SMARTER Goal Setting

Many of us are planning for our 2014 goals as we are now at the end of 2013. In order for our goals to stand a chance of being fulfilled by the same time next year, maybe it is a good idea to test them against these characteristics, using SMARTER as the acronym;

1. Is the dream Specific? Losing weight is a fuzzy goal. Losing 2 kg is specific.
2. Is the dream Measurable? As they say 'We can only achieve things (and goals) that we can measure'. Losing 2 kg is measurable.
3. Is the dream Actionable? Losing 2 kg is actionable compared to losing say 20 kg.
4. Is the dream Realistic? Losing 2 kg of weight is more realistic than losing 20 kg as per explanation above.
5. Do you allocate a Timeline to achieve it? Goals without timeline is nothing more than make believe.
6. Do you have Emotional reasons attach to the goals? Humans make decisions mostly on emotions, not only logic. Losing 2 kg because you want to be healthier so that you will have longer quality time with your family is a strong emotional reason.
7. What Routine do you plan to achieve your goals? To lose 2 kg may require you to pay a visit to your local gym 3 times a week.

Using SMARTER as a check list helps you to design a better goal for 2014  and increases the chances for you to achieve it by year end.

All the best in formulating your 2014 goals and may all of them will come true by this time next year.      

Swiss Cheese Method for Lasting Change.

When it comes to change, one of the greatest challenges is to maintain the momentum of change. Often after a while, most planned change die a natural death due to lack of commitment, poor follow up and haphazard implementation.

As now is almost the end of 2013, let us look back at some of our goals that we want to achieve this year. Are we anyway getting near to them let alone achieving them? A good example to observe is the parking space available at health clubs or gyms. Normally, it is difficult to find a parking space a few weeks in January. However, the opposite is true from February onward. We can park anywhere we want. This is a good example of starting with a bang and later on die in silent.

What is the secret to lasting change? Maybe the 'Swiss cheese' approach can offer us the solution. I used this method years ago to make a lasting change ie inculcate the habit of reading which is very important in my line of work.

The method is simple. Like the small holes in Swiss cheese, what we do is to perform a small portion of a particular task or allocate a short period of time to do something that we want to make permanent in our life.

In my case, I allocate 20 minutes (at first) everyday (other than weekend) to do my reading. After a few weeks, this 20-minute reading task  became a routine like eating and taking a bath that I feel 'incomplete' without performing it. Slowly but surely, it became my habit until this day.

So, what is the habit or change that you want to implement in 2014? Regular workout in a gym? Helping your kids with their homework? Or maybe be becoming a regular reader? Use the Swiss cheese method to built your new habit to make that lasting change. I assure you that in Dec 2014, you will look back and feel thankful that you make small but consistent change that lasts.        

Re-framing Technique To Manage Emotions

The late Stephen R. Covey in his book '7 Habits of Highly Effective People' stated that 'between stimulus and response there is a gap'. This implies that we have choices when it comes to the changes that we experience in the environment.

Some of the changes in the environment requires us to express emotional responses. As we have experienced many times in our lives, emotional responses can be positive or negative. Negatives emotions such as rage, anger, envy and others in the long run hamper our growth, destroy relationships and cause us to be less productive.

The opposite is true for positive emotions such as being happy, energized and motivated can propel us to greater heights. We experience more fulfilling life, are more productive and have rewarding relationship with others.

One of the technique to manage our emotions thus making us be more in control is Re-framing. What is re-framing? It is basically giving new meaning or interpretation for a negative event or experience that switch our emotions from negative to positive.

For example, if a car suddenly overtake us in a dangerous manner causing us to slam the brake, our natural and spontaneous response is to be angry and start cursing the driver. The worst part happens if we 'carry' the anger and vent it to our colleagues and family members long after the incident has happened.

Harnessing the power of choice, we can now re-frame the experience by saying to ourselves that maybe the driver is having an emergency and is on the way to the hospital. Thus, we have switched our emotions from being angry to that of a calmer state. We may even sympathize with the driver.

The good thing about this technique is that we can  use it in any circumstances and it can be done instantaneously in seconds. So the next time you experience something negative or unpleasant, remember that you have a choice on how to response in a more positive manner using the re-framing technique. Start practicing it today.      

Technique To Give Effective Feedback

Giving feedback is an important task for many executives and managers. Poor feedback causes subordinates to be unclear of the improvements they need to do, creates misunderstanding and can lead to poor job performance.

Good feedback needs to be done in a clear and well-structured manner. Using the acronym OILS, below are the steps that we can use to give well-structured feedback to our team members.

