Archive for the 'Management Hub' Category

Who’s next? - Business Acumen Exerpt Originally by Kevin Lam

Auto Date Saturday, November 28th, 2009

Here’s a very deep secret hardly any web masters are ready to share or actually say without a fee. Part of the justifications to their achievement is they were among the first to start it all. If you’ll remember hearing,’first come, first serve’ it’s the same way online .

Folks usually remember who was first, not second. As an example, who was the first to sell books online? Amazon ; who was second? Who was first to start mass production cars? Ford ; who was second? Which company was first to start the fast-food chain restaurant? McDonalds ; who was second? Who was the first to build an airplane? The Wright siblings ; who was second?

Did you at any point spot the crickets when I asked for the second provider?

We all have a tendency to remember who was first but seldom do we remember too much further than that. Whomever enters the market first sometimes makes the most important impression. The majority of our web gurus are filthy rich because they were first to present their products. Is that fair? Well, from their viewpoint, naturally it is. But from ours, it isn’t very fascinating.

Now you are thinking that you’ve got to be first at something to become rich but you don’t know what to be first at ; so, you suspect it is not possible. Take it easy, my friend. There are techniques around it. Let me ask you a question. Who owns money?

Did you try pronouncing Bill Gates? Did you try announcing Donald Trump? Did you even try asserting George Bush? It doesn’t matter WHO you claim to possess money, you are wrong. Nobody owns money. Bill Gates has money, Donald Trump has money, George Bush has money and YOU have money but no one will ever own it.

Though cash is synthetic it is very like nature. Nobody owns it. No one owns the weather we feel, no one owns the water we drink, nobody owns the air we breathe and the like.

‘Oh, but folks own land!’

Do we really?

My point is this, money belongs to nobody so do not think you can’t become as wealthy as any other guru you know of. And notice that I never once related being first instantly makes you rich. That isn’t always the case and that is the reason why I say the first will make the most important impression.

If wealth was made for only those who were 1st in line, then there would be no such thing as a line. They might benefit before us but it doesn’t mean we can’t benefit anything.


Original article was written by Kevin Lam from www.TexasSEO.com - Texas SEO is a Dallas-based web marketing and consulting firm specializing in SEO & SEM, PPC, copywriting, web designing and more.

Everything You Truly Want to Know Pertaining to HSE Safety

Auto Date Saturday, November 7th, 2009

Many human resource managers believe that, when every last employee has basic health and safety instruction, they have everything they might need to prevent an incident. The reality is that, irrespective of the industry you’re in, employees must have more than just a basic education in health and safety and risk assessment. You must provide your staff with a capable supervisor, the right equipment, and last but not least the opportunity to practice. Anyone in a supervisory job has an even bigger purpose to play than just general management. Your selection of supervisor needs to have great people skills, they should also consider safety training important.

As well as following all of the rules and laws, a supervisory role also includes maintaining staff performance. Naturally it’s not easy to accomplish all this at once. Extensive industry knowledge is an essential in a supervisory position as well as an in depth understanding of the safety legislation, the identification of risks, and emergency assistance techniques.

It’s just not adequate to offer your staff health and safety education. To successfully find a hazardous area they require to put their newly accquired knowledge into practise. Employees need to understand how to deal with safety hazards and knowing what to do when the unexpected happens. Not until these procedures become automatic are workers properly trained.

Training is in fact not enough if you don’t buy the required safety equipment. When they don’t have gear that is necessary, or determine that some of the items are broken only after a crisis has occurred, all the education in the world is not going to help them. It’s a good idea to make regular inspections to ensure you have everything you might need and to make sure it is working correctly as well. When anything does not come up to the pertinent criteria, have it repaired or serviced as soon as you can.

Your workers must get appropriate health and safety training, however they also must have good quality gear, frequent practises, and an experienced supervisor who gets the workforce charged up about being healthy at work. Only then will following health and safety legislation will be a part of the staff’s working habits not something challenging that staff have to make an effort to remember all the time.

