Tuesday 28 December 2010
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Monday 22 March 2010
Friday 19 March 2010
Thursday 18 March 2010
Wednesday 17 March 2010
Thought for the Day
Wednesday 17th March 2010
There is no way to make people like change. You can only make them feel less threatened by it.
Follow me through my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Tuesday 16 March 2010
Monday 15 March 2010
Sunday 14 March 2010
Thought for the Day
Sunday14th March 2010
To be a “Success” in business; follow your visions, dreams and desires. If you love what you do, do what you love.
Follow me through my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Saturday 13 March 2010
Friday 12 March 2010
Thought for the Day
Friday 12th March 2010
The entrepreneur in us sees opportunities everywhere we look; unfortunately many people only see problems everywhere they look. The entrepreneur is more concerned with discriminating between opportunities than they are with failing to see them.
Follow me through my WebLog at: http:///www.geoffreyprince.com
Thursday 11 March 2010
Thought for the Day
Thursday 11th March 2010
A real entrepreneur is somebody who acts NOW; while it's fresh in their mind they take chances when opportunities arise. They work without a safety net underneath them. They win or lose, right or wrong.
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Wednesday 10 March 2010
Thought for the Day
Wednesday 10th March 2010
When you're trying to create anything that’s new you should be prepared to risk all you have. “Negaholics” will say you can’t but don’t stop trying; that’s what entrepreneurship is all about.
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Tuesday 9 March 2010
Thought for the Day
Tuesday 9th March 2010
I've found that luck in business is quite acceptable. To create more luck, you need to take more chances, be more pro-active. Show up more often.
Follow me through my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Monday 8 March 2010
Personal Visibility
Monday 8th March 2010
Taking Charge by Creating a Buzz about yourself or your business
“Personal visibility” is so very critical for your success no matter what area of business you’re working in. A lot of business people make the big mistake that if they work very hard and they are good at what they do; that will be sufficient for them to be recognised as an expert for their efforts. Wrong; this is just not so.
Take a look around you at the people who seem to “buzz” with success, always seeming to be in control, no matter what they do or what they touch. These are the people you read about in the paper and who seem to be at all important events and the busy networking events, they know all of the right people. They are also the people who are in demand to speak at events and whose articles appear in your local paper.
What do these people know that you don't? Well they all seem to have mastered the art of “personal visibility”. I have over the years spoken to and met quite a few people who fit this description and asked them what their secret of success was in terms of “personal visibility”. The main thing said to me was that you must never sit back and wait for visibility. Instead, you have to be very pro-active and consistent in everything you do; you always need to keep networking and going out to events, going out of your way looking for business opportunities.
Here are some practical tips you can use:
1. Send News Releases:
You should send out news releases for anything noteworthy that you might be doing. Whether that’s signing up a new client? Being present at a trade-fair? Remember, local papers are often searching for stories with the local angle. Be sure to include a photograph of yourself.
2. Write Articles or Editorials:
Writing articles, editorials and e-books is a great way to become recognised as an expert in your field. Remember developing relationships with your local newspaper editors is always a good idea. Contact them with your ideas and help them when they are looking for resources.
3. Speak at local events:
Let it be known that you are available for speaking engagements, there are many, networking events, lunch and evening professional group events. There are always local chamber of commerce, professional organisations, non-profit organisations always looking for local speakers who are knowledgeable on a range of topics. Find the organisations that might be interested in your area of expertise and get on a panel or facilitate a program for them.
4. Allow reporters to interview and quote you:
Reporters are always looking for third parties to corroborate or refute information that they include in their stories. Many people do not like to be quoted because they fear that their words will be misconstrued or misrepresented. You will need to get over this fear and always make yourself available to be quoted in public. This serves to position you as an expert in your field and helps get your name into the public eye.
5. Volunteer for visible projects or committees:
This can be either internally at your organisation or externally within your community. Then use this opportunity to your advantage by using tips 1-4 above.
6. Get nominated for an award or recognition list:
Typically a lot of business people sit back and wait to be nominated by someone. However, if there is an award or recognition that you think you are worthy of receiving, let someone know that you are very deserving and ask if they would be willing to nominate you. Even if you don't win, you will still receive “personal visibility”.
7. Teach a college class or seminar:
This allows you to get out in front of your peers or a target audience that you are interested in getting exposure from. This not only gives you “personal visibility” but will also provide you with your next business referral or job opportunity.
In the meantime, remember, to get ahead in business you need to take charge of your own “personal visibility”. For those that do, the possibilities for success are endless.
About the author:
Geoffrey is a passionate believer in building people’s “personal visibility” in the market place by identifying and developing their own “personal visibility” and exposure. He helps you to become visible, how to market yourself, how to expose yourself to the wider audience and helps you to join the many social networking sites around the United Kingdom as well as the world, promoting yourself and networking yourself. Geoffrey also helps companies develop their short and long term-strategies that help them in attracting, developing and therefore retaining their future leaders. Geoffrey helps organisations and their leaders develop their full potential through strategic project management and coaching.
