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posted at 09:47:36 By Flipping Heck!

Posted In Motivation

Well, New Year coming up so new start and all that eh?

As we move into the new year, we'll all start having to face the prospects of either giving a review or being on the receiving end of one. The following video I stumbled on whilst wandering through YouTube is an excellent example of how a decent appraisal meeting should be run.

Some important points to take away from it:

• Appraisals aren't there to look back and apportion blame, they're a tool to discuss how you want to move forwards
  
  
• Recognise that people may not be comfortable with certain aspects of their working lives and offer them help towards resolving these problems rather than seeing them as a lost cause
  
  
• Ask for the employee's point of view, don't just say "This is what you're going to do, like it or lump it"

Anyway, sit back and enjoy this short but informative video:

posted at 10:36:27 By Flipping Heck!

Posted In Motivation

Stephen Covey has launched a new community site, based around his "7 Habits of Highly Effective People"

From the Stephen Covey Website:

The site allows you to make friends, set goals and start your own groups. Current groups include:

• Body Goal Groups
  
• Heart Goal Groups
  
• Mind Goal Groups
  
• Spirit Goal Groups
  
• Life passion groups
  
• Occupation Groups
  
• Geographical Groups
  
• School Groups
  
• Company....

posted at 12:49:19 By Flipping Heck!

Posted In Motivation

Hah! Bet you didn't see that one coming eh? Yes, I am about to link the US Election to the topic of this blog - how genius am I?!

Firstly, before I begin my "mashup" of politics and lifehacking I'd like to give a big round of applause to all that voted for - who I personally feel - the best candiate we could have hoped for in terms of impact on not only America, but the world as well.

Plus I'd like to applaude everyone that voted in general. Exercising our democratic right to vote is something we often take for granted (although not so much in the UK as we haven't been given the right to vote in a General Election since 2005 the current guy just inherited his post and we therefore haven't voted in the schmuck "democratic" leader of of our country).

I do have to find it slightly amusing that the result of the US Election - which some pundits are already calling the biggest change to politics ever (er, I think that may be the voting system in general, no?) - was announced on the day that in theory could have changed the course of modern politics (including those of the States) forever. Yes, today is the day that poor old Guy Fawkes gets tossed on the bonfire - we omit the hanging, drawing and quartering bit as there are....

posted at 08:00:00 By Flipping Heck!

Posted In Motivation

Okay, a slightly strange topic - and tangent - for me I know bt I've been thinking about this for a while now (no wonder my head hurts!) and I actually think that the lessons I've learned whilst running one of my local pool teams - Yes, they let ME be a captain, the fools!! - are quite relevant to the business world and teams in general so, if you'll bear with me, here are the five things I've learned from pool that I think will help you run your team.

Slight disclaimer, I'm not currently managing a team but I used to so that's how I know, okay?!

1. Always be on the look out for new talent

You never know when someone may shine so always be looking around you - at other teams and just in general. Sure, your team may already be complete but you never know when someone's going to move or - heaven forbid - leave.

Try to spot people early, and then keep an eye on them; take an interest and offer to help them. Plus, let them know that there's a space on your team for them in the future - this is one heck of a motivator and will work wonders in your favour in your favour when they actually ask them to join you.

If you a....

posted at 18:29:44 By Flipping Heck!

Posted In Motivation

Habit 7 is the habit that makes all others possible (Er, so why isn't this the first one then or am I being picky?). Basically "Sharpening the saw" is the process of learning, evolving and building on the habits that we've mastered; It's self-improvement and self growth in all areas of our lives.

This habit sees us applying learning and growth over 4 main areas:

• Physical (excercise, nutrition, stress management)
  
  
• Social/Emotional (Service, Empathy, Synergy, Intrinsic Security)
  
  
• Spiritual (Value Clarification & Commitment, Study & Meditation)
  
  
• Mental (Reading, Visualising, Planning, Writing)

In order to "Sharpen the saw", we need to practice improving the Physical, Social/Emotional, Spiritual and Mental aspects of our lives. Covey breaks this down into sections and gives us pointers on what we could be improving in each of these areas:

Physical

Looking after ourselves
Eating properly
Resting properly
Exercise - Covey puts a lot of emphasis on this, tying mental and physical activity together.

Spiritual

This is highly related to Habit 2 (Start with the end in mind)
Meditation
Self Discovery
Self Examination of our inner se....

posted at 09:00:00 By Flipping Heck!

Posted In Motivation

Oh dear, the title of this chapter alone had me cringing before I even started to read it. I detest management speak and jargon and this word really grated on me. But, being the trooper that I am, I got over it and read the chapter anyway.

For those not familiar with the evil word "Synergy", the definition from Dictionary.com:



Hmm... I think we can discount the last two, don't you!

The start of the chapter explains how all of the previous habits build up to reach this point of where we can interact in a "synergistic" way with others as synergy, Covey says, is the essence of "principle-centered leadership".

Covey defines his idea of synergy in a different, and slightly more fitting way than the dictionary definition:



Basically, synergisti....

posted at 09:00:00 By Flipping Heck!

Posted In Motivation

The BBC has reported that "Older People are happier at work":

Great! So I've got twenty years to go before Im happy at work!

In all seriousness though, I think that the "older" workers would be happier, surely that's obvious isn't it? Think about it. They've done their hard slog, the kids have left home, they can retire soon, they've probably got savings in the bank and have almost paid off their mortgage. A person in their thirties? They're struggling to pay a mortgage, pay for the kids shoes, pay for a car - you get the picture.

A person in their thirties needs to toe the company line, be a "yes man". A person in their fifties could easily tell their boss to stuff it if they wanted to.

Okay, I know I'm generalising here but I'm sure you get what I mean. We're being asked to work longer hours, for less money in an uncertain climate. Is it any wonder we're moaning?!

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