Marketing Strategy, Executive Coaching Experts

By Dave Guerra

Disasters can occur at anytime and anywhere. When they occur they are usually unplanned or when notice is given it is usually not much. You can prepare for just about any disaster by having a Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plan in place and ready to roll at sign of the first raindrop. What people usually do not prepare for is how to act the moment a crisis begins be it natural or man-made.

The old Rudyard Kipling quote, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, and — which is more — you’ll be a Man, my son!” should serve as a prime example of why remaining calm will lead you to a place that other men and women can only imagine.

Remaining calm during chaos will work in your favor when you need things to get done. Not only will your ability to remain calm serve to calm others but will also make you the person that people will turn to because of that ability. It may be difficult at times, especially when the severity of the situation may be more than you have ever faced. You will have to reach deep inside yourself and find the strength to get past the surreal situation you find yourself in and put on a brave face.

The first thing you will need to do, as part of a leading in a time of disaster is to get information. The task at hand will be to determine what the exact situation is, not what someone thinks it is, and especially, not what someone else heard it might be. Therefore, it is imperative to gather all the information that is available and the information that is secondhand should be confirmed as quickly as possible. Provided that no one is sick or injured as a result of the initial onset of the situation then it is imperative to get people focused on what needs to be done and get their minds off the initial shock of the situation. You will need to assign specific tasks. Initially, this will focus on the people around you being the ones that will provide you with the information you need. Assigning such tasks should be based on their ability to gather and deliver the necessary information. If you are looking for an update on the status of supplies available then someone working in the warehouse or storeroom should be tasked to provide that information, if you’re not sure on whom to call upon, ask for volunteers.

Keeping everyone focused gives everyone an opportunity to alleviate some of the stress and anxiety they may have, as it will help them voice their concerns along with critical information about the situation. Keep in mind that collecting information initially should come from direct observance of the unfolding situation, outside sources such as television and radio, feedback from individuals that are present and any historical data available about the present situation. Thus, it is important to get as much firsthand information as possible and limit the amount of second- and third-hand information you are willing to accept, as second- and third-hand information will take time to verify. As a rule of thumb, if it takes more than 5 minutes to confirm then don’t use it, as it may be information that is wrong or already out-of-date.

Having collected your data now you will have to act fast in processing information and developing the plan by which to act on. Depending on the severity of your situation you will need to determine what you will be able to do what you will definitely not be able to do, what can possibly be done, and what you would like to do. As the situation may be continuing to unfold, the development of any plan should definitely take into consideration the current situation and possible outcomes that are both short- and long-term and in some cases post-disaster considerations should be included.

During this time information could still be coming in and will continue to impact your ability to make a plan. At some point you will have to draw a line and say to yourself no more new information will be accepted and the plan will be made based on the information available. When putting the plan together, you will not have the luxury of time, as in most cases things are happening fast and changing constantly. However, just as it is essential to make a decision as fast as possible it is equally important to not make hasty decisions.

Making hasty decisions will lead to outcomes that might have been avoided provided there was a bit more time to process the information that was available. Therefore, avoid making any decisions or plans until you have enough information and can no longer wait for any more information to come in. While there never is really a good time to make a decision and you will never have all the information you need, a decision still has to be made. At this point, you must now make a decision that will affect everyone involved. Be sure to include everyone that is available and able to do something in the plan.

The plan should be designed to keep everyone focused and centered on what needs to be done and hopefully, not on what has happened. If everyone can participate and contribute then all the better, however, be careful when there are not enough tasks to go around. Those without something to do should be monitored to ensure that they do not create a negative atmosphere that can demoralize the rest of the group.

As a leader, your responsibility is not only to ensure that what needs to be done gets done but also to keep everyone motivated, as having a negative atmosphere will defeat any morale building activity. Therefore, ensure that a negative or a defeatist attitude is addressed as quickly as possible. By having everyone on the same page and working towards a common goal will ensure that whatever you are trying to accomplish will get done.

After making your decision, it is time to put the plan into action. Assigning specific tasks ensures that everyone understands what needs to be done. It is also important that everyone understand what is being asked of them. It is imperative that everyone is fully aware of your intent, if they do not than it is up to you to explain it to them quickly, concisely, and that they can say what it is back to you. As with any assignments, it is important to have measures in place that will notify everyone as to whether the tasks are on track to be accomplished properly or are they creating more trouble than what they are trying to accomplish.

