Business and Money Tips

Every salesperson (including those not selling but are in management) wants to know the fastest and easiest way to make the sale. One day I asked an audience of insurance salespeople, "How many of you would like it if I gave you a list of people who wanted to buy insurance now? Everyone raised their hand. Hint: There is no such list. The one-word meaning of sales is "WORK". The 2-word meaning of sales is "WORK HARD".  How Do I Make a Cold Call? There answer is, "Don't". Don't make a cold call. Make a warm call. Warm up the cold call and you'll get your results improved by 27%. Guaranteed. Instead of calling people and look for "Mr Andy", tell the other side that "I've been asked to give Andy a call". If they asked you "What's it regarding?" You don't answer it. You just say, "I don't know. I have been asked to give Mr Andy a call. Is he in?" Using this script wi...

Over the weekend, I learnt a very powerful lesson from Simon Sinek at TED: the WHY HOW WHAT model of high performance   Most people are very good in explaining WHAT, like a manager telling his team member what are the things to do to get a job done right.   Many managers are even better in detailing the HOW, like all the SOPs and procedures to do the WHAT.   Almost no mangers bother to explain the WHY : the purpose and reason behind the reason for doing the task.  We all know that without a strong WHY, there is little push for a person to do a job well.  That’s why many people produce mediocre work: they just go through the motion and getting all the steps done right but you as a manager know that something is missing .   It’s the little thing that’s missing that is causing performance to be average and not great. That little thing is the WHY.   You sell, Apple's Steve Jobs did not go out to tell people what are its...

I watched Hong Kong's TVB police drama series "Mysteries of Love" and was impressed that the police made use of Physics to solve many perplex serious crimes.  Even if you were not an engineer, chemist or mathematician by training, you know that Physics is actually common sense and you too can apply Physics to everyday life. Like Newton's 3rd law. Every Action of a Force Produces an Equal and Opposite Reaction. Newton said that any force applied to a body produces an equal and opposite reaction force in that body. In other words, for every action there is an reaction . When applied to management, it includes: If I treat people with respect, they will return their respect to me equally; If I mistreat people with disrespect, they too will return their disrespect to me. If I work hard, even though I may not see the results today, there will be a reaction in the marketplace . E.g. a salesperson sent out many empowering e-mails to his...

If you were like most people working for a while, you'll realize that many people see work as one or a combination of the 4 confusions: Work as Drudgery, Work as War, Work as Addiction and Work as Problem.  The earlier you see through these confusions, the happier you will become. Soon work will become no more confusing but with lots of clarity!  The 4 confusions are:   1.   Work as Drudgery     Here we see work as drudgery and only necessary to give us a pay check so that we can have a life.  Job become a tax that we must pay before we can go home. We become deaf and dumb and unable to contribute meaningfully to our employer.  What You Can Do: Recognize that w ork is not the real drudgery but your unwillingness to be interested in your work.   It's time to get passionate about your job!  2. Work as War Here is a lose-win mentality.  Such aggressive approach to work imprisons us in a constant impulse to maintain our poin...

Sounds strange, isn't it? The first step to lead better is to recognize that you're Not a leader.  In fact you are not defined by any title you may have, e.g. Manager, Director, Specialist.  As a Leader, You Are NOT a Leader.  You Lead .  Short and simple.  If you keep thinking that you're a leader, you will miss out the important things in leadership, which is to be  alert to what's happening . You need to  listen well, know how are people feeling, and really get to the bottom of issues .  But you can't do this unless you get rid of the thinking that you are the leader.  You must not have the mistaken belief that you are your job. Because such thinking only clouds your thinking and distracts you from leading.  When you lead, you  let go of any self-ego   that you may have and you can be authentic, knowing who you are and where you are.  It's only when you are where you are that you will become more curious about oth...

It's inevitable that we make mistakes at work and in life. Some are small, like calling the wrong number, while others are big, like allowing fraud to happen or even committing fraud. Of course no one in this world intentionally want to make mistakes, and everyone dislike mistakes. This is because mistakes create confusion and doubts and leave us feeling inadequate and embarrassed. Because of this, we tend to treat mistakes more as enemies than teachers.  We want to annihilate mistakes at all costs.  Since mistakes already made cannot be undone, we often end up covering mistakes, and worst still, justifying mistakes . There was this guy that I know from my training assignments.  He was a Vice President of a large MNC, and he is very skilled at avoiding responsibility and placing blame. For example, if his department is spending over the budget, he would 'calmly' recall that he had make an adjustment to his budget 6 months ago and was 'surprised' that the acc...

