“There is no use trying,” said Alice. “One can’t believe impossible things.” “I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” - Lewis Carroll

Many people believe that creativity is inborn and only a chosen few are creative. While it is true that creativity is inborn, it is not true that only a chosen few are creative.

Everyone is born creative. In the process of growing up, educating yourself and adapting yourself to your environment, you slowly add blocks to your creativity and forget that you had it in the first place.

The difference between a creative person and a person who is not so creative is not in the creativity that they were born with but in the creativity that they have lost.

How can you enhance your creative ability? One possible way is to observe the habits of creative people, identify the ones that you feel will work for you and then make a plan to cultivate them.

Here are 16 habits of creative people. If you cultivate some of them, you will feel an increase in your level of creativity. In the process, you will also feel tickled by life!

1. Creative people are full of curiosity.

Creative people are wonderstruck. They are tickled by the newness of every moment. They have lots of questions. They keep asking what, why, when, where and how.

A questioning mind is an open mind. It is not a knowing mind. Only an open mind can be creative. A knowing mind can never be creative.

A questioning stance sensitizes the mind in a very special way and it is able to sense what would have been missed otherwise.

2. Creative people are problem-friendly.

When there is a problem, some people can be seen wringing up their hands. Their first reaction is to look for someone to blame. Being faced with a problem becomes a problem. Such people can be called problem-averse.

Creative people, on the other hand, are problem-friendly. They just roll up their sleeves when faced with a problem. They see problems as opportunities to improve the quality of life. Being faced with a problem is never a problem.

You get dirty and take a bath every day. You get tired and relax every day. Similarly, you have problems that need to be solved every day. Life is a fascinating rhythm of problems and solutions.

To be problem-averse is to be life-averse. To be problem-friendly is to be life-friendly. Problems come into your life to convey some message. If you run away from them, you miss the message.

3. Creative people value their ideas.

Creative people realize the value of an idea. They do not take any chance with something so important. They carry a small notepad to note down ideas whenever they occur.

Many times, just because they have a notepad and are looking for ideas to jot down, they can spot ideas which they would have otherwise missed.

4. Creative people embrace challenges.

Creative people thrive on challenges. They have a gleam in their eyes as soon as they sniff one. Challenges bring the best out of them – reason enough to welcome them.

5. Creative people are full of enthusiasm.

Creative people are enthusiastic about their goals. This enthusiasm works as fuel for their journey, propelling them to their goals.

6. Creative people are persistent.

Creative people know it well that people may initially respond to their new ideas like the immune system responds to a virus. They’ll try to reject the idea in a number of ways.

Creative people are not surprised or frustrated because of this. Nor do they take it personally. They understand it takes time for a new idea to be accepted. In fact, the more creative the idea, the longer it takes for it to be appreciated.

7. Creative people are perennially dissatisfied.

Creative people are acutely aware of their dissatisfactions and unfulfilled desires. However, this awareness does not frustrate them. As a matter of fact, they use this awareness as a stimulus to realize their dreams.

8. Creative people are optimists.

Creative people generally have a deeply held belief that most, if not all, problems can be solved. No challenge is too big to be overcome.

This doesn’t mean they are always happy and never depressed. They do have their bad moments but they don’t generally get stumped by a challenge.

9. Creative people make positive Judgment.

A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn. It can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a right man’s brow – a businessman Charles Brower

The ability to hold off on judging or critiquing an idea is important in the process of creativity. Often great ideas start as crazy ones – if critique is applied too early the idea will be killed and never developed into something useful and useable.

This doesn’t mean there is no room for critique or judgment in the creative process but there is a time and place for it and creative people recognize that.

10. Creative people go for the big kill.

Creative people realize that the first idea is just the starting point. It is in the process of fleshing it out that some magical cross-connections happen and the original ‘normal’ idea turns into a killer idea.

11. Creative people are prepared to stick it out.

Creative people who actually see their ideas come to fruition have the ability to stick with their ideas and see them through – even when the going gets tough. This is what sets them apart from others. Stick-ability is the key.

12. Creative people do not fall in love with an idea.

Creative people recognize how dangerous it is to fall in love with an idea. Falling in love with an idea means stopping more ideas from coming to their mind. They love the process of coming up with ideas, not necessarily the idea.

13. Creative people recognize the environment in which they are most creative.

Creative people do most of their thinking in an environment which is most conducive to their creativity. If they are unable to influence their physical environment, they recreate their ‘favourite’ creative environment in their minds.

14. Creative people are good at reframing any situation.

Reframes are a different way of looking at things. Being able to reframe experiences and situations is a very powerful skill.

Reframing allows you to look at a situation from a different angle. It is like another camera angle in a football match. And a different view has the power to change your entire perception of the situation.

Reframing can breathe new life into dead situations. It can motivate demoralized teams. It helps you to spot opportunities that you would have otherwise missed.

15. Creative people are friends with the unexpected.

Creative people have the knack of expecting the unexpected and finding connections between unrelated things. It is this special quality of mind that evokes serendipitous events in their lives.

Having honed the art of making happy discoveries, they are able to evoke serendipity more often than others.

16. Creative people are not afraid of failures.

Creative people realize that the energy that creates great ideas also creates errors. They know that failure is not really the opposite of success.

In fact, both failure and success are on the same side of the spectrum because both are the result of an attempt made. Creative people look at failure as a stopover on way to success, just a step away from it.

]]> http://tickledbylife.com/index.php/16-habits-of-highly-creative-people/feed/ 48 http://tickledbylife.com/index.php/how-to-purposefully-increase-our-natural-creativity/ http://tickledbylife.com/index.php/how-to-purposefully-increase-our-natural-creativity/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:59:40 +0000 Shalu Wasu http://tickledbylife.com/site/?p=357

There are three different kinds of creative responses.

Back-to-the-wall creativity

There are times when you are stuck in a difficult situation. Your back is to the wall. Your survival instinct comes into play very strongly. There is no option but to find your way out.

Suddenly your mind becomes very creative. It is as if you had a huge reserve of creative energy which is now available to you in one powerful burst. You do your best to come out of the predicament you have got into. And you do.

You can call this sort of creativity back-to-the-wall creativity. You are compelled to be creative because your survival is at stake. You find a solution because you can’t afford not to.

Manna-from-heaven creativity

You are driving on a highway. The weather is great. The landscape is beautiful. There is something in the air that connects you to some childhood memory. Soon your mind starts flitting from one memory to another. You feel very good.

Suddenly, something wells up in you and you are struck by a perfect solution to an unresolved issue. Or it can be a blockbuster of an idea capable of changing the course of your life. How it happens is a mystery.

You can call this sort of creativity manna-from-heaven creativity. It happens unexpectedly. It is a godsend. Some connections are made and magically an idea knocks at your door.

Conscious-and-purposeful creativity

You want to design a new product or launch a new service. Or maybe you are just looking for ways to enhance productivity. You consciously look for a creative solution. You collect all the information.

You get other people’s views.

You look at the problem from several angles and examine it clinically. You spend sleepless nights racking your brains. Then after several days of hard work, you hit upon the perfect solution. You are happy that your efforts have borne fruit.

You can call this sort of creativity conscious-and-purposeful creativity. This is the result of effort, hard work and discipline. It is a cool-headed, deliberate attempt to arrive at a creative solution.

It is all well-earned!

All three kinds of creativity have their due place in life. While the third kind is the result of your own sweat, the first two kinds are seemingly dependent on outside circumstances.

Interestingly, when you use the third kind of creativity more often, it sharpens your creative responses and builds some kind of a ‘reserve’ of creativity in you. It has the effect of enhancing your overall creativity including the first and second kinds.

While the third kind of creativity is obviously ‘well-earned’, the first two kinds are no less so because eventually they too are more or less dependent on the ‘reserve’ built by the third kind!

1.    Do not work with your mail box open.

Do NOT leave your mail box open when you are working. You will end up checking every new mail that arrives and deal with it immediately. Give more respect to your work. Do not let emails disturb you and break your flow unless your work IS checking mail. I am NEVER able to stick to my schedule if I work with my mail box open. Also, if you are working on something important and an important mail pops in, not only does it take away focus and attention but is also a waste of time because you are anyway going to respond to it later after you have finished the task on hand. Just knowing that an important mail has come in does not help at all!

2.    Using MS Outlook (not outlook express) to manage all your email accounts – company, yahoo, gmail, ymail, etc.

There are huge benefits of doing this. Doing this alone saves me 15-20 minutes every day.

• You do not need to login again and again into separate accounts to check mail.
• When you are sending mail, Outlook allows you to choose the email ID you want to send from.
• All your mails are in one Outlook account. Therefore if you need to take a back up or transfer account to another PC, it can be done in one shot rather than taking multiple backups.

3.    Use rules to manage incoming emails.

For example my mails coming in from different sources – key customers, partners, Linkedin, Facebook, Mybloglog, Yahoo groups, etc., all get deposited into different folders that I have designated for the same. Makes it easier to respond to and find old emails.

4.    Check mail at predetermined times.

Bunch up checking of mail at predetermined times. I try to limit this to twice a day and I do not stretch beyond thrice. I usually do this at my ‘low productivity time’ – usually afternoon or late at night, thereby using up more productive time for better things.

5.    Check mail ONLY when you have time to respond.

The worst situation is having an email pop in that requires a response which may require some time to think. In this situation I simply used to add the mail to the to-reply list and get back to whatever I was doing. This is such a waste of time. Now I only check mails, when I am prepared to respond to them at the same time – however, difficult/inconvenient/time consuming it may be.

6.    Bunch up low priority email.

Examples of low priority mail are – messages from Facebook, Linkedin, Yahoo groups, newsletter, forwards etc. I let these mails bunch up automatically in pre-designated folders and deal with them even less often – once a day and sometimes once a week.

7.    Using Auto Response

Most of us attach undue importance to being able to respond quickly to emails. Thus, we are constantly struggling with eating food with one hand while replying on our Blackberry with the other. If we are travelling or otherwise unable to access mail for more than 24 hours, simply use an auto response with a number where you can be contacted in case of an emergency.  Separate auto responses can be configured for different people as well and that makes this feature even more effective.

8.    Do a regular clean up of the folders.

Doing a regular clean up (I do it roughly once a month) has 1 minor and 1 major benefit.
• I delete all unwanted mail and keep things light (minor benefit).
• I am able to get ideas about
o What leads to go after.
o Which friends have I not been in touch with.
o Which customers am I neglecting.

9.    Scan through junk folder before emptying.

Sometimes useful and legitimate emails land up in the junk box. Through experience I have realized that the best way to deal with this is to do a regular scan through the junk folder before emptying it. I have found some gems in there.

10.    If you HAVE to, mark it unread.

If there is an email that you are simply unable to respond to and you need to respond to it later, mark it unread so that it does not get missed out.

11.    Write mails now and auto send them later!

Outlook also offers a feature to write a mail and send it at a pre-determined time and date. I find this very useful in certain business situations, not to mention sending happy birthday mails. The mail stays in the Outbox till the magic hour arrives.

–

Shalu Wasu is a creativity consultant and trainer based in Singapore apart from being guest faculty at select institutes. To attend his one-day open programme on creativity on 15th January, 2009 at NUS, Singapore, please visit www.lifeahoy.sg or contact shalu@lifeahoy.sg.

When still a baby, the elephant is tethered by a very thick rope to a stake firmly hammered into the ground.

The elephant tries several times to get free, but it lacks the strength to do so. After some time, the animal gives up trying, believing that it cannot be free.

At this point, the trainer changes the thick rope to a thin one but the elephant makes no attempt to run away. Even when the elephant reaches adulthood, it continues to be tethered by a thin rope, reconciled to its captivity.

As you grow up and gain experience, you absorb assumptions which then drive your life and limit your choices. They are similar to the elephant’s thin rope tied to a post. You can break away from them with a simple tug if you want to but you don’t.

As you acquire more and more experience, your repertoire of blind assumptions grows too, correspondingly limiting your choices. Your experience becomes a hindrance in your being creative.

Here is a list of 15 elephant tethers that possibly hold you back from being creative. Look at them and do identify the ones that apply to you. Are you willing to do something about them and break free?

Tether 1. What will people think?

Your selfconsciousness is one big hurdle in your being creative. You don’t even try to do so many things in life because you are afraid of making a fool of yourself. You waste a lot of your energy in protecting yourself and presenting a ‘good’ image.

You had no such inhibitions as a child and therefore you were naturally creative. It is perhaps the fear of the unknown and what might happen that makes you selfconscious. It holds you back and hinders your creativity.

When you walk into something in spite of the fear, it simply vanishes because by then the unknown turns into the known. The trick is not to think in terms of conquering fear but being with it.

When you let go of your selfconsciousness, you turn more creative.

Tether 2. But I’ve never had any great ideas!

Most people don’t have enough opportunities to bring out their creativity. So their creative abilities remain untapped. It seems to make no difference because not being creative is not too inconvenient.

Being creative is actually a search for a better way and in today’s world most solutions come ready-made. Most of the things that you do have been researched and the ‘best’ ways to do them have been arrived at.

Most people follow the standard ‘best’ ways without questioning Рhow to clean teeth, how to reach office, etc. They do a great number of tasks automatically.

Trying a ‘different way’ may in fact be inconvenient in most situations Рdriving speed, the route to office, how to tie your shoe knots, standing in the queues, etc.

Most of these automatic ways are perhaps good. By sticking with them, you are able to accomplish many tasks without thinking. They save time but you end up with the habit of not thinking afresh.

Over time, you develop attitudes and assumptions which prevent you from thinking creatively, locking you into the existing ways of thinking and doing things. You become a prisoner of familiarity. You never have great ideas.

As a result, even when the need arises for you to think differently and generate new ideas, you are unable to do so.

Tether 3. What is the right answer?

One of the worst aspects of formal education is the focus on the correct answer to a question or problem. When somebody asks a question, you generally give an acceptable answer instead of an original one fearing it might be wrong.

While this approach helps you to function smoothly in society, it hurts creative thinking. Real-life issues are ambiguous. There is no one single answer to any problem. There can be several answers if only you think about them. They may all be contradictory and yet correct.

Tether 4. I don’t want to fail.

The fear of failure is something that you learn in school…and it never just goes away. All through school, you perhaps take hundreds of tests, exams, assignments, etc. You are in one big trouble if you fail even once. You are scared of failure.

By the time you finish school, the fear of failure has seeped into your system and you avoid situations which could result in failure. You are extra-careful about whatever you take up. You play safe.

The fear of failure does not let you try new things, crippling your creativity.

Tether 5. That’s not my area.

Creativity requires finding connections between unrelated things. The diversity of your interests and experiences enhances your ability to find connections.

When you explore completely unrelated areas, you are pleasantly surprised by the interrelatedness of almost everything. You start seeing new possibilities when you discover new connections.

In an era of hyper-specialization, the scope of work is getting narrower and narrower. Loss of creativity is the immediate casualty.

When you just stick to your area, you hinder your creativity.

Tether 6. I don’t like uncertainty.

If you are not confused, you are not thinking clearly – Tom Peters

When people are confused, they feel compelled to resolve the situation quickly, making it systematic and orderly again. They are likely to miss the key issues in their haste to do so.

There is something in the culture or perhaps in the education system, which makes people want to be ‘knowers’ rather than ‘find-outers’.

This attachment to ‘knowing’ makes you feel jittery and inept when you ‘don’t know’. This tendency is so engrained that even small kids begin to lose their curiosity in order to become ‘knowers’.

However, when it comes to creative thinking, not knowing is a good thing and ambiguity is a great thing. Certainty is the enemy of creativity.

If you are certain about something, you don’t have much leeway to generate new ideas to solve problems.

Tether 7. That’s the way it is done!

The need for standard ways of doing things is perfectly legitimate. But then it gives rise to an ever increasing number of rules that govern people’s lives.

While some of the rules are legitimate, some are totally unfounded. They are not very different from the thin rope that tethers the elephant.

Tether 8. Everyone says so.

When all think alike, then no one is thinking. — Walter Lippman

The desire to belong is a powerful one and at times it leads to ‘groupthink’. This herd approach is probably a relic from the cave age. It is important to have a mind of your own in order to be creative.

Tether 9. How can a boss lose face ever?

Bosses are generally hung up on being always right. It is unimaginable for them to be proved wrong. They just can’t afford to lose face. Such over-protection of their ego hinders their creativity.

Employees almost always tend to go along with bosses. While harmless minor disagreements are okay, they are careful not to have a difference of opinion when it comes to larger issues.

No boss can be creative if he is surrounded by people who can’t dare to contradict him. He will be provoked into thinking creatively only when his views are challenged by someone.

Tether 10. My work is so boring.

One of the perils of over specialization is repetitive and uninteresting work. It makes you resentful, robbing you of your creative urges.

Tether 11. Smart people respond quickly.

When quick response is valued, you avoid deep thinking missing out on the finer points of an issue. You start giving out readymade answers. In trying to be smart, you sacrifice creative possibilities.

