FEEDBACK from Others - How is it important

As we know failures are to be considered as feedback to revise our strategies, did we realise the importance of receiving feedback from others.

MOST OF THE TIMES IT IS USEFUL
If you can make it easy for them to think you really appreciate and consider their feedback, you'll get lots more. And, that is good, really.

Read following steps to make it easier:


1. Control your defensiveness. Fear of hurting you or having to deal with defensive or justifying behavior make people hesitant to give feedback to another person.

2. Listen to understand. Practice all the skills of an effective listener including using body language and facial expressions that encourage the other person to talk.

3. Suspend judgment. After all, in learning the views of the feedback provider, you learn about yourself and how your actions are interpreted in the world.

4. Summarize and reflect what you hear. Your feedback provider will appreciate that you are really hearing what they are saying. You are ascertaining that you 'are' really hearing.

5. Ask questions to clarify. Focus on questions to make sure you understand the feedback.

6. Ask for examples and stories that illustrate the feedback, so you know you share meaning with the person providing feedback.

7. Just because a person gives you feedback, doesn't mean their feedback is right. They see your actions but interpret them through their own perceptual screen and life experiences.

8. Be approachable. People avoid giving feedback to grumpies. Your openness to feedback is obvious through your body language, facial expressions, and welcoming manner.

9. Check with others to determine the reliability of the feedback. If only one person believes it about you, it may be just him or her, not you.

10. Remember, only you have the right and the ability to decide what to do with the feedback.
Tips:
1. Try to show your appreciation to the person providing the feedback. They'll feel encouraged and believe it or not, you do want to encourage feedback.

2. Even your manager or supervisor finds providing feedback scary. They never know how the person receiving feedback is going to react.

3. If you find yourself becoming defensive or hostile, practice stress management techniques such as taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

4. Focusing on understanding the feedback by questioning and restating usually defuses any feelings you have of hostility or anger.

5. If you really disagree, are angry or upset, and want to dissuade the other person of their opinion, wait until your emotions are under control to reopen the discussion.

Shall we implement the above to experience the positive change
To Success

Important Skill to SUCCESS

As you know, we all need a set of different skills to succeed in our endeavours and among those skills communication plays vital role as we use them many a times in each and every day of our life.

Shall we look into the Power of Communication, now

If one were to take a look at some outstanding business leaders, they have an important quality in common. They are all exceedingly good communicators. People like Jack Welch and Tom Peters, to name just two, were great communicators. Their vision and passion would come through clearly, both orally and in their writing.

Every budding manager needs to ask himself, "How good is my communication ability?" Today's youngsters crack the CAT, are amazing in numerical ability and data interpretation.

They do work on their verbal ability as well, but in practice, I suspect that they have miles to go in communication and this is one area where business schools, despite having courses in the area, do little work on.

I am sure if we can develop our skill & excel in Communication then we will achieve our GOALS much faster.

To success

One More important strategy to keep Focus & achieve

I am sure most of us would have prepared action plan for our 2008 GOALS by this time.
Do we have strategy to keep our FOCUS intact till we achieve what we want in our life. Simple strategy is to maintain physical and mental fitness as lack of fitness will affect taking consistent action towards GOAL.

Each and every one of us have unique requirement based on the age, physique etc to maintain our fitness (both physical & mental)which can be easily done through several methods.
My idea of physical fitness is fairly simple - to stretch as many muscles in my body as possible as often as possible. So I shall engage in a variety of exercises with a focus on my internal organs around the navel as they are vital for good health.
Physical exercise coupled with deep and slow breathing help me to oxygenate my aging muscles. Means my body muscles need not just the stretch but the oxygen too. Again I have a range of breathing exercises to rely upon.

Finally but most importantly, I need to calm my mind and control my uncontrolled thoughts. I take refuge in meditation. I just close my eyes and foucs between the two eyes on the middle of the forehead and meditate on nothing. I shall be a silent witness to observing my incoming and outgoing breaths. I shall not take part in any form of thought building. I shall be alert without thinking at all and for atleast 5 minutes at a time for as many times as possible in a day.

Shall we take care of our physical and mental fitness.

