Happy Saturday everyone--was just listening to the weather channel about the flooding occuring in one part of our country. I now look out my window & we are having quite a storm. Brings to mind the days of Noah in the Bible doesn't. Glad I got the grass mowed early!
Just came across a Christian business site called Weavers at http://www.weaversonline.org. It looks pretty interesting--here is a topic I found on their site:
The Testimony of Your Business
Your business is your testimony
It reflects who you are in every way:
l Everyone is watching – there are no secrets
• Your character is demonstrated
• Your abilities are challenged
• Your skills are refined
• Your attitude is revealed
• Your faith is tested
• Your patience is determined
• Your perseverance is rewarded
To establish a positive testimony
your business must:
• Operate at a profit
• Pay its bills
• Offer a valued product or service
• Exhibits integrity in all decisions
• Grow people
• Solve problems
• Transform your industry
• Transform your community
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Rules For Success in the Marketplace
Here is the entire list of Littlejohn's Rules For Success in the Marketplace:
Gain experience. Pay your dues. You can’t start at the top. You must learn at all levels to become an effective executive.
Have a great rest of the week!
Have faith in God, and seek divine guidance in every decision, no matter how big or small.
Sell yourself to others. They must have confidence in you so they can depend on you, trust you, believe you, and confide in you. You only get one chance to make a good first impression.
Never give the other fellow the impression that you think you know more than he does. If you do, you will break his spirit and destroy your influence with him, losing your ability to communicate properly.
Seek information from other people who are more experienced and be willing to listen to the advice. Be humble and willing to learn from anyone—regardless of his station in life. One good way to measure a person’s character is to observe the way he treats people who can’t possibly do him any good.
Work hard. Put first things first. Work as if you would live forever; live as if you would die tomorrow. Be willing to sacrifice some pleasures in order to do what has to be done.
Remember that everything you do in life leaves an impression on somebody. You are being observed every minute of each day, and every move is being recorded in someone’s mind, either as a plus or a minus.
Don’t expect everyone to agree with your ideas, but if the majority of people disagree on a subject, it’s wise to make a new appraisal of your position.
It is necessary to control the things you have control over, no matter how small they may seem.
If you don’t have a good feeling about a decision, don’t make it. Never make an important decision without sleeping on it for two nights.
Don’t make things complicated. Most good things in life are simple and practical.
Learn to manage your own personal affairs before expecting anyone to trust you with operating the affairs of their business.
To build loyalty and cooperation, take a personal interest in the feelings and welfare of other people you are working with.
Don’t run from problems. A real problem gives you an opportunity to sell yourself to others. It’s not the problem that matters so much, but how you react to it. The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor the child of God cleansed without adversity.
Surround yourself with successful people. The greatness of a man shows when he is able to see the greatness in others.
Be a good listener. Ask questions and get the other fellow to express his opinion first.
Have a great rest of the week!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Gain experience. Pay your dues...
The last Littlejohn Rule For Success in the Marketplace is:
Gain experience. Pay your dues. You can’t start at the top. You must learn at all levels to become an effective executive.
One way to gain experience is by how we handle setbacks. The following article shares some insights into this process.
Gain experience. Pay your dues. You can’t start at the top. You must learn at all levels to become an effective executive.
One way to gain experience is by how we handle setbacks. The following article shares some insights into this process.
Online Business Set-Backs Help Us Gain Experience
Nature is such that whoever plants will eventually reap. For this reason, determined people can always expect a bright future. Basically we were not designed to give up. Even when all seems to be failing, rest if you must but don't ever give up.
Nothing comes easy. Behind every success story are numerous trials and challenges that one has to overcome. Every time we are faced with obstacles, we forget that this is the path towards success. We all encounter setbacks but it's only those who learn from these challenges who will achieve some level of success in life.
When conducting online business one should expect setbacks every now and then. Obstacles help us gain experience for without challenges success wouldn't mean a thing. It's always comforting to know that whenever I fall I'll not loose everything but instead I will learn a trick or two.
Setbacks help us emerge stronger than before. If you are a businessman and by the first year you don't make money don't give up. Instead equip yourself with new ideas by attending business lectures and reading books that offer new business strategies.
Failure is the first necessary step towards success. If we don't take risks we are far from achieving success. Now is the right time to initiate that business idea you've always had in mind and the internet would be the perfect place to start. Make inquires, do intensive research and seek advice from online businessprofessionals before investing in any business program and you'll definitely succeed in making money.
Finally, don't be afraid when you fall, learn something from that. Failure is a delay, not a defeat.
(ArticlesBase SC #1045236)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Be a good listener says Littlejohn
We're coming to the end of Littlejohn's Rules For Success in the Marketplace. Rules #15 says,
Be a good listener. Ask questions and get the other fellow to express his opinion first.
I just came across this article on listening & thought I'd share it with ya'll.
Be a good listener. Ask questions and get the other fellow to express his opinion first.
I just came across this article on listening & thought I'd share it with ya'll.
Improve Your Results With Active Listening
Listening is one of the most common and important things that we do. Recent research on work behaviour suggests that we spend approximately 9% of our time writing, 16% of our time reading, 30% of our time talking and 45% of our time listening.
