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3 Ways to Solve Problems

If there is one thing we all have in common, it is problems. Problems with work, family, finances, friends, career… there seems to be a never ending supply of them. Solving other people’s problems always seems easier than solving our own. Hence, I have a career. Here are 3 of my personal secrets for solving other people`s problems to help you solve yours.

1.  Listen. Just like I listen first to what people are saying and let them talk themselves out, listen to your own self talk. What are the particular verbs you are using to describe your problem? If you are saying to yourself `I hate this.` , remember that `hate` is a powerful emotion and will colour your judgement. If your self talk is, `It confuses me to…` think of why you are confused which is usually from not understanding something. Go back and learn what you need to know so the confusion is lessened.

2.  Come up with more than one alternative option. If you only see 2 options like the tide is in or the tide is out, you have not thought through the problem. The tide is only `in` 2 times a day for one minute each time. The rest of the time the tide is coming in or going out. Problems need more than the obvious in or out, high or low, buy or sell solutions. When you think of at least 5 viable options, now you understand the problem well enough to start to take action or make a recommendation.

3. Take action based upon your gut, not long deliberation or relying on massive detail. Harvard Business Review reported how decisions based upon a gut feeling were better than those based upon mulling over reams of data. Further, decisions are better when there is only a limited amount of information. The more detailed and trivial the information, the more likely we are to focus on the wrong thing. Finally, those who sleep on the decision let their subconscious minds work on it and that is where the creativity happens. The conscious mind possesses very little creativity.

Solving your problems in life still will not be easy. These three tools, however, will better equip you for tackling the next problem to arise. `Hmmm… eat Chinese or Italian for lunch.`

To have your team learning lessons like this and others to improve their relationships and to boost their productivity by browsing through the links below:

• Browse through Michael’s Products, Speech Topics, Seminar & Workshop Topics and  Public Seminars
• Check out what they say about Michael
• Click here to contact Michael to find out more about his training

In addition to training, we speak at conventions, conduct strategic planning retreats, sales meetings and facilitate sessions to optimise leadership development, team growth and personal productivity.

Got comments or questions about how to solve problems? Just leave your comments here.

We all seem to get involved in projects. But how to make projects work better?

Sometimes by asking questions we get ‘arrowed’ and other times we are ‘volunteered’ by others. Best when we volunteer as we really believe in the project or cause. No matter how you got into the project, here are 3 tips to help you survive and even thrive while working on your projects.

Projects Work Tip # 1)  Realistically plan for the time the project will take from your schedule. Most of us have a tendency to underestimate the commitment in time. If you fall short of time, chances are, your success will be diminished and your stress level will skyrocket. Better to say ‘no’ and have people think you might be selfish than say ‘yes’ and have them convinced you are incompetent.

Projects Work Tip # 2) Minimise the texting, emails, phone calls and paperwork. I’m currently chairing the Raise Your Game event.  I set all Action Team members  (not committee members) up on a BCC list for announcements, updates and action items. This way, members cannot hit ‘reply all’ and send drivel to everyone, bogging the entire process down. This also shields them from the inevitable contrarian who must argue with everything and ultimately destroys the fun of the project for all. Further, for help and input, I rely on two co-chairs who give me quick and insightful feedback on all key issues so it’s just not me making the decisions. If they have any trouble with an Action Team member, they refer that person back to me, maintaining their enthusiasm and keeping the project moving forward.

Projects Work Tip # 3)  Short but regular meetings. Keep most meetings to under 2 hours and maybe even one hour or less. This ‘pressure cooker’ keeps long winded members under control and produces more results in less time. Phrases like, “Back on the agenda…” and “If we can refocus on…” help to turn the discussion back to the relevant topics at hand as do ‘mile makers’ of how much time is left for the meeting.

Projects are fun and rewarding if handled well. They can be hell if you let them get bogged down in minutia, politics, in-fighting and private agendas.

Smile Makers: Interesting thoughts:

• If Vegetarians eat vegetables. What do humanitarians eat?

• “A sure way to make your car run better, is to look up the price of a new car.” David Koutsoukis

• Steven Wright once asked, “What is another word for thesaurus?”

• If you do not expect much, you will never be disappointed. You will also never achieve much.

Got comments or questions about how to make projects work better? Just leave your comments here.

Upcoming Event

Public Speaking as easy as ABCD!
Public Speaking Seminar with Michael Podolinsky CSP in Singapore

You will learn to speak confidently, articulately and eloquently.

Join other Success Minded People by subscribing to the “Success Series Blog Tips” and GET the eCourse for FREE.

Grow Your Business, Grow Your Career

Whether you work for big organisation or are self employed, the steps to growing your business or your career are often the same. Here are 3 `Growth Hormones` for growing your career or growing your business.

Growth Hormone # 1: Loyalty. Loyalty to your customer will make them more loyal to you. Frequent flyer points for free trips are expensive ways to buy loyalty. Instead, giving your regular customers a better deal, more then what they asked for or special treatment including recognising their names, one to one attention or a free gift is more effective and demonstrates loyalty. This works in business and in careers.

