Category Archives: Self-Help

The Secret To Your Success in 2024 is Between Your Ears

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, New Year's Resolutions, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized • Tags: , , , ,

Think it, act it, and you’ll eventually accomplish your goal through patience, hard work, persistence, and implementing the right plan. The secret to your success in 2024 is between your ears. However, just dreaming about it isn’t good enough. You have to do something about it. Your success is a planned event – wishing and hoping won’t make it so. You have to go out and physically apply yourself. That’s the difference between those who are successful and the not-so-successful ones. Successful people are consumed by it. Successful people love what they do and can’t see themselves doing anything else. They are on a mission and are prepared to do whatever they need to do to make it happen. Successful people have a game plan: get off the couch and go after it.

‘The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.’ – Vince Lombardi.

What would you rather be doing with your life or your career than what you are doing right now? What does your ideal job look like if you are considering changing jobs. If you want to go into business for yourself, what kind of business do you want to get into? If you aspire to take on a management or leadership role in your organization, what role would that be. Please write it down. Success only happens with a detailed plan. What has to fall into place for you to achieve your goals in 2024? Break your plans down into small incremental steps. What needs to happen – and by when? Including a timeline will help keep you on track. Be sure to add a completion date to create a sense of urgency.

‘We first make our habits, then our habits make us.’ -John Dryden.

When you change the habit, you change the result. We are adults, and we can develop a new habit. Just stop doing one thing and replace it with another; if you do it 30 days a row, you will have developed a new habit. The neat thing about habits is that you do them without thinking about them. You do them automatically. A good habit gets a good result, just like a bad one gives you a bad result. What new habits will you need to develop to go into business for yourself, take on that management or leadership role, start that new job, or change careers. Do you need to enhance your soft skills and learn to be patient, open-minded or a better communicator and listener. Will you need to learn how to build collaborative teams, solve problems, resolve conflicts or manage your time more effectively.

‘Live life on your terms. Term one is to decide how you want to live.’ – Bazzi.

Once you’ve made up your mind about what you want and how to go about getting it, everything will eventually fall into place. However, keep in mind that your success is never a given. You need to be 100 percent committed. You need to be all in. You must decide what you are willing to stop doing – keep doing – and start doing to achieve your goals. Remember – the secret to your success in 2024 is between your ears.

Copyright 2024. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Written in Brian’s own words without AI assistance. Are you searching for a workplace training provider – planning a lunch-n-learn – or looking for a keynote speaker. To learn more about Brian and what he can do for you or your organization visit, – https;//briansmithpld.com.

Learn To Lead The OpenAI Way

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

We are not born knowing how to manage and lead others effectively. It is a learned behaviour. Generative AI systems have been in the news lately, so I thought I’d have some fun using them to develop a list of invaluable management or leadership traits. If you aspire to take on a management or leadership role, here are my search results using Microsoft’s Bing OpenAI with editing by Grammarly and yours truly.

Worth Remembering – “Leadership is practiced not so much in words but in attitude and action.” – Geneen.

Learn to lead the OpenAI way.

  • Show your team how you want them to behave and perform by modelling the qualities and behaviours you expect from them. If you want your team to be positive, enthusiastic, and creative, you must demonstrate those traits yourself.
  • As a manager or leader, you must make intelligent and timely decisions that benefit your team and organization. You must empower your team to make appropriate decisions and provide the necessary tools and guidance.
  • Transparency and honesty are essential for building trust and establishing rapport with your team. Communicate openly and clearly with your team, and be honest about your actions, thoughts, and feelings. Encourage your team to do the same and listen to their feedback and concerns.
  • Remember that your main goal as a manager or leader is to guide and support your team, not to control or micromanage them. Put your team’s interests and needs above your own and show them you care about their well-being and success. Recognize and appreciate their contributions and provide them with opportunities for growth and development.
  • A good manager or leader can motivate and inspire their team to work towards a common goal that aligns with their values and ideals. Use consultation and collaboration to get your team committed by challenging them with new and exciting tasks.

Worth Remembering – “Great managers and leaders encourage leadership development by openly developing themselves.” – Marshall Goldsmith.

A great manager or leader is always willing to learn new things and improve their skills. Seek feedback from your team, peers, and mentors, and be open and receptive to constructive feedback. Learn from your mistakes, and trust me, there will be plenty of them. Celebrate your achievements. Seek out new opportunities for learning and development, and share your knowledge and insights with your team. I hope these tips help you learn to manage or lead the OpenAI way.

Powered by Bing’s OpenAI with editing by Grammarly and Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without their permission. Are you searching for a corporate training provider, planning a lunch-n-learn or in-person training session? To learn more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, visit his website or contact him directly. https://briansmithpld.com

Are You Uncomfortable Yet?

