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Start Successful Business – The First Three Steps

January 15, 2019 by Jean-PIerre DEMURGER Leave a Comment

Start Successful Business – The First Three Steps

Start Successful Business
  • January 23, 2017
  • Posted by: Tony Curl (source here)
  • Category: From Start-Up to Survival

I see many businesses in my role as a coach and trusted adviser. Unfortunately, many businesses I see are well on their way to failure. Failure that is driven, often by what they don’t know. Failure driven by the desire to start a business, without a clear idea on what it takes to operate a successful business. The clear plan should be to start successful business, not just start a business. This is a clear mindset shift.

Common causes of failure are clear, follow me as I walk throught his all too common scenario.

Potential business person (PBP) gets an idea. His friends and family agree that this idea is what the world is waiting for. The potential business person starts to dream. PBP gets a logo, as that is certainly what every business needs. They emotionally invest in the right branding and feel and start work on their ground-breaking website. They create their social media pages and pay for followers as one of their friends says they need large followers to create credibility. They launch amongst much fanfare and many likes and comments from their friend’s network.

Anytime in their first year, they come to see me to find out what went wrong.

Start Successful Business

Before you make this mistake, let’s talk about what I consider the first three things you need to be clear about and will make the process better. Lets start successful business and build something sustainable.

  • Congratulations, you have an idea to make the world better. That’s awesome. Ask yourself, what problem does it solve. Clearly identify the problem.

 

  • Research the problem and what solutions are currently available to solve the problem. Are people willing to pay for the problem to be solved? Remember, you don’t have a business if you don’t have a paying customer. Side-Note. You will need to expand your research past the first couple of pages of Google. It’s a good place to start, but don’t accept that is the only search you have available.

 

  • Understand who you will be targeting with your product/service/idea. This is critical as many marketing endeavours fail because of a lack of a clear understanding who you are marketing to. Know your potential customer.

 

Notice I haven’t looked at logo or web design or even social media. The first steps is to identify whether the business idea has legs. This way we operate and start the business based on research and sound facts as opposed to emotion and gut feel. I also haven’t spoken about getting external help, but these steps are critical to understand the potential success of your business.

Stay logical early and build passion once you have a foundation of facts that support the need for your business.

To help you start successful business, some resources to help you are available on our free business resources page. I would recommend downloading, The Business Plan, The Business Analysis, Competitor Analysis and Personal Strengths and Weaknesses to obtain clarity. Good luck with your business endeavours.


If you like this article, grow my Piggy Bank, to create a platform that finances the first capital of entrepreneurs.

14 Things Successful People Do First Thing in the Morning

January 15, 2019 by Jean-PIerre DEMURGER Leave a Comment

14 Things Successful People Do First Thing in the Morning

Early mornings can make people feel more optimistic and ready to tackle challenging tasks.

Source : inc.com

By Jenna Goudreau   Business Insider
CREDIT: Getty Images

“If it has to happen, then it has to happen first,” writes Laura Vanderkam, a time-management expert and the author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast.

Those among us who have managed to find professional success and eke out a life actively embrace this philosophy. They must set aside their first hours of the day to invest in their top-priority activities before other people’s priorities come rushing in.

Science supports this strategy. Vanderkam cites the famous finding of Roy Baumeister, a Florida State University psychology professor, that willpower is like a muscle that becomes fatigued from overuse.

Diets, he says, come undone in the evening, just as poor self-control and lapses in decision making often come later in the day. On the other hand, early mornings offer a fresh supply of willpower, and people tend to be more optimistic and ready to tackle challenging tasks.

So what do successful executives and entrepreneurs do when they are rested and fresh? From Vanderkam’s study of morning rituals and our own research, we outline the following 14 things that the most successful people do before breakfast. While they might not do all of these things every morning, each has been found to be an effective way to start the day.

They wake up early

Successful people know that time is a precious commodity. And while theirs is easily eaten up by phone calls, meetings, and sudden crises once they’ve gotten to the office, the morning hours are under their control. That’s why many of them rise before the sun, squeezing out as much time as they can to do with as they please.

In a poll of 20 executives cited by Vanderkam, 90 percent said they wake up before 6 a.m. on weekdays. PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, for example, wakes at 4 a.m. and is in the office no later than 7 a.m. Meanwhile, Disney CEO Bob Iger gets up at 4:30 to read, and Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey is up at 5:30 to jog.

The bottom line: Productive mornings start with early wake-up calls.

They drink water.

Many successful executives reach for water instead of coffee first thing in the morning.

Kat Cole, president of Focus Brands, the parent company of Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, and Cinnabon, wakes up a 5 a.m. every morning and drinks 24 ounces of water.

Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington and Birchbox Man chief Brad Lande start their days with a glass of hot water with lemon.

Drinking water in the morning helps you feel more alert, rehydrates your body, and kick-starts your metabolism, says Rania Batayneh, MPH, a nutritionist and author of The One One One Diet.

They exercise before it falls off the to-do list.

The top morning activity of the rich and powerful seems to be exercise, be it lifting weights at home or going to the gym.

