7 Simple Steps to Get More Out of Your Day

Let’s face it – time is probably our greatest resource. We never seem to have enough of it, and it seems to pass so quickly. Well we won’t get any more of it, and we can’t slow it down.

What we can do is make the most of the time we have. Here are some simple steps you can take to get the most out of your day.

1. Plan your day the night before – At the end of each day write out all the things you need to do the following day to achieve your goals. Pull together all the information you’ll need, phone numbers and relevant paperwork.
2. Prioritise the list – Number each item and do the nasty jobs first. There’s always the temptation to do the easy jobs first. However, think how the thought of doing the nasty jobs hangs over you as you do the easy stuff. Think how good you’ll feel when the nasties are out of the way, and how motivated you’ll feel.
3. Stick to your list – Tick off each item as you go, and don’t let yourself be distracted. The temptation is to handle the telephone and e-mails as they come in. The phone is hard to ignore but you could always pull out the plug and let it go to voice mail and switch off the email program. Make an agreement with yourself to check for messages every two hours or so.
4. Remember the Three D’s – Do it, Delegate it or Dump it! Handle each piece of paper only once. Either do something about it now, delegate it to someone else or chuck it in the trash. And remember – “Only do it if only you can do it.”
5. Don’t procrastinate – Procrastination really is the ‘Thief of Time.’ It’s so easy to put things off till another time or till “I’ve had time to think about it.” DO IT NOW!
6. Plan your leisure time – Take up activities that need you to be at a certain place at a certain time. Instead of just going to the gym, book a fitness class or an appointment with a personal trainer.
7. Be honest with yourself – Keep asking – “Is what I’m doing now getting me to where I want to get to?” if the answer is “no,” change what you’re doing.

This is the easiest way to get more out of your day and more out of your life.

How to Motivate Your Team in 7 Simple Steps

Do you want a highly motivated team who are engaged and happy at work, and who make a positive contribution to your business?

The question, I’m most often asked by managers, is – “How do I motivate my team?” They want some instant fix, a ‘magic bullet’ that improves team motivation overnight. But as we all know, life isn’t like that.

I understand and appreciate why this question is being asked, I was a manager for sixteen years, and I understand the challenges managers face every day with their people. The answer I give is – “You don’t motivate your team, you create the environment where they motivate themselves.”

Effective motivation is intrinsic, it has to come ‘from within’. There is no instant fix; it’s an ongoing day to day process of small actions that build a highly motivated team. It's like pushing a heavy boulder, you need some initial effort to get the process going, but once you've done that, it takes a lot less effort to keep it moving.

7 Steps to success

1. Spend some quality time with each of your team. Talk with them and find out how they’re doing on a personal level, and a business level. Give them feedback; tell them when they do something well and tell them when not so well.
2. Listen to what they have to say, and show that you’re listening. Turn away from the computer, and switch off the phone. Keep good eye contact, use open body language, and make noises that indicate that you’re listening. Emphasise with their personal problems and provide solutions to business problems, wherever possible.
3. Coach them on the job, to do even better. Remember that coaching is a two-way process with your team member; helping them to find solutions to job related or personal problems
4. Find ways to make their job more interesting. Vary the jobs they do, give them some of your tasks, and give them more responsibility. Ask them to train or mentor another member of the team.
5. Show that you appreciate them, and have some fun. Give the occasional reward for no particular reason. Some time off work, a personal thank you letter, cakes or sweets, flowers on a birthday or a bottle of wine. Suggest a team member takes their partner out for a meal and charge it to expenses.
6. Keep them informed. Let them know what’s happening in the company; how the business is doing, provide relevant information on new products or services.
7. Trust and believe in them. Show them what you need them to do, and let them get on with it. Take risks; don’t keep ‘supervising’. Set up parameters that allow them to make decisions. If they keep coming to you with questions, don’t provide an answer, ask them what they would do and support their response.

Your team members want to know that you care about them, that you’re interested in them from a personal, and business point of view. They want to believe that you trust them, and want them to succeed. If you can create that environment; then you will have a happy and motivated team!

How to Be a Great People Picker

Do you really know what you’re looking for when you interview someone for a job? Let me suggest to you; it’s not about their knowledge, experience, or their intelligence; it’s about their talent to do the job.

Let me ask you another question; how do you like your coffee? I don’t know if you’re a fan of the ‘bean’, but I’m very partial to Starbuck’s Tall Americano with ‘no room for milk’. I’ve been hyped up on it all over the world and it always tastes the same, which is great! And, a bit of extra information thrown in for free; in Singapore Starbucks, they ask you if you want your muffin warm; I haven’t experienced that anywhere else.

Outlets like Starbucks are successful because they provide a consistent experience across the board. We all know where we could purchase a cheaper cup of coffee, but the Starbucks experience draws us in. I also have to say, that the coffee serving process is usually excellent; happy, smiley people and fast service.

The other day, I experienced ‘Mr Grumpy’ coffee person. He was slapping down coffees at the end of the counter and grunting out their contents. I asked him which coffee was mine (I’m not scared) and he growled his response. I had to ask him again, before politely pointing out the error of his ways (I told you I’m not scared)

This guy shouldn’t be there, and I don’t necessarily blame him for his poor customer service. I really don’t believe he should be in a customer facing job, and no amount of training will help. My question is – “Where is the person who put him in the job?”

If you’re a manager or a business owner then I’m sure you’ve interviewed people to join your team. Are you absolutely sure you know what you’re looking for when you interview someone? Let me give you an example of what I mean:

I’ve just read a job advertisement for a Sales Manager for a soft drinks business. It says – “We are looking for someone with excellent relationship building skills, vision drive and energy. They will be results driven and be able to demonstrate leadership and highly developed inter-personal and management skills.”

Now that’s all fairly standard stuff and what I’d expect to see in a job advertisement. If I was trying to find someone for that job, what I’d really be looking for is - ‘someone to increase sales of soft drinks.’ Now I’m not saying you put that in the advertisement, but let’s face it - that’s the outcome you really want. It’s great to have all the qualities listed above, but at the end of the day, can this Sales Manager bring in the business?

Back to the coffee shop; if it was your business and you needed to employ someone to join the team, what qualities would you look for in a job candidate? You might say – “Someone with a bit of experience in a coffee shop, someone who looks clean and tidy and who’s a nice pleasant person.”

All of this is great, what I’d look for is - “Someone who would make the customers want to buy some more coffee or food; who’d make the customer want to come back, and who’d probably recommend my coffee shop to other people.”

Now you may think that the characteristics you described above, would bring the results I’m looking for, and you may be right. However; when you’re preparing to interview someone, be absolutely clear in your mind what outcomes you need from this person. It’s not about their experience or their intelligence; it’s about their talent to do the job.

It doesn’t matter what kind of business you’re in, talent is what you’re looking for. It could be

· The talent to sell

· The talent to detect an engine fault quickly

· The talent to analyse information accurately.

I’ve seen lots of sales people who had great relationship building skills, vision, drive and energy, as described in the job advertisement, but they couldn’t bring in the sales.

You need to ask the right questions, that uncover the person’s talent to achieve the outcomes you require – and I’ll explain that in a further article. Or if you can’t wait – buy my book!