The idea that first impressions matter is a cliche, but it’s a cliche for a reason. While it may seem outdated to judge a person solely on their appearance and the initial meeting, business persons have long memories, and any biases after the first contact may well linger for a long time.
And now, in a world where anybody can start their own business and entrepreneurs can come from all walks of life, it is more important than ever that you can make an excellent first impression when it comes to meeting potential clients, customers, or investors.
The first impression can relate to anything from your appearance, your office culture, or even the way you conduct yourself around new and possibly more senior members of your company. By ensuring that you avoid the mistakes of the many when it comes to first impressions, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about, right?
THE YOU
When meeting someone for the first time, you want to look professional and serious. This is true for every situation in life and not just business. But, when first meeting someone who could very well have a massive influence on the success of your company it is much, much more than a life and death scenario.
Dressing professionally is Business 101. There is no point in wasting time discussing the proper attire for CEOs when first meeting investors or clients. However, while we all know about what to wear, some people often don’t know how to act. Firm handshakes, eye contact, a clear focus on what you want and a sense of humour will all go along way in convincing anyone who comes into your office will be the real deal.
THE OFFICE
Entering your office could very well be the first instance of someone experiencing what your company is all about directly. The first thing they will probably see is the reception desk, which will give them an immediate impression of what sort of office culture you are running.
Furthermore, the placement of such desks will demonstrate the sort of inclusiveness of the office. Is it within the office alongside salesmen and women? Or secluded in an independent room before getting into the main office? While it may not seem significant, these things matter to those who will matter to your company, should they choose to.
Once the initial meeting is out of the way, it is time to consider how the rest of the office will look to outsiders. While your company may have its unique way of doing things that make sense to you and your employees, to outsiders, it can sometimes come off the wrong way.
To ensure that this does not become an issue, it is wise to know exactly what might be questioned and have an acceptable and responsible answer to whatever might be thrown at you. If you can justify your office culture in a way that demonstrates you are working for the benefit of the business, many supposedly strange office quirks will be overlooked and sometimes even encouraged.
THE WEBSITE
With everything being conducted online in the modern age, having a fully functioning website is paramount to attracting the right people. Web design can be a hard and arduous process, and so employing the right people to do it for you can save a lot of time and effort.
For many, the website will be the first interaction with your business, and so it is essential to ensure that everything works. This is much more than merely clicking a few links, instead, going through each page with a fine-toothed comb will help avoid any embarrassing questions when trying to convince people to invest in your business.
While it may seem that it would take the world’s most nitpicky and pedantic investor or client to think of all of these factors when first interacting with your business, it is because of this nitpicking that they are in the position to make such judgements. Every day, more and more people are coming round to the idea that the 21st century business world is so unlike the past that it is almost recognisable, but ensuring that you make the best first impression possible is the key to your success.
It can be tough to recover from someone’s negative opinion of you, so don’t give them the opportunity and go along with what is expected. Once you have the support, you can shoot as high as you want, and eventually make other companies worry about their first impression when they meet you.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/img_7353.jpg40046000StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2017-12-21 20:00:462017-12-27 15:49:55First Impressions Matter Now More than Ever
Wanting to be a better leader is a good goal to have. You’ll be strengthening your chances at moving up in your company and helping your organization to succeed. It’s a great personal goal because you can take the skills you develop with you and use them in all areas of your life.
Think about when you’re managing employees in the office versus when you’re at home. It’s likely some of the skills carry over and help you succeed in both environments. You can’t simply want to be a better leader. You have to put in the hard work it takes to achieve results.
Find A Mentor
Your first plan of action should be to find a mentor who you admire and believe has strong leadership skills. Make it your goal to observe them in their element and take notes about why they’re admirable to you. Ask to have a meeting with them and discuss your goals and any tips they have for you. Try to connect on a regular basis and keep learning from them as you start implementing some of their suggestions into your daily life.
