This video came to me today and I'd seen it before but it is one of these clips that are worth sharing and relate to the question that I like to ask at the start of any new project, obsession I may want to take on and what I really would like to see clients begin to take on board as they are considering making change - or are stuck in making no change at all.
How connected to your purpose are you?
Do you know what is driving you to pursue your present direction?
Are you doing what you do for your reasons, or to satisfy (or pacify) someone else?
How do you remind yourself to stay on Purpose?
Related:
Remember to build your mailing list
What to do next when you feel like giving up
Send cards for marketing and friends automatically using this Cloud app
Step up in your business - Here's how to improve performance
How to get your business found online
Tweet
Like to discuss your business? Lindy Asimus Design Business Engineering Get Help For Your Business Download your free 24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook! Subscribe to Actionbites Blog
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Life Coaching Is...
{EAV_BLOG_VER:4e3fe87350fd72c2}
 |
| "Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living." Anais Nin |
I had a call through the week from someone looking to get help with some issues that they have been challenged by for some time now and affecting their relationships at home and at work.
It gave me pause to reflect that I write so much from the perspective of business that it may not be apparent that I work with clients on life issues too. Indeed, our way of being in the world personally and the interpersonal skills that we have can be very closely tied to and affect what happens within a business and every other facet of life.
So what are some areas that I see relate to life coaching as a means of developing and making progress?
Some examples that illustrate for you.
The person who feels like they have little to contribute and so hold back from engaging as fully as they might, and whose voice is seldom heard, but often is drowned out by those around them. This can act as confirmation of them being 'less than' when in reality they have much to contribute but lack the skills to be able to stake a claim on the space to do so.
When someone damps down that part of themself so as to fit in with other people, leading them to spend their life according to what someone else values ... without exploring what is meaningful in life to them.
When faced with information that doesn't meet with their approval, the person 'shuts down' and refuses to acknowledge what is happening, choosing instead to close down any opportunity for meaningful discussion and thereby adding stress within relationships..
Feeling 'stuck' in a problem with no choices being apparent. This is usually less a case of no choices than it is of a lack of appreciation or way to connect with more choices - or could even be that the choices available are not ones that the person wants to face.
Too many ideas and nothing followed through to completion.
Clutter in the person's surroundings and relationships.
Lack of purpose and focus on the things that are important - or even being able to determine priorities in life.
Tolerating bad situations and relationships that are not empowering the person.
Anxiety when faced with challenge and without a good strategy to move forward.
We can easily fall into the trap of believing that the past can only show us the future. That isn't so. Yet we can lack the skills to unpack the past and take from it the learnings that will help us create the future in line with the life we prefer to lead, while letting go of the pain from the past. Just as we can forget to recalibrate and notice all the resources that we have at our disposal that we lacked in the past when we were children.
When considering life coaching look for a coach who can help you learn new strategies to develop more flexbility in the way you think and analyze situations. Your coach should be working with you in ways that support your development and let you function and with more understanding of your options and behavioural flexibility.
A good life coach will help you to identify, check ecology and conditions of well-formedness, to achieve your goals, not make you strive to reach theirs.
When working with a coach you need to feel that there is respect there - even thought the questions they ask may be challenging.
There is no place for coaches to be asking you to divulge personal issues that don't relate to your coaching relationship, so if you ever feel that this is happening, mention it and if it persists, consider if your coach is acting appropriately. At all times you should feel safe working with your coach. If for some reason you don't and if you have any reservations you may want to terminate the coaching relationship with that indivdual. Your coach should be there for you to help you progress. Period. Your role is to help yourself and your coach to create the environment where you can do that.
Have you used a life coach?
What was that like? What did you experience from your coaching?
Please share your observations in the Comments section.
Related:
Remember to build your mailing list
What to do next when you feel like giving up
Send cards for marketing and friends automatically using this Cloud app
Step up in your business - Here's how to improve performance
How to get your business found online
Tweet
Like to discuss your business?