Tether 12. I feel safe when I am like everyone else.

People start off as unique beings. They are very different from each other as children and young adults with their very own likes and dislikes.

Yet, as if by magic, they get into a common mould after they reach their thirties. Their likes, dislikes, wants, needs and goals somehow begin to converge. They seem to become more and more like one another.

As a result, their creative abilities suffer.

Tether 13. I have strong views and firm opinions.

There are people who pride themselves for having firm stands and being inflexible. They have strong views and unshakable opinions. They are too judgmental.

Being judgmental means blocking or ignoring other points of views. It means reducing your options and leaving your mind with much less to work with. It is then reflected in your ability to generate ideas and solutions.

When you are nonjudgmental, you have an open mind. You have more choices. Being nonjudgmental reduces the surface functioning of your mind, stimulating its deeper functioning.

Then you allow your unconscious mind to throw up more ideas into your conscious mind. You are more creative.

Tether 14. Why keep thinking unnecessarily when I have found the answer?

Such is the hurry to find a solution that people are satisfied with the first one that comes to their mind. They stop thinking further.

However, if you don’t share your ‘first’ idea and keep thinking more and more, the subsequent ones are sure to be better.

The more you think, the more the chances to find better solutions. You never know when you will hit the jackpot.

Tether 15. Self-fulfilling prophecy

Two similarly qualified groups of engineers in a company were exhibiting different levels of creativity.

The two groups were alike in all respects. In the research subsequently conducted by the company, there was only one finding.

The difference between the two groups was that engineers on one group believed that ‘I am creative’ and engineers from the other group believed otherwise.

That is how the phenomenon of serendipity is generally defined.

But I am not quite at ease with this definition because it implies that serendipity is passive and we cannot do anything about it apart from just sitting back, doing our work and waiting for a eureka moment to pop up!

I look at the phenomenon differently. The key point here is who makes the discovery and how. It is a certain state of mind which registers a discovery when it is ‘primed’ to do so. Else the discovery would go unnoticed.

So there are really two elements – the discovery and the discoverer. They are not mutually exclusive. They do not happen in isolation. They arise together. That also explains why everyone is not ‘lucky’ enough to make happy discoveries.

Let us first see what stops us from making happy discoveries. We have been conditioned to see what we expect. Our preconceptions creep into whatever we come across. We don’t see things as they are but as we expect them to be.

Secondly, we force our preconceptions into whatever we do and want a task to go along predetermined lines. Too obsessed with how things should be, we don’t recognize lucky turns of events and new possibilities.

As a result, we block the unexpected, turn a blind eye to the unfamiliar and miss out on serendipitous happenings.

All the wonderful people who made wonderful discoveries were able to find a connection between the outcome of an experiment and something which was bubbling in their brains because they had an open mind.

If we have an open and receptive mind, we will start seeing what we generally don’t see. Then we will let a task proceed the way it wants to by its own momentum instead of forcing our preconceptions into it.

Then the possibility inherent in the situation will come to surface. Noticing that possibility is what serendipity is about. What we get in this way can be much more than what we were looking for.

What it boils down to is this. The happy discovery does not happen by itself. It is brought into being by a mind that is able to notice it. It co-arises with an open mind.

In other words, an open mind evokes serendipity. Serendipity is therefore not really a passive phenomenon. It is not an accident but an art that can be cultivated. That is how I look at serendipity.

1. You are doing everyone a favour by saying no.

Whenever you are saying NO to someone, remember that it is for their benefit! By saying no, you are

• Giving the person an opportunity to look for someone who can do the job better.

• Avoiding negative feelings about the person.

2. Visualize the alternative (to saying no) in vivid detail.

• You will feel bad and will curse yourself for accepting the task.

• You will do a bad job.

• You will hate the person for putting this on to you.

• The person will hate you for doing a bad job.

• You should not have said yes, if you were not going to do a good job, the person will tell you later.

3. Remember what happened the last time you said yes!

4. Use the situation as an opportunity to build a better relationship.

If you like the person and don’t want to burn your bridges then having to say no can actually be a great opportunity to improve your relationship with this person. This is very much possible, provided you take the extra effort to honestly explain to the person why you cannot do this and why you value the relationship and that you really believe that by doing a half-baked job you will be hurting the relationship.

5. Enjoy!

Sometimes, saying no is just pure joy! The joy gets magnified if you do not provide any reasons at all!

6. Go overboard explaining why you cannot.

The explaining might make the person feel better than if you had said yes!

7. Use the big–picture test.

Focus on the big picture. What are your ultimate goals and objectives? Is this task in sync with your goals? If not, just say no and rest assured that you have made the correct decision.

8. Use a bit of cunning if you need to (in this order).

a. Negotiate. If you can take this off my plate, then I can do that. Or if I can get resources for this, then I can do that.

b. Postpone. Let me think about it and get back to you on email.

c. Deflect. I cannot do this BUT I can help you with that.

d. Bluff. Carry around your dummy calendar (choc a bloc of course) and show it to the person!

e. Throw the ball back. Ask for help in deciding how you should fit in the new task on the list of priorities (especially if it is your boss).

f. Lower expectations. Point out that you might be able to do everything, but not to the usual high standards that are expected.

g. Googly or curve ball. Say yes, then call back or SMS in the next 10 minutes to say why you cannot do it. Why 10 minutes? Well because that is the average time required for homo sapiens to come up with a good excuse.

h. Scare them off if nothing works! It’s just that I have this crazy flu and I don’t want you to get it

9. If they get really pushy, switch gears and think of it as a game.

There is no way you can say yes NOW! Smile and tell them so.

10. And before we end, here are a few statements for you to practice!

• I have another commitment.
• I have no experience with that.
• I know you will do a wonderful job yourself.
• I am in the middle of several projects.
• I am not comfortable with that.
• I need to leave some free time for myself.
• I would rather decline than do a mediocre job.
• I am not taking on any new responsibilities.
• I would rather help out with another task.
• Let me hook you up with someone who can do it.
• I am not the most qualified person for the job.
• I do not enjoy that kind of work.
• I do not have any more room in my calendar.
• I hate to split my attention among projects.
• I need to focus more on my personal life.
• I need to focus on my career right now.
• Some things have come up that need my attention.
• This really is not my strong point.

–

Shalu Wasu is a creativity consultant and trainer based in Singapore apart from being guest faculty at select institutes. To attend his one-day open programme on creativity on 15th January, 2009 at NUS, Singapore, please visit www.lifeahoy.sg or contact shalu@lifeahoy.sg.

To begin, you must expect your audience to drift on and off from time to time while you speak.  To bring them back to you, you will need to complement a strong visual image together with a variation in your speech delivery and interesting visual aids.  It is therefore important to realise that different styles of clothes or dress will be required for different audiences.

The business presentation

If your audience is small for example, a boardroom presentation, you will have to adopt a softer and less intimidating look.  A bright red suit just won’t do in such a scenario.  The key is to wear something that will relax your audience. So, women should go for neutral coloured suits and introduce more colour with blouses.  The accessories should be kept to minimum; a gold and pearl combination looks most elegant.   For men, don’t dazzle your audience with bright colours or wild patterns.  Keep your suit black or navy blue and instead of wearing a burning red tie, go for calming colours like green, blue or gray.  The trick is that if you concentrate the colour near your face, it will act like a spotlight focusing attention on you and what you are saying.

On the other hand, a large audience becomes ‘a theatre’ and therefore requires a ‘costume’.  Thus, a navy-suited speaker will not create much of an impact at a conference of 500 people.  This will call for the occasion of bringing more colours into your jacket if not the entire suit. Try brighter colours to win your audience’s attention. Remember, it is the colour of your suit and not the bold patterns of your suits.

It will be useful if you can check the lighting of the room before your presentation. If the area where you are speaking is dark, you will need to brighten up by wearing lighter or brighter shades.

When selecting the style of your suits, do take into account how your body reacts under the stress of giving presentations. If you are the type that moves around when speaking, then be sure your clothes allow plenty of movement. Avoid tight skirts or jackets. Always keep your jackets buttoned when speaking so as to avoid any unnecessary distractions (e.g. your bosom, tummy or waist).

Make sure you are well groomed. Women should wear flattering makeup that is not too heavy and have their hair done stylishly. Similarly, men should have a clean-shaven look with their hair neatly trimmed and styled.

Appearing on television

The idea of appearing on television can be very daunting. If we watch news interviews or panel discussions, often times, we take particular note of how badly the interviewee can come across in terms of his or her appearance. It is very difficult to concentrate on what is said by someone who is wearing a gaudy scarf, necklace or even tie. Nonetheless, accept the fact that you will look bigger when you appear on TV. So, do not worry when you see yourself on TV; it is the camera, and not you.  Read on to find out the following tips to look great for your TV debut.

Remember to wear simple outfits without any distraction from your face. This means you should wear solid colours avoiding black and white shirts or tops. Black tops cancel out your top half, and it makes you look formless. White makes you look pale and washed out. You should also avoid red which tends to ‘bleed’ on camera -  the edges run and look fuzzy. Stripes or herringbone patterns can appear to be ‘dancing’ or moving around the screen. A monochromatic blend of colours is the best! Plunging necklines are no-no and again keep your jewellery or accessories to minimum.

Makeup is a must when appearing on TV. Most TV shows would have a makeup artist. If not, you will have to put on foundation before you appear in front of the camera. Pl

More than twenty years ago when the washing machine market in India was brimming for the first time with a slew of brands and competition was really hot, one company stood out for its outstanding performance. In this company, the CEO was stupefied at the phenomenal performance of one of his zonal managers who went on to receive a massive hike in emoluments and a promotion to the very top of the marketing department.

It so happened that the CEO happened to read an article in a management journal to the effect that success ought to be analysed at least as seriously as failure and one should always be healthily skeptical–use the power of NO.

He appointed a creativity consultant to look into the reasons for the phenomenal performance of the ‘star’ zonal manger. Unknown to this manager the consultant travelled deep into the territory meeting dealers and end users and thereafter submitted what turned out to be a shocking verdict that lead to the resignation of the ‘star’ manager. It turned out that the end users were using the washing machine to churn lassi! The company quickly realised that this was a health hazard and that the manager was in fact aware of this perverted use of the product.

An oft repeated fault in many organisations, is to automatically attribute success to the brilliance of the manager concerned or the team. Failure conversely is attributed rather automatically to incompetence. This is a serious flaw. In the above instance the CEO could have requested the ‘star’ performer to make a presentation to all the sales staff and share his insights into the strategy and tactics that in fact led to his grand ‘success’. In all cases of good performance it is essential to analyse the success factors with a view not to investigate into a possible fraud as in the lassi case, but in fact to see if the strategy could be replicated across the organization and also to determine if it was sustainable. In the performance assessment systems of most organisations the focus tends to be on successful outcomes of an executive’s efforts. This emphasis is being carried too far in most companies. The result of this overemphasis on outcomes is that little if any attention is paid to the process by which success was achieved.

Consequently good performance based on fortuitous circumstances gets rewarded while a dynamic executive whose performance may not be up to the mark for reasons beyond his control may go unnoticed or even punished. The role of chance factors in successful decision making or business strategy cannot be overlooked.

The decision making process has not received the attention it deserves. In nationalized banks for example it is common for executives to be denied promotion or to be suspended for what the management considers lapses in decision making leading to bad loans. It may benefit these banks to make a study of the correlation between the quality of loans on one side and quality of the decision making process on the other.

Too often for want of adequate awareness of and stress on the process factor, organisations may end up rewarding luck and punishing competence.

In the early stages of the decision process we tend to make a fundamental error, that of not challenging the data available to us. We tend to look at the data and form a viewpoint and then not seek further data. Even in gathering data we tend to look for that which confirms our pre-existing views. We fall into the trap of assuming a certain stance and then seeking evidence that substantiates our stand. This ‘confirmation bias’ is possibly why some of the best thought out and researched decisions often go wrong.

People who say that ‘seeing is believing’ are usually better at believing rather than seeing, said George Santayana. What he referred to is the phenomenon whereby we actually and unconsciously seek evidence that strengthens our pre-existing beliefs. This bias is perhaps one of the most debilitating aspects of human thinking. Allied with this is the mental filtering that we all do whereby we let into our mind information in a selective fashion. This filtering usually lets in only confirmatory information into our thinking process while conveniently keeping out disconfirming evidence.

I had a personal experience recently when a young college student from a South Mumbai college asked my opinion on the quality of college education in Mumbai relative to the rest of the country. I told her that Chennai had some of the best colleges offering quality education, at which point she reacted almost violently. Obviously I had touched a raw nerve. She was not comfortable with evidence that challenged her pre-existing beliefs. She challenged the basis of my conclusion and when I told her that I relied on surveys done by two major national weeklies she retorted ‘Both these magazines have no credibility in Mumbai anyway.’ Of course I assuaged her feelings by honestly stating my reservations about the scientific validity if such surveys. I was aware of the power of NO, the power of healthy scepticism.

While this was a relatively harmless instance, the consequences could be disastrous in the corporate context when decisions are taken with the confirmation bias. It is therefore necessary to be conscious of the working of such a bias and deliberately seek out disconfirming evidence. Some very successful top executives make a fetish, and rightly so, of deliberately encouraging executives who ‘dare’ to differ from them. Thus Sam Goldwyn used to tell his colleagues ‘I do not want yes men in this organization. I want people to speak their minds even if it costs them their job’. What he meant was that he insisted on disconfirming evidence.

Another top executive used to say at the end of a meeting that since all participants were in full agreement with his views he considered the meeting a waste of time and would summon another one on the same subject when some of his colleagues would prove him wrong!

I once advised a top executive friend of mine to recruit those who aggressively differed from him in the interview and challenged his viewpoint. He tried this tactic with trepidation. He now tells me that these dissenting recruits proved to be the most innovative ones he had ever employed. They had helped him avoid falling into the trap of the confirmation bias. Indeed the power of NO is immense. Parallel thinking, pioneered by Dr.Edward de Bono, is one technique that can help keep out the confirmation bias, and summon the power of NO, more so in a group decision making context.

Do it well, and you’ll shine. Do it badly and you could muddy your reputation and find yourself being passed over for advancement.

To help you make the right impression, here are four simple rules to remember, which will move you in the right direction.

1. Find out what the expectations are – and exceed them. Sounds obvious and simple – yet in my experience it’s neither! Try to answer the following questions:

Do you actually know what your manager’s top priorities are?

How clear are you about the order of priority your manager has for each area of your performance? How clear do you think your manager is about his/her expectations of you?

Sometimes expectations are written – but more often than not, they are unwritten expectations, which your boss may never have really clearly articulated to themselves, let alone you!

Put it this way -¬† if you don’t know for sure what will score you top points with this individual, you may find yourself chasing down the wrong rabbit hole.

And this is NOT about currying favour, or ingratiating yourself. This is about having a clear understanding on both sides about what is important, so you both know and agree where you should focus most of your time and attention. It actually makes your job easier.

So – if you don’t know the answers to the questions above – make a date in your diary to discuss this with your boss! (And before you actually have that meeting, make sure you read technique 4!)

2. Anticipate and address a boss’ concerns The trick here is a technique from what we call Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and is about being able to see the different “perceptual positions” around an issue. Put simply this means seeing something through someone else’s eyes, so you understand their thoughts, feelings, worries and perspectives.

An obvious way is to ask them! And we’d definitely encourage you to fnd the right opportunities to do just that. However, sometimes there’s neither time, nor is it appropriate. So what do you do then? You put yourself in their shoes. And when we say in their shoes – we mean wearing their shoes and looking through their eyes! This is not how you would feel in their shoes. You’re not them!

So, this is easier said than done. But here’s a few killer questions to ask yourself:

What will my  boss be anxious about?

What do his bosses expect of him?

How does what I do to help him/her look good?

If I/we do “x”, what might he/she be concerned about?

By answering these questions you’ll be much clearer about what you need to do to both pre-empt and address their concerns. It also significantly increases their perception you really understand where they are coming from, which in turn significantly¬† strengthens the trust and relationship between you.

3. Consistently look for ways to add value. This is a really simple rule. Bosses are more likely to listen if you speak in “can-do” language, and you are organised, and sound enthusiastic and eager to deliver results.

Look ahead when discussing a project, rather than dwelling on what’s already occurred. Follow through on promises. And adopt a “no-excuses” policy. Failing to produce results almost guarantees a boss will doubt your abilities. So, if you haven’t quite achieved what you set out to do – rather than saying what you’ve not been able to do, start with what you have achieved; be specific about what barriers there were, and summarise your plans to get back on track.

Your boss has pressures of his own. Don’t add to them.

4. Know your style – and know their style; and adapt your behaviour to suit their preferences. A great analogy from relationship expert Shay McConnon is that of the “hot chilli trap”. What is this? It’s when someone assumes that, because they love hot chilli, everyone else does too! Patently, some people do not like hot chilli!

If you’re in a foreign country you at least attempt to learn “please” and “thank you” in their language and show respect for their customs. It’s just courtesy. You adapt your own behaviour to show respect for the differences of perception.