Observation. After stating the purpose of the meeting, we can start by giving our observation of the overall performance of our team members. Be specific and accurate as possible. For example, we can say, "Last week, I noticed that you were 1 hour late for work on Monday, Thursday and Friday" rather than just saying "Last week you were late for work".

Impact. The next step is to inform our team members of the impact or consequence of the observed behaviour. In the example above, we can continue by saying, "When you were late, I had to ask Mary to cover for you and this is not fair to her as she has her own job to do".

Listen. Next is to give the opportunity for our team members to explain the reasons behind the incident or scenario. At this stage, we listen actively for their explanation. If needed, we can ask open-ended questions to better understand the situation.

Suggestion. The last step is to offer suggestion on how to solve the situation or problem. To create a sense of ownership, we can first ask our team members for their suggestion to improve the situation and if needed, we offer our own suggestion.    

What To do When Feeling Down

I am sure you have experienced these before; tiredness, lethargic, unmotivated and unfocused. These are signs that you need to do something to get back on track. Like the wheel, life has its up and down.

However, if the wheel is mostly down all the time, then something needs to be done to put the wheel (your life back in order). Below are some of the tips to get you back on track and feel motivated again;

1. Write the gratitude list. The next time you feel down, take a pen and paper and spend 3 minutes to write 10 things that you are thankful (to God) for in your life. Be specific. If you want more impact, email it to yourself. I can assure you that you will feel better when you read your own email early the next day.

2. Allocate your Power Hour. Power Hour is the time, say 30 minutes to an hour that you spend with yourself, away from your spouse, children, friends and gadgets. Do something that you love during this Power Hour. Personally, I use this time to read Scriptures and motivational books, pray and meditate. Other activities include exercising, engrossed in your own hobbies and others.

3. Take a break. Go for that long deserved holiday, go on a short getaway with your spouse, catch a movie or spend a day in your local library. Go deep sea fishing with your friends and forget about work for a day or two.

4. Surround yourself with positive people. We are like the 5 people we mix the most with. Choose to stay around positive people. These are those that look at life in an optimistic way, embrace challenges and like to uplift one another. They use positive language and seldom talk bad things about other people.

5. Feed your mind with positive messages. Read positive books. Go and watch uplifting movies, play and dramas. Buy motivational cds and listen to them in the car, your office or home. Do not let a little bit of negativity enter your mind.  

Balanced Life

One of the most pressing issues most working adults face today is having a balanced life. Balanced life means a person experiences fulfillment in all aspect of his life be they work, play, love and others.

One of the best ways to know whether we have a balanced life is by performing personal reflection using the Wheel of Life Technique. This technique is used by many professional business coaches to help their clients achieve a more balanced thus fulfilled life.

The technique is very simple. Rank your personal satisfaction by marking on the marks allocated at the wheel. The more satisfied you are, the higher the marks you allocate, the further it moves from the center of the wheel. Finally, connect all the marks and analyse whether your 'wheel' is balanced ie more or less round or imbalanced ie crooked.

Then, make plans to address the imbalances that you have detected from the exercise and take action on them daily.

 

10-Minute Planning

Are You Having A Burnout?

Burnout is a state of physical, mental and emotional (spiritual) exhaustion. Left untreated, it can lead to long term health problems. If you are experiencing the symptoms below, there is a high chance that you are having a burnout.

Specific symptoms of burnout include:

• Having a negative and critical attitude at work.
• Dreading going into work, and wanting to leave once you're there.
• Having low energy, and little interest at work.
• Having trouble sleeping.
• Being absent from work a lot.
• Having feelings of emptiness.
• Experiencing physical complaints such as headaches, illness, or backache.
• Being irritated easily by team members or clients.
• Having thoughts that your work doesn't have meaning or make a difference.
• Pulling away emotionally from your colleagues or clients.
• Feeling that your work and contribution goes unrecognized.
• Blaming others for your mistakes.
• Thinking of quitting work, or changing roles.

If you are experiencing several of these symptoms, you need to seek assistance immediately. Seek someone you trust, a mentor or coach and take actions to reduce your burnout before it gets worse.   

Managing Your Boss

One of the most important relationships that you need to manage in your career is with your boss. The benefits of good boss-subordinate relationship go both ways. For subordinates, it will help to secure resources and create an environment that helps them to perform their tasks better. For the bosses themselves, it helps to lighten the heavy burden on their shoulders in managing their departments, units or SBU (strategic business units).

