Tag Archive for 'business success'

Feb52008

Tuesday Top 5: 5 Ways to Boost Your Problem Solving Abilities

In the game of business and in the game of life, you are going to encounter problems - all the time.  The degree of success you have in either game is largely dependent upon your ability to solve problems effectively and efficiently.   

 Today, I want to share the Top 5 ways that I have found work best to continue solving problems at high levels and to keep sailing in smooth waters:

 1.  Get a fresh perspective

 All to often, when you are wrapped up in trying to solve a problem you become too attached to the issue at hand and you cannot objectively look at what you need to do. In this case, give yourself a fresh perspective. This can mean something as simple as taking a break for a few minutes to soliciting outside help to look at the issue (either paid or unpaid).

trees

You might be calling me “Captain Obvious” right about now, but hear me out. What I am advocating is for developing the discipline to recognize when the situations are arising and frustration is creeping up that will keep you from accomplishing your goals. It is one thing to know that you should get a fresh perspective - putting this into action is quite another.

2. Start at the end and work backward

I find that when I am spinning my wheels on a project, that I have lost focus on the end result. As one of my favorite expressions goes, I: “cannot see the forest through the trees.”

finish

To get back to where you need to be, stop everything you are doing (turn away from the computer, step away from the phone) and speak, out loud, what your desired end result of what you are doing is. Saying something out loud carries A LOT more power than simply having a thought or jotting the thought down on paper. Trust me on this one. .

3. Practice thinking

brain

I know that I have you really confused now. But, ask yourself this: why do people practice everything from sports to speaking in public but do not practice thinking?”This might seem like a crazy question, but if you really think about it (full pun intended) you might realize that your cerebrum could use some exercise just like the rest of your body. This begs the question: “what are some brain exercises?” You only need to work on a few things for a few minutes a day and you will be amazed at the improvement in your critical thinking and analytic skills.

Some examples:

  • Sodoku
  • Crossword puzzles
  • Cryptograms
  • Lateral thinking games
  • Word/vocabulary games
  • Trivia games
  • Matching/pattern games
  • Riddles
  • …there are many more 

You will note that most of these things are a hobby or fun for somebody out there. Super nerdy, no doubt and some of them were the probably highlight of people’s Saturday nights before there were nightclubs. I think a few of them are fun, others I prefer not to do.

However, I find that if I spend a few minutes each morning on a lateral thinking game or sudoku puzzle, that I just feel a little better equipped to handle some of the things thrown my way during the day. Stimulate your brain cells and they might just stimulate you right back!

4. Ask better questions

A great college professor once told a class: “if you want to be brilliant, focus on asking better and better questions…solutions will then reveal themselves.” I can tell you that this has rung true in my personal and business life. All to often, we get caught up on “fixing what is wrong” that we lose sight of what is wrong in the first place. Asking better questions will keep you true to the old KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

question

Just think of the 5 W’s you learned when you were in grade school:

  • Who
  • What
  • When
  • Where
  • Why
  • *How* (this was always thrown in)

This also reminds me of the expert technicians obsessing over what is wrong with a highly complex computer that appears broken when the janitor walks by, finds the machine unplugged, plugs it in and the machine works to the amazement of the ‘experts.’

5. Laugh

Yes, indeed. Laughter is the best medicine for solving problems. Aside from all of the research that has been done showing that laughter can lengthen your life, cure illnesses and increase productivity, it is just common sense that to laugh is to relieve stress and to If you are ever perplexed, take a cruise over to Youtube and watch a stand-up comic, go to comics.com and have a laugh or just take a look at your favorite Dilbert tear-away poster to boost your mood and your output. relieve stress benefits you in myriad ways.

spoon

Well, there we have our Top 5 for this week. Tune in for the Tuesday Top 5 next week and be on the lookout for a killer “30 Second Thursday” spot this week!

Published
by
Adam Davis
on February 5, 2008
in Inspiration, Motivation, Productivity and Success
. 0 Comments
Jan312008

30 Second Thursdays - Volume 4 - Make Fear Work For You

This Thursday, I want to talk about the “F” word - that’s right — F-E-A-R. Fear is something that can cripple even the most ambitious people, however, this is where unprecedented opportunities often are. Learn to look for areas where others are afraid and watch your business or professional life take off. 

Think about it…people were once afraid to sail beyond certain points because they thought they would never come back; fear is often derived from misinformation or perception of misinformation.  Those that can dig deeper and uncover what others are missing will reap the rewards.

Here is your 30 Second Thursday for this week:

Published
by
Adam Davis
on January 31, 2008
in Entrepreneurship, Investing and Leadership
. 0 Comments
Jan292008

Tuesday Top 5: 5 Sure-Fire Weapons You Must Have in Your Arsenal

While on my recent trip to Miami, I had the opportunity to hear an outstanding street performer.  He was rapping with just a microphone and a small stereo box with a faint beat, but he was awesome.  You name it and he had it down: humor, strong messages, rhymes…everything.   

