Month: July 2016

Three BIG Indications of a Broken Group Model

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There are three indicators that I always look out for when determining if a manager has a broken team. As a manager, you should always be on the lookout for them because the first step towards a productive team is becoming aware that your team is broken. Real progress comes from awareness, so watch out for these three warning signs:

1. Constant firefighting in your business

This one you might find difficult to identify at first. You can often feel like you are doing a really good job as a manager when you’re holding the team together, catching mistakes and fixing them swiftly. You can feel like a superman/superwoman when you’re out there, fixing the problems in your business. The question is, are you constantly doing this? Are the problems in your business something that crops up on a day-to-day basis?

If so, then your team isn’t doing what they’re meant to be. Don’t get me wrong – everyone makes mistakes and problems do happen in even the best businesses I have coached. There will always be fires to fight. But the problems that you’re solving should be exceptions, not the rule.

If solving problems in your business is a part of your regular day, then you need to reconsider how your team is structured and how they are working.

2. Micromanagement becoming necessary

Do you find that if you’re not there, deadlines seem to slip? Do you constantly have to create timelines and task lists for your team members in order for them to get things done?

Then you’re micromanaging and that’s not going to help your business move forward.

If you feel that you can’t trust your team to deliver what they’re meant to deliver on time, most of the time, then there’s an issue with how your team is being managed.

3. Every discussion becomes aggressive or sensitive quickly

You need to be able to communicate with your team members. You need to be able to realign their path and assign tasks without fuss and drama. If sensitivity quickly becomes a big issue whenever you try and talk to your team, your competition is going to quickly take over.

The key here is whether there’s trust and understanding – if they do not understand you and you do not understand them, then someone will usually take offense and discussions become difficult. You start to ask yourself, “What’s the point in even bringing it up? I might as well just do it myself.” As soon as you think those words, then you know you have an issue with communication in your team and you may need to reconsider your management style.

 

If you’re experiencing any of these signs, then your team simply isn’t working the way it should be. The end result is that you’re lifting up the team and, realistically, you were probably better off doing things by yourself. You’re not getting the leverage from your team that you should be getting if you want to see your company grow and expand.

In the end, your team is your reflection. So if you do figure out that your team appears to be broken, consider that your team is as good as your leadership/management style. Take ownership of this situation and sit down to think it through. Ask yourself how can YOU change to make your team better.

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HOW TO PLAN AND DEVELOP AN INCREDIBLE EFFECTIVE TRAINING STRATEGY

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When you do take on a training effort, you’ll want to be sure you’re spending your money wisely. It’s therefore best to create an overall training strategy to steer your plans for staff development.

Here are some guidelines to help make your training efforts successful:

ANALYZE YOUR NEEDS

Take the time to carefully analyze your needs when designing your training plan. This will help you choose the right type of training for your requirements.

IDENTIFY SKILL GAPS

You can do this by looking at a written job description (make sure you have one!) and comparing the skills the position requires with your employees’ current abilities. Understanding where there may be gaps will help you identify the types of training you need.

PRIORITIZE

Assign the training you’d like to provide into categories. Is it mandatory, or nice-to-have? If it’s absolutely required, a training effort becomes imperative. If it reflects an ideal situation that isn’t immediately feasible, you’ll know to plan for it in the longer term.

PLAN AND DELIVER THE TRAINING

Once you have assessed and prioritized the need for training, the next step is to secure what type of training you will use and how you will offer it. There are several factors to consider:

Types of training available

  1. Internal resources: Ask yourself what resources you have in-house.  Seasoned employees may be perfect to take on coaching or mentoring roles. Inexpensive to provide, these are among the most effective types of training
  2. External resources: Formal seminars, conferences, private trainers and videos are all good methods for learning. These tools are more expensive, but are professionally developed and often yield good results

Delivery options

One-on-one vs. group sessions, e-learning vs. in-person instruction, on-site or off-site? These questions will be answered by a blend of factors: what’s available, what best suits your needs, and what you can afford.

Your budget

It’s important to balance your need to save with the long-term benefit of developing staff. Try to determine the best type of training available for the amount you have to spend.

DON’T FORGET TO SECURE MANAGEMENT AND STAFF COMMITMENT

Before you can execute a training program, you need to have agreement from the senior person in your company that training is a priority. This person will need to support the plan fully and agree to milestones, costs, dates and deliverables.

Employee commitment is also required. Talk to your staff about the goals for the training and why it’s important to the business that they undertake the learning effort. Most often, employees will respond favourably to your investment in their development. Today’s employees look beyond their paycheques; they value and embrace opportunities to learn new skills.

ANALYZE TRAINING EFFORTS AND THEIR IMPACT

Training can be costly, so you will want to assess its impact. However, sometimes its effect cannot be translated simply into bottom line dollars and cents.