Lindy Asimus
Business Coach
Mobile: 0403 365855
lindyasimus@gmail.com
www.lindyasimus.com
www.designbusinessengineering.com
Would A CUSTOMIZED Marketing Roadmap Help You Guide Your Business On The Path To Success? ABSOLUTELY!
Actionbites Blog On Character
Monday, May 16, 2011
On Character
Character
"If the past has taught us anything is is that every cause brings its effect, every action has a consequence.
The Chinese have a saying, "If a man plants melon seeds, he will reap melons. If he sows the seed from beans' he will reap beans." And this is true of everyone's life - good begets good, and evil leads to evil.
True enough, the sun shines on the saint and the sinner alike, and too often it seems that the wicked prosper. But we can say with certainty that with the individual as with the nation, the flourishing of the wicked is an illusion.
For unceasingly, life keeps books on us all.
In the end, we are all the sum total of our actions.
Character cannot be forfeited nor can it be put on and cast off as if if were a garment to meet the whim of the moment. Like the markings on wood, which are ingrained in the very heart of the tree, character requires time and nurturing for growth and development.
Thus also, day by day, we write our own destiny, for inexorably, like the rings on a tree, we become what we do".
Character is an interesting concept and one that gets very little attention in these times.
What does character mean to you?
The Ch'an Training
From the Hsu Yun Ho Shang Fa Hui
Tr. Lu K'uan Yu (Charles Luk)
Related articles
What I Chose, Is What I Am
What's Most Important In Your Selection Criteria?
Heartache and Heroism In Small Business
Business Articles
Remember to build your mailing list
What to do next when you feel like giving up
Send cards for marketing and friends automatically using this Cloud app
Step up in your business - Here's how to improve performance
How to get your business found online
Tweet
Lindy Asimus
Business Coach
Mobile: 0403 365855
lindyasimus@gmail.com
www.lindyasimus.com
www.designbusinessengineering.com
Actionbites Blog Are You Wrong Or Right? How Do You Tell?
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Are You Wrong Or Right? How Do You Tell?
Kathryn Schulz' TED talk looks into the idea of differentiating between abstractly understanding that humans are fallible ... and in the moment where we live, assuming that we are always right.
Kathryn Schulz: On being wrong
There is definitely wide appeal to being "right" - even when we are not. Sometimes it can seem as though we would rather cling to the idea that we are right, instead of learning and being able to update our knowledge to the facts.
Then of course some things are not right or wrong. They are subjective and where this is the case, we need to remember to respect the perspective of others. Unfortunately there seems to be a trend toward treating objective issues (evidence is available) as though what we want to believe is so and that the objective issue is a subjective one. You'll have seen this in action with the current 'debate' on climate change. Here's more on that in this recent article:The Science of Why We Don't Believe Science
Rushing To Judgment
All this need to feel right could be said to be a factor of our skill at taking scraps of information and filling in the missing pieces with bits that we make up so that we can derive a meaning for what we see. While that is useful in some contexts, it can lead us to effectively hallucinate elements that just are not there. If our need for meaning is greater than our interest in veracity then we can rush to judgment without having sufficient data on which to make an elegant opinion based on all the relevant aspects.
Our language can work against us in this regard, since the way we communicate - the way we organise our thoughts, can lead us into leaving out important elements. We delete bits of information (or fail to notice them), think in shorthand ways that take up only the things we notice, not the things we see but don't notice, and discount things that don't fit with what we already hold as an opinion. Opinions too, are often a collection of personal biases and wish-this-was-so positions, with no evidence to support their validity. When we add this together we have a perfect brew to create situations of emotional turmoil and misunderstanding. Perhaps the best start to getting more useful skills in this area is to learn to change perceptual position. That is to not only see the situation from our own point of view, but to also imagine what must be so to make true the opposite view. To do this though, we need to be able to suspend judgment long enough to really observe cleanly without adding our own baggage.
Imagine yourself in a place without judgment. Observing. Noticing. Not creating meaning, just seeing without judgment for now. Let's call this Nerk-Nerk. A place of Not-Knowing.