By monitoring the activities of everyone as well as getting feedback from the participants themselves you are then able to adjust the assignments as necessary. Additionally, you should be able to fine-tune the plan so that it conforms to any changes in the situation. The trick here is to find the point by which you not only stay up to date with the evolving situation but you can even forecast actions to be taken.

At some point, you will be able to relax and have the time to reassess the situation as the initial crisis state has passed. In the event of a natural disaster, this means that the initial shock has passed and while destruction may still be occurring, time has elapsed which will enable you and your team to reshape the plan to gain greater ground on what needs to be done. In the case of a man-made disaster, short of a nuclear accident or event, the initial chaos may have subsided. You and your team definitely can proceed in a slower and more deliberate pace, that way what was initially missed or overlooked can now be addressed.

Leading in a time of disaster is not something that can be practiced; it can be simulated. Simulation will only go so far because once it hits the fan all bets are off. As part of any disaster recovery or business continuity plan be certain to include time to go over any possible scenarios and what your reaction will be. No matter how horrific or surreal things may be you will need to remain calm, stay focused, and above all be the leader. You may be called upon to do things you would never do in everyday life but then again natural or man-made disasters are not an everyday occurrence. This is where planning and preparing now comes into play, so always remember and never forget what someone once said: “Sweat more today and bleed less tomorrow.”

Dave Guerra
Owner The Dave Guerra Company (http://www.daveguerra.com)

Dave Guerra invites you to find out how providing Information Technology Leadership and Management greatly enhance return on your technology investment. The Dave Guerra Company helps small to medium sized organizations get their message out via the use of Internet Technologies utilizing new media tools such as Web2.0 and the emerging Web 3.0 technologies. Find out what The Dave Guerra Company can do for you, your organization, and your Information Technology investment.

(c) Copyright – David G. Guerra. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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marketing strategy

services marketing

executive coaching

Marketing Ideas

By Jan Richards

Your vision of the future – whether it’s positive or negative – is a much more powerful factor than you might ever guess in helping the shape your future success.

A vision that works motivates the person or group who hold it to take action to make the vision come true, no matter what obstacles they find ahead.

Effective visions are ones that appeal powerfully to both emotions and logic.

Discover, express and focus on a vision of the future that’s clear, positive, compelling. Think of creating your vision as a way to “pre-experience” success, in detail. Think of the vision, itself, as a snapshot or preview of the future you are creating.

Here are tips about how you can create your team or individual vision:

1. Create the time and space for it.

You need time to relax and let ideas flow. That requires time and space away from the pressures of the regular workday. Schedule the time in advance.

Create an environment for the visioning work that’s free of interruptions and enables you or you and your team to think expansively, clearly, honestly, creatively.

If you’re working with a group, engage a good facilitator if there’s no one in your group, presently, who has those skills.

2. Envision a compelling future.

Start by setting a target date by which you hope your vision will be real. Perhaps that’s 5, 10 or more years away. Whatever it is, make it a specific date.

Next, imagine what you will have achieved by this time. Imagine in detail. “Be there now.”

If it is a business vision you are creating imagine what your customers, collaborators, and competitors are saying at this future time about you or your group, your results and how you created them:

- When you see and hear their reactions, what do you like?

- What do you want to change, about what they are saying about you, in that future state?

Now, as you imagine being in this future, imagine how you feel about what you have achieved by this time:

- What do you like best?

- What do you want to add or change?

3. Capture and sort the input to create the vision.

Capture the ideas you’re generating in writing or graphics, whether you’re creating your own vision, or working with a group.

Sort the information in some easy way as you move through the process. You can use mindmaps, clustering techniques, or structured brainstorming exercises.

You can also create a graphic template ahead of time of a metaphor you want to use to catch and organize the ideas that lead to your ultimate vision. For example, some people use a metaphor of taking a journey, mountain climbing, surfing, or building a city. There are many other metaphors you can also use.

4. Refine and post the vision. Then follow up.

Take the visioning work you’ve done, and distill it, whether you’re working on your own, or in a group.

Produce a simple final vision statement or graphic.

Post the vision in a prominent place where you or your team will see it regularly. That may be a physical space, or if you’re working as part of a virtual or dispersed team, post it on an online space you share.