To assume, because we speak the same language, we see things in the same way¬† – is quite clearly erroneous, yet we still persist in believing the mantra “treat others as you’d like to be treated.”

Absolutely not! Treat others as they would like to be treated.

So what does this mean for you in your relationship with your boss? It means the more you get to understand their style and preferences, and tweak your style to match, the more likely they are to warm towards you. If you lean towards an eye for detail and precision, but your boss just wants the big picture – give it that way. What is their biggest strength? Capitalise on it. What is their central goal? How can you assist? If they are extroverts who like to talk through ideas, provide that opportunity. If they are introverts who like to be able to read through something, and ponder it first, present your proposals in a way which will help them assimilate the information and ask questions.

Respect how they like to be treated.

And what if they don’t show the same trespect for you? Well, that’s a subject for another article!

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Shona Garner is an experienced Executive and Business Coach, specialising in helping managers build top performing teams, and increase their own standing in the organisation.
For a straight talking, practical guide to the top four secrets of every outstanding manager, visit http://www.increasingmanagerialsuccess.com/freereport.php

How many of us are really prepared to go that extra mile to achieve this so-called goal, which ideally everyone is expected to be pursuing? As I see it, the goal is more in the desire form than in practice. Every goal has ladders and every ladder has steps. Every step necessitates a struggle or overcoming a shortcoming. One has to gauge correctly what is it that will make us go forward towards our goal. A sincere and impersonal guide and mentor are needed and they are extremely difficult to find or even recognize. Once the elements requiring correction en route are understood, a great effort is needed to retrain ourselves with new thought patterns and habits. Subconscious patterns, inculcated since the day we are born are deeply embedded in us and we have to literally fight against their hold on our everyday lives.

My personal perception is that most prefer to find a minimum sustenance program in life and stay within their comfort zones doing little to even accept the fact that it’s their own shortcomings that are keeping them back. Even when life gives us a knock or two and is kind enough to show us the way and the error of our ways, we find enough logic to rationalize and let the lesson slip into the comfortable slot of unpleasant occurring.

Take a struggling lawyer. He has passed out recently and raring to go. What can he do to advance surely and speedily? Perhaps become a junior with an already established lawyer and under his umbrella make a mark for himself? To arrive even at this juncture would need a certain modicum of language ability and study of legal texts and some luck. If he has it and he is taken in, the beginning is made. Would he be content with this? His job would be to take orders and work his heart out, quite often giving him tired muscles and a bruised ego. A junior is but a junior. Will he bear with it because of the learning process he is going through and grow or will his vanity refuse to take this position so low in the pecking order and quit and move into a situation closer to his comfort zone? And what could this be? An independent status, struggling to exist but at least his own boss!

Scurrying back into one’s comfort zone is a natural and primary tendency.  This is at all levels; mental, emotional and physical. Laziness influenced by arguments from our ego wins over effort most often. Change means learning and changing habits and this requires a concerted and very conscious effort. Is this sustainable in real life? Why disturb the status quo?

Take for instance the status of most marriages. Is it a made-for-each-other existence or a compromise where we learn to coexist for the comforts of a home? There are wives being battered but they continue to stay put. There are husbands being nagged to death but they continue to stay put. There are millions of people stuck in jobs and situations they hate but doing very little to take the next step that will take them to better their existence. How does one explain this? Simple: It is so much simpler to live and continue within one’s existing known comfort zones.

Let’s look around us. How many people are bothered to improve their communication ability yet never failing to complain that nobody understan

You can be stressed to the max on a bad day, yet, as long as life seems manageable, you don’t usually look for new strategies to get through it.¬†¬† The tendency is to pull yourself up by the bootstraps, grit your teeth and keep on going.¬† During prolonged or sudden tough times, though, normal defense mechanisms are not enough to keep you from feeling vulnerable and overwhelmed.

It’s when events are overwhelmingly beyond your control, that you either find new ways to cope or are pulled down by the undertow.¬† Your usual defenses are inadequate to protect from overwhelming long-term stress.¬† Stress can build gradually beyond tolerance level, or a surprising turn of events like those recently reported in the news can create the kind of vulnerability that demands openness to change.

The soft inner core of your being feels exposed.  This exposure opens a crack in the old armor through which an opportunity for renewed life can shine.

Here are six tips that can help you thrive in tough times?  .

Nourish Yourself – Let go of the bootstraps for a few moments, acknowledge your stress and be kind to yourself.¬† What nourishes you – inspirational reading, music, a cup of tea …?¬† Are there people or places, a favorite chair or spot in nature that provide sustenance?¬† Make nurturing yourself every day a priority.

Stay Present – Don’t project ahead. Take life one day, one moment at a time.¬† Tough times are more manageable when you pay attention to making decisions and taking action on only the next step.¬† Fearful preoccupation or worries about dire imagined future possibilities can leave you open to illness, accidents and errors in judgment that compound your problems.¬† Scale down, simplify your activities and concentrate your precious energy supply on only what is critically important right now.

Accept Support – This can be difficult for people who prize self-sufficiency.¬† Remember it is as virtuous to receive, as it is to give.¬† Without the receiver, the giver has no way to share their abundant gifts.¬† Don’t deprive your friends and family of the pleasure to help you when you need it.¬† Shared burdens provide opportunities for enhanced closeness and appreciation for one another.

Trust Your Resilience РChances are you have been through tough times before.  What natural strengths did you rely upon in those situations?  How did you make it through adolescence, Childbirth, Marriage, Divorce, School, First job?  What are your natural inner resources?  Trust that you have what you need to see this tough time through.    Visualize Success РSee yourself moving into a new chapter of life.  How do you want to write that chapter?  Creation begins in the imagination.  If you can think it, you can create it.  In order to be free to dream and hope for something new, you must let go of old visions, descriptions and limitations of the person you think you are or can become.

Forgive Past Errors РForgive past hurts, and people who may have inflicted them, knowingly or unknowingly.  This is not out of kindness to them, rather out of kindness to you.  After all, you are the one carrying the burden of these hurts.   Forgive yourself for mistakes or paths not taken.  Release the burden of the past so you can travel lighter in the present.

In times of crisis and radical change, remember that living means growing.  I have never seen anything in nature grow backward.  So, as bad as you feel, and as much as you doubt it, if you are alive you are growing.

Growth is creative.  So, take advantage of the opportunity in these tough times to re-create your life by nourishing yourself, staying present, accepting support, trusting your resilience, visioning possibilities and letting go of the past and perceived limitations.

Even though tough times are hard, they can also be the best times to explore ways to live more harmoniously with yourself and others.

Aila Accad

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Aila Accad, RN, MSN ‘The De-Stress Expert’ is a Speaker, Author and Transformation Coach. Learn more and contact her for speaking, and transformational coaching at: http://www.ailaspeaks.com . Sign up to receive her complimentary De-Stress Tips Newsletter and get “Ten Instant Stress Busters” e-book as a gift.

All of us want to forge ahead and excel in our respective fields. There are different approaches adopted by various persons for achieving their goals. Goals, of course, keep changing from time to time.

The goal of the parents is to bring up their children and ensure that they have good education and rewarding careers later in their lives. A child’s goal is first to be able to sit, then stand up and then walk. Once in school, her goal is to study and come up to the expectations of her teachers and parents. After education, the goal is to find a good job and then to go higher up the ladder of success.

It is a different story that most people do not have any specific goals and just meander through their lives purposelessly. Not having any goal is like starting a car without knowing where you are headed. Most people know where they want to go and what route they need to take when they get into the car. When they are not sure of the route, they ask for directions from others.

Life is like driving a vehicle where you need to have a specific destination. Otherwise you will land nowhere or you will land at a place where you don’t want to be. When that happens, it is no use blaming your luck, fate or circumstances. In another context, Shakespeare says, “The fault does not lie in our stars but in ourselves.” Not being where you want to be is frustrating. The disappointment continues for such people because even after being where they do not want to be they do not take any steps to correct the situation.

Surprisingly, only 3 to 7% people set their goals. As children, people want to be pilots, doctors, movie stars or civil servants. But they lose their enthusiasm when they grow up because they no longer think that any such thing is possible. This is because they did not set goals or worked to achieve them.
Now, how often you think of what you want in life. After achieving it, do you ask, “What next?” Without goals, there is no excitement because you don’t feel yourself challenged. Without goals, life becomes boring, uninteresting, depressing and monotonous.

When you have goals to achieve, you feel that your life has a purpose. It is not to say that everyone should have lofty goals. It is only saying that if you have some goals, you will get more out of life and stretch your potential to the maximum.

You must set realistic goals. Begin with the goals which you can achieve. If you keep on failing, you will feel disheartened and lose further interest and confidence. So the best thing is to set small, realistic goals to begin with and then switch to higher goals as you go along. If you are unemployed and want to be a millionaire, start looking for a job, give it your best and start saving money to begin with. Simply wishing that you want to be a millionaire, is not good enough.

Another important factor essential for achieving a goal is a fervent and fanatical belief that you can and you will realise your goals. This involves changing your thinking and developing an unshakeable confidence in your ability to do so. You cannot disbelieve in yourself and hope at the same time to get good results. You have to move from the mindset of ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can’ and ‘I will’.

You have to be very clear about your goals as clarity of objectives ensures success and happiness. Lack of clarity brings disappointments, dissatisfaction, failure or underachievement more often than any other single attribute. Your success in life is directly proportionate to how clear you are about what you really and truly want.

The best thing will be to write down goals as writing clarifies our thinking. Keep the written record of your goals at a place where it can serve as a constant reminder. The discipline of writing down something is the first step toward making it happen. Writing not only clarifies your thinking but also reinforces your thoughts. The clearer you are about what you want, the more likely it will be that you will do more of the things that are consistent and helpful in achieving them. Only a clear mental picture can transform itself into reality. While setting your goals, chart out the path you will follow for attaining them. List all the steps you need to take to make your goals a reality.

You should also list your personal strengths required for achieving your goals and seek help of experts if you need it. Above all, you must be passionate, excited and enthusiastic about your goals.

Form a habit of revisiting, evaluating and, if necessary, adjusting your strategies to achieve your goals. Until you are committed, there will be hesitation and a chance to pull back. A definite commitment means burning your bridges so that you can only move forward. This will release unexpected energy and initiative, leading to the transformation of your goals into a reality. Boldness has a genius and a magical power in it. It is up to each one of us to exploit it.

Whatever needs to be done, just begin it. Be on the look out for new opportunities and options which can take you towards your goals. Always try to be cheerful and optimistic. Keep on asking yourself as to what you can do even in a small measure today which will take you nearer your goal. Ask yourself whether your goals are specific, smart, measurable and achievable. If they are not, then take steps to make them so.
If you are unable to make any headway towards your goals within the framework set by you, then examine the factors that are holding you back or coming in the way. Obviously, something is wrong and you must make mid-way corrections as required. You have to take risks and, if necessary, change tracks for attaining your goals and objectives.

I personally use all the systems available to me to evaluate my daily progress. These systems include the computer, digital diaries, the clock and my own stop watch. The best thing is to scribble down whatever I have to do and then review it at the end of the day to see how much I have accomplished and how much is left undone. I make sure that I spend all my productive time on things which matter most to me.

I have realised that you do not get credit of any sort for socialising or chit-chatting but for focussing and spending your time on things vital to you. There are no short cuts or magic wands to achieve goals except hard work and hard work coupled with focus.

Lastly, you can achieve any goal you want in life. The only condition is to work just half a day. It does not matter whether it is the first or the last 12 hour!

Joginder Singh is former director of CBI, India. He has written several books on personal development.

Okay, a show of hands, please!

Hey, that’s quite a lot of you.

Now, close your eyes and remember what it felt like to ride a bicycle for the first time. Maybe yours had training wheels that helped to balance the bike as you gained confidence riding on the sidewalk in front of your house. As your confidence expanded and also from observing the older children in the neighbourhood riding without any assistance, you then graduated to your first test without training wheels.

It was scary!

At the beginning came the wobbling of the tires and excited, hurried pedalling as you struggled to break free of your parent’s or older sibling’s guiding hand for balance. And, perhaps there were one or two falls with skinned knees and elbows along the way! However, through your determination, will power, desire and continued practice you soon sped forward on your own.

As you grew in size and age, you moved up to bigger and more complex bicycles and mastered them all. Some of you even learned to ride without holding on to the handlebars or perhaps did “daredevil” tricks jumping over ramps.

And, I’ll bet now that even if you haven’t ridden a bicycle in years, you could still do it.

Now, let’s take a look at success. For many people, success or being successful is just as scary as the first time they rode a bicycle. Naturally, many people want to be successful. However, there are few that truly have the motivation to put forward the needed effort and action, and make the necessary sacrifices to get what they want.

Here are four of my success strategies. Make them part of your “quest for success”.

1) Just as you did when you learned to ride a bicycle there is only one way to accomplish anything today ‚Äî set your mind to concentrate on doing it and let nothing interfere with your progress. Obstacles, whether they be training wheels on a bike or lack of resources (money, time, lack of skill, etc.) are quickly overcome by the person that sets out to accomplish their heart’s desire. Those who have the desire, ‚Äúthe fire in the belly‚Äù so to speak will outdistance and outperform those who do not.

2) No matter what anyone says, size does matter. When you first learned to ride a bike, you were a child. As you grew to adulthood, of course you were faced with greater and more challenging situations. On your road to success, remember this quote from my book The Power Of Concentration – How To Take Control Of Your Life:

“The ‚Äòbigger‚Äô you are, the smaller the obstacle appears. The ‚Äòsmaller‚Äô you are the greater the obstacle appears.‚Äù

Always look at the advantage you gain by overcoming obstacles, and it will give you the needed “size” and courage for the conquest – now and in the future.

3) Do not expect that you will always have a smooth road, free of potholes, speed bumps and detours. Parts of your journey are likely to be rough. The way you navigate the bad roads shows exactly what you are made of. Keep on with your journey and view with delight the smooth roads that are in front of you.

4) Do not let a setback stop you. Just like when you skinned your knees and elbows learning to ride, think of it as a mere incident that has to be overcome before you can reach your goal. Learn from it and use the lesson to move ahead.

Success is like riding a bicycle. Learn my strategies of success outlined above, and you will always be up to the challenge – regardless of the size.

The answer to our problem perhaps lies in this difference. Those saints were ‘awake’ and for us January first has become a common time when all of us set up wake-up calls. By setting up wake-up calls, we think that our job is done. What happens next is similar to what happens when we hear the wake-up call in the morning. It is almost always a nuisance.  But what if you have an urgent meeting at 9 AM and you need at least an hour to travel to the office and there is the possibility of getting fired if you are even a single minute late? You will jump on your feet as soon the alarm bells rings. So the first point is that the success of your resolution depends on how much importance it has in your life.

This importance is relative. A boy will not wake up even if you remind him of some important function is school. It might be important for the school and you but he is least interested. But you promise to take him for kayaking or something which he always wanted to do and he will wake you up before you hear the alarm. So, the second thing is how attractive is the proposal.

For the common resolution like quitting cigarette one might know the bad effects of smoking on lungs and health and attracted to quit but still smoking might be not too serious to struggle against. So the third point is that even if your resolution is something very important and attractive, ask yourself, does it really touch you deep?

Jogging and quitting smoking might not touch me really deep but what if I want to follow my wish for them and I am taking the New Year as an opportunity to initiate something which I always wanted to do? This is a little confusing. Jogging and smoking are habits. They are not one-point decision like taking admission in an institute. Once you have taken admission, you are into it but for daily jogging you have to start every day until it becomes your habit. If you want to quit smoking you have to struggle with yourself every day not to give in to the temptation.

Other types of resolutions remind me Socrates’ famous quote ‘Knowledge is virtue.’ Many may disagree but for Socrates it was impossible to believe that if you ‘knew’ there was a pit two steps ahead still you would fall into it. For him knowledge was ‘knowledge’ i.e. realization not information which could be forgotten.  So, financial gains, success in business, progress etc. are such that if you really want them and know how to proceed then for you first January is only a date to remind you of that. You will achieve them even if you do not resolve about to do so as your New Year promise to you.

But then what about New Year resolutions? I suggest we had better resolve to make an effort to live a conscious life, not for this January but for the rest of the life. Buddha was shaken by the agony of life around him and woke up so he had no reason left to come back. Shake up your soul. You may continue living as you live but from now onwards just see every day passing. Do not pass life , live it. Look at your surroundings. Feel yourself, feel others. Do not set wake-up call this year but just wake up. And, all your resolutions will resolve themselves.

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Rachana Sharma has Doctorate in Philosophy and Masters in Philosophy and Sanskrit. She has published articles in various philosophical journals such as Paramarsh (Pune University), Journal of Philosophical Research (New Delhi), and The Philosopher’s Index (Ohio University, USA).

