Business and Money Tips

With the PIC Grant , companies can claim up to $10,000 a year on internal training, i.e. their own people conducting training for their own people.  A good example would be HR Department doing Induction for new staff.  Other than that, it has become something as common as buying stationery when companies send their staff for external training .  This is because under the PIC Bonus scheme, companies get 160% of what they spend on training.  Before you sign up for your next public course , or get the trainer to come to your premise to conduct an in-house training , make sure that your next training program has the following 5 key attributes: Mix New School with Old School .  If what the trainer is doing is to replay old school principles, there won't be much value in today's context as the world is changing rapidly.  A phrase we often use in our training in describing what needs to be today in 2014 is a "time tested tactics blended with time relevant concepts". Si

In management training we know that people don't remember what a manager does for them.  But what he said will be remembered for life.  Thus instead of just saying things in a plain, old and uninspiring way, why not say it a powerful, motivating and inspiring way?  The following 5 are most powerful: I would like to hear your opinion. Wow, people love to be treated as important and want to be heard.  But you must really hear them before giving any opinion. Never give any judgement, otherwise this will be another of those 'for show' things that will not engage people and enrage them instead! I know you can do better than do .  This is often used when you want people to do difficult assignments or when their work is below your expectations.   If you were me, what would you do?  This really put them on par with you, for they now have the rare opportunity to think like you.  Great ideas will flow, and because the ideas are from them, they will execute them happily and w

Sun Tzu in the Art of War (which leaders can adopt) advocate the use of non-force to create lasting win-win battles.  However, many people still like to use force. Mention the word 'force' and many would think of violence, aggressive behaviour and verbal abuse.  In fact the problem managers face today is staff are no longer obeying their instructions.  In other words, many supervisors, managers and directors have become too soft and are not using sufficient force in their work to get things done. Over at Asia Trainers, we believe that the sufficient and appropriate use of force in your management and leadership will reap you dividends.  As revealed in our latest course " How to Be a Great Boss " on 1 March 2014 Saturday 9 am to 12.30 pm, you can use force and still get people to like you.  The 5 ways are: Pre-empt People that You'll Not Be NICE .  Because NICE means N othing I nside Me C ares E nough , and since you care for them, that's why you

In our training and coaching sessions, a question people often ask is: what is the first step to take if you want to improve your performance at work?  My answer is: Realize that Your Boss is Not Crazy. Many people often feel that they are not in control of their destiny at work and believe that it is their bosses that determine everything at work. Even if this is true (of course we don't for a moment believe in this), you can still control your fate at work.  Just start to realize that you are in control and you can do something about it. For example, you can improve your performance by becoming more efficient and more effective.   Efficiency is doing things right while effectiveness is doing the right things . You can put in more hours or even come back on Saturday/Sundays to clear the backlog .  Or you can take up some training to improve your skills, knowledge and attitude .  You can also seek help from your seniors. In fact there are countless of ways that you can d

To sell well in any market, the key is to ask and answer 5 questions well.  The 5 questions lead from one to the other.  Note that in this fast-paced business climate, you must be ready to be wrong and don't defend your answers if you think they're wrong.  Change your answers fast by taking the right action and you'll be on the road to success. The 5 Questions are: What is your Specialisation ?  Type of customer? Product or service?  Geographical area?  For us, we provide effective training on sales and management for companies in Singapore and the region.  Differentiation : How are your products and services different from others?  In what ways they are superior ?  For us, our training programs focus on easy to remember key points and practical issues.  In fact we don't train but coach people in our courses, leading to participants feeling their burden relieved.  Segmentation : What are your very best customers, the ones that appreciate your areas of specialisat

This small artist monopolised the entire Chinatown.  Yes, micro players can always monopolize the market if they do things differently.  Yes, a micro like You can become the Microsoft of your industry today.  This is because the market is not absolutely homogeneous and is heterogeneous, that is, each segment of the market is actually different.  Many small players do not realize this and make the mistake of following the market leaders blindly.  They end up with no business because customers would rather play safe and go with the leader than an unknown brand. The following are the 7 ways that any small player can monopolize the market easily: Do Things That Nobody Does .  Like NEXT Computer (1986 to 1998), it focused on the education market and avoided the rest of the market dominated by IBM-clones PCs powered by Microsoft's operating system.  In fact NEXT was so successful that Apple had to use up all its available cash to buy it over in 1998 to give Apple a headstart in its

I am always amazed that even in 2014, there are some people who still manage people like in the past. The following are the Top 5 Most Common Myths and Truths of People Management: Myth 1: You need money to motivate people Truth: Accomplishment itself is a bigger motivator , and if you use money alone, you’ll get greedy people! Look at those people cheat at mega banks and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Myth 2: You must push people to achieve Your Company's Goals  Truth: People are pushed by their own commitment than your goals. If their commitment is aligned with your goals, your goal setting will work. Otherwise, it will simply not work. Myth 3: People need to be managed and controlled  Truth: You only can manage space, time and resources. You don’t manage people, you lead people. Myth 4: Increasing sales and profits are clear goals that everyone can relate to Truth: People relate more to something bigger that matters and make a difference , like being able to con