And now I would like to invite you to claim your Free Instant Access to “Firewalking: Leading Teams Successfully Through Uncertain Times” when you visit http://www.jgrichardsresults.com from Jan Richards, J.G. Richards Consulting – Turning Business Goals Into Great Results.

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marketing strategy

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executive coaching

Marketing Ideas

By Michael McCann

There are five key factors that are essential to today’s decision making:

•Intuition – concerning the direction events may follow.

•Flexibility – concerning a willingness to accept foreign information.

•Initiative – in problem solving, decision making, and creativity.

•Creativity – in opening wider ranges of alternative ideas.

•Adaptability – to new conditions not anticipated earlier.

Intuition: Our expanding technology is daily making available a wide range of new potential products and services on one hand. On the other hand, our expanding and mobile population is daily creating demand for new types of products, thanks to new needs and desires. To decide what your company wants, and to blend it with what the customers want, requires value judgments.

Key executives know that in choosing between broadly separated alternatives, they must often rely on intuition in blending the insufficient information available for decision making. How, for example, can a hosiery manufacturer be sure the trend is to longer or shorter skirts? No decision-maker can ever be sure!

As the output of technology advances and as the interactions of communications are speeded up, permitting reports on mass tastes and trends at an overnight pace, the level of intuition required in these areas to make future value judgments must rise. This is an apparent contradiction with the widely held image that new management skills in the information-gathering area are dramatically reinforcing decision making as a science.

The fact is that the new tools of specialized knowledge in such areas as technology and market research, when compiled with the emerging computer technology, are broadening the known choices for a decision-making executive. An executive must be prepared to work to develop intuition and must not be afraid to act intuitively as information streams around him or her.

Flexibility: In the use of one’s executive intuition (in solving a problem or in reaching a decision), when “all the information is in that we have time to
gather,” we do well to remind ourselves of the need for flexible thinking. We can dam up our intuitive capacities if we become rigid concerning areas we are willing to include in the search of alternatives in the problem solving and the decision-making processes.

This flexibility is close to creative thinking – but not quite the same: the creative process applies largely to the creation of alternatives to our decision making process, while flexibility applies more to the problem solving area.

As we attempt to define the cause or causes of our problems, we benefit by staying flexible. If we prejudge a cause of a problem – or restrict our search for causes – we cut the ground out from underneath the subsequent decision making process.

Initiative: In both problem solving and decision making, a high level of personal executive initiative needs to be exhibited.

• A desire to look for solutions to problems.
• A desire to examine alternative actions.
• A spirit of discontent to fuel creative wonderings.

The subject of initiative is subjective. It is one thing to know the techniques involved in executive decisions – it is quite another to want to enter these processes with both feet.

“Initiative,” “verve,” “drive,” motivation,” or whatever you wish to call it, continues to be the prime variable in the competitive arena – between companies and between executives (assuming all other factors to be relatively even: i.e., personality conflicts, no nepotism, no great educational variables, no great intellectual variables, etc.).

Creativity is a key that can in degree be learned and cultivated as a habit. A person with initiative can become a more creative person by initiating a feeling of discontent with things as they are. Also, a naturally creative mind can prod its “body” to take more initiative in order to see fulfillment of its creative impulses.

Analyze your strengths in both areas – and use one strength to help you raise your sights in the corresponding area.

Adaptability: Behavioral scientists tell us that the true measurement of intelligence is the ability to adjust or adapt quickly to a changing situation. To this extent, adaptability to a changing situation is different from flexibility of thought; it can be said that we should be flexible in our adaptability.

A rapidly changing marketplace may require an executive to adapt to conditions created by his or her competitors. In the process, he or she is hopefully:
• flexible in examining his or her alternate methods of adapting to conditions, and
• flexible in determining what the real cause of his or her problems may be.

All strategic decisions in the executive arena require a degree of adaptability to changing events both inside and outside the company. The complexities of today’s marketplace dictate that rapid adaptability must be a characteristic of the contemporary businessperson.

Make more money faster by easily connecting with hard-to-reach decision makers who can buy your products and services…NOW! Get started free by getting Michael McCann’s new Special Report excerpted from his newest edition of his popular business development book, Connecting with Key Decision Makers (How to Reach Hard-to-Reach Businesspeople Who Can Say “Yes”)…just for asking at http:/www.GlobalBusinessCafe.com/ – http://Twitter.com/MikeHMcCann Go now!

Michael McCann is a 25-year veteran of developing unique and professional business development programs that create tangible results for individuals and companies. Let him help you instantly…free!

