Business and Money Tips

If you want to be successful in your business and career (and who doesn't?), it's important to know whether you're driven at work on a day-to-day basis .  The following are the 8 signs that you are bored at work and need more drive: You spend more time searching for where to find the cheapest parking for your event after work You look out at the window and admire the scenery every day, even when it is raining. "This is called living in the moment" as what you would say if being asked what are you staring at. The problem you find hardest to solve is where and what to have for lunch You're the first to respond to every group chat. Let's be frank: you are the one that started all but one of the group chats.   It takes you an hour to read through a short document or excel file You begin to wonder why the pantry lady is not here today as you seem to visit the pantry every hour You join your colleagues for smoking breaks, and you don't even smok...

Yes, leading a sales team is not the same as managing the operations team. Salespeople that got promoted into sales managers may not know how to manage salespeople effectively. This is because salespeople are not normal employees . They cannot be controlled, coerced or managed like anyone. There are 5 things to know to manage sales people: 1.  It is NOT all about Hitting Targets Many people think that if we hit targets, we are doing well.  Unknown to many, hitting targets is easy.   It is  how  they hit the targets that makes the difference.  Do they hit targets in ways that enhance future business, or do they hit targets in ways that create bad debts?   Do they hit targets with good teamwork, or are they just lone wolves?     2. Is Your High Performer Earning More than the Boss? When you have a high performing salesperson earning more than his boss, you know your company will go far. The oppo...

(This article appeared in the Straits Times page C30 on 21 Oct 2016, watch our 1-min Better Manager video at  here )  1. Suppliers First, Customers Second We know that customers are important, but if you don't have the right goods and services from your suppliers, you have no business. That's why suppliers are more important. There are 3 things that every supplier yearn for: fast payment and advance order information. Give your suppliers the respect they need, for they are actually not suppliers but human beings 2. Employees Can Do More Without Being Told Unknown to many bosses, employees can do much more without being told. They just need to be appreciated for whatever little extra things that they do.   3. How They Feel = Morale Employee morale is about how people feel towards the bosses. If your people have low morale, examine yourself. In our course How to Be a Great Boss, we said that if you have low morale employees, either you change or you change yo...

(This article has been submitted to The Straits Times on 20 October 2016. Watch our 'Disruption' video at here ) As we know, nowadays our teams comprise of groups in our WhatsApp and WeChat groupchats.  Whether you are working in a business or self-employed, homemaker or student, retired or just born, you will belong to at least 3 groups: your family, your friends and the people you work with.  That's why in our Build Winning Virtual Teams seminar, we teach people how they can keep their chatgroups alive. There are 5 keys, know them or lose them: Key 1: Show Me the Money People join chatgroups initially to keep themselves updated, and for some people, to get motivated. But after a while, such motivations and information will become mundane, and people will be immune to such messages.  To keep people from coming back, you need to have show people the money.  Money includes monetary value and non-monetary value. People must see that there are benefits to the...

As I learnt from Marc Chernoff, these 20 questions have no right or wrong answer, but asking them will make your mind freer, so ask them more often today! Which is worse, failing or never failing? When it's all said and done, will you have said more than you've done? Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing? Are you more concerned about doing things right, or doing the right things? If you could give a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be? What's something you know you do differently than most people? What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What's holding you back? Why are you, you? Which is worse, when a good friend passes away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives very near you? At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive? If not now, then when? If not you, who else? If you haven't achieved it yet, what do you have to lose? Would you ...

With a disruptive mindset, you don't make a projection or reasonable prediction. For example, if I charge my Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to 60%, it will not explode. Instead you make an unreasonable provocation: what if Note 7 will explode even without the battery being charged?   The difference between prediction and provocation is the difference between seeing things as they are and asking, 'Why?', or imaging things as they never were and ask, ' What if?' In business, we will ask the question: how can we disrupt the competitive landscape of our industry by delivering an unexpected solution ?  For example, in our sales training, I often ask bosses not what type of training they need but how to NOT TRAIN your people and get them to double their sales without you dropping a single cent of your price? As Steve Jobs said before, we don't merely want to look at the competition and see how we can be better. We look at the competition and ask how can we do different...