Be Innovative
Always be thinking ahead about how you and your business can take your industry by surprise. For example, the painting and decorating company athdecorating.co.uk decided to launch a website for marketing their business, which they hadn’t previously done. It’s a great way to get their services out there and in front of their target audience. Think about how you can do this at your company. Put yourself in charge of the project to make sure it goes smoothly. Show you’re a leader by being attentive, organized and assertive when discussing the details and assigning roles.
Ask for Feedback
Be open and honest with others about what you’re trying to achieve and ask for feedback. Approach people you work and interact with on a daily basis for their comments and suggestions for improvement. You may find some of what they say surprising and be able to use their advice to help you improve your leadership skills. You never know what other people are observing that’s difficult to see for yourself. Focus on what you’re doing right and be honest about where you’re struggling, so you can fix it.
Take Advantage of Professional Development Opportunities
You’re not going to progress by sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself that you’re not a top leader in your company. Be proactive and ask your company what they offer for leadership training. Take an online course or an in person training session that allows you to practice your skills in front of others. Use this as an opportunity to educate and challenge yourself to becoming a better leader, boss and partner at home. Always be learning and jumping on any training classes that will help build your skills.
Conclusion
Be glad that there are ways to improve your leadership skills, so you can keep moving forward in the right direction. Don’t worry about your weaknesses. Look at them as opportunities for growth.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/img_7352.jpg31564969StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2017-12-21 16:00:562017-12-27 15:59:32How To Improve Your Leadership Skills
With today’s businesses being more globalized than ever before, there is a much higher chance that language barriers can exist. Perhaps your business is located here in the United States but your manufacturing plant is overseas, and you have overseas customers. What this means is that you are trying to communicate with people who speak another language and just trying to get by isn’t good enough.
Here we’ll take a look at why professional translations matter so much in the business world, and why you don’t want to be taking any shortcuts.
Legally Binding Contracts
One of the most obvious reasons proper translation matters is because you want to be sure the legally binding contracts you enter are exactly what you understand them to be. Signing something only to discover what it means later on down the road is never a good plan. You could end up in an agreement that harms your business, and yet you’re stuck in it.
The Cost of the Translation Pays for Itself
Professional translations don’t come cheap, but what business owners have to think about is how much money it can save them in the end. Again, if you use the wrong wording when drafting a contract in another language, that simple mistake could cost your business a lot of money in the long-run. It’s just not worth taking the chance.
Make Sure Your Messaging is Clear
These professional translations also help you to make sure your messaging is clear. That could be messaging with clients/customers, vendors, suppliers, partners, overseas staff, and anyone else you are hoping to communicate with.
All you have to do is take a look at some of the rather ridiculous examples of real life funny out of order signs on the mantasticpursuits.com site to see just how important the right words are. Without using the right ones, your messaging is lost and often misdirected.
Ensure Your Content is Always High-Quality
Another benefit to using professional translations is that you’re going to be making sure that all the content you put out regarding your brand and its products is high-quality. This is especially important when it comes to your digital content thanks to the newest Google search engine algorithm. You don’t want to risk your website being penalized by Google, thereby missing out on potential business.
A Chance to Localize Your Content
It’s a fact that when you localize your content it performs better not just locally but on a global scale. Part of that “localization” includes understanding the local culture and language, and appealing to them in a way that makes communication accessible by all.
Not the Place to Make Shortcuts
While there are a number of areas that allow for shortcuts and budget cuts, providing high-quality translation shouldn’t be one of them. Making sure that your message is being relayed and understood as it is intended has a massive impact on the actual success of your business. What this means is that the translation service pays for itself.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/img_7348.jpg500750StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2017-12-21 11:00:392017-12-27 16:11:59Why Professional Translations Matter in Business
In the twenty-first century, offices are much more than a set of booths, each one with a tower computer and a waste paper bin. Working environments are now much more user-friendly with opportunities for collaborative working and they are designed to consider the needs of employees to a much greater extent. Your office should emulate the ethos of your brand, be an open, welcoming and bright space, and be the optimum area for the most productive working. Take a look at how you can create your perfect premises no matter what industry sector you work in.