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Marketing Ideas

By Yvonne Buchanan

“I’m a writer and I blog.” This sentence, posted at the end of a consumer complaint to any business should strike fear into the heart of its recipient. Note to self: You’re about to be fricasseed. Time to take action: yesterday.

Faster than a polymorphic virus, more powerful than a super computer, it’s [strike up hero's leitmotif] Today’s Blogger! TB’s golden prose (heck, it doesn’t even have to be good writing), shot off the keyboard with a click, is rocketed into cyberspace, multiplied across social media platforms, posted in ezines and consumer complaint sites, and comes back to bite the recipient in the arse. Hard.

The world has changed, and we business owners need to wake up and smell the quadruple Venti nonfat latte. What once would have been a matter between a consumer and a business now can bring down that business, even a Goliath-size business, permanently. David’s stone? A laptop and a WiFi connection. Here are …

10 Tips on Surviving Today’s Blogging Community

1. Get real with yourself. Online reputations can make or break your business. Nowhere to run to, baby. Nowhere to hide.
2. Pay attention to complaints. They’re not going to go away until you do something about them.
3. Give good service in the first place. Even after a complaint is satisfied, the complaint has proliferated across multiple platforms. Prevention is the best remedy to any complaint.
4. Read and respond to e-mail quickly. (Hint: if you’ve assigned the task of reading and responding to e-mail to someone who either isn’t married to you or doesn’t have at least a 51% stake in your company, you might want to rethink that decision.) Same goes for phoned-in complaints and letters via snail mail (does anyone actually send those anymore?)
5. Have an ongoing dialogue with your consumers. If you have a solid relationship in the first place, it’s unlikely that one error will make someone call in the dogs. (Until they e-mail your underling and don’t get a satisfactory response.)
6. Monitor the Web. You should regularly scan for your company name, especially on consumer complaint sites. What you don’t know can hurt you. Badly.
7. If you screw up, admit it. Admit it on the same blog you’re blasted on (even if you continue to get blasted, hold your temper).
8. Offer to make it right. Be unreasonable with yourself. That means going above and beyond what the situation calls for.
9. If the blogger was mistaken, ask politely for a retraction. If you don’t get one, post the truth without sounding defensive. You can assign this task to the same person who failed to answer the original complaint in a timely manner, but I wouldn’t.
10. This one you learned in business school: the customer is always right. Don’t put being right ahead of being in business. The online community is large, but very, very close-knit.

Yvonne Buchanan’s company, epublisher Knowledge Base Publishing, does joint ventures with authors of ebooks to edit, publish and market their products, some of which are promoted on her free article submission site,800Muses.com

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Marketing Ideas

Maybe I am getting older now and see the world a lot differently than I did when I was playing pong as a child; but who cares about all the marketing hype today over Microsoft products and features. I haven’t seen one product that makes my life any better or easier. Especially not easy open packaging! Is this really a problem that needed to be fixed. Here is an idea get rid of the package and sell the dang thing on a USB drive or something. I think the computer industry is in for a really big wake-up call in the coming years. The games are boring for the most part, I don’t upgrade my computer hardware anymore because well Microsoft doesn’t have anything new I want.

• Video  – Done That – Have a WII now so who cares
• OS for Games – Did That – Can you say crash Windows Vista
• Audio – Done – Software gets better and laptop speakers get worse?
• Microsoft Office 2007 – Did and then Did away with. Crash Crash
• Outlook 2007 – Did and replaced with thunderbird.

So, good luck on the package. Here is an idea make a software program that will run on a 5 gig drive or something without crashing. That would be something new and worth Marketing about.

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marketing strategy

services marketing

executive coaching

Marketing Ideas

By Kevin Dervin

How would your clients and prospects describe your marketing personality?

Every small business person has a number of qualities and characteristics that make up their unique marketing personality. Are you conscious of what kind of marketing identity you’re projecting… in other words, how people see you?

This really came to my attention in observing behaviors at a recent Home, Lawn & Garden Show in Kansas City. I spent some time supporting my friend and business partner’s booth at the trade show.

Now trade shows are a little bit of a different animal, but it was unmistakable observing the various marketing personalities. For several of the small business owners displaying, trade show marketing is no doubt an important piece of their overall marketing efforts.

Before I cover some of the marketing personalities that were observed, let’s discuss why this is even important.

