Strategic Services Business Tips newsletter, Issue #005

This month we have a number of articles focusing on staff and HR management concepts. We also feature an article on the faith required by entrepreneurs.

INDEX:
Strategic Services One Minute Tip
Power Quotes
This month’s Business Resource
Strategic Jobs and Applicants
Sponsored Resource
Editor’s Note.

Strategic Services One Minute Tip:

Questions to hone your thinking and motivation:

1. What is my vision of the optimal workplace?
2. How can I best express my talents in the workplace?
3. How can I make the most of my work situation this week?
4. How can I minimize my weaknesses at work this week?
5. What can I do to bring out the best in my colleagues?

Power Quotes:

Success is not found in what we have,
It is found in what we are.

Nothing is more burdensome than and
Unfinished task.

There is very little difference between one who
Cannot read and one who
Will not read…..

Strategic Business Resources – Articles & Tips:

Featured Article: "Ya Gotta Have Faith!"

Most people don't talk about this aspect of starting your own business...

It takes faith.

You heard me right: Starting a business takes a certain degree of faith.

You see, very few people who start their own businesses "know" for certain whether their ventures will be successful or not.

Hundreds, if not thousands of million dollar product ideas are conceived in the minds of PEOPLE JUST LIKE YOU every day.

Yet only a miniscule percentage of these people ever ACT on their ideas, for a variety of reasons.

..But the # 1 reason that great ideas are not acted upon is a LACK OF FAITH.

The main problem certainly isn't money. Let me illustrate: Let's say you came up with a product that cost $10,000 to create and bring to market, yet you KNEW for certain that the product would make you a minimum of 1 million dollars...

Even if you were completely broke, would you NOT do everything in your power to come up with that $10,000?! You'd BEG your friends and family, you'd go to every bank you know, you'd save like crazy, you'd cash out your 401k - SOMEHOW you would come up with the money!

The main problem is not motivation either...Let's say you KNEW for certain that, with a reasonable amount of effort - say, working 9 hour days with weekends off for a period of 4-5 years - that you'd become "certifiably wealthy" by the end of that period...Wouldn't that be enough motivation for you to get off your butt and MAKE IT HAPPEN?! ...I should hope so! ;-)

I could go on with illustrations, but I think you get the idea. You can rarely if ever be 100% certain that the business or product ideas you conceive of are going to be profitable...

So at some point, you've GOT to take a risk. You've got to have FAITH. You've got to GO FOR IT! ...IF you truly wish to be successful.

The other option is sitting on your ideas rather than acting upon them, because you're "just not sure whether the idea is right". (...This is the path that MOST people choose, and the reason that MOST people never fully realize their awesome potential for success.)

OR (and this is what prevented my own success for a period of years), you have just enough faith to get started in pursuing one of your business ideas - only to quit without seeing things through to the finish (because somewhere along the lines you lost faith and excitement in your idea).

..Success requires *enough* faith not only to get you started - but ALSO to see you through to the point where you've given your idea *everything you've got*. This means succeed or fail, you see things through to the finish. And if you fail, you pick right back up again and move onto the next idea!!

The fact is, chances are your first business venture or idea will "fail". But one failure does not equal a LOSS. You learn from your mistakes, and apply them toward the next venture.

And eventually, as long as you keep the faith, you WILL succeed. Believe it!

Here for Your Success,

-Bryan Winters
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Strategic Business Resources - Jobs and Applicants:

10 Tips for a Staff That Lasts
By: Ronya Banks

One of today’s greatest challenges facing business operators is retaining qualified, valuable employees. The following 10 tips will help the business operator have a Staff that Lasts.

1. Give quality time to your valued employees.

The more quality time you dedicate to your employees, the more valued your employees will feel. Increase the quality of this time by making eye contact with them during your interactions, and always remember to take time out of your busy day to stop and communicate with your employees.

2. Really LISTEN to your staff members.

Pay close attention to what your staff members are saying. Repeat back to your staff members what you heard them say to make sure that you heard them correctly, and also to show your staff members that you’ve been listening. Empathize with your staff members experiencing difficulty, and empower them to take actions to consistently produce positive results.

3. Verbally acknowledge your employees regularly.

Let your employees know that you appreciate their hard work and dedication. Verbally acknowledge them for their contribution and celebrate their successes. This will motivate your employees to continue maintaining an optimal level of performance.

4. Motivate your staff to take risks and try new things.

A staff that is motivated and allowed to take risks will be more creatively engaged and satisfied with their duties, and their innovative creativeness will produce profitable results. They will never be bored, and they will be looking forward to working on Monday.

5. Recognize your valuable employees with Employee Recognition Programs.

Implement an “Employee of the Month” program or you can choose an award title that will be more applicable to your business practices. Award recipients love to see their name on a plaque hanging on the wall and see an article of appreciation written about them posted for all to see. They feel successful and appreciated.

6. Be honest with your employees.

Always be straight up and honest with your employees. No one wants to walk on pins and needles worrying about what the boss is really thinking. Your employees will respect you and be more likely to stay with you forever if they know that they can always count on you to tell the truth.

