Selling Breakthroughs - Kelowna Sales Training

Keep your customers satisfied to create lasting relationships.

The secret to making a successful sale is knowing what, why, how and when your audience wants to buy. Learn the processes and stages of both buyer and seller simultaneously to understand how to apply sales skills and behaviors that accurately match the buyer's state and motivations. Understand how to use your expertise confidently to positively influence outcomes and meet both the buyer's and your own requirements. A sale isn't over until your client knows that the solution to their business problem is you and your product or service.

This course will help you:

• Accurately assess customer needs and establish needs awareness
• Present solutions based upon priority and big picture needs, not products or services
• Use the buyer's motivations for increased focus and creating opportunities
• Communicate as a problem-solver and a trusted partner
• Develop professional, long-lasting business-to-business relationships

Who should Attend:

Anyone involved in the selling process.

Format:

• A highly-interactive 1-day workshop.

Tools Provided:

• A Comprehensive Learning Guide
• A pre- and post-workshop skills assessment 
• Half hour with our sales professional one month after training

Detailed Synopsis: Selling Breakthroughs

The Selling Breakthroughs workshop. will give you the skills needed to transform selling products, services or ideas into selling “business solutions” are essential for salespeople at all levels.

The program will broaden your understanding and develop your selling skills to uncover the underlying business need, create a desire to act on solving the business problem or to take advantage of a business opportunity, make clientcentered sales presentations, gain commitment, and enhance the relationship by ensuring client satisfaction.

The program provides practical planning tools and processes, with case studies and practice sessions to learn and enhance your selling skills.

Unit 1 An Overview of the Selling – Buying Process:
In this overview unit we examine the process and stages that a buyer moves through in any buying situation. This enables us to appreciate the skills and behaviors required by the salesperson to support the buyer throughout the process.

Unit 2 Need: Establishing buyers’ needs and need awareness:
The foundation of any sale and worthwhile relationship requires a clear understanding of the buyer’s real needs – their situation, problems and opportunities. In this unit you will learn the importance of first impressions, and how to use appropriate selling and interpersonal behaviors to achieve strong and positive relationships. You will enhance your questioning skills to obtain appropriate facts and information, and to get confirmation, agreement and commitment.

Unit 3 Priority: Activating needs to priority:
This stage is the vital link between establishing needs and presenting a solution. We explore general and specific buying motives, and identify and establish the individual motivations and drives of our buyers. You will learn specific questioning skills that focus the buyer on their real situation, and help them clarify those needs that are priorities for them. You will become comfortable challenging the status quo.

Unit 4 Solution: Presenting a business case solution:
This Unit is designed to move you towards mastery of presenting a business case that meets the buyer’s specific product and service needs, demonstrates value, and is based on positive relationships. You will further enhance your questioning and listening skills. You will learn how to prepare generic and client specific product and service analyses, based on a complete understanding of features, advantages, benefits and end results. You will prepare a value-based solution, with a documented valueadded package, that effectively differentiates your solution. You will learn how to deal with various forms of resistance, including “price” issues, and positively sell on value and
relationship factors.

Unit 5 Implement: Closing and implementing:
Through an understanding of buying signals, stress and risk assessment, and closing techniques, you will learn how to support the buyer to implement their solution choice. Preparation of a checklist and plan will ensure both parties commit to and complete full implementation.

Unit 6 Relationship: Cementing the relationship and managing expectations:
This unit looks at our customers in terms of importance and worth to help us better allocate our time. Development of an expectation feedback system helps us monitor and evaluate results against expectations. Proactive follow-up will ensure an ongoing relationship based on trust and credibility.

For more information and to see how Priority Management can help you work smarter, call:

David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

Stimulus Funding Announcement for Kelowna Small Businesses

Okanagan Training Solutions is an eligible trainer for the Workplace Training for Innovation Program and offers courses priced from $400 to $1500 per employee depending upon the program and material costs.

Workplace Training for Innovation Pilot Program

The Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development has established a new program initiative, Workplace Training for Innovation Program, through the Strategic Training and Transition Fund. The program is designed to provide eligible employers with funding for employee training in order to:

• Improve productivity
• Support the introduction of new technology, machinery/equipment or work processes
• Enhance international competitiveness
• Introduce innovative training and workplace strategies to increase the long term competitiveness of the organization and its workforce.

Both businesses and not-for-profit employers may be eligible to receive funding. Eligible employers must be:

• Small organizations (less than 50 employees)
• In good standing with the BC Corporate Registry
• In existence for one year or more

How will this benefit my small business?

This limited time program can provide your business or organization with full $$ funding for employee training in order to improve productivity; introduce new technologies or work processes, enhance your competitiveness and/or increase the long term competitiveness of your organization and its workforce.

To pay for training, you can receive:

• up to $1500 per employee to a maximum of $5000
• Funding for Sales Training Programs in Kelowna

In addition, organizations must certify that they would not undertake the training without financial assistance from the Province. Complete eligibility criteria are contained in the application form and program guidelines. Organizations may apply for funding by submitting a completed application for funding form to Chemistry Consulting Group Inc. at the address listed on the form. Faxed and emailed applications will not be accepted. An application is not a guarantee of funding. Applications will be processed on a first-come/first-serve basis, subject to availability of funding. Applications will be accepted until January 31, 2011, subject to availability of funding.

Related Documents

• The Application for Funding Form [PDF]
• Program Guidelines booklet [PDF]
• Program Infosheet [PDF]

If you need to discuss your funding Training Requirements give us a call for a free one hour consultation.

David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

10 essential Time Management skills!

10 essential time management skillsBy Tom Mochal

Have you ever started the day with great ambitions and then realised at the end that you didn't get anything done? It happens to everyone, but it happens to some people more often than others.

Time management allows you to have a higher degree of control over what you do in a day, week, or month. Time management skills can help you spend the hours you have on what is most important to you.

Organisational skills are easier for some people than others. For instance, all time management advice includes some form of writing down what you want to accomplish. For many people, this is easy and natural. Other people have difficulty creating lists and following through on them. It's a left-brain/right-brain thing and has to do with whether your brain favors logic and structure or creative and unstructured thinking. Time management requires discipline. If you're not prepared to be disciplined, you're not going to be a very good manager of your own time.

Here's a top-10 list of time management techniques that I've employed myself. Notice that I didn't call them "best practices." However, they do work for me and can work for you as well.

1. Create a list of things to do each morningIf you don't keep track of what you want to accomplish, you're not going to have a chance for effective time management. Create a to-do list at the beginning of each day or at the end of the prior day. The list can include business and personal items and can be put on paper, your workstation, PDA, etc. Refer to the list several times during the day. For example, if you have 10 minutes before a meeting, glance at your list. There might be an e-mail you wanted to send that would only take 10 minutes. When you complete each item, check it off. If you’re like me, you derive satisfaction from being able to check off an item as complete.

