Top 10 Characteristics of Ethical Leaders and Values-Driven Organizations
1. High Values AwarenessValues are regularly communicated and discussed to ensure awareness and understanding throughout the organization.
2. High Values AccountabilityPeople are evaluated on values-driven practices as well as results—with zero tolerance for conscious values violations.
3. Leadership By ExampleLeaders earn the right to expect others to do things by doing those things themselves.
4. Values-Driven DecisionMakingDecisions are checked to ensure they are in accord with organizational values BEFORE they are implemented.
5. In Sync Policies and ProceduresRules, policies, and practices are evaluated to ensure they reflect and support organizational values.
6. Values-Driven EducationTraining and other developmental activities teach people how to demonstrate ethics and apply organizational values.
7. Attention To PerceptionsClimate surveys and other perception-collecting activities are important components of organizational assessment and change strategies.
8. Steady, Incremental ChangeEmphasis is placed on many small improvements rather than quick-fix fads and “programs of the year.”
9. Values-Based SelectionThe degree to which people subscribe to and practice organizational values is a key criterion in hiring and promotion decisions.
10. Encouraged InitiativePeople are rewarded forWalking The Talk rather than complaining, pointing fingers, or waiting for others to take the first step.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
We all need to become millionaires
We all need to become millionaires
PERSONAL INVESTINGBy OOI KOK HWA
One must have cash reserves of about RM1mil to be able to maintain one’s current lifestyle 20 years after retirement
WE need to become millionaires when we retire! A lot of people have misconceptions about being millionaires. To them, being a millionaire means they should own total assets – by adding up their total cash, house, Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) contribution and car – that are worth RM1mil and above.
They believe that once they achieve one million cash, they should enjoy themselves by driving big luxury cars and staying in bungalows.
In reality, all of us need to become millionaires when we retire at age 55. Based on our computation, we need to own total cash, including all money in savings, fixed deposits and EPF, which have total value of more than RM1mil.
The key principle here is we need to have cash reserves of more than RM1mil to be able to maintain our current lifestyle 20 years after retirement from age 55 to age 75. This is on the assumption that we can live up to 75 (the average lifespan of Malaysians).
Based on our computation (see table), if you are now 35 years old and your current monthly expenses are RM3,000 per month, assuming you are only able to generate a return of 3% (the return from fixed deposits) on all of your savings and the RM3,000 will grow by the average historical inflation rate of 3.5% per annum, you would need RM1.6mil when you retire at age 55.
This amount will be enough to maintain your current lifestyle for the next 20 years after your retirement at 55.
However, if you need to spend RM5,000, RM7,000 or RM10,000 per month, then you need RM2.6mil, RM3.7mil and RM5.3mil respectively at your retirement age of 55.
In short, you need to become a millionaire when you retire even if you only maintain a simple lifestyle after your retirement. You will not be able to use this money to buy a big luxury car or a bungalow, as you really need the money for the next 20 years.
Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko have conducted research on the reasons why some Americans become wealthy. They discovered that a lot of them live well below their means.
Unfortunately, we notice that some Malaysians do not have enough money when they retire. Some of them may not be aware that they really need to accumulate that amount of money when they retire. Some may be aware, but they may have used up all their savings to support their children’s education. As a result, they need to find a job after retirement.
Some may have difficulties finding a job. A lot of companies may prefer to employ a young graduate rather than a retiree unless the latter is willing to accept a lower pay.
We also believe that a lot of investors are quite worried about having enough money for retirement. They are also concerned that their money may not be enough to protect them against inflation. Hence, besides controlling our expenses, we also need to know how to grow our money.
Looking at the table, different minimum achievable annual target returns can provide different required amounts for retirement.
For the current monthly expenses of RM3,000, if you are only able to generate a 3% return per annum, then you need to have RM1.6mil for retirement whereas you only need about RM900,000 if you are able to generate a return of 10%.
However, higher returns come with higher risks. We need to understand our risk tolerance level. We need to equip ourselves with adequate investing knowledge if we intend to generate higher returns.
