Business Book Summaries

Corporate training has been one of the most basic ways of getting more out of the staff you hire without having to go through the costs, both financially and time wise, of recruiting through advertisements. However, with businesses becoming more cautious and with many people always looking out for the best deal on wages, time off and sick pay, more and more companies have been wondering if corporate training is still the best way to go.

With literally billions of pounds going into training people ever year for new job positions and with the great expansion of the European community, it is now much easier to find employees that will be able to carry out the job for you that already have the skills that you need. As such businesses have now been looking overseas more readily to fill the positions that require a very specific level of skill. However, such methods have generated high levels of media attention whether it is a firm that changes its contract to a cheaper manufacturer abroad or be it a new set of workers that are employed when the neighbouring towns are low on jobs. It is key to remember that even though the costs of corporate training might be slightly higher, the benefits of doing such or the consequences of not may be of a greater cost in the future.

There are many ways to do corporate training; it can be from shadowing another person in the position they will be filling to more formal education such as that which requires specific certificates. The most common of methods is to simply get another worker to teach them what they need to know in order to do their new roles. However, when the position to be filled is of a higher level, such as manger of a new branch, it may be necessary to send that person to university to learn management skills.

Either way the risk of them leaving for a better position can still be a troubling and make for a high deterrent to giving that individual the chance. With any risk such as these there is always a standard form, as such, that allows you do a type of risk assessment on the candidate you are choosing. Usually the best people to give corporate training to be those that have had a: low amount of sick days, do not always take their holiday, rarely if ever late and has proved a willingness to improve themselves. If all of these characteristics are featured in the person(s) chosen then it will be unlikely they will look for a better job when they see that their hard work is going to be rewarded.

In the end the choice between deciding if your business should use corporate training or not is simply down to a risk assessment and costs and consideration of repercussions or rewards. If the end equation gives a good reading then that may be best for your company.

A good way to train a group of employees is to take them to corporate seminars and conferences hosted by live talkers such as motivational speakers and business gurus.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_V_Powell

Dealing with conflict is hardly ever easy, but there are healthy and productive ways of getting through it. Conflict resolution goes to the heart of your communication skills. This means that it's something that might come naturally to some people, while others will struggle.

The good news is that you can strengthen your skills in this area. With some effort on your part, you can make your life easier as well as communicate on a deeper level with those around you.

Here are a few strategies you can use to better deal with conflict:

1. Recognize differing opinions. Conflict generally arises when people fail to recognize or understand a differing opinion in another person.

• If you're mediating a conflict between two people, tell them to put themselves in the other person's shoes.

• If you're in the middle of a conflict, take the time to truly listen to what the other person is saying and try to see where they're coming from in the situation.

1. Work on communication. How many times have you found yourself dealing with conflict because of a miscommunication issue? Communicating effectively in the first place prevents many conflicts from ever developing.

• Remember that communication is a two way street, so practice both your verbal and listening skills.

1. Allow everyone to speak. It's vital that everyone involved in the conflict has a chance to speak. There will be no true resolution if everyone's needs are not heard and met. It would turn out to be a band-aid solution and only a matter of time before the conflict reared its ugly head once again.

2. Stay calm. This is one of the most important keys to expressing yourself in a healthy fashion. When conflicts arise, things can get quickly heated if you don't make a conscious effort to stay calm. Emotions start flying and you may say something you later regret.

• If telling yourself to stay calm isn't effective, take a break and let emotions cool down before you return to any conflict resolution.

1. Talk about mistakes. Everyone knows that people make mistakes because it's human nature. However, it also seems to be human nature to fight acceptance of those mistakes. Conflicts often arise from mistakes, so it's best to be upfront about them.

• Identify the mistake that led to the conflict. • What was the intention behind the mistake? In many cases, the person causing the mistake didn't intend for it to happen. • Work on forgiveness and setting things right again.

1. Discuss resolution. Every conflict needs a solution. The best resolutions involve a win-win scenario for everyone. However, remember that everyone may not be completely happy with the solution. In this case, ensure that everyone at least accepts the compromise and is at peace with it.

2. Learn from it. Resolving conflicts can result in some valuable life lessons. Discuss what each of you has learned from this conflict, and then leave it behind to move forward to better things.

