How to the boost your team’s morale

Ilya Pozin recently listed in Inc. Magazine his top 9 tips for keeping your employees motivated:

1. Be generous with praise.
2. Get rid of the managers.
3. Make your ideas theirs.
4. Never criticize or correct.
5. Make everyone a leader.
6. Take an employee to lunch once a week.
7. Give recognition and small rewards.
8. Throw company parties.
9. Share the rewards—and the pain.

Leadership at all levels

Some of these tips may seem counter-productive until you read the full article at Inc.
My personal favourite is tip #5, which I like to express as ‘leadership at all levels’.

What this means is that you have empowered your employees with the appropriate knowledge, training, skills, tools and authority to make decisions and act on them with the goal of achieving your company’s goals.

Values based strategy

Leadership at all levels can only be achieved if your employees are just as clear as you are about what strategies, tactics and actions are required for fulfilling your company’s core purpose and expressing your company’s core values in their everyday interactions with colleagues and clients.

Ask us how to establish leadership at all levels

Call Karyn Clarke of LeaderCoach | The Values Specialists for a FREE 30 minute consultation to discover how Values Based Stratgeic Planning can stimulate leadership at all levels within your organisation. Call +61 2 9686 4257 or email karyn [@] leadercoach.com.au

Here’s To Your Peak Performance, Productivity & Profits,
Karyn Clarke

What moves us to take action is connected to what moves us to feel!

I recently read an article by Joel D Canfield in which he asks ‘Why Find Your Why?” In other words, why find out what really motivates you? Here’s a short excerpt of his description of how your brain works to move you to action:

“The part of your brain you’re using to read these words is the neo-cortex. Your neo-cortex understands language, does math when it’s forced to and can even figure out organic chemistry. Your neo-cortex is pretty smart. But it has no feelings. That means it is incapable of making decisions–and it can’t create motivation.

The part of your brain which just reacted emotionally to that sentence, feeling amusement, annoyance, disbelief–that’s your limbic system. Your limbic system understands feelings and is where all the decisions in your life are made. It would be nice if our neo-cortex, the higher reasoning part of our brain, could have a little chat with our limbic system, to present facts and figures, a reasonable, logical argument, and compel it to make the rational decision our neo-cortex already thinks it made.

That won’t work. The limbic system has no capacity for language.

Despite this enormous barrier, the limbic system and neo-cortex communicate every day using the abstract concepts we call emotions. These two parts of our brain have agreed that certain words represent emotions. This leads us to the question that trumps ‘what’ and ‘how’.” You can read the whole article here.

What we feel is influenced by what we value

The core message of this website www.WinAtWorkZone.com and blog is that your values are behind your ability to effectively motivate yourself to achieve peak performance in your profession or business. Joel’s short article explains some of the neurological underpinnings of motivation and how what’s important to you (what elicits strong feelings) largely takes place beyond your conscious awareness – a useful fact to be consciously aware of!

Your values are your unconscious motivators

In practical terms, your values are your unconscious motivators, and all really successful men and women have one thing in common – they are consciously aware of their values. In other words, they have discoverd how to be consciously aware of what motivates them and to make conscious, strategic choices about what actions to take, based on living their values.

More than 20 years of research and practical application

I have spent more than 20 years applying the knowledge of researchers from across the globe to help professionals and business owners achieve peak performance in their roles by identifying what REALLY motivates them and showing them how to apply that self knowledge to achieve high levels of success by working consistently in their Peak Performance Zone. In the next few months I will be launching a series of online training opportunities that will be exclusive to members of a new online community for peak performers. This will be launched from a brand new website – details to be announced closer to launch date.

New training and development opportunity coming soon

I’ll let you know when we’re getting close to launch date so you can be the first group to have an opportunity to join, as membership will be limited initially.

Until then,

Here’s To YOUR Peak Performance,
Karyn Clarke

Retreat, reflect and refresh to profit in your small business in 2010

This post is coming to you from beautiful Port Stephens, about a two-hour drive north of Sydney, Australia and I take a week’s break here towards the end of every calendar year.
My time here has three main purposes:

1. To retreat -  to rest and recharge my batteries
2. To reflect on and review the previous year – both my successes and my failures
3. To refresh my plans for the coming year. This year my forward planning is especially important because I plan to launch two new businesses early in the year  - www.AgeWellZone.com and www.HubSiteBuilder.com

Why you want to retreat from your small business to boost your profits

The biggest challenge that most small business owners have is to stop the go go go and do do do routines that can become habitual ways of keeping us locked in to working in our business rather than on our business. That’s why it’s essential to retreat from your business from 3 to 7 days at least once a year to allow you to step back from the inside workings of your business and examine what has happened and what you want to happen from a more global perspective.