For example, Vanderkam notes that Xerox CEO Ursula Burns schedules an hour-long personal training session at 6 a.m. twice a week. Plus, Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary gets up at 5:45 every morning and jumps on the elliptical or exercise bike, and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk starts every day with an hour-long workout with his trainer.

“These are incredibly busy people,” says Vanderkam. “If they make time to exercise, it must be important.”

Beyond the fact that exercising in the morning means they can’t later run out of time, Vanderkam says a pre-breakfast workout helps reduce stress later in the day, counteracts the effects of high-fat diet, and improves sleep.

They work on a top-priority business project.

The quiet hours of the morning can be the ideal time to focus on an important work project without being interrupted. What’s more, spending time on it at the beginning of the day ensures that it gets your attention before others–kids, employees, bosses–use it up.

Vanderkam uses the example of a business strategist who dealt with so many ad hoc meetings and interruptions throughout the day that she felt she couldn’t get anything done. She started thinking of the early mornings as project time, and chose a top-priority project each day to focus on. Sure enough, not a single colleague dropped in on her at 6:30 a.m. She could finally concentrate.

They work on a personal-passion project.

Novel-writing and art-making are easy to skip when you’ve been in meetings all day, are tired and hungry, and have to figure out what’s for dinner. That’s why many successful people put in an hour or so on their personal projects before they officially start their days.

A history teacher at the University of Chicago told Vanderkam that she spent the hours between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. working on a book about the religious politics of West Africa. She was able to read journal articles and write several pages before dealing with her teaching responsibilities.

Carving out the time in the morning to write, and making it a habit, meant she would actually follow through. Vanderkam cites one study of young professors that showed that writing a little bit every day rather than in intense bursts made them more likely to get tenure.

They spend quality time with family.

We may exalt the family dinner, but there’s nothing that says you have to have a big family meal at night, says Vanderkam. Some successful people use the mornings to invest in family time, whether reading stories to the kids or cooking a big breakfast together.

A financial planner in New York told Vanderkam that, unless she’s traveling, mornings are her special time with her young daughter. She helps her get dressed, make the bed, and occasionally they work on art projects together. They also make breakfast and sit around the table and chat about what’s going on. She calls those 45 minutes “the most precious time I have in a day.”

They connect with their spouses.

In the evening, it’s more likely you’ll be tired from the day’s activities, and time can easily be wasted with dinner preparations and zoning out in front of the TV. That’s why many successful people make connecting with their partners a morning ritual.

Besides, as Vanderkam wonders, what could be better than pre-dawn sex to energize you for the day? After all, regular sex may make you smarter, boost your income, and burn calories.

Even if they’re not getting frisky every morning, many couples use the early hours to talk. For instance, she notes that a BlackRock executive and his wife commute from the suburbs into New York City every morning. They spend the hour-plus trip discussing their lives, finances, household to-do lists, and plans for the week.

They make their beds.

This one-minute habit can make you happier and more productive all day long.

In his book, The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg writes that getting into the routine of making your bed every morning is correlated with increased productivity.

Making your bed doesn’t necessarily cause you to get more done at work, Duhigg writes, but it’s a “keystone habit” that can spark “chain reactions that help other good habits take hold.”

In addition to being more productive, people who consistently make their beds also tend to have “a greater sense of well-being and stronger skills at sticking with a budget,” Duhigg writes.

They network over coffee.

Especially if you like to make it home for dinner, the mornings can be a great time to meet with people for coffee or breakfast. Plus, networking breakfasts are less disruptive than midday lunches and more work-oriented than boozy cocktail parties, Vanderkam notes.

Christopher Colvin, a New York-based lawyer and entrepreneur, started a networking group for Ivy League alums called IvyLife. Most days, he wakes at 5:30 a.m. to walk his dog and read, but every Wednesday he attends an IvyLife networking breakfast. “I feel I’m fresher and more creative in the mornings,” he told Vanderkam. “By the end of the day, my mind is more cluttered.”

They meditate to clear their minds.

Type-A personalities typically demand as much from others as they do from themselves, so it can be difficult for them to disconnect from their mental to-do lists and calm their minds. Before they head out the door, many successful people devote themselves to a spiritual practice such as meditation or prayer to center themselves for the rush of the day.

Manisha Thakor, a financial adviser and former corporate executive, practices Transcendental Meditation to clear her mind. She does two 20-minute sessions a day, the first before breakfast and the second in the evening, and focuses on breathing and repeating a mantra in her head. She’s found it to be “one of the most life-enhancing practices” she’s ever experienced, she told Vanderkam.

They write down things they’re grateful for.

Expressing gratitude is another great way to center yourself and get the proper perspective before heading to the office. Writing down the people, places, and opportunities that you’re grateful for takes just a few minutes but can make a real difference in your outlook.

For example, a pharmaceutical executive told Vanderkam she spends a good chunk of her morning “expressing gratitude, asking for guidance, and being open to inspiration.” When she gets to work, she always has a clear vision for herself and her staff.