Once a conflict has been resolved in a healthy manner, it's good to identify the steps you took in order to achieve a resolution. Your successful process may help you in the future when you need to manage conflict again. Technorati tags: self improvement, productivity, empowerment, work ethic

Finding a Wholesale List is one of the business components Joaquin serves as reference source, e-commerce coach and certified author to help your small business. His focus today is assisting people receive extra income through the acquirement of in-demand Video Games Distributors

Technorati tags: advertising, marketing, online marketing, Internet marketing, business success, sales

Now, I'd like to offer you FREE copy of the popular e-book "Dotcomology – The Science of Making Money Online" Get this E-Book along with other killer bonuses absolutely FREE only when you sign up for my newsletter at http://www.AutomatedNotes.com. Also don't forget to check out how I Started my very own Internet Based Business

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, advertising, marketing, sales

About the Author

Louise Penberthy helps tech managers get it done right, stop the complaints, and get better buy-in from above. She has been where you are, and feels your frustration. She has been a mediator for six years, and prior to that had 15 years of experience in the tech industry as a project manager, programmer, interface designer, client, and consultant.

louise@productivitymediation.com productivitymediation@gmail.com http://www.productivitymediation.com

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, management, marketing, sales

Sure, you may have a wide network of people, whether "IRL" or "in real life" or virtual or online (in Myspace, Facebook and all the other social networking sites). But are you making good use of these networks at all?

Network of relationships increase anyone's potential leverage to get anything done. The more connections a person has, the more leverage he or she potentially possesses. If used properly, therefore, such networks can enable one person to get many more things done than he or she could even dream of achieving by his or her lonesome.

The very first principle for optimizing one's network is gaining full knowledge and understanding of the people who comprise it. In particular, you need to discover which among your contacts are "strong ties" and "weak ties". Most people automatically assume that it is closer friendships and stronger ties that are more important when it comes to network optimization. In fact, it has been determined that in most cases, weak ties are more important, because many of our professional relationships fall into the weak-tie category – which might seem very much a misnomer considering that these professional relationships can really help us get somewhere, and not all our "strong ties" (with friends and other such people) actually do help us advance our agendas.

Next, it is exceedingly important to "network your networks", as many authors have referred to it. Each of your contacts has a personal network which you yourself aren't connected to directly. Make sure you work to gain access to this network.

Thirdly, realize that in networking, the more one gives the more one receives – and work to cultivate this attitude among your contacts. The more energy you pump into activating and maintaining your network, the more it can help you realize your goals and objectives and dreams.

Lastly, once you've created a network, don't just let all your hard work go to waste. A network is an ever-evolving thing, a dynamic thing. It only works if it's kept active and alive. Make sure you do everything you can to maintain it and keep it going.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, networking

Times are tough nowadays, and everyone has to learn to roll with the punches. Leaders have to learn how to adjust their leadership styles to match the particular demands and needs of times such as these. What works for leaders in the good times might not work as well – or work at all – in troubled times. So they have to learn how to change, and quickly to boot, or risk losing their jobs – or, worse, bring their companies down with them when they do fall.

In his book "Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty: The New Rules for Getting the Right Things Done in Difficult Times", the esteemed author Ram Charan gives what he calls his six essential leadership traits for tough times. This is not of course to say that such traits are any less useful during better times, only that they are absolutely essential for leaders when times are troubled.

Here are the traits, along with the reasons why Charan adjudges them as essential:

1. Honesty and credibility. Level with people and tell them how you see the world, acknowledge the limits of your understanding, and ask them for their own views. Doing this may take courage, but together you can piece together better probabilities than any one person can.

2. The ability to inspire. Start with your own team. They are the ones who will have to inspire the rest of the organization. Inspire your team to focus on the new priorities by doing so yourself, fearlessly. Inspiration will also come from making decisions that produce incremental successes. These are considered high energizers.

3. Real-time connection with reality. In this volatile and uncertain environment, reality is a moving target. Gather it from unconventional sources. Don’t get locked into one view of things. Allow the picture to change as you gather new information.

4. Realism tempered with optimism. This is where leadership becomes a performing art, introducing that touch of optimism that taps psychological reserves to deal with bad news and transform fear into action.

5. Managing with intensity. Only through deep personal development can you acquire ground-level intelligence, share and discuss it with your team, and act with the speed that is required in a volatile environment.

6. Boldness in building for the future. It will take imagination and guts to place strategic bets with no guaranteed payoffs when there’s so little money available and so much uncertainty about the assumptions your plan is based on.

If you're in the business of selling goods and services, you really can't afford to neglect your brand, your identity and how you present yourself to the world. You need to be clear about yourself and what you offer, and present yourself and what you offer as different – and better – than your competition. If you can't, then why would you be doing what you do in the first place? Think about it.

Here are some important points that will help you to move forward and practice the principles of good brand management, if you're not doing so already.

1. Clearly define your brand and its values. What do you aim to do? Don't just aim to sell your product or your services – have loftier aspirations than that. And to do so it's important to establish what you hold dear as well, your non-negotiables – your values aside from simply turning a profit.