Anger should be understood as a management tool. Humans are still in a state of insincerity. They are very happy with their cleverness. The only time they get shaken up is when they realize that their little world might come tumbling down around them. Fear is the key. A show of anger from a person who has the power to make or mar someone’s career is a potent motivator. So, one must learn to use it wisely. Use your intelligence to lose your temper under control. Note the time and need. Then alone let go and that too in short bursts so that the damage is minimal. Show of controlled and disciplined anger is a useful tool if you don’t get carried away by it yourself. This is where the risk is: one may be carried away into frenzy.

Life is designed to test you. See how children will test the waters around them and make their parents see red. They are growing and need to know how far they can go in life. This attitude is everywhere.
A driver trying to cut you off or an employee coming late are basically the children in us trying to gauge how far they can let their own selfishness carry on. It is another matter that eventually when the repercussions of their acts come back to haunt them, they may crib and moan. This is life.

A mature, intellectually aware person rarely shows anger. He sees through the machinations and he never jumps to premature conclusions which are normally triggers for unbridled anger build-ups. When the world has been understood and the elemental forces at work have been recognized, it is easy to distance oneself from the imbroglios created by vanity and stupidity. This is the real cure. If one wants to control anger, one simply needs to rise intellectually and emotionally above the mundane. Like a modern airliner that simply flies over the storm clouds to avoid a storm. We can’t avoid the mud but we can save our feet from it by wearing a shoe.

We certainly need to reduce the irritants around us. We first need to ignore them as tantrums of children when there is no harm done. But if it goes beyond that, a little show of anger will help and that is good.

Pradeep Maheshwari is an author, teacher of French, personal development trainer and marketing consultant.

Do you know anyone who fits this description? Their opinions are final even if their arguments are full of holes. No one can dare oppose them or even try to put in a word edgewise.

They feel justified that the control of every moment of our lives should not only be in their hands but that their say must prevail in every matter. The result is we have Control Freaks. Look at life from any angle; they are everywhere. Give them a position of authority and they immediately take on a monstrous image. As parents, superiors and drivers the worst in them appears easily.

The rage levels in our midst are rising every day. This mindset of being so obviously superior and better, stuffed with self-importance is behind this rising phenomenon. New words like flight rage and shopper’s rage are making their entry into our lexicon because these are newly emerging tendencies for which our language was not equipped earlier. This goes to prove that these tendencies are all around us now. The other day I went into a shop looking for a new mobile phone. The owner is known to me but that day his son happened to be at the counter. The moment he saw me coming in he became busy with a drawer of his. Nevertheless I did mange to get to him by asking if he had new phones. He never looked up and simply replied “No” and continued to rummage in his drawer. I left without seeing his face. I suppose I am too old, out of date, economy minded and not really his kind of client. A wave of anger did rise but I controlled it.

The unfortunate part of this is that it is becoming part of the personae of capable and well-meaning people too. They judge themselves on the basis of some activity in which they are really better than many but they start assuming they are the best on all counts. So their self assessment is terribly slanted; they see themselves as superiors standing out from the lesser beings around them. Unfortunately, these people become awfully arrogant and intolerant and fly into rages just about everything and anything. They demand respect as a right. I saw this advertisement for a car in which the catch phrase is “demand respect”. So I must be right; even the publicity managers have caught on to this weakness in us.

These grand guys see others as totally incapable nincompoops and in their anger there is an element of disgust at the incompetent lowly oafs they have to live with. They are as far as I can see always at boiling point and when they interact, this view that they have of others is fully evident in their responses and reactions. They never correct, explain, advise or ask questions but berate and criticize. Their comments are scathing and designed to hurt like they would crush an insect under their feet for defiling their space. Every expression of theirs indicates their frustrations and saintly forbearance for their loutish brethrens and their own strength in comparison in tolerating it all.

Well they are what they are and what we need to bother about is how to deal with them. Arguing with them or trying to make them see our point of view will only enrage them more and it is well nigh impossible, not unlike trying to pass through a stone wall. They would see this act as insubordination or at least a case of pure and simple arguing back for argument’s sake. But then we can’t keep totally silent either. So a little manipulation is called for and for this we need to learn a bit of applied psychology. The first thing is to stay calm and not react. This takes out the wind from their sails. The second thing of importance is to go along but with an aim to divert them. This is not so easy but it can be done; it is done by primarily avoiding frontal tactics. For instance a boss I know gives very difficult-to-put-into-action orders far removed from ground realities and he refuses to listen to the field staff. His employees say “Yes, Sir” and go out to do it. This is their break of sorts and when they come back they put alternative suggestions logically and well-meaningly and this works.

Control freaks are always in a hurry and in their hurry end up destroying quite a lot of things around them that they themselves have built up. The trick is to let them rant but keep the control of the final action and pacing in one’s own hands. As long as these freaks are not contradicted, all is fine. It might even be a good idea to let them apparently interfere. Ask them for something. This will keep their egos quiet. Don’t get intimidated – just go about as if nothing troublesome is happening.

We have to be kind to them. They need to be humoured but if abuse creeps in, the only solution is separation. Sometimes it is not worth wasting ourselves out on these freaks as they may drain us out. No relationship is worth that!

Pradeep is an author, personal growth trainer and marketing consultant.

Productivity is required at all levels and times. I have a few questions, though. Does everybody know what ‘productivity’ means? Does everybody know that the process of maximizing effort in minimum time is called productivity? Do you have to be a management pro, expert in the technical jargon to be productive? I have no clue what ‘chores automation’ means, or what ‘overcoming procrastination’ might possibly refer to (hats off to the ones who do know, though).

To be truthful, nothing struck a chord in my mind when I read about the productivity theme. Does that mean that I don’t know much about productivity? Quite obviously. But does that mean that I am not productive? I don’t think so. Anybody who knows how to maximize time use is productive. But a few tips by the great management gurus are always appreciated.

Time management comes first and foremost. The question is…. can we really manage time? No, we cannot. We can only tune ourselves according to the day (and night). No one can manage time — we only get twenty four hours in a day — not a second more, not a second less. ‘Time management’ does sound impressive and makes us feel important, as if we are managing nature when actually we are making the adjustments to nature.

About email management, I suggest directly delete spam without attempting to fish for some accidentally-sent-to-spam-folder-useful-mail. Trust me, there’s no such thing. Other than that, it’s work-related mail and personal messages, in order of priority, depending on time available (forwards and advertisements ignored). Killing off email is not feasible but on busy days it would be nice to send it on vacation.

With respect to ‘chores automation’, how far can we take it? Program Power Point so that feeding in topics is all you have to do to prepare slides, and maybe even have a voice over program for presenting them? If so, I think Microsoft and the World Wide Web would be entitled to salary checks for every project we complete. Nah, automating chores is to aid and facilitate work; the brain behind the work will always be, well, a brain — a real live human one right there on the spot.

Goal management is another important factor — the most important one, next to time management perhaps. Clearly defined goals that are realistic and broken down into smaller steps are instrumental in achieving high productivity. Compiling a “To Do” list comes in useful here as we all have lapses in memory. Along with productivity tools, they bring a lot of clarity and simplicity. Just spend a few minutes make a “To Do” list, and it helps you to focus throughout the day.

Getting rid of distractions is one thing I find to be most challenging. However, I do believe that to minimize distractions the first step is to identify them. There is a fine line between distraction and recreation and you must identify it. Dear old Facebook for example, is a recreation that can become a distraction if I am not careful.

Overcoming procrastination is another difficult task, be it official work like finishing assignments before the deadline or something as basic as waking up in time for an early lecture. Perspective helps a lot, though. Delaying a job results in a pile up of work (as if you didn’t know that), so merely thinking about the prospective stack or panic as the deadline approaches helps to overcome lethargy and laziness.

Cutting down on sweet sleep is perhaps the hardest of all and totally unnecessary. Cutting down on oversleeping certainly is what is really important. Everyone needs a healthy dose of sleep synchronized with a sensible work rhythm (I think working at night is the best!). You wouldn’t want to work for twenty two hours one day, then feel sleepy and strained for twenty hours the next day, and end up sleeping for forty eight hours straight, would you?

The level of productivity on a collective level also has a psychological aspect. Work morale, work environment, encouragement and incentives are factors which make people want to work. So along with the methods and numerous suggestions here, my conclusion comes down to this: Productivity cannot just be achieved by a list of tips to be followed; it has to come from self-motivation or personal willingness!

Ideally, like all wheels, the line joining all the rating points needs to form a circle. The smoother the circle, the more well balanced it is. The more jagged the outline is, the less of a balance is there in the work-life situation. Of course one could still have a balanced wheel but one which is small and might want to enlarge it. In other words, one might want to achieve more in all facets of life. However, care should be taken to ensure that there is overall progression otherwise the balance would be lost.

Once I finished explaining this, this person exclaimed that this method was used often to analyze issues in the office. This set me thinking. We all go through life learning new skills on a regular basis. Then for most, the learning falls by the wayside or is used only in certain instances. An obvious example is the vast number of people in management who learn and practice skills like time management, communication skills, team building, etc. on a daily basis. However, these are usually packed away safely in a briefcase or laptop bag the minute one leaves the office.

In their personal lives these skills are rarely used! I wonder why?

Is it because these are taught in the context of business and work and individuals are confused on how to apply them to their personal lives? Or is there an implied expectation that personal and family life would take care of itself, while work and colleagues need to be managed! Whatever be the reason, this is absurd. I have seen experienced finance professionals whose personal finances are in a mess, renowned leaders of large teams whose children don’t seem to find any common connect with them, and so on.

My view is that as individuals we need to access and inventory each skill that we have as an invaluable asset. Just like how no asset is left to idle and waste away but instead deployed to maximize returns, similarly each skill needs to be used extensively. A simple idea would be to prepare an inventory of skills/competencies and then prepare a listing of all possible areas to apply the same in personal and professional arenas. Once done, this inventory needs to be referred to regularly to ensure that each skill is being utilized in every possible situation and scenario. Needless to say, the inventory would require frequent review and updates.

My guess is that such an approach might not only help bring better balance and well-being in the varied facets of a person’s life, but actually help hone their skills and make them better for it! There are some who might say that this practice would rob personal relationships of their spontaneity and warmth. Maybe, maybe not. But, even that can be managed by using the right sets of skills.

The teams are supposed to build a wall made of colored cubes or pencil boxes. They have the manpower, raw materials, and the skill to build a wall of cubes. But, the trainer will give each team a chit that will have some criteria. The team members have to continue building the wall keeping the criteria in mind.

The teams will start building the walls. But, will continue assembling and disassembling their color blocks as the criteria for their respective teams would have not been met. The trainer will observe the game and hint that they are not able to freeze the wall.

After about 10 minutes of the play, the trainer will ask the teams to forget the chits with the criteria. Then the teams will immediately finish building the wall. The trainer asks the teams to read out the criteria in their chits. The criteria will be, “Red should not be next to Blue, “Blue should not be next to Green”, and “Green should not be next to Red.”

Because of the hidden agendas each team was holding, they could not build a wall or product or a complete output. Once the hidden agendas were removed, the wall or product was built immediately. The same theory holds good for completing a project or work at office. Do we have to list the hidden agendas at workplaces?

What’s the ME brand?

Each of our ME brands are work in progress, and a sort of focused and continuous & RIGHT self-speak efforts are needed to communicate our thoughts through our brand ME. What we are seen as is what we communicate through our ME brand-speak.

Brand ME also makes sure that you communicate your position sans any ambiguity in the professional marketplace, and equally so, on the personal front – as a spouse, as a parent and as a socially responsible person.

To throw a little illustration, if you want you/your ME brand to be seen in as a successful professional in your space, then your walk and talk ought to be in sync with all that is needed to be so – both the hardware: the efforts needed, the knowledge & skills you ought to possess, and most of all the power to execute – you will carry all this and more to be seen and also be recognized as a successful or to-be-successful professional.

And the ME brand-speak shall be seen as the ‘software’ – that makes your hardware to be seen by all those in the relevant marketplace – be it the place of work, or home, or the social ecosystem.

Your ME brand speak will talk the entire walk you can do, amply well, and sort of loud and clear in the marketplace. Loud and clear does never mean being brash about what you are made off, but is being unambiguously clear about what would make you stand out and be different out there – be it in the kind of work you do, or the sales you can achieve, or the knowledge/core competence you will bring to the table in any place.

The ME brand speak would apply equally to any work and personal situation – you need to talk the walk you do and want to do as a parent, a child, a associate in any event and so on – this can be in any place, in any time and in any situation.

The ME brand speak is also so important and crucial in bridging the gap between perception and reality, more from the extent of the value you add in any given place. I am sure most of us agree that we did not get that deal, or get that hike or promotion or anything measurable and tangible just because it was not communicated or packaged in sync with what was delivered or done in reality.

The more you think of what you keep telling everyone or what all those around you see, is more of what your ME brand-speak is. Whether this is in sync with what you as an individual are or what your true capabilities are, is more a function of your ME brand speak, that any other factor.

Its’ worth so much to gather your thoughts together to create your own ‘ME brand speak now’. It’s also a wonderful exercise to introspect all your facets of life, and create an appropriate ME brand-speak, that reflects you in the right perspective to all those in the marketplace.

So, what’s your ME brand-speak? Are you packaging you as much what your true capabilities and qualities are? Do it now, for a better & greater LIFE…..

The air was crisp and pollution free and the waters clean. Being a full moon day, the waves were bigger than normal. A few catamarans were returning to shore after the day’s catch. I observed men with oars battling the power of the waves as they attempted to manoeuvre their boats toward land, but with little success. Despite their best efforts, they found it tough moving and they appeared stalled in one place for quite some time.

Then suddenly, one catamaran caught on to a mighty big wave and reached shore in no time. One by one I saw, the other catamarans following suit. It was then I realized that the oarsmen were waiting and biding time to catch a one big wave and ride the crest to reach ashore.

This set me thinking – what does it take for us in life to catch and ride the crest of a wave?

My ancestors of this land have been master navigators who travelled across the Bay of Bengal to reach and conquer distant places in South East Asia. This happened at the time when there was no navigating equipment. How did they manage it? They learnt to find reach their destinations using the position of the sun, moon, and stars and by observing the patterns of wind and waves. They learnt to use the forces of nature to augment their efforts.

To go back to the catamaran story, the past wave patterns do not give a hint of the one forthcoming. One needs to analyze the external environment, be patient, agile and adept to figure out which waves to ride.

And patience here is an extremely important virtue.

In life too, in addition to putting in one’s best efforts, one needs to wait some time to catch the right wave. It is all about making right choices, putting the key factors into place and then waiting for right favorable external environment to manifest our desires. Only then can we ride the crest of a wave to reach ashore.

Yet, they sell and many become best sellers. I wonder who buys these books and what do they do with them? If the books do work, there should be a gradual decline in demand for them as people would be succeeding in achieving their goals.

One reason could be that people read these books, but few bother to practice what is recommended. But I think there is a majority who do implement the suggestions but yet they continue to seek out the next self help book that comes along. Why is that?

My theory is that successful people have a formula, but there is nothing that should be considered a universal success formula.

Each one of us is unique and we have varying strengths and weaknesses in our abilities and personalities. Some of us are excellent in planning and leading a structured life, while some cannot function without a chaotic environment.

I am reminded of the Tamil silent film Pesum Padam which starred Kamal Hassan. In one scene when he is trying to sleep, he is unable to do so because he misses the cacophony of his old neighborhood. So, he makes a recording of the ambient sounds and plays it to fall asleep. Had he picked up a book instead, titled How to fall asleep! — can you imagine what would have happened? The book might have suggested all the usual things like avoid coffee or have a cup of warm milk closer to bedtime and so on. I am positive, that the book would not have had a chapter that deals with recording your neighborhood sounds and playing it back to fall asleep!

We are individuals made up of millions of components like looks, voice, height, education, etc and our personality is a sum total of all these elements. Therefore to leverage our personality to pursue success requires a very deep understanding of our constituents and the role each plays.

No doubt the self help books help by indicating possible action points to aid in a person’s development and success. However, for these to work, one needs to first understand oneself completely. Otherwise it would be like giving a map marked in Greek to someone who knows only English. One would feel that one knows where he is heading, but in reality would be completely lost.

For any self help book to be really useful one first needs to understand one’s own personal success formula.

A few things one can do towards developing the personal success formula are:

1. List all instances of achievements and success. It could be something small like wrangling a freebie at a store or a major achievement like earning a degree.
2. List all the elements that went into it in terms of effort, timing, your interaction, the reactions, how the reactions were managed, etc.
3. Look for common threads in all these instances and identify if you repeat the same knowingly or unknowingly.
4. Finally validate this by repeating the first 2 steps for all those times when things did not go well or you were unsuccessful.

This exercise would help identify and make you aware of the uniqueness that you bring to the table. It could something as simple as a smile or a sincere look. Maybe when you smile, your face transforms and communicates something powerful. Once a person has this insight and knowledge about himself then, applying self help action points becomes easier. And more importantly you will start to repeat some action points that enhance your uniqueness and eliminate the others that are counter productive. From this state of awareness, your personal success formula will emerge and take form.