Similarly, entrepreneur and author of The 4-Hour Workweek Tim Ferriss, spends five minutes each morning writing down what he’s grateful for and what he’s looking forward to. It “allows me to not only get more done during the day, but to also feel better throughout the entire day, to be a happier person, to be a more content person,” he said.

They plan and strategize while they’re fresh.

Planning the day, week, or month ahead is an important time-management tool to keep you on track when you’re in the thick of it. Using the mornings to do big-picture thinking helps you prioritize and set the trajectory of the day.

One banking exec turned teacher told Vanderkam she wakes at 5 a.m. on weekdays, exercises, reads a few Bible verses, and reviews her tasks for the day before making breakfast. She said this ritual makes her days more manageable and effective.

They check their email.

While time-management gurus may suggest putting off email as long as possible, many successful people start the day with email. In fact, one recent survey found that the first thing most executives do in the morning is check their email.

They may quickly scan their inboxes for urgent messages that need an immediate response or craft a few important emails that they can better focus on while their minds are fresh.

For instance, Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, wakes at 6 every morning before her family’s up at 7. She uses the time to clear her inbox, schedule the day, and read social media. Getting these tasks out of the way from the start helps her concentrate better when she moves on to more challenging projects, she told Vanderkam.

They read the news.

Whether it’s sitting in the corner diner and reading the papers or checking the blogs and Twitter from their phones, most successful people have a pre-breakfast ritual for getting the latest headlines.

For example, GE CEO Jeff Immelt starts his days with a cardio workout and then reads the paper and watches CNBC. Meanwhile, Virgin America CEO David Cush uses his mornings to listen to sports radio and read the papers while hitting the stationary bike at the gym.

By the time they get to work, they have a good idea of what’s going on in the world. Then, they can get down to the business of changing it.

This is an updated version of an article that was previously published.

This story first appeared on Business Insider. 

Published on: Oct 30, 2015

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The Top 10 Best-Selling Shoe Styles for Women in the World – Part 1

January 12, 2019 by Jean-PIerre DEMURGER Leave a Comment

 

(Manual to understand women – Tome 1 – The shoes)

I received this image from my wife, and it remind me that it is one of the biggest fashion market, and that “Zalando” was one the first company to imagine distributing shoes, and it was a tremendous success. So I decided to know more about it and to concentrate first on the product! This is the first part of a series of post on the evolution of the market sales and marketing, taking shoes as an example! But lets concentrate on the shoes!

The Top 10 Best-Selling Shoe Styles for Women in the World

  • by Sammy Said (May 21, 2013)
  • Source: The Richest
Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw may be popular for her outlandish shoes but she is not the only one who has relentless passion for Manolo Blahniks, Louboutin, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu and Jimmy Choo. There is no denying, women just can not help but shop for shoes. Even if their shoe rack seems like it is going to explode soon, there are never enough pairs. Women do not ever run out of reasons to buy more shoes whether it is because of the season change, trend revolution or simply because they are in a dull mood.

With all the options for women’s shoes, which are the ones that are more commonly sold? Which style, color or design do women usually splurge on because they can not resist it? Here is the list of the top 10 women’s shoes that always have escalating sales regardless of season, year or trend.

10 Ballet Flats

It is the comfort of the ballet flat that makes them endearing for the ladies. Aside from that, there is no fuss in putting them on since all it takes is slipping their feet inside the shoes and they are good to go.

Since the design is closely related to what ballerinas actually wear, this design definitely exudes femininity. It goes well with informal wear like jeans and shorts but can also work for dresses and slacks.

9 Sandals

No woman could live without sandals. This may not be perfect for colder months but on more casual days like weekends with the family or an afternoon of running errands, sandals are definitely the best pick. Strappy sandals which bare more skin are the more fashionable option for women. Usually, the ladies also opt for the flat ones but some prefer sandals with at least half an inch up to two inches of heels.

8 Nude Peep-Toe

Nude peep-toe shoes are a smart option for women because wearing it can give a whole lot of benefits. The nude color makes the legs look slimmer and longer, making this pair of shoes very attractive with a dress or a short skirt. The small hole at the tip also gives a very sexy and sophisticated look. All in all, this is a winning choice regardless of season or occasion.

Nude peep-toe shoes come in high heels and flats. However, the more commonly bought are those with at least two to four inches of heels because they complete a more graceful look and could make the ladies look much taller.

7 Knee-high boots

The sales for knee-high boots sky-rockets especially during the fall and winter months. However, since shoe manufacturers are being a little more experimental with the design and cut of the knee-high boots, these can also be worn any time of the year. The leather ones look more traditional and classy but these days, the options for this type of shoe is just endless so women can easily find one that matches their mood and personality.

6 Versatile Stilettos

Women have worn stilettos for decades and even if there is a major revolution with fashion trends, this type of shoe will always be among the most commonly bought in the women’s shoe department. Ladies can opt for the strappy stilettos or they can go for the ones with more covering like pumps.

5 Wedges and Platforms

Wedges and platforms are not just for the women but could also look amazing on young ladies. This type of shoe allows women to look very feminine without the need to endure the throbbing pain that high heels could bring. Women could go for as high as five inches of heels for platforms and wedges but still run like they are wearing flats. That is why it is no mystery why this is among the best-selling shoe design for the ladies.