One of the ways I’ve always encouraged small business clients to think about marketing is to picture a wall. There is the side that you see because you’re inside your business. But, there’s also another side to the wall that your clients, prospects, and potential referral partners see.

Are your marketing efforts designed from the outside in, or from the inside out? If you only focus on what you see and what you like (i.e., your side of the wall) in your marketing efforts, there’s a decent chance you won’t connect with all the prospects that are possible. Because they’re looking for what’s important to them, and not what’s important to you.

I’m not saying to try and be something that you’re not. It’s more a matter of being conscious of your marketing personality so you can set your marketing processes & systems up to best leverage it.

OK, here are some of the marketing personalities that I observed at the Home, Lawn & Garden Show:

* Extreme Introvert – One individual sat in his booth and I never saw him engage a single person unless he was spoken to or asked a question first. It appeared to be a “Field of Dreams” approach. “Well my display is beautiful. If people want what I have, they’ll come and ask me for it.” It was as if he didn’t want to impose on anyone, not even the people who clearly stopped to learn more about his service.

* Look at ME! Look at ME! – OK, I didn’t see the rainbow colored afro wig. But, you do see some things that are clearly set up to try and draw as much attention as possible. What strikes me is the lack of focus on a clearly defined target market. It didn’t seem to matter whether people needed the product/service or not.

* Extreme Extrovert – Everyone was a friend. Smiles and, “Hello, how are you?” were plentiful. This was different from the Look at ME type. I suspect some these folks did well assuming they focused on engaging in conversations with visitors that fell within their target market.

* Oblivious – Ever been involved in a one-way conversation? It was wild. Questions were not answered and a dialogue was clearly not engaged. He had the things on his mind he wanted to communicate and that was that.

* Attentive – This was my favorite to observe. This person was clearly mindful of the traffic. Smiles, nods and hello’s were given, but not necessarily with the intent to stop anyone. When someone stopped at the booth, if the hesitation was appropriate then he engaged. The conversation was polite, but focused with a clear call to action at the end of the discussion.

There is no scientific conclusion here to say who did better than anybody else at the trade show. It was just observation of the various marketing personalities I noticed.

The things is how does this marketing personality carry over to other marketing tactics like networking, direct mail or social networking? Something to think about.

And now I’d like to invite you find more FREE articles and resources to increase your own small business marketing effectiveness at http://www.MarketingActionClub.com Just come have a look around to see what all is available.

Kevin Dervin is co-founder of the Marketing Action Club and creator the the Get More Great Clients marketing system.

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marketing strategy

services marketing

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Marketing Ideas

By Daniel L. James

There is no such thing as job security, especially in the IT industry. It matters not whether – like me – you have thirty-plus years of experience, an MBA, are a Certified IT Project Manager, have published a book, or any other past accomplishment. Potential clients or employers only care about the value you can bring to their organization today. It was this way in 2001 when the tech industry tanked, and is again in this economy, forcing us to continuously adapt, retool, rethink and re-behave.

No longer is it “safe” to rely on a single source of income. No longer is it a “sure thing” that our 401-Ks will even retain their values, let alone provide gains over time. According to IRS statistics, 93% of public stock market traders lose money each year. According to the Social Security Administration, over half of Americans must continue working at age 65 or later to supplement their retirement.

In an environment where our “superior” resumes are thrown in a stack of thousands for consideration, we must change our approach. Recruiters are overwhelmed with sellers and a tiny fraction of buyers.

The solution is to think strategically, but from from new angles; to find new ways of attracting customers or clients; to become the hunted rather than the hunter.

We do this by becoming mentors, experts in our field, leaders willing to educate and train our prospects without expecting anything in return. Only by first earning trust and respect will our prospects be willing to do business with us, hire us, or invest their precious capital. This concept is called Attraction Marketing, and it’s no longer the exclusive domain of network marketing plans and affiliate programs. It is based on a long-held principle that, helping others achieve their financial (or life) goals automatically helps you achieve yours.

In years past, relying on a single employer to provide for our families was a point of honor and virtue. Today, it’s a case of “what have you done for me lately.” In today’s economy, we need a second source of income just to cover our teenagers’ text-messaging bills, let alone to stock up a lagging retirement fund.

It is time for managers and professionals — technical or administrative — to become entrepreneurs, to find one or more alternative source of income, and to automate that source so that it consumes a minimum amount of bandwidth. Can Attraction Marketing do all that? It certainly can!