People who know this and are scripting their success formulas also read self help books. It is just that they don’t blindly try to follow instructions. They pick and choose from each and craft their own success formula.
Lastly, one should never try passing on a personal success formula to anyone because most probably it might not work. Like I said, every successful person has a formula, but there are no success formulas.

I have come across two kinds of people. First kind are the ones who want to get something done and they get it done no matter what (read as beg, borrow or steal). The second kind are those who eventually get things done by playing the game of “war of attrition”!

Then I came across the third kind. Smart, energetic, enthusiastic, brimming with ideas but who do not have either the ability to get it done or play the attrition game. In their lifetime, they come up with some brilliant idea, suggestion, or cause but never succeed in getting them off the ground. They get themselves entangled in a mesh of political quagmire and run out of steam before they can see their idea see the light of the day.

I think many of us fall in this category. I am sure many of you will be able to re-collect instances from your days at school, college, work place, home and social life. If you had a chance to trace back, you will find that someone else picked up the baton from where you dropped and achieved glory. You tend to say to yourself that “If only, I had not dropped the ball…I would have been” or even worse reminisce, “You know what, it was my idea!”

This recent photograph which I took, of kids near my house celebrating the festival of colour “Holi” has an interesting story behind it and got me thinking on the concept of political will. They were the only group celebrating Holi! Un-fazed by the lack of interest amongst the elders around, they went about having fun which they wanted to. When I approached them for a photograph they were more than willing to pose for me. I interviewed a few of them and heard their story of enduring spirit and uncovered the following story…

It seems that when the kids approached their parents for resources needed to celebrate Holi, the response was lukewarm. They were challenged with hurdle after hurdle like, home work, health issues, society/apartment association regulations on using colours within the premises, practical difficulties of cleaning up, special project (being a long holiday most of them had special projects which they needed to complete and bring back after their small vacation), impending examinations which are just round the corner, they were even told the lame stories on how their favourite film stars did not celebrate Holi as a mark of paying homage to the Mumbai 26/11 incident and so on. The parents piled up hurdles as if it their life depended on it.

However, the children had made up their mind! All they wanted was to have a blast and celebrate Holi and that they would do it.

They got together, planned out their study schedule and homework for the coming week. For the special projects, the kids had an idea! They volunteered for the topic “Holi Celebrations” for the special project in their respective classes. This way they could use special projects as an excuse when they lobbied with their parents. Confused? So was I…

Well, they offered their parents that If they celebrated Holi, they could click pictures and write about the event at their society and would get the project completed by themselves instead of passing it on to them (which is usually the case). This way the parents would be glad to know that they got all the 4 days for themselves. Otherwise they would have to do a lot of research for the projects.

Once they were done with their internal housekeeping, they identified the area where they would play Holi, and what kind of ammunition they would use like water guns, powder sprays, foams. It was during this conversation that they decided that they would not use eggs, tomatoes or any such item which was costly and also compromised on some of the colours which were known to be made of harmful chemical dyes. They came up with some regulations like wearing a slipper, not so costly T-shirts or trousers, and also committed to use swimming glasses to protect their eyes. Thus they made their list of resources that looked pretty good, and approvable.

I also understand from some of the seniors in the group that they made a cute little speech at the monthly society/apartment owners’ association meeting on how they intended to go about their preparation. So, the proposal was completed and presented to individual parents and then the association as a whole!

Do you think these kids were making up this story? I don’t think so! The coherence in narration of incidents and the enthusiasm with which each kid pitched in to explain their hard earned fun moved me.

Is this an isolated incident where kids have shown an astounding example of political will? Here are a few more examples of kids having their way:

• A wailing kid in the wide aisle of a grocery store.
• A kid completing his homework early and doing some helping around at home only to ask for time out to play.
• Kids complaining to a visiting relative about how their parents would not buy them a toy which they very badly want and eventually making the relative feel that he/she should buy it for the kid!
• Kids telling a story of how beautiful their friend’s wrist watch is and why they too need one. They don’t stop there usually. They ask their parents the way to get it. I mean they try to understand from the “giver”, what it would take to get one for themselves.
• Kids seeking and getting the permission of their parents to attend a school picnic.

In the cases discussed above, one thing stands out. In the psychology of children it is ingrained that they have to pursue their ideas or wants to achieve the desired result. They know they have to lobby hard; they tend to understand what tactic works well and when to use what tactic without hurting their future chances. This uncanny ability to persuade without hampering your future chances is called political will! We too have been there, done it or at least have seen it!

Why is it that we lose this political will as we grow up?

At work place, I have seen some brilliant programmers come up with some intelligent tool that automates a very tedious process. They wish that it be used enterprise wide. However, when they encounter the very first challenge or a set of challenges they give up. The tool never sees the light of the day.

Do you know the story of now famous Arvind Adiga, the author of “White Tiger”? Before his work was published and won the Man Booker Prize, he was rejected by every major publishing house in India. That did not deter him. But unfortunately, for every Arvind Adiga there are many others who have put their work in their attics and have given up!

Many innovations, books, arts, ideas have died a silent death because of the lack of political will on the part of the innovator to push it into the system.

When I set out to understand the reason behind giving up instead of having the political will to push the ideas forward, I chanced upon an article by Diane Kennedy Pike. She theorizes a reason why we lose the political will as we grow up. According to her, people develop a sense of distaste for arguments and conflicts as they grow up. They perceive that it is important for them to be “liked by others” than to hold on to their principles and convictions.

This obsessive compulsive disorder for being “liked by other” is what strips you of one of the most important character, namely, the political will, which as a child you carried in abundance and were getting things done the way you thought was right!

During conflicts whilst you are pursuing an idea, you might be faced with hurtful comments. There could be people lobbying against you and your principles. But if it is correct and if you believe it could change people’s lives, stay put! The key is to stay the course on your principles, ideas and convictions, not to take criticisms personally, be passionate about the cause and at the same time be dispassionate in engagement.

Further Diane Kennedy Pike notes,  “I recognize now that to bring about any change at the group level takes tremendous commitment. First, there must be a vision of what is possible. Then, there must be a willingness to sustain that vision through all the stages: presentation of it, support for it, organizing practical programs to implement it, recruiting others to participate in the programs, spending hours talking with people, carrying on when you feel you are the only one who cares, not allowing criticism, rumours, and name-calling to discourage you, allowing others to get the credit when what you envisioned finally begins to manifest, and supporting those who are willing to carry on the vision now that it has become a reality. This is how I would define political will.”

I would like to end with a personal story which made me learn the importance of political will and hence re-build it as a part of my character and also helped develop my tolerance towards “dirty politics”.

I started the student placement office at my college in 2001. It was tough time for technology companies in India. People started remarking about the lack of traction in placements and also were speculating about mismanagement of funds. They demanded a disclosure of accounts. I quit at that very instant. I could not take the fact that people did not trust me. There was no problem with the accounts, and I would have been cleared of all the charges. But I was afraid that such conflicts were going to make me only more unpopular and also that it was a thankless job. Later, I learnt that someone else picked up from where I had left, disclosed the accounts, was cleared of all charges and as luck would have it, a few weeks into his leadership, the placements started happening at my college. The homework which I had done was paying off. He took all the credit for turning around a system that I had abandoned!

I learnt my lesson on political will and vowed to myself that I will never reminisce “You know what, I was the one who started all this placements…”

I refuse to be a loser, just because I do not have political will!

1.    Act with integrity; this is one quality that will make a great team.
2.    Credibility as a team-leader is mostly as good as only it is perceived. So display credibility and act with credibility.
3.    Walk the talk, you get judged well only when you walk the talk. Example: if you are asking for quality work, it’s a given that you also would do the same. Doing the other way destroys credibility.
4.    Be enthusiastic; encourage the team to be enthusiastic as well.
5.    Never hire in haste, which makes waste.
6.    Educate the team on who your customer is, who your competition is.
7.    Create a mechanism to know what is happening in competition.
8.    Let the team know that the customer is supreme, and he is your most important asset.
9.    Give no room for politics in your team. At the hint of it, stem it at the root; and exhibit the fact that politicking is a strict no-no.
10.    Communicate personally as often as possible; use the phone; only re-iterate in written communication.
11.    Smile and laugh in the team, work need not be serious as most of us would think it to be.
12.    Share the joy of any of your team-members.
13.    Share and partake in their sorrows. Give a helping hand, in whichever way you can when a need arises.
14.    Make the team workplace a fun place to be; again laugh and smile.
15.    Show the team member how happy you are to have him/her in the team.
16.    Celebrate each of your team-members birthdays, anniversary… pass on gifts voluntarily.
17.    Have a vision statement for the team; in line with the organization’s vision statement.
18.    Make the purpose of the team clear – it could be revenues, number of customers, turn around time, producing so many units… whatever.
19.    Let this purpose be written down and shared amongst all team members.
20.    Set individual goals clearly – leave no ambiguity in this – make it measurable for them as well as you.
21.    Clear state the expected quality of work, and quantity of work – on a day, for  a week, for the month, and for the year.
22.    Go out of your way to help a team member reach the stated goal.
23.    Make each of them feel that he/she can confide in you.
24.    Understand and talk to them of their job-goals and career goals.
25.    Make learning a team habit. Encourage learning in any form.
26.    Train the team in relevant and contemporary work skills.
27.    Build the team on the strength of his/her personal qualities.
28.    Don’t brood on their weaknesses. Or pass comments on them.
29.    Make them aware of the business opportunities and threats, and the way to remain in a position of advantage.
30.    Build a lot of fun around the goals..  make work interesting…..
31.    Celebrate small milestones, by any team member, and shower praises in public
32.    Celebrate and reward team ideas, which would bring in better results, fresh insights, and knowledge to all – and celebrate this each and every time.
33.    Discourage yes-men. If two people agreed on everything, then one of them is redundant.
34.    Show the team members a growth path – a path that would be intertwined with positive contribution.
35.    Reward excellence. Abhor mediocrity.
36.    Do not reprimand team members. Grown ups don’t need to be reprimanded; they only need to be counseled or advised.
37.    Allow people to make mistakes, which are the only way you get a learning team. Sans mistakes, no new things are going to happen.
38.    Make corrections well in time; not once in a blue moon. Once in a blue moon corrections upset the person, you and the team objectives.
39.    Evince interest in each individual; know them a little more than professionally – their family, their interests, passion, hobbies etc.
40.    Go for lunch once a week outside the office campus; this is by far the best way to bond.
41.    Get the families of teams together once a month. If the teams are cross location, make it at least once in a quarter.
42.    Be transparent and rational in all decision making.
43.    Be objective and not subjective in any of your deeds at work, and related to work.
44.    Make incentive plans objective, simple and clear. Complicated plans lead to a lack of uniform understanding across the team. This colors judgment, and defeats the team spirit.
45.    Take personal interest to ensure that all pay-out timelines are adhered to by the organization and the divisions.
46.    State clearly that a performer would have a soft corner, and would be rewarded.
47.    Reward performers often. And for the accomplishments.
48.    Keep team meetings brief, and with a stated objective and agenda.
49.    Do not meet formally without a written agenda circulated.
50.    Build in a surprise element in rewards for small wins – this could be internal or external to the organization – could be a new client acquired, a new proposal, a cost saving measure, a new idea, whatever…

–

Muralidharan is an HR practitioner and a recruitment professional. A strong believer in spreading cheer and positivity, Murali currently works out of Chennai and is a voracious reader and a prolific writer.

Here is a model of time management that, although highly original and innovative, is based on a theory that is several thousand years old. The theory is the theory of the Four Elements. According to the ancient Greeks, all matter in the universe was comprised of just four elements: earth, fire, air and water. These four elements are not just real. They’re also symbolic. And they represent the four key elements of time management. When you hold these four elements in balance through the tasks you perform, you bring to your life a rich, varied and harmonious pattern. Let’s see exactly how.

1. Earth Tasks. The Earth element represents the source from which we obtain our nourishment. It is the basis on which everything else is built. It is the rock, the core, the groundwork. Earth tasks are those tasks in our life that have to be done if we are to survive. They include sleeping, eating, and bodily needs. In an organizational context, they are the routines, systems, and rituals around which work is organized.  As such, Earth tasks are essential, if sometimes dull.

Spend up to a quarter of your day on Earth tasks. Do them when you want a break from thinking, creating, and relating tasks.

2. Fire Tasks. The element of Fire represents the creative spark in us. When this spark is lit, it can produce something uniquely special that adds to our lives and the lives of others. Fire tasks include any inspirational, dynamic, spontaneous, and productive work, such as developing new ideas, working on projects, taking risks, trying out something new, developing ourselves and innovating. While we connect with Earth tasks through our lower bodies, we connect with Fire tasks through the heart and belly. Without Fire tasks, your life is repetitive and circular. With Fire tasks, you move ahead and fulfil the potential you were born with.

Spend up to a quarter of your day on Fire tasks. Do them when you want a break from routine, thinking, and relating tasks.

3. Air Tasks. The element of Air is associated with any activity that involves thinking. As such, it is often thought of as any non-doing activity. Air is the most elusive of all the elements. Air is everywhere and nowhere, yet it is impossible to grasp and contain. Air tasks include any pure thinking activity, such as goal-setting, planning, decision-taking, problem-solving, creative thinking, analyzing, and learning. It is also the time we need to spend in our lives for renewal and recuperation. For many people who see work as constant activity, the Air element is a reminder of the need to switch off. Without Air tasks in your life, work becomes a struggle. With them, it becomes effortless.

Spend up to a quarter of your day on Air tasks. Do them when you want a break from routine, creative, and relating tasks.

4. Water Tasks. Water is a metaphor for working with others. Like water, time with others is a connecting process. Just like our relationships, water may be still or turbulent, trickling or rushing, bubbly or calm, shallow or deep, active or passive, destructive or playful. While essential for getting things done, time with others can also be one of our biggest time robbers. We can achieve nothing without others. But if we are not careful, we can achieve nothing because of others. That’s why, like water, this aspect of time management is best when controlled and systemized.

Spend up to a quarter of your day on Water tasks. Do them when you want a break from routine, thinking, and creative tasks.

Balancing each day’s activities is not simply a sensible way to live. It is also healthy, productive and enjoyable. To follow an intense period of planning (Air work) with a physical task (Earth work), then to follow that with time on a project (Fire work), followed by time with colleagues (Water work), is to create a rich and whole texture to the day that somehow feels right. That’s why the theory of the Four Elements, as old as it is, still has so much relevance to our lives today.

A morning spent teasing out the best strategy…two hours back ‘n forthing on what to name the campaign… and, just as you’re clearing away the coffee cups and packing up your sticky notes, someone says, “You know…what if we just called it Whazam and went direct to whozit?” Silence. Everyone looks at each other and someone exclaims, “That’s it!”

Those innermost feelings that needed to be spoken, the winning formula – they often slip onto stage as the curtain is getting ready to drop, because we’ve stopped performing and relax into the creative high. It’s usually at the end of meeting when people start to joke and goof off. We save comfort and play for last.

Creative quickies are the way to go: 15-minute jam sessons

If the good stuff so often surfaces at the end, then the trick is to end it sooner. Quit while you’re ahead. Short idea intervals work wonders. “Let’s jam on the story line for 15 minutes.” And stick to it. Then you can brainstorm on fund raising for 15 minutes. The pressure gets the energy rising. The bursts of creative focus will start to feed each other. It’ll all weave into a big picture.

Really good ideas often come when

We get distracted. Consider distraction fodder for brainstorming. So go ahead, let your mind wander in meetings and tie it back to the issue at hand. Thinking about what’s for dinner may trigger a great marketing strategy.

Our defenses are down: when you feel like there’s nothing to lose and that you won’t be criticized.
We’ve exhausted the possibilities and give up. “Give up” is the operative term here. When we stop looking so hard, the view expands – and you can see what’s sparkling just within your reach.

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Danielle LaPorte founded www.whitehottruth.com, is lead author of the bestseller, Style Statement: Live By Your Own Design, and co-founder of www.carrieanddanielle.com. A former think tank exec, she helps entrepreneurs rock their careers with her signature Fire Starter Sessions. You can reach her at d@daniellelaporte.com.

Ashok, a young management graduate from a prestigious school, settles down in his new assignment full of confidence in his ability to make a difference in his new job. He initiates what he thinks are much needed changes, sure to propel the organization to stratospheric levels. Soon he meets with what he thinks is irrational resistance. Pulled up by top management, he resigns.

Most young managers and often even experienced ones find it difficult to understand why people are not able to accept the simplest of changes which are in fact ‘in their interest’. They conclude that they are surrounded by bad colleagues, by incompetent executives. This diagnosis is not always correct. The fact is that many of us do not have an understanding of the concept of systems.

Almost anything we can think of is a system or part of a system. Our body is a system that we can understand. Each person is part of a system—the family, community, organization, etc. Simply speaking a system is a number of parts acting as a single entity. Technically a system is an entity that maintains its existence and functions as a whole through the interactions of its parts. These parts are interconnected and work together and the behaviour of the system depends on the total structure. Change the system structure and you change the behaviour.