What You Absolutely Must Know about Safety Procedures

Auto Date Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Numerous companies believe that, by supplying their staff with training in workplace safety, they now have everything required to prevent a catastrophe. The truth is though, staff require far more than simply the basics in safety regulations and risk assessment. Equipping staff, selecting good supervision and facillitating regular practise are fundamental to the safety of staff.

Make sure to surf to this marvelous site for health safety consultants instructions!

Your staff need an effective supervisor to oversee the shop floor, yet this person must also play a greater purpose. A supervisor needs to see the necessity of health and safety education and have the ability to share their excitement about it. On top of enforcing rules and regulations, the function of a supervisor includes maintaining employee performance levels as well. This isn’t a simple undertaking. An efficient supervisor is expected to have an excellent knowledge of the industry best practice and the product as well as a high standard of comprehension of the latest legislation with regard to safety, risk appraisal and emergency assistance techniques. Supplying health and safety training isn’t enough for your staff. To positively discover a risk to their safety they must have to put their training into practise. Employees must know the best way of dealing with problems not to mention knowing what to do when disaster strikes. Your workers are only totally protected when everything has become a habit.

Training is not sufficient if you don’t have the required safety equipment. If they do not possess the proper supplies or alternatively should they find that items are damaged when they really need them, then all the education there is to offer isn’t going to help them.

You must examine all your apparatus frequently to make sure that you possess all the required equipment and that all the supplies are in good repair. If piece of equipment won’t come up to the relevant criteria, make sure it is fixed or serviced as quickly as possible.

Your staff need to get good health and safety education, but in addition they also require good quality apparatus, frequent practise drills, and a supervisor who can motivate your staff. If you take this advice you will find the safety regulations be a part of your employee’s working habits not something troublesome for the workforce to think about constantly.

Performance Management - What You Really Need to Know Concerning it All

Auto Date Sunday, September 20th, 2009

We must keep in mind that as well as by increasing income, profits can also be ramped up by cutting expenditure and by more productive use of time. Which brings us to the benefits of performance management software.

Business optimization requires comprehension of the specialties and weaknesses of its employees: in what areas do they do their best work? How can you adjust your system to take advantage of their strengths and suppress their weaknesses? This is the important question. While this data is highly useful, it is not really effortless to get your hands on it.

Just tracking staff performance and determining development in that performance rapidly becomes a huge hassle. The first step is to bring employee performance management systems into play. Once this is done you can track the work of each worker. If you’re using conventional methods, your next step will be to analyze all the raw data points you have obtained just to study future development and set objectives.

Using performance management software, all you need to do is look at the different analyses to pinpoint what these goals should be and then track the member of staff’s development. In this way you ease a significant time commitment and probably also find yourself with more useful information. Should you choose to it’s possible instead to perform your own assessment, merely utilizing the software to generate and update a record to use as a basis.

I’m sure I don’t need to say, it isn’t merely the efficiency of employees that can benefit from use of performance appraisal software. Such software can also be used to study your clients & suppliers. You can find out who provides higher quality products, for the best prices and also identify those with high rates of loss or poor delivery times.

When it comes to clients performance management software can help there telling you just who sells the most of your products, their loss percentage and similar negatives, and providing a reminder of any payment issues. With this information at your fingertips you become able to tailor your system of orders and supplies to boost profits and reduce costs. Who wouldn’t take advantage of that? As well as all this, it’ll be simpler to plan marketing campaigns because you’ll have a deeper insight into your ideal demographic. You can track your suppliers to reduce costs and watch your target market so that you can maximize profit utilizing performance management software. It renders employee performance management straightforward and far more effective in addition to helping encourage staff members by assigning them clearly outlined goals extremely. With that taken into account, the potential benefits of this system are endless and will depend exclusively on your ability to use the information provided…

Franchise Opportunities vsStarting from Scratch

Auto Date Thursday, August 28th, 2008

The world of business startups is rife with option. You can purchase a franchise or start your own business from scratch. This ultimately depends on what you want to put in and what you expect out.

