Archive for the ‘Business Success’ Category

What are you seeking out of life?

If your young it is how to live the life of fun, enjoyment, fulfilment, excitement, travel, music, dating, cars, fashion, image etc. all of these cost money and need commitment. So you want to earn good money to enable you to use the money to do the things you want out of life! But if you don’t plan, don’t set goals to aid you getting your dreams and desires to become a reality, what then?

If you are now ready to settle down, then you have different needs and requirements, you may be looking for a partner to settle down, you may also be looking to develop your career to enable you to buy or rent your first property together. You may have a five or ten year plan to get married, buy / rent a home, have a family, buy a car etc.etc. This also requires careful planning and effective setting of goals if you are ever going to be able to achieve these without being in debt that is possibly causing you problems etc.

Lets say you are now been married, have a home, have children, all the usual family commitments, mortgage, loans, holidays abroad, children’s education, keeping up with the Jones’s etc.etc. Have you planned effective goals to enable you to enjoy your life? Are you on course to achieve what else you may require in life?

I could go on and on about different age groups and different circumstances we all face in life as we progress in life, the one thing we don’t know in life is what is going to happen to us next. But we can certainly take control and head in the direction we want to go and have as much influence as we are able to.

As the old saying goes you only have one life, so lets make the most of it!

If you link goal setting and start to think you want out of life then you are on your way and all you then need is to focus on those goals until you have achieved them and then set new goals to keep you moving in the direction you want.
I have started by adding some data from NLP that I think you will find interesting and ended with how you can use these methods.

NLP techniques help particularly by making it possible for people to………

Set clear goals and define realistic strategies
Coach new and existing staff to help them gain greater satisfaction from their contribution
Understand and reduce stress and conflict
Improve new customer relationship-building and sales performance
Enhance the skills of customer care staff and reduce customer loss
Improve people’s effectiveness, productivity and thereby profitability

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I thought that for today’s post I would lighten the mood a bit with some humour. Us life coaches do have a sense of humour you know, and contrary to belief we’re also human too!
For those of you that know me, you will realise that although the stuff below is funny, there is a serious message within it too.
Is The Glass Half Full Or Half Empty?
The optimist says the glass is half full.
The pessimist says the glass is half empty.
The project manager/engineer says the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
The realist says the glass contains half the required amount of liquid for it to overflow.
And the cynic… wonders who drank the other half.
The school teacher says it’s not about whether the glass is half empty or half full, it’s whether there is something in the glass at all.
Anyway… Attitude is not about whether the glass is half full or half empty, it’s about who is paying for the next round.
The professional trainer does not care if the glass is half full or half empty, he just knows that starting the discussion will give him ten minutes to figure out why his powerpoint presentation is not working!
The ground-down mother of a persistently demanding five-year-old says sweetheart it’s whatever you want it to be, just please let mummy have five minutes peace and quiet.
The consultant says let’s examine the question, prepare a strategy for an answer, and all for a daily rate of…
The inquisitive troublemaker wants to know what’s in the glass anyhow… and wants the rest of it.
The homebuilder sees the dirty glass, washes and dries it, then puts it away in a custom oak and etched glass cabinet that he built himself using only hand tools.
The worrier frets that the remaining half will evaporate by next morning.
The fanatic thinks the glass is completely full, even though it isn’t.
The entrepreneur sees the glass as undervalued by half its potential.
The computer specialist says that next year the glass capacity will double, be half the price, but cost you 50% more for me to give you the answer.
So, which category do you fall in to?

Ever experienced feedback?

What was it like and how did you feel afterwards?

My experiences of feedback over the years is based on, I only seemed to get feedback when I had done something wrong!

Yet when I exceeded expectations, nothing was forthcoming, apart from the odd well done, but that is what we pay you for away.?

There is no such thing as failure, only feedback and renewed opportunities?

Feedback is about helping you to know and be aware of what you are doing well and identify any areas you may need to work on. And this should be from direct observation and feedback asap, whilst it is still fresh in the persons mind. There is no point in giving feedback more than 24 hours old, as the person in question would have generalised, distorted or deleted most of the information.

So the key is to give feedback asap after the event took place, this way you will gain maximum benefits for everyone involved.

