Tag Archives: howto

Focus on the good stuff

The process of making change is one that can add levels of frustration, anxiety and straight-up fear to lives that are already highly stressed and this isn’t always a good thing. Illness can follow very quickly behind if the change isn’t properly managed, whatever it’s context, so avoiding this has to be a top priority.

Our move to Sydney is still in progress as the container carrying our belongings is not yet with us and, so far, we have thankfully had few problems. But Katherine did get sick after only a couple of days in the country and this was very likely due to the scale of the change we had undertaken and the unsettled nature of what was ahead of us over the next few weeks of looking for accommodation, settling into a job and a new city, etc.

The frustration around the change I am going through at the moment is about the pace of it. Life in Australia does go a whole lot slower than it does in the UK and this can be difficult when you have little patience and are ready to start something new. A phone call or email not being returned seems to increase the overall level of tension and the ability to stay patient pays huge dividends.

I try to solve these little problems by thinking of all the things that have worked out well over the last few weeks as we have moved our lives and there are lots of them. It’s always beneficial, to me, anyhow, to keep a focus on the good stuff and the positives that are around me instead of the negatives and this does seem to do the trick. The negatives come easy and are always there without looking too hard, but make an effort to see past them and the dark clouds will start to lift a little.

Business books – Do The Work, Steven Pressfield

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This book is a real shot in the arm when you are down in the dumps or lacking the will to get things done. It tackles resistance and rightly positions it as the main thing that’s stopping all of us from achieving our goals, whatever they are.

Pressfield is a writer by trade so a lot of what he says in this book is based on how you would approach the task of writing a book yourself, but this shouldn’t put you off picking it up if you’re not a writer. There is some real gold in here and you can use the book like a coach in your ear, guiding you through a project of any kind.

A couple of points from the book that ring around my head a lot of the time:

Start a project backwards – begin at the finish. Decide on what you’re trying to create and then deliver and execute on your plans
When you overcome initial resistance, good things start to happen. Momentum appears, as does habit and rhythm.
You’re not finished until you actually ship your project, whatever it is. Always ship. Get it out there and face the music!

Highly recommend getting your hands on a copy. You won’t regret it.

The basics of any business

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Running a business of any kind is very difficult. Around every corner are potential banana skins and you need to be keeping an eye on everything at all times. Sales, finances, new business development, marketing, the lot. But there are three things that you have to remember at all times:

1 – The purpose of being in business is to make a profit. Nothing else really matters.

2 – Making sales is what business is all about. However good you are at the other elements, if you can’t sell you need to find a way to change that and fast.

3 – Sales is the foundation of any business but cash management keeps you in business. Manage your money in the right way and you’ll never have any problems.

Be ready for the call

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With a bit of luck in your life, at some point in time you will get the call to the big leagues. And when that call comes, you need to be ready for it.

The work will be hard and it will feel like it is never going to be done but it will be the thing that makes you. When this kind of lucky break appears you have got to do something with it and, if you have discipline and focus, you will be prepared.

Manage yourself the right way through preparation and repetition of lots of things in your life, such as your health and diet, getting enough exercise and sleep, etc. and you will be able to take full advantage of the opportunity.

Repeat the simple things to the point that they become automatic and the call will not be a surprise – you’ll be ready and waiting.

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[If you need any help with your resume/CV, please check out my other site https://realjobsearchinsider.wordpress.com/]

Your CV – check, check and check again

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My latest post from LinkedIn:

Many CVs are full of errors and this is something that is easy to fix. Check your document, get others to proofread it, then recheck it to make sure there are no mistakes. If it’s a straight choice between two applications for a role and one of the CVs has no spelling errors, who do you think gets the invitation to interview? It can really be that simple.

Make sure your address details, telephone number (mobile only) and email address are clear and correct at the top of each page. If you’re in the process of relocating to a new area, it can also help to add to any covering letter or email what your plans are, otherwise it can cause real confusion and lead your application to the trash.

Check all of your spelling, grammar, punctuation and layout on the document. Think of the reader and what they are going to think of the way your document has been prepared – it really does make a difference when you are looking at lots of these every day.

And be sure to check your facts, statistics and data. Don’t be caught out by an employer doing their standard due diligence on you as a candidate and identifying a glaring exaggeration of sales figures or project details. If they decide to interview you, which would be unlikely if you make this kind of mistake, they are sure to ask you to justify your version of the facts so avoid this potential banana skin.