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After listening to him for a few minutes, I began to notice a pattern to his awesome act.  Every so often, when it appeared that he was about to run out of something to rap about,  he would ask a passerby what their name was.  He would persist until he got it out of them and then launch off onto a new lyrical path based on rhyming with the persons name.  This performer was simply using a sure-fire technique he had established to keep his momentum going and the crowd involved. Mastering this sure-fire weapon, no doubt, is what consistently draws crowds to him. 

I was reflecting on this when it hit me how important having a proverbial “ace up your sleeve” is.  Having a surefire technique that works for a given situation, closing a sale perhaps or a negotiating a deal, is a an absolute must to increase your level of success.  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the ’sky hook’, the Packers of the Vince Lombardi era had the ‘power sweep’, the Mighty Ducks (yes, those Mighty Ducks of Disney fame!) had the ‘flying V’.  

Any way you slice it,  you have to develop sure-fire techniques in at least 5 areas of your business or professional life:

1. A sure-fire technique for closing sales 9 times out of 10

In business, and in life, sales is everything.  You are selling yourself to your boss, your idea to a colleague or your product to a customer.  As Blake (Alec Baldwin)  famously says in a memorable scene in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross: (paraphrasing) “either you sell the customer or he sells you on why he can’t buy - either way, a sale is made!”

There is a certain method that you can internally develop, unique to you, that you can use to make a sale when you need to. Even though each customer is different, and you must cater your message accordingly, you can still pull out a killer close to seal the deal.  

sales

Here is one I always like to use: 

Me: “Ok, Jim.  From what you’re saying this seems like a good fit, doesn’t it?  

Jim: “Sure”

Me: “Great, Jim.  Then I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t move ahead, do you?”

Jim: “Well…no.” 

I have used this technique in many instances to great success and I still rely on it - like having an ace up my sleeve.

2. A sure-fire technique for quickly evaluating the financial numbers of a project or deal

Many times you will be faced with a situation, whether it be investing in a real estate project or evaluating a new marketing expenditure, where you will need to make an analysis and move ahead with decisiveness.  Developing a simple internal method for evaluating these situations will make you tons of money - because you will consistently scrutinize and evaluate what makes sense and be able to do it quickly.

fin

Here are a few methods that successful people I know like to use:

  • Payback method- evaluating a project by examining the time it will take to receive your investment dollars back.  The premise of this technique is that the faster the investment pays your money back, the faster your money can be used for another investment while still maintaining your stake in the first one.
  • ROI (Return on Investment) - evaluating a project by looking at the dollars the investment yields versus the dollars invested.  For example, if you invest $100 and receive $110 back in one year, you received $10 for your $100 investment.  $10/$100 = 10% so your ROI is 10%. 
  • Cost/Benefit- evaluating a project or investment by weighing the benefits received against the costs outlaid to receive the benefit.  This technique is common when it it hard to put number or dollar terms on a decision.  For example, when deciding to have your business put on a fundraiser for a political candidate.  In this case, you might weigh the costs (cash outlays, time investment) against the benefits (recognition for yourself and your business, etc.)

I strongly urge you to find a method that works for you and that you can use on a consistent basis.  

3. A sure-fire negotiating tactic to help you win in any situation

Negotiating is another facet of our professional and business lives that we must become good at in order to succeed at high levels.  Developing a technique that you can use to win in key situations will come in handy.  

neg

Here is a personal favorite of mine:

Me: “Jim, if I like the __, but I don’t like it at $X, should we just forget about the whole thing?” 

Jim: “Ah…no, no, no….”

Once you find something that works, practice it as often as  you can and hone it to perfection

4. A sure-fire marketing method that will bring customers in

All business begins and ends with marketing.  It doesn’t matter what business you are in, where you are located or how long you have been doing what your are doing.  Make no mistake, in any business, times will get tough and customers will seem scarce. If you don’t have a sure-fire way to jump-start your sales, you will be dead in the water.  

mkt

A few ‘aces up your sleeve’ here might be:

  • a huge online promotion or contest
  • unique e-marketing campaign
  • a dynamic direct mail campaign (with a great list) 
  • a super-sale/promotional event - properly publicized
  • a strong newspaper advertisementAny of these (and countless other methods) can be the surefire technique you need to stoke the fire when you have to.  

Check out 151 Quick Ideas to Increase Sales by Linda Sparks for more brain food on this area.

5.  A sure-fire way of handling critical employee issues

Inevitably, in most businesses, employee issues creep up.  It could be from myriad reasons, such as: personal problems with the employee, theft, tardiness and poor performance.  If you have, or wish to have, a business that employs people, you must develop you own unique way of internally handling and being proactive with these types of problems.

emp

You may have to put your thinking cap on for this one, as personalities and work environments will dictate this to a large degree.  Whenever I have an employee problem, whether the issue is brought to me by the employee or someone else, I always tell myself three things: 1. you hired this person for a reason, 2. people aren’t perfect and 3. listen to the story and get all the facts.In most circumstances, the ‘boss’ has a tendency to overreact and make the problem worse by talking more than listening.

So, there you have this week’s Top 5 and a lot of food for thought.  I  hope these things will help prosper you as they have me.    

Published
by
Adam Davis
on January 29, 2008
in Success and marketing
. 0 Comments