Nerk-Nerk
Todd Epstein in Pragmatics, dreamed up Nerk-Nerk as the name of a fictitious space alien who has the exact same nervous system and physical characteristics of human beings, but none of the perceptual, linguistic or cultural assumptions. Nerk-Nerk has studied and is familiar with all forms of human language, but is incapable of making the deletions, generalizations and distortions that most human beings do habitually while communicating verbally with one another. Nerk-Nerk is only able to understand and respond to fully specified sensory based descriptions and instructions. http://www.nlpu.com/Articl
Not-Knowing can be uncomfortable. It is sometimes said that men have a tendency to want to provide answers to women when they are just venting. This can irritate women, and confuse men. Surely if someone is talking about an issue that is distressing them in some way, then they must want a solution. This is not necessarily the case. It should be noted that this happens the other way around too and men don't necessarily want a solution, or need one from the person to whom they are venting. Keep that in mind. Not knowing doesn't have to be a permanent state. Ultimately we are able to navigate effectively through life by making judgments. We need to be able to do this to function fully. Making judgments in itself is perhaps not the problem. It is when we get attached to the judgment - rather than to understanding what is really the case, that we create the bother.
It feels good to be right. It feels much better, and is much more useful to be informed and right. For now. Given what we know so far.
Context really is Everything.
Related
How To Start Making Good Decisions
How To Set Goals You Can Reach
Time Management Guide - A How-To
Focus Before Setting Goals
Life Lessons From A Man Of Grace - Leonard Cohen
Business Articles
Remember to build your mailing list
What to do next when you feel like giving up
Send cards for marketing and friends automatically using this Cloud app
Step up in your business - Here's how to improve performance
How to get your business found online
Tweet
Like to discuss your business? Lindy Asimus Design Business Engineering Get Help For Your Business Download your free 24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook! Subscribe to Actionbites Blog
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Get Your Online Business Presence Reviewed.
You’ve heard all the chatter about the internet and how it is the place to be for business to grow and develop new business using websites and social media marketing.
Have you ever wondered how you can get new business using online tools to promote your business?
It can seem daunting. Websites, SEO, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube, on and on it goes. Maybe you have a website that doesn’t seem to do anything ... and you don’t know how to tell if it is doing anything useful or not.
You’re not alone. Many businesses have thought about using the internet and have a basic website that may have cost a little money or a lot of money at the time, but it is still a bit of a mystery as to whether it serves any purpose or not.
“You have to be online” they tell you, but don’t tell you why, or how to judge a good website performance from a bad one.
“My website is on page 1 on Google ... for my business name!” Oh that’s a common one. The truth? You need to be on page 1 for what you do. Not for your name. Nice to have but it is a given. Your name doesn’t count, since anyone who knows your business name and what you do, already knows how to find you. You want your business to be found by those looking for what you do, who don’t automatically think of you.
“I have a Twitter account ... but I never use it.”
“I am on Facebook but I don’t really know how to use it. I’ll have to get my teenager to look into it and fix it for my business.”
Social media marketing may be social... but it is still business. And as such it deserves to be taken seriously. As a business owner you need to understand the rules of how online marketing for local business works. Even if you decide it is not for you.
· How to guage if your website is working as well as it should. Sometimes it just needs a few tweaks to make it work better. Sometimes it needs a lot of work. Know what to look for when you are hiring web designers and what to make sure is included on your site.
· What you need to do to have any chance to get the website to page 1 on Google for the words and phrases people look for to find what you do.
· How to set up a social media marketing strategy. It is not just opening an account. You need to know the right kind of account. Know which platform is going to work for your business and have a purpose and a strategy that will allow you to know how and what content to add to keep it fresh.
· Understand that your reputation is at risk online – even if you don’t use the internet yourself. Your duty to your business means you need to be able to know how to manage that risk – and exploit your business opportunity. If someone is talking about you online - good or bad - you need to know about it. And know how to deal with it.
· Learn the difference between traditional marketing (broadcasting) and social media marketing. They are not the same! What works in old media, won’t work in new media and can work against you.