There are many franchises available to buy.Your local town center is probable full of franchises. Franchises are typically founded on a tried and tested business model. A franchise basically gives you everything you need with a well recognized name to draw in customers. There are many different franchises available. Some will give you the business name, equipment and everything you need for start up, others only give you the basics and you still have to buy or lease a location, purchase equipment and the inventory you will need.

The negatives of buying a franchise however are that they are typically inflexible in terms to making it your own, and of course the initial outlay. Visit the Key Mergers website for more information or if you would like to f you would like to buy a business or even to sell one.

Starting from zero and building a you very own company however means that you can grow the business organically over time, you can limit your initial outlay and you can be as creative with the direction of your business as you like. However, your model may not be tried and tested and you will likely have to develop your own support network from the ground up along with your business.

The bottom line is, the factors determining whether to buy a franchise or follow your own path are multi-dimensional There is no one size fits all advise.

Developing a Team or Organization Vision

Auto Date Sunday, July 6th, 2008

As Mark Twain once remarked about the weather, there’s a lot of talk about vision, but very few managers really do anything about it. Visioning is sometimes an innate natural skill just like leadership sometimes is. And the moon sometimes blocks out the sun - but none occur very often. Most people have had to consciously and with great effort continually work to strengthen their visioning. Visionary leaders are seldom born that way (how many of those birth announcements have you seen lately?). Nor are they necessarily charismatic. They have had to work at making visioning habitual.

Here are a few pathways and pitfalls to organizational visioning:

• You and your team need to picture and describe your preferred future as vividly as possible. One approach is to imagine it’s five years from today and you’re being interviewed by Fortune magazine, a leading newspaper, or an industry journalist on the phenomenal success your company or team have had. Describe the results you’ve achieved and perhaps the approach you’ve used. Speak in the present tense as if it’s all happening around you right now.

• Too many managers try to delegate “the vision thing” to a committee. It doesn’t work. If you’re a senior manager, caring for the culture and providing organization focus isn’t just part of your job, it is your job.

• Unless you’re an exceptionally clear and inspiring writer, be very careful about drafting a “vision statement” and using that as your communications centerpiece. Visions are about feelings, beliefs, emotions, and pictures. It’s very hard to bring those across on paper (especially if the statement is developed by a committee). Vision ideas or summaries can, and should, be committed to paper, and widely circulated - but as a “leave behind,” follow-up, or reminder. Visions are the most compelling when they are delivered in person by a leader who’s an effective communicator. Powerful personal communication skills and energizing leadership are inseparable. Learn how to use “impassioned logic” by adding metaphors, stories, models, or examples to help everyone “see the big picture” and rouse their emotions to make it happen.

• Your team or organization needs a shared vision, not something that only a few people own. You need to make everyone a “spiritual stakeholder.” That’s usually a cascading process, but it can start in any part of an organization. Ideally, the senior management team defines the broad parameters of what business you’re in and which direction you’re heading. They can prepare a rough vision for input and refinement or leave things wide open for the rest of the organization to fill in.

• Invoke pride, stretch everyone’s thinking, and stir the will-to-win emotions. Shoot to shake up the industry or change the rules of the game. Become the fastest, strongest, highest quality, most innovative, or best at something.

Vision is the critical focal point and beginning of high performance. But a vision alone won’t make it happen. Unless the hard work of striving, building, and improving follows, even the most vibrant vision will remain only a dream.

About The Author
Jim Clemmer is a bestselling author and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, workshop/retreat leader, and management team developer on leadership, change, customer focus, culture, teams, and personal growth. During the last 25 years he has delivered over two thousand customized keynote presentations, workshops, and retreats. Jim’s five international bestselling books include The VIP Strategy, Firing on All Cylinders, Pathways to Performance, Growing the Distance, and The Leader’s Digest. His web site is www.clemmer.net/articles.