For more information; contact gurugeoffrey at:-
www.geoffreyprince.com e-mail geoffrey@geoffreyprince.com
Telephone: +44 (0) 845 643 5792
Thought for the Day
Monday 8th March 2010
Stop looking back. Yesterday, last week, last month and last year have gone; there past, gone, forgotten, you’ll never get them back. Think only of today and the future; that will be you’re “Success”.
Follow me through my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Sunday 7 March 2010
Thought for the Day
Sunday 7th March 2010
Learn to solve problems as they arise. We rarely learn significant lessons, or significant ways to improve ourselves; in any other way.
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Saturday 6 March 2010
Thought for the Day
Saturday 6th March 2010
A successful life is one that is lived through understanding and pursuing one's own visions and dreams, not chasing after the dreams of others..
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Friday 5 March 2010
Thought for the Day
Friday 5th March 2010
Follow your visions and dreams. We are handed our life by our peers, parents and society, you can do that or follow your own visions and dreams; life’s too short be a dreamer, so be a practical person.
Follow me through my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Thursday 4 March 2010
Thought for the Day
Thursday 4th March 2010
Your awareness is a major key to your success. Keep your NETWORKING consistent; you never know who you’re going to meet at the next event.
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Wednesday 3 March 2010
Are you in control 2010
Wednesday 3rd March 2010
Gurugeoffrey
“How many of our visions, dreams and goals are working out? In January did you decide to get really serious about your future for the upcoming year and where you wanted to be by the end of December 2010? Well, did you get serious, or, was it just another New Year’s resolution?”
Well, you either did or you did not, it’s now water under the bridge, you have to focus on tomorrow. You have to disregard yesterday and perhaps even last year and start to get very serious about how you are going to develop your business over the rest of the coming year. You should also remember your family and your staff will be relying on you to make the correct decisions. What will be different about you in the way you will be handling your business? What solid and well thought through plan-of-action will you be deciding to embark on and taking up in the upcoming year that will lead you to the successes that you are attempting to reach?
You must start to question all your ideas and ask yourself. “Am I really on top of my present situation or have I a tremendous amount of work to be done with a long way to go?” Now this is certainly the time that you need to give your business your full attention and totally focus on the needs of the business, also giving full attention to your staff and empowering them through a culture of praise and encouragement. After all, they will be helping you, so they will deserve a thank you! Time has gone; there is nothing you can do about it. Yesterday does not matter; it has passed and gone, there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it. However, today and tomorrow are in front of you, so the only thing that will secure your future is for you to keep your full attention on the future, developing and creating it the way you want it shaped.
“Looking forward creates a very large peripheral view of where you are going, looking back means taking your eye of the ball, dwelling on the past will only block future visions and dreams”!
A thing that always concerns me is when business people as well as the press and media, start to talk about the economy and their perceptions regarding the conditions of it. Remember it is THEIR perception, NOT YOURS, yours is the one that count when you are running your own business. The present state of the economy does not determine what is going to happen to you; this is where it is all down to you visions and dreams, it is down to the decisions you make, the actions you take to move your business forward but most of all it is down to the commitment and the persistence you are prepared to make.
Unfortunately there are far too many business people who blame the economic downturn for the failings in their business; this is absolute nonsense! The buck stops here; in other words it stops with the person at the top only. The current economic conditions and any losses you and your business have suffered have been created by the past; they have absolutely nothing to do with the future!
I have always said to my clients and to my students: -
Whatever you have done in the past has gone, it is over! The opportunities you now have are all in front of you; you are the only person who can reach out and grasp them!
When you are deliberating about yourself or your business’s future, you need to totally disregard the past, whatever took place has gone and it means nothing. You need to pay full attention to your goals ahead; to the future, after all, it is all you have, it is everything you need. You should disregard all bad news and avoid all those negative people and focus totally on your actions. Totally focus your attention on your visions and dreams and where you are heading.
This is your time to decide with new resolve and then you need to reinforce your decisions with substantial actions to rebuild yourself and your company. This is the perfect time to get a step closer to your visions, dreams and goals and then to concentrate on putting together an action plan that will best take advantage of the current situation that will eventually ensure that you are first, not last! You are deciding on a strong, pro-active plan of action. By setting that plan down on paper, with a time frame, will mean that you are separating yourself and your company from the rest of the competition.
Comments would be most helpfull you can e-mail me at: - www.geoffrey@geoffreyprince. com
Thought for the Day
Wednesday 3rd March 2010
“Things will always happen to you if you really believe in them; your belief in a things will always make them happen.”
Follow me through my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Tuesday 2 March 2010
Thought for the Day
Tuesday 2nd March 2010
“NEGAHOLICS”; as I call them. Depress all people around them so, always surround yourself with POSITIVE people.
