New Series: Maximize Your Small Business Profits

The single most significant action you can take on a daily basis to maximize your performance and profits is to stay in your strengths zone. Your business strengths zone is the equivalent of what some people call flow. When you are in a flow state (your peak performance zone) your focus, performance and productivity levels are all at their peak. In addition, at the end of your activity or work day you feel a healthy sense of satisfaction, rather than a sense of debilitating exhaustion.

How Your Strengths Strengthen Your Small Business Profits

Your strengths are what you do best – most easily, most enjoyably and most efficiently, and therefore will lead to the most profit for your small business. Your strengths come from your natural talents. Your natural talents become strengths only when you have invested time and energy into increasing your knowledge, skills and experience to grow your natural talents into strengths. If you’re not yet 100% sure of what your natural talents are, you can identify your personal talent code here.

Once you have identified what your natural talents are, you owe it to yourself and your business profits to develop those talents into strengths, and to avoid working in your areas of weakness, where you are by definition less productive, less efficient and therefore less profitable. This is the secret to working on your business rather than working in your business.

So how do you avoid your weaknesses and stay in your strengths zone, your peak performance zone?

Outsource Your Weaknesses To Maximize Your Small Business Profits

If you’re anything like I am you will have a million and one business ideas in any given day, and cannot possibly implement them all. My solution to that dilemma is to outsource the tasks and systems that are time and energy draining for me.

When I first realized that I needed to delegate or outsource in order to become more profitable, I procrastinated for some time, putting the process into the too hard basket. I knew that I didn’t want any in-house employees, as I wanted the freedom to work from anywhere in the world, be it my local coffee shop or while visiting relatives in Japan.

The obvious solution was to engage virtual employees to do the work that was outside my strengths zone, but I really felt that it seemed very complicated and inefficient to engage people on a contract or project basis from sites like guru.com or elance.com. The challenge I have with that method is that every time you engage someone for a new project you also begin a new relationship, waste valuable time and energy educating your new contractor about your standards, expectations and professional requirements.

Then along came Tyrone Shum, almost in my own backyard in Sydney. Tyrone introduced me to his Mass Outsource System, and suddenly the cloud of confusion and uncertainty was lifted, replaced by clarity and confidence. Not only is Tyrone’s system amazingly effective and efficient in helping you to grow your small business profits, he actually gives away 10 FREE videos that outline his system in incredible detail.

Since linking up with Tyrone I am so much more motivated, focused and energized, simply because I now have the time and energy that I previously only dreamed about. Time and energy not only to expand my businesses and increase their profitability, but also time and freedom to actually have a life outside of my work. For the first time I feel that I truly am able to win at work.

Small Business Profits Resources Mentioned In This Post:

1. MyTalentCode.com
2. OutsourceTools.com

Hathaway’s character in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ gradually began to live someone else’s values in the name of professional performance and accelerated business results …

If you haven’t seen this film yet, grab it on DVD and watch it through the lenses of living your values at work and at home.

Hathaway’s character begins by being very clear about what’s important to her (her values). Her lifestyle and relationships reflect those values.

In a naive attempt to gain professional experience and win connections that may accelerate her career opportunities in the future she takes a position in an industry in which she has no interest (no values alignment), and for a boss for whom she has respect (again, no values alignment).

As the story progresses we observe a gradual letting go of the lifestyle and relationships that Hathaway’s character had valued previously, although she was not consciously aware that her Motivation Code was changing.

Her wake up call came when the boss she despised (Streep’s character) told Hathaway’s character that she could recognize some of herself in the younger woman … a powerful and poignant moment in the film, leading to her ditching the job, and asking her loved one’s to forgive her.

Successful people know what their values are, and know how to live their values…

Here’s the point … this actually happens in real life too! Hathaway’s character appeared to be winning at work, but the cost of victory was that she was no longer true to herself and what she REALLY valued. If she had not seen the light, she would have eventually spat the dummy, burned out, or lived a life of ’success’ without satisfaction.

