Are you a Good Decision Maker?
August 13th, 2010
Decisions, decisions, decisions. It seems like every time we turn around, we have to make more decisions. The question is, “Are you a good decision maker?” If you aren’t (or don’t think you are), there is no need to worry. Decision-making is a skill that can be learned by anyone. Although some people may find this particular skill easier than others, everyone applies a similar process.
There are two basic kinds of decisions: those that are arrived at using a specific process and those that just happen. Although both kinds of decisions contain opportunities and learning experiences, there are definite advantages to using a specific process to make a decision. The most obvious advantage is the reduced level of stress you will experience.
Wise decisions are made using a definite process. They are based on the values and perceptions of the decision-maker and include carefully-considered alternatives and options along with periodic reassessments of the decision and its effects. Wise decisions may or may not follow societal norms and expectations, but they are right for the decider based on what he/she knows at that point in time about his/her options as well as him/herself.
G.R.O.W. Technology- The Insider’s Guide to Helping You Make Any Meeting A Success!!!
July 13th, 2010
We are excited to announce that we now have available our How-To Guides. These guides are our inside secrets, best practices, and experiences all available for you to improve any business situation. Our website has a new section: Store. This section is where we will provide guides to purchase as well as FREE ones too. We are dedicated to providing YOU with up-to-date, relevant material that will take you and your company to the next level.
Our most in-demand tool is— “GROW Technology” — and you will be amazed at the secrets we reveal that will virtually transform businesses and sales careers from struggling or ‘average’ to extraordinary. Success starts with your very next meeting. Put our “Meeting Success Technology” to work for YOU now!
This tool has lead our clients and us to thousands and thousands of dollars. Use it for you and your business to produce the same results!
Click Here to Read More or Purchase: http://www.theoctopussolution.com/store/grow-technology-the-insider%E2%80%99s-guide-to-helping-you-make-any-meeting-success/
We will be posting more How-To Guides in the very near future…stay tuned for additions to our Store!
Production…The Key to Morale!
May 13th, 2010
Have you ever worked a job and it started to get boring, negative and you were having trouble producing? Did you ever end up in a hole so deep that you could not perform your way out of?
So many employees and managers do not understand that production in any job is the basis of morale and motivation. If you are not producing or having specific wins on the job then you start to lose small pieces of morale. As all those small pieces continually add up into large ones you may find that you have lost all motivation for your job and want to do something else.
For example: Think about a coach for a professional sports team. You may have a coach that has been with a team for 10-15 years and at the end of their career with that team they can not get out of a losing streak. But then they get fired and move to another team and all of a sudden have the drive and performance to win championships. What happened?
Coaches that get a fresh start or business owners who bring in an outside “kick in the pants” firm to help them suddenly start producing both see their attitudes change. The importance of building employee morale as well as paying attention to your own is critical for the success and production of your business, team or job. Find little successes and wins everyday no matter how big or small. The small successes will add up to big ones and you will start to feel the joy in your job and how attitude is everything. Your employees could use coaching on this too.
This is not just a motivational blog today, this is a really money discussion. We have helped several CEO’s get out of their own head and find the motivation again to increase their company’s performance by 6 figures. That is what makes our job fun and productive!
Hollywood Styles & Advertising
April 13th, 2010
We see so many TV, Radio and Print Advertisements with the same Hollywood genres such as: Drama, Comedy, Adventure, Horror, Action, Musical, etc.
Let’s look at the types of TV ads that have those themes listed above:
- AllState claims you are in good hands and they use images of people getting injured in car accidents. This imagery stresses the Horror of being in an accident and then they reassure you that you that they are best firm to take care of you.
- Nissan Xterra is a car that could (and may have) “climb mount Everest”. The marketing Adventures that you are taken on with their ads cater to the outdoor enthusiasts and that “go anywhere” you want to.
- Geico is still using the hilarious funny Comedy advertising of the Caveman. Geico is so easy a Caveman could do it! They use comedy to promote the simplicity of signing up for Geico insurance. Love those ads.
- The Discovery Channel is king of the Action packed TV ads. Have you seen the brutally cold, dangerous and exciting commercials of Deadliest Catch?
These are just a few of the examples of the Hollywood advertising styles. Your product or service and how the target marketing will receive that message will dictate what style or theme of advertising you should use. Get out there and market to your audience with creative ads that people will remember.
What a Leadership Weekend Taught Me!
January 13th, 2010
Spending an entire weekend focused on leadership and being a leader was a huge learning lesson for us. We always talked about being good leaders, reading books about it and trying to implement, but never got a really good insight for how to improve and what I was doing well and poorly. 
Leadership is about achieving your mission and taking care of your people. That is simply said, but difficult to do. It comes down to how well you can manage. A team can accomplish much greater missions then an individual, so going at it alone and trying to control the entire business by yourself does not give the best opportunity for success or growth. The secret is to delegate and inspect.
Delegating means giving your staff very specific assignments to accomplish their objectives which play a part in the success of the grand plan which leads to achieving the mission. The employee must know what their high level goal/deliverable is and where they fit into the big picture. Things to consider when delegating a task are:
- Chain of command
- Performance measures
- Desired results
- Time lines
- Milestones
- Purpose of their assignment and project as a whole
- Benefits to them
- How you as the manager will interact with them
- Standards of expected behavior and performance
Delegation should come verbally and in written format so there is no question about what was said, then the inspection process can begin immediately. The first inspection of your employee comes after you give them their tasks. You want to make absolute certain they understand what was communicated to them and that you have their agreement to fulfill the task. This is critical to your success. If an employee does not fully understand their job up front the results will differ from what is expected and you are not helping them succeed with their career. Communications can be simple, but interpreted differently by different people. Inspect to make sure!
The inspection process lasts until the mission is completed. You want to inspect the following:
- What is the attitude of your employee and do they need advice or support?
- What is the context of the project?
- Is your employee meeting the time-line?
- Are they controlling too much and did you give them too much?
- How can you better help them succeed?
- How are they managing or impacting others?
- Are milestones being met or do you have to step in?
- Are problems compounding? Step in right away before problems get out of control.
The inspection process is a way to help ensure your employee’s are successful. Managing does not mean doing yourself. A conductor of a symphony will not grab a violin away from the musician and start playing and conducting! If the conductor did that he would end up trying to play ever instrument on stage as well as conducting and we all know that is obviously impossible. So as a manager you must manage and not do!
If you successfully delegate and inspect your people you will fulfill acheiving the mission and taking care of your employees.
Best of success on your road to becoming a great leader.