Doing Nothing Is the Biggest Risk

Inertia, doing nothing - is the biggest risk to your business, health or your relationships. In sales the greatest threat is not coming from competition but from customers not buying at all. Invoking action then is the key! Think about this in your sales and marketing activities as well as in you personal health diet and exercise regimen (doing it) and in your major relationships.

Mind Mapping Brainstorms

Mind-mapping is an interesting note taking technique, particularly useful in the context of brainstorming. The technique is so powerful because it's dynamic, flexible and emulates the non-linear thought process of the brain. You start with a central idea or theme in the middle of the page and then you link to associations drawn around it as you come to think of them. Afterward you can itemise the thoughts into categories and develop your plans further. Try mind-mapping next time you are about to brainstorm.

Manage To The Downside

When you are making an investment, either monetary or in people, projects or opportunities, often risk is the most critical factor. If you can manage the downside, the upside usually takes care of itself. You only have figure out how to minimize your risk exposure and protect the soft under belly and you are already halfway to success.

Put Your Arguments Into Questions

Socrates and Benjamin Franklin were questioning experts. With good questions you can put forth your point of view without getting into conflict with your counterpart. "Don't you agree it would be nice to ...?" In a carefully prepared sequence of questions you can get the other person to reason with you and agree with your intentions while thinking it was his own idea.

Reading A Book The 80/20 Rule Way

There are many applications of the 80/20 rule. When it comes to reading a book it says: 20% of the pages contain 80% of the content. This has tremendous bearing on your studying technique. First read the summary of the book, then the table of content and the introduction. Then flip through the book, look at illustrations, graphs and pictures. After that you will most likely be able to create a one pager summary of the book. Then, if you want, you can read any particularly interesting chapters.

Expect The Best, Prepare For The Worst!

When engaged in strategic planning I have found it intelligent to work with scenarios and trigger points for each scenario. When the trigger points are reached you will execute according to that specific plan. Since you don't know exactly what the future will look like develop contingency plans around your scenarios to describe your course of action if the triggers are not reached. You should expect the best but prepare for the worst!

Be A Mensch - Enjoy The Joke

"Mensch" is the Yiddish word for "man". Be a man or woman but don't take yourself too seriously. Stop for a moment and smell the coffee. Cultivate a sense of humor over life's little oddities. Enjoy the laughter of a joke well told. Make room for laughter in your daily rituals. When I went through a particularly intense period at work many years ago I used to watch the comedy series "Fawlty Towers" every night! If you are either stressed or bored, make your life a bit more fun!