Seventhman Blog

1. Presidential Debate 2012: Small Business Concerns Over Tea and Politics

   I’d like to take a time off from the usual business blog I share here to write my thoughts on the recent Obama-Romney face off last 16th.  I’ve been following my favorite #custserv chat on Twitter when the convo was cancelled to give way to the presidential debate.  While the spar of wits and words has entertained everyone who watched, if you ask me, I was hoping to get real answers on how these candidates plan to handle the economy and change the way things are run.. for the better.  Like many small business owners out there, we’re hoping for a permanent fix, that whoever will win the presidential race will truly understand our needs – of helping us get customers and grow our businesses.

   Leadership Lessons from the Obama-Romney Debate

   While there have been many debates over the issue of job creation, it’s still too early to say who really won until all the votes are cast out.  I guess, the more appropriate term is a ‘stalemate’.  All of these talks aim to gain trust and respect – which you can’t win overnight.  You can’t command it or demand it either.  But to be a leader, you have to earn respect and this can mean going back to the basics, of being consistent with your message because people REALLY do pay attention.  You don’t have to be right all the time, but you must still have that positive mindset to respond to the challenge, to forgive others as well as yourself.  Enough with the jabs, I’d say, for leaders walk the walk. العب روليت اون لاين   All these talks are hollow if you can’t make an impact, a difference in the lives of people you lead. سلوتس

   Getting Jobs Back

   It’s not as simple as everyone thinks.  One hot topic in last week’s face off has been the issue of outsourcing jobs overseas. arabic casino   The manufacturing industry has been hit badly when it comes to finding cheaper labor cost elsewhere.  Do our candidates hope to bring back Apple’s manufacturing jobs?  While President Barack Obama acknowledge that these ‘low-wage, low-skill jobs’ won’t be coming back, Romney is pointing out on being tough on China’s currency manipulation.  Quite contradictory as that would mean making hiring labor there… cheaper?  I’ve mentioned before about having hybrid sourcing models to remedy this issue.  Besides, this is the era of globalization and I’m optimistic that we can find something that will work for everyone.

   Small Business and Globalization

   The idea of business expansion is always an exciting venture for any entrepreneur.  There are small businesses who are looking for new markets beyond the U.S. borders, like a modern hunt for El Dorado.  There will be challenges, no doubt, and it will transcend foreign currency, language and culture differences.  There will be legal matters to settle too, like trademark requests, privacy laws and so on – as this will differ from one country to another.  Most of them have stiff requirements too than what you’ll expect if you’re doing business here in the U.S.  While the subject of helping small businesses benefit more from international trade feels like music to my ears, we’ll just have to wait and see for this bit of encouragement to become a reality.

   On the other hand, who do you think has won the debate on this topic?

2. The Fine Line Between Project Managers and Project Leaders

   There are no bad projects, only bad management. While I would love to debate on this line with a fellow entrepreneur over a cup of our favorite brew, it made me think of what really caused a project failure.  Is it really about lack of management.. or leadership?  While mistakes can often be time-consuming and costly to deal with, many projects often take longer to complete than what was expected.  When your project manager cannot consistently deliver on time and within budget, you begin to wonder:  Is it the people, the methods, the tools – or.. all?  While creating your own business may seem like a dream come true, know that in the rat race of the business world, your team is the greatest investment you can ever have.

   Looking Through the Eyes of a Successful Project Manager

   While I’d rather call them ‘project leaders’, a good project manager is someone whose passion for the job reflects in his/her every action.  This enthusiasm is highly contagious that it inspires the entire team.  Experience leading people to succeed is just one of the prerequisites.  The best project managers around have the gift of foresight enabling them to anticipate issues before they even happen.  They listen closely at what is going on right now, analyze things to the last minute detail, and communicate every milestone clearly to everyone involved. لعبة بينغو   They organize each goals to make sure work is done one step at a time.  The only difference perhaps is that great project managers trust on others to be successful.  Everything is about team work; not a one-man team.