For example, you can have a full-time job while mentoring others online in your spare time, building your expertise and followings on various Social Networks. It may not provide instant cash, but the lifetime dividends this “investment” returns can be enormous.

So, what is your passion? What is your favorite hobby? Do others think you’re already an expert in something? Are any ideas coming into your head as you’re reading this that you believe others would find interesting? Are you willing to share your expertise for free in order to attract a loyal following on the Internet? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you qualify to build an Attraction Marketing business. If built correctly, it will take little of your daily time — in fact, much of it can work on auto-pilot — allowing you to continue with your job and life.

The bottom line is this: In this economic climate, how are you going to retire at any age without multiple streams of income? Your job consumes forty-plus hours per week. If you could invest one hour per day to build a lifetime of revenue, would it be worth it?

Something to think about.

Dan James is Senior VP at LarkinSoft (http://www.LarkinSoft.com), a consulting firm specializing in systems that help businesses thrive on the Internet. See Dan’s blog, and more information on Attraction Marketing, at his website, http://www.DLJames.com

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Marketing Ideas

By Jason Wilton

When hiring and promoting people into manager roles, many times those who get the positions are those who work the hardest at their current jobs. Rewarding hard work is always an intelligent choice for those in upper management, but in some cases, the hardest workers do not have outstanding leadership qualities. When this happens, some effort must be expended in making managers into leaders.

First, you must teach your management candidates how to think outside the role of an employee. While they may have worked for a long period of time beside the people they will be leading, they must learn how to step out of the co-worker role and into their position of leadership. Watch for employees who may think they can take advantage of their friends, and nip this problem in the bud.

Second, evaluate their personal and business traits to see which leadership qualities need the most work. Place them in situations where they must work on these issues and hone their weaknesses. Even when someone does not naturally have a particular leadership quality, most of these traits can be learned with practice and reinforcement.

Finally, build up their confidence so that they can step into their new role and perform their duties as a manager without any hesitation. For many people, the most difficult part of assuming a leadership role is their confidence in their abilities to lead others. Once they have conquered their own insecurities, taking responsibility for others will become easier and those who work under them will be able to treat them with the respect that they deserve.

In some cases, making managers into leaders simply does not work. There are some people whose personalities are just not cut out for a leadership role and that is perfectly acceptable. In such cases, the best move is to find a position within the company where their strengths can be used to further their own career, as well as to create a stronger organization. Not everyone is a born leader, but nearly anyone can be trained to be a very effective manager with decent leadership qualities.

Making managers into leaders is one of many topics you can learn about at Leadership Made Simple. This periodic journal of practical leadership and management tips provides great material about leadership development. Right now, you can subscribe to this free journal to receive four great videos that can teach you to become a better leader or manager:

marketing

marketing strategy

services marketing

executive coaching

Marketing Ideas

By Jason Wilton

When hiring and promoting people into manager roles, many times those who get the positions are those who work the hardest at their current jobs. Rewarding hard work is always an intelligent choice for those in upper management, but in some cases, the hardest workers do not have outstanding leadership qualities. When this happens, some effort must be expended in making managers into leaders.

First, you must teach your management candidates how to think outside the role of an employee. While they may have worked for a long period of time beside the people they will be leading, they must learn how to step out of the co-worker role and into their position of leadership. Watch for employees who may think they can take advantage of their friends, and nip this problem in the bud.

Second, evaluate their personal and business traits to see which leadership qualities need the most work. Place them in situations where they must work on these issues and hone their weaknesses. Even when someone does not naturally have a particular leadership quality, most of these traits can be learned with practice and reinforcement.

Finally, build up their confidence so that they can step into their new role and perform their duties as a manager without any hesitation. For many people, the most difficult part of assuming a leadership role is their confidence in their abilities to lead others. Once they have conquered their own insecurities, taking responsibility for others will become easier and those who work under them will be able to treat them with the respect that they deserve.

In some cases, making managers into leaders simply does not work. There are some people whose personalities are just not cut out for a leadership role and that is perfectly acceptable. In such cases, the best move is to find a position within the company where their strengths can be used to further their own career, as well as to create a stronger organization. Not everyone is a born leader, but nearly anyone can be trained to be a very effective manager with decent leadership qualities.