·
PERSONAL INVESTINGBy OOI KOK HWA
One must have cash reserves of about RM1mil to be able to maintain one’s current lifestyle 20 years after retirement
WE need to become millionaires when we retire! A lot of people have misconceptions about being millionaires. To them, being a millionaire means they should own total assets – by adding up their total cash, house, Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) contribution and car – that are worth RM1mil and above.
They believe that once they achieve one million cash, they should enjoy themselves by driving big luxury cars and staying in bungalows.
In reality, all of us need to become millionaires when we retire at age 55. Based on our computation, we need to own total cash, including all money in savings, fixed deposits and EPF, which have total value of more than RM1mil.
The key principle here is we need to have cash reserves of more than RM1mil to be able to maintain our current lifestyle 20 years after retirement from age 55 to age 75. This is on the assumption that we can live up to 75 (the average lifespan of Malaysians).
Based on our computation (see table), if you are now 35 years old and your current monthly expenses are RM3,000 per month, assuming you are only able to generate a return of 3% (the return from fixed deposits) on all of your savings and the RM3,000 will grow by the average historical inflation rate of 3.5% per annum, you would need RM1.6mil when you retire at age 55.
This amount will be enough to maintain your current lifestyle for the next 20 years after your retirement at 55.
However, if you need to spend RM5,000, RM7,000 or RM10,000 per month, then you need RM2.6mil, RM3.7mil and RM5.3mil respectively at your retirement age of 55.
In short, you need to become a millionaire when you retire even if you only maintain a simple lifestyle after your retirement. You will not be able to use this money to buy a big luxury car or a bungalow, as you really need the money for the next 20 years.
Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko have conducted research on the reasons why some Americans become wealthy. They discovered that a lot of them live well below their means.
Unfortunately, we notice that some Malaysians do not have enough money when they retire. Some of them may not be aware that they really need to accumulate that amount of money when they retire. Some may be aware, but they may have used up all their savings to support their children’s education. As a result, they need to find a job after retirement.
Some may have difficulties finding a job. A lot of companies may prefer to employ a young graduate rather than a retiree unless the latter is willing to accept a lower pay.
We also believe that a lot of investors are quite worried about having enough money for retirement. They are also concerned that their money may not be enough to protect them against inflation. Hence, besides controlling our expenses, we also need to know how to grow our money.
Looking at the table, different minimum achievable annual target returns can provide different required amounts for retirement.
For the current monthly expenses of RM3,000, if you are only able to generate a 3% return per annum, then you need to have RM1.6mil for retirement whereas you only need about RM900,000 if you are able to generate a return of 10%.
However, higher returns come with higher risks. We need to understand our risk tolerance level. We need to equip ourselves with adequate investing knowledge if we intend to generate higher returns.
·
Monday, January 19, 2009
Team success
IF YOU DO NOT TAKE CARE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS SOMEBODY ELSE WILL
1) Lack of a sufficient charter that defines the team’s purpose and how it will work together to achieve that purpose
2) In ability to decide what constitutes the work for which they are interdependent and mutually accountable
3) Lack of mutual accountability
4) Lack of resources to do the including time
5) Lack of norms that foster creativity and excellence
6) Lack of effective leadership
7) Lack of planning
8) Lack of management support (you to your assisociates PLANNING is the key word)
9) Inability to deal with conflict
10) Lack of training at all level on group skills
Building a highly effective team, like building a great organization, begins with a picture of what you are aiming for A TARGET
It is important that we know where we want to go, otherwise, what ever road we take it will lead to no where
Insist on ABSOLUTES
1) Lack of a sufficient charter that defines the team’s purpose and how it will work together to achieve that purpose
2) In ability to decide what constitutes the work for which they are interdependent and mutually accountable
3) Lack of mutual accountability
4) Lack of resources to do the including time
5) Lack of norms that foster creativity and excellence
6) Lack of effective leadership
7) Lack of planning
8) Lack of management support (you to your assisociates PLANNING is the key word)
9) Inability to deal with conflict
10) Lack of training at all level on group skills
Building a highly effective team, like building a great organization, begins with a picture of what you are aiming for A TARGET
It is important that we know where we want to go, otherwise, what ever road we take it will lead to no where
Insist on ABSOLUTES
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Performance measurement
Performance measurement
Show me a company that thinks it has key performance indicators (KPIs), which it measures monthly and quarterly, and I will show you measures that don't create change, alignment and growth - and have never even been KPIs.