Also the feedback must be given by the person who actually witnessed the event and not by a third party, the reason is obvious because if a person does challenge any aspect of the feedback, a third party can’t oppose or confirm, because they never actually witnessed the original event.

When you give feedback to anyone, it must based on pure facts, actually what you witnessed, that went on at the time.

It must be objective and not subjective, and the difference between the two is fact versus personal views (avoid what you already know about the person) base the feedback purely on what you have seen and witnessed yourself.

You need to make your feedback as specific as possible to enable the individual to know what they actually need to work on. Also what worked well and what didn’t work so well?

Specifics – mean to give an example of what someone said or did, i.e. it may be a question someone used, tell them what the question was that they used, to allow them to formulate this into future similar situations.

The key to feedback is to not over whelm a person with to many development areas, a because you will demotivate them and secondly we can only work on two / three development areas at any one time.

You need to reload the good points to make sure the person is aware and can continue doing them and turn them into normal habits.

Finally you need to identify the areas that require any improvement or development from this feedback session. The key is to enable a person to achieve success in bite size pieces. If there are more the two / three development areas to consider, choose the most important to deal with first, because the other areas will still be there and once the key areas have been dealt with you can then work on the other areas at a later date.

Feedback is all about development and if delivered in the correct manor, will enhance the performance and development of a person and increase their motivation at the same time.

We should all seek feedback on a regular basis, otherwise we will pick up bad habits without even knowing we have! If you don’t have feedback you will not know and this can hinder your own development.

The simple way to remember this process is via an acronym known as B.O.O.S.T.

1. Balanced  -  (ratio in favour of positive & limit development areas to 2/3),

2. Observed  - You have actually witnessed,

3. Objective  - Facts that you have actually witnessed,

4. Specific  - Provide details and examples,

5. Timely – Give feedback asap after the event took place.

Feedback should be an enjoyable experience that people want and actually seek. Because it helps to develop and motivate them as well.

 

Another video which demonstrates  how powerful NLP is and how I use it to benefit my clients,

Let me know your thoughts and feelings.

Came across this video, thought you might enjoy it.

Funny Video of NLP ee

Whether you are an Executive in Business, Senior Manager, Front Line Manager, Small Business Owner, you will have staff working for you and sometimes are at a loss to know why someone is not performing as you expect them to or know that they can.

These questions will help you to understand your staff better and find out what actually motivates them performance wise, once you know this you can then help them to achieve the goals they want out of working for you. The added benefit is you will really understand and know what makes an individual tick, plus you will know what also motivates them, which is good for both parties.

Start General and get more specific to get them talking openly about their performance.

• What is it you’re trying to achieve?
• What is your goal?
• What is the ultimate intention of achieving that goal?
• How long have you had this goal?
• How important is this goal to you?
• What have you tried previously?
• What was the result of this?
• Tell me about a time when you achieved something that you thought you couldn’t.
• What did you do that made you successful in this?

1. Home in on particular incidents.

Target potential areas for improvement.

• Tell me more about…….
• Give me an example of that.
• What happened when……?
• What was the outcome?
• Tell me about times when you have been successful in this area, what was happening?
• What do you see as being the implications of…..?

1. Identify what is stopping the coachee from performing better.

Get them to talk about barriers and hence possible solutions.

• What stops you from…..?
• What would need to happen for you to be able to……?
• When you tried that in the past, what was missing?
• What else would you need in order to succeed?
• Pose the Suppose – If x was not an issue, would there be anything else stopping you?

1. Work out and agree what the appropriate intervention will be based on the diagnosis result.

Gain commitment to coaching if this is the appropriate intervention. Get the coachee to carry out an action before the first coaching session to test this commitment.

• I am prepared to make this commitment to you, are you prepared to make that same commitment to achieving your goal through coaching?
• I will get you to agree some action plans, are you happy to carry these out?

So all Executives, Managers, Business Owners, if you use the above process and questions you will have staff that want to work for you and also buy into your own goals and objectives at the same time. It is a win win situation for both parties.

How can you deal with a conflict of values & beliefs?
Well I am a very fortunate person to be able to work with lots of people and help them to understand their values & beliefs, and how to deal with any conflicts and reduce any impacts due to conflict.

What happens when the ones you have had installed during your up bringing from our parents etc and you have true respect for these, as they have been proven to be successful many times over!