12 tips to set the right course for your small business profits for 2010

1. Retreat from your business for a few days to relax your mind, body and spirit
2. Review your values. Your values are your lifestyle priorities and preferences. How have your priorities changed from when you established your small business or when you set your last vision for your business? Remember that your values are your unique motivation code.
3. Review your vision for your small business. Are you close to fulfilling that vision? If yes, then it’s time to set yourself a new, expanded vision. If no, is your vision truly aligned to your values, do you have the right strategies in place to take you as directly as possible toward your vision, do you have the right people on board and in the right roles to support your strategies with optimum effectiveness and efficiency. Or have changes in market conditions caused your existing vision to be no longer viable?
4. Review your mission for your small business. Are you still as passionate to help your customers or clients in your unique way with your unique products or services as you were the day you started your business? If yes, do the people you have working in your business share your passion and do they have the right knowledge, attitude, skills and systems to support them in the day to day implementation of the mission of your business? If no, then it’s time to review your values, because what you value, in other words what’s important to you, is what will provide the fuel to drive your ongoing efforts in your business.
5. Review what worked well, especially in terms of sales and marketing, which provide your cash flow, the lifeblood of your business. Remember that your web marketing strategy needs to be a subset of your overall marketing strategy.
6. Analyze why those strategies worked so well and identify how you can replicate and expand on them in the coming year.
7. Review what did not work so well. Is your website optimized for high search engine ranking to make it easier for potential customers to find you?
8. Analyze why those strategies did not add to your small business profits and what you need to do in order to tweak or delete any unsuccessful strategies or tactics.
9. Take a good hard, realistic look at your customer service. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes – what’s your customer experience REALLY like, both when things go well and when they need to come back to because something went wrong with your product or service?
10. Review your own knowledge, skills attitudes and systems. Do you need to update your knowledge to stay current or even ahead of the pack in your field? Are you working as much as possible in your strengths? In other words doing what you do best, and outsourcing the rest? Are your relationship skills bringing out the best in the people who work with and for you – employees, customers, suppliers and others? Have you systematized your business wherever possible to make it easier to run independently of your time and attention and to make it easier to sell when it’s time to move on to the next phase of your life?
11. Identify, intensify and integrate the Commitment Nexus of your business to turn employees and customers alike into raving fans. Contact me for details of our next Commitment Nexus Workshop
12. Take a mini-retreat, perhaps one or two days, every quarter and conduct a mini review of where you’re at in relation to where you want your business to be. Again, use this time to step outside of your business, to analyze what is and what is not working, to recharge your batteries, and to refocus with renewed energy.

Here’s to Your Peak Performance and Profits in 2010,
Karyn Clarke

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

The path of least resistance to career and small business peak performance and profits really is an ‘inside out’ path.

Question:
What’s already inside of you, usually lurking just below your conscious awareness, that can be leveraged to boost your productivity and profits?

Answer:
Your key natural talents and your core values. In other words, what you’re good at and what’s important to you!

My previous post examined various ways to leverage your Talent Code™ and as promised in this post I am about to reveal what 10 out of 10 successful people know and do that other people do not know and do … the difference that makes the difference.

Ten out of ten successful people know what their values are and have the skills to live them!

1. Your values are your lifestyle priorities and preferences. You want more of what you value, of what’s important to you. You are intrinsically motivated (motivated from the inside-out) to keep on working towards goals that are in alignment with your values. Values alignment generates motivation and commitment. Of course you need to know what your values are in order to live them. My clients use My Motivation Code™, a values profiler which identifies and prioritizes up to 128 of your values.
2. Your values are the bridge between your inner desires and your outer reality. To turn what you desire (your vision or your set of goals) into reality, you must have skills that will help you get the goals you set. When you work in the area of your key natural talents, continually transforming your knowledge, skills, attitudes and business systems into strengths, you will be more fully engaged in your work, increasing further your motivation and commitment.

Summary: Mobilizing your talents plus your values in the direction of your vision is what REALLY Motivates you!