You can foster better working relationship with your boss by applying the tips below;

Accept that he/she is your boss – Whether you like it or not, this is the reality that you need to accept. Your boss has the power and authority to direct your work. Failure to accept this will create tension between you and your boss. This is important especially in cases where your boss is younger than you or has less experience.

Allow him/her to make mistakes – Remember that bosses are not perfect, but neither are you. Keep things in perspective. Unrealistic expectation towards your boss will disappoint you and may affect your job performance.

Understand your boss's management style – There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to management. Different people and different situation require different management style. Adapt your needs and reactions to your boss's management style and at the same time, understand your own preferred style, strength and weaknesses.

Make your boss look good - Perform your job in ways that make your boss look good. Solving problems effectively, thinking creatively, meeting deadlines and producing outstanding results are some of the ways to make your boss look good in front of his/her boss. This will earn you the respect that helps to nourish your relationship with your boss

Keep your boss in the loop – Your boss needs reliable and valid information to do his/her job well. If you feed him/her this type of information, you will be highly valued. Remember that no one likes ‘negative surprises’ and that include your boss. Update your boss on relevant issues, projects, and changes. Tell him/her both the good and bad news so that he/she can evaluate, respond and take actions.

Compensate your boss’s weaknesses – Everybody has weaknesses, including your boss. Study and identify them. Take actions to compensate his weaknesses. For example, if your boss is poor in time management, you can constantly remind him/her of important datelines. If your boss looks good, you will look good too. This gives you a better chance of moving up the corporate ladder and be recognized for all your effort.      

Personal Productivity Tips : ABC Method To Prioritize Daily Tasks

Building Good Work Relationship

We spend most of our productive adult life in our career. Having good work relationships helps to create more conducive work environment and gives us deep satisfaction and meaning in our work. To have good working relationships, we need to invest our time and effort in people. Below are some suggestions that we can apply to build good work relationships;  

Build our people skills - Good relationships start with good people skills. Among areas that we need to build include communication, influencing skills, working in teams and conflict management. Read books, attend courses and seminars on these topics.

Identify Our Relationship Needs – Relationships are built and grow when mutual needs are satisfied. Look at our own relationship needs. Do we look for inclusion (doing things together), control (telling and be told what to do) or openness (expressing feelings)? At the same time, we need to know the needs of others from our relationship.

Invest Time to Build Relationships - Devote a portion of our daily time for relationship building.

Examples include going for lunch together, replying to postings on Twitter or Facebook or asking a colleague out for a quick cup of coffee. A little bit goes a long way.

Develop Emotional Intelligence (EI) - Spend time to develop our own emotional intelligence ie our ability to recognize our own emotions and actions. We can do this by reading books, attending courses and seminars. High EI also helps us to be more sensitive to the emotions and needs of others.

Appreciate Others - Show appreciation whenever someone helps us. Be generous with ‘Thank you’, ‘I appreciate it’ etc to show our appreciation. These simple but powerful words will open the door to great work relationships.

Be Positive – Strive to be positive. Being positive is attractive and contagious. No one wants to be around someone who is negative and complaining all the time. Say positive things and look for the positive in others. Shut up if we have nothing positive to say.

Avoid Gossiping - Don't gossip. Remember that office politics and ‘gossips’ are major relationship killers at work. Gossiping will only make the problems worse and create mistrust and animosity.

Listen Actively – Practice to be a good listener. Pay attention when others are talking. Avoid distractions (such as playing with hand phones), nod, asks questions are examples of active listening. Most people love to be around good listeners.

Bringing Happiness to Our Life

We all want to be happy. When we feel happy, we are more productive, we tend to have meaningful relationships and we feel great about ourselves and others. Positive psychologist, Martin Seligman in his 2011 book ‘Flourish’ proposed the PERMA Model to help us understand the five essential elements to be happy.

According to Martin Seligman, in order for us to achieve lasting happiness, we must possess or experience these five elements in our life;

Positive Emotion (P) - For us to experience well-being, we need positive emotion in our lives. Any positive emotion like peace, gratitude, satisfaction, pleasure, inspiration, hope, curiosity, or love falls into this category – and the message is that it's really important to enjoy yourself in the here and now, just as long as the other elements of PERMA are in place.

Engagement (E) - When we're truly engaged in a situation, task, or project, we experience a state of flow: time seems to stop, we lose our sense of self, and we concentrate intensely on the present. This feels really good! The more we experience this type of engagement, the more likely we are to experience well-being.