Your values are your lifestyle priorities and preferences and are with you 24/7. They determine what you think, say and do – at home and at work, so you really want to know what your values are, so that you can make conscious choices to live and work in a way that aligns with your core values.

Where do your values come from?

From your world-view … the subject of my next post.

Current Economic Circumstances Demand A Focused Strategy To Maximize Your Professional Performance and Drive Your Business Results

That’s why you must understand that your values are the ‘invisible threads between people, performance and profit’ they are your motivation code – driving commitment, loyalty and customer service attitudes and skills. Identifying and prioritizing your values will provide the focus you must have as a basis for a success strategy that will work for you.

An astounding fact is that people who have clarified their personal values have demonstrated a 30% increase in commitment to their role and to their employer, regardless of their espoused values.

Discover how your values impact profoundly your ability to access your peak performance zone as you watch and take notes on this video.

Find out the 3 biggest mistakes that stop people from achieving their peak performance zone and what you must do to prevent those mistakes from wasting your time, energy and money as you reach for your peak performance zone and win at work.

You have a choice … you must ride this wave of economic circumstance, and you can chosse to ride the in the valley and be dumped upon, or ride the crest and reach your Peak Performance Zone™.

Successful People Know What Their Values Are AND How to Live Them

The winners in these changed global economic circumstances will be those of us who respond with greater focus in terms of how we spend not only our money, but also how we spend our time and energy.

Successful people in all contexts know the secret of focus is identifying what they value. Successful people not only know what their values are, they also have the skills and strategies to live them.

Your values are your internal motivators

Click here to qualify for a free values identification session.

Here’s why your values are such a powerful force in your professional and personal life – your values are your lifestyle preferences and priorities and are your inner motivators. They are the bridge from your inner desires to your outer reality. BUT … most of us are NOT consciously aware of what our inner motivators (our values) are because they are just beyond our unconscious awareness.

Successful people have discovered how to bring their unconscious motivators to their conscious awareness and then develop strategies and skills to make conscious choices that are aligned to their core values (the values that are most important to them – their unique Motivation Code™).

Successful people also have the strategies and skills to build a bridge from their inner desires (their values) to their outer reality (their desired results) by using their natural talents (their Talent Code™).

How to maximize your professional performance

Click here to qualify for a scholarship for Session 1 of Win at Work 101

That’s why every professional, every corporate employee and every small business owner who desires to be successful MUST crack their Talent Code and their Motivation Code. When you combine those two codes, which are unique to you, with your Commitment Nexus™ (the values you share with your colleaugues and customers), you will position yourself firmly in the centre of your Peak Performance Zone™, where you must be to maximize your professional performance.

Crack Your Unique Peak Performance Code AND Stay True To Your Values

Click here to qualify for a scholarship for Session 1 and to reserve your seat.

“Win at Work 101 – Crack Your Unique Peak Performance Code AND Stay True To Your Values” will educate and equip you with the knowledge, skills, strategies and systems you must have to succeed in these changed circumstances.

You have one last chance in 2008 to join a live Win At Work 101 Webinar series to prepare yourself for focused action in the times ahead.

ONLY 4 PLACES AVAILABLE so take action now to secure your seat! 

Click here to to reserve your seat.

I’m looking forward to meeting you in the first webinar on October 29 2008 …

Choosing a training and development provider is not easy …                           and that’s why I have decided to go public with my Consumer Awareness Guide.

Recently a friend was telling me about the many tens of thousands of dollars his employer had recently wasted on a “motivation expert” who claimed to be able to “motivate” the senior management and sales team to better performance.

Several months down the track nothing has changed – the staff are not more motivated, the sales team is not performing any better, and business results are at the same level.

How do you ever expect to find a qualified, competent, professional training and development company?

You start by reading this Consumer’s Awareness Guide. ..