2. Write down all follow-up items on your list
To keep track of new things that come up during the day, place them on your daily list. If your list is full and the activity can be completed tomorrow (or the next day), place it on your list for a day or two out. Have you ever wondered why people tell you they'll do something and then don’t follow through? It's because they don't write it down. When I was a manager, I would often talk to people about work we needed to complete. I never trusted their memory. If they didn't bring a pencil and paper, I gave them some so they could write down what needed to be done and the due date.

3. Carry forward unfinished work and follow upNow you have a list of work for the day, and you've added new items for follow-up during the day. What do you do with the things you haven't completed at the end of the day? You carry them forward and add them to your list for tomorrow. But don't be a procrastinator. You don't want to carry an expanding list of activities from day to day to day. If the activity is important, get it done. If it's not important, follow up with the person who's expecting something from you and explain that the work hasn't been completed.

4. Keep track of due datesUse your list to keep track of due dates. This includes commitments to work colleagues and friends. My experience is that people miss due dates more often than they hit them. If you're not clear, ask when an activity needs to be completed, write it down, and then use time management skills to make sure the work is done on time. If you can't meet the commitment, communicate that in a timely manner.

5. Create a list of priorities for this month and next
I know many people make lists for today. How many make high-level lists of the things they need to do this month and next? Unless you have a transactional job where your time frames are always short-term, you need to stop at the beginning of each month and determine what you want to accomplish. These lists are obviously at a high level, but, again, they keep you focused on what you want to accomplish. As the month progresses, start adding items to your list for the next month.

6. Keep track of longer-term reminders
Your things-to-do list isn't going to help you for follow-ups you'll need to remember in the distant future. For instance, you may tell a colleague that you'll follow up with him to check progress in two months. You need to have a way to keep track of this follow-up and to remind yourself two months in the future. I've always just used a calendar. Most online calendars have features for reminders. In fact, I place multiple reminders over multiple days, so that if I miss one, I'll catch the reminder the next day.

7. Keep a clean desk
I never knew of a good time manager who worked in a pigsty. In fact, it usually follows that people who have cluttered offices or cubicles aren't very good time organisers. I don't think you can be a good time manager when you spend a lot of time looking for stuff in a cluttered work environment.

8. Keep all of your current work in one area
Over time, you may work on many separate activities and initiatives. Keep your things organised. I always keep all of my current work papers in one area where I can get at them easily. When I'm finished with a project or initiative, I move the folder elsewhere (see tip 9).

9. Purge files and documents you no longer need
Here's one that might startle you. For the past 10 years, I've had one file drawer where I keep all my papers from completed work initiatives. I keep adding new work folders to the front of the drawer, and when the drawer gets full, I throw out files from the back end. In other words, I never keep more files than can fit in one drawer.
Contrast that to your system of keeping endless years of paperwork that no one cares about anymore and no one will ever care for again. Of course, I'm not talking about users' manuals or reference material that you need. I’m talking about the work files you accumulate. And yes, once a year, I wish I could go back and find something I threw out. But I usually have the original documents online.

10.Back up online files and purge
I have a similar philosophy about online documents. I would guess that 95 percent of what you have online in your work files probably has a shelf life of three months or less. I periodically back up my files to CD (or disk) and then go through and quickly delete all the older junk I don't need anymore.

David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

RECESSION-PROOF YOUR RELATIONSHIP

By Jennifer Openshaw*

Now is the perfect time to talk with your spouse or significant other about finances. Waiting much longer could be too little, too late.

Still, talking about money with family is often awkward — no one really likes to bring it up. I recently wrote about having money conversations with parents. But with so much bad news about the economy and so much concern about jobs, income and spending, the time is right to talk with your significant other, regardless of whether it’s awkward or not.

A recent PayPal survey on the topic of love and money uncovered a startling fact: One in 10 families has seen the primary breadwinner change as a result of the ongoing financial difficulties.

Switch jobs, you think? No, an actual switch in the position of breadwinner between spouses! Maybe he earned more, and now suddenly she does, or vice versa. That can create complicated emotions for both husband and wife, and that means it’s time to be open and honest about how you feel.

Over 40% of couples surveyed said the ongoing financial crisis has caused them to argue more about money and finances. Personal-finance expert Lynette Khalfani-Cox shared a few ideas with me to help couples recession-proof their relationships:

1) Talk, talk, talk. In love and money, old stereotypes about men and women die hard. There’s a natural disconnect between what each “half? thinks they bring to the relationship. “It is very common for couples to squabble about the roles that each is playing and how that plays into the family finances,? Khalfani-Cox said.

More than one-third of the women in PayPal’s study say they share primary income responsibility with their partners, but only about a quarter of men say the same. What gives? Is he understating her contributions, or is she overstating her own? Talk to each other about the contributions you each make to the shared bottom line. Be clear and be honest. Make sure you’re on the same page in your financial planning, and always resist the urge to be competitive.

“Don’t reduce everything to a price tag or a paycheck,? Khalfani-Cox said. “What that does is create a counterproductive and unnecessary competition between you.?

2) Secret spending isn’t sexy. More than one in 10 of PayPal’s respondents admitted to hiding purchases from their partners. Sound like you? Even if you don’t always agree on each other’s spending habits, you can at least agree that any purchase over a certain amount ($200, for example) will be discussed in advance. Such easy relationship guidelines can go a long way.

3) Don’t stop giving gifts to each other, no matter your budget. When times are stressful and budgets are tight, it’s all the more important to be open and expressive in your relationship, and there are many gifts you can give to your loved ones that don’t cost a dime. Bring out some old movies or photo albums and make it a date night. Just keep one rule in force: no talking about money. “You don’t have to spend a fortune to show your partner you care about them,Khalfani-Cox said. “Don’t use the economic downturn as an excuse to cut back on loving gestures.?

Good advice. Remember, communication is always the key to a long and healthy relationship, with your spouse, your parents, your children. We are all in this economic boat together, and that means everyone needs to pitch in. Don’t bottle up your fears and feelings — it could leave you stranded and alone.


David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

HOW TO DEAL WITH MISTAKES!

By Dr. Peter Honey

Mistakes are inevitable and have the potential to be admirable learning opportunities. A mistake is likely to 'bounce' someone into learning mode in a bid to avoid repeating the same mistake in future. However, learning is by no means inevitable.

In the wake of a mistake people can react by:

- denying it happened
- concealing/covering up the mistake
- rationalizing/explaining the mistake away
- blaming factors outside their control
- attacking other people for their mistakes
- confessing/coming clean
- apologizing
- learning

Alas, the first five are far more prevalent than the last three.
The way to maximize learning and development from mistakes is to lean over backwards to be non-accusational.

The easiest way to do this is to concentrate on the only two things that really matter:

- agreeing what action to take to alleviate the effects of the mistake
- agreeing what action to take to prevent the mistake happening again.

The problem-solving, action-oriented approach is much too businesslike to indulge in unhelpful trivialities such as apportioning blame and finger pointing. Rebuking people when they make mistakes doesn't necessarily mean they will make fewer mistakes in future.