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Monday 1 March 2010
Thought for the Day
Monday 1st March 2010
When you have belief in yourself and your product, it will transfer to your clients in a very positive Attitude
Follow me through my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Sunday 28 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Sunday 28th February 2010
“By developing self-confidence, you believe in your abilities; which in turn helps you create and maintain a positive attitude toward what you’re doing.”
Follow me at my WebLog: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Saturday 27 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Saturday 27th February 2010
“Idleness unfortunately makes people NEGATIVE; that why successful people are always busy.”
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Friday 26 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Friday 26th February 2010
“Be consistently ENTHUSIASTIC about what you do, because the more ENTHUSIASM you have, the easier it is to maintain your positivity.”
Follow me at my WebLog: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Thursday 25 February 2010
Thought for theDay
Thursday 25th February 2010
“Allow yourself thinking time EVERY DAY this will remind you of the benefits that you will achieve having a POSITIVE ATTITUDE.”
Follow me at my WebLog: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Wednesday 24 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Wednesday 24th February 2010
“When people become more GOAL orientated, they start creating the desire to achieve SUCCESS. The more they desire; the more they create a POSITIVE attitude to life.”
Follow me at my WebLog: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Tuesday 23 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Tuesday 23rd February 2010
“I find that positive people PLAN their lives in a logical way; so get into the habit of THINKING positive NOT negative thoughts.”
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Monday 22 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Monday 22nd February 2010
“The choice is yours, creating and maintaining a positive attitude. The more you believe; the more you will achieve.”
Follow me at my WebLog: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Sunday 21 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Sunday 21st February 2010
My philosophy of life has always been about learning and growing; as I’ve grown older my life now is still a real adventure of learning, growing, compassion, love, understanding and full of joy.
Follow me at my WebLog: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Saturday 20 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Saturday 20th February 2010
“Have noticed, it’s not the strongest person to survive, nor the most intelligent but the people who are most likely too, are the ones that are responsive to change”.
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Friday 19 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Friday 19th February 2010
“Your most productive investment will always remain in your employees. It’s through their dedication, skills and initiative that will move your businesses forward and to forge ahead”
Follow me at my WebLog: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Thursday 18 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Thursday 18thth February 2010
"The best communicators “Succeed” in delivering their message, both too individuals and large audiences, with the knowledge and understanding of their subject not through waffle”
Follow me at my WebLog: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Wednesday 17 February 2010
Radio interview
Wednesday 17th February 2010
Listen to my radio interview Glynn Thomas Talks To Geoffrey Prince First Broadcast 12th January 2010. with 7 waves Radio Podcasts
http://www.7waves.co.uk/live-across-wirral/podcasts.html
Radio interview
Wednesday 17th February 2010
Listen to my radio interview Glynn Thomas Talks To Geoffrey Prince First Broadcast 12th January 2010. with 7 waves Radio Podcasts
http://www.7waves.co.uk/live-across-wirral/podcasts.html
Thought for the Day
Wednesday 17th February 2010
One day I hope to enjoy enough of what the world calls “Success” so that someone will ask me, “What’s the secret of it”? I shall say simply this: “I get up when I fall down”
Follow me at my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Tuesday 16 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Tuesday 16th February 2010
It is our duty to expand our minds. Those who can’t or won’t are to be pitied; remember, whatever we want to do, we can do and will do. What a glorious future to look forward too!
Follow me my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Monday 15 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Monday 15th February 2010
"I'm a big believer in personal growth. Our lives are not about achievement, their about learning, growth and developing qualities; like compassion, patience, perseverance, love, and joy. That being the case, then our goals should include something which stretches us".
Followme at my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Sunday 14 February 2010
Continuous personal developmemt
Sunday 14th February 2010
Managing Your Career - Continuous Personal Development - There’s No Escape!
I guess the first question you should ask will be, “why use the word managing”?
Well this is because “career” development, at least for managers and specialist professionals, is much more complicated than it used to be, certainly here in the United Kingdom, and also in most highly advanced countries. It is becoming equally more complex in the shrinking world we now live in.
The days of: - leaving school, leaving university, finding a job, working in the same place for 20, 30, and 40 years, are over in almost all sectors - thankfully!
It may have been a form of “security” for individuals, but it led to sterility, poor practice, inefficiency, laziness or a hostile resistance to change. Some rare individuals behaved creatively, enthusiastically, took risks, were ambitious but these few could never counter the millions who settled in, kept their heads down, and looked forward to retirement sometime in the next century!
Thankfully, again those days are over. Now, all organisations in the commercial sectors, and most organisations in the public sector, are demanding evidence that each individual is continuously developing, is learning new skills, and is preparing for change positively and enthusiastically. Being years and years in the same job, waiting for promotion by “stepping into dead men’s shoes”, those individuals only have the same skills and knowledge that they had when they started, “10 years in the job, 1 year’s experience”
These are no longer tolerated, not by the organisation’s senior managers, or by customers. The organisation has a people development policy (PDP), each department has a local staff development plan and each individual is now expected to have a “Personal Development Plan”. Some professions, such as accountancy, the legal profession, engineering, teaching, nursing, must show hard evidence, that they are up to date in the knowledge and skills currently needed, otherwise they risk being prevented from continuing in that role.
