Loud Thinking

Archive for 2013

Innovation is to come up with new ideas or new ways to apply an existing idea.

“You say I started out with practically nothing, but that isn’t correct. We all start with all there is, it’s how we use it that makes things possible.”

Henry Ford (1863-1947);
founder of Ford Motor Company

Survive Your Office Outing

Office outings have a purpose — to raise morale, help employees blow off steam, or foster team building. But that doesn’t mean they’re always enjoyable. If you’re not one for the “forced fun” of a work social event, try these tactics:

Find a way to participate. Don’t spend the whole time calculating when you can politely leave. Join in. For example, if you don’t want to actively participate in a game, cheer on your teammates or take photos instead.

Focus on connecting. Treat the outing as an exercise in learning about your colleagues. Ask questions that draw people out. You’re likely to uncover information that will help you work better with your co-workers.

Keep yourself in check. If there’s alcohol being served and you choose to partake, be disciplined. People will take notice if you start acting goofy or making impolite comments.

Adapted from the HBR Guide to Office Politics.

“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys
to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative
intellectual activity.”

— John F. Kennedy

Your Blueprint for Leadership

Proven leaders display a combination of strategic vision and tactical skills that can be a powerful catalyst for performance improvements throughout their organizations.

What It Takes to Be an Effective Leader will help you:

evaluate your own leadership skills

motivate others by harnessing the stress related to change

expose your weaknesses in a way that humanizes your image
recognize when and where to make compromises.

Harvard Business Review

Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing right things. Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; Leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.

How to Disagree Agreeably

Disagreements are not only inevitable but a natural dynamic between people. Left unresolved, they can waste time and energy, and also negatively impact productivity.

For many, the normal reaction is to avoid disagreements in order to maintain a peaceful work environment. Yet we can gain so much from those with whom we disagree if we can learn to view these situations as learning opportunities, and deal with them in an agreeable and professional way.

Research suggests that successfully resolving disagreements can result in greater mutual respect and a more positive relationship.

Dale Carnegie Training

“You have everything you need to build something far bigger than yourself.”

Seth Godin

“The number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I can fail and keep on trying.”

Tom Hopkins

“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

Zig Ziglar