Learn the top 5 ways to stop making excuses
Albert Ellis, was an American psychologists, who in 1955 developed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) once said, (more…)
Learn the top 5 ways to stop making excusesAlbert Ellis, was an American psychologists, who in 1955 developed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) once said, (more…)
In two past blog posts on leadership, I shared with you a number of key traits that are common among effective leaders. In the first post entitled (“No trust = No Leader”, and “7 Steps to Make Leadership Simple”). When combined, these two posts covered a great deal of territory found on the leadership landscape.
This is a question that is being asked more and more frequently by business leaders and business owners. The answer is simple. Nobody really knows. For every down projection, there is always someone looking for any silver lining they can find. Let’s look at some of the recent business headlines that have led to the question being at the forefront of everyone’s mind: (1) A recent poll had 40% of all Americans starting to believe that we are in a permanent downward spiral; (2) Job creation is taking painfully too long. The jobs report on Friday, July 8th was a killer; (3) Unemployment just increased to 9.2% – the third increase in as many months; (4) Wall Street firms have begun to lay off employees and while layoffs have slowed in other industries, they are not hiring and (5) A number of economists believe that the debt/deficit crisis is actually worse than it appears for two reasons: First, we are in a historically low interest rate scenario. When rates do go up – and they will – the interest costs to service our nation’s debt will go up adding to the debt crisis. Secondly, there is a growing concern that the growth projections used by the Obama administration in their budgeting are unrealistically too high
Depressed yet? Feel like giving up? Better not. Now is not the time to be a quitter. Now is the time to be stepping it up (you know my battle cry – Be Fearless; Step and Play Big).
In an earlier blog post entitled “No Trust = No Leader”, I explained the importance of trust in a leaders relationship with his or her team. Those in a position of authority know that they must earn the respect and trust of their team to be effective.
Leadership – Being a Master of Your Circumstances as Opposed to a Victim of ThemHere are five of the top ways business owners and even business leaders and executives can run themselves and their businesses into the ground. And, if they are guilty of any of these five habits, more than likely they will be unable to retain good employees they have working for them – an accelerant for burning the business to the ground.
From my own business experiences and in my role as a motivational business speaker, I have learned that one of the most important tools a leader has at their disposal is trust. Without it, you’re not leading; you’re just going for a walk in the park. Think about it, if your team doesn’t trust you, why would they follow you or even listen to you? When I am in my role as a professional keynote speaker, I explain that without their trust, a team will not respond to even the simplest request from their leader, let alone the hard ones which require extra effort on their part. The fate of a business can be tied to the level of trust a team has in its leader.
“That’s it! You need a Time Out!” This is a common expression that a parent will use when their child has either done something bad or is on the verge of doing something bad. I know…I have heard my son and daughter-in-law use it with our 3 year old grandson. I read on a parent help site the following – “Time out is a very effective discipline technique.” The key word here is discipline or as you will read later on “self-discipline”.
“Time Out” is also an action or tool that sports teams use to either take a breather or discuss where they are at a particular moment in a game; to discuss a possible change in strategy and / or tactics or, slow down the surge or momentum of their opponent. Depending upon the sport, each team has a set amount of time outs they can use during the course of a game. When used correctly and at the right time, it is not unusual to see a shift in the momentum of the game in favor of the team who called the “time out”. (The same holds true with 3 year olds).
That’s right, I said fire yourself! This act alone will probably be the best and most important thing you can do for your business or your career right now – at the start of a new year. In the process of firing yourself, make sure you do an indepth exit interview so that you understand completely the reasons for this harsh and necessary action.
Oh! Don’t forget to throw yourself a “going away” party and buy yourself a gift (not to expensive). You will want to take this occasion (the party) to tell the boss (you) exactly what you think about him…and what you would do if you were in-charge! And, when you’ve done all of these things, figure out what you need to do and who do you have to be to re-hire yourself.
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