This is the print version of this page. All content is copyright Indezine.com 2000-
2021.
Technology made easy
See Also:
PowerPoint and Presenting Stuff
Pictures, Video, and Multimedia
By Karen Dunne-Squire, Elation Experts
The average human will spend 92,210 hours at work in a lifetime. If you don’t love what you’re doing, you can get out, give in, or get back on track.
Your business determines the person that you are and the life that you live. Yet, for so many of us, the organization in which we work is our enemy, not our friend.
Every day, I work with business owners who are frustrated, resentful, and overworked – I have been that business owner myself. These executives are never the most profitable, the most effective, or the most fulfilled in their business.
Image: Pixabay
If you want to fall back in love with your business you need to focus on these three areas:
One of the key drivers of the human condition is our desire to add value. We want, perhaps even need, to know that the impact we have is positive. We want to be recognized. We want to know that our talent is influential. We grow when we contribute, so focus on this every day. If your business is a place where everyone has a chance to shine and contribute in a meaningful way, you create a powerfully positive environment.
Ask yourself and encourage your team to ask questions like:
A wonderful business plays to the strengths of every team member. The great communicators lead the meetings, and the fantastic innovators contribute to new ideas. Have you identified the strengths of yourself and your team? Are you making the most of those strengths?
Make sure that you speak with everyone in your team regularly to give them the boost they need. This allows you to have a real impact and witness the tangible results in daily business operations.
Consider each team member, including yourself, and think about their strengths. Now, look at whether that person is doing work that plays to that strength. Are they in a position that allows them to contribute that strength to the business? If they aren’t, then look at how you can change this and help to give them work they will feel is making a positive impact.
Look for ways to feedback to team members on how their contribution is making a difference to the business. Everyone likes to understand how they fit in and how what they are doing means something in the bigger picture.
Purpose is a great motivator. By helping people see the value they add when they are at work, and understand the benefit they are bringing with their skillset, you will automatically motivate them. As a business owner, you must not only ensure that you personally are adding tangible value but also that every person in the team has a chance to shine.
If you can give and create a sense of purpose in your business, you will thrive.
Growth and development are key measures of human success. For some, this might be hitting a target, or learning a new skill. For someone else, it might be repairing a broken item or creating a new recipe. We measure development in very different ways, but without it, we stagnate. A business in which all members can realize their potential is one that attracts the best.
The questions for your business and your team are:
A business that has a culture of personal development, layers learning on even the smallest of tasks. It embeds personal development planning, individual training budgets, and plenty of extracurricular opportunities.
Every week, ask your team to report on the three biggest barriers to success and find a way to develop the team in order to overcome those barriers.
Consistent improvement is highly motivating – for you and your team. If something motivates you, it’s difficult not to fall in love with it. So, make sure your business is motivating everyone involved in it.
Running on empty is the quickest way to failure. Often professionals who are not seeing the results they want continue to push harder: a recipe for burnout. Resting is not seen as a productive way of achieving more. But being full of energy creates an environment of success. If you get a sense of joy and balance from your work, you perform far better.
These are the specific questions you need to focus on to ensure you and your team are efficient and enthused:
Keeping your business full of energy guarantees sustainable output from your team. This requires agile working – allowing your team to work on key tasks when their energy is high, and permitting them to step back and recharge when required.
For my team, taking 15 minutes to meditate at lunchtime or running/walking meetings make a huge impact. If deadlines are heavy, we will stop for a full hour and have a team lunch before addressing the task with full commitment.
Resting makes us strong, and I recognized that when I started permitting myself to stop, I became much more effective. The same applies to everyone on the team – they need rest, and they perform better for it.
Your business should be your greatest ally. It shapes your financial status, drives the things you do, decides where you spend your time and who you spend it with; it contributes to your self-esteem and often dictates your stress levels. You should wake every day knowing that you are going to spend the day doing things that you love. Just because you’re not in that place today doesn’t mean you can’t be tomorrow.
Karen Dunne-Squire is founder of Elation Experts, which is on a mission to empower SME’s by giving them the knowledge and skills to increase revenue, build powerful sales opportunities and create committed, loyal teams that are motivated to drive change. Karen is a sought-after keynote speaker and creator of The Growth Framework, an award-winning methodology, applying ‘Big Business Corporate Insights’ to SMEs in a way that makes practical sense for them.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.
Filed Under:
Guest Post
Tagged as: Business, Karen Dunne-Squire
By Sid Madge, Meee
Regardless of the type of work you do or where you do it, the start of your day is important. Compare the type of day you’ve had when you’ve slept through your alarm with the type of day you’ve had when you’ve had a stress-free morning. But sleeping in isn’t the only way your day can get off to a poor start.
To ensure you kick off the day in a way that best prepares you for the tasks, meetings, and deadlines you have in front of you, you need to manage your mornings. And the best way to do that is by embracing the ‘micro-moment – tiny little manageable interventions that can make a huge difference.