Positive Relationships (R) - As humans, we are "social beings," and good relationships are core to our well-being. Time-and-again, we see that people who have meaningful, positive relationships with others are happier than those who do not. Relationships really do matter!

Meaning (M) - Meaning comes from serving a cause bigger than ourselves. Whether this is a specific deity or religion, or a cause that helps humanity in some way, we all need meaning in our lives to have a sense of well-being.

Accomplishment/Achievement (A) - Many of us strive to better ourselves in some way, whether we're seeking to master a skill, achieve a valuable goal, or win in some competitive event. As such, accomplishment is another important thing that contributes to our ability to flourish.

Martin Seligman recommended that we reflect on the quality of our personal and professional life and look for the existence of these five elements. By constantly being aware and taking conscious effort to achieve them, we will live a more satisfying and fulfilling life, be in at home or in our workplace.

Personal Productivity Tips - How to Have the Growth Mindset

Managing Our Emotions

All of us have said things that we regretted later on in our moment of emotional outbursts. We say nasty things that we don’t really mean. Sometimes the damage is reversible. Other times, the bridge is burned and friendships are lost forever.

Renowned psychologist, Dr Rob Yeung in his book ‘Confidence – The Power to Take Control and Live the Life You Want’ suggested the FAÇADe technique to manage our emotions (such as anger, lack of confidence, shame) better. He suggested that when we are stuck in our emotional ‘hole’, pick up a pen and paper and go through the FACADe technique below;

Feelings – After we have calmed down, list the emotions that we are experiencing at the moment such as anger, anxiety, shame, despair, etc. Give each feeling a score from 0 to 10 depending on how strong we feel it.

Actions - Write down how our behavior changed because of the feelings that we feel. For example, when we feel angry, we may want to confront the person and give him a piece of our mind or when we feel despair, we want to go and finish that extra-large ice-cream in the refrigerator.

Circumstances – Describe the situations or circumstances that trigger our feelings. It could be something that we remember from the past, things that are happening now or our anticipation of the future. It could also be an event or someone. Write down anything that make us upset.

ANTs (automatic negative thoughts) – Next, write down the thoughts and beliefs that popped into our mind when we feel the emotions. What are the dialogues that we say to ourselves at that moment? Do we say, “I am hopeless”, “They must think that I am a loser”, “What an idiot!”, etc?

Defects – Lastly, search for the flaws or defects in our thoughts. Re-look at the ANTs above and rate how far we actually believe them to be true. Use the 0-10 scale. Think of constructive and compassionate thoughts to challenge the ANTs. If our ANTs says that we are not good in public speaking, we can challenge it by saying “All good public speakers start as bad public speakers first”.

I must admit that it took me a while to get used to this FACADe technique. However, after a few sessions, it becomes easier and has helped me to reframe and relook at my emotions from a different angle. So, the next time you are in your emotional ‘hole’, use this technique and you will be surprised at the results.

Personal Productivity Tips - The Growth Mindset

How to Read More Books in Less Time

Have you ever wished that you could read a book faster and still be able to absorb the important points? Wouldn’t it be great if you could double or triple your reading speed and finish four books in a month instead of two?

A renowned success guru, Brian Tracy in his book, ‘Time Power’ suggested the OPIR method to help us read faster and still retain the important points. OPIR stands for Overview, Preview, In-view and Review. Let us look at it in detail.

Overview – Firstly, read the front and back covers. Then, look at the flaps inside each cover and browse the table of contents. Look for subjects and headings that are of special interest to you. Highlight them to mark out anything that stands out. Next, turn the pages quickly, about 30 to 40 pages per minute. This is to get the feeling of how the book is structured. Read a paragraph here and there.

Preview – Go back to the first page and turn the pages again one at a time. Stop and read an occasional sentence or paragraph. Read the first sentence or paragraph of each chapter. At the end of each chapter, read any questions or summaries if available. Then, use a highlighter to mark out sections of the book that you want to spend more time on. Limit this phase to ten minutes.

In-view – Next, return to the sections that you are interested in and browse the relevant material. Put your hand or fingers down the page to keep your eyes on the lines. If you find anything that is particularly interesting, slow down and use a highlighter to mark the passages. Make notes in the margins, turn down the page corners or color the edges that you might want to access quickly later on.

Review – Lastly, review what you have read. Return to the pages you have marked previously. Read the notes that you have written on the margins and the ones that you have highlighted. You can create a learning record by transferring what you have written on the book onto separate sheets of paper that you can file later on.

This OPIR method can help you to complete a 300 page book between one to two hours. The good news is, the more you use this method, the faster and better your will become. Then, you should be able to read more books in a month, retain most of what you have read and increase your knowledge at the same time.  