When we think of work, we often think of drudgery, frustration and stress.  For too many of us, work is the last place we think of if today is our last day on this earth.  Few people expect work to be happy, full of joy and satisfaction.  In fact many people said that it's because of family and life that they have to work. We spend 2/3 of our lives at work, and all our studies in schools are for preparation of work.  If work is really such a pain, aren't we become 'miserable' beings instead of human beings? Rather than consider work as difficult, can we instead acknowledge work, with all its difficulties, as an invitation to wake up and live our lives honestly and fully? I believe that if we all can awake to the fact that work is actually a means to make us more human , we will consider work as something good to have. There are 5 things that Work is Good for Us: It is the best training ground for life skills.  A person cannot be street-smart until h...

As we know, Sun Tze does not advocate a martinet-style of leadership.  Instead, he states that a leader must be strong enough to impose the strategy in the organization, but also confident and trusting enough to allow his team members to carry it out successfully.  There are thus 5-Ways of Leadership with Sun Tzu Art of War: Build Your Character, not just Your Image .  To Sun Tzu, a leader must be courageous, sincere and yet humane. But a leader must always appear to be in control of the situation, exuding confidence and assurance at all times. This confidence is not a facade, but based on true inside confidence. In short, if the leader has even one doubt, his followers will have several . Lead with Actions, Not Just Words .  The best way to show your character is not to talk about it, but set the example. Talk is cheap.  You should never say one thing and focus on another.  Share Your Team's Trials, Not Just Their Triumphs .  If you expect your...

It always amazes me to see how our good government come up with so many handout schemes for businesses, like free consultancy, free ISO etc. Handouts are good, but for how long?  As a entrepreneur, the motivating factor is not free money, but an environment where they can have a fair fight and prove their capabilities. So when the government gives out money to the small businesses, they government need to follow-up with more business opportunities. Otherwise, the money is not put to good use.  We know that in business money grows money, and handouts are good if they can be put to good use to generate more business. Otherwise, the money will be gone in no time. What I think the government should do to give more business opportunities for small businesses include: Law requiring the public sector and all big companies to, before asking for quotes from foreign companies, to put up their purchase requisition in a website whereby  only local companies can quote, say ...

Everyone spends two-thirds of their waking hours working, including commuting to work and talking and thinking about work issues even if they are off work.  It's thus paramount that people must be happy at work or life would be so miserable.   The sad truth is that happiness , like all phenomena, is impermanent. It lasts for only one moment : if the next moment doesn't have peace of mind, concentration and mindfulness, happiness will disappear.  Just talk to the man who was happily drinking and driving until an accident happen and you'll know what I'm talking about.   The happy truth is that since happiness is impermanent, it can be renewed . And it can be r enewed by anyone, at any time, at any where and everywhere .  Most of the time, renewal is costless.   All you need is to have the right thought.  The secret to happiness at work is to have renewals of happiness . Everyone has plenty of ideas how to renew happiness, like sing song...

1.     Define the task, output clearly. Use this SMART criteria ( specific, measurable, achievable, results wanted and timing) 2.    Delegate to a person with demonstrated competence  (this is not training, you are delegating an important task, don't leave to chance) 3. Explain the task clearly, preferably in writing (this will reduce misunderstanding & mistakes) 4. Invite questions and feedback ( Ask: "Can you show me how you're going to do it?") 5. Give a schedule, deadline  (Always leave some buffer in case of mistakes by giving a tighter deadline) 6. Inspect what you expect (surprise audit is the best) Remember, Delegation is not abdication, this means responsibility still lies with you and YOU are still answerable.  FOR A LARGE JOB, SET UP A DELEGATION AGREEMENT WHICH STATES:- · Intended outcome · Required resources · Completion deadline · Benchmarks (how can you measure progress) · Accountability · C...

In any organization, there are 2 kinds of middle managers: The first type are those who get the work done but never think beyond what need to be completed in the medium term. Though they may work hard and have good intentions, they fail to see the big picture, and thus add little value to the functions they manage. In short, they are 'good managers'.  E.g the Finance Manager at JPMorgan Chase Bank who got the monthly accounts out on time but never warn the management about the risk in investing in so called 'secure' mortgage securities. The second type are those  High Value Middle Managers who see the big picture.  They know how to manage operational practices and execute tactical goals to support strategic initiatives. They add value to their organization and thus elevate their position from that of a middle man to a key player.  You know it when you come across one (or when you yourself are one). High Value Middle Managers operate at peak effici...