Jim Clemmer - EzineArticles Expert Author

1000 Managers Turned Their Plans Into Energy!

Auto Date Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

I bet you can’t tell me how leadership training and
strategic planning work together to boost business results
and energize performance improvements.

A recent survey of 1000 managers conducted by the UK-based
Chartered Management Institute, revealed that organizations
experienced, “improved business performance when [their
leadership] development [programs were] linked to [their]
business [strategic planning process].”

Why aren’t the energies generated by corporate leaders being
used in developing, managing and adding value to strategic
plans?

Put another way, how can organizational managers train,
advise and encourage their people using the strategic plan
as a guideline for making performance improvements?

Usually we separate planning from training, however, wise
leaders see their plans as a blueprint for enriching,
growing and nurturing the skills, attitudes and maturity of
their people.

Guideline-1 - Enrich Their Experiences!

Inertia is defined as the tendency for things to remain the
same. When we get trapped by the draining energies of
inertia, our efforts begin to fail or our plans become stale
and lifeless pieces of paper.

If you hope to break out of inertia’s grip and your feelings
of frustration or futility, you must turn your plans into
opportunities to develop and train your people to become
leaders.

Show your people why the plan has been created the way it
is. Tell them that the plan is a general indicator for
direction and level of achievement - let them know that they
will be responsible for making it successful.

Once your people begin implementing the plan, you can assess
their ability to meet the challenges of its activities and
objectives.

By supervising their performance on a biweekly basis, you
could help them develop plans for self-directed and
instructor-led learning exercises.

Self-directed learning could include reading, keeping a
journal and taking low cost self-paced courses.

Instructor-led training might take the form of courses at
your local or community college, web-based seminars, email
courses or training conducted by in-house personnel.

Enrich their experiences by increasing their confidence and
positive self-image!

Guideline-2 - Grow Their Domain!

We can use the planning process itself as an opportunity to
generate energy and distribute those energies throughout the
organization.

Those energies produced during the planning process should
be identified, evaluated, captured and directed towards the
refinement and execution of the plan.

When we speak of energy we mean a factor, force or influence
which may be classified or fitted into one of the following
categories or domains:

=> Creative - the acts of perceiving something new or of
looking at something in different or radically new ways;

=> Innovative - the acts of trying out something new or in
doing something in different ways;

=> Entrepreneurial - the acts of approaching or offering an
idea or object in new or different ways

=> Social - acts involving teamwork, collaborative efforts,
forming or arranging networks, partner ships/alliances;

=> Systems-related - where a system’s design, analysis,
operation or support process facilitates advancement, etc.;

=> Educational - the acts of training, development, self-
directed learning, and leveraging human capital assets.

In a nutshell, you can transform your strategic planning
process and its improvement or implementation into a series
of leadership skills training and development exercises for
any of the above categories.

If you first grow the domains of your people you can hold
them accountable for refining and supervising the plan!

Guideline-3 - Nurture Their Maturity!

Leadership development is an essential ingredient in
nurturing or realizing a state of maturity and credibility.

You can never reach that stage of development without having
the ability to:

=> Take responsibility for your actions,

=> Commit to staying the course through good times and bad;

=> Accept the authority of others without rancor or back-
biting [when they act honestly, ethically and responsibly];

=> Admit a need for help, support or guidance;

=> Act in congruence with your values, ethics and morals.

Use the objectives of your strategic plans as your guideline
and blueprint for coaching, counseling, mentoring and
consulting your people.

Provide your people with a safety net by giving them
authority to implement the plan but be sure to nurture them
towards developing into mature, seasoned leaders.

————————————————————

Over 90% of those executives surveyed by the Institute saw
the connection between strategic performance improvements
and their leadership development efforts - you can too!

