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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Sales Tweet #34

by Rick Baker
On Sep 2, 2010
Sales Tweet #34 When you're late hand the Client $100, to be spent on staff. "A donation to remove your bad habit."
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
First: since tweets have to be so darn concise I didn’t insert the words “$100 of your own money”. But, that’s what I meant. Why would I suggest you give your Client $100 of your own money and tell your Client to spend it on co-workers/staff? 2 reasons: (1) hopefully, that personal $100 consequence would make sure you are rarely, if ever, late for meetings and (2) at least your Client will understand you place a value on his/her time. [You can always say something like: I know you are worth more than this $100 but I am not rich…however, I may be rich some day if I can lick this late-for-meetings problem.]

Tags:

Habits: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things | Sales | Thought Tweets

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Thank You: Celebrating my 100th Waterloo MIN Blog

by Rick Baker
On Sep 1, 2010
Thank You - Waterloo MIN for providing me the opportunity to share my thoughts with people interested in fostering a vibrant local manufacturing community.
 
And Thank You - everyone who has taken the time to read my blogs, rate them, and comment on them.
 
For my 100th MIN blog I am summarizing the highlights of the MIN blogging experiences I have enjoyed over the last year.
 
The Top 3 posts
 
If #visits, ratings & comments are good measurement sticks then here are my Top 3 Blogs:
  1. Changing For The Better: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things #1
  2. 7 Powerful Answers #1
  3. P=2S+O #1
If provoking behind-the-scenes communication and obtaining polarized feedback is a good measurement stick then these would be my Top 3 Blogs:
  1. People Networking…Succeeding in the 21st Century #1
  2. To succeed in Sales I need…
  3. A Contrarian Thought About Creativity
If having fun writing stuff is a good measurement stick then here are the ones I would choose as my Top 3 Blogs:
  1. Don’t put the cart before the horse… - Part 1
  2. Did You Ever Wonder
  3. STOP THE PRESSES!
Some FAQs about my blogs:
 
Q: How do you find the time to write all that stuff?
A: I cut back on watching CSI.
 
Q: Why do you write all that stuff?
A: To share and inspire thinking.
 
Q: What was the funniest thing?
A: Some of the things that didn't make the 'Did You Ever Wonder' short list.
 
Q: What was the biggest surprise?
A: My little Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things video didn't go viral and get me spots on Oprah and Letterman.
 
Q: What's the #1 thing you've learned?
A: The more I write the more I read and the more I read the more I am impressed by skilled authors.

Tags:

Community | Habits: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things

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Sales Tweet #2

by Rick Baker
On Jul 20, 2010
Sales Tweet #2 Good Habits, Bad Habits & New Things... It's your choice. Why not try doing a New Sales Thing today.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
When you boil it down, people only do three different things. They do Good Habits. They do Bad Habits. And, from time to time, they do New Things. Doing New Things is the major key to success.

Tags:

Habits: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things | Sales | Thought Tweets

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Executive BrainSmarts

by Rick Baker
On Apr 15, 2010
I had the pleasure of visiting with Dr. Lorie Saxby last week.
 
Lorie co-authored Secrets from the BRAIN – Sharpen Your Thinking, Power Your Performance, (2010).
 
Lorie provided an autographed copy of her book, which now has a place in my little but growing library of author-signed books.
link to Lorie’s website
http://www.workingbrainassociates.com

Secrets from the BRAIN – Sharpen Your Thinking, Power Your Performance provides a fresh new way to think about the behaviour and performance we experience in our workplaces.
 
The book has a top-notch design. It provides reader-friendly explanations of the brain and how our brains, specifically the frontal lobes of our brains, operate and influence our behaviour. Many examples of both good and not-so-good behaviour - ie, the real-life things we are all familiar with – are provided. The straightforward examples allow us to quickly grasp the authors’ points. And, I appreciated the balance between good behaviour and not-so-good behaviour.
 