Listening is a fundamental part of the communication process. Regardless of the type of job you do or the industry in which you work, it is important to understand the listening process, have an awareness of barriers to listening effectively, and learn how to listen actively.
Listening as a process
Hearing and listening are not the same thing. In fact, hearing is just the first of three stages in the listening process, all of which are fairly obvious but still worth remembering.
- Hearing Simply the process of sound waves being transformed by our brains into impulses.
- Attention Important so that we can hear what is being said to us, but often difficult due to distractions such as noise intrusion or internal distractions such as thinking about something else rather than what is being said.
- Understanding This is the most crucial aspect of the process on a number of levels. As well as understanding what is being said, we need to try to understand the context of the message, and understand the significance of any verbal or non-verbal clues from the speaker. Having a degree of background knowledge regarding the speaker or the subject is also helpful.
Barriers to listening
In most situations there are a number of obstacles which can stop us from listening effectively, and as a trainer it is important to appreciate what these obstacles are and how to overcome each of them. Broadly speaking, there are four types of barriers to listening -
- Psychological barriers, including prejudice, apathy or fear on the part of the listener. For example, someone working in marketing or production may not be as interested in a presentation on annual financial results as an accountant or sales director, given that it may not directly impact on their day to day activities.
- Physical barriers, including disability, fatigue or poor health on the part of the listener. For example, trying to listen to a speaker for long periods while you are suffering from a heavy cold is a fairly difficult thing to do.
- Environmental barriers, including distracting noises, uncomfortable or poorly positioned seating, or an unsuitable climate such as an overheated, stuffy meeting room.
- Expectation barriers, such as anticipating a mundane or boring presentation, expecting to receive bad news, or being spoken to in confusing jargon.
In a work or educational situation, you can certainly address tangible barriers such as environmental factors or physical obstacles. Dealing with internal barriers can be more difficult, but a lot of this can be achieved by thorough preparation before any meetings or group sessions.
Active listening
In order to understand the concept and value of active listening, it is worth considering it as one of three different types of listening.
- Competitive listening You will see this most often in negotiation situations, or when politicians are debating with each other. The person being spoken to is more interested in getting their own point of view across when the other person stops speaking, rather than acknowledging what they have just heard. Alternatively, they are distracted by thinking about their own argument or point of view rather than listening properly.
- Passive or attentive listening This is always a danger in lecture style presentation sessions. An audience will pay attention to the slides and listen carefully to the speaker, but there is no real opportunity to interact. This means that the speaker may not know how well their message is being understood.
- Active listening This is the best way to listen for and understand the real message in what people are saying. It involves taking the next step from just listening attentively, by looking to show obvious interest in what the speaker is saying, and by trying to interact with them. As a manager, salesperson or trainer you need to try to use active listening yourself, and provide opportunities for colleagues, customers and learners to use active listening techniques as well. This is of particular importance when involved in informal training activities such as coaching and mentoring.
In terms of outlining the techniques which can be used for active listening, it is useful to think back to the three basic stages of the listening process - hearing, attention and understanding.
Hearing and attention
- First and hopefully obviously, stop talking.
- Try to eliminate as many distractions as possible, both external and internal.
- Try to control your own non-verbal signals to the person speaking. This could mean paying attention to your physical stance, your body movements, eye contact with the speaker, and encouraging motions such as nodding or smiling.
Understanding
- Make sure that you understand the purpose of the speaker, and also be aware of you want from the conversation.
- It also helps to take notes, but try to focus on writing down key words and phrases that will jog your memory later, rather than trying to write down everything that is being said in an act of dictation.
- If possible, try to ask questions. You can use the notes you have written to remind you of points that need clarification. Try not to interrupt though!
- Finally, try to use the technique of reflecting what the speaker says to you.
Reflecting
This is a technique used extensively by people involved in consultative selling, but it is also a very useful tool for anyone involved in business, education, training or voluntary work. Communication can be broken down into three levels - facts, thoughts (or beliefs) and feelings (or emotions). Reflecting works on all three levels.
- Repeat the facts that you think you have been given by the speaker. This is sometimes referred to as ‘parroting'. If you are right, you know that you are getting the basic elements of what the speaker is telling you. If you have made any mistakes, this gives you both an opportunity to get back on to the same page.
- Also share the thoughts or beliefs that you have heard, and try to convey the underlying feelings or emotions which you believe are involved. For example, the speaker may be very upset and wants you to display empathy or sympathy with their situation. It is this reflection of thoughts and feelings which distinguishes reflecting from just parroting back to the speaker, which might get a bit tedious and annoying for all concerned.
Again, this is a very useful tool when coaching or mentoring. It can also be used during feedback sessions in a more formal situation such as a performance review meeting.
Listening is a fundamental part of the communication process. Regardless of the type of job you do or the industry in which you work, it is important to understand the listening process, have an awareness of barriers to listening effectively, and learn how to listen actively.
Listening as a process
Hearing and listening are not the same thing. In fact, hearing is just the first of three stages in the listening process, all of which are fairly obvious but still worth remembering.