Image: Pixabay
Here are 5 micro-moment ideas to help you start your morning off right so you set yourself up for a fantastic day.
Filed Under:
Guest Post
Tagged as: Guest Post, Mornings, Sid Madge
By Chantal Cooke, Passion for the Planet
The theme for Earth Day this year is Restore Our Earth™.
As the founders of Earth Day so eloquently put it:
…just as climate change and coronavirus painfully remind us of the harm we’ve caused, Restore Our Earth reminds us of the opportunities that lay ahead.
We must Restore Our Earth not just because we care about the natural world, but because we live on it. Every one of us needs a healthy Earth to support our jobs, livelihoods, health & survival, and happiness. A healthy planet is not an option — it is a necessity.
Filed Under:
Guest Post
Tagged as: Chantal Cooke, Environment, Guest Post
By Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of Rent 2 Rent Success
Airbnb is the world’s largest accommodation provider. Airbnb owns no property. Facebook is the world’s most popular media company. Facebook creates no content. Uber is the world’s largest taxi firm. Uber owns no cars. Big corporations create wildly profitable businesses by controlling assets rather than owning them. And this is a strategy you can use too.
Most people think that to get started in property, and generate a decent income each month they need to buy a lot of properties.
And to do that they need money. Lots of money.
But this isn’t true. Rent-to-rent means you don’t need a huge financial investment to get started.
Image: Pixabay
Filed Under:
Guest Post
Tagged as: Guest Post, Property, Rent, Stephanie Taylor
By Richard Horwell, Brand Relations
What do consumers want from food and beverages? Minimum, silence a grumbling tummy and hydration. Once upon a time, lifestyle played a huge part in purchasing decisions. Brand loyalty was won by generating a sense of identity by making consumers feel part of a community; they were seen as cool if they bought a product because only the richest or best looking would buy it – according to powerful advertising and packaging. But consumer buying habits are changing.
When creating a new F&B brand, you need more than just great taste and eye-catching packaging, you need to provide functionality and health benefits. It’s about the product providing something extra.
Image: Pixabay
Filed Under:
Guest Post
Tagged as: Food, Guest Post, Richard Horwell
By Rob Edmonds, NRG Digital
Friction inevitably slows you down. When it comes to reducing friction in your business or customer-facing comms messaging, one thing consistently cuts through friction: visual media.
The range of video media, images, infographics, adverts, TikTok, and YouTube videos is here to stay and is noticeable in every aspect of our work and social lives.
So how do you leverage the power of visual media to maximize the effect of your comms messaging and improve the success of your sales in your particular business?
Video and animation are great at distilling complex products and ideas into clear and concise messaging. And they have the great advantage of working well across multiple platforms.
Image: StockUnlimited
Filed Under:
Guest Post
Tagged as: Guest Post, Rob Edmonds, Video, YouTube
By Chantal Cooke, PASSION for the PLANET
Multiple highest-level climate reports published recently (IPCC SR15 & AR5, EASAC, NAS) clearly state that in order to achieve climate targets, not only do we need to do everything we can to reduce emissions; we also need to actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
Image: Jump Story
Filed Under:
Guest Post
Tagged as: Chantal Cooke, Environment, Guest Post
By Rob Edmonds, NRG Digital
When staff is working remotely, various factors can lead to a drop in productivity. Internal comms are a vital part of helping your team members to avoid feeling isolated and to keep them engaged.
Let’s look at the issues and how to create a new comms paradigm for your business.
Image: Jump Story
Filed Under:
Guest Post
Tagged as: Communication, Guest Post, Rob Edmonds
By Richard Horwell, Brand Relations
In our present circumstances, many people are considering a change of career. And the idea of starting a new brand in the recession-proof Food and Drink sector can be appealing. You may have come up with an excellent idea for a new product, but it is important to recognize that starting a new Food and Drink business is far from easy.
If you see a mass of products in a category, for example, Kombucha, then it is highly likely that you are too late. The only way to get into a category like this will be by being cheaper than the competition or by investing way more money in your brand than they are in theirs. Neither of these options is recommended.
Image: Jump Story
To give yourself the best chance of success with your idea for a food or drink brand let’s consider the steps you should take:
Filed Under:
Guest Post
Tagged as: Food, Guest Post, Richard Horwell
By Daniel Whytock, Down Your High Street
From the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, independent retailers have been dealing with enormous challenges. The first lockdown, when non-essential stores closed for the first time, had a huge impact and the changing levels of restrictions since then have added to the burden that independent retailers are dealing with.
Let us look at the changes that Covid-19 has imposed and also some positives that have emerged for retailers from a difficult situation.
Image: Jump Story
Filed Under:
Guest Post
Tagged as: Covid-19, Daniel Whytock, Guest Post, Retail
Microsoft and the Office logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.