Business and Money Tips

Most managers are promoted based on their technical expertise.  For example, if you are a good engineer, you will be promoted to an Engineering Manager. After being promoted, managers are expected to perform their managerial and leadership roles well, on top of also performing their technical roles well. And when managers have problems, they often consult their bosses.  Unfortunately their bosses too have no formal training on management and leadership.  Even if they have a MBA, it is the day-to-day people management issues that make bosses headache. For example, many companies until now still cannot cope with the tightening of foreign labour .  Unable to find locals to take up jobs, they choose the obvious route: cut down business.  That's why you see Robinsons shrinking and many restaurant groups reducing their outlets.  Other than people issues, managers are always in a c...

(Note: You can take advantage of $500 Training Credit now, not 2016, details at  here ) It's every manager or leader's dream to find the right staff to work for them so that they achieve more with less time.  There are 5 steps to getting the right people each and every time: Look for People that Have the Potential to Do Better Than What They Are Doing Now.  This means you cannot be looking for high flyers who are now having a very successful career.  You are looking for the hidden gems: people who are good but do not have a good career right now.   Offer them a salary that's higher than what they asked for.  This will lock in their interest and commitment in you.  Also offer increase in salary after probation or upon completion of certain Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Be Generous in Your Incentives .  Offer 3-tiers of incentives: high rewards for achievement of 'impossible' targets, rewards for achievement of mutually agreed targets ...

We all know that a good manager is one that does not treat his staff well, a good manager is one that treats all his staff well. There is simply no differentiation in his management and leadership style as this good manager always put people's interests above his. A good manager is not god, nor is he a godfather.  He is also not a magician, for  he cannot turn people around overnight. It takes about at least 4 weeks to turn people around. The first week is to ensure he got the right people on his team. The following week is to improve his team's teamwork.  The 3rd week is to lead them to greater heights and finally in the 4th week he communicates his grand turnaround plan to his team. Whether you are now running around or running people around, you need to be trained to be a better manager. This course How to Be a Better Manager (details at here ) will turn you around, provided you dare to invest 4 weeks in yourself.  To get a special deal for thi...

‘THE 22 IMMUTABLE LAWS OF MARKETING’ book  written by Al Ries and Jack Trout is a wonderful book. I realise that we too can apply the laws to management.  In fact the world's 2 most preferred employers Google and Facebook use many of these 8 laws:  1.       Law of Leadership  – Be a Good Leader first then be a Good Manager. (Be a better manager in 4 weeks at here ) 2.       Law of Mind  –  it’s better to be the first in the mind than to be the first in the marketplace .   Once a mind is made up, it rarely changes.   So make a strong name in your people's minds that you are an Effective Manager (details at here ).  3.       Law of Perception  – management is  not a battle of ideas  but a  battle of perceptions .  All ideas is relative.   Management is a  manipulation of perceptions .  Make sure your people perceive you to be ...

Give us 4 weeks and we'll turn your managers into better managers at here Although few dare to admit, we know that many managers are not real managers because they lack power. Some are at the mercy of their staff, while others are so dependent on their bosses that they are just figure heads or administrators.   To be a real manager takes 4 things as follows: 1.  Have the Right Skills, Beliefs and Identity of a Manager .  The believe in the impossible and the identity of a can-do and a Solution Provider.  The 6 skills to posses include: Planning, especially budgeting and forecasting Decision-making, especially taking risk People Management, in terms of handling difficult people and get people to work for you Leadership, to be important, not impotent Communication, how to get your message across and influence people Business Strategy and Growing the Business, this must be the most important skill of all 2.   Have the Opportunity to Excel, to Real...

*Read Negative Strategies that Work Better at here * They say either you fire them up or you'll have to fire them (article at here ) Behavioural scientists said that the difference in a person's performance, under different situations, can be as wide as 90%. As much as 80% of that difference can be attributed to the conditions and environment that a person is in. That's why in our management training  (discover 'The 4 Weeks' at here ) we teach people that a manager's job is not to hire the best people available, but to make the best out of the people available . A good manager is one that can turn a mediocre performer into a star performer as long as he can create the conditions and environment for people to perform. The 7 conditions and environment are: 1. Open and Transparent environment , where people can see directly what are the rules of the game and what they can do and cannot do. People will then use their resources to create the best performance p...

* Next Sun Tzu Art of War for Leadership is on 17 March 2015 Tuesday 9 am to 1 pm.  Details at here Sun Tzu is the one that truly understands war. He said that because war is expensive, we must avoid war at all cost. That's why he advocates Strategy and not Force.  The highest strategy is to win without fighting. What does this means in People Management and Human Resource Management?  (How to Be a Better Manager is here ) 1. Salary Instead of paying top salaries, we attract talents to join us by giving them attractive incentives, fast career growth, solid training and love and care. 2. Self Management Because management is expensive, we empower people so that they can do more and be responsible for their own results. In this way there is no need for a manager or supervisor as each staff runs as though he is running his own business. 3. KPIs Sun Tzu is all about planning your strategies and adapting them to the situation. So is KPIs - Key Performance Ind...