A lot of firms are using the wrong measures, many of which they incorrectly term KPIs. In my experience, few organisations really monitor their true KPIs, because they haven't explored what a KPI actually is.
Let me explain what a KPI is by telling a story about British Airways' former chairman, Lord King, who hired a group of consultants in the eighties to determine the key measures that he should focus on to turn around his ailing company. They told him that there was one critical success factor: the timely arrival and departure of aircraft. I imagine that he wasn't impressed, since everyone in the industry knew this fact. But the consultants pointed out that this was where the firm's KPIs lay and proposed that he should concentrate on late flights. So King agreed to be notified whenever a BA service was delayed by more than a couple of hours. BA managers then knew that, if a flight were delayed longer that this time at their airport, the chairman would be phoning them to ask why. It wasn't long before BA jets had a reputation for leaving on time.
Show me a company that thinks it has key performance indicators (KPIs), which it measures monthly and quarterly, and I will show you measures that don't create change, alignment and growth - and have never even been KPIs.
A lot of firms are using the wrong measures, many of which they incorrectly term KPIs. In my experience, few organisations really monitor their true KPIs, because they haven't explored what a KPI actually is.
Let me explain what a KPI is by telling a story about British Airways' former chairman, Lord King, who hired a group of consultants in the eighties to determine the key measures that he should focus on to turn around his ailing company. They told him that there was one critical success factor: the timely arrival and departure of aircraft. I imagine that he wasn't impressed, since everyone in the industry knew this fact. But the consultants pointed out that this was where the firm's KPIs lay and proposed that he should concentrate on late flights. So King agreed to be notified whenever a BA service was delayed by more than a couple of hours. BA managers then knew that, if a flight were delayed longer that this time at their airport, the chairman would be phoning them to ask why. It wasn't long before BA jets had a reputation for leaving on time.
The importance of the “timely arrival and departure of aircraft” critical success factor can be seen by the impact of delayed flights on all six perspectives of the following balanced scorecard:
- Financial. Increased outgoings, including airport surcharges and the costs of overnight accommodation for seriously delayed passengers.
Customer. Dissatisfaction among delayed passengers and those people meeting them at their destination - they're potential customers.
Environment/community. Increased carbon emissions from aircraft using extra fuel to circle airports after missing their landing slots.
Learning and growth. A negative impact on staff development, as employees would tend to replicate the behaviour that had caused the delays.
Internal processes. An adverse effect on aircraft servicing schedules.
Employee satisfaction. Increased stress for staff who have to deal with unhappy passengers.
KPIs represent a set of measures focusing on those aspects of performance that are the most crucial for the continued success of an organisation. There are only a few in any one firm and, as the BA story shows, they have a profound impact if they're monitored constantly at the top.
A few KPIs can be measured weekly, but most should be measured daily or even hourly. Measuring them monthly is closing the stable door well after the horse has bolted. Most organisational measures are very much indicators of what happened in the past month or quarter. These are not KPIs. That's why a six-monthly customer satisfaction survey can never be a KPI. Some firms conduct customer surveys daily. In their case, there could be a couple of KPIs within the satisfaction measures.
All good KPIs that I've come across have commanded the attention of the chief executive, who'd contact the people responsible for them daily. A potentially career-limiting discussion with the boss is not something that people want to repeat. In BA's case, processes were put in place to prevent recurring lateness.