4 Ankle-Boots

The ones in neutral colors are a big hit for women too. The neutral makes it easier to mix and match it with different types of clothing, from jeans to skirts, shorts and dresses. This is among the most frequently bought type of shoe for women because it is comfortable during warmer months like spring and summer but can also be great during fall and winter.

3 Bold, High Heels

It does not matter what decade it is, high heels with about four to five inches are part of women’s lists of must-haves. What defines the perfect heels? It should be smoothly structured like the trumpet heels so it can be worn with any type of dress, cotton pants or any other wardrobe. Among the different types of shoes with tapered heels, the ones which come in feisty-looking, strappy designs are the most popular because of the extra allure it gives.

2 Lace-up Sneakers

Though women usually feel that they always have to look meek and feminine, there are days which calls for a more laid-back and comfortable look. Good thing is that there are lace-up sneakers which will complete the dress-down appearance without making them look too boyish.

Sneakers with tailored edges and graceful laces are a big hit for women because this saves their toes from the twinge from leather and heels but still maintains their graceful look.

Plain black and white ones are the more popular choices since this goes well with almost all colors of jeans, shorts and tops though women are becoming a little more experimental with their choice of color. Hence, sales for blues, pinks and other more vibrant colors go up.

1 Classic Black Pumps

A woman’s wardrobe would never be complete unless she has those perfectly-fitted and sexy black pumps. This is a must-have for the ladies because of its versatility. During the day, it goes perfectly with the uptight wardrobe for the office. At night, it still goes perfectly with a more casual outfit for a night of partying. Best of all, this pair of shoes can complete any ensemble, whether it is a long gown that is red carpet worthy or a rugged, washed-out pair of jeans and curve-hugging white shirt.


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5 Startup Intangibles That Can Energize Your Business

January 9, 2019 by Jean-PIerre DEMURGER Leave a Comment

5 Startup Intangibles That Can Energize Your Business

Source: blog startupprofesional

relevancy-in-businessSome investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. While these may be necessary for funding, they may not be sufficient to make your startup the great success embodied in your vision.

In the last few years, perhaps in reaction to the business integrity issues leading to the recession way back in 2008, I am seeing a renewed focus on other less tangible attributes which can set your startup apart. Examples include the Conscious Capitalism® movement, founded by John Mackey of Whole Foods, the B Team, founded by serial entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, and the Benefit Corporation (B Corp) form of business now available in 33 states.

I have always struggled to communicate the multiple other relevant priorities, and the other intangibles required for a great execution. I found many of these in the classic book “Great From The Start: How Conscious Corporations Attract Success ,” by John B. Montgomery, which does a great job of laying out specifics.

It also starts with a good summary of the intangibles, summarized as the five rules of relevancy, by Mark Zawacki:

  1. A startup needs to be relevant and stay relevant. Relevancy for an early-stage company is the discovery and understanding of the real addressable market for a product or service. This is not the total opportunity out there, and not the total target market, but the subset of customers who have and will spend the money you need to cure their pain.
  2. A startup needs to find a voice relevant to its ecosystem. These days, you have to foster a community of support for your business. That means educating targeted supporters is key, even before you start to sell. Selling too early triggers customer defenses and drives them away. Everyone hates being sold to; we all prefer to buy.
  3. A startup must gain balanced traction. This is not just sales traction, but a proper balance between resources, product, and customers. It means building a viable and desirable product before selling, assembling the right team with funding, and recruiting and educating enthusiastic customers who will be your best advocates.
  4. A startup must form partnerships and alliances within its ecosystem. Today’s ultracompetitive global environment demands that you make alliances early. Startups often pay lip service to strategic partnerships, but they schedule these efforts far down the road. The right partnership strategy can make a company relevant.
  5. A startup must maintain a relevant laser focus. Too many early-stage companies are so desperate for customers that they operate in a frantic and random sales mode. They sell into multiple verticals, or pursue multiple revenue streams, such that they can’t develop a repeatable, scalable sales process, and don’t do anything well.

Of course, relevancy doesn’t work if you don’t have a winning business model. In the traditional business environment, this means the priority is an adequate return for your stakeholders, but today it also means your company should provide a material positive impact on society and the environment.

Great companies recognize that there are now multiple interdependent stakeholders, including customers, business partners, and social groups, who need to be part of your equation since they can drive or limit your success, in addition to management and stockholders.

In other words, your startup needs to be a “conscious” entity, constantly aware of the complex eco-system around it, and the factors driving change and evolution. This requires conscious leaders who are passionately committed to personal and professional growth, as well as the greater good of society. These leaders then cultivate the consciousness of their team members.

In reality, your people are the consciousness and relevance of your startup, and your customers judge your startup as they would judge a person. No relevant company can afford to focus on short-term wins over the long-term effects of its behavior on other stakeholders. How much time and how many measures has your startup applied regularly to the relevance issues above?

