Business and Money Tips

Latest from Gallup: Only about 30% of US employees are engaged in their jobs.  Such employees have managers who encourage their development and focus on their strengths. The remaining 70% of employees are either not engaged at work (50% of all employees) or actively disengaged (20%). Worldwide, only 13% of employees are engaged. Who engages employees? People with the talent to manage teams. Gallup scientists have found that managers account for 70% of variance in employee engagement scores across business units.  The problem is, every day, thousands of employees are named “manager” or “supervisor” who have little to no capacity to perform that task. Gallup has uncovered that companies fail to choose the candidate with the right person talent for the job of manager 82% of the time. Those companies are wasting time and resources attempting to train bad managers to be who they’re not. There’s a reason for this: Authentic management talent is very rare. It takes Moneyball—rigorous

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 this course or

Those who know history know that Genghis Khan, the leader of the Mongolian empire 800 years ago, ruled the largest empire the world has ever known. His Mongolian Empire was 4 times the size of Alexander and twice the size of Roman Empire.  It comprises the entire East Asia except Japan, Central Asia, Middle East and Eastern Europe. Today the USA called itself a superpower, yet it cannot even handle one country called Iraq.  People wondered how did the Mongolians, without a superior culture and technology, and with so little population (200,000) managed to do it? What did Genghis did?  What do his achievements reveal about the nature of his leadership and management?  What traits made him so effective?  Most importantly, can we learn something from him and apply to our modern management? Of course given the unique nature of Genghis's time his circumstances and personality, it would be ridiculous for us to follow exactly what he did.  But according to historian John Man, we c

A myth is something that we think is true because most people believe or wish that it is true. In reality a myth is just a lie .  There is a market for myths because people like to have a better world. The following are the 7 Most Common Myths in Life:  Newspaper is about history and not about news at all .  A news is something that is very new and has not been over yet. So all newspapers should be renamed Historypapers because they report what has happened in the past. In fact they are not history but distorted history, for they reflect the views of the people controlling the media.  In Singapore, there is this free newspaper called "TODAY", and this 'newspaper' is definitely not about today and should be renamed 'YESTERDAY'.  On the other hand, what you do now is news because you are in the creation process of creating something new.   Your Bank Savings Account is Actually a Depleting Savings Account .  This is because the very low interest that they pa

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

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

Of course here we are are talking about a boss that is not easy to manage, like micro-managing, bossy, very demanding or frequent change in temper.  There are several practical steps that you can take to Manage Your Boss with Ease as follows: Look for Patterns - watch for behaviour swings, like Mondays or month-end or quarter-end when the boss is under tremendous pressure to perform.  Be prepared and don't do things that will add pressure, like applying for leave or asking for day off.  Pre-empt Needs. Once you know what triggers them, it's good to be pre-emptive by flagging potential problems before they escalate and offer solutions. The simplest way you can be pre-emptive is to ask the question: "What are the one or two things that I can do to make your work life better?" Show Empathy . Your boss is under pressure to produce and if you understand this plight that he is facing, you will be more understanding and there will no issue of how to manage your bos