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[If you need any help with your resume/CV, please check out my other site https://realjobsearchinsider.wordpress.com/]

Checklist – things to ask and consider when you’re looking for a new job

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Here’s a list of things that are worth finding out and thinking about as you go through the decision making process of deciding to take a new job or stay where you are. Got any additional ones? Please add them in the comments.

What’s the travel time and is it a decent commute.
Are there good facilities for staff in the office, eg kitchens, rest areas, car parking.
Is the salary competitive with similar roles at other local/national companies.
Is there a good benefits package – health care cover, pension provision, day off for your birthday, free snacks, etc.
Is there a solid training and development programme in place or a culture of learning in the company.
Do you get to work on any special projects outside of your role, or can you volunteer for additional work on projects that interest you.
Is there a glass ceiling or is there room to grow.
What are the skill levels and the experience of others in the team.
Is there a matrix management structure or is it a bureaucratic framework.
What’s the culture like – fun, whacky, structured, quiet, formal, etc.
What was the interview process like – really good reflection of the company in most cases.
How did the company communicate with you through the offer process – again, another great indicator to take note of.

4 time management tips to implement into your daily life

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The internet is choc-a-bloc full of tips on time management but the key to getting the best results is to find solutions that work for you. My list below is based upon the ones that I use and recommend to my clients and friends who need some help in this area and they are simple but very, very effective.

Have a read, try them out and if they work for you, stick with them – they will be the foundations upon which you deliver everything in your life, important or otherwise.

If you need help with what you do, consider taking a time management course. It’s one of the quickest and easiest ways to learn how be more productive and stay in control of your working day and some training providers, like Activia, will even help you build a personal action plan at the end of your course.

Use lists but keep them manageable:

Lots of us like lists but they can get out of control. At one time last year I caught myself with five different lists – three on separate sheets of paper and two in separate notebooks. Totally not cool.

There is also a big problem with having a list that’s so long that you never actually come to the end of it. This can be psychologically very damaging and leave you feeling like your list owns you. Again, not at all cool.

I use one long master list that contains my ongoing to-do items and then break this one down into smaller lists – one for the morning that I have to finish before I eat and another fresh one for the afternoon that is again full of tasks that must be done by the end of the day. This way, the smaller lists are way more manageable and don’t leave me with cold sweats at the size of the number of outstanding things I have to get done.

Generally a much better way to avoid panicking and leaves my mind much clearer and focussed on the tasks at hand.

Use an online calendar and set reminders:

If you’re not using your phone, even if it’s not a smartphone, to send you reminders and keep you on time for everything that’s going on in your life, you’re really missing a trick. And if you have a smartphone and are not using the calendar app that comes with all of them, work out how to use it and watch it change your life.

They are very simple to set up and you can also see the calendars of family, friends and co-workers if they give you permission so there are no excuses for missing those appointments.

You can also set alarms and reminders that will give you a heads-up at a variety of time intervals before the appointment is due and these can be in the form of an email or a special tone so that you don’t miss it. Add in colour-coding, public holidays and all of your friend’s birthday details from other apps like Facebook and you can see why they are a must-have.

Use a countdown timer:

A really good method that I learned a couple of years ago was to stick to the chucks of time you have allocated by using a countdown timer.

Mine is in the picture above and is extremely loud when it runs out of time – enough to be heard whatever I’m doing, however loud my music might be blaring out or if I’m wearing headphones, for example.

It is super-easy to drift off and forget how long you are spending on a task, especially if it’s one you really enjoy. It can also be very, very easy to watch an hour or more of your life disappear while catching up on your social media channels, so set yourself a time limit and use a timer to make sure you stick to it.

Automate or delegate wherever you can:

These options are also worth considering and are especially relevant if you charge for your services by the hour.

If you can earn more money by working for one hour than it costs for you to pay someone to do a task such as your cleaning or basic bookkeeping, for example, it makes sense to use their services.

It’s also very easy to automate regular payments and this is something that many people simply overlook. What about using tools such as MailChimp for sending email to your contacts or using online tools like Buffer or HootSuite to send your posts on Twitter and Facebook at the times you select?

Think laterally and you will find there are lots of ways to take the automation route.