A KPI should show what action needs to be taken - the “late plane” indicator signalled that everyone should focus on recovering lost time. Cleaners, caterers, ground crews, flight attendants and liaison officers with air traffic controllers would all work some magic to save a minute here and a minute there while keeping up standards of service. A KPI is deep enough in the organisation that it can be tied down to an individual. Return on capital employed has never been a KPI, since it cannot be attributed to one manager.
A good KPI will affect most of the critical success factors and more than one aspect of an organisation's balanced scorecard. When the boss focuses on the KPI and everyone follows suit, the firm wins on several fronts. An improvement in a key measure within the critical success factor of customer satisfaction should have a positive impact on many other measures. The timely departure and arrival of flights helps the ground crews to improve their service, for instance, because it means less crisis management work to distract them.
My extensive research in this area has led me to conclude that there are three types of performance measures:
Key result indicators (KRIs) that tell the board how managers have performed in terms of a critical success factor or perspective of the balanced scorecard.
The performance indicators (PIs) that tell staff and managers what to do.
The KPIs that tell staff and managers what to do in order to increase performance dramatically.
Robert Kaplan and David Norton recommend that forms should have no more than 20 KPIs. Jeremy Hope and Robin Fraser suggest fewer than ten. I think there should be about ten KRIs, up to 80 PIs and about 10 KPIs. Seldom do there need to be more. In many cases it's appropriate to have fewer. The common feature of KRI is that they are the result of many actions. They give a clear picture of whether a firm is moving in the right direction and the progress it's making towards planned goals - that's the role of PIs and KPIs. KRIs that have often been mistaken for KPIs include:
Customer satisfaction or profitability
Employee satisfaction
Net profit before tax
Return on capital employed.
A car's speedometer serves as a useful analogy for a KRI: the board simply wants to know what speed the car is doing, but the managers need more information, since the car's speed is a function of what gear it's in and how many revs the engine is doing. In fact, they might be focusing on something completely different, such as how economically they are driving or how hot the engine is running. These require two completely different gauges and are PIs or maybe even KPIs.
An organisation should have a governance report comprising up to ten measures providing KRIs for the board plus a balanced scorecard comprising up to 20 measures - a mix of KPIs and PIs - for the management team. While they are, by definition, not key to the business, PIs are crucial for teams to align their daily activities with the organisation's strategic aims. They complement the KPIs and are shown with them on the balanced scorecards of the organisation and its divisions, departments and teams. PIs could include the following:
Profitability of the top ten per cent of customers
Net profit on key product lines
Number of employees participating in the staff suggestion scheme.
KRIs replace outcome measures, which typically consider activity over months or quarters. PIs and KPIs are now characterised as past, current or future measures. An example of a past measure would be the number of flights last week that were delayed. A current measure would be the continually updated tally of delayed flights. A future measure would be the number of initiatives to be started in the next month to target problems causing delays to flights. You will find that the true KPIs in your organisation are either current or future measures.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Motivation at WORK
Doesn't every executive and manager want highly motivated and committed employees?
Yes, certainly. Everyone knows that highly motivated people are continually striving to do their very best. In fact, these employees use 100% of their brainpower on their work when on the job and often when not on the job and that makes them extremely valuable employees.
According to Stephen Covey, the difference between poorly motivated and highly motivated employees is about 500% in productivity. I would not want to appear to disagree with Covey, but I have proven the difference to be at least 300%.Everyone's creativity, innovation and productivity come from their brain. Their brain is also the source of motivation and commitment.
In addition, being highly motivated about "something" unleashes all of one's brainpower and thus all of one's creativity, innovation and productivity on that "something". Every person has the ability to become highly motivated about "something", but whether or not that "something" includes their work is mostly a function of the work environment their bosses create. So why are employees not highly motivated and committed?
Because most bosses use top-down, command and control management techniques. These techniques demean, disrespect and demotivate employees. Employees thus become highly frustrated and highly stressed. In order to protect themselves often become apathetic toward the workplace. In this state, their brains are consumed by "oh, poor me" and other totally negative thoughts. In this state, bosses are lucky that they show up for work much less apply their brainpower to the work or be highly motivated.