Let me go straight: You need to Know What's Most Important so that you can focus your resources on this, otherwise you would be losing focus and getting less than what you want.  No matter what, don't turn back, just keep on moving forward... 1. If You're a Big Company (with more than 100 staff): ENTREPRENEURSHIP . The bigger the company, the less risk adverse are the people as most of them would be concerned with their own career rather than the company's growth. Also, the company's structure makes it difficult to do things that are outside the company's policies and procedures.  Hence most employees would play it safe and inside their comfort zone.  Thus the company's management would need to lead the staff in comfort zone to be more entrepreneurial, take risks and try different things.  Otherwise, the company would end up like Nokia, Blackberry and Motorola - all former top 3 in mobile phones now occupying less than 15% combined market ...

Yes, business as usual is dead long ago, which I'm sure you're aware of this long ago. 'As usual' means companies, employers and the government are in full control. Today we know the person using his mobile phone, phablet, tablet and laptop can exert so much control that no one can ever imagine. If you're still doing business the same old way as before, you're heading for trouble. Here are 5 things that you must know and do: 1.   What People Say About You = Your Reputation A company's branding is no longer built on massive advertising that builds up its name. Instead, a company's branding is built on what people say about you on social media like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Just look at the massive unhappiness about the non-issuance of TV license to Hong Kong TV and you'll know what I'm talking about. The Hong Kong Government is now facing a confidence shake-out that it lacks transparency, meritocracy and disclosure. If you were a M...

What do you do when your potential client asks, "How much do you charge for your service?" This is a money question. Indeed such money question forces you to confront your sense of self-worth. In other words, what's your self-worth? It takes courage - to place a fair but generous price on your expertise and the time taken to get that expertise. Definitely not the time it takes to do the work, but the time it takes to be able to do the work. Just like we don't pay our Dentist by time, we pay him by his ability to do his work well, regardless of the actual time taken. Sometimes like in the dentist case, the shorter the time, the better it is and the higher is his fee.   In my seminars and trainings, I have always worked toward the goal of giving my participants more than their money's worth. Because I know that when I dedicate myself to raising the top (quality) rather than lowering the bottom (cost), everybody wins. Money is worth and worth is meas...

Sun Tzu in the Art of War stated that all war is based on deception.  Does he mean to cheat?  Of course not. What Sun Tzu means is that we need to adjust the enemy's perception so that 'when able to attack we must seem weak, and when weak must appear to be strong'. The reason is that people simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are, or the way they should be. Also, our attitudes and behaviours grow out of these assumptions.  In other words, we are not really seeing, but perceiving. Pick up the phone now and call your own company pretending to be a customer.  How are you treated?  If you are going to adequately manage other people's perception of your company you need to know what that perception is. This is not an exercise to catch people out but to find areas of improvement.  Like my seminar clients, you'll be surprised that the way your people answer the phone is not every business friendly! In business it is imperative...

Yes, it has been getting more competitive today to sell. In the process of Pitching, i.e. multi-stage selling, every detail must be well executed if you want to clinch that coveted deal that everyone is eyeing for.  The stages involved in the sales pitch starts with a meeting, followed by a formal, stand-up presentation. Even if the prospect decides in your favour, you need to follow-up till the end, as anything can change until you sign the deal.  It should be noted that pitching is process that is cumulative, this means that each stage must be completed to the satisfaction of the other other or you will be wasting your time and effort . To pitch successfully, you need to press the prospect's hot button.  Hot button is not to be confused with Benefits or Emotions, nor is it about Fear and Force. In sales, a Hot button is a Trigger that once activated, the person will NOT go back to the original state of mind . This means that when you press the hot button, a sa...

1. Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it. 2. Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Just as the candle won't be shortened, one's happiness never decreases by being shared. 3. The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly. 4. Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world. 5. If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. 6. Let us all be thankful for this day, for we have learned a great deal; if we have not learned a great deal, then at least we learned slightly; if we did not learn slightly, then at least we did not become sick; if we did become sick, then at least we did not die. So, let us all be thankful. 7. On life's jou...

Whenever I ask business owners the question, 'What is the purpose of a business?' I often get the following response: 'To make a profit!’ That answer pinpoints why so many businesses struggle to survive, let alone grow. That answer is centred on the desires of the business owner, not on the needs and desires of their customers. Imagine walking up to a potential customer and saying, 'Hello. My purpose is to make a nice, big profit from you today!'   That would be what we call a 'repelling' action, not an 'attracting' action.  Here's a much more powerful and profitable definition of the purpose of a business: To attract and serve the needs of as many customers as possible at an acceptable profit. Did you notice where the profit came in? Not at the beginning where most people put it, but at the end. Profit is the 'result' of how well you serve your customers needs. Focus on serving your customers better than your competition --...