So for those employed by organisations, career development is now a permanent or part-time, job. A series of activities, such as being aware of developments in the business sector, planning ahead, identifying training needs, selecting appropriate ways to achieve those needs, finding courses, choosing between classroom and distance learning and of course, finding a way to pay the study fees! This has to go on year after year after year … continuously, Continuous Professional Development, (CPD).
If you are familiar with quality management techniques, you will recognise this as a form of continuous improvement Kaizen, as the Japanese call it, is a major, never-ending, personal task and as such, needs considerable thought and considerable effort. A strategy, a plan to ensure that you don’t fall by the wayside and watch others race ahead, beating you to the best jobs, the key roles, the interesting projects, the higher salaries, the better conditions.
If you are, or are, planning to be an entrepreneur; there’s no escape for you just because you don’t work for someone else, you have others in your life who are equally demanding: -
Suppliers, clients, customers, employees, other entrepreneurs and professional colleagues, these groups rely on you; expect you, to be as knowledgeable and skilled as you possible can be. If you’re not, your suppliers will take advantage of you, your clients will reject you, your customers will disappear and your employees will leave you. You will eventually find that other entrepreneurs will take away your suppliers, clients, customers, and your best employees and worst of all; your professional colleagues will lose respect for you.
As professional people, (CPD) should always be at the forefront of our minds, we would never dream of not researching the next project, or researching the next major prospective client I was going to see, would we?
I know that (CPD) is very much a “buzz word” these days, but let me go back in time, to when I was Sales-manager at Arrow Chemicals (CPD) was always at the forefront of all training and that was back in the early 1970’s and still goes on to this day. When I was planning going to see one of the very many large clients that were around in those days, I would try to find out as much information as I possibly could. At the time I am talking about, we had no internet to look them up on. We had to find other ways.
This may have been looking up about them: -
Ø In the Chamber of commerce lists
Ø In local news articles
Ø At companies house
Ø By ringing up on the quiet
Ø By talking to the gate man
Ø By talking to the receptionist
There are many other ways I could go into but I won’t; it might incriminate me!!
Nowadays to keep ahead of the competition we need an edge. We must always be thinking of developing our own abilities; I’m now nearly 67 and I’m still researching all the time for material to help others.
Managing Your Career - Continuous Personal Development - There’s No Escape!
I guess the first question you should ask will be, “why use the word managing”?
Well this is because “career” development, at least for managers and specialist professionals, is much more complicated than it used to be, certainly here in the United Kingdom, and also in most highly advanced countries. It is becoming equally more complex in the shrinking world we now live in.
The days of: - leaving school, leaving university, finding a job, working in the same place for 20, 30, and 40 years, are over in almost all sectors - thankfully!
It may have been a form of “security” for individuals, but it led to sterility, poor practice, inefficiency, laziness or a hostile resistance to change. Some rare individuals behaved creatively, enthusiastically, took risks, were ambitious but these few could never counter the millions who settled in, kept their heads down, and looked forward to retirement sometime in the next century!
Thankfully, again those days are over. Now, all organisations in the commercial sectors, and most organisations in the public sector, are demanding evidence that each individual is continuously developing, is learning new skills, and is preparing for change positively and enthusiastically. Being years and years in the same job, waiting for promotion by “stepping into dead men’s shoes”, those individuals only have the same skills and knowledge that they had when they started, “10 years in the job, 1 year’s experience”
These are no longer tolerated, not by the organisation’s senior managers, or by customers. The organisation has a people development policy (PDP), each department has a local staff development plan and each individual is now expected to have a “Personal Development Plan”. Some professions, such as accountancy, the legal profession, engineering, teaching, nursing, must show hard evidence, that they are up to date in the knowledge and skills currently needed, otherwise they risk being prevented from continuing in that role.
So for those employed by organisations, career development is now a permanent or part-time, job. A series of activities, such as being aware of developments in the business sector, planning ahead, identifying training needs, selecting appropriate ways to achieve those needs, finding courses, choosing between classroom and distance learning and of course, finding a way to pay the study fees! This has to go on year after year after year … continuously, Continuous Professional Development, (CPD).
If you are familiar with quality management techniques, you will recognise this as a form of continuous improvement Kaizen, as the Japanese call it, is a major, never-ending, personal task and as such, needs considerable thought and considerable effort. A strategy, a plan to ensure that you don’t fall by the wayside and watch others race ahead, beating you to the best jobs, the key roles, the interesting projects, the higher salaries, the better conditions.