So how does a boss cause an employee to apply 100% of their brainpower on their work and achieve excellence?High motivation cannot be ordered or given to employees. Motivation is created by the brain from a great number of considerations. Increasing financial rewards may motivate a few employees to produce more, but rarely can these rewards be significant enough to cause more than a very few to become "highly motivated and committed".
Carrots and sticks constitute influences that provide consequences for employees to evaluate, but they are not effective in creating a "highly motivated" workforce. Then what is effective?The answer is to allow employees to develop a strong sense of ownership of their work. To understand this, look at the lifespan difference between rental cars that drivers don't own and the cars they do own. Rental cars rarely last much beyond 2 years while cars individually owned last for 10, 20 and even more years. Have you ever seen anyone washing a rental car? And don't ignore the difference in treatment received by an expensive sports car as compared to very inexpensive clunker.
Everyone is willing to apply themselves most diligently to something which they own, but far less so if that something is owned by someone else. They will take great pride in making it "shine" if they own it, but not so if they don't. This is human nature.Therefore, if employees "feel" a strong sense of ownership of their work, they will become highly motivated to do the very best work they can and will be up to 5 times more productive than if poorly motivated.But will employees ever get to "feel" that strong sense of ownership in today's workplace?
Concerning orders, goals and policies, designed by the command and control system to direct the employee's every action, will bosses stop these in order to cease making employees feel demeaned and demoralized?
Yes, certainly. Everyone knows that highly motivated people are continually striving to do their very best. In fact, these employees use 100% of their brainpower on their work when on the job and often when not on the job and that makes them extremely valuable employees.
According to Stephen Covey, the difference between poorly motivated and highly motivated employees is about 500% in productivity. I would not want to appear to disagree with Covey, but I have proven the difference to be at least 300%.Everyone's creativity, innovation and productivity come from their brain. Their brain is also the source of motivation and commitment.
In addition, being highly motivated about "something" unleashes all of one's brainpower and thus all of one's creativity, innovation and productivity on that "something". Every person has the ability to become highly motivated about "something", but whether or not that "something" includes their work is mostly a function of the work environment their bosses create. So why are employees not highly motivated and committed?
Because most bosses use top-down, command and control management techniques. These techniques demean, disrespect and demotivate employees. Employees thus become highly frustrated and highly stressed. In order to protect themselves often become apathetic toward the workplace. In this state, their brains are consumed by "oh, poor me" and other totally negative thoughts. In this state, bosses are lucky that they show up for work much less apply their brainpower to the work or be highly motivated.
So how does a boss cause an employee to apply 100% of their brainpower on their work and achieve excellence?High motivation cannot be ordered or given to employees. Motivation is created by the brain from a great number of considerations. Increasing financial rewards may motivate a few employees to produce more, but rarely can these rewards be significant enough to cause more than a very few to become "highly motivated and committed".
Carrots and sticks constitute influences that provide consequences for employees to evaluate, but they are not effective in creating a "highly motivated" workforce. Then what is effective?The answer is to allow employees to develop a strong sense of ownership of their work. To understand this, look at the lifespan difference between rental cars that drivers don't own and the cars they do own. Rental cars rarely last much beyond 2 years while cars individually owned last for 10, 20 and even more years. Have you ever seen anyone washing a rental car? And don't ignore the difference in treatment received by an expensive sports car as compared to very inexpensive clunker.
Everyone is willing to apply themselves most diligently to something which they own, but far less so if that something is owned by someone else. They will take great pride in making it "shine" if they own it, but not so if they don't. This is human nature.Therefore, if employees "feel" a strong sense of ownership of their work, they will become highly motivated to do the very best work they can and will be up to 5 times more productive than if poorly motivated.But will employees ever get to "feel" that strong sense of ownership in today's workplace?
Concerning orders, goals and policies, designed by the command and control system to direct the employee's every action, will bosses stop these in order to cease making employees feel demeaned and demoralized?