Contact our office to discover how you can step onto your unique ‘Inside Out” Path To Peak Performance & Profits

Can You Turn A Favorite Hobby Into A Profitable Small Business?

I have been asked this question many times, and the answer is … it depends.

Your small business profits depend on your performance, and achieving peak performance depends on your ability to engage your key natural talents and then to develop them into strengths.

You also want to align your business strategy to your core purpose and to your core values. Exactly how you do this is the core of our live and online workshops.

A note of caution …. while interests (hobbies) and strengths are related, there’s danger in believing that an interest can turn into a full time career. For some people it may, and for others it will only ever be a relaxing and enjoyable hobby.

To work out the difference you need to have a clear understanding of what your key natural talents are, and how they combine with what you value. You can identify your natural talents at http://www.MyTalentCode.com and your values at http://www.MyMotivationCode.com

Those two dimensions (talent and values) must be aligned for you to maintain motivation and achieve peak performance and productivity, which will in turn lead to profits in your small business if your business strategy also meets your market’s needs and wants, and your offers are communicated clearly to your target market.

Hobbies and Your Talent Code™

While interests, hobbies and strengths are related, there’s danger in believing that an interest can turn into a full time career. For some people it may, and for others it will only ever be a relaxing and enjoyable hobby. Here are 10 reasons why …

1. When you engage in a favorite pastime or hobby, you are motivated by the desire for relaxation or pleasure.
2. In hobbies there are usually no tight time frames or standards (other than self imposed ones).
3. The parts of your brain used for your leisure/hobby skills (creative mode) are different from the parts of your brain used for professional productivity (work modes) – that’s why hobbies are relaxing. They literally give your brain a break from work!
4. You can only achieve peak performance when you have a match between the level of challenge involved in a task and your level of skill – high challenge / low skill leads to frustration and inefficiency.
5. You will achieve a very high level of skill (expert status) only through the intense application of time and energy to building your knowledge and skill levels of your natural talents until they become real strengths – worthy of 9/10 or even 10/10!
6. You could apply that same level of intensity to a skill set that is not based on your natural talents, and after years you may still rank only a 6/10 or 7/10, even though you really enjoy using that skill.
7. If you love what you are doing in your hobby and you would rate at 6/10 or 7/10, that’s a pretty good indicator that you should stick to it as a hobby – high pleasure, low pressure!
8. If on the other hand you have a hobby in which your skill levels are 9/10 or 10/10, you lose track of time when you engage in that hobby, AND you still produce excellent results even under pressure, then that hobby may have the potential to become a profitable business for you with the right small business training. You are now motivated by a desire for productivity and profits.
   
9. You can get started by identifying your natural talents at http://www.MyTalentCode.com and your values at http://www.MyMotivationCode.com
10. In the meantime, your hobbies are important for refreshing and energizing your brain,  so enjoy  your hobby, strengthen your knowledge and skills, check out if your hobby matches your your key natural talents and you will end up with either a new career or continue to enjoy your very satisfying hobby!

What REALLY Motivates You When You Engage in Your Hobby?

To summarize the message of this article and to answer for yourself the question “Can I Turn My Hobby Into A Profitable Small Business?” you must honestly look at your key natural talents, and I’ve pointed you to a tool for doing that http://www.MyTalentCode.com

You also want to be really clear about your motivation for engaging in your hobby. Your motivation comes from your values – what’s important to you – and I’ll address that in more detail in my next post, where I will unpack the power of values alignment for maintaining motivation and achieving your professional or small business goals. One thing I can tell you in advance is this:

• All truly successful people know what their values are, and have the skills to live them!

If you are a manager or small business owner seeking to maximize your profits and the performance of the people you manage, without burning them out, here’s an enlightening video that demonstrates the mismatch between what Science knows and what Business does, between the carrot and stick approach and the value of really knowing your personal Motivation Code™ …

Dan Pink on TED Video – 18 Minutes

Backed by solid scientific evidence Dan Pink identified 3 core elements of what really motivates us – autonomy, mastery and purpose.

Autonomy
Pink defines autonomy as ‘the urge to direct our own lives’. He revealed evidence proving that self direction creates more engagement in workers for all but the most mechanical of tasks, and that attempts at external motivation work only in a limited range of circumstances involving non cognitive tasks.

In our one day workshop ‘Win at Work 101 - The Art & Science Of Peak Performance & Profits’  we reveal to you exactly what you must do to achieve autonomy by personalizing your peak performance and profits strategy.