More probably it will encourage them to conceal their mistakes in order to avoid being rebuked. As every school child quickly learns, you don't get told off for making mistakes; only for being found out.

So, if mistakes, when they occur, are handled properly, development is the desirable outcome. This doesn't mean that mistakes are to be welcomed, or that efforts to prevent mistakes can be relaxed; merely that when they happen we might as well gain from them.

It is possible, indeed desirable, to learn from other people's mistakes rather than restricting it to the ones that happen in your sphere of influence. Analyzing accident reports or newspaper or magazine articles’ about other organizations, products or personalities can often be a useful exercise.

Important and relevant lessons can be extracted from case-study material of this kind without the pain of having made the mistake yourself. A good start to be would be the paperback published by Butterworth Heinemann called 'My Biggest Mistake' where captains of industry admit to a substantial mistake and describe the lessons they have learned from it.

Once people have got into the spirit of things, you can move the whole process closer to home by having your own equivalent.

Whether it is your mistake, our colleagues’ mistake or someone else's mistake, always remember 'inside every mistake are lessons waiting to get out'.

You won't make a mistake by checking out the NEW Priority Management website. Click here to learn more.
* This article is taken from Peter Honey's best selling paperback now in its fourth reprint, 101 Ways To Develop Your People, Without Really Trying!


David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

THE CHANGE LEADER

The most effective way to manage change successfully is to create it.

One cannot manage change.One can only be ahead of it.

In a period of upheavals, such as the one we are living in, change is the norm.

To be sure, it is painful and risky, and above all it requires a great deal of very hard work. But unless it is seen as the task of the organization to lead change, the organization will not survive.

In a period of rapid structural change, the only ones who survive are the change leaders. A change leader sees change as an opportunity.

A change leader looks for change, knows how to find the right changes, and knows how to make them effective both outside the organization and inside it.

To make the future is highly risky. It is less risky, however, than not to try to make it.

A goodly proportion of those attempting to will surely not succeed. But predictably, no one else will.

by, Dr. Peter Drucker


David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LATERAL AND LOGICAL THINKING

Many years ago in a small village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a female village moneylender. The female moneylender, who was old, fat and ugly, fancied the farmer's handsome son, Cliff.

So she proposed a bargain. She said she would forego the farmer's debt if she could marry his son. Both the farmer and his son were horrified by the proposal.

So the cunning female moneylender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter. She told them that she would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty moneybag. Then the son would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

If he picked the black pebble, he would become her husband and her father's debt would be forgiven.

If he picked the white pebble he need not marry her and his father's debt would still be forgiven.

But if he refused to pick a pebble, his father would be thrown into Jail.

They were standing on a pebble-strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As she picked them up, the sharp-eyed son noticed that she had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag.

She then asked the son to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the son? If you had to advise him, what would you have told him?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1) The son should refuse to take a pebble.

2) The son should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a lying, backstabbing female cheat.

3) The son should pick a black pebble and sacrifice himself in order to save his father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.

The son's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional
logical thinking. Think of the consequences if he chooses the above logical answers.

What would you recommend to the son to do?

Well, here is what he did....

The son put his hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, he fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

'Oh, how clumsy of me,' he said. 'But never
mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.'

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that he had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit her dishonesty, the son changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Most complex problems do have a solution.It is only that we don't attempt to think them through to the end.

David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

THE TEN MOST COMMON CAUSES OF FAILURE

THE TEN MOST COMMON CAUSES OF FAILURE

Daniel Stamp

It's probably about this time of the year when you (or your boss!) ask whether or not you accomplished your goals. Or, you may be planning your 2010 goals and budgets right now. Here are what I consider to be
the ten most common causes of failure. Avoid these and you'll likely do well next year:

1…Blaming other people for problems rather than accepting personal accountability.

2…Engaging in endless self-analysis and questioning your own worth.

3…Not having written goals with deadlines and a plan of action for them.

4…Choosing the wrong things to do first.

5…Not having enough energy-both physical and mental.

6…Not recognizing or celebrating your achievements along the way.

7…Quitting too soon.

8…Not setting blocks of uninterrupted time.

9…Repeating the same behavior and hoping for a different result.

10..Not getting others committed to the same agenda.

The key to achievement starts with you knowing yourself. And to know yourself starts with you asking yourself these 6 questions:

Who am I? What are my strengths? How do I achieve results? Are my goals in line with my values? Am I learning from experience? Am I measuring the actual results of my activities every few months?


David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

Are you ready for the changing business climate?

Are you ready for the changing business climate?

Rate the following questions 1 through 5, 5 being the best

• How will you manage the possibility of increased workload?

• What is your stress level at the moment?

• Have you a positive work / life balance?

• Are you managing your emails in a positive way?

• Do you manage your flexible and fixed tasks, or do they manage you?

• Do you spend enough time deciding and prioritizing when it comes to getting the right task done at the right time?

• Have you a system to handle daily interruptions?

Would you like to gain 40 to 70 productivity minutes per day?

Let me introduce you to our WorkingSm@rt With outlook program
Please email or call or go to my blog http://kelownaoutlooktraining.blogspot.com


“IT CAN BE DONE”

Priority Management is a global training company teaching people how to increase
Productivity and at the same time reduce stress and gain control over their day.

David Anderson /President
Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
prioritymanagment@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

How to Create Strong P@$$w0rd$

How to Create Strong P@$$w0rd$By Riva Richmond

A confession: For years, I have used horrible, entirely insecure passwords.

Due to laziness and an extraordinarily poor memory, I have broken possibly every rule of good passwords. I have included my name, which might be easily guessed. I have used common words that could be subject to “dictionary attack.? I have used the same password to gain access to many favorite Web sites, including my e-mail, thus creating a dreaded “single point of failure.? Only when forced to would I come up with long passwords containing numbers and symbols — the kind recommended by the sort of security experts I talk to on a regular basis.

Over the last couple of days, I’ve been changing my passwords at various and sundry sites to make them stronger — and promptly writing them down on a Post-It note.

I know, I know! No need to groan. That’s a huge security failure right there. But there’s been no one in my house but me the last few days, and today I’m going to select a better way to store them.

Today, I’d like to go over what makes a good, strong password, the kind you should be using to, at minimum, protect online access to your financial accounts.

Ideally, your passwords are six characters or longer and you can remember them. It’s a bad idea to make it memorable by using personal information — like your name, your child’s name, your pet’s name, your or your child’s birth date — or by using words in the dictionary.

Obviously, you should keep your passwords private. But keep in mind that you also need to be quiet about any personal tidbits you use in passwords or the security questions that some sites use to authenticate you. Identity thieves are out on the Web looking for this stuff. It’s why Facebook has become a big target lately. And recently on Twitter, there was a major hullabaloo over a game in which people were creating “porn names? from their first pet’s name and first teacher’s last name that quickly morphed into a likely effort to phish pet and street names.