Personal Productivity Tips : Fixed Mindset

Personal Productivity Tips #13

One of the best ways to assess our time management habit is to perform an audit of how we use our time. By assessing say, a 5-minute or longer, block by block of our activities for a day or week, we will get a clearer picture of our priorities and can make the necessary adjustments to use our time better. As they say, we cannot manage time because it will pass anyway. What we can manage is ourselves and our activities over time. Have a productive week ahead.

Conquering Public Speaking Fear

I am sure many of us have heard that speaking in front of an audience is among the number one fear for many people. It is not only endemic in new speakers but among the professional ones as well. The difference is that, professional speakers learn how to master the fear and use it to their advantage.

The tips below will help you to feel the fear, embrace it and channel the energy to your advantage in your next public speaking assignment;

Embrace it – Fear it good. It signals our body to be alert. The next time you feel the fear grows inside you, embrace it and say “This fear tells me that I need to prepare well”. Take action and do your preparation well.

Prepare , prepare, prepare – As mentioned previously, detailed preparation will help you to master your fear better. Know your material and prepare early. Write your speech and rehearse it many times. Record yourself on video. Ask for feedback from trusted friends and colleagues.

Breathing technique – Before taking the stage, breathe in deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Do this a few times until you feel calm and relaxed. Loosen your muscles by doing some light stretching as well.

Visualize – Close your eyes and imagine yourself giving the speech. See in your mind’s eye, the faces of your audience and their positive responses towards your speech. See yourself delivering it with confidence, enthusiasm and perfection. Feel the feeling and hear the sounds. Make the picture big, bright and colorful in your mind. Do this several times until you feel calm and ready to take the stage.      

Positive affirmation – Fear is fed with plenty of negative self-talk. To counter this, you need to rewrite your internal script. Use positive phrases such as “I am a great public speaker”,”My audience loves me”, “I prepare well”, “I love public speaking”, etc. If possible, say it out loud in front of a mirror and with full conviction.  

Smile – When you are on stage, the first thing that you need to do is smile your biggest smile. Many professional speakers say that smiling relaxes them. I believe it relaxes the audience too and make them more receptive towards your speech.  

Know Your Audience – Before you deliver your speech, do a background check on your audience. What is their average age? What language do they speak? What interests them? Remember that your audience is there to support you. They want you to succeed in your speech as much as you.

Personal Productivity Tips #12

The late W. Clement Stone, insurance giant and mentor to success gurus such as Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul fame) and many others had his staff shouted "Do it NOW" several times every morning before starting their work day. The idea is to do what ever that is needed to do that particular day without delaying it to the next day. Procrastination is the mother of poor productivity. We need to constantly remind ourselves like what Stone did to his employees to beat this disease. Have a productive week ahead.

Achieving Career Goals

Fail to plan, plan to fail. I am sure most of us heard this maxim before. As with anything worth achieving in life, we need a good plan to advance our career and move up the corporate ladder.

From my reading and personal experience, there are several steps that we can take to plan our career (and personal life).

Know where we are - In this step, we do a self-audit, analyzing our own knowledge, skills and attitude (KSA) that help us to perform our current jobs. We can ask the opinion of our trusted colleagues or friends and be open to their feedback.

Know where we want to go - The next step is to ‘peek’ into the future and ask ourselves what we want to achieve in our career. An increased in salary? A promotion? A career change? Another important questions to ask are “When do I want to achieve it?” and “What set of KSA do I need?”

Identify the gap - At this step, we look back at our current set of KSA and compare them with the ones needed to achieve our objective. For example, to be promoted from a sales executive to say, a sales manager, we need strategic marketing skills.

Identify resources - In order for us to upgrade our KSA as identified in step 3 above, we need resources. Money, time and people (contacts) are examples of resources that can help us. We also need other tools such as books, audio tapes, seminars and training.

Write an action plan - Next, grab a pen and a piece of paper and write an action plan on how to upgrade our KSA. Remember to make it as specific and objective as possible (ex ; I will attend two sales training per year beginning next year; I will read one sales book per month starting next week). As you can see, we need to include time frame as well in our plan.

Take action daily – Lastly, we need to take action daily based on our written action plan to move us closer to our desired career and personal growth (ex ; reading books on sales one hour every day; saving 5% of monthly salary for personal development).

One important point to remember is that our plan is not carved in stone. As we go long, we may need to re-adjust our plan as we find new resources or discover new opportunities.