If you are, or are, planning to be an entrepreneur; there’s no escape for you just because you don’t work for someone else, you have others in your life who are equally demanding: -
Suppliers, clients, customers, employees, other entrepreneurs and professional colleagues, these groups rely on you; expect you, to be as knowledgeable and skilled as you possible can be. If you’re not, your suppliers will take advantage of you, your clients will reject you, your customers will disappear and your employees will leave you. You will eventually find that other entrepreneurs will take away your suppliers, clients, customers, and your best employees and worst of all; your professional colleagues will lose respect for you.
As professional people, (CPD) should always be at the forefront of our minds, we would never dream of not researching the next project, or researching the next major prospective client I was going to see, would we?
I know that (CPD) is very much a “buzz word” these days, but let me go back in time, to when I was Sales-manager at Arrow Chemicals (CPD) was always at the forefront of all training and that was back in the early 1970’s and still goes on to this day. When I was planning going to see one of the very many large clients that were around in those days, I would try to find out as much information as I possibly could. At the time I am talking about, we had no internet to look them up on. We had to find other ways.
This may have been looking up about them: -
Ø In the Chamber of commerce lists
Ø In local news articles
Ø At companies house
Ø By ringing up on the quiet
Ø By talking to the gate man
Ø By talking to the receptionist
There are many other ways I could go into but I won’t; it might incriminate me!!
Nowadays to keep ahead of the competition we need an edge. We must always be thinking of developing our own abilities; I’m now nearly 67 and I’m still researching all the time for material to help others.
I would welcome any comments on the above either direct to my e-mail or on my WebLog
For more information contact me through e-mail: -
geoffrey@geoffreyprince.com my Weblog updated daily: - http://www.geofreyprince.com
Telephone: - +44 (0) 845 643 5972 Skype: - geoffrey.prince
Thought for the Day
Sunday 14th February 2010
“Good management consists in showing the average person how to do the work of the more informed and experienced person”
Follow me at my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Saturday 13 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Saturday 13th February 2010
“A quality of all entrepreneurs and high achievers in every area of business seems to be a commitment to ongoing (CPD) continuous, personal development”.
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Friday 12 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Friday12th February 2010
“I have the ability to arouse enthusiasm among people; it’s the greatest asset I possess. I have found a way to develop the best in my fellow man, is by honesty, appreciation and great encouragement”.
Follow me on my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Thursday 11 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Thursday 11th February 2010
“Resilient people create their own vision of “Success”. This helps them achieve their goals and dreams by providing a clear sense of where their heading”.
Follow me on my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Tuesday 9 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Tuesday 9th February 2010
“A lot of people are afraid to tell the truth, to say no. That's where toughness comes into play. Toughness is not being a bully. It's having backbone”.
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Monday 8 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Monday 8th February 2010
“Business executives owe it to the organisation and their fellow workers not to tolerate non-performing individuals in important jobs”.
Follow me on my WebLog at: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Sunday 7 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Sunday 7th February 2010
“In the past the team-leader was the boss. Today’s tea-leaders must be partners with their people; they no longer can lead, solely based on positional power”.
Follow me at my WebLog; http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Saturday 6 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Saturday 6th February 2010
“The entrepreneurs who’ve succeeded are the people who have chosen one line only and stuck to it”.
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Friday 5 February 2010
The importance of Teams
Friday 5th February 2010
Teams are not a new invention; you have probably been part of one at school. How effective it was may be debatable. In fact, if you were a member of a sporting team which regularly got beaten by every other team you ever met, you could probably identify that the problem was for one of two reasons:
The skills of the team were very poor.
The team didn’t work well together.
To function as an effective team member in the workplace you need to possess the skills required to undertake your part of the work. Assuming you have these you also need to know two things:
What teams are and what they are supposed to do, particularly in the business context.
What other factors also operate to make a team effective, or disastrous (in other words, what exactly is teamwork?).
Definition of a team
You should understand, a team is different from a group. You may go out at the weekends with a group of friends but that does not make you a team. You could all have different interests, for one thing. There could be a half-hour debate each week on where you should go and what you should do. Even if you and your best friend have the same interests, this doesn’t make the two of you a team. You only become a team when you work together in a complementary way. A simple example should make it clearer.
I spent 18 years onthe RNLI's New Brighton Lifeboat, joining as a young man in 1974. Serving on the Atlantic 21 we had a team of 3 and on the shore we had what was clled the "beach team" that looked after everything else; the launch of the boat in this instance you had the tractor driver who played a crucial role in both the launch and the recovery of the boat. The whole team worked together as one, there was never any argument on who did what and when, we were so well practiced every member of the team knew their place but, there was always someone there who could take over at a moment’s notice.
Have you ever seen two nurses make a bed, you will witness teamwork? Each knows their own role. They work together to do the job in less than half the time it would take each of them to do it individually. They may then split up to do different, complementary jobs in different places. They don’t get in each other’s way, they don’t argue about “who does what”, they don’t “check up on each other”. They are both equally responsible for doing the work properly and by the required deadline.