There are two issues of significance here. Firstly, systems function as a whole so they have properties above and beyond the properties of the parts that comprise them. These are known as ‘emergent properties’. These properties cannot be predicted by analyzing the parts in isolation. Thus the expected performance of a team is not just the sum of the individual capabilities of the members of the team. Secondly and conversely if you take the system apart these properties are lost. Analytical thinking sometimes does not work because of this second feature of systems. Thus analyzing the individual performance of the executives in a failed department may not reveal the correct reasons for non-performance—the problem may be of the lack of teamwork and coordination.

Dynamic complexity is a concept young managers may not be familiar with. Consider a business team. Each member of the team has his or her moods and these can vary moment to moment. There are many ways in which these members can relate with each other. So even if the team is small in size it may have a great deal of dynamic complexity. Problems that seem to be simple on the surface may be having a great deal of complexity when probed further. Every new connection to the system—the addition of one more person for example—increases complexity, not by one, but exponentially.

To understand the ‘exponential’ bit you have only to realize that managing two people is more than twice as hard as managing one person! In a complex system like a company or even a department in an organization it is useful to remember the following.

The relationship between the different parts of the system determines how it works, so each part, however small, can affect the behaviour of the whole. The humble peon for example can have a big effect on the working of a department as some of us may have experienced.

All parts of a system are interdependent, they all interact. How they relate to each other gives them the power to influence systems.

Arising from the above we have a useful tip on how Ashok our young management graduate, referred to in the start of this article, could have handled his situation better. The more connections he would have made the more possible influence he could have exercised. Networking, for this is what this rule amounts to, brings influence. Research suggests that successful managers spend four times as much time networking as their less successful colleagues. {Paul Luthans in ‘Real manager’ 1988]

Different parts can combine to affect the whole—a phenomenon we often dismiss as ‘cliques’. Any system is a web. The many links in a system make it stable. Any change in one part will, by the very nature of the interconnectedness of its parts, affect changes in the rest of the system. The other parts will also resist change because it means they will have to change too. Complex systems like organizations resist change. The vast bureaucracy in an organization is notoriously change resistant.

New business practices are resisted as people feel comfortable with the old ways of doing things—something that Ashok discovered to his cost. Systems do however change and sometimes very fast in some circumstances. Ashok could have succeeded if he knew another aspect of systems—the principle of leverage.

Imagine a system as a web with many parts connected. Suppose you want to change the position of one part. When you pull on it directly, it seems to resist. Really it is the whole system that resists. However cutting a small link in another place may free this piece. Like undoing a crucial knot in a tangle of string. You have to know how the system is made up to know which knot to undo. Once this is understood even major changes can be achieved with little effort.

In Ashok’s case he was not aware, that he had only to win the confidence of the PA to the CEO and he would have had no problem in initiating change!! Change can happen if you identify the right connections. This phenomenon, whereby a small effort can get a huge result, is the principle of leverage, a feature of systems. Charlie Chaplin had quite by accident pressed the right ‘lever’.

How does one apply this principle? Ask the key question ‘What stops the change?’ Look at the connections that are holding the part you want to change, in place. Cut or weaken these and the change may be easy.

As for Ashok, did his business school education prove inadequate? Maybe yes, maybe no. You gain knowledge through analytical thinking. You gain understanding through systems thinking.

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K.R. Ravi is South Asia’s first Dr.Edward De Bono certified public trainer in lateral thinking, and a pioneer in spreading lateral thinking in the Indian corporate sector. For more details, visit http://www.krravi.com or contact him at createravi@hotmail.com.

There are also plenty of articles, books and talking about the subject. Why?

Let’s start from the end. With more time available you will be able to exercise innovation, develop “out-of-the-box” thinking to see what is wrong and what can be improved. You will be able to be more connected and updated with trends, opportunities and threats. You will be able to have a more balanced life with leisure and with your family.

So, what should you do?

There is no magic. But the best solutions for the worst problems are the most simple.

Start with writing the daily tasks that you need to do every day. Examples: read the news, read e-mails, reply e-mails, pay bills, verify bank accounts, verify stock, call suppliers, check with the staff if everything is ok, and so on.

Dimension how much time do you need (or you are expending) to accomplish those tasks. Verify where you can optimize your time, and organize the schedule to get it done. Start with only controlling the time spent. It is already a great step.

Resolve first the easiest and shortest tasks. If in some task you exceed your time limit, stop and go to the next one. Return to that one only after finishing the current “round” and use your “spare time” for so doing.

Try to reduce 10% to 30% the time of some tasks. With other tasks, develop a worksheet (a simple control) and try to empower someone to make it, and control.

Try to reserve, at least, one or two hours for creative thinking, to research, new products, new approaches, and new markets, depending on your core business and always with focus on strengths. And, also, don’t lose ever the “picture” of your market and competitors.

When you are stuck in a particular situation and don’t find a solution, go for a walk, have a coffee,  do something that makes you disconnect completely and quickly from the problem, and return to it later.

Don’t try to memorize every thing that happens or that you will need to do. You will lose time to remember some of them. Write on your notepad, outlook, palm, smart phone, or even a piece of paper.

When you are involved with a complex problem, that needs immediate resolution, and you need concentration, don’t let anyone interrupt your thoughts, close the door, don’t answer the phone, and finish your task first. You will economize time; will have more efficiency and efficacy.

Stop reading this article and go to practice.

Time, it is not only money, it is your life!

Researchers are finding that the need to be perfect is a factor in those suffering from depression, eating disorders, hoarding and other obsessive compulsive behaviors.  Perfectionism paralyzes and prevents meaningful living. It robs us of our self confidence, our relationships with others and our personal happiness. It can even ruin our health.

So why do we suffer from Perfectionism?  Some aspect of it may be inherited or due to a chemical imbalance in the  brain. But much of it is nurture, not nature.  As children, our society has ingrained in us the idea that we must be perfect.  We must be perfectly athletic, perfectly beautiful, perfectly academic, perfectly put together in every way.  Magazines and TV ads reinforce this belief.  Our schools reinforce this too.  How are we supposed to feel when our child doesn’t make the “gifted and talented” group in the third grade? Failures, of course.

I remember with sadness when my son, in the 7th grade, made it to our State Spelling Bee Championship. We were so proud. But when it came time to have a photo of the attendees for the Newspaper,  the reporter told my son and others to step aside because he only wanted to photograph the “winners”. Never mind my son had “won” a place in the finals.  Only winners counted. I witnessed the same thing on the soccer and baseball field when my kids were in high school.  Everybody was hot shot. So much for team spirit.

So here we are with anorexia, teen suicide, depression, hoarding on the rise and no wonder. Now, as a Professional Organizer and Coach, I am helping my clients overcome what has been ingrained in them since childhood. Their notion that they have to be perfect,nothing else will do, is paralyzing them. My goal is to help them to uncover and honor their unique abilities.  They have gifts and talents unlike anyone else with plenty of power inside them to succeed.

Starting with the basics, this is what you need to know. Everybody’s got gremlins and they are big fat liars.  Here are some of the things that gremlins whisper in our ear.

Who do you think you are? That will never work. You are too old to begin something new. What will people say? It has to be perfect or don’t bother to do it. Don’t send it until its perfect Don’t submit it until its perfect Don’t publish it until it’s perfect

Sound familiar?  What’s the pattern here?  The pattern is that you have to be perfect to get anything done.  You have to be perfectly smart, pretty, and young and organized to accomplish anything.  Lies all lies.  The truth is that nobody is perfect. The truth is that nothing is ever perfect.  The truth is that perfectionism is the biggest killer of good ideas, paralyzer of lives and businesses and the biggest gremlin of all.  So what say we throw the Perfectionism Gremlin out?

The Five Little P’s and How They Grew

Gosh, what a cute title for a children’s book!  This story, however, doesn’t have a happy ending – no riding off into the sunset on a white horse or living happily ever after in the arms of a prince. Instead, this is the story of how Perfectionism ruins lives.

Stage 1:  Perfectionism.  It has to be perfect. If it’s not perfect, I am a failure.  What will people think of me? I’ll be so ashamed.  If I don’t get it all done perfectly and all at once, it will never happen.  Then the phone rings, or some unexpected event happens and that day you planned to “get it all done – and perfectly” is gone.  You have failed. Better try again some other time.

Stage 2:  Procrastination.  So, the project gets delayed- put on the back burner until the perfect opportunity arrives.  Other issues or projects take over in the meantime.  Forgotten and delayed, your important project festers and stews until it becomes urgent.  Now it is an emergency.  Welcome to Stage 3

Stage 3:  Prioritization.  You have left it too long.  The trouble is, you’ve left a lot of things too long – procrastination becomes a bad habit – and you don’t know what to tackle first.

Stage 4:  Panic.  Overwhelmed and ashamed, you are afraid to ask for help.  It’s all so embarrassing!  What a mess.  Certainly isn’t perfect. Someone will find out your dirty little secret – you are not perfect.

Stage 5:  Paralysis.  You are stuck. You can’t do it.  You don’t know where to begin or even how to fix it.  You may just give up or you may decide that you have to let somebody help you.

Here’s the inside psychology on the Perfectionism Gremlin.  It’s all in your head. It doesn’t have to be perfect.  JUST MAKE IT BETTER.  Nobody is perfect.  As the greeting card lady in the red hat who loves to wear purple likes to say:  Get over it!  If you take any large project, break it down into segments and attack just one segment a day, you will have made it better. Perhaps you can take a small segment of a segment.  Start and see how much more confident you feel. It’s OK to fail forward.  Be courageous and do your best.  You’ll learn what works and what doesn’t.  That’s real success. Resolve not to be a procrastinator.  You now understand where that road takes you.

The Perfectionism Gremlin isn’t going to give up. It’s been whispering in your ear all your life.  It even got your parents, teachers and bosses to help. “Practice makes perfect”, “If you can’t do something well, don’t do it at all.”  “Winning is everything”  “Don’t be a loser”.  It’s going to try over and over again to lead you down the path to paralysis.  Now you know it just has to be better. You have given yourself permission to fail forward.  True success is knowing what works and what doesn’t and that only happens when you ignore that Perfectionism Gremlin and take a chance.

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Marilyn Ellis is known as “America’s Organizer Coach”.  As a author, speaker, Professional Organizer and Certified Life Coach, she loves helping people navigate through their busy and challenging lives. To learn more about Marilyn, visit her website at http://www.lighthouseorganizers.com or call 1-866-379-6440.

At every point of time, we are doing things. Sometimes for ourselves, sometimes for others. Actions, words, deeds, thoughts flow from us all the time. What should be our approach? How should we deal with the flow?

I feel that one have to always “Do Your Best” (DYB). Why DYB? I think that this is the only way to ensure that one’s output is of the highest quality. It is an obligation on each of us to carry out. It is a commitment to ourselves and to others to expect the best from us – nothing less.

With God’s grace, each of us is blessed with a certain level of talent and a mind which has no limits. “The only limit to achievement is in our mind” is a saying I heard long ago. It is imperative therefore that we open our minds to achieve great things. We also need to make up our minds that anything that comes out of us will be the best possible.

When each of us is in this DYB mode, the world will become a much better place. Quality of output will improve, there will be more self satisfaction and joy. When we are in DYB mode, people will sit up and notice us, appreciate us, recognise us and celebrate us. It is a great feeling.

Try it !!

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Vish is a chartered and cost accountant who works with a leading bank in Mumbai, India, looking after their risk management. His interests are reading, travelling, spirituality, thinking and physical fitness (not necessarily in that order). Contact vish.sesh@gmail.com.

1.) Just start.  That’s it – just get started.  Pick up one stack to sort or one drawer to clean out. Just take one step on your new walking program.  If you’re like me, once I get started, it’s game on.

2.) Hire someone else to do it.  Seriously.  I pay someone to clean my house and it is the best money I spend.  I don’t want to spend my time cleaning, but I don’t want to live in a dirty house.  Let’s say paying someone isn’t an option for you.  No problem – just find out what it would cost to pay someone, then next time you find yourself putting it off, think, “If I get this done it will save me $75.”  You’ll either be motivated to do it or you’ll write the check.

3.) Let go of perfection.  I believe (and we do lie best when we lie to ourselves) that my procrastination is linked to my perfectionism.  I feel that if I can’t do something right (i.e. perfect), I shouldn’t do it at all.  So when I think about the database entry, I think I don’t have time to do it all, so I do nothing. And a 15 minute job accumulates into a five hour job and all my leads are cold.  Better to do it halfway than not do it at all.  Better to walk one mile than zero.  Better to have half the laundry folded than none.  And go back to number one – once you start, you often finish.  Perfectionism is idiotic.  (And yes, I am working on being less of an idiot.)

This is another reason why people don’t delegate or hire others.  Many women tell me they won’t hire someone to clean their homes because that person wouldn’t do the job as well as they would.  Okay – if you want to spend your life cleaning your baseboards, rock on!  I’ll be out enjoying my life.

4.) Trick yourself.  I got a lot of this done because I fooled myself into thinking it was fun.  I sat at my desk, lit some candles, put on some TV shows I like and did data entry for hours.  Hey – see number three – we lie best when we lie to ourselves.  Tell yourself going through all that junk you’ve been hoarding will be fun!  Whee!!!  Or find a way to make it fun for you – invite a friend over to help you with your closet or promise yourself a reward when you’re finished.   Bribe yourself!

5.) Create urgency.  I wanted to get stuff donated before the end of the year to help reduce my taxes, so I cleaned out closets.  Maybe you have a birthday coming up and you don’t want to spend another year in your current state.  If you can set some kind of goal or deadline, this will help.

6.) Dump it all.  Maybe there are stacks in your office or a bunch of junk in your garage.  Get a box (or boxes or trash bags) and just pitch it all.  If you are not using that stuff, get rid if it!  If that’s too drastic, date the boxes – if you didn’t need anything out of then in a year – for God’s sake – THROW THEM AWAY!  If it’s a hobby or a craft project or a piece of exercise equipment – be honest with yourself – use the damn thing or toss it.  Here people start thinking, but I spent $250 on that!  Yep – then try to sell it on Ebay, because that money is gone, baby and it ain’t coming back.  Most of the time your old junk really is just junk.  For all the time it might take to sell it, you’d be better off just taking it to Goodwill and writing it off.

7.) Multitask – maybe.  Depending on the task, multitasking might help or it might harm.  If it’s reading, I can go through a lot of stuff while I ride the stationary bike.  I feel like I’m getting some exercise AND accomplishing something.  I love it!  But sometimes trying to multitask derails me.  Deactivating my e-mail alert was a huge time saver – no distraction, more focus, more execution.  Every interruption slows you down dramatically.

8.) Think of the consequences.  If I don’t update my database I lose touch with my clients and that can cost me money.  If you don’t go through those stacks on your desk, you look disorganized and lose credibility.  If you have chaos in your e-mail inbox, you may miss opportunities or appear unreliable.  If nothing else, clutter saps your energy and wastes your time.  Take control.

Try a couple of these – I’m telling you from the other side, when you finally get the task done, it will take much less time than you thought and you’re going to feel a lot better about yourself.  Now I need to get that mailing out.

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Denise Ryan, MBA, is a Certified Speaking Professional, a designation of excellence held by less than 10% of all professional speakers.  She is a blogger http://motivationbychocolate.blogspot.com
Her website is http://www.firestarspeaking.com where you can see more articles and sign up for a free newsletter.

The successful entrepreneur is well-organized.  The more organized the professional the easier the day. The best and most successful understand how to move around the hurdles in a structured manner so that they accomplish more – with less.

I recall many years ago living in New Jersey and commuting to Manhattan, one frequently stopped to pay tolls. These necessities are required for road improvements, etc. yet they become an annoyance and add time to your commute. Tolls create agitation because you need to stop and restart, they frustrate you as you fumble for ways to weave through the longest line to ease your commute and finally, distract you as you watch other foppish commuters.

There are three tolls in your life and your business that disrupt your day. They are:

1.    People
2.    Problems
3.    Processes

Each of these factors contributes to a waste of time, energy and euphoria and manages to throw your days into pandemonium. For you to gain instant organizational momentum you must embark in three ideologies:

•    You must have some selfishness.
•    You must keep in mind moments do not return.
•    You must embrace the issue and make an immediate change.

If you keep these in mind throughout the day your disarray will lead to order.

When we look at organizational skills we need to first understand what gets in the way of efficiency and organization and the most common cause of disorder. Procrastination detains you. When you steer away from confrontational or imperative issues you back up other issues creating a domino effect.

There are a number of major reasons for procrastination such as is a FEAR. The issue takes too long to complete, is too boring or simply is ridiculous and takes time from something else. Yet, research shows that in 98% of instances when procrastination exists, the excuses for procrastinating actually take more time than the issue itself.

If you find yourself not dealing with things, paperwork is piling up and calls unreturned then you must absolutely begin to change you habits. Paperwork, calls and reports do not disappear because of avoidance they grow LARGER!!!