Marty Zwilling
Jan 6th, 2019


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Say YES to events!

January 9, 2019 by Jean-PIerre DEMURGER Leave a Comment

Say YES To Events To Learn and Grow

If you are like me (and most business professionals I know) you have said “I don’t have time to go to that event!”  It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day to day of your business.  You put your head down and work toward your ultimate goal.  You are hustling!  That’s the right thing to do, right?

Yes…most of the time.

But I find there can be huge value in getting out of your office to attend a business, learning and/or networking event.  It’s a great time to remind you why you are hustling!  Here are some reasons why you should consider the next event that comes across your desk.

1)  Before The Trip:  Have you ever notice that you get a ton done before you leave for vacation?  Yep.  You want to leave with a clean desk, so you clear off projects that have been lingering.  You make decisions.  You hustle.  This happens before your event too.

2)  Unplugging Helps:  Often you have to travel to the event, so you are less likely to be able to respond to every buzz, ding and burp of your cell phone.  So you set the auto email responder and you give that a rest.  With that time you can read an inspiring book, brainstorm your business at 10,000 feet or just rest.  You might come up with some awesome ideas before you even get to the event!

3)  Always Learning:  Events can almost always provide great learning opportunities!  So take the time to make the most of the classes.  Really give it your all to learn.  Remember, the greatest distance in the world is the distance between “I know” and “I do.”  So even if you think you already know what the speaker is saying…dig in.  You might get something new out of it.

4)  Networking:  You might meet a person with a great idea or a new client.  You never know!  Be open.  Just make sure you go into networking with open ears and an open mind.  You might be able to help these new folks meet their goals.  Help them!  Don’t like networking?  Do it anyway.

So the next time an event (that looks interesting) comes across your desk, really consider it.  I have taken the time to attend more events in the last few years and they always inspire and re-invigorate me.

Jump in.  You will be glad you did.

Origin

Posted by Kirby Hasseman at 3:55 AM


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What’s up in emerging technology?

January 9, 2019 by Jean-PIerre DEMURGER Leave a Comment

IBM Q System One

IBM has just unveiled this cool-looking quantum computer—but will hide it in the cloud

Source : The download

This gleaming monolith from a sci-fi blockbuster is actually the new IBM Q System One quantum computer that is designed to be reliable enough for businesses to use—in the cloud.

The news: At this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, IBM took the wraps off the Q System One, which it claims is the world’s first integrated universal quantum computing system for commercial applications. Companies won’t be able to run out and buy the machines, though—they’re only accessible via IBM’s computing cloud.

All-in-one: Many quantum machines that use superconducting circuits, an approach favored by IBM, are a smorgasbord of wires connecting various electronic devices to a cryostatic cooling chamber that contains the quantum chip. The Q System One, on the other hand, is a single, tightly integrated system enclosed in an airtight case nine feet (2.7 meters) tall.

Snowflake qubits: Quantum computers promise to one day exceed the performance of even the most advanced supercomputers. Their power comes from harnessing quantum bits, or qubits.

But qubits are particularly delicate. Even the tiniest vibrations or electrical fluctuations can collapse their extremely fragile quantum state. That’s a big drawback for running commercial applications, which demand reliable performance. To get around this issue, the Q System One is encased in half-inch-thick borosilicate glass to minimize any external disturbances. The system also uses a combination of metal supports to keep the cooling chamber, electronics, and casing separate.

Design hype: Plenty of other quantum computing companies, including the US’s Rigetti Computing and Canada’s D-Wave, already offer access to quantum machines via the cloud. Indeed, IBM itself kicked off this trend when it launched an online platform several years ago.

That’s triggered an intense marketing battle—which may explain why IBM’s machine looks the way it does (IBM wants everyone to know it was designed with input from a company that makes display cases to protect things like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris and the crown jewels in the Tower of London.) But the system’s going to sit in an IBM facility, so what it looks like is irrelevant. All companies really care about is performance. If the Q System One delivers a superior one, it could look like a giant sardine can and no one would care.

Image credit: IBM Research

Posted by Martin Giles

January 8th, 2019 12:49PM


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How to Collaborate with People You Don’t Like

January 4, 2019 by Jean-PIerre DEMURGER Leave a Comment

How to Collaborate with People You Don’t Like

Mark Nevins

December 04, 2018
Source HBR
anniepaddington/Getty Images

A few months ago, a former client — let’s call her Kacie— called me to check in. I had supported her through her transition when she had joined a prestigious global financial services firm several months prior. Given how deliberately and thoughtfully she’d gone through the process, I expected that our conversation would be about her early wins.

Instead, Kacie confessed that she had a simple but serious problem: she wasn’t getting along well with a peer-level executive — let’s call her Marta. The two had gotten off on the wrong foot, and as time passed things weren’t getting any better. Kacie told me that it was becoming painfully clear that her inability to get along with Marta was going to impede her success, and possibly derail her career at the company.

As Kacie and I explored the situation, she told me that Marta was seen as a highly talented, accomplished, and well-liked executive — she wasn’t toxic or difficult. But Kacie admitted that she didn’t really like Marta. They had different styles, and Marta rubbed her the wrong way.