7. Train your staff members to be able to take your place.

Your staff members will rise to the standards you set for them. The best staff members are the ones who care about the business as much as you do, and can jump in and do whatever it takes to have the business run smoothly. Train them to be good enough to take your place. They will feel great about themselves and your business will run effortlessly.

8. Teach your staff members to communicate positively and effectively.

Most people really have never learned how to communicate their feelings, perceptions, needs, and goals. They just automatically assume everyone is supposed to read their minds. Give your employees a safe space to learn how to say whatever is going on in their minds. This will facilitate clearing up any miscommunications or misperceptions in the workplace. Open lines of communication also leads to a fun, productive and committed environment.

9. Spread the wealth.

Implement employee incentive programs, wherein your valuable employees earn some sort of bonus or share of the increased sales or profits. This will result in your employees staying motivated and dedicated to the business’ success, and they will also feel that their contributions are rewarded and appreciated.

10. Create and motivate a continued positive, energetic workplace environment.

Your employees will take your lead. They will learn their accepted behavior patterns from how you are being. Maintain a positive, high energy frame of mind and expect the same from your employees. Teach all of your employees to support each other in staying in the positive zone. As a result, you will all consistently experience a fun, successful, and committed work life.

About the Author: Ronya Banks is a life and business coach, inspirational trainer, writer, speaker, mother, and mentor who specializes in assisting people to rid themselves of any barriers that are holding them back from living successful, fulfilling lives. She is presently a published author of several articles and is working on writing a book on achieving success through Mind Discipline.

Sponsored article:

In her best-selling book, "Prosperity," Catherine Ponder wrote that "You are prosperous to the degree that you are experiencing peace (happiness), health and plenty in your world." Two out of three might be good but it's not prosperity.

If you've got peace and health that's better than most, but without "plenty" you're not prosperous. Life might not be so good if you had health and plenty but lacked peace. So it takes all three.

How many of the three do you have in your world at this moment?

If you answered all three, congratulations and I am extremely happy for you because I know first-hand how wonderful your life is right now. Perhaps you'll pass this email on to a deserving friend who has not yet created a prosperous life.

If you don't have peace, health and plenty in your life right now, which of these symptoms do you have:

* You are obsessed about your lack of money
* Your weight is out of control and you have little interest in controlling it
* You're secretly hoping that some event like winning the lottery or an inheritance will solve your current situation
* Your life is under pressure in all areas: personal, financial and professional
* Your health has declined
* You feel increasingly negative toward life and the world in general
* You seem to have had a big string of "bad luck" lately

If any of those conditions exist you are literally living an "impoverished life." And I know first-hand how that feels as well because not so many years ago I suffered with some of the symptoms above.

One of Ponder's proteges, Randy Gage, writes that poverty is not a lack of money or a lack of things, it's a mindset. And so is prosperity. Simply developing the proper mindset will bring peace, health and plenty into your life.

I've been greatly impressed with Randy's teachings going on five years now. He has emerged as a true "prosperity and abundance" guru. Here's an example of some of his great wisdom:

"POOR PEOPLE OBSESS ABOUT MONEY THE MOST...

There is a lot of talk among the middle and lower class about how fixated rich people are about money. Many of them believe that the rich only think about money. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, poor people think about money a whole lot more than rich people do.

This is a case of what psychologists call "projecting." Meaning that people project their own fears, prejudices, and motives on others.

By their very nature, poor people think about money all the time. I remember when I was broke, it was about all I could think about. If the phone rang, I wondered if it was a bill collector. When I drove somewhere, I worried whether my car would break down and I wouldn't be able to afford fixing it. I noticed people with nice cars and clothes and I was jealous of them. I wondered what they did to deserve what they had.

I was always juggling bills, making payment arrangements and wondering how I would pay the next round. I was fixated with money, because everything bad that was happening to me seemed to be a result of not having enough money.

Now that I have money, I very seldom think about it. Money is one of the lubricants that enhance life and magnify the experiences you have. Once you "get the money thing out of the way," it allows you to experience the benefits without the anxiety."

It's that kind of teaching that is why we're excited to offer a live tele-seminar with Randy called "Prosperity Mind."

This is a great opportunity to learn how to attract and manifest prosperity in all areas of your life.

Take a moment now to check out the details: http://asamanthinketh.net/prosper

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1. Coaching Leadership Secrets from Jack Welch By Jeffrey E. Auerbach, Ph.D.

Jack Welch, who headed General Electric from 1981 to 2001, has been hailed as the "greatest business leader of our era", and castigated and derogatorily called "Neutron Jack" for laying off scores of people. What can we learn from this controversial figure that we can utilize in our coaching practices?

Would you like to know his top leadership secrets? The book, "29 Leadership Secrets from Jack Welch", by Robert Slater, distills the principal techniques and strategies that Welch used to convert GE from yearly earnings of $1.5 billion to $14.1 billion. Few of us are coaching CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, but several of his principles can be critical for small and medium sized businesses and for our own budding coaching practices.