- Hearing Simply the process of sound waves being transformed by our brains into impulses.
- Attention Important so that we can hear what is being said to us, but often difficult due to distractions such as noise intrusion or internal distractions such as thinking about something else rather than what is being said.
- Understanding This is the most crucial aspect of the process on a number of levels. As well as understanding what is being said, we need to try to understand the context of the message, and understand the significance of any verbal or non-verbal clues from the speaker. Having a degree of background knowledge regarding the speaker or the subject is also helpful.
Barriers to listening
In most situations there are a number of obstacles which can stop us from listening effectively, and as a trainer it is important to appreciate what these obstacles are and how to overcome each of them. Broadly speaking, there are four types of barriers to listening -
- Psychological barriers, including prejudice, apathy or fear on the part of the listener. For example, someone working in marketing or production may not be as interested in a presentation on annual financial results as an accountant or sales director, given that it may not directly impact on their day to day activities.
- Physical barriers, including disability, fatigue or poor health on the part of the listener. For example, trying to listen to a speaker for long periods while you are suffering from a heavy cold is a fairly difficult thing to do.
- Environmental barriers, including distracting noises, uncomfortable or poorly positioned seating, or an unsuitable climate such as an overheated, stuffy meeting room.
- Expectation barriers, such as anticipating a mundane or boring presentation, expecting to receive bad news, or being spoken to in confusing jargon.
In a work or educational situation, you can certainly address tangible barriers such as environmental factors or physical obstacles. Dealing with internal barriers can be more difficult, but a lot of this can be achieved by thorough preparation before any meetings or group sessions.
Active listening
In order to understand the concept and value of active listening, it is worth considering it as one of three different types of listening.
- Competitive listening You will see this most often in negotiation situations, or when politicians are debating with each other. The person being spoken to is more interested in getting their own point of view across when the other person stops speaking, rather than acknowledging what they have just heard. Alternatively, they are distracted by thinking about their own argument or point of view rather than listening properly.
- Passive or attentive listening This is always a danger in lecture style presentation sessions. An audience will pay attention to the slides and listen carefully to the speaker, but there is no real opportunity to interact. This means that the speaker may not know how well their message is being understood.
- Active listening This is the best way to listen for and understand the real message in what people are saying. It involves taking the next step from just listening attentively, by looking to show obvious interest in what the speaker is saying, and by trying to interact with them. As a manager, salesperson or trainer you need to try to use active listening yourself, and provide opportunities for colleagues, customers and learners to use active listening techniques as well. This is of particular importance when involved in informal training activities such as coaching and mentoring.
In terms of outlining the techniques which can be used for active listening, it is useful to think back to the three basic stages of the listening process - hearing, attention and understanding.
Hearing and attention
- First and hopefully obviously, stop talking.
- Try to eliminate as many distractions as possible, both external and internal.
- Try to control your own non-verbal signals to the person speaking. This could mean paying attention to your physical stance, your body movements, eye contact with the speaker, and encouraging motions such as nodding or smiling.
Understanding
- Make sure that you understand the purpose of the speaker, and also be aware of you want from the conversation.
- It also helps to take notes, but try to focus on writing down key words and phrases that will jog your memory later, rather than trying to write down everything that is being said in an act of dictation.
- If possible, try to ask questions. You can use the notes you have written to remind you of points that need clarification. Try not to interrupt though!
- Finally, try to use the technique of reflecting what the speaker says to you.
Reflecting
This is a technique used extensively by people involved in consultative selling, but it is also a very useful tool for anyone involved in business, education, training or voluntary work. Communication can be broken down into three levels - facts, thoughts (or beliefs) and feelings (or emotions). Reflecting works on all three levels.
- Repeat the facts that you think you have been given by the speaker. This is sometimes referred to as ‘parroting'. If you are right, you know that you are getting the basic elements of what the speaker is telling you. If you have made any mistakes, this gives you both an opportunity to get back on to the same page.
- Also share the thoughts or beliefs that you have heard, and try to convey the underlying feelings or emotions which you believe are involved. For example, the speaker may be very upset and wants you to display empathy or sympathy with their situation. It is this reflection of thoughts and feelings which distinguishes reflecting from just parroting back to the speaker, which might get a bit tedious and annoying for all concerned.
Again, this is a very useful tool when coaching or mentoring. It can also be used during feedback sessions in a more formal situation such as a performance review meeting.
(ArticlesBase SC #71496)
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Surround yourself with successful people...
Rule# 14 is:
Surround yourself with successful people. The greatness of a man shows when he is able to see the greatness in others.
Hope you are having a GREAT week!
Surround yourself with successful people. The greatness of a man shows when he is able to see the greatness in others.
Hope you are having a GREAT week!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Don’t run from problems. A real problem gives you an opportunity...
Littlejohn's Rules For Success says:
Don’t run from problems. A real problem gives you an opportunity to sell yourself to others. It’s not the problem that matters so much, but how you react to it. The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor the child of God cleansed without adversity.
From Sapphire located in the NC Mountains my wife & I hope everyone is having a grand weekend.
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