How Don Shula Can Save Your Business

February 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

In a recent article in Inc. Magazine, business and sales legend Harvey Mackay shares one of his most valued leadership strategies that he learned from former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula.

The life of any startup is sure to have ups and downs and it’s the boss’ job to manage those ups and downs and to keep the business and the employees focused. Mackay describes Shula’s brilliant secret as the “24-hour rule”. A policy that looks forward to the next challenge instead of hanging on to the previous victory or failure.

Coach Shula allowed his team and his staff only 24 hours to either celebrate a victory or brood over a loss. He encouraged that during those 24 hours they get everything out of their system before the next day, when it was time to start focusing on the next game. He felt that this strategy helped to keep both wins and losses in perspective.

This concept is genius!

You aren’t discouraging anyone from feeling the affects of a win or lose but you’re encouraging them to feel it and then move on. Dwelling on this past , whether it be positive or negative, keeps a lot of great employees and businesses from moving forward. Holding on to those feeling affects how your employees interact with each other and with your customers.

Read more thoughts on this rule of genius from Harvey Mackay here.

Do you think this would work for your business? Share in the comment box below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Filed Under: How To Be More Efficient, How to Be More Innovative, How To Be More Productive, How To Keep Your Employees, Management, Managing Tagged With: , , , ,

Make Your Mindset Like A Ferrari – High Performance

January 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

You’re motivated and excited and thinking at the top of your game! Now, how do you stay that way? This always seems to be the problem. Once your motivated and ready to go it’s hard to keep from losing steam. Here are a few ways to make sure that mindset is pushing you to do your best at all times.

Know Your Competition – If you know who’s at your level you know who you have to beat to be the best. Keep an eye on your colleagues and take note in their work. This way you know what you’re up against and what it will take to come out on top.

Always Get Better – You are great but you can always be better. Don’t let a day go by that you don’t learn something new that makes you more capable and more valuable to your company. Grab a book, read an article, learn a new skill, it’s all gravy.

Pay Attention To Opportunities - Opportunity presents itself every day, it’s up to you to identify it when it shows up. It might be a project in a different department that you could contribute too or it might be an idea that no one has thought of yet, no matter what it is, it’s an opportunity for you to shine.

Find More Tips Here

What keeps you motivated to do your best? Share in the comment box below or on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

Filed Under: Being Excellent, How To Be More Efficient, How to Be More Innovative, How To Be More Productive, How To Stay Motivated, Successful Mindsets Tagged With: , , , , ,

Work Smart!

October 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I found this fantastic playlist from Fast Company with all sorts of tips and insight on how to well… work smart. The biggest challenge an employee has is to find a way to do their job as efficiently as possible while still producing quality work. As a leader I encourage my employees to try anything that comes to mind until they find what really works.  Which video was your favorite?  Share in the comment box below. You can also share your input or ideas with me on Facebook and  Twitter

 

 

Filed Under: How To Be More Efficient, How To Be More Productive, Working On A Deadline, Working Smart Tagged With: , , , , , ,

7 Ways To Be More Efficient

October 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There is always room for more efficiency right?  Who doesn’t want to get more done in less time?  Here are a few tips that I have found useful and effective.

1. Skip The Meetings – Meetings are a good way to get sidetracked and waste time.  If you can handle it in real time, do it.  If not, go into the meeting with a specific goal and a time-frame to achieve it.

2. Follow The Two-Pizza Rule – Having a team is all about promoting the collaboration aspect. As your team starts to grow you can split it into smaller groups.  Try to keep your groups small enough so that you can feed them with two pizzas.

3. Pick Up Your Phone – Keep the communication open so that nothing important has to wait and you can always keep people up to speed. You can get a lot more out of a conversation through the phone than you can by e-mail.

4. Organize Your Interruptions – As contradictory as that may sound, you can do it and it helps. Figure out what needs your immediate attention, what you need to be thinking about and what you need to know at the end of each day and use it to prepare for the next one.

5. Always Be Interviewing – The best way to be more productive is to have a good group of people doing what they’re best at. Talent is an investment that always pays back.  if you meet someone and you wouldn’t want them working for a competitor, you should probably hire them.

6. Use Your E-mail for Documentation – Keep folders of all the documents you might need.  If you forget something you can instantly access it on your phone. You can also keep track and refer to previous statements in the ongoing conversations.

7. Shorten Your Mental Deadlines – Set high expectations for yourself and try to stick to them.  Putting a little healthy pressure on yourself can help you focus and get more done in less time.

 

What productivity secrets do you have? Share in the comment box below. Don’t forget to connect with me on Facebook and  Twitter.

Filed Under: How To Be More Efficient, How To Be More Productive Tagged With: , , , , ,
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