Leadership | Make a difference

Eleven Keys to Increasing your Productivity- Brian Tracy

Posted by Haja in Goals, Leadership, Management, Personal Effectiveness, Time Management

No one can put it better than the guru of productivity- Brian Tracy. This is from one of his newsletters – which is exactly how one should improve their productivity.

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Develop clear goals and write them down.
Because higher productivity begins with clear goals, goal setting is a key component of our coaching program. As you know, a goal must be specific and measurable to be effective in guiding your behavior. It must reflect your beliefs and be within your power to achieve.
Write a clear action plan.
Next, if you want to turbo-charge your productivity, make sure you have a clear, written plan of action. Every minute you spend in careful planning will save you as many as ten minutes in execution.
Set your priorities.
The third step is to prioritize your list. Analyze your list before you take action. Identify and start with the high-value tasks on your list.
Concentrate and eliminate distractions.
In this step, choose a high-value activity or task, start on it immediately, and stay with it until it is done. Focusing single-minded attention on one task allows you to complete it far more quickly than starting and stopping.
Lengthen your workday but increase your time off.
By starting your workday a little earlier, working through lunchtime, and staying a little later, you can become one of the most productive people in your field.
Work harder at what you do.
When you are at work, concentrate on work all the time you are there. Don’t squander your time or fall into the habit of treating the workplace as a community where socializing is acceptable.
Pick up the pace. At work, develop a sense of urgency and maintain a quicker tempo in all your activities. Get on with the job. Dedicate yourself to moving quickly from task to task.
Work smarter.
Focus on the value of the tasks you complete. While the number of hours you put in is important, what matters most is the quality and quantity of results you achieve.
Align your work with your skills.
Skill and experience count. You achieve more in less time when you work on tasks at which you are especially skilled or experienced.
Bunch your tasks.
Group similar activities and do them all at the same time. Making all your calls, completing all your estimates, or preparing all your presentation slides at the same time allows you to develop speed and skill at each activity.
Cut out steps.
Pull several parts of the job together into a single task and eliminate several steps. Where you can, cut lower-value activities completely.

Sep.09

Express Case Study- Building a brand- Illy

Posted by Haja in Business, Leadership, Management, Personal Branding

While recently reading about building a brand, I was stuck with the work that Illy does for their coffee.. Not a very fond drinker of these coffees, I have noticed this brand of coffee and machines across the world..

This is what I found very interesting-

They are the largest seller of espresso coffee in the world
They buy coffee from 18-19 countries
But they have only ONE blend… (think about it – so many different coffees but only one blend)
They have coffee tasters sitting around for weeks trying to mix this one with the other one and so on, to have the one blend that they figure is the best.
They then finalize that blend and then do all kinds of roasting (deep, medium, light and decaffinate as required).

Why? So that the customer has the same experience everywhere.

That- to me, is what it takes to build a brand.

Something that involves a great vision, complete clarity on how to execute it, and then execute it flawlessly.

No different from what we should do, to build our own “Brand” out there.

Courtesy Source: DNA News (6 September, 2010).

Sep.07

In Search of Excellence

Posted by Haja in Leadership, Management, Personal Branding

This is a wonderful story I recently read in a mail I received yesterday.

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A German once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage." The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work. "Where are you going to install the idol?"

The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked… The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, "I will know it."

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. "Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency.

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The desire to excel and do a great job should be a driving force in each of us.

Every time you do a job, ask yourself-

Is this the best I can do or is there something that could be done better?
Is there something that I can do, that makes it better?
If someone else did this, will they do the same or will it be better? What can I do differently?
Will people be able to recognize it is work done by ME? (what is the unique element in the work done, that is my “signature”).

Starting today, look at leaving your mark in everything you do.

You will leave a legacy that others can only look up to & strive to reach.

One job at a time. One extra “signature” at a time.

Aug.25

Going the extra mile to Delight your customers–in 3 steps!