Mastery
He defined mastery as ‘the desire to get better and better at something that matters.’ Our proprietary course ‘Win at Work 101 - The Art & Science Of Peak Performance & Profits’ reveals the secret to cracking your personal Talent Code™ and leveraging it to turn your key natural talents into strengths, plus we reveal how to apply those strengths to what matters most to you in your profession or business. 

Purpose
Pink defines purpose as ‘a yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.’ In ‘Win at Work 101 - The Art & Science Of Peak Performance & Profits’ we show you exactly how to match your personal Talent Code™ to your unique Motivation Code™ to discover and apply your core purpose through our proprietary values alignment process.

‘Win at Work 101 - The Art & Science Of Peak Performance & Profits’
This breakthrough small business peak performance and profits training and development is available in two formats:

1. Online home study. Find out more and register at www.WinAtWorkCourse.com
2. Live, interactive workshop. Contact our office for the date and location of our next live event:

• Email [workshop@leadercoach.com.au]
• International Phone:  +61 2 9686 4257
• Australia Local Call:   1300 15 6768

Post A Comment

Time to get involved!

Introduce yourself and post your thoughts in the comments box about Dan Pink’s video or about my response to the video’ Looking forward to meting you

Where’s your professional or business focus?

To achieve the professional outcomes or the business results you really want, nothing beats the power of focus, if your training and development activities focus of the right steps.

Are your business or career goals focused in the best possible way to move you forward into your peak performance zone, or will they lead you around in circles?

Take a look at this 3 minute 24 second video for some clues to creating focus and forward momentum …

Side Note: Grand children are so cute … grandparents get all of the pleasure and none of the pain:)

How to leverage the Power Of Focus Model

1. Identify your current career or business reality – be brutally honest with yourself; focus on the truth
2. Identify your values and their relative priorities – focus on what really motivates you, your values in your Motivation Code™
3. Set your vision and your goals in alignment with your values – your inner motivators
4. Identify your natural talents – focus on your Talent Code™
5. Leverage your talents for maximum productivity when working towards your goals -
6. Outsource or delegate the tasks that don’t require your primary talents – focus on productivity without burning out
7. If you need to adjust your strategy due to changing conditions, make sure all adjustments are still focused on aligning with your core values! 

Download your Power Of Focus Model in .pdf format

Share your thoughts, results and suggestions in the comments box.

What’s holding you back?

How to create momentum

Are you a career professional, an entrepreneur or a small business owner who is not yet in your Peak Performance Zone, not yet getting the results you really want and deserve?

In previous posts I’ve invited you to identify and execute your primary drivers of peak professional performance and business results, drivers that will create and maintain momentum in your career or business – your Talent Code and your Motivation Code.

If you have applied and leveraged the two scientific laws as shown in the free teleseminar Discover Your Peak Performance Zone, and have not yet achieved the forward movement and progress that you’re seeking, then you don’t need me to tell you that something is holding you back! But what exactly?

Barriers to momentum

What is holding you back, constraining you from achieving the levels of success you’ve worked so hard to achieve?

Rich Schefren, a business genius with a track record of massive success in both offline and online businesses,  describes three types of constraints to business and professional success in his training for entrepreneurs and small business owners:

1. Rational constraints – errors in your thinking
2. Procedural constraints – counterproductive work processes
3. Self-imposed constraints – necessary conditions and rules that exist only in your mind

Of course, those are pretty broad categories, and Schefren breaks each category down into its many subsets and shows you exactly how to identify and overcome your specific and unique constraints.

How to crush your constraints

Schefren’s high level coaching program, Guided Profit System 2.0,
may not be for everyone, but I encourage you to check it out right now,
as he’s offering a payment plan to make it more accessible in these
challenging economic times. I’m not sure how long the payment plan will be available.

3 reasons I endorse the system at www.GuidedProfitZone.com

1. The coaching program is based on a system, and has been scientifically trialled with outstanding results for previous students
2. The system is personalized, so that you are guided into your profit zone by identifying and overcoming your unique constraints
3. Rich Schefren is a man of integrity, who not only understands business systems, but has a deep understanding of what makes us tick as human beings – of what you want to leverage to create momentum, and what you want to eliminate to crush your constraints.

Discover how to crush your constraints at www.GuidedProfitZone.com