Ten Things To Do Today To Be A Better Manager


Listed below are ten things you can do to become a better manager. Pick one. Do it today. Pick another one for tomorrow. In two weeks you will be a better manager.


1. Select the best people: As a manager, you are only as good as the people on your team. Give yourself a better chance to succeed by picking the best people from the start.

2. Be a motivator: Human beings do things because we want to. Sometimes we want to because the consequences of not wanting to do something are unpleasant. However, most of the times we want to do things because of what we get out of it. It's no different at work, people do good work for the pay, or the prestige, or the recognition. They do bad work because they want to take it easy and still get paid. They work really hard because they want to impress someone. To motivate your people better, figure out what they want and how you can give that to them for doing what you want them to do.

3. Build Your Team: It is not enough that people are motivated to succeed at work. They have to work together as a team to accomplish the group's objective. After all, if we just want them to all "do their own thing" we don't need you as a manager to mold them into a team, do we?

4. Be a Leader, Not Only a Manager: You have built the best team from the best employee available. You motivated them to peak performance. What is missing? Motivating a team is worthless unless you provide direction; unless you turn that motivation toward a goal and lead the team to it. It is the ability to lead others that truly sets a manager apart from their peers. Remember that leaders are found at all levels of the organization, so be one.

5. Improve as a Communicator: Communication may be the single most important skill of a manager. After all, all the others depend on it. You can't be a leader if you can't communicate your vision. You can't motivate people if they can't understand what you want. Communication skills can be improved through practice.

6. Get Better At Managing Money: To stay in business, a company has to make money. That means bringing money in the door and it means spending less than you bring in. Depending on your function in the organization, you may have more influence on one area or the other, but you need to understand both. You can help your company, your employees, and yourself be getting better at managing the company's money.

7. Get Better at Managing Time: The one thing you will probably have less of at work than money is time. The better you get at managing time, yours and others, the more effective you will be as a manager.

8. Improve Yourself: Don't focus so hard on your people that you forget about yourself. Identify the areas in which you are weak and improve them.

9. Practice Ethical Management: Enron-like scandals have really driven home the point about how important ethics is in business.

10. Take a Break: You are less effective as a manager if you are over-stressed. You are less tolerant. You snap at people more. No one wants to be anywhere near you. Take a break. Give yourself a chance to relax and recharge your batteries. Your increased productivity when you return will more than make up for the time you take off. Have a good laugh or go lie on a beach somewhere.


By: F. John Reh

Source: About.com

5 Tips for Better Work-Life Balance
Beat burnout by discovering ways to devote more time to the activities and people that matter most to you.

If you're feeling overworked and finding it more challenging than ever to juggle the demands of your job and the rest of your life, you're not alone.

"A lot of people are having a more difficult time finding balance in their lives because there have been cutbacks or layoffs where they work. They're afraid it may happen to them, so they're putting in more hours," says psychologist Robert Brooks, PhD, co-author of The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence, and Personal Strength in Your Life.

"But even if you don't have much control over the hours you have to work, you can ask yourself: In what other ways am I bringing greater enjoyment into my life?" Brooks says. "Focus your time and attention on things you can control."

Here are five ways to bring a little more balance to your daily routine:
1. Build downtime into your schedule.

When you plan your week, make it a point to schedule time with your family and friends and activities that help you recharge.

If a date night with your spouse or a softball game with friends is on your calendar, you'll have something to look forward to and an extra incentive to manage your time well so you don't have to cancel.

"It helps to be proactive about scheduling," says Laura Stack, a productivity expert in Denver and author of SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best. "When I go out with my girlfriends, we all whip out our cell phones and put another girls' night out on the calendar for one month later," she says.

Stack also plans an activity with her family -- like going to a movie or the park -- every Sunday afternoon. "We do this because if there's nothing on the schedule, time tends to get frittered away and the weekend may end without us spending quality time together," she says.

Michael Neithardt, an actor and television commercial producer in New York City, wakes up three hours before he has to leave for work so he can go for a run and spend some time with his wife and baby.

"A lot of my friends tend to wake up, shower, and go straight to work. And they often complain about having no time to do anything," he tells WebMD in an e-mail. "I find that if I can get those three hours in the morning, I have a more productive and peaceful workday. I can sure tell the difference when I don't."
2. Drop activities that sap your time or energy.

