Rick Baker Thought Posts
Left Menu Space Holder

About the author

Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

E-mail me Send mail
Follow me LinkedIn Twitter

Search

Calendar

<<  November 2024  >>
MoTuWeThFrSaSu
28293031123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
2526272829301
2345678

View posts in large calendar

Recent Comments

Comment RSS

More about breeding passion at our workplaces

by Rick Baker
On Aug 11, 2010
We should reduce and control negative thinking and negative action. If we make it clear we are working to stamp out negativity then that will help breed passion at our workplaces.
 
As we stamp out negativity we will promote self-control and consideration of others. These are good things.
 
Why should we make conscious efforts to stamp out negativity?
 
Our performance is the consequence of our thoughts and actions...or the lack of them. And, human nature is such that negative thoughts and negative actions are often more powerful and more contagious than their positive counterparts.
 
When the contagion of negative thought or negative action enters the situation it has the ability to immediately affect and infect each person in the situation. Body language and voice tone, for example, register immediately. Many people are under-equipped to resist the contagion of negativity. And, many people have difficulty coping with negative situations.
 
Even if the people 'in the situation' have thick enough skin to resist the contagions, negative thoughts and negative actions tend to stall others and create the need for follow up by others. The 'stalls' may be as small as wondering why so-and-so is in such a bad mood today. The 'actions' may be as large as drawn-out slugfest battles. These workplace ‘stalls’ are inefficient. Inefficiency costs money.
 
So, there is an economic argument to support the reduction and control of negativity.
 
In addition there is the benefit of paving the path for workplace passion. If cost control is our desire then we need to work hard at keeping our thoughts and actions on the positive side of centre.
 
If passion for success is our desire then we need to work hard at keeping our thoughts and actions on the positive side of centre.

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Change: Creating Positive Change

Permalink | Comments (2)

How a leader can help to change people's attitudes and behaviour

by Rick Baker
On Aug 4, 2010
 
…the following set of suggestions caught my attention:
  
How a leader can help to change people's attitudes and behaviour
  1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
  2. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
  3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
  4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
  5. Let the other person save face.
  6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.
  7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
  8. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
  9. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.
Point 6 includes a recommendation Dale Carnegie repeats frequently:
 
Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.
 
Now, well into the 21st Century, numerous folks teach this sort of advice. So, sets of suggestions such as those above probably do not stand out as particularly innovative or novel. However, when we consider Dale Carnegie was adventuring into this territory during the first quarter of the 20th Century…it is interesting to wonder how this sort of advice was received when he first provided it.
 
Carnegie’s 1937 classic, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” was a major success, a bestseller.
 
So, we don’t have to wonder if people bought the book…but, how readily did those who bought the book practice what Carnegie recommended?

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Change: Creating Positive Change

Permalink | Comments (0)

Sales Tweet #6

by Rick Baker
On Jul 26, 2010
Sales Tweet #6 Try a low-negative-thought diet. Grab your next 3 worries & refuse to let your mind chew on them anymore.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Napoleon Hill and many others to follow have taught us the value of keeping our mind free of negative thoughts. FYI: Dr. Daniel Amen provides some very useful techniques that he has provided to help his patients. He talks about getting rid of your ANTs...Automatic Negative Thoughts. All of us have them. Few of us have proven techniques for minimizing them.

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Sales | Thought Tweets

Permalink | Comments (0)

Too busy to be great at what you do?

by Rick Baker
On Jun 10, 2010
Too busy to be great at what you do?
 
Are you really busy at work?
 
Too busy?
 
Are you too busy to be great at what you do?
 
If you feel that way once in a while then that’s to be expected…that’s not a problem.
 
If you feel you are too busy most of the time then that is a problem…not good for you, not good for your employer.
 