My definition of a team therefore would be:
“A very professionally trained group, people who are able to work well together, Sometimes under pressure to get a job done with speed and efficiency without compromising safety”.
Teams in business
You may wonder why teams are considered so important in business today. The reasons are that effective teams have several benefits, both for the organisation and for the individuals who are in them.
These include:
Many varieties of skills and abilitiesHigher standard of work, as jobs can be allocated to maximise the strengths of individuals.Work done more quickly, this is often called (synergy).More flexibility, members of the team can be multi-skilled to cover for absences or to meet particular challenges.Less duplication of work effort, especially if communications are good and the team is used to working together.Far better cooperation between people, who will see the “team achievements” as importantA far happier and more motivated workforce, because team members support each otherImproved communications, because the team consult each otherA much higher level of commitment from staff, people are usually more motivated if they work with other people, they share problems and ideas, especially if this is done in a friendly atmosphere. An organisation benefits because work is of higher standard and productivity. Individuals benefit because of the support from other team members; they exchange information, advice and guidance between one another freely as well as greater job satisfaction by being working cooperatively with each other.
Thought for the Day
Friday 5th February 2010
"Give me an office clerk with a goal and I'll give you a person who will make history. Give me a person with no goals and I'll give you a office clerk".
Follow me at my WebLog: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Thursday 4 February 2010
Thought for the Day
Thursday 4th February 2010
I can’t give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure: which is: Try to please everybody.
Follow me at my WebLog http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Wednesday 3 February 2010
Group Brainstorming
Wednesday 3rd February 2010
“Brainstorming” is a technique that allows businesses to generate new and useful ideas by promoting creative thinking within its own employee base. This type of thinking will help to define projects or problems to be worked on and to diagnose problems by coming up with possible solutions. It will also help to identify possible resistance to proposed new ideas or solutions.
Brainstorming is a very effective way of generating lots of ideas, which will then allow you to determine which would be the best and the most cost effective way of coming up with answers.
Benefits of Group Brainstorming
As a rule, people generally have creative boundaries that they stay within. Often, these boundaries are referred to as a "box" and, when one begins to think "outside of the box" the creative process really takes off. Group brainstorming helps the members of the brainstorming team think outside of their boxes, opening creative doors for each member of the brainstorming team.
When brainstorming is conducted alone, a person only has their sole knowledge and experience to rely upon. Creating a diverse brainstorming team, allows for multiple techniques of knowledge and expertise for the group brainstorming team to draw on. It also acts as a team-building exercise by making sure all members of the team express their opinions and contribute their ideas. Team brainstorming is about creativity, productivity and development. When there are a number of personalities and perspectives at work, the results of the brainstorming process can't help but be maximized.
To do this effectively it is a good idea to bring in a consultant in who is from outside the sphere of that organisation. They would set up a series of meetings with the management to set out the parameters and objects that the organisation is trying to achieve.
Brainstorming Sessions
The area that should be covered straight away is talking to all the employees to get their ideas and their views. It is a brave step for an organisation to take. The most effective way of doing this is in groups of between 5 and 12 persons with no management present to impair vision. The starting point of this process is what we call “Brainstorming Sessions”.
Reducing resistance
Brainstorming is a technique that allows businesses to generate new and useful ideas by promoting creative thinking within its own employee base. This type of thinking will help to define projects or problems to be worked on and to diagnose problems by coming up with possible solutions. It will also help to identify possible resistance to proposed new ideas or solutions. Brainstorming is a very effective way of generating lots of ideas, which will then allow you to determine which would be the best and cost effective way of coming up with answers.
Generating lots of Ideas
Brainstorming Sessions are the most effective method of allowing a team to generate lots & lots of ideas that will allow and help it to go forward and as these ideas come forward from the “company employees themselves”, (which in itself is a very soft way for a new team to start jellying together) because they feel that they have been involved and empowered with the future and long term development. If the employees look at these sessions in a productive and constructive way and realise that they will be getting their issues, problems and ideas over in an informal and relaxed manner, with the sessions being run and chaired by an outsider to the company who will also put in their own creative and innovated ideas as well, they will be more likely to be comfortable about them.
Group size
Brainstorming is effective when you have groups of varied people, generally between 6 -12. It should always be conducted in a relaxed environment and in a relaxed manner. If participants feel free to be silly, great, they will stretch their minds more and will produce more creative ideas.
Criticising of ideas
There must be “Absolutely no criticising of ideas coming from any participants in the session” this will only lead to participants clamming up and not taking part in the group activity, which could lead to the session being counterproductive and a waste of time, money and resources.
Step by Step Guide
1. Define the issue or issues at hand. Remember there may be more than one issue to be dealt with in the session.
2. Produce a “time frame” to work within. I feel that about 15—20 minutes per issue is about right. Larger groups may require more time to get everyone’s input and ideas down on paper.