I hear many business owners say that they have been to a workshop on social media but they were dissatisfied because it didn’t really give them the skills they need to know how to go about setting their business online with a way to successfully use social media for their business and in their local area. You need one-on-one help to really get to know this new world.
Others say they can’t see why they need to be on the internet because their customers are local and they know who they are already. In reality, it isn’t about what you want. It is about what customers expect. Even if you never use the internet (“I don’t have time!”) your customers do. And if they are looking for your business at 2am then they need and want to be able to find the solution they need for their particular problem. If you can solve it for them, you want them to find you and know that you can help them.
The world has opened wide for local business and social media marketing brings high tech opportunities for local business to widen the scope of their marketplace beyond their front door and being at the mercy of just selling to the people who happen to walk past their door during the hours they are open. Even a cafe can bring people in who would not normally have chosen that place to visit were it not for finding them online first.
As customers we don’t know anything about your business unless you make it known. If we are visiting your street, we look for what’s there online before we make appointments and before we head out in the car to look for what we will buy. Whether you own a cafe or are an Accountant or Zookeeper, the same applies. Your job is to make sure we find you first.
Unfortunately some business owners think they can do this without any training. While many ‘social media gurus’ have no online footprint of their own to speak of, might be doing workshops promoting social media marketing but are only telling part of the story. They are setting up Facebook pages and Twitter accounts as though that in itself is the important part. It is like buying a car and never having a licence to drive it, and not knowing it needs fuel in the tank if you want it to get you anywhere.
Special OfferFor this reason I’m making a very special offer available so you can get some idea of where you are now and where social media marketing and your online presence can help you grow your business. This Online Business Review will be available for a single payment of $199.
If you want to proceed on your own then, you can do so with some understanding of where you are going and steps you can take to get there. If you want help going forward then that’s available too.
If you would like to get your business online working and would like a review of your online presence, a report on what could be fixed and a 2 hour consultation on where you can go from here then contact me today to arrange your Online Business Review.
Here’s to your success – Online and Offline!
Related Blogs
How-To: Developing A Social Media Strategy For Marketing
Quick & Dirty Business Review
Test Your Website For Roadworthiness
What You Should Know About Social Media For Business
How To Get Your Business Found Online
Lindy Asimus
Business Coach
Mobile: 61 + 403 365855
lindyasimus@gmail.com
www.designbusinessengineering.com
Australia's Marketing Mentor
Actionbites Blog Control Quality In Your Business
Tweet
Download your free 24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook! Subscribe to Actionbites Blog
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Stop Theft In Your Business With Good Systems.
It’s common for business owners to underestimate the potential for theft by their own staff. The reality is that the loss to a business though employee theft can be a real drain on profits and can undermine the stability of the business. Where this happens, the whole culture within the business can suffer.
As this recent article shows where 43% of small business employees admit giving freebies or discounts to friends and family. Some won't even see that when they do this, it is theft. It's up to you to teach them the values that apply in your business. And some will be knowingly stealing whatever they can get their hands on.
How To Spot It
Those who are stealing from the business can be very keen to keep their activities hidden and be attached to keeping the status quo with regard to their duties and function. They won't like change and will actively discourage good systems from being put in place that help you manage effectively.
Mix It Up
Changing the employees' functions from time to time can help with this but for many business that is difficult because often the roles are not well described and it can happen that management is less than sure what an employee even does in their role!
Where staff are stuck on keeping things as they are, that’s a bad sign and to prevent that happening, the business needs good systems, well-defined roles and descriptions for the position – not the person in the role. People can be moved and everyone be very clear on what they have to do and how they do it, when this is well documented.
That process for managing roles and responsibilities also makes for easy performance management, recruiting and can ensure that the knowledge in the business is shared and kept, even when key staff leave or are reassigned to new responsibilities.
In your business now, make sure you have put in place:
- A clearly identified and written chain of command so people know who they report to and who they are supposed to be supervising.
- Written position descriptions for each role in the business
- Tasks written down in full for each of the positions.
- Induction training for new employees into the business so they know from Day 1 where everything is and what's expected of them, and the culture and values of the business.