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Ian Mountford is a Strategy Coach providing motivation and guidance to entrepreneurs, wannabe or fully-fledged. He draws from his own experience of building businesses from the ground up and spending many years helping clients to consistently achieve their goals and aspirations. Ian works with clients face-to-face and internationally.

Keep it simple

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I was looking at few of my old notes for a bit of writing inspiration and I found some very good stuff on keeping it simple:

Talk less, think more
Learn to say ‘no’ and mean it
Buy what we want, instead of what others say we want
Live in a way that is self-determined and original
Fulfil the demands of work without being controlled by it
Recognise there are many things more important than money
Know what you want
Not cost, but value
Buy one, chuck one
Avoid debt and the stress of overspending

I bought a very short book on this subject when I was a lot younger and it has since been lost or misplaced in various house moves, but that book was where some of this stuff came from and it was a really important thing for me. Following a few of these basic rules has helped me to keep my life relatively uncluttered and allowed me to sleep well at night when things have been tough.

In the world we live in today, the pressure to conform and live up to other people’s standards can be an expensive and tiresome task but still so many of us make the effort when it really isn’t required. Vanity has become of greater importance than sanity for many and this trend isn’t going to help to develop the great leaders and philanthropists of the future. Keep it simple and your chances of living a life that is full and authentic will be much greater.

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Personal branding – make the most of what you’ve got

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Everybody’s specialist subject is talking about themselves. We know more about ourselves than anyone else and it’s a subject we have endless experience and knowledge of. How we use that information, especially when it comes to social platforms and our identity on the web, is massively important in relation to our own personal brand. With some thought on what we are trying to achieve we can be sure to make the right kind of impact in the right places.

Each social platform has its own reason for existing as defined by its user base and it is very important that you make sure you are using the appropriate approach for each platform. A bio that talks about how much you love acid house music and playing Sunday football is not going to hold much weight with people looking at you on LinkedIn, for example, so be sure you’ve worked this out first.

Make sure you’ve also got a really strong profile picture. A shot that captures your head and shoulders is ideal and you can get a friend to take one with your phone if that’s the best camera you can get your hands on – camera phone lens quality is excellent and a good shot will be fine for this job.

Now think hard about your strengths and make sure they are front and centre in everything you say about yourself. The majority of articles and other content you share or comment on should make it easy to see what you’re all about and your profiles should list these strengths. Search engines are also picking up keywords within profiles and it’s imperative that you get these things working in your favour.

And finally, be authentic and keep your target audience in mind with everything you do and say. Your passion for a particular topic will stand out for all to see and your highly likely to get the results you want – a strong and solid personal brand with new followers, new clients or new connections of any kind – if you use your authenticity to stand out from the crowd.

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Start sweating your own assets

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If you want to make progress and hit goals in life or business, you’ve got to work hard. This post is about being more focussed than just doing more of the same and expecting better results and it is geared towards making more of ourselves and operating more effectively within the rapidly changing world we live in today. Under each of the headings – points I see as important on any journey where you are looking to improve – I’ve listed a few points of relevance that should be helpful to consider.

Make more money –

Get performance related pay and then perform
Improve your skills
Stop adding and start multiplying
Change company for a big rise

Manage people –

Know what you need to achieve yourself
Set expectations from the start
Listen hard and proactively – get all of the facts
Acknowledge people’s feelings – they play a big part in daily work
Get solutions from those with problems
Stay calm and keep a sense of humour

Communicate effectively –

Tell it like it is
Listen before you think before you speak
Keep your message consistent
If it really matters, do it face to face.
Encourage feedback and act on it

Be relaxed about stress –

Stick to your own agenda
Don’t do it if it’s not necessary
Simplify everything you do
Be happy to say no thank you

Lead from the front –

Work harder than anyone else
Set the example
Keep your problems to yourself
Tell the team what you expect from them
Listen to the team and respect their skills
Explain clearly what you expect and ensure it happens

Be more efficient –

Start work earlier
Work in small chucks
Put time for you to think in your diary
Write the agenda and stick to it
Plan today and act tomorrow

Motivate your team –

Incentivise everyone
Be tough when necessary
Train people properly
Listen to the team and get to know them
Give them space and let them get on with it

Impress your boss –

Help them meet their key objectives
Give them solutions not problems
Listen to them and ask for the benefit of their experience
Get promoted above them

Stay a decent person –

Listen
Be generous with your time and talents
Don’t hurt other people
Say thank you
Give as much as you take
Keep your conscience clear

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How to get the most out of your 24 hours

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There are many times when I hear myself and others say that they wish they had more time. I said just this morning that if you could buy an extra day a week I would definitely be interested. But we should all really have a look at how we spend the time we have and work out where the gaps are to ensure we are as productive as we can be, especially if we like to use the ‘lack of time’ excuse for not getting things done or started.