You can, however, use dictionary words and loved ones’ names more safely by using them as a foundation for a password that also incorporates random capital letters, swaps letters for numbers and includes a symbol or two. For example, the extremely poor “password? password would be much stronger as “r1Va’5paZZw8rD.?

It would be even better to use a phrase, song lyric or line from a poem as the base and then mix in numbers and symbols, as well as misspell words or use bad grammar. For instance, “Hey Jude, don’t make it bad? could become “d9n’Tmak%6aad.? Or you can base the password on the first letter of each word in your phrase, which would turn the lyric into “HJ,dmi6.?

For more password dos and don’ts, read Microsoft’s advice:
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/create.mspx
or check the strength of the ones you are using now at
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/checker.mspx

David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

How to change your life In 2010 - Okanagan Training Programs

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day? ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

William James, known as the father of American psychology said there are just three rules to follow if you want to change your life:

Start immediately

Do it flamboyantly

No exceptions

Well you may not want to change your life exactly but you may have thought of achieving a goal or just doing something differently in 2009. When it comes to change, many people procrastinate or fall victim to the "perpetually getting ready to do something syndrome" - a feeling that the time's just not right at the moment, or "I'll start next Monday, better still next month" and so on...

Here are some tactics for getting things done now:

If you do perceive that the starting task might be unpleasant then schedule it first (ie make it your 'A' priority) on your to-do list. It often turns out to be not that bad after all. (no exceptions)

All journey's begin with a small step, so break down complex projects into small pieces that are manageable and schedule the first step today. (start immediately)

Set a target date for completion. Go public-tell a colleague, friend or partner what you are doing and when you are going to do it. (do it flamboyantly)

And finally don't forget your biorhythms - schedule your toughest tasks during the periods when you have the most energy - that's usually the first part of the day or the weekend.

Priority has developed a wide range of learning programs that will help you develop the skills and competencies to make your life better and more fulfilled in 2010.

Click below to find out more about our world class training.

David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

The ten rules for meetings

You've been sitting in the meeting for 93 minutes. It feels like 93 days. It was supposed to last an hour, max, but the Senior VP is in the room, and the point of the session was to discuss his pet project, and no one wants to be the first to crack. Everyone else is busy making gratuitous points designed to flatter Mr. Big. You're entertaining fantasies about throwing a cream pie, or worse, at the blowhard who just won't stop talking about how successful the project will be. You know it's doomed to fail; it's the high-tech equivalent of selling ice to the Inuit.

You're asking yourself, who's in charge here? How did all these reasonably well-intentioned people get so far out of whack? And, more to the point, how can this juggernaut be stopped?

Since mass laryngitis is not an option, you need the Ten Golden Rules of Meetings. Moreover, you need to post them prominently in meeting rooms so that everyone can begin to follow them – especially the leader. Remember that even Moses had trouble with his unruly flock from time to time, so be prepared for the occasional outburst of the modern corporate version of Baal worship.

1..Always Know What Time It Is
The clock is God in meetings. Out of respect for the commitment and sanity of everyone who attends, meetings should never run over the time allotted. Especially regularly scheduled meetings. If the session gets bogged down in an issue, table it for another meeting. If the meeting must conclude by taking an action or decision, then schedule it accordingly. Tell all the participants before the meeting starts that it will go as long as necessary to reach the stated conclusion. Don't mislead people by minimizing the amount of work involved; that kind of trickery will only come back to haunt you.

2..Never Forget the Main Reason for Meetings
The only good reason to have meetings is to do something together that you can't do better alone. In business, meetings have three primary purposes: communicating, administering, and deciding. Of these, the first and last are most worthwhile. But the focus of all three kinds of meetings should be action. They should either be communicating the intention to take an action or the results of action that has been taken, administering a plan of action, or deciding among alternative actions. If you find yourself calling meetings – or going to them – that have some other purpose, you're wasting your time. And everyone else's. Find something else to do.

3..Remember the Golden Rule of Meetings: Praise in Public, Criticize in PrivateShut off public criticism when it arises. It's extremely destructive to morale and should be prevented. Indeed, much misery could be avoided in the business world if all members of the corporate community would remember a simple fact: if they are working for the same employer, then they are all on the same team. Corporate politics we will always have with us, but that doesn't mean that we have to accept them tamely. Help your vocally critical teammates by making it clear, in advance of each meeting, who is in charge, how long the meeting will last, and what the point of the meeting is. Then deal with attempts to take the meeting in other, more vicious directions as simple misunderstandings of the agreed-upon ground rules. Politely but firmly steer the meeting back to the right terrain.

4..Do Not Convene Meetings Outside of Normal Business Hours
Of course there are times when this rule must be broken, but they should be reserved for real emergencies. People who schedule meetings for evenings and weekends are merely advertising the embarrassing fact that they have no life - and they're expecting others to give up theirs. That kind of person should not be allowed to run anything, much less part of a modern corporation, because they lack the basic humanity to do a good job. Surviving in the fast-moving, devil-take-the-hindmost business world of today requires good peripheral vision as well as keen understanding of the work involved. Those without the necessary life balance can't possibly understand that world they're in or see around the next business corner.

5..Never Use Group Pressure to Logroll ConclusionsIt is simply wrong to use meetings to pressure people into agreeing to actions or ideas that they know to be immoral or illegal in order to promote the business of the corporation. Group pressure is a powerful force, especially where jobs are at stake. Don't misuse it to get people to stray from the straight and narrow, or bend the rules, or set the quotas dangerously high, or cut corners on quality, or any one of a thousand such activities that go on every day in misguided organizations everywhere. Your corporation has a set of values. If it doesn't include adherence to a code of ethics and the rule of law, change the values or find values or find somewhere else to work.

6..Don't Use Meetings to Destroy Others' Careers
There is enough room in every meeting for a disagreement without making it personal or destructive. More than that, it's wrong – and politically unwise. Modern corporate life has become so ephemeral and its denizens so transient that your past is bound to come back and face you again, and sooner rather than later. A petty triumph at someone else's expense at one job may well prove seriously embarrassing at your next job. Resist the temptation. Curiously, the unstable nature of today's workplace has encouraged people to take the opposite attitude. The thinking seems to run, "I'll never see these people again, so why not cut loose?" But the opposite is almost certainly true.

7..Keep the Personal and the Corporate Distinct
There's nothing wrong with having friends at work. But meetings are not for social calls. To be sure, a certain amount of socializing at the beginnings and endings of meetings is part of the grease that keeps the well-oiled corporate machine running smoothly. But the balance should be clearly kept on the side of business. Too much socializing will lead to resentment among the others at the meeting who are not part of the party. More than that, it's inefficient, bad for business, and corrosive for your soul. You need to have a life outside the corporate one. If you find that all your socializing is taking place in business meetings, it's time to change a few things.