Personal Productivity Tips #11

Personal success guru Brian Tracy stressed the importance of order in the workplace. He advocated the idea "Start and end your work day with a clear desk". This idea reduces the time we spend searching for missing papers and items under that piles of mess. Try it today!    

Avoiding Death by PowerPoint

I believed many of us have attended seminars and conferences where poor usage of PowerPoint killed our interest. The PowerPoint slides were crowded with too many texts, bullet points, animated gifs and others that distracted us. Apparently, this problem is so severe that the term ‘death by PowerPoint’ was coined to address it.

So, how to avoid ‘death by PowerPoint’? In your next presentation, I suggest that you use the tips below to make your PowerPoint presentation more impactful;

1. Contrast, contrast, contrast – Ensure that the fonts and background in contrast with each other. Personally, I prefer light font colors such as white or yellow against dark background such as black or dark blue.

2. Images as background – Do not use colorful images as background as you might be having difficulty trying to select the best font color to contrast it. Your audience will strain their eyes reading the texts on your slides.

3. Font size – How to ensure that your selection of font size is the right one? The best way is to sit at the last row of your function and ask yourself, ‘Can I read what is written on the screen? If you can’t, adjust the font size and try again.

5. Limit your bullet points – Limit the use of bullet points to six per page. The rule of thumb is, the lesser, the better. Too many bullet points per page will clutter your slide.

6. Using images – A picture speaks a thousand words. Use images to enhance the impact of your presentation. However, choose only images that are related to your topics and make sure that they are sharp, clear and large enough to be seen.

7. Use short sentences – Avoid writing all your script onto your PowerPoint slides and reading them to your audience. This is a sure way of killing your presentation. Instead, use keywords (I called them ‘trigger words’) to remind you of your speaking points. As with bullet points, maximum number of words per bullet point is six. (This is known as the 6 x 6 Rule).

8. Diagrams – When using diagram such as charts, ensure that it is properly labeled and is large enough to be seen by the people in the last row. Use combination of colors that can help to clarify borders and give meaning to your charts.

9. Animations – Ensure that your PowerPoint slides are free from animated gifs (moving cartoons or pictures) as they cause distractions. You can animate your key points for transition purposes but do not overdo it. Again, the rule is; the lesser, the better.          

Personal Productivity Tips #10

Multi-tasking is a myth. Brain scientists have found out that our brain can only process and perform one task at a time. When we 'multi-task', our brain actually has to switch on and off as we move from one task to another, rather than processing all of them simultaneously. This causes our brain to function less efficiently just like switching our car on and off when we change direction. The impact on personal productivity? Rather than doing many tasks at one time, we should concentrate on one task and complete it before moving to another one. Have a productive week ahead...

Personal Productivity Tips #9

When was the last time we completely disconnected from work, including thinking about it, checking email etc, for any extended period of time? According to experts, we need to designate at least one night a week to totally let go of the office (not thinking or doing any tasks) from the time we leave work until the time we get up the following morning. As they say, there is more to life than work...Have a productive week ahead...

Personal Productivity Tips #8

Schwartz et al (2010) in their book titled "Be Excellent at Anything" stated that we need 4 sources of energy to operate at our best namely physical energy (sustainability), emotional energy (security), mental energy (self-expression) and spiritual energy (significance). Each time any of these are out of balance, we are operating below our optimum level.  

Initiating and Maintaining Change

I am sure that many of us are familiar with the phrase “Change or perish”. Initiating and maintaining change is hard work. Without proper techniques, most often, the consequences of change is failure.  

Chip and Dan Heath in their bestselling book “Switch” outlined several steps to initiate and maintain change in our personal and professional life.

Follow the Bright Spots – Research and investigate what’s working in the industry or other people and clone it.

Script the Critical Moves - Make the change small and specific. Describe in detail the behaviour that needs to be changed. Make is as vivid as possible.

Point to the Destination - What is the final outcome of the change process? Is it increased output? Cleaner and more orderly work space? Reduced accidents?

Find the Feeling – Make people feel something about the change process. If it’s to reduce wastage, show them the statistics. Pile up that one-side-printed paper on the table. Personalize the stories of the previous accidents victims. Show them the horrible accidents scene and say. “This could happen to all of us”.

Shrink the Change – Break down the change into smaller steps. Set smaller objectives along the way. Allocate each task to an individual or team and monitor accordingly.

Grow Our People - Cultivate a sense of identity and instill the growth mindset in the new environment. Put up posters, highlight the new identity in meetings, briefings and during coffee talk.