2. Once you've set this, make sure you communicate this definition and description of your brand to everyone you work with – your business partners, your customers, your clients. Everyone must know who you are and what you are doing.

3. Make sure that you put quality control measures in place, and be very strict regarding their implementation. Let people associate you and your brand with high standards and excellent products and services, and you will have gone a very long way towards building a good relationship with them.

4. Imbue everything with your own personal touch. Do all that you can, go the extra mile, to establish your uniqueness!

5. Protect yourself and your brand from your competitors. There may be those who will try sneaky, underhand ways to undermine you and your brand, instead of trying to compete with you. Guard your brand equity jealously.

6. Never rest on your laurels. Always keep training to make yourself better, for better brand delivery. Keep working to acquire new skills.

7. Reputation is key. Constantly watch what people say about you, and try to nurture a good reputation. You may offer an excellent product and services, but a few key words in the right ears can sink you like a stone if you're not careful.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, marketing, brand management

How do you see your staff? As mere cogs in your corporate machinery, or as individuals with specific needs, wants, goals, and desires?

It's all too easy for managers to fall into the trap of seeing their people as the former, especially since managerial schedules are as a rule tight and they have other, "more important" things to do. But be forewarned – if you don't treat your people like PEOPLE, they will leave you in the lurch.

You need to earn the respect of those you manage, and the only way to do that is to treat people as individuals. Here is how to do so:

•Set high standards for good performance and behavior right at the start. Make sure people are informed of what is expected of them. •Set clear standards for unacceptable performance and behavior – especially the punishments levied on people who refuse to toe the line. •Deal with poor performance and behavior immediately and "by the book". •Avoid gossip – especially if you are a supervisor or manager. •Avoid the temptation to jump to conclusions about people, and, worse, act on them. •Provide your staff with feedback regarding both exemplary and unacceptable performance and behavior. •Avoid being judgmental, and try to get everyone to avoid being judgmental. •Set a good example with your own behavior (you will not have the moral high ground needed to be able to maintain discipline if you do not do this).

Remember, you can only manage people if they respect you. You also need to be a good communicator and make the effort to talk to your staff, and more importantly, listen to your staff instead of just shooting your mouth off all the time.

Always treat people as individuals. People are different, so you have to deal with them in different ways that jive with their personalities, desires, feelings, motivations, goals, comfort zones, and so on and so forth. The key is respect, and the Golden Rule – don't treat other people the way you yourself wouldn't want to be treated.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, leadership

Using a budget is one of the best ways for you to determine where you stand financially so you can plan for future expenses. A budget can help you live within your means, get out of debt, and have money available for a new car, vacation, or education.

Planning and using a budget doesn't have to be complicated. Plus, once you've put your budget into place, it makes spending decisions a snap.

Here's how to plan your budget, step-by-step:

1. Set goals. Before you begin to plan, it's important to know what your financial goals are.

Write down your company’s financial goals and post them where all those concerned can see them. This will help you all remain focused on reaching your goals rather than giving in to temptations to buy things you don't need.

2. Determine income. Figure out how much money you currently have coming into your company. It's hard to establish a budget if you don't know how much money you have at your disposal. This would include:

• Employment income
• Interest earned
• Any other form of income

3. Figure out your expenses. Listing each bill will help you determine how much money you need to earn each month to reach your financial goals.

4. Subtract expenses from income. Add together all income sources and then add together all expenses. Subtract the expenses from the income, and this will tell you what financial shape your family is in.

5. If your income is greater than your expenses… If you have money left after paying the bills, you may choose to do one of the following:

• Put additional money in savings.
• Invest the money with the help of a financial planner. *Make investments in your company – purchase necessary equipment, etc.
• Pay off debts.

6. If your expenses are greater than your income… If your expenses are more than your income, you have some decisions to make. They may not be pleasant, but if you want to get out of the avalanche of debt, changes are necessary.

Here are some changes you may want to make:

• If your office is too large for your staff, you may want to downsize.

• Do you have, and do you need, more than one vehicle? If two or more cars are necessary, by all means keep them. However, you may be able to buy vehicles that are cheaper to own and maintain. If all the cars aren't necessary, why not sell the extra ones?

• Settle your debts as soon as you can. Once you’ve settled one completely, put some or all of the money that used to be allocated to that debt into paying off other debts so you can get rid of them faster.

It's possible to create a budget your company can live with. By following these step-by-step instructions for planning a budget, you'll be taking a financial step in the right direction. Stick to your budget, and before you know it you can be out of debt for good!