Have you ever made a note of the way you spend your 24 hours? Even a simple breakdown of your daily activities can be truly enlightening. Go ahead and do it – make a list of every hour in a 24 hour period and note down how much time is spent sleeping, how much at work, how much travel time you have, and so on. Add in the time it takes you for meals, any exercise time, and how long you watch tv in the mornings or evenings. Be as detailed and precise as you can and also be honest with your assessments – ‘was it four episodes of Mad Men I just watched there or three?’. Then take a step back and see what you have left.

It may only be small blocks of time – 15 minutes here, 30 minutes there – But I am sure you can squeeze at least two hours from every day to focus on the things that you ‘don’t really have time for at the moment’. There is a whole world of experiences and learning out there ready and waiting for you if you can make the time for it. You could use the time to start a new fitness regime, practise a new way of cooking, learn a musical instrument or just go for a short walk to clear your head and give yourself a boost at any particular time of the day. Give this method a try and see what it can it do for you.

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Take on some pain to get real gains

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The life we live today is very different to that of our elders. The lives they are able to lead is also very different to that of their elders, and so on. But there are a substantial number of factors in this generational change which are eroding our natural ability to overcome difficulties and endure a little bit of ‘pain’ in order to achieve some kind of gain in the future.

I’m not talking about overcoming illnesses or mental issues that can have a serious effect on how we live our daily lives here. This is different, very serious in many cases and can have a fundamental effect on every aspect of someone’s life. I’m talking about some basic things that you can do to avoid the ‘quick fix’ route and improve your life in a number of ways.

We have become hooked on quick fixes. We are more sedentary than ever before, stuck at desks sitting for long periods. The ready meal category has grown up around our desire to feed ourselves quickly, whatever long term damage the meal itself can do to us based on its ingredients. We get ‘stressed’ very quickly and see this as a negative thing that is purely destructive. We drive everywhere and rarely take a healthier option. We spend money, sometimes borrowed at crazy interest rates, on ‘looking good’ and everything that that entails. And we are online so much that we can have stronger online relationships than real ‘face-to-face’ ones. Today, we put more value on ‘chillin’ out’ than we do on achieving anything, learning something new or improving ourselves and the lives of those around us.

So, what else can we do? How else can we approach life in order to improve it?

Take on some stress and use it to fuel your drive to achieve more. Get out of your comfort zone and look for opportunities to push yourself – really, push yourself hard – into places where the good stuff happens. I think we quite often feel we are really doing everything we can to make changes or improve ourselves, but we haven’t tried as hard as we can if we are being honest with ourselves. We would have done those exercises every morning, or we would have made those calls or joined that group. We would have fully committed.

Nothing comes easy and it all requires hours and hours of effort. Don’t give up – be persistent and make a simple choice in every decision: stick where you are now or improve. Good things will happen as long as you stick at it and change can take a long time but it is definitely worth it.

I have a couple of examples that spur me on and maybe they can also help you. One is my friend Richard who runs marathons – check out the photo on his Twitter bio here and you will see why he is an inspiration to me and many. It can never be said that he has taken the easy route in life and his successes will always stand out. The Spartan way of life and the way they trained and educated their young is also worthy of some further research and their mentality has been adopted into everything from feature films to adventure races. But whatever you do or whatever you research, be sure to then act on it and make the changes in your own life that will have the biggest and best effect. You won’t regret it.

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Breaking new ground

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It can be very tempting to start something new in order to improve an area of your life, like getting fit, eating better or working smarter. The thought process goes something like this:

“I’m fed up with being (out of shape, overweight, tired all the time, late home from work every day, etc). I’m going to read up on the topic and try and make some changes that will help me to change things. Easy!”

But rarely is it easy to make these kind of changes. There have been many times in my life when I’ve got down on myself for not being great at something and it can be a huge frustration – “everyone else is good at (getting up early and exercising, writing blog posts every day, etc). Why can’t I do the same?” – making you feel even worse.