8..Remember that the Best Model for Meetings Is Democracy, Not Monarchy
Resist the temptation to railroad your fellow participants into a decision you want. You need to lead by moral persuasion, not by virtue of your title. Brute force is not the appropriate mode for meetings, though jujitsu sometimes is. As a leader, you should always strive to understand the sense of the meeting. If you want to issue edicts, publish them in the media available to you. You don't need a meeting to announce a new course of proceeding that is not up for discussion. And watch out for other participants in the meeting trying to take control. Hijacking a meeting is a cherished corporate game, but a nasty one. It's your job as a leader to prevent that from happening.

9..Always Prepare a Clear Agenda and Circulate It Beforehand
It is more than courtesy – it is good efficient business practice to think hard about the purpose, nature and structure of a meeting before it takes place. These thoughts should be codified in the form of an agenda and circulated to all participants well in advance of the meeting. Time enough, at any rate, for the participants to prepare whatever they need to in the way of reports, plans, proposals, or the like. Far too often, people who call meetings grossly underestimate the amount of preparation required of the participants.

10..Terminate a Regularly Scheduled Meeting When Its Purpose for Being No Longer ExistsIf you can no longer clearly state the reason for having a regular meeting, it's time to kill it. Purposes change, and when the meeting has lost its reason fortaking place, be the first one to put an end to it. All periodic meetings should have a stock-taking every few sessions to determine if the meeting still has a purpose. It's just one way to fight corporate bloat and bureaucratic encrustation. Of course, for this discipline to work, you must have decided what the regular meeting was for when it was begun. Goal-setting is just as important in meetings as it is in the rest of corporate life.

David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

When are you at your best?

When are you at your best?
In our survey last month we asked at what time of day you worked most effectively (see the results on the main page). Almost half the 3,212 respondents said that they work best from 8:00-10:00am and most others worked best at some other time of the morning. Only ten percent of respondents said that they were ‘always on their game’. When you plan meetings, appointments or time for important project work, you should always consider your natural biorhythm. This is the recurring cycle of biological processes that affect your emotional, intellectual and physical activity. Most of us are 'morning' people - others are 'afternoon' people.

Ask yourself and your colleagues if they consider this when planning the day. Look around the office-see people busying themselves with trivia first thing each morning and going into vital strategic meetings at 2:00 pm-the time when very few are at peak performance levels.

Here's a simple process to ensure that you do the most important things in life when you are at your best!

Determine the two hours of the day when you feel your best.

Schedule your 'A' activities for this time slot.

Protect this 'time space' from all intruders.

If you do this for a week or two you will see an immediate productivity gain!
Start today to develop the skills that will help you stay balanced and in control of your personal agenda. By developing essential skills such as time management, personal organization, life/work balance and workload management you will improve every aspect of your life.

David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

Persuading and Influencing

Persuading and Influencing
By Dr. Peter Honey*
In a sense, all conversations between people at work involve influencing. Just think how many times your colleagues ‘lobby’ you in an attempt to in an attempt to influence a decision, get you to change your mind about something or persuade you to do something. Explicitly or implicitly the aim of most communication between people is to influence. Whenever, therefore, your colleagues attempt to persuade you, it automatically provides a learning opportunity – if only you can get them to see it that way.

There are a number of influencing techniques you can help your team to develop which will stand them in good stead as persuaders. Watch for the following, did he/she:

Ask you questions to establish your starting position?
Set a realistic objective in light of your starting position?
Capture your interest with an initial benefit statement, ie say how you stood to gain?
Go on to describe other potential benefits?
Offer ‘evidence’ to back up the benefits being claimed?
Attempt to defuse some of your objections before you raised them?
Finish with a summary of the idea and its main benefits?
Sound enthusiastic?
Look at you for about half the time and make plenty of eye contact?

Any or all of these aspects are excellent lessons for your colleagues and it is more powerful to use real pieces of persuasion that crop up in the normal working day than artificially contrived role-playing exercises that are typically used on courses. Whenever your colleagues seek to influence you, which is often, you have an opportunity to coach handed to you on a plate.
Click here to learn more about the Priority Influencing Program... Used by leading companies around the world to develop their influencing skills.

Click here to learn more about the Priority Negotiating Program

* This article is taken from Peter Honey's best selling paperback now in its fourth reprint, 101 Ways To Develop Your People, Without Really Trying!


David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

Leaders are made, not born

Leaders are made, not born

by John Adair
Whilst debate rages over the differences between management and leadership and the various qualities which may or may not be inborn, practical people just want to know what they have to do, whatever it is labeled.

In today’s business climate three levels of leadership are now emerging which replace a single leader at the top. Together these form the overall leadership team of the organization.

Team leaders – responsible for between 8 and 12 people

Operational leaders – responsible for a sizable area of the business

Strategic leaders – responsible for the whole organization

Character is part of leadership. Leaders gain credibility by exemplifying the qualities expected within the working group and are different from managers because they possess certain generic traits such as enthusiasm, integrity, toughness, fairness, warmth, humility and confidence. The first step in developing leadership potential is to recognize those traits in oneself.

The suitable approach to leadership is based on the use of authority appropriate to the context. There are four types of authority:

Position – “Do this because I am the boss?

Knowledge – "Authority flows to one who knows"

Personality – Charisma in its extreme form

Moral authority – the personal authority to ask others to make sacrifices

To get people to co-operate, a leader will need to understand the particular circumstances and choose which type of authority would be most effective. The leader who knows what to do inspires confidence in others. Technical and professional knowledge can make a significant contribution to a leader’s development.

My approach focuses on group actions. A group of people working together develops a unique personality which has three overlapping areas of need. These needs are: to achieve the task, to build and maintain the team, and to develop the individual. Each interacts with the others, so that if a task is achieved, the team develops and individuals develop a sense of satisfaction. Equally, if the group lacks cohesion its task performance will fall, resulting in lowered individual morale.

At this point the mystique of leadership falls away – success comes from something a leader does rather than someone a leader is, so leaders can enhance their skills through practice, study, experience and reflection.

Leaders cannot avoid being some kind of example, because people constantly observe what they do and who they are. However, the individual has discretion over whether it will be a good or poor example (and people generally notice bad examples more than good). A sure sign of integrity is when a leader’s words match their deeds and the best leadership example is provided unselfconsciously as an expression of who the leader is, rather than something calculated to have an effect.

David Anderson - President - Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management - A Better Way to Work
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
mailto:prioritymanagement@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

The Seed

I found this article thought provoking and gained renewed inspiration from reviewing the 8 stated fundamentals Author Unknown

The Seed A successful business man was growing old andKnew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.

Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children,He decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO.I have decided to choose one of you. "The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you.

I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives beganTo talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.

By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however.

He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.

Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot.

But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful -- In all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him! When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room withHis empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!"

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed - Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, "Behold your next Chief Executive Officer!

His name is Jim!" Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed.

"How could he be the new CEO?" the others said.

Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants andFlowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, youSubstituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!"