In this fact-filled booklet, you will discover:

• How to avoid “cookie cutter” training and development rip-offs,
• Three deadly sins of omission in training and professional development
• Five mistakes to avoid when choosing a professional development provider
• Three methods to find the training professional who offers what you want
• The importance of value versus price
• Why 99% of the professional development programs used by most companies are a waste of time and money
• Why you want a professional development provider who will work with you each step of the way, plus much more …

The goal of small business training and development

We wrote this guide to help you better understand training and development, the goal of which is to make changes that maximize your professional performance and accelerate the results of the people you manage. Change is an inside-out process and can only be triggered by inner motivation, motivation that is fueled by your values, not by another person’s “rah rah” tactics.

You can make your own informed, intelligent decision.

Grab your copy of “The Consumers Awareness Guide To Engaging a Training and Professional Development Provider” now and when you’ve read and digested the valuable and sometimes controversial  information enclosed in the report’s 21 pages, post your response on this blog.

How To Maximize Employee Engagement, Employee Commitment and Customer Service Focus With The Three “I”s Of Best Practice Training and Development.

My previous three posts in the Small Business Training and Development series identified The Three Deadly Sins Of Omission in the training and development of the employees in your small business.

I also described the antidote – The Holy Trinity of Employee Contribution to Business Results:

1. Maximize employee engagement
2. Compound employee commitment
3. Cultivate a customer service focus

Now that you know where to focus your small business training and development time, energy and money, you need to know what the three “I”s are and how to use them to turn knowledge into results:

Apply The Three “I”s Of Best Practice Training and Development To Maximize The Impact Of Your Employee Engagement, Employee Commitment and Customer Service Focus

1. “I“ #1:  Identify
2. “I“ #2:  Intensify
3. “I“ #3:  Integrate

Employee Engagement

1. Identify the professional roles in which your employees can perform most
   powerfully with the least effort as indicated by their Talent Code™
2. Intensify the time and energy they spend developing their natural talents into strengths – the path to true employee engagement
3. Integrate their Talent Code™ and unique Motivation Code™ into their daily work practices to access their Peak Performance Zone™

Employee Commitment

1. Identify the unique Motivation Code™ (identify and prioritize the core values) of each employee – their values are what REALLY motivate them
2. Intensify their motivation by aligning their unique Motivation Code™ to your
   company’s Motivation Nexus™ (the meeting point of your values and their values) for sustainable motivation
3. Integrate their Talent Code™ and unique Motivation Code™ into their daily work practices to access their Peak Performance Zone™

Customer Service Focus

1. Identify exactly whom each employee serves – internal or external customers. Establish metrics to gauge their level of success with customers
2. Intensify the application of what they do well in customer service and manage around their weaknesses as identified by their Talent Code™ and Motivation Code™
3. Integrate their Talent Code™ and unique Motivation Code™ into their daily work practices to access their Peak Performance Zone™in all aspects of their work, including customer service

Maximized Manager

If you want to accelerate your business results you must maximize your return on your small business training and development. Your number one goal must be to develop in your people the knowledge, skills, attitudes and systems to accumulate confidence, strengths and skills to manage themselves, their talents, their motivation, and their relationships with your customers and clients for maximum career acceleration for themselves and maximum business results for you.

Maximize Your Professional Performance with a Live Training and Development Workshop – Win at Work 101

I’m always really excited about leading live professional development workshops … I love the richness and diversity created by live groups as participants interact with me and with each other during the learning and development activities.

With only 10 places available this workshop promises to be a powerful opportunity for the chosen few who join this exclusive group at Castle Hill on Saturday 4th October, 2008. Registration at the early bird investment finishes at midnight, Friday 26th September 2008.

Please note that the Saturday of the workshop falls on a long weekend in NSW, so you can participate in the workshop AND still have two days for your weekend! Good news, hey?

Success stories

Success stories from live WIn At Work 101 workshops become excellent case studies for my Win At Work book, which will be published by a New York publisher. Will you be a success story and be included in my new book?

Check out Sharon’s success story …

Click here for more details on how you can maximize your professional performance and win at work with training and development from LeaderCoach THE VALUES SPECIALISTS

In a hurry?