Personal Productivity Tips #7

For high demanding tasks such as preparing project proposals, budgets and others, experts suggest that we perform such tasks not more than 90 minutes at one time. After 90 minutes, they suggest that we take a short break, say 5-10 minutes such as going for coffee, doing light exercise and others. This is to keep us alert, focus and more more energetic. Maybe we should give it a try today...

Personal Productivity Tips #6

Personal development experts (Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, Robin Sharma and many others) advised us to have our daily Power Hour, an uninterrupted time (say 30-60 minutes) where we 'recharge our batteries' by meditating, praying, reading holy Scriptures or inspiring books or updating our journal. My Power Hour consists of reading the Scriptures and praying early in the morning. What about you? Have a productive week ahead...  

Making a Lasting First Impression...Positively

I once read that it takes three seconds for someone to form an opinion about us based on our appearance, body language and mannerisms. So, making positive first impression can go a long way for our career and personal life.

The next time you meet someone for the first time, use the tips below to make positive first impression;

Be on Time – There is no such thing as ‘fashionably late’. Someone you are meeting for the first time is not interested in your ‘creative’ excuse for running late. Plan to arrive a few minutes early and remember to allow some flexibility for possible delays such as traffic jam, etc.

Be Yourself - If you fake your behaviour, the other person will realize it sooner or later. This will make the other person uncomfortable. It’s a sure way to create the wrong impression.

Present Yourself Appropriately – Dress appropriately for the meeting or occasion. Is it a business meeting? An informal discussion over a cup of coffee? A day at the golf course? Do some research on how to dress for these different occasions. Remember to check your personal hygiene as well (your teeth, breath, facial hairs, etc).

Smile - A warm and confident smile will surely put both you and the other person at ease. When you smile, the other person will normally smile back and you have melted the ice.

Avoid Nervous Gestures - Be aware of your nervous habits such as playing with your pen, rubbing your neck, avoiding eye contact, tapping your feet, etc. Stop doing them or if unavoidable, try to minimize them.  

Small Talk Goes A Long Way –Take a few minutes to learn something about the person you meet for the first time. For instance, does he play golf? Comment about the weather, a current event or the coffee that both of you are enjoying.

Be Polite, Courteous and Attentive - It goes without saying that good manners and polite, attentive and courteous behavior help make a good first impression. Avoid gossiping or bad-mouthing. Use polite language such as “Please”, “Thank you”, “If I may”, “Can I suggest”, etc.

Listen actively – Without sounding aggressive, ask questions, seek clarifications, rephrase his statements or summarize to show that you are paying attention to what he says. Nod or affirm with statements such as “I see”, “Ok”, “Mmm”, etc.

So, the next time you meet someone for the first time, remember to apply these tips and you will surely leave a first impression that lasts....positively.   

Personal Productivity Tips #5

How to tackle low work momentum after a long holiday? Try the Swiss Cheese method ie divide big tasks into smaller ones (like small holes in Swiss cheese) and start from there. Once you are 'in the zone' (regaining your momentum) then you can shift into bigger tasks for the day. Have a great day head!    

Personal Productivity Tips #4

According to a research, a 30-minute nap at mid day increases personal productivity of NASA pilots by almost 40%. So when you feel lethargic at mid day, maybe a short nap will do the trick...

Personal Productivity Tips #3

Brian Tracy, one of the expert in personal productivity suggested that before we sign off from our work, spend the last 10 minutes to write what we want to achieve the next day. This helps us to mentally prepare for tomorrow. Try it this week and you will be amazed...

How to Give Effective Feedback

Have you ever been told by your boss during your performance appraisal that there is ‘room for improvement’ but at the end of the session, you do not know what to improve and how to improve it?

Giving feedback that is constructive can be a morale booster to employees. The opposite is also true. Done badly, feedback can lead to confusion, conflict and dissatisfaction.

The next time you are face to face with your subordinates or colleagues, remember to use these suggestions to make your feedback more constructive;    

Start with the right intention – Ask yourself why you are doing it. Is it to highlight poor performance? Correct bad behaviour? To diffuse a situation? To complement a job well done?

Prepare early – Be clear of what are the things that you want to say. If possible, write them down on a piece of paper. Keep it minimum. From my experience, three items per session is more than enough.

Be timely – The rule of thumb is, the closer the event and the time that you want to address the issue, the better. Normally, do it within 24-48 hours as the effect of your feedback will be lesser with time.

Be aware of your surrounding – Remember to criticize in private but praise in public. Establish a safe place to talk where you won't be interrupted or overheard. Criticizing in public will humiliate the person can causes him to be defensive.