If you feel you are too busy most of the time then you have some choices:
  1. Keep doing what you are doing and hope the feeling goes away
    [the ‘procrastination’ option]
  2. Quit and get a new job
    [the ‘change my job’ option]
  3. Change the way you go about your job so the feeling goes away permanently
    [the ‘change the way I work’ option]
Most people make an effort to change the way they work. They make changes like working extra hours, taking a time-management course, reading a self-help book, asking others for advice, etc. But, more often than not their effort to change the way they work is short-lived and they move into the procrastination mode. They feel overworked yet they continue and carry on.
 
Sometimes people who feel they overwork but underperform free up enough time to find a new job. Other times their employers pave the path for that by terminating their employment.
 
Question: how many people do you know who felt overworked [while underperforming], made some changes in the way they went about their business, and lived happily ever after? I mean, how many people made permanent changes for the better?
 
I have ideas. We should compare notes on this and create a list of How To strategies and tactics.
 
Things You Can Do To Overcome The Feeling You Are Too Busy To Be Great At Your Job:
  1.  
  2.  
  3.  
  4.  
  5.  
Five to ten suggestions ought to give people a good start at it…

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Change: Creating Positive Change | I'm too busy! - I don't have time!

Permalink | Comments (0)

Building A Quality Attitude

by Rick Baker
On Apr 13, 2010
Most people know the importance of having a good, positive attitude. Many people talk about it. Some argue with the words like ‘positive mental attitude’…for example Gitomer talks about the ‘YES Attitude’.
 
Link to Gitomer – YES Attitude
http://tinyurl.com/4zrgfl
 
No matter what we call it, we all know we are better off when we have it...so, I like it when people tell us how to go about developing a positive metal attitude.
 
I recently listened to the CD version of Nido Qubein’s ‘How to Position Yourself for Success’.
 
 
Nido Qubein presents a helpful summary for Building a Quality Attitude:
  1. have a positive mental outlook about situations, people and ourselves
  2. associate with people committed to excellence
  3. study the lives and actions of great people, read good books, etc
  4. focus on long-range goals, nothing motivates like achievement
  5. always know what you are going to do next (To Do lists help), set yourself up for easy beginnings...leave a half-completed sentence on your typewriter, lay out your clothes, do a pleasant task first thing in the morning
  6. put real meaning into your life...give everything you've got to everything you do...every minute
  7. adopt a Can Do vocabulary
More about attitude in future blogs…

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude

Permalink | Comments (6)

7 Ways to Turn Problems into Opportunities

by Rick Baker
On Apr 8, 2010
In his book ‘How to Position Yourself for Success’, Nido Qubein provides a summary of 7 ways to turn problems into opportunities.
 
 
7 Ways to Turn Problems into Opportunities
  1. Expect Problems...and be willing to tackle them head on
  2. Plan Solutions for Problems in Advance...so you are confident when they arrive
  3. Focus on Fixing the Problem not on Fixing the Blame
  4. Make sure you understand the Problem before you start to work on fixing it; ensure you are fixing the problem and not just a symptom
  5. Formulate several possible solutions to the problem and examine them
  6. Choose a solution and act
  7. Turn you back on the problem and face your next challenge 
This meshes well with P=2S+O©.
 
For every Problem we should be able to come up with at least 2 Solutions. And, we should keep our eyes and ears open for great Opportunities, which often are hiding under Problems.
 
http://www.waterloomin.com/blogs/activestor/p2so
[a link to the first in a series of P=2S+O blogs]
 
Several of Nido Qubein’s thoughts about problems resonate with me.
 
A couple of examples:
  • We should not avoid problems. We should face them with courage and confidence [two of our Corporate Values]. And, even better we should expect problems and plan their solutions in advance. We can use the P=2S+O template to help us sort out our thoughts and create our plans. [download P=2S+O template]
  • We should think of many solutions then compare them. In the past, I have been happy to see people present to me two solutions under the P=2S+O process. I have been reluctant to press for more than 2 solutions. I’m going to give that more thought.
More on problems, solutions, & P=2S+O© in future blogs…

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Solutions & Opportunities | Optimism & Pessimism | Seeking Simple!

Permalink | Comments (1)

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.