- Performance management system to monitor progress, catch any training gaps and fix problems at the time they show up and catch your people doing good work.
Your role as a leader in your business means that this is one of your responsibilities to ensure good governance and effective practices are in place. This raises productivity, makes for more engaged workers and lets you keep good control over your business affairs.
Someone from outside the business can often help you identify issues like these and more that can keep you on track and out of the rut that comes from having no systems in place.
Guarantee
Policies and good management alone won't guarantee there is no theft from a business. But you are guaranteed that without those procedures and good culture in the workplace, you are actively encouraging every kind of bad activity to flourish.
Your business loses money when you have theft but also when you have high staff turnover, low standards of training in the business and no good systems to manage the people and assets in the business. When you improve these areas, it is like money in the bank.
Related:
Remember to build your mailing list
What to do next when you feel like giving up
Send cards for marketing and friends automatically using this Cloud app
Step up in your business - Here's how to improve performance
How to get your business found online
Tweet
Like to discuss your business? Lindy Asimus Design Business Engineering Get Help For Your Business Download your free 24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook! Subscribe to Actionbites Blog
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Good Records Management Is Good Business
Government departments can be a good source of information for business on how to stay compliant with the legal obligations in the local jurisdiction and in this example below, it shows clearly the kinds of documentation that needs to be maintained and managed well. These documents are essential to your businesses well being and need to be managed effectively. Some will need updating at the right time and this can easily be overlooked.
I was at a networking luncheon recently and heard about a great example of where the right documentation being overlooked can result in ongoing issues that can threaten the complete operations of the business – sometimes without the owner being aware that it even happened. In this case the real estate license had expired and not renewed as it was due. To cover this, the administrations person had ‘doctored’ a certificate with the new dates on it to cover the fact that it was not done in time and of course once this had happened the first time, then they maintained this the following year. When this came to light, the real estate agent had effectively been without a current license for a period of 3 years. This could have been catastrophic to that business.
Cases abound where employees either by intention or by lack of understanding can cause problems for a business. Good management of the records in the business should keep a check and good oversight to the operations and administrative issues in a business. Compliance can be a trial for business to manage, but as well as keeping the business ‘legal’ – you can use the need for good record keeping to your advantage too.
Trying to manage this with files and bits of paper is a nightmare – and puts business at risk of things being missed, potential fines and court actions and more. But this need to be compliant is a perfect excuse to put in place systems to manage your information in a streamlined way, one that covers your obligations, but also lets you manage more effectively, reduce risk and create a relaxed environment where employees are able to know exactly what they are expected to do, alerts to remind them when things are due so they don’t need to rely on memory or bits of paper, and can be confident that they are clear on what is expected of them and how to do their work successfully.
Records Management
Record keeping isn't just good business practice, it's a legal requirement. You are required by the Australian Taxation Office to keep business records for a minimum of five years, in plain English and in a way the tax office can access if they need it.
Business record keeping
Business record keeping
In addition to your ATO financial records requirements other government departments require you to keep records relating to your business and employees.
When setting up your record keeping system you should also file records such as:
- contracts, insurance agreements and other legal documents
- your lease if you're renting
- licences and permits
- employee records including time sheets, copies of pay slips etc
- safety records e.g. risk assessment for occupational health and safety
- any other records which are 'business activity' specific and required by law for the operation of your business e.g. for a café your food safety plan
Tip: Write down the method you use for filing so if someone has to do it for you they know how to. As your business grows, this is a job you could give someone else to do.
 | |
A checklist of business records and how long to keep them, including financial and employment records.
|
Related:
Remember to build your mailing list
What to do next when you feel like giving up
Send cards for marketing and friends automatically using this Cloud app
Step up in your business - Here's how to improve performance
How to get your business found online
Remember to build your mailing list
What to do next when you feel like giving up
Send cards for marketing and friends automatically using this Cloud app
Step up in your business - Here's how to improve performance
How to get your business found online
Tweet
Like to discuss your business? Lindy Asimus Design Business Engineering Get Help For Your Business Download your free 24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook! Subscribe to Actionbites Blog
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)