Here are four key principles from Jack Welch and ways you can adapt them to coaching questions - which will help you and your clients:

Principle #1: Face Reality!

In our coach training program, you learn about the GROW model of coaching. In that model the "R" stands for "Reality". This is the phase of coaching where you help your client take an honest look at the way things really are. Where are you putting most of your time? What are you procrastinating on? What are the facts? How do others see this situation? What have you tried so far? Eventually, facing reality, leads you to ask, "What is one thing that you could do this week that would give you the biggest bang for your buck on your most important goal"?

Principle #2: Create and Communicate a Vision

When coaching business leaders, ask them, "what is your one-minute inspiring vision speech for your team?" If they can't communicate a clear, unambiguous vision in a short period of time they are probably delivering a fuzzy message to their constituents that will not promote followship. Leaders must believe that they can and will make a positive difference in their organizations. Through their enthusiasm and influence they enlist others in their vision.

As the leader of your coaching business, you must know that you help people make a difference in their lives. You must create a unique image of what your coaching business is and how it will make a difference for others. Through communicating your vision about the unique way you help people you attract people to your coaching practice.

For example, Jeanne Barsamian, who specializes in helping her clients get organized, tells the women attending her free one-hour workshop on 'Getting Rid of the Clutter' that: "By working with me, your house will be clean and organized - everything will be put away in its 'home' - your counters, shelves and tables will be clutter free -- your closets will be open and spacious and you'll feel a renewed sense of lightness and joy!". In this way, Jeanne adds energy to her prospective clients' own vision of what they want to create -- she helps her audience see their own exciting possibilities.

Principle #3: Nurture the Employees Who Share the Company's Values

Jack Welch first described his thoughts on the four types of managers:

"A. Delivers on commitments - financial or otherwise - and shares GE's values. His or her future is an easy call, onward and upward.

B. Does not meet commitments and does not share GE's values. Not as pleasant a call, but equally easy.

C. Misses commitments but shares the values. He or she usually gets a second chance.

D. Delivers on commitments but does not subscribe to GE's values. What happens to managers who deliver the numbers but do not live the GE values? According to Welch, they get fired."

Welch adds, "numbers are no longer job security -- numbers AND values now mean job security."

Welch often talked about giving more responsibility to the employees. His value was that employees needed to be treated as if they would take responsibility. He believed that employees who are given more responsibility will make better decisions, which will make the organization more productive.

We can ask our coaching clients, "what are the values in your organization"? "In what ways are you recognizing or rewarding your employees that best demonstrate the values that your company strives for?"

Principle #4: Stretch: Exceed Your Goals as Often as You Can

Welch said, "Boundaryless people, excited by speed and inspired by stretch dreams, have an absolutely infinite capacity to improve everything."

Welch felt that goals exist to be exceed and even blown away. He called this strategy "stretch". He urged his people to "reach for the stars". He knew that people will often fail to meet the stretch goal but he'd tell people (just like my ninety-two year old father, Lou Auerbach does) that was ok as long as they tried their best.

As coaches we often help our clients create stretch goals - the concept of going beyond ordinary goals -- and we support our clients by encouraging them.

I've often found it helpful to say to my clients', "I can really see you going beyond ___________ (the ordinary goal) and achieving ______________ (the stretch goal). I've been impressed by how much of a difference it makes in outcomes if a supportive coach is telling the client, "you can do this, I can see you doing this". Your client will feel more empowered by your realistic expressions of confidence and support - and their perseverance and resilience will be enhanced accordingly.

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Or call (888) 764-8844 for personal assistance:

Strategic Services Mastery TV motivation viewing for this month:

Are you struggling with self-limiting beliefs and/or behaviors?
Are you settling for second best? Do your actions support your best
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actions that are preventing you from optimizing your life? Are you
ready to make the most of your life?

Register for free coaching program that sends you a 10 to 15 minute video to view each day. POWERFUL MOTIVATION AND EDUCATION.

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Editor’s Note:

It got me - on several of the items, including #19. (And for goodness sake, DON'T PEEK! Save the laugh for later!)

You Know You're Living in 2004 When:

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You go home after a long day at the office and still answer the phone with your name and title.
7. You make phone calls from home, you accidentally dial "9" to get an outside line.
8. You've sat at the same desk for four years and worked for three different companies.
10. You learn about your redundancy on the 11 o'clock news.
11. Your boss doesn't have a clue how to do your job.
12. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home.
13. Every commercial on television has a website at the bottom of the screen.
14. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have for the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go get it.
15. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.
16. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. :)
17. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
18. Even worse, you know exactly who you are going to forward this message to.
19. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
20. You actually scrolled back up to see if there was a #9 on this list.

AND now you are hopefully laughing at yourself... :-)

To update yourself on our new business resources or to check out the recruitment services, just go to:

http://www.strategic-services-aust.com

Your Editor,
Helene Malmsio.

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