Those managers agree that the “skills acquired at work are
held in higher esteem than natural [leadership] talent” -
they overwhelmingly believe “that on-the-job experience is
more valuable than natural [leadership] ability”.

Using your strategic plans as the blueprint for your
leadership development efforts is a wise course of action
that’s sure to deliver real performance improvements.

“Everything depends upon execution; having just a vision is
no solution.” - Stephen Sondheim, composer

Your plan expresses your vision, your leadership training
program energizes the execution of your plans.

Remember, enrich people, grow their domains and nurture them
into maturity - do those things and you’ll have a successful
strategic plan.

Copyright © 2005, Mustard Seed Investments Inc.,
All rights reserved.

————————————————————

About the Author:

Bill Thomas teaches leadership techniques using strategic,
innovative, evolutionary-focused concepts - his 2-Volume,
how-to Manual, “Strategic Organizational Leadership: Create
& Deliver Fail-Proof, Breakthrough Plans”, uses an
energizing process of group development to produce value
empowered results! “See it, Plan it, Lead it, Improve it!”

http://www.leadership-toolkit.com/planning.html

————————————————————

The Illusion of a Final Goal

Auto Date Thursday, June 12th, 2008

“….. there is no final goal. There is always further to go. It is a voyage of unending discovery, and as in all such voyages, what is gathered by the wayside is often as valuable as what is found at the destination.”
G.I. Gurdjieff

The game of life and success is the game of illusions! Why do I make such a comment after explaining about how to achieve your goals? It’s an illusion because once you reach the goal you don’t stop taking the action. A lot of people, when they are setting their goals to reach somewhere, they think that reaching it is the end. This, as I stated is an illusion.

When the person goes to the gym with the goal of a beautiful physique, it is a noble goal to strive for. However, it doesn’t end there. What happens when the person reaches it? Does that mean the end of the action? No! The person now has to maintain that body that they have taken so long to reach. Due to the disciplines and practices that they have undertaken in order to reach this point, it is now ingrained in them to take the action. The person cannot envision a day when they stop taking this action entirely. This habit was formed by consistency.

In the same way, a person who wants to be successful does not end the quest once he/she reaches that level of success. It’s now time to maintain that success by continuing to take action as well as to make more of their potential. A person who has reached the initial level of success that they have strived for has also developed so many disciplines that have become habits that it’s now easier for them to reach higher goals. If you have learned how to develop new habits at one time, it becomes a lot easier to develop another one.

In this aspect, the gym teaches you that reaching your goal is not the end, rather it’s the beginning. You never knew you could reach this goal, and now you are here! Imagine how much more you can do that you never thought possible. I don’t think anyone has ever seen this truth! Reaching your goal is not the end. It is only the beginning. The beginning of exploring your full potential is realized when you achieve what you once thought to be impossible! Now you can realize more and more of your potential.

Realizing your goals is the beginning step of setting even higher goals for yourself! The journey never ends! It goes on until you realize that your potential is so great that even if you live to be a million years you can never exhaust it! In the amount of time that you now have, see how much of that you can tap! Don’t end with the achievement of your initial goals! Strive for more, do more, and live a complete life! Challenge yourself! I dare you!

EzineArticles Expert Author Sukhbir Singh

Sukhbir Singh is the Founder of LifeApps! Personal Development International Co., Ltd based in Bangkok, Thailand. The article above is excerpted from his book Success Lessons from the Gym. If you are interested in obtaining the entire book in electronic format, you are requested to send an email to info@lifeapps.com

Treasure Hunt in Derbyshire - A Team Building Activity

Auto Date Tuesday, June 10th, 2008

Derbyshire, with its scenic beauty and perfect backdrop for exciting outdoor activities looks like the best place for planning your corporate events. With more and more emphasis being laid on relaxation and team spirit amid work environment, Chillisauce takes you to the ideal place to rediscover the importance of teamwork through outdoor corporate team building activities across the green plains of Derbyshire.

