setting (Physical,Financial,Career,Relationships,Investment,Business,Skills..) is so important to me that I cannot resist year-end […]
Goals, strategy and tactics for change…
The Goal: Who are you trying to change? What observable actions will let you know you’ve succeeded? The Strategy: What are the emotions you can amplify, the connections you can make that will cause someone to do something they’ve hesitated to do in the past (change)? The strategy isn’t the point, it’s the lever that […]
Digital is slippery…
When you build a building, it stays around for a long time. When you invest and staff a factory, it’s something significant, and it lasts. When Coke gets shelf space at the supermarket, the status quo is powerful and that shelf space might last a generation or two. Today, the smart money is investing in […]
Here it is ; Three-step marketing ladder...
Probably worth reviewing at your next marketing meeting (or every marketing meeting)… There’s a three-step ladder: Awareness Education Action Awareness is when someone knows you exist. The knock-knock part of the knock-knock joke, the person who has another interest and trust to want to know more. Awareness is sexy You don’t need to be known […]
Wishing vs. doing…
Wishing vs. doing By giving people more ways to speak up and more tools to take action, we keep decreasing the gap between what we wish for and what we can do about it. If you’re not willing to do anything about it, best not to waste the energy wishing about it.
Forgive yourself…
Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most successful, the cutest or the one with the fastest time. Forgive yourself for not winning every round. Forgive yourself for being afraid. But don’t let yourself off the hook, never […]
Do you have any good ideas..??
“I don’t have any good ideas” That’s a common mantra among those that say that they want to leap, but haven’t, and aren’t, and won’t. What they’re actually saying is, “I don’t have any ideas that are guaranteed to work, and not only that, are guaranteed to cause no criticism or moments when I’m sure […]
The number one reason to focus…
You will care more about the things that aren’t working yet, you’ll push through the dip, you’ll expend effort and expose yourself to fear. When you have a lot of balls in the air, it’s easy to just ignore the ones that make you uncomfortable or that might fall. Success comes from doing the hard […]
Where is your Emotional handwashing…?
Emotions are far more contagious than any disease. A smile or a panic will spread through a group of people far faster than any virus ever could. When you walk into the office or a negotiation, then, wash your bad mood away before you see us. Don’t cough on us, don’t sneeze on us, sure, […]
Have you Set a date..??
If you haven’t announced a date, you’re not serious. Pick a date. It can be far in the future. Too far, and we’ll all know that you’re merely stalling. A real date, a date we can live with and a date you can deliver on. If your project can’t pass this incredibly simple test, […]
Here is how to Get rich (quick)….
Here is how to Get rich (really quick) Enrich your world by creating value for others. Enrich your health by walking twenty minutes a day. Enrich your community by contributing to someone, without keeping score. Enrich your relationships by saying what needs to be said. Enrich your standing by trusting someone else. Enrich your […]
“How do I get rid of the fear….?”
Alas, this is the wrong question. The only way to get rid of the fear is to stop doing things that might not work, to stop putting yourself out there, to stop doing work that matters. No, the right question is, “How do I dance with the fear?” Fear is not the enemy. Paralysis is […]
Imagine, No more kids…??
What if, in some sort of sci-fi solar flare cataclysm, it was impossible for humans to have more kids? No more babies. How would we treat the last generation? Would we say to the youngest student on Earth, “sorry the school is really run-down and crowded and poorly staffed, but we don’t want to […]
Your rotten fish problem…
The rotten fish problem On the first day, all the fish at the fish stall are fresh. Some sell, some don’t. The second day, the sold fish are replaced by newer, fresher fish. The unsold fish remains, even though it isn’t so attractive. By the third day, of course, the unsold fish is noticably […]
Here It Is..Picture yourself…
Ladies and gentlemen . . . the Beatles!” 50 years ago this month, 4 Liverpudlians rocked the American nation. Their shocking performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” was seen by one in three Americans. And that novel picture transformed countless lives. It inspired young Robert Cray to buy his first guitar. It showed Billy Joel […]
Is money currently a story..?
Money’s pretty new. Before that, we traded. My corn for your milk. The trade enriches both of us, and it’s simple. Money, of course, makes a whole bunch of other transactions possible. Maybe I don’t need your milk, but I can take your money and use it to buy something I do need, from someone […]
Who want to Be a Millionaire..?
Most people would raise their hand. That mean they have a goal of becoming a millionaire but now they need to choose the process for achieving that goal. There are many ways a person can reach their goal of becoming a millionaire. Here are the different processes to Become a Millionaire… The reason the Process […]
Transcend the box…
Take a look at your office. It’s a box. Your computer? Another box. You leave work and climb into a motorized box. Then you drive home to another, more expensive box. Once settled in, you grab something to eat from a refrigerated box. And eventually you plop down in front of a mesmerizing box. Do […]
How to peel a banana…
There’s a better way to peel a banana. The process is frustration-free and prevents bruising. It even takes those stringy things off of the fruit. Try it. Instead of bending and twisting and eventually tearing the stem with your teeth. Hold the banana stem facing down. Now gently pinch the very top of the […]
Learn to Experiment…
Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions.All life is an experiment.The more experiments you make,the better- Ralph Waldo Emerson One of the most common complaints of today’s executives is this;The people they supervise hate to make changes though they are constantly being required to in this highly competitive business environment.The executives then […]
Explore Experience Audit…
When was the last time you went to a supermarket and watched customers look at your product?when was the last time you were a mystery shopper for your own products or service? If managers would call their own customer services lines and have to wait forever,trapped in “voice mail jail” those truly committed to […]
Become Contagious…
The real source of wealth and capital in this new era is not material things.It is the human mind,the human spirit,the human imagination,and our faith in the future. That is the magic of a free society. Everyone can move forward and prosper because wealth comes from within. If you are upbeat,it will lead other […]
Is your performance management and KPIs ...
Managers talk a lot about employee performance. There’s constant pressure to achieve performance targets, to reach higher performance levels, and to ensure that people’s work supports and furthers the organization’s goals. Performance management is the process used to manage this performance. The key question asked is, “How well is an employee applying his or her […]
Do You Know How Mentorship Works…?
Mentorship works for two reasons. Certainly, the person being mentored gains from advice and counsel and even access to others via introductions, etc. But mostly, it works because the person with a mentor has a responsibility to stand up and actually get moving. The only way to repay your mentor is by showing the […]
Find the Answer in Your Hands…
Our bodies and mind were designed for movement.They were not designed for agonized,depressing paralysis. Yet our current culture and society urges us further and further into soft,lewd arms of comfort.Dark and clammy passivity beckons,and the world becomes obese with self nurturing. Your own way out of this cycle will show up for you once […]