Do Business Well

Perhaps one of the best examples of caring for employees is Raymond Ackerman, who credits part of his success to his good relationship with them. He has always attempted to pay the highest wages and provide the best working conditions in the retail business. He celebrated his sixtieth birthday by sending cake to every one of Pick ‘n Pay’s 27 000 employees!

Keep out the red tape where possible - high achievers are intensely demotivated by it. If you nit-pick about unimportant aspects like taking leave you are on a losing wicket. Continue Reading »

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This probably falls under the theory that there are two kinds of people. Those who make lists. And those who don’t. Actually, there are three kinds of people. Those who make lists. And conveniently misplace them.

1. Amass and digest everything. Great ideas abhor a vacuum. That is to say, the first thing you need to do is gather as much information as is available. Read it. Understand it. Then…
2. Ignore everything. Except for the research finding that is the most relevant. Except for the one finding that is the most interesting. Hopefully, they are one and the same. Because if it’s not interesting to you, your chances of an interesting idea appearing are as long as the odds in a casino. Find that one thing, and everything will fall into place.

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As you might expect, conventional wisdom tells a rather different story. First, it spins us this tale: You can be anything you want to be if you hold on to your dreams and work hard. The person you feel yourself to be every day is not the real You. No, the real You is deep inside, hidden by your fears and discouragements. If you could free yourself of these fears, if you could truly believe in yourself, then the real You would be released. Your potential would burst out. The giant would awaken. Continue Reading »

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It’s almost Meeting Failure-Proof

Keep in mind that most meetings aren’t very effective as they are now run. When you get a chance to facilitate or record, it will be because your group has agreed that it is worth trying something new. You are probably going to look good no matter what you do. The mere presence of a facilitator, recorder, and group memory will do wonders. Even if you think you have done a lousy job, your group may well be impressed just because it will all be so new. Explain that you are learning and will make mistakes. Ask people to help you stay in your role and remain neutral. You are there to help them. It’s their meeting and they share the responsibility for making it a success. Continue Reading »

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No matter how many books you read, how many training programs you attend, or how many meetings you run, you can always improve your facilitating and recording skills. Professionals in any field know this. Famous athletes or performers are constantly experimenting, trying new techniques, striving for perfection which they know, no matter how hard they work, no one can attain. Even if you’ve been fortunate enough to receive professional facilitation training, if you want to become a topnotch facilitator or recorder, you will have to continue learning by yourself. Continue Reading »

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At work, do you …

• Experience frequent heart palpitations (fast and heavy beats)?
• Feel queasy and jittery for no explicable reason?
• Have difficulty concentrating because of intrusive thoughts?
• Worry frequently about trivial issues?
• Have diarrhoea frequently?
• Get butterflies in your stomach over insignificant things? Miss opportunities or lose time because you can’t make up your mind?
• Pace or fidget excessively?
• Frequently sweat while just sitting and thinking?
• Have your friends asking if anything is wrong because of your withdrawn behaviour?

You will probably have personally experienced some of the above items in your work life. Just getting to and from work can accelerate your heart and breathing rates. If you face regular stress at work such as demanding deadlines, friction with your boss or co-workers, irritating customers or irksome tasks, then you can benefit from daily relaxation practice. Continue Reading »

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While jobs vary in work tasks and objectives, there are some general and basic procedures which can be implemented to enhance worker productivity.

• Work to a daily plan.
• Look for ways in which you can productively use previously unused time.
• Start a follow-up file to periodically contact people who are important to your work. Be certain to record background information, special events and possibly even important birthdays on your file cards.
• Practise placing yourself in the shoes of the people you deal with and see yourself from their perspective. Can you approach them more positively? Can you make them feel more positive in their relationship with you?
• Talk with experienced people in your field of work and try the strategies they used to increase their productivity.
• Update your job skills.

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Negative thinking is, unfortunately, very common. As you will most likely agree, being negative is not a desirable characteristic for success-bound employees. How negative are you about your work? For example, do you typically:

• Spend large amounts of time worrying about your inadequacies?
• Defer to other workmates when you know you can speak competently on an important issue at a meeting?
• Hold back from submitting a major project because you think it’s not good enough?
• Compare yourself to others and always come out on the losing side?
• Choose not to make waves in potentially difficult situations?

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Overcoming our fears means that any dilemmas that may arise in our lives disappear, as situations are perceived differently. Once again, however, what in truth is simple is often difficult to accept. The situations that each of us creates by our fears should be viewed as blessings, each with a role to play. All bring us the same opportunity to learn to release our fears and allow love to emerge in their place.

Each time you confront and conquer your fears you are allowing your true conscience to grow in influence. In doing so you avoid failures and, indeed, view any setbacks as valuable lessons when encountered. People with high self-esteem and no fears about their own worth are excellent people to work for and with. Continue Reading »

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1. What is your organisation’s attitude towards sexism and sexual harassment?
2. Summarise your organisation’s written policy on sexual harassment.
3. If it doesn’t have a policy, who should you choose to make management aware of the problem?
4. How should you go about this and by when?

An organisational policy is essential. But the real onus of minimising the possibility of being harassed is on you. Here is some sound advice:

Maintain a good self-image

Know yourself. Value yourself. Remember that you have a right to be taken seriously in the workplace. Continue Reading »

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