GSP Treasure Hunt Expedition in Derbyshire

Get ready for the hunt of the season. If you have an energetic and adventurous corporate team with a limited budget, then GSP treasure hunt in Derbyshire is just the right thing for you. The corporate teams are given a briefing session and the instructions are handed over to them. The whole game if filled with mysterious twists and turns. The corporate teams have to select their own treasure hunt route by using the global positioning systems. All the corporate team members put their brains together in finding and analyzing the clues from different places to locate the treasure. The more clues they gather, the more points they score. Don’t worry, you won’t get lost. There is an instructor who constantly follows the corporate teams for security without showing himself. Moreover, the corporate teams carry with them a radio to pass on information between the team members. It’s exciting, fun and filled with surprising evidence at every turn you take.

Influence of Treasure Hunt on Team Building

It’s only when all the brains of the corporate team works together that you find the treasure. Treasure hunt in Derbyshire, which can last for half a day or one full day according to the nature of the hunt, teaches you to be patient, analytical, zealous and most importantly it reveals the values of team spirit. It is one of those corporate activities that cannot be performed alone. You need to work as a team where all the corporate team members share equal importance. Corporate events organized by Chillisauce wins you not only the treasure you are hunting for, but also the biggest treasure of all - a perfect understanding and unity in work amongst the members of the corporate team.

http://www.chillisauce.co.uk/corporate-events/derbyshire/treasure-hunts/

http://www.chillisauce.co.uk/corporate-events/

Top Ten Creative Excursions for Building Effective Teams

Auto Date Saturday, May 31st, 2008

The ability to build effective teams is a must for any organization who wants to succeed in the millennium. This article offers ten examples of highly creative excursions which can provide insight into developing the leadership qualities essential for success in challenging times.

1. A Day Trip to the Sharper Image

The Sharper Image is a specialty retailer that is nationally and internationally renowned as a leading source of new, innovative, high-quality products that make life better and more enjoyable. Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Richard Thalheimer started this business 25 years ago with one goal in mind: to have fun!

The Sharper Image is a company that thrives on special conveniences and innovative products that sit on the cutting edge of technology. This day trip is fantastic for stimulating creativity and becoming a forward thinker!

2. A Day Trip to the Gettysburg Battlefield

A visit to this historical Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, can be an empowering lesson in leadership. This day trip can be devoted to walking the historic site while evaluating the leadership decisions and structures that General Robert E. Lee struggled with over 140 years ago. Prior to this day trip, I recommend that those attending the trip read the book, “Leadership Lessons from the Civil War” by Tom Wheeler. It is an extraordinary book that takes a close look at the parallels between business and military strategy.

3. A Day Trip to ING Direct

With locations in New York City, NY, and Philadelphia, PA, ING Direct takes the “dull” out of banking. The facade is made of glass. On the inside are café tables and biscotti, Internet stations and mochas, and clients hanging out just for the fun of it. This innovative company invests the majority of its time, energy, and money in technology, marketing, and in making people feel proud about saving their money…and to make them feel that saving is a cool and hip thing to do. The website itself (www.ingdirect.com) is a wild and fun excursion, breaking away from the traditional and stepping way out on the edge. This day trip can create a lightning bolt effect for motivating your company to move to new levels of creativity and innovation.

4. Carnegie Hall and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra was conceived by cellist Julian Fifer and a group of fellow musicians in the 1970s. The Orpheus process is highly unique, for this is an orchestra with no conductor. In the absence of a conductor, the individual musicians of Orpheus must rely on one another for innovation and team building. The self-governing and leadership abilities have not only made Orpheus a group of highly gifted musicians, but has built a world which teaches those who observe them to understand that a CEO never has or should have all of the answers. Central to the collaborative process of Orpheus is the sharing and rotating of leadership roles. This unique approach unleashes the talent, vision, creativity, and the leadership of each and every member of the group. Observe this group carefully, and ask your team “What is it about this group that is so compelling? How can we use their system for our success?”