Self-management is simply the result of developing good habits and letting them control you. Another way to look at it is don’t let bad habits control you  – you are in charge – so you make choices. In order to overcome procrastination one must meet it head on. Moreover, there are numerous things you can do to refrain from procrastination. They include:

1. Get the things you hate to do completed first. Stop putting things off until tomorrow or the next day since it will not get accomplished anyway. Get the calls, the reports, the meeting with the nasty client all out of the way first and the remainder of the day is easier.

2. Stop seeking alternatives through email and voice mail. Many individuals hide behind electronics. Refrain from wearisome habits and confront the issue. The manner in which to stop poor behavior is confronting it. This is what you tell your clients, isn’t it?

3. Stop pondering. More time is spent on not conducting the task then physically doing it. When surveyed, 93% of participants stated that blowing off the issue took more time than the physical issue. Pay bills twice per month; make calls and emails first, etc.

4. Prioritize. Most people simply lack good planning and goal setting. The only way to stop sputtering is simply to prioritize. Plan the day and stick with it, do not enable interruptions.

There are also some additional guidelines for sanity and organization:

1. Create time frames – block out times in a day for specific activities and events. Do not enable interruptions during these imperative times.

2. Hold yourself accountable – ensure success by keeping to times and to goals. You hold your clients and relatives to specific schedules why not yourself?

3. Keep only one list – good organizers place information in one place so that they are not distracted. The problem with most people is that they don’t keep a list at all. Others have too many, to remain atop the issues have one list such as a to-do and keep it in a location where you are most apt to view it.

4. Keep a notepad wherever you are – One of the best methods for organization is to keep pen and paper with you at all times, if you are technologically desirous then a recorder. During a single day individuals have numerous thoughts. When was the last time your great idea would place you as the world’s wealthiest person only to forget the idea hours later? With so many distractions interrupting our days it is best to record those precious moments. Keep a notepad wherever you go: auto, airplane, business bag, knapsack, nightstand, bathroom etc. Never lose another thought. Once you create the memory then transpose the idea to your main list for ultimate success.

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Drew Stevens is a business growth expert. He speaks and consults around the world for organizations that require expertise in leadership and marketing. Visit Drew at www.drewstevensconsulting.com/freestuff and get hundreds of dollars in FREE selling tips.

In my first job, as a salesman with Procter and Gamble, at the annual sales meeting the Vice President of Sales got up and gave a speech on “divine discontent.” He told us we should never be satisfied with what is, we should always be striving for more, we should be aiming for the stars. We all got up and cheered and applauded. That was years ago, and the message in that speech has always stuck with me. He was right – being content with the status quo as a salesman is a recipe for failure.

We are constantly given the message that to stay in place is to lose ground; that today is all we have; that the future can be better, if we make it so. Those are all terrific messages and beliefs, and shape the behaviors and motivators of achievers.

But taken too far, those messages and beliefs can become a trap that can lead to all kinds of problems. Problems that grow out of the habit of thought called dissatisfaction. And that dissatisfaction – that habit of thought that can be so positively powerful, can lead to failure, dropping out, leaving things unfinished, procrastination, perfectionism and constant frustration.

In the new Woody Allen movie, ” Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” in a very intense scene, Maria Elena, Penelope Cruz’s character, accuses Cristina, Scarlett Johannson’s character, of being addicted to dissatisfaction.

“Addicted to Dissatisfaction.” What a great description! That state of mind where everything can be better – or different. That place where whatever is being done is not good enough. Where there is always something more important, more exciting, more fulfilling, more valuable, more rewarding. It’s being in that emotional place where nothing seems to be right, where everything is just a little bit off, a little bit less than desired.

We’ve all met people who seem to focus only on what didn’t happen, what wasn’t just right, what didn’t meet standards, what was a little off balance. Their dissatisfaction just sucks the life out of whatever it is they have focused on.

And when dissatisfaction extends to the unimportant areas, and it’s easy for that to happen, dissatisfaction becomes a destructive force. And recognizing that it has happened is often difficult. But “Addiction to Dissatisfaction”can negatively affect relationships, performance, health.

How to focus dissatisfaction on the important few, and adopt a more tolerant approach to the unimportant many – to get rid of an “Addiction To Dissatisfaction”?

The first step is recognizing the symptoms. Here are ten key symptoms of “Addiction To Dissatisfaction.”

1 – Being unable to separate the really important from the not really important. Treating everything the same, with the same intensity and focus.

2 – Increasing a performance expectation as soon as soon as the old expectation is met – without regard to its real importance.

3 – Criticizing yourself for not doing more – whatever that means. And then extending that criticism to other people, situations and solutions.

4 – Finding it difficult if not impossible to celebrate victories because they fall short of the ideal.

5 – Considering “good enough” to be unacceptable performance – on anything.

6 – Being convinced that you could have done much better if you had more time, more training, more focus, more resources. Feeling that what you did wasn’t your best work.

7 – Feeling that the people you associate with, work with, live with are not quite up to snuff, Not quite what you imagined, not quite what you expected, not quite what you hoped for.

8 – Striving for the ideal solution, behavior, outcome, and being satisfied with nothing less, without measuring the importance.

9 – Judging accomplishment against the ideal, and finding fault with the difference between the two – without evaluating the importance of the difference – or the accomplishment.

10 – Thinking that there are more important things to be done than what is being done now – without being able to really define what those more important things are.

Once recognized, how can you overcome this Addiction to Dissatisfaction while keeping dissatisfaction as a key to improvement in the important things? It starts with being aware that this habit of thought is imbedded in motivators and behaviors.

Start by reviewing the key symptoms, and determine if they describe you. You can’t fix something that you don’t know exists on a conscious level.

And then:

- Treat only the very few really important things as worthy of constant striving. Constant striving on everything just leads to never doing anything very well.

- Realize and accept that “good enough” ain’t bad – almost all of the time.

- Create SMART goals – for only the few important things and be satisfied with meeting the goals and then celebrate meeting them. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic/Relevant, Time framed.

- Create goals that align with the goals of others who have influence over what you consider important – like your job.

- Continue to resist the very human impulse to add goals – keep the truly important to 3 to 5 goals – no more.

- Understand and accept that “meeting goals” for SMART goals is excellent performance.

- Beware of goal creep – that self inflicted monster that keeps moving the bar higher and higher – even when it makes little if any sense.

- Accept that there are areas in your life where performance is not what it is in the core areas – that doesn’t mean failure – it means being human.

- Be as focused as that fabled fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. In one scene he tells his assistant, Dr Watson, that he doesn’t care if the moon goes around the sun or the earth goes around the sun. It makes no difference to him – all that knowledge could do to him would be to divert him from his truly important work. That work – in his case – is being the best detective he can be. Focus works to brush aside dissatisfaction with the trivial many.

Then keep striving – on the few things where striving will make a difference. Watch that Addiction To Dissatisfaction disappear, and be replaced by effective, focused accomplishment.

————————

Andy Cox helps his clients select and develop teams and talent. He focuses on helping leaders and emerging leaders define and develop their skills and talents using goals. He can be reached at http://www.coxconsultgroup.com , or at acox@coxconsultgroup.com

“What an apt label for a bunch of file-pushers ‘The India Fossil Service’. I happened to visit the Indian consulate in the prime AAA category real estate in Singapore.

The moment I stepped inside, the shabby interiors made me realize I was dealing with a third world country. The consulate exists in a typical Indian colonial type building with lots of chips in plaster and torn carpets. The library was a clutter of books. Even the newspapers were six days old!”

A top corporate honcho once told me that when interviewing a candidate for a position in his company he made his initial judgment about the merits of the person by taking a close look at the state of polish of his or her shoes!

What these instances have in common is a much underutilized psychological and
management concept “the broken window”. This concept had its origin in the 1990’s when there was a decrease in violent crimes in the USA. There were a number of straightforward reasons for this decline—crackdown on cocaine trade, economic recovery, aging of the population, etc. However there was no consensus on the reasons for the decline of crime in New York. None of these favourable conditions were evident in that city at least not to the extent that the decline could be explained. It was then that criminologists James Wilson and George Kelling argued that crime is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon more windows will be broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread from the building to the
street on which it faces, sending signals that ‘anything goes’. In a city, relatively minor problems like graffiti, public disorder and aggressive behaviour are all equivalent to the broken window—invitations to more serious crime. Thus, they say, if a neighbourhood cannot prevent a person from eve-teasing, the eve-teaser may reason that it is even less likely to call the police to identify him or to interfere if he decides to mug a passerby.

This is evident in towns and cities and offices all over our country. The Singapore
Consulate example is really a “showcase” of our offices and public places all over the
country. Anything goes, or the Hindi equivalent Chalta hai, is really the starting point of an epidemic. Who can deny that the rot is evident everywhere in our country? The conclusion is that a small act of neglect or casualness can start an epidemic and affect an entire country. The moment that we do not set right a broken window we are initiating a torrent of consequences. In the mid-nineties the New York transit authorities hired Kelling, the criminologist referred to above, and he in turn advised them to try out the ‘broken window’ theory in practice. They obliged and asked the subway director David Gunn to oversee the multibillion dollar rebuilding of the subway system. Gunn decided to first stamp out graffiti scrawled on the cars. Many commentators advised him to concentrate on the big issues—crime, safety, etc and not to worry about ‘small things’ like graffiti. Worrying about graffiti at a time when the entire system was about to collapse was, they said, like scrubbing the decks of the Titanic. But the broken window theory told Gunn otherwise. He felt that at the outset the battle against graffiti was to be fought. Without that all the management reforms and changes would not help. Gunn drew up a plan of action to clean up the system line by line and train by train. He told his colleagues—no car would go out into the system unless all graffiti was removed, come what may, Every time vandals messed up a car, the graffiti would be erased till the message went home— graffiti is out for ever! Over a period of time the subway became squeaky clean. Thereafter the theory was applied to other aspects of the subway with remarkable results.

In a management context we have lessons to learn from this theory. An epidemic in the sense of deterioration in the functioning of a company can be reversed by tinkering with the smallest details of the immediate environment. You do not have to rectify and immediately solve big problems. Start with small ones. A top executive told me that he made sure small grievances of his employees were attended to with speed. This he tells me has created the impression of a caring management which his company anyway is.

 

God is in details.

But the issue is that he is convinced it is in the small matters that his employees assess him. In my workshops on innovation I am asked how to sell one’s innovative ideas to top management. I cite the example of one of the participants of an earlier workshop who, fired by his lateral thinking skill, rushed to his MD and told him that the company ought to get out of their business since he saw no future in that line of activity. This, he said, was his ‘strategic’ creative input. Needless to say, he was asked to mind his business which was to arrange travel tickets for his bosses. I then advised him to start with small innovations where the risk element was negligible. He followed my advice. He is now the Manager Innovation for his company!

 

It used to be said about Margaret Thatcher that one leadership trait of hers that stood out was her ability and willingness to take fast decisive action on relatively small issues. As they say in a different context, ‘God is in the small details.’

Most readers will be familiar with, or have heard of Malcolm Gladwell’s best selling business book ‘The Tipping Point’. The author suggests that there is a point at which you need apply only a small effort to create an effect. This is rather like giving the final push to topple a large boulder or tipping a finely balanced set of scales. If only we could find this point, we could all save ourselves time and effort.

Once the tipping point is found then we, and our businesses will be beating the competition and lining our pockets with untold riches, right? Is there anything to stop us? Well, quite a lot actually. Take the simple case of sitting down on a chair. You see the chair, walk round to the front and then sit down. Did you check that the chair was still there or that it did not have a wobbly leg. Most of the time nothing will happen but what happens in the 1 in 100 or 1 in 1000 cases when a practical joker has removed the chair?

This is a somewhat simplified example but neatly illustrates the point that we must keep our wits about us at all times. Having created a strategy for the future we want it to succeed but how many of us do not keep watch? What is it exactly that we are watching for? This is where we come to The Slipping Point. If you were driving up a slippery slope or along an icy road it would be the place where you lost grip, where your forward momentum slowed, and where things just did not go as planned. What can be done about this?

• Ensure Management are ‘Hands Ready’ i.e. they are aware of what is going on but are not micro-managing or too eager to take control. This provides space to see the bigger picture.
• Do your employees work in teams? The more they do this, the more support they provide, the more knowledge is shared and the more flexible they are when confronted with challenges.¬†
• Is there a desire to win or are you all there to pick up your pay cheques?¬†
• Even if you have a desire to win, do you know how to win?¬†
• Keep an eye on the external environment, competitors, customers and any other factors that could affect the economic landscape.
• Foster as many external relationships as you can. These provide information and can also be leveraged in times of need.¬†
• Promote the right culture. Transparency and morale are often used but infrequently heeded. Lead by example and gain trust and you will be in good shape.¬†
• Promote the concept of stretch, an environment in which your employees and management alike are challenged and allowed to learn.¬†
• Get the best from your staff. This extends from what management actually ‘do’ to staff to encourage and motivate them as well as reward systems.¬†

Pay attention to the above and you have a very good chance of executing that carefully crafted strategy and avoiding The Slipping Point.

Rather, let’s look at why many people experience a challenge in communicating effectively from the verbal aspect:

1.    Self-consciousness

When I was a magazine editor, I was invited to many red-carpet events and cocktails where I had to rub shoulders with the rich and famous. Initially I dreaded those events, because I was not comfortable at making small talk with these people.

Then a great truth dawned on me – to be a good conversationalist, we simply had to be a great listener. We had to be genuinely interested in what the other person had to say, ask the right questions (because we genuinely wanted to know more) and presto, people will laud us as great communicators!

It’s often our own self-consciousness that makes us tongue-tied and awkward. We are so pre-occupied with what intelligent idea to share next, that we can barely concentrate on listening to and understanding the other party.

2.    Non-empathy

The other block to good communication is non-empathy. We are sometimes so intent on putting our ideas across that we forget to be sensitive or empathic to the other person. Is the person in a rush, or does he or she have other matters on his or her mind?

A good example is when we want to sell an idea to our boss: is he or she rushing for another meeting? Or perhaps he or she has just got some flak from his or her boss or a customer and is simply in a lousy mood.

My personality type tends towards being results-oriented, so this was an area that I was weak in. Now I’ve learnt to be more sensitive and to always ask: Is it a good time to talk? Or: Do you have half an hour to discuss… ?

3.    Lack of clarity

This comes from a lack of clarity in our thoughts as well as our verbal communication. It starts from our thoughts: are we quite clear in our minds what is the message we wish to convey? From there, we move on to effective choice of words. Some people may have a language problem: they may be thinking in their mother language, say Mandarin or Punjabi, and trying to express their ideas in a language they are not comfortable with, say English.

Learn to organize your thoughts. Before making an important presentation, list down the points you want to make in a logical sense. If language is a challenge, then I suggest you write your ideas down in proper sentences and ask a friend to go through for you. I’m not saying you should read from your paper or memorise the “speech” but just writing it down and reading it a few times will help you a great deal in putting your message across.

Many people think as long as they speak fluently, they are good communicators. Not so, as those of you who have had to listen to someone go on and on about themselves, will testify. They may be such eloquent speakers, and even entertaining at times, but there’s only so much we can take in a one-way communication. I’m sure some of you have been in a situation where you just wish you were somewhere else after 20 minutes!

The highest level of communication which I personally would strive for as a communicator is what is known as persuasive communication. This takes place when the person we are communicating with, 1) understands what we want to say, 2) feels what we are feeling and is then 3) motivated to take action on what we have said.  Effective communication may stop short at (2); the listener may not necessarily want to do something about what he or she has just heard.

One skill that can help you move from effective to persuasive communication is that of asking questions. This is a powerful skill that once you have mastered it, will indeed help you see immediate results in your daily communication – be it sales, presentation of ideas, talking to your friends or simply getting your child to do what you want! So the best thing you can do for yourself now is to pop into a bookstore and grab a book on this!

Jessica See, a Certified Professional Trainer and Coach (IPMA UK), conducts programmes on ‘Training as a Profession’ in Singapore, Malaysia, Shanghai and Beijing. She can be contacted at  Jessica@qscasia.com

Everything begins with the way we think, leading to the way we act and behave. By changing the way we think, we can find new ways to do things better and be better in every aspect of our lives. Mind Maps are a profound tool for effective thinking. Their contribution and impact on our thinking is impeccable.

Allow me to share with you my experiences on my journey with Mind Maps.

1. Better focus

Being pulled in different directions in the daily grind of life, trying to meet life’s competing demands and priorities and keeping my focus to accomplish all that needs to be done without distractions remain constant challenges. At times I find my thoughts straying and my thinking becomes foggy, lacking clarity. Mind Maps help to focus my mind as I would need to search and consider the most important elements of my theme to be planted on the main branches. This task requires me to drill deep into my thoughts to think about all the important factors and then prioritise them. Finding a keyword that would summarise and best represent my thoughts is the beginning of my main idea. Once I can get that going, it becomes easier to link up a continuous stream of associations, and before I know it, my thought process begins to flow almost effortlessly. At that point, my mind no longer thinks about the things that are irrelevant.