3. Everyone should shout out their ideas while one person writes them down. No matter how daft, how impossible or how silly an idea may be, it must be written down. Laughing should be encouraged in the group, criticism is not. Why? What you are after and must encourage is the free flowing of ideas. As soon as participants of the session feel criticism of their ideas, they will stop generating them. You should remember that some ideas which may seem very silly at first could prove to lead on to be very good.
4. When the time limit is up select five of them which you feel are the best, making sure that everyone in the group is happy and in agreement.
gurugeoffrey’s runs Masterclasses:
Half day workshops as well as over the internet as distance learning courses, they cover many aspects of learning. Time can be set aside to talk over Skype at geoffrey.prince gurugeoffrey@gmail.com
Brainstorming is a very effective way of generating lots of ideas, which will then allow you to determine which would be the best and the most cost effective way of coming up with answers.
Benefits of Group Brainstorming
As a rule, people generally have creative boundaries that they stay within. Often, these boundaries are referred to as a "box" and, when one begins to think "outside of the box" the creative process really takes off. Group brainstorming helps the members of the brainstorming team think outside of their boxes, opening creative doors for each member of the brainstorming team.
When brainstorming is conducted alone, a person only has their sole knowledge and experience to rely upon. Creating a diverse brainstorming team, allows for multiple techniques of knowledge and expertise for the group brainstorming team to draw on. It also acts as a team-building exercise by making sure all members of the team express their opinions and contribute their ideas. Team brainstorming is about creativity, productivity and development. When there are a number of personalities and perspectives at work, the results of the brainstorming process can't help but be maximized.
To do this effectively it is a good idea to bring in a consultant in who is from outside the sphere of that organisation. They would set up a series of meetings with the management to set out the parameters and objects that the organisation is trying to achieve.
Brainstorming Sessions
The area that should be covered straight away is talking to all the employees to get their ideas and their views. It is a brave step for an organisation to take. The most effective way of doing this is in groups of between 5 and 12 persons with no management present to impair vision. The starting point of this process is what we call “Brainstorming Sessions”.
Reducing resistance
Brainstorming is a technique that allows businesses to generate new and useful ideas by promoting creative thinking within its own employee base. This type of thinking will help to define projects or problems to be worked on and to diagnose problems by coming up with possible solutions. It will also help to identify possible resistance to proposed new ideas or solutions. Brainstorming is a very effective way of generating lots of ideas, which will then allow you to determine which would be the best and cost effective way of coming up with answers.
Generating lots of Ideas
Brainstorming Sessions are the most effective method of allowing a team to generate lots & lots of ideas that will allow and help it to go forward and as these ideas come forward from the “company employees themselves”, (which in itself is a very soft way for a new team to start jellying together) because they feel that they have been involved and empowered with the future and long term development. If the employees look at these sessions in a productive and constructive way and realise that they will be getting their issues, problems and ideas over in an informal and relaxed manner, with the sessions being run and chaired by an outsider to the company who will also put in their own creative and innovated ideas as well, they will be more likely to be comfortable about them.
Group size
Brainstorming is effective when you have groups of varied people, generally between 6 -12. It should always be conducted in a relaxed environment and in a relaxed manner. If participants feel free to be silly, great, they will stretch their minds more and will produce more creative ideas.
Criticising of ideas
There must be “Absolutely no criticising of ideas coming from any participants in the session” this will only lead to participants clamming up and not taking part in the group activity, which could lead to the session being counterproductive and a waste of time, money and resources.
Step by Step Guide
1. Define the issue or issues at hand. Remember there may be more than one issue to be dealt with in the session.
2. Produce a “time frame” to work within. I feel that about 15—20 minutes per issue is about right. Larger groups may require more time to get everyone’s input and ideas down on paper.
3. Everyone should shout out their ideas while one person writes them down. No matter how daft, how impossible or how silly an idea may be, it must be written down. Laughing should be encouraged in the group, criticism is not. Why? What you are after and must encourage is the free flowing of ideas. As soon as participants of the session feel criticism of their ideas, they will stop generating them. You should remember that some ideas which may seem very silly at first could prove to lead on to be very good.
4. When the time limit is up select five of them which you feel are the best, making sure that everyone in the group is happy and in agreement.
gurugeoffrey’s runs Masterclasses:
Half day workshops as well as over the internet as distance learning courses, they cover many aspects of learning. Time can be set aside to talk over Skype at geoffrey.prince gurugeoffrey@gmail.com
Follow me at my WebLog: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Thought for the Day
Wednesday 3rd February 2010
"In business today, it's not the crook that’s feared most. It's the honest person who doesn’t know what they are doing".
Follow me at my WebLog: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
Tuesday 2 February 2010
Stop Kidding yourself
Tuesday 2nd February 2010
My thought is:“Good plans shape good decisions. That’s why good planning helps to make visions, dreams & goals come true.”
