Monday, February 29, 2016
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Monday, February 22, 2016
How to Stay Relevant and Current in Changing Times
It seems one of the biggest challenges for leaders today is how to remain current and relevant in such changing times.
More than 3,000 books are published daily (and I am not talking electronic books), and there are more text messages sent and received on a daily basis than there are people on the planet!
Our access to information via Google and other online sources is enormous. How do you stay relevant with so much information available to you?
It’s not the information age; it’s the age of over information!
To stay current and relevant today you need to educate yourself, energize your skills, embrace technology and engage in social media. Do you want people to pay attention to your company, your team and your results – use these strategies to attract and keep attention on what matters.
Just like in school where every year you got an annual report card as a snapshot of where you were at, this month decide to measure how relevant are you in your organization?
Leaders today need to focus on four areas to stay relevant in such dynamic times.
Educate Yourself
Is your personal education adding value to your conversations each day and managing your team? If not, what actions do you need to take to increase your education? Can you attend industry event and conferences? Can you complete online webinars and programs to bridge any gaps in your learning? Is it time to invest in watching TED talks of thought leaders in your area? Can you hire a mentor to provide an accelerated learning process? It’s up to you… not your boss or your clients to tell you. If you want to add value to your team, your industry and yourself – get educated.
Energize Skills
When was the last time you did a personal skills audit? Often it isn’t until leaders want to make a change of job or industry that they stop to update their resume. If you want to say truly relevant in your organization choose to accelerate this process and allocate time to a review. What one skill are you good at that would impact your business the most? Focus your attention on getting even better at that one skill and accelerate your results – get energized.
Embrace Technology
Are you across the latest time-saving technologies for your everyday activities? Have you found a cell phone that can help you achieve the demands of your communications needs? Is your computer system helping you achieve the results you want … or … are you putting up with slow machines, outdated equipment, and redundant applications? Challenge yourself to embrace the technologies that are most relevant for you and your clients. This may mean upgrading some areas of your technology, investigating the latest apps and spending time and money in new systems. If you want to amplify your message using platforms including social media and apps – start embracing.
Engage Social Media
According to Fast Company magazine, 78.6% of sales people using social media to sell outperformed those who weren’t using social media. They went on to say when it came to exceeding sales quota (by more than 10%); social media users were 23% more successful than their non-social media peers.
Social media is not a passing fab.
You don’t have to participate on every platform however now is the time to engage in conversation with your clients on the platforms most suitable for them. At a minimum every professional needs a LinkedIn profile (consider it your own personal website). How current is your photo? Your skills listed, your experiences – spend time today updating it. Do your clients hang out on Facebook? Is your business page regularly providing value to your readers to advance your message? Are you participating in conversations on Twitter with your community. Find the platform most beneficial for you and your clients and advance your conversations using this too – get engaged!
What are your ideas on how you can stay relevant in such changing times? Share your ideas with us here on our blog.
The post How to Stay Relevant and Current in Changing Times appeared first on Neen James.
Don’t Sprint the Marathon: Positive Changes take Pacing – Guest Blog by Tami Evans
As someone who started running and then ran a marathon in 6 months later (crazy I know), I ran really slowly and I loved every step of it. It’s incredible what you can achieve when you pay attention to what matters. I loved Tami’s blog and thought you might too.
Enjoy,
Neen
26.2
You’ve probably seen the sticker, and chances are you know someone who actually earned the sticker. 26.2 This number represents the amount of miles run to complete a marathon. It takes the average marathon runner 4 ½ hours to do it.
As a runner… well, a slogger (slow + jogger)… my sticker would only read 3 which is the number of miles I am able to complete a few times per week – and it takes me about 30 minutes. But even on my relatively short shuffle, I have to pace myself – If I tried to run my 3 miles in 15 minutes, I would fail.
So, you know that bright shiny feeling of power you feel facing this new year? Perhaps you named a few new behaviors you were excited about incorporating? You feel full of potential and able to achieve your most elusive goal?
Pace yourself.
The positive changes most of us want to incorporate are BIG changes – otherwise we would have made them on a random Tuesday last November. And big changes are like a marathon. You can’t sprint a marathon. Don’t expect to hit mile markers every day, every week even, but do keep moving toward the finish line.
If you start to feel the familiar urge to chuck it all and revert back to old habits, or think “Holy wha! Look at the pile of stuff on my to-do list, how did I think I would have time to make a change?!?” Please don’t give up the race. Rather, step off to the side for a quick slug of water and a hamstring stretch. Then take a deep breath and get back in there, moving forward, slowly one step at a time. Even if you find yourself back at the starting line – keep starting!