Of most importance, Secrets from the BRAIN – Sharpen Your Thinking, Power Your Performance provides help for those who want to perform better and/or help other people perform better.
 
And, isn’t that exactly what business leaders want to do!
 
The authors created Executive BrainSmarts. In summary, Executive BrainSmarts is a tool to help us understand and improve behaviour.
 
Here is an excerpt from the book…
“To this end, we have identified seven key frontal lobe executive cognitive
functions that are particularly relevant to optimal work performance and
productivity. We call these 'Executive BrainSmarts.'”
 
While I will list the 7 functions – focus, initiate, plan, organize, shift, monitor, and regulate - I recommend reading the entire book to understand the relationship between these functions…all of which is summarized in an excellent way in Figure 3: Executive BrainSmarts Paradigm.
 
I found Figure 3 so helpful I photocopied and enlarged it so I can post a copy in my office and carry a copy in my notebook.
 
I intend to re-read this book. It expands my thinking about ‘CHANGING FOR THE BETTER: Good Habits, Bad Habits, and New Things’. The book has triggered several ideas already and I believe more ideas will come with each reading.
 
 
More on Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things in future blogs…

Tags:

Brain: about the Human Brain | Change: Creating Positive Change | Habits: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things | Put Your Best Brain Forward

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CHANGING FOR THE BETTER: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things - #10

by Rick Baker
On Feb 18, 2010
People only do 3 things: (1) Good Habits, (2) Bad Habits, and (3) New Things.
 
This is the final blog in a 10-blog series about Habits, doing New Things, and Change.
 
In the last blog, I wrote: Business people continuously face Problems. Some people handle the Problems quickly and effectively. Some do not. There are many reasons why some people do not handle Problems as well as other people or as well as they could if they themselves could do if they were operating at their best.
 
The same applies to Change.
 
Most people struggle with or resist Change some of the time.
 
Many people struggle with or resist Change most of the time.
 
Business is about People and Process.
 
And, since People design the Process…when you boil it down, business is about People.
 
We can help People succeed at Change For The Better when we:
(1) understand the basics of psychology and physiology and
(2) provide ideas and tools [New Things] to create Good Habits
 
Good Habits are one key to Change For The Better.
 
In this blog series, I presented some facts, all samples of things we can do to help people create Change For The Better.
 
My next blog will be about Corporate Values.

Tags:

Change: Creating Positive Change | Habits: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things

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CHANGING FOR THE BETTER: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things - #9

by Rick Baker
On Feb 16, 2010
A New Habit, P=2S+O© and Change For The Better
This is the 9th blog in a 10-blog series about Habits, doing New Things, and Change.
P=2S+O© has been introduced in prior blogs.
Now, P=2S+O© will be discussed in terms of Good Habits and Change For The Better.
P=2S+O© means: for every Problem [P] there are at least 2 Solutions [S] and possibly one or more Opportunities [O]. Be alert for Problems and, when you find them, replace them with at least 2 Solutions.
This philosophy/tool can be embraced by most employees. So, when employees encounter Problems they can, on their own, replace them with Solutions and perhaps also identify an Opportunity.
I created a P=2S+O© template, a tool people can carry with them as a constant reminder of our desired approach to Problems.
Link to P=2S+O© template [click to download]
Business people continuously face Problems. Some people handle the Problems quickly and effectively. Some do not. There are many reasons why some people do not handle Problems as well as other people or as well as they could if they were operating at their best.
P=2S+O© can help.
When people start to useP=2S+O© it is a New Thing.
If they keep using P=2S+O© then it becomes a Good Habit…a Change For The Better. Most experts say it takes 30 days to create a habit. So, working with P=2S+O© for 30 days should create a new Good Habit.
The next blog, the final blog in this series, will summarize and wrap up this sampling of things that can help us create Change For The Better.

Tags:

Change: Creating Positive Change | Solutions & Opportunities | Habits: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things

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