If you are like most managers, you'll 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.  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. This management development program is for managers, bosses, directors, managers, supervisors and executives who want to implement tomorrow what they learn today. This is hands-on learning, conducted over 4 weeks, to give you the impetus and momentum needed. Best of all, you will get coaching from a seasoned Coach.  Now you might be saying - Yeah, I have heard it all before - and maybe you have. But if you are serious about actually doing and implementing something that will improve your career, then invest some time and get the help you need. ...

Following my last article on what is disruption and the role of disruption technologies, people want to know how can an ordinary employee can do successful disruption at work? For we know that if you are not successfully disrupting, you will be successfully disrupted! You'll rather be the disruptor than be the disrupted.  This is because with rapid changing technology, many work are now replaced by computers and outsourced to cheaper countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia. There are 5 things that you can do so that you can secure your position as an employee: Never say No. Say yes first, even when you are not sure, and go find out how to do it. The ones that say no at the first instant will be the first to get disrupted Go to your boss instead of waiting for instructions. With rapidly changing economy, your boss may have no instructions and if you just wait for him, you are just waiting to be retrenched.  Ask for More. That's right, always ask for more at w...

Many people asked me, what is the meaning of disruption? Is disruption just about disruption technologies like Uber, Airbnb and Facebook?  In 2006, the top 3 selling phones were Nokia, Motorola and Blackberry. Today almost all of them have been disrupted by Huawei, Samsung and Apple. Disruption is happening very fast. Now professionals like stockbroking, accounting, auditing, doctoring are being replaced by artificial intelligence and robots. The point is not how to deal with disruption but how we can be the Disruptor and Not Disrupted. Come and join over 50 business people and professionals for this power talk: SUCCESSFUL DISRUPTION 28/9 Wed 7.15-9.30 pm At: 229 Mountbatten Rd 01-09, Mountbatten Square Topics covered include: 1. What is disruption and top 5 disruptors today 2. Steps to be the Disruptor instantly 3. What to do if you were disrupted suddenly 4. Overcome Objections the disruptive way 5. How to win over new clients with Disruption Our spea...

(This article is submitted to The Straits Times on 22 Sep 16. Get 28 powerpoint slides at here ) Many people asked me, what is the meaning of disruption? Is disruption just about disruption technologies like Uber, Airbnb and Facebook?  20 years ago in 1996, the world's top 3 mobile phones are Motorola, Ericsson and Nokia. 10 years ago, the names became Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Blackberry. Today 2016 the top 3 global phones are Samsung, Apple and Huawei. What will happen 10 years from now 2026?  Will the names change?   10 years ago, TV stations and cable TV channels are fighting with each other for audiences. Today the most watched TV and movies are on mobile devices watched on platforms of Facebook, YouTube and Netflix, and TV Stations and Cable TV are struggling.  It is obvious that disruption is happening very fast and most names would disappear in time to come. The question is: are you the one being disrupted or the Disruptor? First of all, what is dis...

It was the worst thing that could ever happen to a salesperson. You called hard, and made every presentation flawless. You also follow-up well with all prospects. Yet at the end of the day your boss says that because you did not hit your sales goals, you are not effective. Sounds familiar? In sales, you typically have sales goals.  Monthly, quarterly, annually, depending on the length of the sales-cycle. If you hit your goals, you're happy because you're probably getting paid pretty well and not getting fired. But that happiness doesn't last very long because you always want more. Hitting 125% of your quota, consistently, becomes your new base-line as you too want to earn more incentives. So hitting your sales goals means more stress. Why Systems are More Effective Than Goals “If your goal is to lose ten pounds, you may wake up each day with  failure in mind because the goal is hard to reach, and you are only  progressing by small amounts. It takes up all yo...