Just changed your smartphone and want to quickly transfer all your data like Contacts, Messages, Photos and Music from one phone to another?  Whether you're switching from Samsung to iPhone or from Samsung to iPhone, download this app called "Smart Switch" and you can easily transfer files in just 3 simple steps: Activate Smart Switch app on both devices Select what you want to send from one device to another Send the data and check on the receiving device if everything is in order How about transferring of learning, whether from training courses or from teachings from experienced staff?  Just follow the following 3 simple steps: Make sure both have the same software, which in this case means both must have the same mindset.  Like in our courses How to Be a Better Manager and Sales Power , we told the participants at the beginning of the course that the only mindset to have to ensure you can transfer learning to the workplace is " Just Do It ".  To m...

If you are like most managers, you would probably find that you are lacking in certain skills. This lack is causing you delay in your career growth. Worst of all, your boss expects you to know all and your subordinates are watching you every day.    The truth is that most managers and supervisors are promoted based on their technical skills, and yet it is the managerial and leadership skills that will make them more successful. In this Power-packed How to Be a Better Manager or Supervisor program, you will learn proven strategies to improve presentation, negotiation, and how you can manage your team & boss. Focused around Asia Coaching Training coaching and training materials used in 39,871 companies worldwide since 1993, you will find the strategies you need to implement significant changes in your career.  The 4 key areas covered are People Management, Teambuilding, Leadership and Communication.  This management development program is for managers, b...

For decades, businesses have been trying to discover the formula for the 'perfect' manager.  There are tons of books, blog posts and editorial articles out there, and even training courses on how to be a better manager .  While I cannot claim to have unlocked the secret theory of management, discussions with bosses and managers since 1987 revealed the following 5 traits of a 'perfect' manager: 1. Know How to Be Tough Many managers are know to be tough to themselves, tough to their customers and sub-contractors and even tough to their families but soft on their team members. The reason is the lack of people working due to the tight labour market and the ban on foreign workers in many industries.  As a result, managers are too pleasing and let the subordinates climb over their heads. On the other hand, there are some managers that are too tough that they become abusive, aggressive and hated by people.  Such managers end up with zero staff and have to work till m...

As we know, the job of a manager is to get the highest performance from its available people.  Bosses often expect managers to be coaching and guiding their team, and turn people with negative mindset into positive mindst.  In our courses , we teach the 8 Ways to Turn People from Negative into Positive Mindset as follows: Give Incentives, especially monetary incentives , for display of positive attitude.  This always work, even if the amount is small, because people appreciate such tokens Train them, coach them and educate them. If you cannot do this on your own, it makes sense to send them for external training Give them 2 choices , and let them know of the consequences of their choices.  People often prefer the positive attitude choice as they shun the negative consequences Peer pressure always work, for no one wants to be the odd one out.  Like in wedding dinners, peer pressure will turn non-drinkers into drinkers Assume that they are positive, and ...

We all met such a person before: one who never fails to catch up the latest fad in management and sales and knows more than trainers.  But when you ask him which knowledge he has applied in his daily work, he will remark, "Not yet". We call such a person an Intelligent Fool.  Many a times such a person will go to great lengths to prove that he is right and you are wrong.  He is highly intelligent as a book smart. On the other hand, there is the Practical Wizard : one who is very down to earth and applies knowledge on a daily basis.   It's obvious who gains the most: the Practical Wizard will gain the most while the Intelligent Fool is still occupied with proving that he is right!  There are 5 Ways to apply knowledge into work: Apply Immediately .  Strike while the iron is hot and apply the concepts immediately. In all our training we create a '30-Day Action Plan' where we give out prizes to those that complete the best Action Plan.  Teach ot...

We all know how hard it is to find a  good boss.  If you happen to be one, you can do the following 5 things that will make all your  employees  want to work for you without remuneration: Believe in them .  This must be the biggest reward for any person, for we often see doubters but hard to find people who truly believe in us. You believe that they can do beyond what you’re seeing now, that they are self-directed and can be trusted at all times. Such strong faith will turn all ordinary employees into extra-ordinary employees. Train them . Yes,  training  is considered a luxury in many smaller companies but all big MNCs over-train people. The 3 most important skills that you should equip your staff include  communication skills ,  people management skills  and  leadership skills . You must train people without condition.   Do not demand that they must return the benefits to the company, for doing so is ...

As we know, management is an art and not a science, and the best managers do not manage at all, for they make people better than themselves .   I follow the 8-Path Wisdom in Management as follows, using how to ensure people hit their targets as a case study:  Right Understanding Do we have the right understanding on the reasons for people not hitting their targets?  Is it due to lack of skills, motivation or attitude? Right Intent Is hitting targets our intention?  Or making people perform at the highest level possible our intent? Right Action What is the Right Action to Take if Lack of Skills is the reason for people not performing at the right level?  Let's say it is weekly training, plus monthly new challenges.  Right Effort What is the most positive action, every day, in both ourselves and our team?  How can we engage our people so that their  efforts becomes more effective? ...