Over a series of conversations, Kacie and I worked through the situation. She revisited the stakeholder map she had created in her first few weeks in the role, which clearly showed that Marta’s collaboration and partnership were essential for getting the business results Kacie wanted. In assessing the relationship more honestly, Kacie came to realize that she had been failing to reach out to Marta. She had not made her new colleague feel like her input and perspectives were valuable, had been leaving her and her team off communications, and had more or less been trying to avoid her.

Kacie developed a handful of useful strategies for working better with Marta. While none were particularly easy or comfortable, these are ideas and insights that almost anyone can use when they have to work with someone they just don’t like.

Reflect on the cause of tension and how you are responding to it. The first step is both acceptance and reflection. Remind yourself: You won’t get along with everyone but there is potential value in every interaction with others. You can and should learn from almost everyone you meet, and the responsibility for making that happen lies with you even if the relationship is not an easy one. Take an honest look at what is causing the tension and what role you play in creating it. It may be that your reaction to the situation is at the core of the problem (and you can’t control anything other than your reaction). Kacie had to recognize that Marta’s “unlikability” may really have been about Kacie herself.

Work harder to understand the other person’s perspective. Few people get out of bed in the morning with the goal of making your life miserable. Make time to think deliberately about the other person’s point of view, especially if that person is essential to your success. Ask yourself: Why is this person acting this way? What might be motivating them? How do they see me? What might they want and need from me? Kacie began to think differently about Marta as she came to appreciate that her colleague had goals and motivations as valid as her own and that their goals were not inherently in conflict.

Become a problem solver rather than a critic or competitor. To work better together, it’s important to shift from a competitive stance to a collaborative one. One tactic is to “give” the other person the problem. Rather than trying to work through or around the other person, engage them directly. Kacie invited Marta out to lunch and was open with her: “I don’t feel like we are working together as effectively as we could. What do you think? Do you have any ideas for how we can work better together?” If you ask people to show you their cards, and demonstrate vulnerability in the process, they will often reveal a few of their own.

Ask more questions. In tense situations, many of us try to “tell” our way through it. We might become overly assertive, which usually makes the situation worse. Instead, try asking questions — ideally open-ended ones intended to create conversation. Put aside your own agenda, ask good questions, and have the patience to truly listen to the other person’s answers.

Enhance your awareness of your interpersonal style. It’s easy to chalk up conflicts to poor “chemistry” with another person but everyone has different styles and often being aware of those differences can help. Over lunch, Marta and Kacie discovered that they had both completed the Myers-Briggs earlier in their careers, so they shared their profiles. Kacie is both a clear introvert and a very strong sensing type: she prefers to have time to work through issues alone and quietly, and to draw conclusions from a broad base of data. Marta, on the other hand, is an extrovert and a strong intuitive type, comfortable reacting immediately, focusing on the big picture, and solving problems by talking them through with others. Given these differences in style and preference, Kacie and Marta were bound to find interacting with each other uncomfortable. But once they identified their differences, they realized that their styles could be quite complementary if they adapted and accommodated their approaches.

Ask for help. Asking for help can reboot a difficult relationship because it shows that you value the other person’s intelligence and experience. Over their lunch, Kacie grew confident enough to say to Marta, “You’ve been around here longer than I have. I feel like I’m starting to figure things out, but I’d love your help.” Then she asked questions like: “What should I be doing more or less of? Am I missing anything or failing to connect with anyone I really should? What do you wish someone had told you when you first started working here?”

Kacie and Marta’s relationship significantly improved. During my last call with Kacie, she told me that she and Marta communicate frequently in-person and via text and Slack, and they regularly take part in each other’s team meetings. Each quarter they bring their whole teams together to assess progress and seek opportunities to learn and improve their processes. While Marta and Kacie aren’t necessarily friends and don’t spend a lot of time together outside the office, they’re much better colleagues, and they like each other more than they initially suspected.

Kacie’s success in turning around her relationship with Marta was in part because she acted while “the cement was still wet.” Her negative dynamic with Marta hadn’t yet hardened so Kacie was able to increase her self-awareness, adapt her style, and reach out. It is possible to collaborate effectively with people you don’t like, but you have to take the lead.


Mark Nevins is the president of Nevins Consulting and advises and consults senior executives and their teams on leadership, change, and organization effectiveness. He and John Hillen are co-authors of What Happens Now: Reinvent Yourself as a Leader Before Your Business Outruns You (Select Books, 2018)


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7 Success Habits of Exceptionally Productive People

January 4, 2019 by Jean-PIerre DEMURGER Leave a Comment

Need to get more done? Do what the pros do.

By Jeff HadenContributing editor, Inc.@jeff_haden
Source: Inc.com
CREDIT: Getty Images

Once in a while you need to kick some serious butt: finish off a huge project, finally put to bed a task you can’t keep putting off, or just knock out a ton of work in one day (like the day I wrote the first draft of my book proposal.)

When you really need to perform, business as usual won’t cut it: you need to make a normal workday an exceptionally productive workday.