"Many people waste their time on activities or people that add no value -- for example, spending too much time at work with a colleague who is constantly venting and gossiping," says Marilyn Puder-York, PhD, a psychologist and executive coach in New York and Connecticut. She recommends taking stock of activities that aren't really enhancing your career or personal life and minimizing the time you spend on them.

You may even be able to leave work earlier if you make a conscious effort to limit the time you spend on the web and social media sites, making personal calls, or checking your bank balance. "We often get sucked into these habits that are making us much less efficient without realizing it," Stack says.

3. Rethink your errands.

Consider whether you can outsource any of your time-consuming household chores or errands.

Could you order your groceries online and have them delivered? Hire a kid down the street to mow your lawn? Have your dry cleaning picked up and dropped off at your home or office? Order your stamps online so you don't have to go to the post office? Even if you're on a tight budget, you may discover that the time you'll save will make it worth it.

Stack also suggests trading services with friends. Offer to do tasks that you enjoy or that you were planning to do anyway.

"You could exchange gardening services for babysitting services," Stack says. "If you like to cook, you could prepare and freeze a couple of meals and give them to a friend in exchange for wrapping your holiday gifts."
4. Get moving.

It's hard to make time for exercise when you have a jam-packed schedule, but experts say that it may ultimately help you get more done by boosting your energy level and ability to concentrate.

"Research shows exercise can help you to be more alert," Brooks says. "And I've noticed that when I don't exercise because I'm trying to squeeze in another half hour of writing, I don't feel as alert."

Samantha Harris, a lawyer who works for a nonprofit organization in Philadelphia, says she recently started sneaking in a trip to the gym two or three mornings a week before her family wakes up. "It's been a real boost in terms of the way I feel for the rest of the day," she says. "I feel like my head is clearer and I've had a little time to myself."
5. Remember that a little relaxation goes a long way.

Don't get overwhelmed by assuming that you need to make big changes to bring more balance to your life. Brooks recommends setting realistic goals, like trying to leave the office earlier one night per week.

"Slowly build more activities into your schedule that are important to you," he says. "Maybe you can start by spending an hour a week on your hobby of carpentry or planning a weekend getaway with your spouse once a year," he says.

Stack points out that even during a hectic day, you can take 10 or 15 minutes to do something that will recharge your batteries. "Take a bath, read a trashy novel, go for a walk, or listen to music," she suggests. "You have to make a little time for the things that ignite your joy."

By: Jen Uscher

Source: WebMD

Here are 8 ways to get out of the rut.

The first step is to recognise you are in a rut. You will know this instinctively but maybe not been able to put a name to it. It’s that feeling you get when you think you just can’t be bothered doing the same thing that you’ve been doing for ages like going out drinking every weekend with friends, being stuck in the house yourself every night, doing the same old thing day in day out with your job. When you recognise this feeling, you can then do something about it.
Once you have recognised the feeling of being in a rut start to think about what you can do to mix things up a little. If you are used to going out drinking with friends every weekend suggest something else you can do together or go and do it yourself or with other friends. If your job is your rut , start thinking about what you want to do with your life. People are stuck in a rut as they don’t know what else to do and haven’t really thought about doing something different.
When you have thought about other things you can do in your life start thinking about ways of implementing them and incorporating them into your life. It may be just a case that you are stuck in a comfort zone and it can be scary breaking out of your comfort zone.
‘Small moves Ellie, small moves’ (Contact, 1997), this is a quote from one of my favourite films and it is so true when trying to get out of a rut. Some people like to change their whole life and turn it upside down and that’s great if it works for you but the period of adjustment can be overwhelming. When you take it slowly and take ‘small moves’ to get out of a rut it is not so overwhelming and you can ease yourself gently out of your comfort zone.
If your job is your rut start taking action to change it. Think about what you REALLY want to do and start taking steps to getting there. See in your minds eye the outcome and how you will feel when you reach that outcome. Your imagination and your thoughts are key to change.
If your friends and your social life is your rut do something different from the norm. Sometimes we outgrow our friends and it’s okay to make new friends, give yourself permissions to do this. It might be hard for you and your old friends, but you have to recognise that you are growing both spiritually and mentally and it can be good to have new friends.
Changing your routine can also be a good way to start changing your life for the better. If you are used to getting up late every morning, rolling out of bed, going to work, going back home, lying on the couch and falling asleep to TV try changing this. Get up early, yes you have to force yourself, go for a walk and then relax until it’s time to go to work. This is a small change to a routine but it can have a major impact on your life. When you are up early and possibly walking you start to think about other things you can change, when you think about this you are more likely to act on your thoughts, when you act you will change.
If you are not used to being a sociable person start getting yourself out there. Even if you are quiet, you can practice the art of small talk and get out of your comfort -zone of being alone.