   Project Management Mistakes Do Happen

   For the sake of the argument that ‘nobody’s perfect’, the hardest thing to do perhaps is admitting a mistake when it is done.  It is not just skill set that defines good management, but people skills as well. لعبة الروليت في العراق   This is why it is important to have a balance – from drafting realistic timelines, being flexible to change and ideas, consistent and clear communication, having an organized system to track progress, involving the team behind the project.. to being transparent.  Above all, that person needs to respect and trust every player to do their best.  Meetings can be noisy, no doubt, and it is the project manager’s job to stay engaged and motivate even the most shy of introverts to participate in the process.

   Quantifying Success Through Cost Effective Innovation

   Staying ahead of the innovation curve is a tough challenge for business owners.  Having worked in the IT field before transitioning to the business world, I’d say that failures do happen because the CEO has a different concept of success vs. that of the project manager.  This is why it is crucial to measure the success rate of a project by knowing if it is within schedule, budget and scope.  In the end, the quality of work will be the silent testament to it all.  All that effort done where the business landscape is concerned may be futile if you don’t have a blueprint to follow.  Project managers can always choose to keep the team happy, or struggle in misery.

   And if you ever have an awesome project manager right now, perhaps it’s time to give that person your appreciation.  It doesn’t cost much to say ‘Thanks for a job well done!’  The reward doesn’t have to be monetary all the time. ماكينات القمار

    

   Related Readings:

   Bridging Outsourcing and Innovation in the 21st Century
   Innovation: Managing Risks and Portfolios Explained
   Managing Virtual Teams: Five Keys to Success

3. How Can Entrepreneurs Build Better Business Relationships?

   I have many times asked myself if entrepreneurship is a lonely road – where only the brave pursue visions at the cost of sacrificing traditional employment to make that passion a reality.  Maybe, I’m right all along that entrepreneurs are radical thinkers when it comes to engaging themselves in this self-involved mindset, where success is a gamble.  Along the way, these people will meet other like minds and the call to build relationships for business and personal success is growing stronger.  The problem is, many small business owners are struggling with deepening these relationships with fellow entrepreneurs.

   Where Relationship Meets Business

   When your business is growing, having business relationships is crucial if you’re looking for referrals along the way.  These relationships fuel your business, other than your customers.  Most often, we are caught up in selling our products and services that we overlook building stronger ties with long-term customers, vendors and potential business partners. تعليم القمار   Like any other type of relationships, business relationships is all about mutuality, of give and take, of sharing and supporting.  Unfortunately, it is easier for us to automate the process that we approach everyone in our network like we were out hunting for a bargain.  The human factor that made the brick-and-mortar business survive this far amidst all the technological innovation is out.  We focus so much on transactions, on sales, on closing deals… and less on communication.  Are we really that busy?

   Keeping In Touch: Who, Where and How

   For those of you with online presence, keeping a balance between conversation and marketing may seem like a curse, especially when there’s too much noise to deal with.  Staying in touch with everyone in your network is a time-consuming activity.  Someone even call this phenomenon as ‘social media saturation’.  Come to think of it, it’s easier to accept anyone into your network with a touch of a button.  It’s harder to know who are for real and who are just hoping for your follow back.  While having a large number of following on your social account can be flattering, it’s not how many that matters – but who these people are.. and how often you talk to them.  Whether you keep in touch each week, every 15 days or once in a month – it’s all about continuity without bombarding that person with spammy, purely promotional type of monologue.  Starting with an open, honest relationship is all about listening more than you talk.  While it’s tough to say you don’t have answers to all the questions about your niche, you’ll be surprise how this admission will earn you more respect as an expert in your community.

   Entrepreneurship and Business Relationships:  Nurture, Conquer or Divide

   Anyone who is running their own business is so passionate about its goals that they can’t talk about anything else.  You’re not to blame if you picture yourself as one.  You just see a bigger world of opportunities, collaboration and risks that while you actively engage in climbing the ladders of success, you may feel alienated in the process.  You may even lose old friends who are not in tune with what you believe in or be called a mercenary in your quest to convert a friend into a customer.  But true business relationships is all about nurturing, of learning more about your connections so you can share values while complimenting each other’s strengths and weaknesses.  Just how often do you get out of your office to meet new people is not really the issue here. bet365.com   It’s more on a question of how willing are you to give more than you take, of how good are you in working with other people.