Time wastingTime is a moving constant. When each minute passes if we “don’t use it, we lose it”. All the years I have been in business and for the companies I’ve worked for, if I haven’t worked, I didn’t get paid. This by the way is the same when working for yourself, as I certainly know. With this in mind, how many of us have shirked our responsibility and stolen “TIME OUT” in the working day? (Either to the company we work for or our families but more importantly, to ourselves).
Over 30 years ago a friend of mine and I had a bet. I said that you could go into an afternoon cinema performance in the interval and shout out; “Is there a SALESMAN in the house?” I said to him that 20% of the audience would be salespersons, my friend said no way. We did it at the old Odeon Cinema in Liverpool. Guess what, yes you’ve got it, in actual fact it was over 30%.The point I’m trying to make is that during our working day we are ALL GUILTY of wasting valuable and productive business enhancing TIME.
Good plans shape good decisionsWe all know the statement; “Failure-to-Plan is just Planning-to-Fail”. I have over the years thought about this particular saying on many occasions and have on more times than I care to remember mentioned it to salespeople and in many workshops all over the United Kingdom. It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who only pay lip service to it. Why? I believe that the reason is we don’t have the time to plan our day or we can’t be bothered to make the time to do it.
Good plans shape good decisionsWe all know the statement; “Failure-to-Plan is just Planning-to-Fail”. I have over the years thought about this particular saying on many occasions and have on more times than I care to remember mentioned it to salespeople and in many workshops all over the United Kingdom. It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who only pay lip service to it. Why? I believe that the reason is we don’t have the time to plan our day or we can’t be bothered to make the time to do it.
Inconsequential activities
One of the things I try to get delegates in my workshops and indeed over the distant learning courses to do is to monitor themselves during the working day, the week and the month. Honestly you will be surprised the time that is spent doing inconsequential activities and things that are non-productive in the daily routine of the business. What we need to start doing is to monitor our productivity, e.g. monitoring our time during the working hours. For instance on a normal working day how many times:
Do we look at our e-mails?
Do we look at our e-mails?
Are we talking to people around us, with nothing in particular in mind?
Spend answering telephone calls that are non-productive to the business?
What we should be doing is to prioritise our time during the working day!
Plan-to-Succeed
Over the years I have had many “visions and dreams” and on numerous occasions many people have said to me “That will never work”. Ask any successful business person how they started out in business. They will tell you “I had an idea”. In other words, they had a vision, a dream and from that they set a plan into motion. There are “dream thieves”, who love nothing better than to take away the would-be entrepreneur’s dreams, sometimes, for no other reason than jealousy.These same entrepreneurs will always “Plan-to-Succeed”. Why? Because that is the way they have forced themselves to work, they do not “fail-to-plan they plan-to-win”
You should now try to be:PRO-ACTIVE This means you have control of what you want to do with your “visions & dreams. This is your desire, this alone means that you will then become “master of your own destiny”NotRE-ACTIVE When you have to re-act to other people, you have no control of the direction it will take you in. Generally this is because you have not been able to plan things, not necessarily because you failed to plan but because you had to react to or for some other outside influence. It could very well be through the fear and the circumstances that are happening around you. So you should take stock and “Stop re-acting to what is happening”.
You may think that I make it sound so simple and easy, believe me, I have been there. In my short life of 66 plus years, I’ve been made redundant, lost businesses, sold and bought businesses and lost a property to a mortgage company and also been divorced but I have always learned by those adversities.
In October 2004 I had a major heart attack followed by a quadruple By-Pass. Then in 2007 was I diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid leukaemia (CML) and this year they added on, type 2 diabetes for good measure!
In October 2004 I had a major heart attack followed by a quadruple By-Pass. Then in 2007 was I diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid leukaemia (CML) and this year they added on, type 2 diabetes for good measure!
One thing I have never forgotten for long is the insatiable strength I have in NEVER GIVING UP on anything, if I can possibly help it. So I do think I can safely speak with some knowledge. Something that I’ve learned is that when you think you can go no further down, there is always someone who is far below where you are at the moment.
So think positive and start being “PRO-ACTIVE” in the way you are thinking at the present. Start planning what you need and want, put it down on paper and keep reading it and looking to succeed at all times. One thing that I’ve learned later in life (I wish I had listened earlier) is that help is there, it is up to you to reach out and take it with both hands. The door is there, it’s up to you to turn the key to go in.
So think positive and start being “PRO-ACTIVE” in the way you are thinking at the present. Start planning what you need and want, put it down on paper and keep reading it and looking to succeed at all times. One thing that I’ve learned later in life (I wish I had listened earlier) is that help is there, it is up to you to reach out and take it with both hands. The door is there, it’s up to you to turn the key to go in.
Geoffrey Prince runs BSB Masterclasses in a few selective business subjects. Some are “Half day workshops” and some of them are over the Internet as distance learning courses.He also sets aside time to talk over Skype at: geoffrey.prince when you become one of his students, by booking time. Follow me at my WebLog: http://www.geoffreyprince.com
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