We have to realise that being in a rut is down to our thinking being in a rut, it’s not our lives it’s our thinking. When you recognise you are in a rut you will start to think of ways of doing something different. When you think of something different to do you will see in your imagination something new, when you can see it in your mind it is possible to do it, when it is possible to do it it’s time to get out and do it.

By Steven Aitchison

Source: Change your change thoughts your Life

5 Fundamentals for Success in Life

What can we do to become more successful? How can we excel in all areas of life, whether professional or personal? A vast body of literature has been written on this subject over the decades, but here are five points which I regard as being fundamental.
How to Be Succeessful in Life

1. Be Proactive

Viktor Frankl said that between stimulus and response there is a gap, and within this gap lies all our freedom. Even as he was suffering immense privations in a Nazi concentration camp, he realized that he was responsible for his thoughts and actions and was not simply a bundle of conditioned responses.

Like Frankl, we should strive to be the creators of our own destiny, orchestrating our experience of life. Everything starts in the mind and ripples out, so what happens around us is a reflection of our own inner world. Whether we allow our inner world to grow wild, whether we let weeds spring up and take hold or whether we cultivate a green and pleasant garden – it is all our choice: this is what it means to be proactive.

2. Take Responsibility

Since we have the power to choose our experience, we also need to accept responsibility for this. Perhaps not that everything that comes our way is a direct result of our own thinking (though some might say it is) but what we attract into our life is, largely, a reflection of our thinking. Much of this occurs on a subconscious level, but the subconscious takes its lead from the thinking mind, so changing our thoughts will change our world, and we are responsible for this.

Our behavior is a natural outcome of our mental images, and so we are responsible for our behavior too, and also for the behavior we tolerate in others. If we allow others to ride roughshod over us, then we have ourselves to blame.

3. Be a Good Leader

We cannot be effective in any area of life unless we have good leadership skills. Leadership is an art and each of us needs to find our own approach to it. Primarily, we need to understand how to lead ourselves, and this means having a compass, a direction which guides all our actions. This compass often takes the form of a personal mission statement, a document spelling out the values we live by.

As we lead others, whether as parents, bosses, in families or organizations of which we are a part, we need first and foremost to lead by example, making it clear what our values are and that we live by them. Any inconsistency in our professed values and our behavior will be spotted, seen through and will ruin our effectiveness. Personal complicity and double standards are the nails in the coffin of our ability to lead.

A good leader will lead quietly and subtly, from the rear, without fuss, without fanfare. In the words of the Tao Te Ching,

‘A good soldier does not inspire fear;
A good fighter does not display aggression;
A good conqueror does not engage in battle;
A good leader does not exercise authority.

This is the value of unimportance;
This is how to win the cooperation of others;

Viktor Frankl said that between stimulus and response there is a gap, and within this gap lies all our freedom. Even as he was suffering immense privations in a Nazi concentration camp, he realized that he was responsible for his thoughts and actions and was not simply a bundle of conditioned responses.

Like Frankl, we should strive to be the creators of our own destiny, orchestrating our experience of life. Everything starts in the mind and ripples out, so what happens around us is a reflection of our own inner world. Whether we allow our inner world to grow wild, whether we let weeds spring up and take hold or whether we cultivate a green and pleasant garden – it is all our choice: this is what it means to be proactive.

2. Take Responsibility

Since we have the power to choose our experience, we also need to accept responsibility for this. Perhaps not that everything that comes our way is a direct result of our own thinking (though some might say it is) but what we attract into our life is, largely, a reflection of our thinking. Much of this occurs on a subconscious level, but the subconscious takes its lead from the thinking mind, so changing our thoughts will change our world, and we are responsible for this.

Our behavior is a natural outcome of our mental images, and so we are responsible for our behavior too, and also for the behavior we tolerate in others. If we allow others to ride roughshod over us, then we have ourselves to blame.

3. Be a Good Leader

We cannot be effective in any area of life unless we have good leadership skills. Leadership is an art and each of us needs to find our own approach to it. Primarily, we need to understand how to lead ourselves, and this means having a compass, a direction which guides all our actions. This compass often takes the form of a personal mission statement, a document spelling out the values we live by.