1. If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

2. If you plant goodness, you will reap friends

3. If you plant humility, you will reap greatness

4. If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

5. If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective

6. If you plant hard work, you will reap success

7. If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

8. If you plant faith, you will reap a harvest

So, be careful what you plant now; It will determine what you will reap later. "Whatever You Give To Life, Life Gives You Back"

David Anderson
President
Okanagan Training Solutions / Priority Management Interior BC
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
prioritymanagment@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT KELOWNA BY USING PRIORITY MANAGEMENT

EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT KELOWNA

GIVING FEED BACK by Dr. Peter Honey

Giving Feedback is absolutely essential for learning and development and yet in the majority of workplaces people do not get enough. People at work have three basic rights which can only be met by receiving ongoing feedback.

• To know what is expected of them
• To know how they are doing
• To know what they need to do to improve/become even better

Interestingly, most people for most of the time are lucky if one or two of these rights are met, let alone all three.
You may be amongst the many managers who are reluctant to give feedback, but if you withhold it you are failing in one of the most fundamental duties of any manager, It is impossible to provide for the three basic rights without giving feedback. People who are deprived of feedback from their manager compensate in two potentially dangerous ways.
Firstly, they start to rely exclusively on scraps of feedback from the other people, colleagues, friends, customers, anyone who will offer it. This in itself is no bad thing except that feedback from these sources may be at variance with your own perceptions. In the absence of your feedback, subordinates will understandably become dependent on what you might regard as spurious data.
Secondly, and even worse, people deprived of feedback fill the void by giving themselves feedback and assuming, in the absence of any contrary indicators, that all is well. The longer this goes on, the more difficult it becomes to grasp the nettle and, when you do, the more traumatic the discovery that your perceptions differ from theirs.
So, the provision of feedback is a non-negotiable, bottom-line requirement if you are to help your people to learn and develop. Always remember, however, that the receiver of the feedback has the right to decide whether or not to act on it.
Having listened and understood, the receiver is always the final arbiter in deciding what to accept and what to reject. The choice is theirs. If you withhold feedback you have deprived them of the right to decide and therefore of one of the most powerful learning opportunities of all.

David Anderson
President
Okanagan Training Solutions / Priority Management Interior BC
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
prioritymanagment@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

So What Time Will You Finish Work Tomorrow? Work Life Balance From Priority Management Kelowna

Just as few people are trained in information management, even fewer are trained in workload management. Yet every job in the world entails balancing a series of to-dos with the clock. Our research with over 1,000,000 of our customers worldwide in best-practice productivity processes, shows that very few people have a realistic plan for each day. Most plans that we see are long lists of non prioritized tasks-more of a wish list than a plan.

Here is a quick check as to how your workload management processes compare to best practice. Firstly, think about where you presently keep all the things you have to do . How many of the following tools do you use each day? Notepad, paper to-do list, scraps of paper, post-it notes, whiteboard, piles on the desk, Inbox, electronic to-do list, diary, electronic calendar and your memory. No wonder we so quickly lose the plot and find ourselves working late.
Best practice demands just one place to plan (yes, that’s ONE). When our work is in one place then we have something we can manage and control.
Now we have consolidated our tasks into one location we have a process that will get you home on time!

1. Write down all the things you need to do tomorrow in one place.
2. Estimate how long it is going to take to get each item done. Total the time - does it fit into
an 8 hour work day?
3. Are you likely to be interrupted tomorrow? If so, how will that impact your work? It will most likely double the time it takes to accomplish your work. Ask yourself if you can still get the work done after the interruption time is added?
4. Have you included time for lunch? What about travel time to and from your appointments? What about time to check your email? Remember that non-productive time for lunch, coffee breaks and checking email can easily add up to one-and-a-half hours.
5. Now total the realistic time and block out your calendar. What time are you going Home?
Is it time you want to go home?

Start today to develop the skills that will help you stay balanced and in control of your personal agenda. By developing essential skills such as personal organization, life/work balance and workload management you will improve every aspect of your life.

David Anderson
President
Okanagan Training Solutions / Priority Management Interior BC
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
prioritymanagment@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

RESOLVING CONFLICTS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

OKANAGAN TRAINING SOLUTIONS KELOWNA

RESOLVING CONFLICTS

By Dr. Peter Honey
Every difference of opinion, every disagreement, is a conflict, either with a big or small 'c' depending on the magnitude of the difference.

Conflicts between people are inevitable as they try to agree priorities, make decisions, solve problems and work together. If there weren’t differences of opinion it would probably be a sign that people were apathetic or acquiescing by ostensibly saying yes, but in reality hiding major reservations.

Whilst conflicts are rarely welcomed, the offer splendid opportunities to:

-Reach a better solution than would have been possible if the conflict hadn’t arisen.

-Learn from the experience of facing the conflict squarely and addressing it constructively

It sounds pious to say it, but as a manager the way you handle conflicts is a decisive factor in whether they will result in win-win or win-lose outcomes and whether they will result in beneficial learning.

Broadly there are three different ways to react to conflict:

Avoid it. - Typically this involves:- denying the conflict exists- circumventing the person/people with whom you are in conflict- deciding not to make the conflict explicit or to raise it.

Diffuse it. - This involves:- smoothing things over, ‘pouring oil on troubled waters’- saying you’ll come back to it (as opposed to dealing with the conflict there and then)- only dealing with minor points, not the major issues.

Face it. - This involves:- openly admitting conflict exists- explicitly raising the conflict as an issue

All three approaches are genuine options when conflicts arise. There may be occasions when it is best to let it go (why win the battle but lose the war?) and there will be other occasions when some pussy-footing is appropriate.

Usually, however, facing conflict rather than avoiding it or diffusing it offers the most potential. But how you face it makes all the difference. You can face it aggressively or assertively.

People who face conflict aggressively
1. Are secretive about their real objectives
2. Exaggerate their case
3. Refuse to concede that the other person has a valid point
4. Belittle the other person’s points
5. Repeat their case dogmatically
6. Disagree
7. Interrupt the other person

People who face conflict assertively1. Are open about their objectives
2. Establish what the other person’s objectives are
3. Search for common ground
4. State their case clearly
5. Understand the other person’s case
6. Produce ideas to solve the differences
7. Build on and add to the other person’s ideas
8. Summarize to check understanding/agreement

You can convert conflicts into useful learning opportunities by refusing to adjudicate and doing everything you can to foster assertive behavior amongst protagonists. If you put your energies into helping them to find some common ground, however tenuous, and to build on it, then you not only make a constructive resolution more likely, you also make people work for it and learn as they do so.

David Anderson
President
Okanagan Training Solutions / Priority Management Interior BC
250 762-5096 / 1-877-762-5096
prioritymanagment@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
http://okanagantrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/

Take Ownership Of Your Own Stress in Kelowna BC

Take Ownership Of Your Own Stress! By Daniel Stamp

People everywhere are worrying about their savings, their careers and the future. So this is probably a good time to talk about taking control of your own stress levels. In last month’s LearningLink survey we asked how your employer could help reduce stress in the workplace and I’m pretty confident that most of you aren’t holding your breath on that being the solution. Indeed, most experts on the subject will tell you that the place to start on the road to recovery is to take ownership of your own stress.