Then alongside these values & beliefs you also begin to develop additional values & beliefs of your own, which you have faith in and also think will be equally as useful. But when you are in business and you have two lots of values & beliefs, one you were brought up on by your parents and one you have nurtured yourself.

What do you do?
Which one do you decide is best for you and your business?
What If I get it wrong and I make the wrong choice?

For example:- If your business is not making money then you have no business? Yet you can have a very viable business potentially but without cash flow you cannot survive. Plus you have to speculate to accumulate.

In business you have to make many difficult decisions and you have to make them and not to deliberate to long on which option to I make. Then main thing is that you do make a decision and then stick with your choice. Avoid procrastination, as this will only confuse things and distract your attention away from the main focus of running a successful business.

There are many ways you can run businesses in this day and age, some are easier than others. But you cannot let a conflict of values & beliefs get in the way or stop you from achieving your business objectives. Once you have chosen which one suits you best can you make a judgement of which one was the best for you and your business.

There are so many businesses today that are virtual businesses with minimal overheads, i.e. out sourced office facilities, out sourced HR, freelance staff on a self employed basis, minimal ownership of equipment or stock etc. etc. that are very successful and everyone gains from collaborating with each other. Because they all work under one umbrella, then their over heads and running costs are greatly reduced and it is easier to make a profit and invest in future projects and ventures.

So you can run and build a business empire with very little money with the right amount of thought and planning put into place. Which means a business model that requires money to make money, seems financially viable, but you can have a business model that requires limited money or little financial investment. Which can also grow successfully, so it is about choice and which business model (value & belief) is best for you. The difference is one model is an old and trusted model and one is relatively a new model.

So check out all your options and then make a decision based on fact, and facts that suit you and formulate the correct value & beliefs for yourself!

 

What does it take to enjoy your life?

What does it mean to you?

How important is it to you to achieve success?

Unless you know what you want in life, and  how do you intend to achieve success – then you can underachieve your desires which can have a knock on effect.

Which can lead to you feeling at a loss, not knowing what to do or where to go in the future?

Well believe in yourself and what you can actually achieve, then you need to plan your goals and objectives for the future. Set yourself time scales to be able to measure your own success and achievements. Only by taking time out to reflect what you have already achieved and what you still need to achieve to enable you to move forward towards your goals and objectives.

There is no rocket science involved, just using your existing knowledge, skills and attitude can make the difference between success and missed opportunities!

So seek support and help to maximise your full potential via a coach, who will help you to identify  the key issues you need to address.

Firstly you need to know who you are and what you stand for? Also you need to want to make changes to enable you to succeed success!

And this means in all aspects of your life, including your career & your personal relationships, because you may be happy in one area but not all three?

So the key thing is to accept you need to have a balance in your life between your career and your relationships, because if you get the balance wrong then you are likely to head towards problems, which include emotions, your family, your career and finally what it will cost you in financial and personal terms.

So seek support on a regular basis with a coach to avoid the pitfalls that can impact on your life?

Don’t forget they creep up on you without your full knowledge that they are happening to you before it is to late!

There is nothing more important in life than your family & friends, compared to having money and career success, otherwise you will become the richest person in the cemetery!

So believe in the future and that you can make the changes that make a difference to enhance of your life and ambitions for the future.

Only conditioning during our lives makes us think or believe that you can’t do something! When in fact this is not true and you can achieve what ever you want if you really want to!

So always remember you only have one life, so why would you want to waste it? Make the most of your life and yes this will mean at times you need to take chances? Hay this is part of life, and what we need to accept and decide what we want and how we are going to achieve what I want in life.

You can have it all, happiness, success and fulfilment, provided you are adaptable and prepared to adjust to enable you to achieve your desired goals.

And trust me you can, I have worked with lots of people, including clients who have changed they way they do things for the better and achieved the desired results they wanted in like!

 

I cam across this link which I thought you would enjoy and help to build your repertoire of powerful questions to use when you are coaching!

Solution Box has been very kind in allowing this material to be provided to others for free provided the originator is not looking to make money from it!

So I hope you will value these questions as much as I do, and let others know about this article as they are essential for anyone wanting to improve their management skills etc. or to improve your own personal life by asking yourself these questions to help you to achieve your own success.

50powerquestions