And while you can’t do the following every day, once in a while it’s the perfect way to get a massive amount of work done.

Here’s how:

1. Tell everyone you’ll be off the grid.

Interruptions destroy focus and kill productivity. So do the guilt trips your family unintentionally lay on you.

Let coworkers and family know you’re planning a “project day.” Tell key customers too. Announce you will be tied up on, say, Thursday, and that you will respond to calls and emails on Friday. Let people know who to contact in an emergency. Some will get with you before Thursday, and the rest will make a mental note you’re not available.

In either case, you’re covered.

Plus you get the “peer pressure” benefit: When you tell people you plan to finish something you will be more likely to see the job through. Peer pressure can be positive motivation — harness it.

2. Set a genuine commitment.

Don’t plan your project day based on fuzzy parameters like, “I will stay at it as long as possible,” or, “I won’t leave until I no longer feel productive.” Those approaches give you an easy out.

Commit to working for as long as you estimate it will take. Pick a number. Then stick to the number.

There’s a great side benefit to this approach, too: the longer the time frame you set the quicker the early hours seem to go by.

When I worked in manufacturing we normally worked eight-hour shifts. The hours before lunch seemed endless; the last two hours of the day were even worse. During busy periods we worked twelve hour shifts and the mornings seemed to fly by — something about knowing you will be working for a long time allows you to stop checking the clock.

When you know you’re in for a long haul your mind will automatically adapt. Try it. It works.

3. Start really early or really late.

When you step outside of your normal routine your perspective of time shifts as well. Start at 5 a.m. or revisit your college days and start at 6 p.m. and work through the night.

Set the stage for an exceptionally productive day by dramatically changing your normal routine.

4. Delay gratification.

Let’s say you like to listen to music while you work. On this day don’t for at least the first few hours. That way, when your enthusiasm really starts to wane, turning on the music will perk you back up.

Hold off on whatever things you use to brighten up your workday, at least for a while. Delayed gratification is always better gratification, and in this case can provide just the spark you need to keep going.

5. Refuel and recharge your mental and physical batteries early.

Any endurance athlete who waits to drink until he or she is thirsty has waited too long.

The same premise applies at work. Have a snack a little earlier than normal. Start drinking water right immediately. If you normally sit, stand up before you start to feel stiff or cramped. If you normally stand, sit before your back stiffens or your legs ache. Be proactive so discomfort can’t dampen your motivation or weaken your resolve.

And make sure you plan meals wisely. Don’t take an hour for lunch. Plan food ahead of time that you can prepare and eat quickly.

The goal is to refuel, re-hydrate, and keep on rolling. Remember, this is an exceptional day — treat it that way.

6. Take productivity breaks.

Newton’s Law of Productivity (okay, it’s actually mine) states that a productive person in motion tends to stay in motion.

Maintaining momentum is everything. Don’t take a social media break. Take a break that reinforce your sense of activity and accomplishment. Take a quick walk and think about what you’re tackling next… and then jump back in. Even a few minutes spent in the Land of Inactivity can make it hard to regain momentum.

7. Don’t quit until you’re done.

Quitting just because you’re tired or bored is habit-forming. (Plus you’re always capable of doing more than you think.) If the only barrier to completion is effort or motivation, stay at it and smash through that barrier.

Think about your normal workday; at some point you typically think, “That’s it. That’s all I have in me today.” That limit was set long ago, but it’s an artificial limit based on habit.

Pushing through the “pain” is a habit anyone can develop, and when you do, you automatically set your effort limit a little higher — making you capable of even doing more on a regular basis.

Published on: Sep 3, 2015

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This is the first picture of the moon’s far side taken by China’s probe after it landed

January 3, 2019 by Jean-PIerre DEMURGER Leave a Comment

When I received this post on the first picture of the far side of the moon, I couldn’t resist to look for more information.

This is the first picture of the moon’s far side taken by China’s probe after it landed https://t.co/WitGBVbqIt

— MIT Technology Review (@techreview) January 3, 2019

 

Today First image from Chang’e 4

This is the first picture of the moon’s far side taken by China’s probe after it landed

After Chang’e 4 safely touched down, the lander’s cameras sent back this image of the Von Karman crater that its rover will now explore.

The news: Chang’e 4 touched down on the moon’s far surface at 10.26 Beijing time (9.26pm EST) last night, state media reports. It’s the first time any spacecraft has ever landed on the side of the moon that is permanently facing away from Earth.

Coming in to land: The spacecraft entered an elliptical lunar orbit over the weekend, passing as close as 15 kilometers above the moon’s surface. Previous landings on the Earth-facing side of the moon have been landed remotely from mission control. Instead, Chang’e 4 used hazard-avoidance software to check for hazards at the landing site, as David Rothery explains at The Conversation today.

Praise: The successful landing was confirmed by state television station CGTN, which tweeted out the first historic picture. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a tweet: “Congratulations to China’s Chang’e-4 team for what appears to be a successful landing on the far side of the Moon. This is a first for humanity and an impressive accomplishment!”