If you are loyal to your boss, your team, your company, speaking well of them, building them up and standing up for them. This pays off in increased loyalty towards you. A good career move.

Growth Hormone # 2: Perpetual marketing. Do you think this newsletter just happens by itself? Writing, e-mailing and posting it to our Web site  is a major commitment. So are the 2000+ e-mails we send out to reconnect with past clients and prospective clients. Hundreds of postcards, journal articles, writing books and more are all part of our perpetual marketing.

Does all this effort pay off. No way! In reality, very little does. Most people are too busy to respond or to care. Why do it?  Two out of one hundred DO respond and forward this newsletter to someone who hires us or they call us in for work.

In your career, if you expect every little thing you do will get noticed, you are deluded. Most of what we do is what we were hired to do. It is consistency and more importantly, the innovative things we do that get us noticed; another good career move.

Growth Hormone # 3: Think IN the box. Instead of trying to think outside of the box, think IN the box. That is, think of current procedures and how to refine them. How can you make them run on automatic so you can focus your attention on something that will bring you a better return on your investment of time?

Work your systems to get them to run on automatic. Coach your people instead of telling them what to do so they learn to solve problems on their own. Look into your box so it runs so well, you can live most of your life completely outside the box.

In a career, if your team can run autonomously of you, think of the ways you can exert your effort and ideas to transform the organisation you work in and propel your career.

Loyalty, perpetual marketing and thinking IN the box are just 3 tools out of thousands we cover in our workshops, speeches and seminars to help you grow your career or grow your business. The next time you hear of someone looking for a speaker, trainer or facilitator, how about passing on our contact details to them and THEIR contact information back to us? I will gladly send you a FREE e-book for your effort. See… I practice what I preach.

Join other Success Minded People by subscribing to the “Success Series Blog Tips” and GET the eCourse for FREE.

Challenges…How to use a Challenge to Get Results

Have you ever had someone tell you, you could not do something? Did it make you give up or fight harder. Chances are, as someone reading this “Success Series Blog Tips“, you are in the top third of humanity who will rise to a challenge. The middle third will usually give up. Most, but not all of the bottom third tend to give up. Sometimes, it may be the only time they really rise up. The need to prove someone wrong ends up being a strong motivator for them.

Which ever group you fall into, if challenge works for you, it may also work for those around you. Unless you know them incredibly well, you may need to experiment a bit. Once you know who responds well to a challenge, use it to get the most from them.

With a child who is coasting in school and you disagree with their hair style, you might try, `I will bet you a new iPod Nano, if you get your grades up to an `A` level and keep them there until the end of the year. If you cannot, I get to say how you wear your hair for the rest of the school year. If you can, you get the iPod and I will talk to mum about your hair, as long as it meets school requirements.`

If you lose the bet, you have an `A` student with weird hair. If you win, you have a clean cut `B` student. Seems like you win either way.

With workers on your team, try, `The 2nd shift keeps outperforming us by 10%. If we can beat them in the next quarter, not only will I give each of you an extra day off for your annual leave, I will punch in and work your shift for you so you take that day off. If we miss the target and 2nd shift still outperforms us, we work weekends the following month until we equal their production.` Big incentive to win. Bigger incentive not to lose.

With your spouse you might try, `I am really tired of picking up your socks off the floor. If you can remember to pick them up every day for a month, I’ll give you a full body massage for an hour. If you miss just ONE day, you owe me TWO body massages. Deal?` This may work out so both win… win or lose.

These specific examples may not work with individuals or teams in your life. The idea is to think of challenges the people you need to influence will respond to and make the outcomes so desirable and the consequences of failure so horrible, you are guaranteed to get the result you desire.

To have this kind of simple yet effective thinking in your organisation, just contact me.  In addition to training, we speak at conventions, conduct strategic planning retreats, sales meetings and facilitate sessions to optimise team growth and productivity.

Managing Crisis…How To Come Out of a Crisis?

Look at crisis as opportunities and benefit from it.
What companies can do to come out from crisis and prevent future failures?

Check out my below video.

To your success, find out how Michael Podolinsky will help you and your organization by browsing through the links below:

• Browse through Michael’s Products, Speech Topics, Seminar & Workshop Topics and  Public Seminars
• Check out what they say about Michael
• Click here to contact Michael to find out more about his training

Join other Success Minded People by subscribing to the “Success Series Blog Tips” and GET the eCourse for FREE.

Are Leaders Born or Made? Are Leaders Born or Developed?

What do you think? Check out the below video.

If you have feedback or questions on whether leaders are born or made, just leave your comments here.

To your success, find out how Michael Podolinsky will help you and your organization by browsing through the links below:

• Browse through Michael’s Products, Speech Topics, Seminar & Workshop Topics and  Public Seminars
• Check out what they say about Michael
• Click here to contact Michael to find out more about his training

Join other Success Minded People by subscribing to the “Success Series Blog Tips” and GET the eCourse for FREE.