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Teacher, Uncategorized

Are you comfortable being where you’re at and what you’ve accomplished in your career, or do you want more? If you are comfortable and don’t aspire to take on more or do more, don’t. There is nothing wrong with that. But if you aren’t satisfied and want more out of your life or career, you need to change because nothing changes until you do. Change can be disruptive and uncomfortable. Change can be scary and somewhat unpredictable when doing something you’ve never done before. Nothing ever changes unless you are uncomfortable being comfortable.

“The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change.” – President Bill Clinton.

Do you want to make a change in your life or career? Then CHANGE.

C – Commit; Commit to a new beginning. Determine what needs to change in your life or career and devise a plan to achieve it. Those who fail to take the time to put a plan together end up failing.

H – Habit: Stop doing one thing and start doing another. Do it often enough, and it will become you. The old habit is no longer serving you. The old habit is getting in the way of you achieving your goal.

A – Action: Action, not words. Stop talking about it and start doing it. No one ever achieved anything by just talking about it. Real change comes from doing.

N – Never; Never give up. You’re going to have setbacks. Sometimes, it will feel like you’ve taken two steps forward and four steps back. At times, you’ll feel like quitting – but don’t. Be patient. Hang in there.

G – Growth: Growth happens outside of your comfort zone. The moment you take that first step is when you start to grow. But you have to take that first step.

E – Enthusiastic: If you aren’t excited about the changes you want to make, the direction you’re headed, and the goals you’ve set for yourself, then you aren’t motivated enough to make those changes. How bad do you want it?

‘Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. ” – Shaw.

People change for a whole bunch of reasons. What will that change do for you? Will it make you feel better, look better or be a better version of yourself? Will it enhance your career and make you promotable? The changes that stick are the ones that people are committed to making. You have to be all in. If you aren’t 100% committed to making the change, you’ll likely fall back into doing what you’ve always done. Are you uncomfortable yet?

Your call to action. We can help you make those changes. Contact Brian to find out how. – brian@briansmithpld.com.

Copyright (c) 2023. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To learn more about Brian and what he can do for you or your organization visit, https://briansmithpld.com.

The Seven Principles of Delivering Exceptional Customer Service

brian smith-pld, Competitive Advantage, Customer Service, Dealing with Difficult People, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

Your advertising and traditional marketing campaigns based on the Four P’s (Product, Price, Promotion and Place) are no longer considered a strategic advantage. Some businesses refer to their customers as guests or clients and try to reinvent themselves by adding non-traditional product lines to maintain or grow market share. However, adopting the seven principles of delivering exceptional customer service is the only advantage you have left to set yourself apart from your competition.

‘A business absolutely devoted to delivering customer service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly high.’ – Henry Ford.

If you want an advantage over your competition, then you need to adopt the seven principles of delivering exceptional customer service.

F – Friendly – Smile, say hello and make eye contact. Build those all-important relationships. People like to do business with people they like and with companies that make them feel wanted.

O – Observant – Learn to recognize customers who want help and those who don’t. Ask open-ended questions. Customers know what they want, but if they have never done the task or that repair before, they don’t know what they need.

C – Competent – Don’t make stuff up. Trust me, your customer has already done the research; they want to know what you know about the products and services you provide. If you don’t know the answers to their questions, then find out or get someone who does.

U – Understanding – Be empathetic.. See things from your customer’s point of view – especially when dealing with an angry and upset customer. Don’t waste your customer’s time reciting company policy. Find out what the customer wants to resolve the situation. If you don’t have the authority to grant it, get someone who does.

S – Sincere – If you genuinely want to help your customers, it will show in the way you communicate and interact with them. You communicate 93% of the time non-verbally. You are speaking volumes, and you haven’t said a word. Your actions and words must be congruent, or your customer will believe the non-verbal as being more accurate.

E – Energized – Be enthusiastic; act like you want to be there. Approach your customers instead of leaning on the counter, talking to your co-workers or spending too much time on your phone. Give customers your undivided attention.

D – Dependable – Whatever you said you would do, do it. Your word must be your bond. Customers need to trust what you say. If they can’t trust your word – they won’t trust you at all.

“To give real service, you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” – Douglas Adams.

Providing exceptional customer service is not that difficult. All you have to be is better than your competitors. Based on what customers say about the current level of service or lack thereof, that won’t be difficult if you apply the seven principles of delivering exceptional customer service.

Copyright (c) 2023. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To learn more about Brian and our Let’s Get FOCUSED (c) on Customers – The Seven Principles of Delivering Exceptional Customer Service workshop, contact Brian at – brian@briansmithpld.com or visit our website – https://briansmithpld.com