Ideally, you might track variables before and after training to verify improvements after development efforts. If the training was on customer service, the end result may be fewer customer complaints and/or an increase in sales. Training on a new computer system may net fewer errors or quicker processing. You may need to review why you sought training to begin with and whether your concerns have been remedied.

THINK LONG-TERM

Changes may not occur overnight, so it’s important to be patient. Training is a long-term investment, and often the benefits are not immediately obvious. However, your efforts in developing your people will help you in many ways. Staff will be more knowledgeable, they’ll be more likely to stick around, and your commitment to training will help you earn a reputation as an employer of choice

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Be Open and Be Human – Keep Your Social Media Principe Stunning

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Social marketing earns, not buys attention so have an opinion, be true to what you say, be of value, be open – above all be human.

“Ask not what your customers can do for you; ask what you can do for your customers” Stan Rapp

As ‘markets become conversations’ customer relationships and advertising models are changing for good. Passive consumption becomes active interaction. Monologue becomes dialogue. Control becomes collaboration. Customers are empowered, well informed, connected. Companies are becoming more transparent whether they like it or not.

It’s an environment in which the balance of effective communication shifts from being less about interruption to more about participation, less about delivering a message to more about being part of a conversation, less about what you say to people and more about what people are saying about you.

It’s an environment, which operates to social principles – creating not subtracting value, serving a larger purpose than your own, being useful, facilitating.

It’s an environment in which the more human elements matter – having a point of view, being true to yourself and what you say, being open, honest, transparent. Ford use social media to (in the words of Scott Monty) “humanize the Ford brand and put consumers in touch with Ford employees”, and regularly reach out to bloggers for feedback and to encourage the spread of positive word of mouth.

Zappos believe that their “culture is their brand” and use social media to create touch points throughout every area of their business and ensure customer service isn’t just a department, it’s the entire company. Authenticity is the currency that encourages trust, involvement, and engagement. Authenticity is what turns an audience into a following.

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Seven deadly strategies of your article writing business as content creator

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Article writing is a great way to use writing marketing business that brings. By publishing articles on the internet like I do on my blog here (blogzynergy.com) can expand its reputation and reach an audience much wider than you would on your own. If you intend to pursue a strategy of writing the article, there are certain things you can consider that could cause actual results to be better and more specific. Here are 7 tips to help you find your way. Read them 1 by one and discover how to move on your way to win and bring yourself more audience.

LET US START :

1. Rule Target directly to the market and prospects want to work.

People are seeking solutions to real problems. If you provide this information, they see you as a trusted resource. Do not make the mistake of providing information that is too general or is not the target market you want to attract. There are hundreds of thousands of items available. Make sure your target specifically, and valuable to your audience.

2. Provide valuable information.

Do not worry too much about giving away “trade secrets”. Customers will still need your experience in person. If you are too secretive and protective, it is clear to readers that you are “slow.” What you end up with communication is that you can be generous attitudes. If you only give general information, there is no point in creating value for what they offer. Potential customers in search of more information about troubleshooting. There should be a resource for you.

3. Know and use the keywords.

Research using keywords. If your articles do not use relevant keywords in the title and the article itself, your item is not available. It is mostly a futile effort to publish it. You want to use keywords that your target audience uses to find solutions to their problems. You’re better off with certain keywords rather than general.

4. Know what your goal is in your article writing strategy.

Do you attract new customers? Is it to be known as an expert? Does this mean that the commitments? Want website visits and purchases? Be clear about your goal before you start writing articles. A vague or nonexistent wrote an article aims to waste their time and energy. Use your resource box to help support its mission.

5. Write articles that your target in advance.

Keep this in mind, everything you write and every article that you are doing. You may be tempted to get off track and lose sight of goal. Stay focused. Address of the desired target market the information they need to demonstrate your expertise. If you want to be known for what you do, write about all aspects of this specialty.

6. Consider making a series of short articles in order to offer them for publication in a newspaper read by your audience.

These readers are your target market, and seek the solutions they propose. By making a series, to increase their knowledge of your target market. In fact, you become the “resident expert.” You are a known and trusted. After they got used to his abilities, which are likely to seek more information from you and the committee considered.

7. Look for other ways to use your items strategically.

Would it be useful to present to your local newspaper or an organization run ezine? How can you be proactive in getting your article published in your market will read what you wrote.

Do not write articles without writing an article strategy in mind. With intent, you will receive much better results from your efforts in writing. Know what you want to achieve, and write to achieve that goal. Article writing is a very effective marketing approach in writing – if you do it strategically.

Wishing you a lot of success. Let us hear from you in the comments.