To SUCCESS

Consolidation is a MUST to Move Forward

As you know, consolidating SUCCESS is a MUST for each and everyone of us to move forward in carrer. I am sure many of us put in lot of efforts to get selected for right job, How many of us are able to prove it to the Employer that their decision was correct.

According to career guru Michael Watkins, author of The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels, your first days on the job will likely set the course and the tone of your entire tenure in your new role. The way you relate to your co-workers and supervisors -- and how they perceive you -- during this vitally important period of introduction can profoundly impact your long-term career prospects.

Some simple but effective steps that will help you establish -- and maintain -- a great first impression from the very beginning are given below:

1. Be on Time...Or Better Yet, Early!
Get things started on the right foot by arriving 10-15 minutes before your first shift is scheduled to begin. Try to predict any problems or circumstances that could conspire to make you late on your first day -- and deal with them well in advance. Consult the traffic report, do a test run on the public transportation route you plan to use, check and double-check your childcare arrangements, pick up your dry-cleaning the day before. There's no surer way to make your first impression a worst impression than showing up late.

2. Demonstrate Your Willingness to Work Hard.
Everyone describes themselves as hard workers during job interviews, but now that you've landed the job, it's time to put your money where your mouth is. Show up early, stay late, contribute fully during your entire shift, transcend the boundaries of your job description to help out others who are overburdened, volunteer to take on extra tasks -- do whatever you can do to prove that you're willing to put your nose to the grindstone and pay your dues.

3. Play The Role Of An Anthropologist.
One of the trickiest things to get right in a new role is learning about and adapting to an unfamiliar organizational culture. In your first few days on the job, carefully observe your coworkers to find out more about the dress code, level of formality, team dynamics, strengths and weaknesses, unspoken traditions, and other intangible factors that could impact your success.


4. Balance Ambition with Genuine Warmth and Friendliness.
It may be tempting to do anything it takes to stand out from the crowd and make a good impression. But be careful not to alienate or exclude your colleagues and co-workers in the process. Remember, solo achievement isn't everything -- supervisors and managers also consider your skills as a team player when assessing your performance. Be sure to take the time to cultivate friendly connections with your fellow employees.

5. Avoid Cliques, Gossip, and Office Politics.
As you begin to interact with your new co-workers in your first days on the job, you may find yourself being drawn into conversations that develop quickly into rumors, scandals, and badmouthing. Although the prospect of getting the inside scoop can be sorely tempting, it's best to avoid on-the-job intrigue and drama. If one of your new co-workers bombards you with some unwelcome gossip, just nod, respond with a noncommittal remark, and remain neutral.

The prospect of starting a new job can be stressful -- but it's also the beginning of an exciting new phase of your professional life. You've already made it through the rigorous screening of the interview and selection process. Just take a few deep breaths, keep these guidelines in mind, and give it your all. Who knows just how far this opportunity may take you?

Let us Consolidate our Success stories of 2007 and move forward to GREATER HEIGHTS.

To Success

How to ensure the Lesson sticks in Mind

Most of us find it difficult to remember the lessons learnt from Self help book, isn't it?
In case if you ask "What can I do to ensure that this will stick in my mind?", then read the following simple strategy to overcome such challenge.

"The mind is like the stomach. It is not how much you put
into it that counts, but how much it digests."--A.J. Nock

Benjamin Franklin, one of the world's greatest scholars,politicians and inventors, made a list of 13 virtues that he valued but did not possess. What Ben did was work on only one virtue at a time, noting when he messed up, and when he succeeded in using the virtue.He made turning himself into a person who possessed that virtue his mission and did not worry about any of the other 12 until he had mastered the first one.

Ultimately, he conquered them all.

Success isn't complicated, is it???

To Success

Simple Steps to POSITIVE THINKING

If you’re down in the dumps for disproportionately long periods of time and you find yourself blaming the rest of the world for your misery, then perhaps a change of attitude is in order.
You can increase your chances for more constructive perspective and to have Positive thinking with the 10 steps listed below:

1. Recognize negative thoughts as they take shape and bury them before they take root. If you feel your mood darkening again, put a stop to these dangerous musings before you succumb to them.
Rule your emotions, don’t let your emotions rule you.