- Will bosses regularly, daily or more often, listen to what their employees say they need in order to do a better job and then give it to them?
- Will bosses stop shooting the messenger?
- Will bosses allow employees to control their own workplace while assisting them in any way they can to make the work easier and safer to accomplish?
- Will bosses consider their employees more important than themselves and treat employees accordingly?
Will bosses prevent bureaucracy from frustrating their employees and actually force bureaucrats to serve employees?If the answers to these is a resounding yes, you will be on your way to achieving a highly motivated and committed workforce.
Or will a top-down command and control model continue in use with all its "just say no" bureaucrats controlling those awful workers?So, I ask you. Why is it that most employees are not highly motivated and committed about your workplace?
The fact is, most employees are "highly motivated and committed" about something, just not their work and for good reaso
Friday, January 9, 2009
Building Rapport
Building Rapport With Easeby Marilyn Chee (Published with permission from the author)
RAPPORT is an essential component of work life. There is constant social interaction and communication going on to achieve sales quotas, complete projects according to deadlines, negotiation of business deals and all sort of other business activities. Interaction and relating to others is inevitable and unavoidable.
How well an individual creates rapport not only influences the overtone of a business interaction, it also directly contributes to success and the desired outcome. Like it or not, the successful outcome of many business activities depends on rapport. Since we cannot NOT communicate, why not ensure the presence of rapport during each interaction to make the conversation, discussion, negotiation or partnership more fruitful every time we speak.
Here are some myths and truths about rapport and communication:
Myth #1: Some people are just born to be great communicators and good at creating rapport. Either you have it, or you don't. Great communication has been perceived as a behaviour trait of a sociable, outgoing and extroverted personality. Hence, it is commonly perceived to be an inherent quality. On the other hand, those with more reserved dispositions or quieter personalities are naturally associated with less polished abilities to communicate well or create rapport.
Truth #1: Creating rapport is a skill. It can be learnt and acquired. Regardless of your personality and preferred style of communication, there are certain surefire techniques of creating rapport. Having eye contact during the course of a conversation is a good way to create rapport. Pepper the eye contact so that it is non-threatening and not overdone. Offer eye contact in moderation to give attention at a level that is comfortable.
Myth #2: A person who talks a lot is a great communicator and master at creating rapport. If you talk about yourself a lot and enjoy holding and dominating a conversation, you may be surprised to find out the person at the other end of the conversation may feel the lack of rapport in the interaction. Don't be caught off guard with the feedback that the other person doesn't feel "listened to".
Truth #2: Listening to others is a key to creating rapport. You may come across as someone with a reserved disposition. A man or a woman of few words who prefers to let others take the driver's seat in a conversation. If you have these tendencies, creating rapport is well within your grasp. If you enjoy listening to others, you may well already be a master at creating rapport. Often your interest in others shows in powerful and non-verbal ways through giving your attention by lending your ear and the acknowledgement you give through your "Uhm..Hmm..." and "I see".
Myth #3: It feels strange for many people to consciously create rapport. Creating rapport may not be a natural thing for many people. Not just you. However no one can deny that working relationships and collaborations are enhanced significantly with rapport. Positive communication at the workplace offers many benefits beyond the tangible and immediate ones.
Truth #3: Practice makes perfect. Anyone can become a master of rapport. Creating rapport is similar to acquiring a new skill. Even though it doesn't come naturally, one will get better at it with consistent efforts and practice. Keep at it and you will become a master of rapport someday.
Rapport encourages a flow of conversation and you may find yourself enjoying conversations more and making deeper connections. A creature which has the ability to create rapport is the man's best friend, i.e. the dog. The next time you see your pet dog, remember you are looking at the perfect example of "listening ear" and "heartmelting eye contact". The master of rapport.... Don't you agree? The value one places on rapport will correspond with the emphasis or the presence of it in one's conversation. Time for a little self-evaluation. Are you known to have great rapport?