But first we need to understand what constitutes stress. The environment or event that causes stress plays a small part but the main stress comes from your reaction to it! If it were the appalling economy that was causing stress, then everyone would be feeling the same amount of stress-but we’re not! Each person’s reaction to a situation is unique. Stress is an inevitable part of everyday life. It can be a positive beneficial force protecting us in times of danger or helping us adapt to change. It can motivate, stimulate us to greater achievement and make for creativity.

Stress only becomes a problem when there’s too much of it, too often, when it lasts too long and when we feel out of control and unable to cope. But mainly becomes problematic when we haven’t developed coping strategies. Stress now becomes debilitating-our physical, emotional and mental health suffers. Relationships with colleagues and loved ones may become casualties too.

We owe it to our friends, workmates, families and mostly to ourselves to firstly accept that it’s our individual emotional reaction to a stressful situation that will determine how we behave. Remember Shakespeare’s famous line “It is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.”

So what’s to be done - we can’t eliminate it from our lives, nor run from it. The best solution is to develop your own coping strategies.

Here are some suggestions:

• Recognize that you do have some personal control. You may not be able to control what happens in your workplace, or in the world at large, but you can control how you react.
• Take care of your health. Eat well. Get a good night's sleep.
• Exercise daily. This needn't mean joining a health club, just a commitment to walk around the block before bed.
• Look for relaxation techniques that personally appeal to you. Meditate, for example, get regular massages. Take up a hobby. Practice Tai Ji or QiGong.
• Don't allow your frustration to build. Find ways to let off steam. Seek out a counselor. Find a confidant who isn't judgmental. Keep a journal.
• Take a little time for yourself every day, if only to sit in a warm bath or read a book unrelated to work. A walk in a forest or park or by a river or lake on the weekend can revitalize you.
• Practice time management. Organize systems at work and home for greater efficiency. Determine the things that waste time during the day and try to eliminate them. Come up with polite yet decisive ways to excuse yourself when the talk becomes particularly gloomy, for example.
• Ask for help. It's not to your employer's advantage to have workers under chronic stress. Ask about employee assistance programs, stress management or time management training. If some of your co-workers are feeling stressed, as well, form a united front and approach your manager or boss to discuss the issue.

Finally, the next time you observe that your breathing is shallower, you feel nervous or tense, you're a bit twitchy - whatever your stress symptoms are, you can take an immediate step to calmness - take three deep breaths, low and slow and think about nothing but your breathing. You can do this anywhere, anytime. It takes a couple of minutes and it works. Every time.
-
David Anderson
Okanagan Training Solutions - Priority Management Interior BC
250 762-5096 or 1-877-762-5096
prioritymanagment@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/

Office Handbook - Blackberry Etiquette

I ran across this great article today on Blackberry Etiquette taht is done with a bit of hunour at the Priority Learning Link

David Anderson

By Ryan Underwood, Fast Company Magazine

Chapter 3(a):

BlackBerry Etiquette
It has come to management's attention that wireless email devices have begun to hinder employees' interpersonal communication skills. In the light of that, the following guidelines update Chapter 3 on email.

Conditions of use: It is generally acceptable for supervisors to send wireless emails while meeting with underlings - but not vice versa. Employees may not email at any engagement where the CEO is speaking; during off-site "trust exercises" that require colleagues to catch each other; and at "nonconfrontational" meetings with clients.

Mealtimes: During meals with colleagues, the use of wireless email devices is encouraged in the awkward lull between ordering and receiving food, and while awaiting the check. Employees generally should not, however, attempt to eat and email simultaneously.

Notification: In an effort to prevent workplace violence, the Company asks employees to silence devices at all times in the office.

Ergonomics: Many employees have taken to emailing, hunched over, with both hands, device nestled between the legs. The legal department has determined that this activity, though not technically harassment, could embarass fellow employees. Hence, the Company now requires devices to be used above the waist or on the knee. Three or more "zone" violations may result in harsh disciplinary action.

Addiction: Though wireless communication is not technically classified as an addiction, the Company has started a support group for employees who derive pleasure from being tethered to their email at all times. (Senior managers: This group is code named "Fast Track.")

If you or your organization relate to any of the above, you should click here to learn more about our new Working Sm@rt with BlackBerry program.

Time for Priority Management Training ?

8 Ways to Stay Positive in Tough Times

By Barbara Pachter

The economy has tanked. Sales are down. You're disappointed that you didn't get your promotion, you're angry at your colleague for missing a deadline, or you're bummed that you blew the presentation. It is easy at times like this to let negative events affect you and influence how you appear to others.

Many people don't realize that they have a pessimistic communication style and that they express themselves negatively. Yet in work, and in life, you do not want to let your negativity come through. It can affect your career if you do.

Who wants to be around someone who complains to others, puts people down, disagrees with you, or generally talks about downbeat topics? The answer is simple: No one does. These Negative Nellies or Neds view the glass, as the saying goes, half empty.

To start viewing the glass half full, practice these eight behaviors:

AVOID DOWNBEAT TOPICS. Don't keep discussing negative things. You do not want to keep talking about how you lost the contract, or how bad the economy is. People will steer clear of you to avoid listening to your negative comments.

REMIND YOURSELF TO BE POSITIVE. One man I coached put up a small sign by his desk with the initials KIP (Keep It Positive). Another man had a boss who would pass him a note that had B+ (be positive) on it if he started being negative in meetings.

TAKE ACTION. Don't let a bad situation paralyze you. Explore different options. Take a class, sign up for training. Keep your resume up-to-date; don't put your job search on hold. The more action you take, the more likely the issue will be resolved.

STOP COMPLAINING. Complaining is draining. People get tired of listening to the same negative comments about someone over and over again. If you have an issue with someone, talk to him or her, don't complain to others. Plus, people can start wondering what negative things you are saying about them.

DISAGREE AGREEABLY. Saying, "I see it differently," or "I disagree" lets people know that you have a different opinion without attacking them or their opinion. If you say, "You're wrong," you are pointing fingers.

AVOID USE OF THE WORD "BUT." "But" can negate what comes before it. If someone says, "I agree but ..." or "You did a nice job but ..." you are waiting for the bad news. Use the word "and." "You did a nice job, and it would even be better if ..."

WORD THINGS POSITIVELY. The same thought can often be expressed negatively or positively. One manager said, "I don't want my people viewed as unprofessional or incompetent." Or, "I want my people viewed as professional and competent." What would you rather hear?

REMEMBER YOUR NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION. Have a pleasant facial expression. No stern expressions, frowns, or stares of gloom as you go about your day. Greet people when you see them. Avoid sarcasm and eliminate any harsh tone to your voice.