Location
If you run an advertising agency, you need to be in the thick of a city center environment; close to the big brands, next to excellent transport links and amongst other like-minded businesses. Clients will be attending your offices for meetings, to view your latest presentations and to brainstorm ideas for their next marketing campaigns. It’s vital that they have confidence in your credentials the moment they work through the door. Your interior needs to be sleek, modern and a hive of activity. City center premises can be older and more traditional, or you could opt for an office in a more minimalist and modern building depending on the ethos of your brand.
Space
How you use the interior space is up to you. You could opt for a more traditional zonal system where you cater to those colleagues who need to knuckle down alone in more private spaces as well as providing meeting rooms for those brainstorming sessions and collaborative meetups. You may forego the tried and tested cubicles, for a more open, transparent office environment. If you’re implementing something new, you’ll need to utilize the services of an outfit like BCI Worldwide international logistics company who can kit out a brand new office without you having to lift a finger. They use intuitive project management systems and logistics platforms to track all tasks required throughout the lifecycle of your project installation. By outsourcing a project like this, you are tapping into external expertise and networking with fellow professionals to achieve your desired office environment.
Technology
For some businesses, the latest technology is vitally important. For others, it is more of a luxury. Don’t get too hung up on having the biggest, best and latest gadgetry. What’s more important is the staff team that you surround yourself with and the minds that you manage to merge together to think outside the box and create initiatives that enable your business to grow. Having an attractive premises and office environment will hook those perfect candidates attending an interview for a role within your company. They’ll be eager to work in a dynamic space and one that is conducive to being at the forefront of your particular industry.
Your premises can reflect your brand in the most subtle of ways. If you are an honest, transparent and collaborative company, show this off in your office space. By doing this, you can reflect your company’s core values and promote your business vision effectively.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/BeHappy.jpg8531280StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2017-12-20 11:00:102017-12-22 16:05:43Why Your Premises Should Emulate Your Brand
The reason you worked so hard to complete an executive masters in business administration program is that you wanted to make a difference. Over time, you saw areas which could have been handled more efficiently and at lower costs within your organization. Although you were already in a position of authority, you felt you needed better skills to keep things flowing smoother in accordance with best practices, as outlined in the company manual.
The one issue you kept running up against daily was keeping employees focused on the task at hand. You’ve finally gotten that online executive MBA degree and it’s time to put it to use building strategies to keep your team on task.
1. Complete an Assessment of Why and How Employees Become Distracted
The first step in building any strategy is to determine what it is you’d like to accomplish. The end goal sets the stage for any strategy because, by its very nature, a strategy is a roadmap to success. In this case, you are using your MBA to define common causes for distractions, in order to facilitate a more focused approach to the jobs at hand.
2. Create New Policies to Avoid Distractions
One of the best strategies is one in which you set new rules. In the course of assessing the source of distractions, you’ve discovered that altogether too much talking is going on about things totally unrelated to what they are currently working on. While you don’t want to be a hard taskmaster, you do want to keep things moving along to increase productivity. Why not set a rule that talking is allowed only in terms of job-related issues and all other conversation is best left to the break room.
3. Keep Peripheral Distractions to a Minimum
As you studied for your executive masters in business administration online, you knew that you needed to be in a place where there were minimal distractions. As a result, you set aside one room in your home where you couldn’t hear the television and noises from the playroom couldn’t filter in. You can use the same strategy on the job! Reroute foot traffic through areas where employees aren’t sitting at desks or working on the line and try to keep announcements over loudspeakers to a minimum.
You can clearly see that distractions are costing your company a ton of money each and every year. Not only do distractions cut profits, but they also increase the risk of inferior quality of work. In fact, you may even want to open the floor for discussion among the very employees you’ve found to be most distracted while on the job. Their input could be invaluable. They might define a whole new set of issues they find distracting, after which you can devise strategies to reduce those as well.