I hope this article has helped you gain some new insights about the dynamics of any communication. Set the intention to listen more and pepper your conversation with eye contact. Raise the rapport and notice the change in the quality of your conversation the next time you are talking to someone at work -- be it your supervisor, colleague, subordinate, client or vendor. Happy chatting!
RAPPORT is an essential component of work life. There is constant social interaction and communication going on to achieve sales quotas, complete projects according to deadlines, negotiation of business deals and all sort of other business activities. Interaction and relating to others is inevitable and unavoidable.
How well an individual creates rapport not only influences the overtone of a business interaction, it also directly contributes to success and the desired outcome. Like it or not, the successful outcome of many business activities depends on rapport. Since we cannot NOT communicate, why not ensure the presence of rapport during each interaction to make the conversation, discussion, negotiation or partnership more fruitful every time we speak.
Here are some myths and truths about rapport and communication:
Myth #1: Some people are just born to be great communicators and good at creating rapport. Either you have it, or you don't. Great communication has been perceived as a behaviour trait of a sociable, outgoing and extroverted personality. Hence, it is commonly perceived to be an inherent quality. On the other hand, those with more reserved dispositions or quieter personalities are naturally associated with less polished abilities to communicate well or create rapport.
Truth #1: Creating rapport is a skill. It can be learnt and acquired. Regardless of your personality and preferred style of communication, there are certain surefire techniques of creating rapport. Having eye contact during the course of a conversation is a good way to create rapport. Pepper the eye contact so that it is non-threatening and not overdone. Offer eye contact in moderation to give attention at a level that is comfortable.
Myth #2: A person who talks a lot is a great communicator and master at creating rapport. If you talk about yourself a lot and enjoy holding and dominating a conversation, you may be surprised to find out the person at the other end of the conversation may feel the lack of rapport in the interaction. Don't be caught off guard with the feedback that the other person doesn't feel "listened to".
Truth #2: Listening to others is a key to creating rapport. You may come across as someone with a reserved disposition. A man or a woman of few words who prefers to let others take the driver's seat in a conversation. If you have these tendencies, creating rapport is well within your grasp. If you enjoy listening to others, you may well already be a master at creating rapport. Often your interest in others shows in powerful and non-verbal ways through giving your attention by lending your ear and the acknowledgement you give through your "Uhm..Hmm..." and "I see".
Myth #3: It feels strange for many people to consciously create rapport. Creating rapport may not be a natural thing for many people. Not just you. However no one can deny that working relationships and collaborations are enhanced significantly with rapport. Positive communication at the workplace offers many benefits beyond the tangible and immediate ones.
Truth #3: Practice makes perfect. Anyone can become a master of rapport. Creating rapport is similar to acquiring a new skill. Even though it doesn't come naturally, one will get better at it with consistent efforts and practice. Keep at it and you will become a master of rapport someday.
Rapport encourages a flow of conversation and you may find yourself enjoying conversations more and making deeper connections. A creature which has the ability to create rapport is the man's best friend, i.e. the dog. The next time you see your pet dog, remember you are looking at the perfect example of "listening ear" and "heartmelting eye contact". The master of rapport.... Don't you agree? The value one places on rapport will correspond with the emphasis or the presence of it in one's conversation. Time for a little self-evaluation. Are you known to have great rapport?
I hope this article has helped you gain some new insights about the dynamics of any communication. Set the intention to listen more and pepper your conversation with eye contact. Raise the rapport and notice the change in the quality of your conversation the next time you are talking to someone at work -- be it your supervisor, colleague, subordinate, client or vendor. Happy chatting!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Marketing to beat recession
A recession is the result of public’s belief in the future. If the public and/or your competition believe that things are getting worse, we have a recession. A recession ends when people believe it is over!
MARKETING TO BEAT THE RECESSION!
Strange as it might seem, recessions do end ….. and “everyone lives happily ever after!”
It’s funny how we see everyone doing the same “recession after recession”! People stop everything and go into a “siege” mentality. This includes “stopping business development, protecting one’s turf and slashing all marketing and hiring.” General Managers become “executioners” and terminate people in order to save costs and most times they think it will save their own jobs. Once the recession is over, they kick themselves for their drastic actions as they can’t find good people again.
