Review and Learn...kickstart your business and team success in 2014

 Strategic planning....Business Goals....Succession Planning....Team Building.... Sales....

What did we accomplish?
What experiences did we create for customers?
How did we navigate around change and challenge?
Why do our customers do business with us?
What was the most significant learning of 2013?

These are great questions to explore as you wind down one year and kickstart the next one.

Photo credit to Motion Elements

One of the best processes I know, and use in the team building, team planning and workshops I deliver to our clients is The Review and Learn Process.  Four simple questions that produce answers and solutions to help your business and team.

1)  What went well?
2)  What was a challenge?
3)  What did we learn?
4) What will we do differently next time?

These questions can guide your team to build on what works well, and learn from what was a challenge.

These questions can help you evaluate projects, implementation phases, changes processes and the many beginnings and endings that happen in business.

Photo Credit: Istock Royalty free photos

As you wind down and celebrate your 2013 successes, what will you bring with you in 2014 to make this your best year yet?

Our books are on special, we have sets for your team, clients, and staff's family members. 

www.TheOriginalTeamToby.com

Visit www.TheOriginalTeamToby.com to get your copies now

Um's, Ya Know's, So and I go.... communication distractors

Are your Ums, I thinks, Ya Knows, I Go, and Sos A Distraction? 

The short answer is YES!!!

 Communication has both an art and a science to it.   The Goal of Communication?  To be understood.

There is the art of speaking clearly, confidently and competently, and the science of the listening and speaking process. Put the two together and there is ample room for miscommunication, distractions, and lack of understanding.  Communication, although something we do all day long, is one of the most challenging skills.

When you are :in your head" and/or nervous there is a tendency to fill space and time with Um's, Ya Know, So, Like, I Thinks... to name a few. Often people combine these phrases.... "Um....Well Ya Know... Like...." The challenge is that the listener often focuses on these fillers instead of the true content. These when repeated are a definite distraction in communication, and perhaps even frustration.

Remember... slowing down, and silence are okay!

Here are a few tips to remove distractions from communication.:

• Choose your words (including the fillers), once they are out there - they are out there.
• When you are in your head (and notice the filler words coming out), simply breathe, slow down and when the urge to say Um, Ah, Like, Ya Know, So, etc arises smile and breathe.  
• Prepare your words. Practice your words.
• Remove other distractions (e.g. technology) as sometimes these filler words are used to buy time while you are remembering what the person just said before you got distracted.

 Wishing you a great week of clear communication.

How you end one conversation impacts how you start the next one

Communication can be one of the most important yet challenging skills. 

There are so many dynamics that influence communication, such as:

• Your frame of mind or mood
•  Relationship with the person you are speaking to, and past history
•  Assumptions
•  Language barriers
• Where the communication takes place
•  How the dialogue occurs (face to face, email, texting, etc.)
• Ability to listen effectively
•  Distractions (people, noises, location, technology, time, etc.)

And these are just a few of the many influences. 

Communication is an active process, one that involves listening, processing and speaking. Sometimes people combine two processes simultaneously, such as speaking while trying to listen.

I have always believed that beginnings and endings are so important, and that this concept applies to communication as well. How you begin a dialogue impacts the rest of the communication, how people hear your message, what assumptions they draw about your or your perspective, etc. Similarly, how you end a conversation will impact the next dialogue you enter into. 

Take this example....Mary had just left a stressful staff meeting where issues were left open, and people quickly retreated to their offices to have the “meeting after the meeting”. The tension in the air was thick, issues needed resolution and the team just talked around them. Irritated and stressed, she went into a meeting with a client. Her greeting was edgy, and almost off-putting. The frame of mind she left the staff meeting with was the one she brought into her client dialogue. Needless to say Jack the client noticed and the conversation took an awkward turn. Looking at his watch several times (and Mary who was generally very self-aware and present did not noticed), he stated they could perhaps pick up the conversation in a couple of days when he was back in town and had more time.

So, take some time to create clear, collaborative, compassionate and clean endings in your conversations, so you begin the next one in the same way.  Allow yourself a short transition between conversations. Remember to breathe. Imagine leaving one conversation at the door as you enter the next one. 

For more information on communication, contact us about Bounce Forward- building  resilient inspired and teams book and workshops.  www.charmainehammond.com

As well, follow us on social media and let's keep the conversations going:

 Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/charmainehammond

 Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hammond-International-Inc/161986823865485?ref=ts&fref=ts

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https://twitter.com/hammondgroupbiz

Money, Money, Money! An important conversation in Business

Money can be one of the most uncomfortable conversations in business, and even personal relationships. As a corporate mediator for many years, I saw the discomfort that many people faced when the topic of money was on the table. Being successful in business requires many skills, one of those being the ability to manage money, another is the ability to talk about money, and the third is to have a relationship with money that will support a healthy business. 

I had the pleasure of interviewing Karin Mizgala and Sheila Walkington of Money Coaches Canada on my Radio Show .  They provided some wonderful tips for businesses and entrepreneurs to deal with money in a different way. Their tips help you move from stuck to unstuck, and include:

1) Knowing what you want. Have a clear plan, a vision, goals, and a focus on your top three goals. These will simplify your life and help you manage the finances more effectively.
2)  Know the numbers. You must know your financial reality to be able to find new solutions and make the best decisions for your company.
3) Delegate don't abdicate responsibility. Keep on top of your finances, and learn what you need to learn to understand them. Be open to changing your habits, and your beliefs, about money.
4) Create a plan and systems.  Set up a system to easily and consistently track your day to day expenses, and know how much you need to earn and save to reach your financial goals. 
5)  Just DO IT!  Create an action plan and start today.  


What habits and beliefs can you change to get on top of your finances quickly (and with more ease)?

What immediate action can you take today to know your numbers and create your action plan that supports your goals?

You can listen to more of the Money Coaches Canada tips at: 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/charmainehammond/2013/06/12/guests-money-coaches-canada-and-dave-rodwell


Join the conversation. Please share your comments, thoughts and tips on this blog so others can benefit.

Please follow Charmaine  on social media at:

 Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/charmainehammond

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hammondgroupbiz

 Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hammond-International-Inc/161986823865485?ref=ts&fref=ts

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GPSYourBestLife?ref=ts&fref=ts