Separate the person from the problem – Highlight the problem without ‘attacking’ the person. “Last month, you were absent for 7 days” is highlighting the problem while “You are useless and lazy” is ‘attacking’ the person. Avoid the later.  

Be specific - Tell the person exactly what they need to improve on. This ensures that you stick to facts, thus reducing ambiguity and confusion. If you are saying “I need you to be more professional”, what does that mean? Maybe the best alternative is to say, “I need you to submit the monthly report before the 5th of every month”.

End on a positive note – End your feedback session positively. Thank the person for his time and reaffirm your belief that he will improve. If your session is to highlight positive performance, encourage the person to repeat the desired behaviour.

Try this formula during your next feedback session and you will notice the positive impact.

Personal Productivity Tips #2

Instead of focusing on daily activities, focus on results or output. I start my day by writing 'Output Today' and work to complete the list before the day is over. It makes me feel good and motivated. Try it today...

Personal Productivity Tips # 1

Having too many items in your To Do List today? Prioritize them by writing A next to items that must be completed now/today; B for items to be completed later ie after items A; and C for items to do last, delegate or drop altogether. This method has helped me to achieve my most important tasks for the day and makes me feel energized and motivated too. Maybe you could give it a try today...

How to ‘Sell’ Your Idea

Have you ever presented an idea or solutions to an audience and once it’s done, you swore that you would never do it again? Your thoughts jumbled up and you lost your way in the middle of your presentation.

Maybe the steps (remember the acronym ANSVA) proposed by Prof Alan H. Monroe from Purdue University below can help you ‘sell’ your ideas to your future audiences better; 

Get Attention – You can get the attention of your audience by using storytelling, a shocking statistic, humor, a powerful statement and others that will get your audience to sit up and take notice.

Establish the Need – The next step is to convince them that there is a problem. This will give them the idea that what is happening now is not good enough and that change is needed. You can use statistics, informing them of the effects of not making changes or showing your audience how the problem directly affects them.

Satisfy the Need – Propose your solution. Tell your audience how you will solve their problems. Discuss the facts in detail. Use examples, testimonials, and statistics to prove the effectiveness of your solution.

Visualize the Future – You can use three methods to visualize the future. Firstly, you can describe what the situation will look like if your proposals are adopted. Secondly, you can describe what the negative effects like if your proposals are rejected and lastly, you can describe the negative picture first, and then reveal what could happen if your proposals are accepted.

Call for Action – The final step is to let your audience have an idea of what they can do to solve the problem. List the actions immediately. Persuade them to take action now. Keep your call for action list simple, between five to nine items.

So, the next time you present an idea or solutions, remember to use the steps discussed above. It will help you to organize your thoughts better and make your presentations more impactful. 

Get What You Want : Tips To Be A Better Communicator

We communicate every day. In our workplace, we give feedback to our team members, attend weekly meetings and ‘sell’ our ideas to our bosses. Some people are good communicators while others still have rooms for improvements.

To make our message more understandable and thus increasing the chances of getting what we want from it, we can use the 7Cs of Communication below;

Clear – Be clear of the reason why we communicate with others.  What is the purpose of our communication? It is to sell a product? Persuade others to accept our proposal? Highlight our team members’ poor performance?

Concise – Stick to the point and keep our message simple. Avoid beating around the bush. Remember, keep it as simple as possible. Simple message has better chances of being understood by our team members.

Concrete – When our message is concrete, our team members will have clear pictures of what we are saying. We can use examples, stories and metaphors to make our message more vivid. Limit them to one for each point that we are trying to emphasize.

Correct – A correct communication is an error-free communication. When speaking, pay attention to our language structure and pronunciation. Check and re-check our spelling and grammar when writing a memo, report or proposal.

Coherent - When our communication is coherent, it flows logically. For example, when presenting a proposal, our message has an opening, body and closing (call for action). Our ideas are connected and relevant, making our message easy to understand.

Complete – A complete message enables our team members to get all the information they need in order to take action. It has specific time frame and outcomes. For example, when writing minutes of meeting, we need to clearly state the task, person in charge and dateline for action.    

Courteous – Trust is important especially in face to face communication. It can be achieved by being friendly, open, and honest. Avoid ‘punching below the belt’, character assassination, insults or aggressive tones.

Next time we write a report, give sales presentation or asking for that extra budget for our department, the 7Cs of Communication above will help us to increase the chances of getting what we want by making our communication more impactful. Try it today!