Making managers into leaders is one of many topics you can learn about at Leadership Made Simple. This periodic journal of practical leadership and management tips provides great material about leadership development. Right now, you can subscribe to this free journal to receive four great videos that can teach you to become a better leader or manager:

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marketing strategy

services marketing

executive coaching

Marketing Ideas

By Doris Kovic

“Are you kidding me – how can I be optimistic? There is nothing to be optimistic about in this economy.”

With the constant stream of bad economic news it is very easy to get caught up in thinking that nothing positive is happening. We start to believe that there is little that we can do to improve our circumstances; we withdraw, play it safe, feel concern, and fear about our future. We become especially vigilant for further signs that we are at risk.

Optimistic leadership is not about seeing the world through rose colored glasses. The economic down turn is real and we need to make business decisions based on that reality. But once you have your plan of attack, optimism will inspire a sense of hopefulness and the confidence that is required to take full advantage of the opportunities that do exist.

Optimism or pessimism is not about the reality of the situation, it is conscious choice that has a huge impact on your ability to succeed.

Additionally research has confirmed that those who are able to find an optimistic outlook will not only be more successful, they will also live longer, be healthier and happier.

Below are ten ways to become more optimistic and to energize your organization.

1. Seek positive perspectives and evidence. Unfortunately most of what is being reported today has a pessimistic tone, so to build a more
balanced view, you need to look for the positive signs. In an economic
downturn, pessimists may be more right but optimists will see more opportunity and actually accomplish more.

2. Practice possibility thinking. We have an amazing ability to construct our inner world and outlook, to use self talk to either build ourselves up, or tear ourselves down. Give yourself permission to reframe your thoughts, to focus on the opportunities not the negative consequences – the 90% that we still have rather than the 10% we have lost. See bad events as setbacks, transitory not permanent and focus on what you can do to energize and build growth.

3. Build a compelling vision that inspires. Take the time to develop a deep sense of mission and purpose, to get really clear about what you want for your organization and the unique value you can provide. In the words of Peter Drucker – “the best way to predict the future is to create it”.

4. Surround yourself with positive people. Optimism is a learned habit, and it is contagious. Seek out people who have a positive outlook – you
are only as good as the company you keep. Expand your support network
and consider hiring a business coach to support you as you work through this process.

5. Be aware of the “shadow” you cast in your organization. As a leader everything you do impacts those around you. Your mood and your behaviors are watched and interpreted by everyone around you. Be a good role model, maintaining your composure and a positive attitude – that’s authentic.

6. Encourage open dialog. Being positive and open will draw people towards you. Staying focused on understanding and listening is especially important with others who don’t feel so optimistic. Optimism or pessimism is not about the reality of the situation. You need to remain open to fully understand alternative perspectives and be able to lead people to a more positive future.

7. Build resilience through wellness. Optimists are more resilient to stress and enjoy better health. Resilience builds a mental toughness and an ability to bounce back from setbacks. To build your resilience, you need to make purposeful choices to take care of your body, mind, and spirit.

8. Build personal mastery. This begins with an honest assessment of your capabilities and a lifelong commitment to professional development.

Mastery will bring confidence and the capacity to succeed, creating more reason for optimism.

9. Believe in the capabilities of your team and organization. One of the most powerful gifts you can give someone is to believe in their potential. Suddenly they are capable of accomplishing so much more, which in turn gives you more to feel optimistic about.

10. Stay focused and track accomplishments. When there is a lot of information and distractions it is very important that you keep your eyes focused on the road ahead, on the things that you can do and control. Celebrating your victories along the way and knowing that although it may be a long road you will get to your destination in the end.

Great Quotes
=========

“Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable”
~Coco Chanel, French fashion designer & businesswoman (1883-1971)

“For myself I am an optimist — it does not seem to be much use being anything else”
~Sir Winston Churchill, British prime minister during WWII (1874-1965)

“I prefer the errors of enthusiasm to the indifference of wisdom”
~Anatole France , French writer (1844-1924)

“Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier”
~Colin Powell, Former U.S. Secretary of State (1937 – )

http://www.leadinginsight.com
doris@leadinginsight.com

Leading Insight San Clemente CA 92672 T: 949-429-8137

© 2009 Doris Kovic All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Leading Insight eZine in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including a live website link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read:

By Doris Kovic, Business and Executive Coach of Leading Insight. Please visit Doris’s web site at http://www.leadinginsight.com for more leadership articles.

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