Radio science: Chang’e 4 will now perform a series of radio astronomy experiments and test whether plants can grow in the moon’s gravity.

Image credit:  CNSA

January 3rd, 2019 4:46AM

Niall Firth

Posted by Niall Firth


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How to Encourage Entrepreneurial Thinking on Your Team

January 3, 2019 by Jean-PIerre DEMURGER Leave a Comment

How to Encourage Entrepreneurial Thinking on Your Team

Published by Harvard Business Review

  • Sergei Revzin
  • Vadim Revzin
Buena Vista Images/Getty Images

Open experimentation is foundational to any team that’s serious about innovation. But what activities and behaviors actually encourage experimentation and make sure that new ideas see the light of day?

While there’s no magic bullet or single initiative that will make an organization an innovation powerhouse overnight, here are some ways you can get started:

Get comfortable with failure

Take a deeper look at any 10-person startup that has displaced an industry incumbent in the last 20 years, and you’re sure to find a leadership organization that prides itself on its failures just as much as its successes.

In a recent report by the MIT Digital Initiative and Cap Gemini, the CEO of the largest steel producer in the U.S., John Ferriola of Nucor, stated that “if we, through our actions, encourage our teammates to fear failing, they simply will not stretch the limits of their capabilities or the limits of their imaginations.” In the same report, Janelle Sallenave, formerly the Head of Customer Support at Uber, said “This is a company that is obsessed with what we call experiments. Everybody is encouraged to, whatever it is that they’re working on, reimagine how it could be better, different, cheaper, faster, whatever it might be…”


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Organizations should be hyper-aware of how their managers and leaders are encouraging experimentation and failure, and make adjustments as needed. From something as simple as listening to the language that higher-ups respond with when confronted with a new idea, to more complex issues such as re-evaluating the incentive structure in the employee compensation packages. Whether a colleague is proposing a small organizational improvement or a major industry-defining technical pivot, they should have the expectation that their team, from the C-Suite to their immediate supervisor, will measure their performance by their level of ingenuity and initiative and not by their ability to play it safe.

Make macromanagement a core tenet

The author Simon Sinek has been quoted saying “When we tell people to do their jobs, we get workers. When we trust people to get the job done, we get leaders.”

Macromanagement, or “management from afar”, is not only critical to encourage a leadership mentality, but it also plays a major role in helping to nurture creativity on your team. Individuals need to have a sense of ownership in order to allow themselves to try things that haven’t been tried before, and to let their inspirations morph into practical solutions. To help achieve this, new initiatives should be allowed to run independently from the usual way of doing business because, by definition, they may require a new set of processes to be successful.

Cisco has a stated goal of no internal research, according to a recent podcast with John Hennessey who sits on the board. Yet, the company has set itself apart in its ability to continue to innovate more than thirty years after its founding. This success has been largely attributed to their ability to “spin-in” companies where they find an internal team with a good idea, take them out of the company, help fund them the same way a typical venture investor would, and then bring them back in to the company once the product has been developed to a certain level.

While this is an extreme version of letting a team have complete ownership over decision making in their product development process, it’s worth noting that a big contributor to failed internal innovation initiatives is the lack of truly open experimentation. If organizations today choose to understand this dynamic and proactively make changes that remove micromanagement in their teams, they will have a much higher chance of allowing new ideas to flourish.

Champion the pursuit of external interests

Celia de Anca and Salvador Aragón made the case in a 2014 HBR article for why allowing employees to bring their external interests to work is so important when it comes to improving overall work satisfaction. However, employee satisfaction is just one possible side-effect of this practice.

When people know that they can openly share their extra-curricular interests with their colleagues and are encouraged to express their entire authentic selves in their work environment, they see themselves as more than how their job titles define them. And that is a pre-condition for allowing new ideas to be freely shared in your organization.

Managers should be careful not to dissuade team members from spending significant time outside of work hours on external projects, even if they seem to have nothing to do with improving the core skills that will make them successful in their respective roles. Encouraging team members to get outside perspectives that have nothing to do with their work can help teams generate new ideas in ways that could not possibly be predicted.

In his best-seller Sapiens, Yuval Harari explains that “the scientific revolution has not been a revolution of knowledge. It has been above all a revolution of ignorance. The great discovery that launched the scientific revolution was the discovery that humans do not know the answers to their most important questions.” Similarly, managers need to acknowledge they don’t have all of the answers and let their teams try to find them.

If organizations want to see more innovation, leaders and managers have to put full confidence in their teams to try new things, and then promptly get out of their way.


Sergei Revzin is a Venture Investor at the NYU Innovation Venture Fund where he leads the university’s technology investments and is the co-host of The Mentors podcast with his twin brother Vadim. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs all over the country through his work with Venture for America, and has been an early employee and founder at tech companies in NYC and Boston.


Vadim Revzin is an Entrepreneur in Residence at GenFKD, a national non-profit, where he teaches entrepreneurship at State University of New York and is the co-host of a weekly podcast called The Mentors featuring stories from successful founders and creators. He’s advised hundreds of startups, and has been both a founder and leader across several early and growth stage startups.


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