Business and Money Tips

(Note: This article appeared on The Straits Times on 5 May 2015 page 18, you can also read this at here ) Are you a good boss?  Given a chance, would your employees want to work for you?  Most importantly, are you able to make people better than themselves, or make people better for just yourself?   Make no mistake: the best bosses could also be bad bosses at times.  The key to being a good boss is  how to Be the best, and learn from the Worst .  Taken from our all-time best-seller new course  How to Be a Great Boss  and books from Robert I Sutton, there are 5 things that you have to do: Don't Crush the Bird .  Managing people is like holding a bird in your hand.  If you hold it too tightly, you'll kill it. But if you let loose, you'll lose it.  Indeed managers that are too aggressive will damage relationships and managers that are too passive and not assertive enough will get people climb over their heads.  Like s...

The dumbest idea in the world must be to think that you are the problem. The smartest idea in the world must be to separate people from the problem. All the world's wars are created when people think that people are the problem, when in fact there is a problem in people. When you lump people with their problem, you become personal in your dealings with them.  Like when a service staff is rude to me, I make personal attacks if I think the staff is the problem, when in fact it is the service of the staff that is the problem. The wisest idea in the world is to firstly see ourselves as not our problems .  If not, how can we solve any problem in the world? The second step to solving any problem must be to know the root cause of the problem, followed by finding the solution to the problem.  The fourth and final step is to solve the problem.  If you too want to make your Chinese New Year holidays meaningful, put in good food for your brain.  Come for this r...

Note: The next How to Be a Great Boss is confirmed on 9 Dec 2014 Tuesday 2 to 5.30 pm.  Limited seats, register via text to 8201-4347 now. If you don’t like the title of this article, read on. By ‘ boss ’ here, I am referring to a person that an employee reports to. That reporting boss can be a customer, the shareholders, superior and in some cases, the government. Today I shall focus on your superior, that is, someone that you report to in your work. Most of the time this person is a manager or supervisor. Whenever an employee has a performance issue, most managers will assume it is the lack of training. As a trainer with 18 years of experience training 81,131 people in 14 countries since 1996, I know that many a times it is not the lack of training . It may not even be the lack of skills or attitude. The biggest obstacle to an employee not performing well is not about not knowing what to do. The biggest obstacle is Interferences from Bosses. The following are th...

Every boss has some expectations of you but may not let you know. With a little heart and determination, you'll can meet the following 5 common things that will go a long way in your career: Volunteer to report work status and never wait for your boss to ask you about it.   Take Criticism positively, not personally.  See the criticism as a well-meaning challenge to bring out the best in you. Use your own money for the company and don't let your boss know about it.  Be helpful. Teamwork is a key factor that every boss is looking for in an employee. Never repeat your mistakes. Remember, 2nd mistake is called Careless, whereas 3rd time mistake is called Intentional while 4th time same mistake is called Sabotage. By Andy Ng of Asia Trainers