Monday 13 May 2013

Career Success - Do More Than The Minimum


Success equals always making the effort to do more than the minimum! 


For relaxation and for a little fun I play a game called Empire Avenue. As a trainer I am well acquainted with games as a learning tool. The thing about games is they not only show your abilities they highlight your character.

As part of the Empire Avenue game you can issue missions that for a small fee will intice other players to do things for you. For example if you have done a blog post you can ask other players to tweet about it for a reward of some virtual EAve. currency.

Now when you issue missions you can see the real people pop up. For example: you have what players call "mission cheats". These are the grubby characters that take the money then do not do the mission. These people usually get caught and are banned by individual players or the site itself if they are repeat offenders.

The ones that I want to talk about are those that do the mission, however in the process show themselves to be selfish and self centred (not a formula for social media or even life success) and those that are generous of spirit who do more than what is asked of them.

In the game I sometimes offer missions to get some of my shares (its a stock market type game) for free. As an example I recently offered 50,000e (e=eaves the vital currency) to buy my shares. Now lets say to buy exactly the amount that the 50000e covers you can buy 116 just under at 49750e or 117 at 50250e or say a round number of perhaps 120 shares at 51,750e. 

So what happens: 

Some buy 116 and look stingy!
Some buy 117 to do just enough and look just adequate.
Some Buy 120 and that's great just because they round up and put some of their own 'money' in.
and Some by 200 and thank you for the subsidy.

It's a bit like work… you can improve your chances of being respected and successful in your position (and career) by being a 200 buyer. 

At work always do that bit extra… particularly for your external customers.


Worth thinking about? orglearn Richard Townsend

Sunday 12 May 2013

Communication Excellence - 5 Quick Tips


Communication Tips


• How clear is the meaning of your message? Do you adequately explain the thinking behind what you are saying. A good start is… "I want to discuss xyz because…. etc. Let your motive be known very early on.

• How clear is your delivered message. Are the words you are using appropriate to the listener? Being clear to them requires simplicity and using words appropriate to the other party.

• What’s the attitude you are conveying and is it appropriate for the listener. Tone pitch and pace can convey as much as the words you are speaking, in fact often convey more than the mere words.

• Is your body language and gestures in in line with your words and your delivery? Make sure your stance and gestures show a relaxed, confident style. Be open in your stance and look at the other person in the appropriate manner.

• How succinct is your message? One of the most common complaints I hear is that many people waffle on or go round in circles rather than getting to the point. Short sweet and well considered sentences and words are best.

Richard Townsend

of

orglearn.org