   When was the last time you took the time to say ‘thank you’.. تنزيل العاب اون لاين or sent out a hand-written note of appreciation to folks who have helped you out?

4. Do You Have What It Takes to Become a Great CEO?

   I’m just catching up with the news around this year’s Olympics in London and thought that I would blog about inspiration you can get from the game that applies to an entrepreneur’s world.  Problem is that many are doing that already.  Come to think of it, business is a lot like sports.. where you engage in the game of solving your customer’s pain, offer them something unique, sell, build relationships, lead and try to gain your sanity by aiming for a work-life balance.  Sometimes, it makes you think that radical thinking is the only real thing that separates a good business from a great one.  While many of the benefits far outweigh the challenges every business owner face, it makes me wonder why only a small percentage of companies are truly great.  What is great..?

   What Makes a Great Startup CEO

   Being CEO has more than a touch of glamour printed on your business card.  It’s more than that drive to innovate that moves the usual CEO to becoming a great one.  S/he is a keeper of the vision that’s larger for everyone to understand and I’m talking long term here.  Just take a look at how giants like Apple, Facebook and Google all started as startups.. and the great leaders that pushed everyone to put the pieces of a huge jigsaw puzzle together in building something larger than life.  Have they known that they will become a phenomenal success? كازينو البحرين   Of course, not!  Only movies got spoilers for that and for the rest of us who work hard to make this vision a reality, it takes passion, determination and extremely low levels of tolerance for stress that makes you wonder if we’re some sort of a sadomasochistic herd ( no pun intended ).  Yes, everyone wants to have our job because we are insanely successful, we can take off whenever we want, got lots of time to party around and so on.  I hate to break the bad news to you.. كيف تربح في البوكر but the real scenario is far from the myths that surround an entrepreneur’s life.  I can work 18 hours or more in a day or two just to keep things working for my clients.  I may not be building the next breakthrough in the name of tech, but the harder I work, the more results I see.  Great CEOs are always excited to control their own destiny.

   Do You Have What It Takes to Build a Great Business?

   Most of us online are already well connected.  You got the expertise and the contacts.  What should you do next?  In my years of competing in the consulting business, I have learned that there is a fine line between being unique and being useful.  What differentiates you from the rest doesn’t necessarily mean that it is something of value to your customers, and focusing on benefits alone can turn your business into a boring brand, something that looks like everyone else.  Where do you draw the line?  While you may disagree with me on this very opinionated post that you should not focus on revenues, your sensitivity through active listening will just help you pinpoint the real root cause of the problem.  In a world where the fast beats the big, time is quintessential.  As Bill Gates said, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”  Consequently, it is of no coincidence that the world’s greatest leaders ( even the infamous ones ) are great communicators.  Truth is, your clients won’t really care how much you know until they know how much you care about their problem.  Creating this culture of caring into your business will pave the road to greatness.

   Managing Your Mind: The Great Barrier to Your Success Reef

   The biggest challenge that you will face before you become a great CEO is facing the doppelganger of your restless mind.  How many times have you doubted your performance?  You think you’re doing a great job and yet, you feel bad.  What’s wrong in this picture?  The only way for you to become a great leader is to be one.  No amount of management training can really prepare you for the job of running a company. كيف تربح المال من الانترنت مجاناً   And even if you think you know what you are doing in an era where everyone is involved in the new way of doing business, things can go awfully wrong.  When it does, you may add more injury to the pain by taking everything too personally or not personally enough.  Where do you really step in?  Is being great a lonely job, after all?  I’d say that there will be plenty of times when you feel like quitting and if you succumb, you wouldn’t know that you’re only a step away towards success.  Fear is irrational and it’s all inside your head.