For example, when I have to prepare for a session plan for my class at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, I first focus on the objectives, followed by the learning outcome that I want my students to achieve, then the key learning points, pace and timing. If I allow these ideas to float in my head without physically pinning them down on the branches, it will not help to solidify my focus and I will tend to procrastinate my projects & tasks at hand. After prioritising the various tasks, I then decide what to work on next and allocate the amount of time accordingly.  This serves as my teaching agenda and it also allows me to be flexible with the sequence when I lecture and conduct tutorials. Hence Mind Maps help me to focus and make me more productive.

2. More organized

As soon as I discover the versatility of Mind Maps and their usefulness, I realise that they can be applied in virtually any area of my life. That is their true beauty. In fact, they are an instant power source anyone can easily tap into.

After familiarizing myself with the theory and practice of Mind Maps, I can use them as a system & structure to plan for my lessons when I teach or present. They are especially useful when presenting to and reviewing information with the students and participants as it is easy for anyone to follow since everything falls on one page.

Leonardo da Vinci once said, “In this world, everything is connected to everything else.” This is so true. I can conveniently shift from one aspect of my topic to another with ease and the students can visualize how all things connect and work together to arrive at the big picture (gestalt).  My students’ eyes would be fixated on the whiteboard as I reveal the course information through a network of colourful text, graphics and images connected by branches. I could edit the information quickly as the students contribute their ideas and add new information during our interactive discussions. It is easy to prevent drift and waffle from the agenda at hand. Likewise I could use the tool powerfully in my meetings where irrelevant ideas just won’t fit into the Mind Map of what’s being discussed.

3. Improved efficiency

Preparing for presentations using Mind Maps takes less time than writing it out in a linear form, thus making my preparation work much more efficient. It allows me to be in tune with the overview of my session plan and subject matter at all times.

Whenever an idea crops up, I can readily add it onto the relevant sub-level branch and continue to expand my thoughts without messing up my notes. I could reuse my Mind Maps for future presentations even when there are new materials to supplement, simply by adding on and expanding the original Mind Map without having to redraft everything. This form of reference saves me a lot of precious time and simplifies the process.

At the Polytechnic, my students find it extraordinary and unusual as they rarely have been exposed to this form of teaching style. It is fun and interesting as I have not had a student who falls asleep on me!

Using Mind Maps as a framework for lecture creates a greater balance between oral and written presentations with the ability to inject variation and add dimension. It is easy to move from one segment of the presentation to the other with ease of flow at the same time, allowing the students to see how every aspect of the topic is inter-related and connected to the others. Soon I see students starting to draw their own Mind Maps with their own unique expression of images and graphics.

4. No fear of failure

Understanding Tony Buzan’s mechanism for learning has helped me to plan for my success and to remove the inherent debilitating fear of failure which has been a major obstacle in my personal risk-taking efforts. In the past, the fear of failure had kept me bound to my launching pad, limiting me and preventing me from achieving my dreams to the extent that sometimes I reconciled myself to mediocrity in some areas of my life.

Recognizing that failure is just an ‘event’ with no emotional bearing or negativity, I am now more courageous to try out new things and gain new experiences and be willing to open myself up. After all ‘failure’ doesn’t really matter to others more than it does to me. I don’t put myself down because I fail. Rather I make it a point to draw lessons and learn from failures in order to do better at my next attempt. I now say, “Now that I know better, I’ll do better.” Hence I am able to put ‘failure’ in its proper perspective.  As a result, I now boldly take up the challenge to work toward my goal of becoming the best Buzan Licensed Trainer!

Tony Buzan’s ‘learning to learn’ formula has taught me how to focus on everything I should do but fear to do, combating emotional paralysis which had made me a prisoner of fear in the past.

Feedback is yet another vital ingredient to true success for me. Learning to take feedback from others in the form of constructive criticism has contributed to my success, no matter how much it hurts. Tony Buzan’s teaching encourages me to seek feedback then use it to check against my bench mark and finally make the necessary adjustments. Now I do reflect on the criticism I receive from the people I care about instead of attacking, defending or avoiding criticism altogether.

5. Increased awareness

Mind Mapping trains my mind to exercise both my right and left brain skills. This is especially good for me when I consider myself a poor artist who cannot draw well. In order to create images, I will have to enter into a higher order of thinking to search for the best image or symbol to express my ideas or concepts.

Whenever I am stuck at creating the perfect image representative of the idea I have in mind, I tend to pay more attention to the details of the objects and subjects around me at the next opportunity. I then become more conscious of my environment.

For example, looking at an object, I begin to notice its contour, dimension, proportion, shadow, shading, position, angle, depth, colours, texture, smell, taste and feel around me. Soon everything appears to be more aesthetic and interesting which I have never taken notice of before. I begin to take interest in my surroundings, learn to smell the roses, enjoy life and appreciate all the wonderful creation, rather than move through life missing out on all the details of our magnificent nature. Tony Buzan mentioned, “When you are interested in everything, everything becomes more interesting.” So life is interesting. It makes it easier for me to connect and relate to others because I am better able to make connections and associations to people and the things that happen around me.

I am grateful to Tony Buzan for his incredible invention of Mind Maps. His quest to improve mental literacy on this earth makes this world a better and more colourful place to live. I believe I am now a better person and learner because of Mind Maps. I have started to believe in myself more and am able to achieve more. To Tony Buzan, “Cheers and thank you!”

Betty Kan is a Singapore-based  trainer and personal branding consultant.

Such people always feel beleaguered by different tasks they have to do each day. They feel exhausted and tired. The solution lies in being in control of your life so that you wake up each morning feeling calm and rested.

Time management is a way to control our activities and an aid to making choices so that we can make the best use of our time. Both the rich and poor alike have the same number of minutes and hours available in a day, a week, a month or a year.

It is how we use these moments which is crucial. Effective time management will give us more time to do what we really want whether it is reading, writing, sports or any other pastime.

Time management can have a spectacular effect on our professional and social life. All of us can get started with a ‚Äòto do‚Äô list. Most winners and champions use “to do” lists so that they can use their limited time effectively.

Indeed, whatever I put on my ‚Äòto do‚Äô list gets done, and whatever I do not remains pending. I keep a diary next to me and keep on adding to the “to do” list as and when something strikes me.
This enables me to keep my focus on what really needs to be done, keeping away from unimportant tasks that don’t have much value. This approach is invaluable in helping me to decide where my priorities lie.

Updating the ‘to do‚Äô list frequently is very important to sift between the (1) urgent (2) important but not urgent and (3) neither urgent nor important. Again, you have to decide about (1) and (2) while the tasks in (3) can be attended to after you have finished with others.

While you work on the basis of your ‘to do‚Äô list, some unexpected matters may crop up, requiring all your time and energy. In that case, it becomes vital again to reorganise your ‘to do‚Äô list.
Some people trust their memory to prepare and prioritise their ‘to do‚Äô lists. My experience has shown that quite often we may not be able to do all the things we want to unless we put things down in writing.

So I keep a pad and pen near the telephone so that vital details of any message could be written down. Even when travelling, I keep a note book and pen handy and avoid taxing my memory as far as possible.

If I don’t note down things, then I have to keep my mind busy by constantly thinking about a few things which need to be done. And yet when the time to do them comes, they are forgotten completely.

Another important point in time management is to keep your things in order. You would feel demoralised if you allow piles of unsorted papers to overwhelm you. If some paper is important, make it a point to file it there and then, otherwise chances are that you will misplace it or lose it.

A neat environment facilitates working efficiently, making it easy to find whatever you want to find. Make a determined effort to keep your environment clean. You can do so in bits and parts. For instance, when I notice things cluttering up, I make it a point to put one item away at a time. It does not tire me and the task does not look daunting.

Never lose focus on what you are doing. If you recall that you should be doing something else when you are on one project, simply write it down on your “to do” list to get it out of your mind and take it up, if it is that urgent, after you have finished the task at hand.

Telephone is an integral part of most jobs. The phone calls cannot be neglected. However, if you are busy doing something important, do not break your concentration and answer the phone calls after you have attended to whatever you are doing. But do take care to answer all calls reasonably promptly.

Sometimes, we get invited to meetings and programs that have no relevance to what we are doing or what we want to do or in what we are really interested in. Instead of wasting time on things which do not add to your happiness or productivity, just send a polite refusal note. It is equally important that you should invite only those people who are relevant to your programs, meetings or plans.

I have noticed that many a time, people are not clear what they want to say during telephonic conversations and a lot of time is wasted in first creating misunderstanding and then clearing them up. But an email leaves no scope for ambiguity. So do write email instead of making a telephone call whenever precise communication is required.

Lastly, we all have many distasteful jobs to do. It could be lodging a complaint or giving a junior a piece of our mind. It is better to do such unpleasant tasks the first thing in the morning. This will reduce your stress level and you will have a feeling of having put the nastiest task out of the way.

Someone has put it well, “Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions.” So use every minute of the day well.

A few years ago I received a video clip showing a Japanese lady folding a T-shirt much faster, taking about 5 seconds. This is a very popular video circulated on the internet.  You can get it from this site or you can click below for the English version of the step-by-step video explaining how to fold a T-shirt. 

I found it fascinating because I could never imagine that there existed such a different and creative way of folding a T-shirt. I immediately asked myself, “How can I connect this interesting activity with mathematics lessons?” When I tried to force connection, I felt that I could use this activity to talk about fractions or simple algebra!
Folding a T-shirt in 5 seconds!
1. First, lay a T-shirt flat in front of you with the front part facing up and the collar on your left as shown in the diagram below.
 
2. Imagine two lines on the T-shirt, Line 1 is drawn along one-third of the width and Line 2 is drawn along half of the length. Imagine points L1, R1 and L2 on the lines as shown in the diagram above.
3. Pinch the fabric at point L1 with your left hand and point R1 with your right hand. 
4. Lift the fabric at point L1 and bring it to meet point L2 with your left hand, and then pinch point L1 and L2 together. 
5. With your right hand still pinching R1 and left hand pinching L1 and L2, lift the fabric and shake it and you will get the following shape:

 
6. Fold one more time along Line 3 and you shall get a T-shirt neatly folded.

 
Folding a T-shirt in 1.5 seconds!
A year later I received another video on T-shirt folding which is even faster, taking about 1.5 seconds! Click below to take a look at this video !

This second approach shows how we can build a T-shirt folding machine using cardboards. I was even more fascinated by this approach because even a three years old kid will be able to fold a T-shirt using this machine. Teachers can make this activity a mathematics project for students.
We can ask students to work out the area of cardboards needed, cut cardboards according to the size of their T-shirts and make a machine that can fit their sizes. Recreational activities like this one can arouse curiosity, develop ability in space perception, promote discovery and stimulate mathematical creativity.
Solving difficult mathematical problems in a jiffy!

After showing students the faster ways of folding T-shirt, I tell them the story of German mathematician Gauss, Karl Friedrich (1777-1855) who calculated 1+2+3+…+100 very fast when he was a young boy. By reversing the order from “1+2+3+…+100” to “100+99+98+…+1” and added the two sets together he had every term equaled to 101. There were 100 sets of 101, so he had 10100. But the teacher just wanted one set of “1+2+3+…+100”, therefore the answer was 5050.
    1 +     2 + … +   99 + 100
100 +   99 + … +     2 +    1
_______________________

101 + 101 + … + 101 + 101
_______________________

100 x 101 =10100

10100 √∑ 2 =5050

This example helps students to see that if we make use of our mathematical knowledge in a creative way we can do wonders.

Then there is the formula for the sum of arithmetical progression.

Students generally find it difficult to memorize. But when I compare the formula with the story of Gauss, it helps them appreciate and understand it much better. They are then able to recall it very easily.
Baroody said very aptly: “The interest of the students will be triggered if they see the relevance of the subject and have fun while learning.” 

There are many ways we can help children to be more creative mathematically.  Having been involved in helping children to love mathematics and develop creativity for the past 18 years, I realize that one of the very effective and simple ways to develop creativity is to choose our own favorite meanings (or definitions) for creativity and constantly work on them. Here are my favorite meanings for creativity:

Creativity is about
• making new connections.
• Variations.
• seeing meaningful patterns.
• making tasks/things faster/better.
• thinking out of the box.

I believe teachers play a very important role in fostering mathematical creativity in their students. As George Polya said, “Nobody can give away what he has not got.  No teacher can impart to his students the experience of discovery if he has not got it himself.”
I also totally agree with Holden (2004) when he said, “Teachers need to have a deep knowledge of how mathematical ideas can be presented for the students in a variety of ways, and a strong belief that all children can learn mathematics. Teachers also need to keep in mind that students have different learning strategies and thus need variation in the presentation of new mathematical concepts and themes. To be able to fulfill all these requirements, teachers need rich access to teaching and learning materials.”
By presenting mathematical concepts in a variety of styles using a variety of materials and media, we can actually demonstrate “creativity at work” to our students. There are a lot of interesting happenings around us. It is our choice to force new connections and relate them to certain mathematical concepts that we wish to impart to our students. Mathematics need not be a dry and boring subject. If teachers create interesting opportunities for the development of mathematical creativity, children will revel in the magic of this subject.
I hope this sharing will inspire teachers to make their own connections and discover new ideas and techniques to encourage natural curiosity and stimulate mathematical creativity of their students.
Teoh Poh Yew has authored three books on mathematics magic and developed m-Wizy magic cards to facilitate understanding of mathematical concepts and develop creativity in a fun and magical way.

Winners view the world as a benevolent place. To Albert Einstein’s famous thought provoking question, ‘Is this a friendly universe?’ the winners always answer in affirmative. They feel that the world is full of great opportunities and wonderful people. Winners see the world as mainly good with some bad bits. The losers view the world as mainly malevolent with some good bits. How do you view the world? Your answer to this question speaks volumes about you and your station in life.

Winners have the habit of visualizing their future in bright details. They approve of themselves. Life is an exciting adventure for them. They live it to the fullest. Losers view life as a chore. If someone casually asks them, ‘How is it going?’ they will open their box of woes. ‘Just getting along.’, ‘Life goes on.’ are standard responses. What do you think life will dole out to them? Like Aladdin’s genie, life would say, ‘Your wish is my command.’

Winners are dreamers. They dream big, because they know that today’s dreams are tomorrow’s reality. They work backwards from a future dream to the present day and make their plans to achieve their goals. Losers too dream, but they don’t back up these dreams with systematic action plan. What are such dreams called?  These dreams are no more than ethereal hot air.

Winners possess another great quality Рdiscipline. Their discipline keeps them going during temporary setbacks. Thus they convert their ‘yearning power’ into their ‘earning power’. What do you think the losers do? When going gets tough, they hang their boots. They proclaim that the luck is not in their favour. They give up too easily.

Winners value time. They guard against procrastination, the thief of their precious commodity, their time. Losers discuss amongst themselves that they will start working one day real soon, but that day doesn’t dawn. They are unaware of the thrill of victory after a job well done. They are not willing to pay the life’s cost of admission to the big league. They do not know the enjoyment of work. They do not put their best efforts into anything. 

Winners take care of their physical fitness. They know that neither their body nor their mind will work at an optimal level without it. Therefore they give attention to their habits, diet and exercise regimen.
Winners have pleasing personalities. They acquire the art of making themselves agreeable to others. They learn to negotiate with others without creating friction of any sort. They are flexible and adaptable. They harmonise with any given environment and possess necessary magnetism to attract others.
Winners understand the value of initiative. They never have to be told what to do and how to do it. They create plans and translate them into actions through their initiative. They do not need to be supervised all the time.

To be a winner for life, identify what your ideal life will look like. Create a compelling vision for your future. Formulate goals for its achievement. Never give up on your hopes and dreams of a bright future. Overcome temporary setbacks. Look at them as great learning experiences.

Earl Nightingale, one of the earlier personal development teachers, and co-founder of the publishing house ‘Nightingale-Conant’, defined success as ‘the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.’ As long as you are ‘progressing’ towards an ideal that you think is worthy of achievement, you are succeeding. Enjoying the journey makes it all the more worthwhile. You will do well to remember that the word ‘worthwhile’ means that your goal is worth your time and energy. Think about that. Are your goals worthy of your life?

If you consider the fact that the price for your achievements is your time, which is all that you have of any real value, you will soon see the importance of having a goal that is worthy of your most prized possession. So go back over your goals and see if they meet the criteria for being worthy of you, not the other way around. If not, then maybe you need to stretch yourself and go for something of more importance to you. You will be a real winner then.

Practically speaking, your actions and your behaviour determine how your destiny will unfold. Knowing that your fate is in your hands, what are you going to do about it? Are you ready to be a winner? Remember in order to get something you’ve got to give something. So give up dependence, procrastination, laziness, need for approval, self criticism, and the loser attitude.

If a window of correcting the course of your life exists, why not open it and let in some fresh air? The basic question, however, remains to be answered. Answer it now. The question is, ‘Are you willing?’
The choice is yours. The window is open. And you can begin now.