5. A Week-End at Universal Studios (Orlando, FL; Hollywood, CA; Japan and Spain)

Are you having fun? I mean: “Are you really having fun?” If you are or are not, consider a journey through a week-end filled with fun, adventure, wonder, and wild times. Spend a few great days being a kid again with E.T. (the Extra-Terrestrial,) Men in Black, Jaws, Barney, and Nickelodeon. Why? In times when innovation is so crucial to success, we must challenge our teams to do the things we think we cannot do, are off-beat, or are seemingly crazy and wild to the rest of the world. Outdoor challenges involving fun, laughter, and raw adventure can spark problem solving and teamwork and can be a fantastic approach for reducing stress and incorporating fun and laughter into the corporate setting.

6. A Day Trip to NASA: The Kennedy Space Center

Want a little inspiration and motivation for building effective teams? By visiting the Kennedy Space Center, your team can witness how history and the future, nature and technology, young and old meet for an unforgettable and highly creative journey through space and time. The Kennedy Space Center tells a compelling story of how the United States built a space program that launched men to the moon and have orbited satellites that have improved our life on earth.

7. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York, has brought together thousands of works of art that display a full and extraordinary range of creativity which can enhance your team building efforts. See and hear a story of human deceit from “The Kitano Tnjin Engi Emaki,” a thirteenth century picture scroll. Open a discussion around the historic moment when General George Washington led the American revolutionary troops across the Delaware in “George Washington Crossing the Deleware.” Explore Korea’s distinctive cultural identity and the ways in which the arts of Korea have been affected by trade and diplomacy, by war and peace, and by religion and philosophy. This day trip is one that is filled with curiosity, creativity, and of seeing the perspective of people and cultures from around the world.

8. A Day Trip to Nordstrom

Outstanding customer service and Nordstrom go hand in hand. Their innovative approach has allowed them to find out exactly what the customer needs and wants and then gives it with grace and style. A family-owned business, Nordstrom considers their customers a part of their extended family, and the corporate culture supports and encourages salespeople to engage in intimate business dialogue and relationships with key vendors in each department. A visit to Nordstrom will teach you how to better respond to customer’s needs so that they will come back to you again and again and will teach you the lessons of : valuing outstanding customer service, bonding with each and every customer, and giving people on the frontline the freedom to make decisions.

9. A Four-Day Hike on the Appalachian Trail

From Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail wanders the ridges and valleys of the Appalachian range for more than 2,168 miles. Those who have traveled this trek return feeling much more light- hearted, saying that they no longer sweat the small stuff in life. One of the biggest benefits of walking the Appalachian trail is that you and your team will learn adaptability, and you will begin to appreciate the people and things in life that you often take for granted. Many people report that even one week of hiking is a life changing experience. They realize that a fast pace of living and that money, prestige, and power are only surface deep…that the true beauty of life lies in the secrets of nature.

10. A Day of Brainstorming

A Super S.W.O.T. Session with a communications company is a great way to offer your company a highly creative day of brainstorming. This session should be a fast-paced, deeply probing session highly designed for your organization’s best thinkers. Using easels, drawing pads, and other audio visuals, a great facilitator will keep the ideas flowing by asking you first to boil down your mission statement to ten words or less. From here, they focus on your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. These critical factors are listed, considered, and ranked to show you the three most significant factors in each S.W.O.T. category. The results are always revealing and often quite surprising. A session can require as little as three hourson up to a full day.

About The Author

Bea Fields, Southern Pines, NC, USA

bea@fivestarleader.com

http://www.fivestarleader.com

Bea Fields is an Executive Coach and a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach. She is also a Consultant, Trainer, Public Speaker and author of the Five Star Leader e-course. Her area of expertise is that of Leadership Development and Marketing for Executives, Managers, Small Business Owners, and Political Leaders.