Good intentions are one thing, but turning them into habits or rituals is the key to making lasting changes. I have a few bad habits, the worst of all being an addiction to biting my finger nails that I’ve had for as long as I can remember, but the way this habit works acts as an indicator of the power and strength of habits. If you can make an action or activity a habit you are very likely to continue with it and deliver on it every day.

Try setting some realistic goals for a start. It can help to set some targets that you have a really good chance of achieving that will also act as milestones on the journey to something even bigger. Saying today that you’re going to read a new book every week for the next 12 months is great but very hard to achieve and your confidence would be seriously knocked if you gave up after a few weeks. But aiming for a more achievable target – two books in the next month, for example – can give you something to aim for that will help the habit to form and you can then set a slightly bigger target once that one has been knocked off.

Once you’ve set a realistic goal and achieved it, give yourself a reward. It doesn’t have to be chocolate or a whole new wardrobe, but a small and simple token to say you are on your way and you’ve made the first step is enough to keep you on track. Small rewards can also increase your motivation as the challenges come along so as you set another new target, also set think up another reward.

And finally, don’t be too hard on yourself. Life is short and time spent harming yourself or running yourself down with constantly negative thoughts about how bad you are for having three glasses of wine instead of the one you were aiming for is negative energy that will stop you from making a positive impact in your life. Give yourself a chance to start afresh and set another goal as quickly as you can. Believe that you can achieve whatever target you have set and give yourself every chance possible of making it happen – such as not going to the pub for a few days.

Everyday negotiation basics anyone can master

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Negotiation – it’s an art, not a science

We are all negotiators. Some of us are more adept at it than others and some of us have a lot more practice and experience of it than others. Some of us are classified as professional negotiators based on the fact that we get paid for doing it and some of us will never be paid to negotiate but do it all the time. It’s a critical skill and one where a little bit of practical knowledge and preparation can go a long way to helping you get better results, whether it’s in a salary negotiation with your boss or in a purchase of something as valuable as a house or a car, but how often do we take the time to prepare for a negotiation or put a strategy together in advance? No matter how big or small the scenario, it can make a huge difference if you know what is going on within the overall negotiation.

I bought a used car from a dealership a few years ago and got some advice in advance from friends who are professional negotiators on how to get the best deal possible. The salespeople at car dealerships are spending their whole lives doing deals so I knew I was going to need some guidance in order to come away with the car I wanted at the right price (and definitely not have that horrible experience of shaking hands on a deal and feeling that I’d been fleeced). The results were simply brilliant and the understanding I had of what was going on as the negotiation was taking place was invaluable. It was as if I was in the head of the salesman as he was bashing away on his calculator and running off to speak to his manager!

Here are the three most important things I have learned:

Prepare to win – don’t prepare and you will be relying on luck

Go into a negotiation with a positive mindset having prepared as thoroughly as you can and make sure you have all the information you need to get the deal you want. Find out as much as you can about the person you are negotiating with and their position in this deal. Are they the person who can say yes or no, or do they have to ask for permission from someone else to make a decision? On a salary negotiation, this can sometimes be an important factor – the person you are talking to may have to make a case to someone else for your raise to be agreed, so you may have to change your approach if they are not the boss holding the purse strings.

Lose the emotion – most negotiations are not life or death deals.

You must be prepared to walk away if you don’t get the deal you want. This can be really hard if you’ve made an emotional bond with whatever it is you are negotiating over, such as a new house or a piece of jewellery, so do your level best to avoid it. Walking away is a strategic move and can be the best thing you ever do in a negotiation as it can force the other party into action, but if you then have a change of heart and go back to the table, don’t expect the same deal to be available! There will always be another deal to be done and another (enter purchase here) to buy when the time, or, more crucially, the deal, is right.

Body language and voice tone – it’s a critical thing and can make or break a deal without a word being said.

There is a ton of information out there on using body language and in my job as a recruiter I have to be aware of what different signals mean. If your emotions are under control, this will also help you to control your body language and avoid giving off signals that you don’t want the other side in a negotiation to see and act upon. You can also use body language and shock tactics, such as acting really unusually or out-of-character, to mislead people and this can be very powerful in negotiation. Showing huge amounts of anger and frustration in order to force a weaker party to give way on a price when the numbers in play are not that far apart is quite common, and the opposite can also apply. Hand movements, eye twitches and all types of ‘tells’ as used in poker are also worth paying attention to. If it gives you an edge, it will be worth using.