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Isn’t it an opportunity to dispatch your fantasy [DREAM]

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We all have dreams of what our lives, our relationships, our careers, and our futures look like. Yet, how often are we steered away from them? We made choices required of us, based on life circumstances which was and is fine. NOW you have the ability to choose a dream, regardless of your age or the time in your life, and bring it to its stunning fulfillment.
Here are Three Dream Power Tools that are already in your hands- you hold the power and the choice to act on them:

1. Release
If you still harbor regrets for what wasn’t done or another path taken, isn’t it time to let them go so they no longer stand in your way? You can release those regrets whenever they pop into your head. Instead, shift to thoughts and memories of gratitude. They can interrupt self-pity, wistful thinking and add powerful energy to fuel your dream.

By switching to more uplifting thoughts, over time, they become your new automatic habits and offer you much more peace of mind. If you still own old grudges or resentments toward anyone in your life now or from before that you think has prevented your dream from happening, release those too. Let go of the ‘blame game’ for your life circumstances and reclaim your personal power.

2. Imagine
Your imagination is vast and can expand exponentially, taking you to new heights, new vistas and astound you with its brilliance. That’s if you let it, and give it the okay to fly. Imagine often and dream big because you can.

Creating your desire with your imagination as an ally, strengthens your dream, and helps to create a new habit of birthing your wishful thinking. Yes, birthing it with your mind and your infinite imagination. What can you imagine? Health and vitality to accomplish all you desire? More relationship harmony, or is it more joy, or career satisfaction and reward that you’re after?

Dreaming makes new possibilities bloom. The key is to dream with conscious intent. Call upon your senses and emotions to make the dream more vivid in your mind and dream away!

3. Faith
What you believe can change your situation and add strength to your dream. Own that your dreams are not just possible, they are real! Always remind yourself that you have what it takes to make your dream come alive.

Examine the beliefs you presently have about your dreams and weed out those that interfere like “I don’t deserve,” or “I’m not good enough.” Decide they’re old myths that no longer have a place in your newfound Power Dreaming. They drag you down and don’t give you a realistic picture of how things really are. They can undermine you and thwart your faith if you let them.

Faith is about not giving up. Hold firmly and constantly to your vision even when adversity strikes. Write dreams down or use a Vision Board to enhance. Power Dream your ability to turn those possibilities into realities.

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Work for yourself with an Awesome Home Based Business

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Be your own boss, work from home, and earn a great living. Chances are you have heard lines such as these thrown around everywhere you go. If you are like most you would love to know how to live this dream as it seems so many already are.

It isn’t just hearsay, and earning money with a home-based business is there. Everyone has the chance to find a great business and earn money with all of the wonderful benefits included. Set your own hours; be your own boss; make all of the decisions and even have others working for you! What amazing benefits!

Working from home with your own business isn’t as difficult as it may have been years ago. Today a computer and Internet connection are all that one needs to own a home-based business.  And with that earnings of thousands and thousands of dollars per month are possible, and highly likely.

Numbers of online home-based business opportunities are available so that everyone, regardless of what they are looking to do, can find a job that will be loved day in and day out. Of the unlimited business opportunities online, you will find the most popular to be MLM, Affiliate marketing, freelance writing and webcam businesses.

Find your Home-Based Business

Whether you are interested in one of the above opportunities or another, finding the perfect home-based business is so easy to do with only a small amount of research required. You can visit Google.com right away and begin searching the many opportunities they have available for adult businesses from home.

Affiliate Marketing

If Affiliate Marketing is the work at home opportunity you are seeking, be sure to look at Hostgate Affiliate Program. The earning as an affiliate with Hostgate are incredible, and you could find yourself earning thousands of dollars month after month, incredible day after incredible day. Many people like Affiliate marketing because earnings aren’t dependent upon sales, and it is incredibly easy to do. The Hostgate affiliate program is one of the most recommended of all and joining could turn your life around!

MLM

MLM is another popular home-based business, however this is also one that isn’t right for everyone. To earn in MLM you must refer people who must refer people and so on and so forth, while also selling a product. Many MLM programs are available however, ranging from products from the health and wellness section like diet aids to home products and all in between.

Webcam Businesses

Webcam businesses are a big part of social networking and home-based business. They are easy to start with very low costs and minimal work.

Freelance Writing

If you love to write, have a creative imagination and a bit of experience in journalism, many opportunities for writing can be found on the web. It’s a big world, and freelance writing opportunities are available with various companies involving various topics.

In addition, blogging is something many love to do, and may not be as tedious as writing for someone without the experience. Both are equally profitable once you learn the ropes.

Hello Business Owner

Because of the various opportunities for owning your own home-based business are around, you can say hello to a new, proud business owner quicker than you could ever imagine! Choose a top home-based business or find another, it is simple and fun to work with a personality based home-based business. You will be enjoying all of those benefits we talked about and will love working from the comfort of your home as a business owner.

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