In a competitive business environment today, your employees are your most valuable assets. Why terminate them when you know it’s going to cost you twice as much as you save to replace them when the recession is over.
In good economic times when the hotel industry is growing, everyone is positive. When the recession hits, half of your competition don’t get out of bed in the morning. The other half does gradually become more depressed and not motivated.
The half that are awake are demoralized and are under so much pressure to fill their hotels, they stop giving quality service.
Even the few who are heads up, don’t understand how to win in a recession. This just leaves you and your clients out there to continue to do business in a proper and professional manner.
Well-established successful hotel groups have the same thing in common; they tend to make their greatest competitive gains during the worst economic times.
SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF OTHER PEOPLE BELIEVE, AS THEY HAVE BEEN AROUND AND KNOW RECESSIONS END!
So, instead of running away and hiding, why don’t you speed up and invest more! Instead of becoming negative now, become even more positive and motivated, and you will become like these successful hotel companies. “The leaders of our industry” and you, and your hotels will be full.
ARE YOU DEPRESSED AND DEMORALIZED …… OR MOTIVATED AND SUCCESSFUL?
MARKETING TO BEAT THE RECESSION!
Strange as it might seem, recessions do end ….. and “everyone lives happily ever after!”
It’s funny how we see everyone doing the same “recession after recession”! People stop everything and go into a “siege” mentality. This includes “stopping business development, protecting one’s turf and slashing all marketing and hiring.” General Managers become “executioners” and terminate people in order to save costs and most times they think it will save their own jobs. Once the recession is over, they kick themselves for their drastic actions as they can’t find good people again.
In a competitive business environment today, your employees are your most valuable assets. Why terminate them when you know it’s going to cost you twice as much as you save to replace them when the recession is over.
In good economic times when the hotel industry is growing, everyone is positive. When the recession hits, half of your competition don’t get out of bed in the morning. The other half does gradually become more depressed and not motivated.
The half that are awake are demoralized and are under so much pressure to fill their hotels, they stop giving quality service.
Even the few who are heads up, don’t understand how to win in a recession. This just leaves you and your clients out there to continue to do business in a proper and professional manner.
Well-established successful hotel groups have the same thing in common; they tend to make their greatest competitive gains during the worst economic times.
SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF OTHER PEOPLE BELIEVE, AS THEY HAVE BEEN AROUND AND KNOW RECESSIONS END!
So, instead of running away and hiding, why don’t you speed up and invest more! Instead of becoming negative now, become even more positive and motivated, and you will become like these successful hotel companies. “The leaders of our industry” and you, and your hotels will be full.
ARE YOU DEPRESSED AND DEMORALIZED …… OR MOTIVATED AND SUCCESSFUL?
Friday, January 2, 2009
Lead by example
Setting A Shining Example.
We have been told over and over again how vitally important it is to set a good example. Regardless of whether we are at home, work, school or play, the examples we set by our actions and our statements unveils a great deal about us.
As parents, we know full well the importance of setting a good example for our children. It has been shown that your children pay more attention to what you do than what you say.
We also recognize the need for setting a good example at our workplace. Everyone achieves more in a positive working environment. A supervisor or manager who actively encourages and rewards creativity from his or her coworkers will not only foster a happy and harmonious workplace, he or she will also bring out the best from the team as well.
We have been told over and over again how vitally important it is to set a good example. Regardless of whether we are at home, work, school or play, the examples we set by our actions and our statements unveils a great deal about us.
As parents, we know full well the importance of setting a good example for our children. It has been shown that your children pay more attention to what you do than what you say.
We also recognize the need for setting a good example at our workplace. Everyone achieves more in a positive working environment. A supervisor or manager who actively encourages and rewards creativity from his or her coworkers will not only foster a happy and harmonious workplace, he or she will also bring out the best from the team as well.
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