Posted by Haja in Business, Leadership, Management

Browsing the Net, I chanced upon this article at the Fast Company site. Reading this article, rekindled a thought on customer service and how one can make a difference.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1657030/the-happiness-culture-zappos-isn-t-a-company-it-s-a-mission

It also brought memories of a recent trip I had made by Air France to the US and back. During my return journey, I missed the connecting flight because of Air Frances’ delayed arrival. What I went through made me think of customer service in a completely different light- and how the employees, let go of an excellent opportunity. Given a choice of either delighting a customer OR losing the customer-for life, they unfortunately chose the latter. I am sure that Air France, as an organization and the top management views their customer service to be one of the best in the Industry. But what companies see in feedback forms OR Customer Satisfaction studies done by Agencies – do not prepare them to create a culture of customer service- that is targeted at DELIGHTING the customer. In most cases, I think it is just plain corporate speak- rarely delivered on the ground by the customer facing reps.

Coming back to the article, I was stuck by the corporate ethos of Zappos, the company that was profiled (I confess, I had not heard of them before this)-

Deliver Wow Through Service
Embrace and Drive Change
Create Fun and a Little Weirdness
Be Adventurous, Creative and Open-Minded
Pursue Growth and Learning
Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication
Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
Do More with Less
Be Passionate and Determined
Be Humble

Cool. I guess most companies have similar ideals that they promote on their sites and corporate presentations. How many of them actually translate it into value?

It appears that they (Zappos) are going a step ahead of the rest. And it appears that they are actually executing well on their vision.

My top 3 to be the best in customer service- and to me this starts with EVERY employee. They should –

Be a bundle of Positive Energy–

Be the person who is brimming with Positive energy. Show a lot of enthusiasm. Let the customer feel that the employee is actually enjoying his time helping him.

Be a Problem Solver

Think of your experiences as a customer. Think of a situation that you particularly remember positively. Chances are it had to do with someone solving a problem for you WITHOUT you having to chase them. Someone who went out of the way to help you and left you feeling truly great. Let the customer feel that his voice has been heard. Be a solver of problems and if you are the Management – Reward those who are problem solvers.

Follow through

Call the customer a few day after he has bought! Does your company have the systems to track the customer database- and respond to them within a week of purchase? Can you imagine the feeling- and the power of CRM will come alive post that! Customers who are followed through, will remember what happened- and will buy again, and again. More importantly, they will talk about you to their other customers.

Think about it. There is a goldmine out there with millions of customers who are starved for quality customer service. How are you as an individual or an organization going to deliver what they want?

Aug.24

2 steps in changing your perspective of life!

Posted by Haja in Goals, Leadership, Management, Personal Effectiveness

Not what we have, but what we use

Not what we see, but what we choose

These are the things that mar or bless human happiness

Joseph Newton

Every now and then people have a challenge – and get stuck with some problem that may appear to be insurmountable. Some drown and some come through it with flying colours. Let us talk about those who make it through!

I have friends of mine who were made redundant in their jobs- for no fault of theirs. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, I saw them emerge stronger, and more secure in their approach towards life.

How did they do it?

I believe they changed their view of life. Rather than look at what the rest of the world looks at (the negatives), they choose to look at the positives.

They shifted their perspective of life.

They saw life differently – and that is what made the difference to them.

Here are some tips on how to change the perspective- and do things differently –

1. At a personal thought process level –

– Focus on how far you have come, not how far you have to go.

– Focus on what you have rather than what you lack- a.k.a Count your blessings. Seriously – how often does one do it?

o Take 5 min of your time now- and list out things that are blessings for you

§ Family

§ Kids

§ Dog/ pets that make life complete

§ Friends who stand up for you

§ Maybe a great work environment

§ Perks on the job

§ The car you have

There are always numerous things that work well despite the challenging situations you may be up against.

List them out

o Tear that paper out and carry it with you always!

2. At an Action level – do the following –

a. Focus on the solution – not the problem

i. List out the problem statement and position it as a question to be solved. Instead of saying “I have been fired from this job” – ask – “What can I do now that I have an opportunity to start afresh?”

1. Do a mindstorm – and list out 20 things you could differently

2. Prioritize and start doing the top 3 immediately.

b. Think of – “How can I leave my mark on this role”

i. It will force your mind to identify at least 2-3 things that should be your hallmark and the “legacy” you leave behind

Remember-In all situations, remember, what you have, is your ability to CHOOSE.

That is what makes the difference.

Aug.19