   Can you keep your focus on your roadmap?  That’s something for you to ponder on this summer..

5. Managing Virtual Teams: Five Keys to Success

   Do you believe that teams working remotely can outperform those who work in the same location?  Virtual collaboration is shifting from trends to norms as more people are working from anywhere in the world.  They all have to thank mobile technology with this new-found freedom.  There’s no denying that we are entering the age of the global workforce and soon, team members working in the same cubicle will be obsolete.  We see teams working from their homes, across cities and even across the globe.  Everyone works independently this time.  Aren’t we so lucky to live in such a digitally-connected world? كيفية لعب البوكر للمبتدئين

   The Fallacy of Face-to-Face Meetings

   While it is undeniable that nothing beats the usual way people meet to brainstorm and synergize, leading teams across different time zones and conquering cultural divides can be felt in the virtual world.  Small businesses are taking advantage of running a virtual team as it means flexibility and minimal cost.  Though studies have found that collaboration across distance is tougher to manage, it is manageable still.  Proximity may promote frequent communication, but it can also be a hurdle when trying to accomplish complex tasks that need more focus.  A good example is those in the research and development industries, where their network of operations are scattered across the globe as they compete and work towards excellence.  The degree of expertise in these teams are more extensive, where they can work for the same goals while having a higher tolerance for diversity.  This diversity may cause problems in communication but overall, it enhances problem-solving skills so everyone can come up with a faster and better solution for a particular project.

   How You Can Lead a Virtual Team to Succeed Anywhere in the World

   I have worked with virtual teams for over two decades now and managing people in dispersed teams means helping them realize their potentials.  There are many socio-emotional barriers to cross and making sure that your remote team commits to your business goals is a learning process, even after this long. لعبة بلاك جاك   What’s the secret formula?  There is NO secret! The future of work starts with having people skills so you can create trust, connection, communication, collaboration and commitment among them.  You have to:

   1. Place trust at the heart of your work relationship with your virtual team and employ strategies for building relationships over time

   2. Promote the idea of self-leadership among your team, so they can be self-sufficient in managing their work

   3. Set expectations early by communicating with your team what you expect for them to accomplish – from work hours, deliverables, status reports, to conference calls

   4. Stay virtually connected by utilizing platforms like Skype, GoToMeeting, Google Hangout and many more.. It’s all about creating an online water cooler for your team to feel that they’re stepping into the office. ربح المال من الالعاب اون لاين   It’s all about sharing ideas and breaking the ‘virtual ice’.

   5. Use new technology wisely as there are a plethora of tools available for you to use in managing your virtual team

   It all comes down to RESPECT.. and 360 degrees of communication at all levels.  By fostering a global mindset among your team, everyone will feel that they are part of something bigger than their geographic location.  This will make them respect the diversity of work, its schedules and stay committed to each other in meeting deadlines.  The degree of competitiveness lessens and collaboration heightens.

   Are you ready to keep your team together?  

   Bottomline is – the workplace has changed and we all have to adapt to survive and thrive.

6. The Hidden Power of Introverts: A Great Leader in the Making

   What makes a great leader these days?  Does it have something to do with the willingness to take risks and invest in dreams?  Is it calculated by works of innovation?  Surely, there’s more to a great leader than what many dictionaries, blogs and online articles can ever define.  While great leaders harness the power of their dreams in making it a reality, perhaps, it’s that attitude that got them to the hall of fame.  More than just the willingness to work non-stop to achieving their goals, it may have something to do with the attitude. لعبه بلاك جاك   This now comes down to a question:  Who makes great leaders: Introverts or Extroverts?

   Putting an Introvert in Charge

   Recently, I’ve watched a talk by Susan Cain on the Power of Introverts (as shared below ).  What struck me is that in this digital age, we live in a world of ceaseless noise and most often, the way to beat everyone else is to make sure that you are louder.  In this extroverted business world, just how can the silent ones survive and thrive?  Being outspoken and sociable is a must as we connect with each other, offline and online.  Still, what’s surprising is that research shows most of the thought leaders in their field are introverts, even in this era of social collaboration.  Perhaps, introverts make better leaders because of one thing: They’re more likely to listen and pay attention. بوكر اون لاين حقيقي   Those who everyone sees as a quiet and shy person may possess that reticent mind tailored to success.