As an employee, it is your wish to earn more but work less this year. Otherwise, how are you going to improve your quality of life and work life balance?  Unknown to many people, it is possible to work less (really work less hours) but earn more (from promotion, bonus and incentives).  The following are the 5 most common ways that we teach to our clients: Higher Skills - either move up to management level or become even more specialized and be an expert in your work.  Higher skills also mean skills that are of higher demand , like leadership, sales and communication skills.  Studies in Australia show that if you attend at least 2 courses in a month (totalling 8 hours), your chance of getting a promotion in this year increases by 43%.  One of the fastest and free ways to acquire skills is to sign up for corporate training.  Your company will be happy to pay for them because they can get $15,000 cash under the PIC Bonus scheme.  Be More Skilful , which means to be very mindful

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 empower them to put the

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 others .  When

Just because managers are successful now does not mean they will be doing well in the future. Based on  training  over several hundreds of companies in 12 countries since 1996, the following 5 are the  Must-Have Qualities that all Modern Managers  are Expected to have:  1. Follow From the Front This is about removing roadblocks from the paths of employees to help them to succeed.  It is beyond managing people to empowering and engaging people .  It is about jumping with the people. 2. Make Use of Technology like chatrooms, Facebook and Linked-in The modern manager will know what is happening faster from internet than reading newspapers, because the internet is instant while the print media is about yesterday. 3. Lead by Example Do not just give out instructions, but be the first to follow your own instructions.  Go to the scene to get the real feel and lead from the front. 4. Embrace Vulnerability Instead of playing it safe, managers must now have t

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 not really training but just a trading transaction.  True train

As we know, Sun Tzu does not advocate a martinet-style of leadership. Instead, he states that a leader must be strong enough to executive the strategy in the organization. On the other hand, the leader must also be confident and trusting enough to allow his team to carry out the strategy successfully.  It is thus both HARD and SOFT: Hard on the Problem Soft on the People .  There are 5-Ways to Sun Tzu Leadership: 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

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 · Consequences (for

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 efficienc

As a person that has gone through many formal (e.g. MBA) and informal training, I realize that very few teach us how to manage the business in a downturn. Turn open the newspaper and you'll find talks advocating "how to build a brand that lasts", "how to increase sales easily" etc. Most of them are talking about how to do things in a normal economy. But we know that currently the economy, especially Singapore, is in decline. There is no growth in the July to September 2013 Quarter. In short, hang cheng pai or 行情坏！ In bad times, here are the 5 things you must do to manage your team: Need not use money as a motivator - because everyone is cutting bonuses, if you just maintain last year's bonus, you're already paying higher than market!  Leadership is most critical . In good times, even if you have a lousy or absent leader, the business will still grow. But now if your managers are a little ineffective, you can see all the ill effects in the business.

Your purpose as a manager or employee is to get things done, not to impress your boss. But we know that to get more things done you need to impress your boss so that he will trust you and pass to you more things. Here are the 7 Easy Ways that Anyone Can Impress their Boss Without Licking his Boots: Be Frank and Open . Admit mistakes. Never shade truth.  This is key to gaining long term trust Help Your Boss to Be Right . This is not being subservient or time-serving, but means you support your boss in whatever ways so that he can be right.  For example, you help him to improve his writing so that he will not be mis-understood.  Respond Fast or at least Show him Enthusiasm .  Show a Can-Do attitude, not 'See-What-I-Can-Do' style Handle your personal problems well so that he knows you can be trusted to handle the organization's problems. For example, don't have frantic calls from your family members frequently. Protect him with your willingness to take the '

Yesterday my blog about how to solve problems the SAD Way (See-Address-Do) Way has made some people sad. Today I'm going to make you HAPPY: the proven way to Build Great Teams: H - Harmonize the team, conflicts should be put aside first A - Align the different goals of the team to that of the organization. P - Purpose : find a common purpose for all P - Path : create the path to achieve the common purpose Y - Get people to say ' Yes ' to commit and do the path created above A typical team-building session using HAPPY would run like this: Harmonize : Get everyone to write down their differences and agree to harmonize, i.e. work through the differences; Goal Alignment Session t o align the different goals to the organization's goals.  Eg Sales Department goal of 20% growth must be aligned to company's profit goals Purpose : Find a common purpose that will get people charging. Like to beat the competitor; Path : here will be the detailed Road Maps and

As we know, the workplace today is very different from the workplace of yesterday, yet how many people are doing the following 5 right things? From hierarchies to a more flattened structure , so there are less people doing work and one-man-operations is very common. There is no more such thing as senior people or junior people but people that interact and people that don't interact. Obviously those that don't interact are losing out as no one is helping them! From hoarded information to shared information . Yes, instead of managers holding some privileged information, information are now shared instantaneously on What's App, Line, twitter and facebook. In fact even SMS is dying. If you are still using your smartphone only for reading e-mails, you are becoming another Nokia. From fear-based leadership to Empowering and Inspiring Leadership .  Smart leaders understand the concept of following from the front, not just leading from the front.  Following from the front mea

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