As we lead others, whether as parents, bosses, in families or organizations of which we are a part, we need first and foremost to lead by example, making it clear what our values are and that we live by them. Any inconsistency in our professed values and our behavior will be spotted, seen through and will ruin our effectiveness. Personal complicity and double standards are the nails in the coffin of our ability to lead.

A good leader will lead quietly and subtly, from the rear, without fuss, without fanfare. In the words of the Tao Te Ching,

‘A good soldier does not inspire fear;
A good fighter does not display aggression;
A good conqueror does not engage in battle;
A good leader does not exercise authority.

This is the value of unimportance;
This is how to win the cooperation of others;

This to how to build the same harmony that is in nature.’


This to how to build the same harmony that is in nature.’

By Mark Harrison 

Source: The change Blog

13 Rules to Get Closer to The Top

The door to a balanced success opens widest on the hinges of hope and encouragement. ~Zig Ziglar

General Colin Powell, the son of immigrants from Jamaica and retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, represents an extraordinary American success story. I’ve had the privilege of coming to know General Powell on a personal basis and I would like to say the qualities that impress me most are his consistency, integrity, intellectual capacity, genuine friendliness and his ability to balance confidence with humility. He tells the story of how his first job was scrubbing floors at a Pepsi Cola plant and that he always gave it his absolute best, which he’s continued to do all of his life. From his life experiences, Gen. Powell has put together these thirteen rules he lives by and I believe that, regardless of what your mission in life might be, they will certainly be applicable in your life as they are in mine.

1. It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.

2. Get mad, then get over it.

3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls,
your ego goes with it.

4. It can be done!

5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.

6. Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.

7. You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make
yours.

8. Check small things.

9. Share credit.

10. Remain calm. Be kind.

11. Have a vision. Be demanding.

12. Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.

13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. (In the military, one always looks for
ways to increase or multiply your forces.)

Obviously, all of us do not have the drive, mind and determination of a Colin Powell, but I believe if each of us will apply these thirteen rules, all of us will come closer to being AT THE TOP!

By: Zig Ziglar
Source: SalesGravy.com

29 Ways To Guarantee That You Get Better Results

Want better results?

You’re not alone. If you are like a lot of others around you, you might not be sure what to do in order to get better results.

You’re confused and frustrated by things happening to you. Angry at everything that doesn’t seem to be working.

Here are a few answers for you:

1. You’ll get better results when you try harder.
2. You’ll get better results when you stop making excuses.
3. You’ll get better results when you care more about others.
4. You’ll get better results when you ask for help.
5. You’ll get better results when you doubt less.
6. You’ll get better results when you stop being petty.
7. You’ll get better results when you start being creative.
8. You’ll get better results when you put together a better plan.
9. You’ll get better results when you learn something new.
10. You’ll get better results when you deny yourself immediate gratification.
11. You’ll get better results when you build a team to conquer with you.
12. You’ll get better results when you stop letting fear call the shots.
13. You’ll get better results when you listen for answers.
14. You’ll get better results when take time to be inspired.
15. You’ll get better results when you ignore the criticism of the crowd.
16. You’ll get better results when you fight through the pain.
17. You’ll get better results when you have a better attitude.
18. You’ll get better results when you aren’t afraid of failure.
19. You’ll get better results when you just try one more time.
20. You’ll get better results when you understand what is important to other people.
21. You’ll get better results when stop believing everything you hear.
22. You’ll get better results when you control whats in your mind.
23. You’ll get better results when you say “Thank You” and “T’m Sorry” more.
24. You’ll get better results when you stop taking yourself out of the game.
25. You’ll get better results when you tough it out a little more.
26. You’ll get better results when you believe what you’re doing is worth it.
27. You’ll get better results when you’re tired of losing all the time.
28. You’ll get better results when you quit holding back and go “all in”.
29. You’ll get better results when you stop being so damn selfish.

Pick one. Try a few.

You’ll be surprised at the difference.

"The secret to getting better results is simply to do whatever it takes to improve. To adapt. To learn. To grow. To try a little bit harder each day."

And while that doesn’t come easily, the results you’ll get are worth the struggle.

What’s stopping you from getting better results?

By: Dan Waldschmidt

Source: EyesOnSales