   Introverted Leaders: A Diamond in the Rough

   Those who are not outspoken doesn’t mean they are dumb.  It’s an oversimplification.  On the other hand, if someone is quieter, that person may be more focused in doing his/her job well, making sure that everything is done properly.  This quietness is their strength because they know how to think first, before talking later.  Unlike extroverts, they learn through listening and their calm demeanor can help them become more focused on finding the best solutions.  These types are more likely to dig deeper in solving issues before moving on to new ones.  Whenever things go wrong or arguments heat up, they exude that calm confidence that makes them speak slowly, but reassuringly. افضل طريقة للربح في الروليت   They may not be great at talking, but they take time composing their thoughts to come up with the best words to articulate what they have in mind.  In the long run, this kind of clarity helps an introverted leader gain more trust from his/her team – paving the road to great leadership.
   
   Stomping Out the Extroversion Bias

   Unfortunately, introversion is treated like some type of disease that children need to be treated from.  Our society even encourages us to take on the extrovert ideal, of becoming a charismatic, outspoken ( and nearly narcissistic ) person.  Being bold and gregarious has been our way of survival ever since the first humans lived.  Even in our modern offices, we conduct brainstorming sessions and encourage everyone to think loud.. and most often, the one who did the loudest gets the favor of the group.  Because of this bias, many introverts feel that there’s something wrong with them and they try their best to pass as extroverts.  They willingly give up time to spend in quiet, worthwhile activities so they can attend social events instead.  I have nothing against extroversion though, and I believe that a balance between the two is like Yin and Yang; also, introverts shouldn’t be put on a bad light just because they prefer to spend more time at home.

   Because introverts are at their best when they are solitary, the next time someone marked you as one, just smile and be proud… You have the makings of a great leader!

7. Outsourcing in the Age of Uncertainty

   As businesses are becoming more dynamic these days, not only a global mindset is called for – but a move towards leadership and resiliency in this age of uncertainty.  Yes, we are living in times when change happen in a blink of an eye and where there is danger, there is also a hidden opportunity waiting to be discovered.  Outsourcing has never been the enemy here and what is lacking are innovative strategies and planning that will help businesses become more competitive, no matter where they are located in the world.

   An Open Invitation to a Better Outsourcing Relationship

   What makes a winning outsourcing relationship these days?  The key may lie in our flexibility and willingness to invest in expertise that will make things work for our business.  If both parties are open and honest, it will pave the way for problem-solving scenarios that will create positive results for both clients and outsourcing service providers alike.  If there is an issue of trust when the economy is barely recovering, perhaps, both parties can meet halfway in addressing needs and resolving issues to set expectations right in the first place.

   This will then lead to this personal sense of accountability where there is just this initiative to create solutions for the success of the outsourced project. لعبة poker   It’s a chain reaction, with the benefits, if you would like to call it as such. لعبة بوكر تكساس

   Learning to Survive in the Outsourcing World

   There have been recent fears about Obama’s outsourcing bill that can have significant effects in major outsourcing hubs like India and the Philippines.  If this is viewed as an opportunity instead, where helplessness is transformed into power, one can survive this by seeking out new and unexplored terrains where outsourcing can still thrive.  There is a shifting trend to insourcing once more, where clients are wanting to bring back roles in-house.  There will be short-term gaps in contracts and yet, if one will commit to improving the quality of service, processes and managing business cost – one can still compete in times when businesses are looking to add more value, without adding extra costs.

   If there’s going to be a slowdown in outsourcing in the coming months, what we can do for now is see this niche in a bigger picture.. so we can have better visions of the present situation that will help us address it in the future.  Will sending more work to outsourced providers result in a mutually beneficial business relationship?  In the end, change is constant and just how you respond to it makes a huge difference in the world. لعبه روليت