It may take all 52 weeks to complete your goal or institute your positive behavior change. So what if it takes all year? At the end of 52 weeks you will have achieved a major accomplishment. Which is a heck of a lot more than you will achieve if you step out of the race because it takes longer than you would like.
You decided on this positive change for YOU. Don’t let anyone or anything muck up your marathon. Now, lace up and let’s get going!
Meet Tami Evans – quirky chic and, WOW, she can speak!
Genuine and funny, motivational speaker Tami Evans specializes in crucial content with heaps of humor! Her eloquent and engaging keynote programs are perfect for national conventions and conferences, for Associations & Organizations, teacher in-service programs, kick-off meetings, lunch & learn sessions, and more!
The post Don’t Sprint the Marathon: Positive Changes take Pacing – Guest Blog by Tami Evans appeared first on Neen James.
Monday, February 15, 2016
Stop Being Rude
When did it become acceptable to be rude by paying more attention to our gadgets than to each other? How often have you witnessed people failing to pay attention to those around them because they are looking down at their phone? Are you guilty of this behavior? I believe it’s something most of us struggle with and must resolve to change.
Whether you are with people you know, or interacting with a stranger, it’s time to stop being rude.
Watch my 3 tips to stopping rude behavior, being kind and connecting with those around you. Give your attention to those that matter most.
Can you commit to paying more attention?
Can you commit to putting down the device and connect with those around you?
Leave your comments for how you will begin to pay attention and connect with those that matter.
The post Stop Being Rude appeared first on Neen James.
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
Monday, February 08, 2016
Be a Force of Nature
An ah-mazing speaker I admire with a brilliant mind interviewed me for an industry program and I was so flattered by his introduction, he said ‘she is a force of nature’ – it stopped me in my tracks, made me smile and I wondered what does that mean?
When you call someone a force of nature it means the person has a strong personality or character — like a hurricane or a tsunami – they might be full of energy, unstoppable, unchallengeable, unforgettable. In summary, a person to be reckoned with – that made me smile even more!
Are you a force of nature?
What is your energy level? Your drive? Your confidence level?
Can you be, as the great speaker Patrick Henry says, ‘Remember-able?’
I am surrounded by people who are forces of nature. It’s fun to observe them, debrief their actions that impresses me.
Listed below are observations we can all apply at work, at home, and in our community.
Make people matter – be fully focused. Can you give someone the gift of your undivided attention so they realize they are the most important person you are talking in that moment in time? This means STOP looking at your cell phone and look someone in the eye. Stop making technology more important than people. Please put your cell phone away.
Invest wisely – be deliberate with how you invest your time, energy and attention to the people and the projects that will give you the best ROA (return on attention). Say ‘no’ to the things that don’t matter. We have a mantra in our office that says ‘if it’s not yes, it’s no’. It sounds simple and it’s incredibly liberating when you do it. Stop wasting time in indecision. Make a decision and move on.
Enter energetically – your energy is contagious. You can change the energy of a conversation, presentation or the feeling of a room simply by the way you enter it. Show us as the best version of yourself as you walk in with assumption that everyone wants to play with you (that’s my belief). This means walking in confidently, with a real smile on your face and not looking at your cell phone. It means extending your hand first to shake hands, it means not looking like the ‘bag lady’ weighed down with too many bags, coffee mugs and clutter. Stop walking into meetings connected to devices, clearing emails and not acknowledging your team members. Make people matter.
Attention pays. Paying attention increases profitability, productivity and accountability.
I challenge you, today to make someone feel like they are the most important person you have met, talked to, texted, called, or seen. People want to be seen and heard. The forces of nature I have in my life have mastered this skill. Be a force of nature today.
Many of you have shared you want to be more productive this year. Our new online Folding Time Mentoring Program has just been released, check it out and each month I will pop into your inbox (well not literally) with videos, blogs, white papers, interviews, templates and all kinds of goodies – sign up today!
The post Be a Force of Nature appeared first on Neen James.
Monday, February 01, 2016
“Eyes Full of Dreams” Book Review
“Eyes Full of Dreams” is a wonderful book written by Scott Ginsberg, aka: Name Tag Scott.
Scott is a brilliant professional speaker, writer, photographer and songwriter. His new book is an interactive, fun and thought provoking resource for anyone who wants to pay attention to what matters.
Pick up a copy of “Eyes Full of Dreams” and set goals for yourself that will help you focus and pay attention to how you can increase profits, build lasting relationships and cultivate business.
To learn more about Scott and his work on “Eyes Full of Dreams,” go to http://ift.tt/1c22YGO. Learn more about him, or check out his TEDx speaking event here. Follow, watch and learn from Scott. He knows how to get attention for his message the RIGHT way.
The post “Eyes Full of Dreams” Book Review appeared first on Neen James.
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