Start building your Peak Performance Platform now… call our office on +61 2 8850 6834 for your Registration Pack or email [ karyn@leadercoach.com.au ]

Win at work with best practice training and development …

G’day from Sydney,

Here’s your last chance to have your say in shaping the next round of LeaderCoach training and development workshops, teleseminars and online courses.

Four short questions and you’re done!

Many thanks if you have already contributed in the last month … I appreciate your responses and have taken your needs and suggestions on board.

I trust you got some benefit from the audio gift I made available to you. (Let me know at valuescoach@gmail.com if your gift hasn’t reached you yet).

Who should participate in the survey?

1. Small business owners looking for world class small business training and development to impact their bottom line
2. Managers in corporate and not-for-profit organizations who want to accelerate the performance of the people they manage, without burning them out
3. Individuals who want to crack their unique Peak Performance Code™ and maximize their professional potential.

Both surveys close at midnight on Thursday, 25th September, so click on the links now while the win at work survey is on your mind.

Feel free to answer just one or both …

Here are the survey links

1. Fast 4 Question Survey – Your Professional Development Needs

2. Fast 4 Question Survey – Your Team’s Professional Development Needs

Thank you for your contribution to setting the standard for best practice training and development, and you can expect to receive a small downloadable audio gift from me as a token of my appreciation for your time.

PS

I’m getting really excited about the next Win At Work 101 live one day workshop to be held on Saturday 4th October in Sydney.

Call our office on +61.2 8850.6834 to see if you are a good fit to be one of the 10 participants.

Small Business Training and Development Deadly Sin of Omission #3 – Failing To Develop A Customer Service Focus

A strange myth about customer service persists in some organisations … that employees who do not directly serve external customers are not in need of customer service training and development.

The fact is that every manager, every employee, every small business owner serves customers – either external customers or internal customers.

And the evidence is clear that of a dozen or so commonly used Quality Management practices, only three have been shown to consistently impact business results:

1. Employee engagement
2. Employee commitment
3. Customer service focus

Customer service focus can be both trained and developed by expanding knowledge, capitalizing on and developing attitudes and values, extending skill sets, and establishing appropriate, context specific systems and practices.

So, you need to seek and find a small business training and development provider who can show you exactly how to connect your business results to your customer service focus by implementing a system like the K.A.S.S.™ system employed exclusively by LeaderCoach clients.

How to overcome the three deadly sins of omission in training and professional development

What you require is a training and development provider who can teach you how to break the cycle of the sins of omission by engaging and applying The Holy Trinity of Employee Contribution to Business Results:

1. Engagement
2. Commitment (which arises from values alignment)
3. Customer Service Focus

Call our office now to schedule your FREE 30 Minute Phone Strategy Session and take your first step to maximizing your professional performance and accelerating the results of the people you manage. Call +61.2.8850.6834.

Small Business Training and Development Deadly Sin of Omission #2 – Not Identifying The REAL Source Of Employee Commitment.

Employee commitment is another buzzword that is tossed around frequently and carelessly in small business training and development and corporate learning and development circles.

Attempts at defining employee commitment have also been made by some training and development providers, often involving very complex explanations. But that the fact is, that like employee engagement, employee commitment is a simple concept.

Check out this short small business training and development video to see for yourself what I mean …

Employee commitment happens when a worker is engaging his core values (his internal motivators) in connection with his key natural talents in the process of his or her work role.

Employee commitment is strengthened further by the individual worker’s Commitment Nexus™, which is the meeting point between the values of the individual worker and values of his employer.

Is you are considering investing in small business training and development for yourself and your employees you want to make sure that you choose a training and development provider who will show you the exact steps you need to take to identify and activate your unique Motivation Code™ and your Commitment Nexus™, to maximize employee engagement for greatest possible impact on your business results.

Look out for my next post and video when I reveal Small Business Training and Development Deadly Sin of Omission #3.