This is the time to develop your communication and influencing skills.

Click here to learn more about the Priority Influencing Program

Sleeping Smart!

Importance of sleep

Sleep is essential for your health and well being, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Yet millions of people do not get enough sleep and many suffer from lack of sleep. For example, surveys conducted by the NSF reveal that at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders and 60 percent of adults report having sleep problems a few nights a week or more. Most of those with these problems go undiagnosed and untreated. In addition, more than 40 percent of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month - with 20 percent reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more. Furthermore, 69 percent of children experience one or more sleep problems a few nights or more during a week.

How environment and behavior affect a person’s sleep

Stress is the number one cause of short-term sleeping difficulties, according to sleep experts. Common triggers include school- or job-related pressures, a family or marriage problem and a serious illness or death in the family. Usually the sleep problem disappears when the stressful situation passes. However, if short-term sleep problems such as insomnia aren't managed properly from the beginning, they can persist long after the original stress has passed.

Drinking alcohol or beverages containing caffeine in the afternoon or evening, exercising close to bedtime, following an irregular morning and nighttime schedule, and working or doing other mentally intense activities right before or after getting into bed can disrupt sleep.

Traveling also disrupts sleep, especially jet lag and traveling across several time zones. This can upset your biological or “circadian” rhythms.

Environmental factors such as a room that's too hot or cold, too noisy or too brightly lit can be a barrier to sound sleep. And interruptions from children or other family members can also disrupt sleep. Other influences to pay attention to are the comfort and size of your bed and the habits of your sleep partner. If you have to lie beside someone who has different sleep preferences, snores, can't fall or stay asleep, or has other sleep difficulties, it often becomes your problem too!

Having a 24/7 lifestyle can also interrupt regular sleep patterns: the global economy that includes round the clock industries working to beat the competition; widespread use of nonstop automated systems to communicate and an increase in shift work makes for sleeping at regular times difficult.

According to leading sleep researchers, there are techniques to combat common sleep problems:

-Keep a regular sleep/wake schedule
-Don’t drink or eat caffeine four to six hours before bed and minimize daytime use
-Don’t smoke, especially near bedtime or if you awake in the night
-Avoid alcohol and heavy meals before sleep
-Get regular exercise
-Minimize noise, light and excessive hot and cold temperatures where you sleep
-Develop a regular bed time and go to bed at the same time each night
-Try and wake up without an alarm clock
-Attempt to go to bed earlier every night for certain period; this will ensure that you’re getting enough sleep

Being well organized for the next day will help you sleep better and sounder.

Click here to learn more with our Workload Management Curriculum

Turbulent Times: Threat or Opportunity?

When it rains manna from heaven,

some people put up an umbrella.

Others reach for a big spoon.

ACTION POINT: Get rid of unjustifiable products and activities, set goals to improve productivity, manage growth, and develop your people.
Click on the link below to learn more:

David Anderson

Okanagan Training Solutions - Priority Management Interior BC

250 762-5096 or 1-877-762-5096

prioritymanagment@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/

The manager will have to look at her task and ask, “What must I do to be prepared for danger, for opportunities, and above all for change?”

1.First, this is a time to make sure that your organization is lean and can move fast. So this is when one systematically abandons and sloughs off unjustifiable products and activities – and sees to it that the really important tasks are adequately supported.

2.Second, she will have to work on the most expensive of resources – Time – particularly in areas where it is people’s only resource, as it is for highly paid, important groups such as research workers, technical service staffs, and all managers. And one must set goals for productivity improvement.

3.Third, managers must learn to manage growth and distinguish among kinds of growth. If productivity of your combined resources goes up with growth, it is a healthy growth.

4.Fourth, the development of people will be far more crucial in the years ahead.

Leaders are made, not born - Management Training Kelowna

Leaders are made, not born

by John Adair


Whilst debate rages over the differences between management and leadership and the various qualities which may or may not be inborn, practical people just want to know what they have to do, whatever it is labeled.

In today’s business climate three levels of leadership are now emerging which replace a single leader at the top. Together these form the overall leadership team of the organization.

Team leaders – responsible for between 8 and 12 people
Operational leaders – responsible for a sizable area of the business
Strategic leaders – responsible for the whole organization
Character is part of leadership. Leaders gain credibility by exemplifying the qualities expected within the working group and are different from managers because they possess certain generic traits such as enthusiasm, integrity, toughness, fairness, warmth, humility and confidence. The first step in developing leadership potential is to recognize those traits in oneself.

The suitable approach to leadership is based on the use of authority appropriate to the context. There are four types of authority:

Position – “Do this because I am the boss�?
Knowledge – "Authority flows to one who knows"
Personality – Charisma in its extreme form
Moral authority – the personal authority to ask others to make sacrifices
To get people to co-operate, a leader will need to understand the particular circumstances and choose which type of authority would be most effective. The leader who knows what to do inspires confidence in others. Technical and professional knowledge can make a significant contribution to a leader’s development.

My approach focuses on group actions. A group of people working together develops a unique personality which has three overlapping areas of need. These needs are: to achieve the task, to build and maintain the team, and to develop the individual. Each interacts with the others, so that if a task is achieved, the team develops and individuals develop a sense of satisfaction. Equally, if the group lacks cohesion its task performance will fall, resulting in lowered individual morale.

At this point the mystique of leadership falls away – success comes from something a leader does rather than someone a leader is, so leaders can enhance their skills through practice, study, experience and reflection.

Leaders cannot avoid being some kind of example, because people constantly observe what they do and who they are. However, the individual has discretion over whether it will be a good or poor example (and people generally notice bad examples more than good). A sure sign of integrity is when a leader’s words match their deeds and the best leadership example is provided unselfconsciously as an expression of who the leader is, rather than something calculated to have an effect.

Click here to learn more about how our training programs will enhance leadership skills and competencies.

David Anderson - Warren Buffet- Thoughts on Life

YES, there are many challenges in today’s business world for example: Budgets, financing, credit, reduced demand for your product or service etc. Keeping you and your company in the window of opportunity when the business pie becomes smaller there is an automatic need for all business people to increase their skill sets.

“BUT” I still wonder why companies stop training their people when faced with difficult situations.

Business people Like Warren Buffet and his well trained team are out spending, investing knowing these are the times that will propel them further ahead of his competitors for the future. They have a different view on life.

Training within companies during challenging times positions their people out in front during and after an economical slow down.

Due to the time spent in training the company’s success is a direct reflection of the people it employs.
Over many years in the business world I have formed a strong believe that top producing companies flourish when there is an emphasis on well trained employees.

I ran across this great thought about life from Warren Buffett, Please click on the URL to my blog and you will find It at the foot of the current news letter in a Video format

David Anderson
Okanagan Training Solutions
Priority Management Interior BC
250 762-5096
1-877-762-5096
prioritymanagment@shaw.ca
http://www.okanagantrainingsolutions.com/
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