2. Hang out with people who think positive as well.
This condition can be quite infectious.

3. Just as contagious is a negative mindset.
So avoid people who tend to think negatively on a constant basis. After all, who wants to hang around naysayers all the time?

4. Work out and eat right.
If you look good on the outside, it’ll be easier to feel good on the inside, too.

5. De-clutter.
Surround yourself only with the things you love and that make you feel good—framed family photos, favorite books, potted plants, works of art, or whatever else that’s meaningful to you.

6. If people tell you you can’t do something, take that as a challenge and prove them wrong. Chances are, they themselves can’t do it or are too afraid to try and are simply bitter about it.
If you show them it can be done after all, maybe they’ll even be inspired by your success. You can be a living tip for positive thinking to them.

7. Just when you’re about to blow your top for all the seeming misfortunes that befall you, remind yourself of all your blessings instead.
This practice can be very sobering, indeed.

8. Be a volunteer or get involved in charity work. Not only will you realize the sheer number of people who have bigger problems than you do, but there is also such an emotional and even spiritual high to be experienced in helping others.

9. De-stress. You’re more likely to be cranky if you’re perpetually stressed out. So get away from it all and recharge.

10. Keep it up. Getting started is easy. It’s the maintenance that’s tricky. Make a habit out of thinking positively till it becomes an indelible part of who you are.

Follow these 10 tips for positive thinking and be successful in your search for a happier and healthier frame of mind.

To Success

PLAN your Day and Activities

Most of know that Planning is essential in Life as it guides us towards achieving our Target and also provide opportunity to get feedback if performances are monitored.

It always amazes me how people will take the time out to plan a trip yet refuse to spend even a few minutes planning their lives. As we all know, having a plan when traveling helps to prevent getting lost. It also keeps one on the proper path to make sure that time lines are maintained. Not surprisingly, planning our lives has the same effect. Setting forth the direction that we are heading and the time periods for accomplishing different things increases the chances that we will not get lost.

As important as having a life plan is, it is incomplete without breaking it down to the shortest time period possible. As much as we tend to focus on the months and years of our lives, this is not where we live. Like they say in twelve step programs, we live 'one day at a time'. Upon awakening, each of us faces 12-18 hours before we retire in bed again. How we utilize this time is what separates the quality of life among different people. Of course, the way to make this most time most effective is to plan it out.
Many have a daily planner that they use. This is especially true in their business. All the appointments for the day are entered. Deadlines are noted along with plans for achievement. However, this is an incomplete 'plan'. To neglect one's personal affairs is what often leaves people feeling a bit unfulfilled.

The same twelve step programs mentioned above contain the aspect of daily plan. Part of their curriculum is to look at the day ahead to prepare for those situations where moments of weakness might arise. The temptation to fall back into the addictive behavior is reduced if one anticipates a troublesome area. Also, by concentrating on how one will attempt to respond in those circumstances, the perils are lessened.

If this concept is effective in combating addiction, how much impact would it have on the life of a non-addict? The answer is that it can take one's life from a 'lost journey' to one that has purpose. By knowing where one is headed on a daily basis, the tendency to get lost is eliminated. We move from activity-to-activity seamlessly. Tasks that do not fit into our plan are not considered. A focused mind has a tremendous amount of power. A daily plan concentrates the mind on what is important.
Marc Victor Hansen, author of The Chicken Soup For The Soul series, claims to get up at 4:00 am each morning to set down his daily plan. He writes out his day in detail. It includes who he is going to see, what he is going to do, what he hopes to accomplish, and what he looks to give to each situation. Is it any wonder that he has sold over 100 million books? With a habit like this, nothing is left to chance. In effect, he 'lives' his day in his mind before he actually experiences. The chances that circumstances will go as he desires are increased since he already 'lived' the situation that morning. With his script for the day complete, he only need to follow it much in the same way an actor performs a scene. There is a certain amount of ad libbing involved. However, the basic essence of the scene comes off as it was written.

The time spent planning your day will be dwarfed when you see the results that it produces. One quickly realizes that a few minutes of planning saves an equal, if not greater, amount of time. Time wasters are eliminated since an itinerary for the day is set. Those unexpected surprises can be dealt with in a more powerful fashion since the overall 'essence' of the day is in place.

To Success