Your job as an administrator is to devise and implement strategies. Reducing distractions is a great place to test your newfound skills. Don’t let it be your last.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/img_7346.jpg32184859StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2017-12-19 16:00:212017-12-19 19:25:193 Effective Strategies for Keeping Employees Focused on the Task at Hand
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Business Programs
First Impressions Matter Now More than Ever
/in Entrepreneurship/by StrategyDrivenThe idea that first impressions matter is a cliche, but it’s a cliche for a reason. While it may seem outdated to judge a person solely on their appearance and the initial meeting, business persons have long memories, and any biases after the first contact may well linger for a long time.
And now, in a world where anybody can start their own business and entrepreneurs can come from all walks of life, it is more important than ever that you can make an excellent first impression when it comes to meeting potential clients, customers, or investors.
The first impression can relate to anything from your appearance, your office culture, or even the way you conduct yourself around new and possibly more senior members of your company. By ensuring that you avoid the mistakes of the many when it comes to first impressions, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about, right?
THE YOU
When meeting someone for the first time, you want to look professional and serious. This is true for every situation in life and not just business. But, when first meeting someone who could very well have a massive influence on the success of your company it is much, much more than a life and death scenario.
Dressing professionally is Business 101. There is no point in wasting time discussing the proper attire for CEOs when first meeting investors or clients. However, while we all know about what to wear, some people often don’t know how to act. Firm handshakes, eye contact, a clear focus on what you want and a sense of humour will all go along way in convincing anyone who comes into your office will be the real deal.
THE OFFICE
Entering your office could very well be the first instance of someone experiencing what your company is all about directly. The first thing they will probably see is the reception desk, which will give them an immediate impression of what sort of office culture you are running.
Furthermore, the placement of such desks will demonstrate the sort of inclusiveness of the office. Is it within the office alongside salesmen and women? Or secluded in an independent room before getting into the main office? While it may not seem significant, these things matter to those who will matter to your company, should they choose to.
Once the initial meeting is out of the way, it is time to consider how the rest of the office will look to outsiders. While your company may have its unique way of doing things that make sense to you and your employees, to outsiders, it can sometimes come off the wrong way.
To ensure that this does not become an issue, it is wise to know exactly what might be questioned and have an acceptable and responsible answer to whatever might be thrown at you. If you can justify your office culture in a way that demonstrates you are working for the benefit of the business, many supposedly strange office quirks will be overlooked and sometimes even encouraged.
THE WEBSITE
With everything being conducted online in the modern age, having a fully functioning website is paramount to attracting the right people. Web design can be a hard and arduous process, and so employing the right people to do it for you can save a lot of time and effort.
For many, the website will be the first interaction with your business, and so it is essential to ensure that everything works. This is much more than merely clicking a few links, instead, going through each page with a fine-toothed comb will help avoid any embarrassing questions when trying to convince people to invest in your business.
While it may seem that it would take the world’s most nitpicky and pedantic investor or client to think of all of these factors when first interacting with your business, it is because of this nitpicking that they are in the position to make such judgements. Every day, more and more people are coming round to the idea that the 21st century business world is so unlike the past that it is almost recognisable, but ensuring that you make the best first impression possible is the key to your success.
It can be tough to recover from someone’s negative opinion of you, so don’t give them the opportunity and go along with what is expected. Once you have the support, you can shoot as high as you want, and eventually make other companies worry about their first impression when they meet you.
How To Improve Your Leadership Skills
/in Professional Development/by StrategyDrivenThink about when you’re managing employees in the office versus when you’re at home. It’s likely some of the skills carry over and help you succeed in both environments. You can’t simply want to be a better leader. You have to put in the hard work it takes to achieve results.
Find A Mentor
Your first plan of action should be to find a mentor who you admire and believe has strong leadership skills. Make it your goal to observe them in their element and take notes about why they’re admirable to you. Ask to have a meeting with them and discuss your goals and any tips they have for you. Try to connect on a regular basis and keep learning from them as you start implementing some of their suggestions into your daily life.
Be Innovative
Always be thinking ahead about how you and your business can take your industry by surprise. For example, the painting and decorating company athdecorating.co.uk decided to launch a website for marketing their business, which they hadn’t previously done. It’s a great way to get their services out there and in front of their target audience. Think about how you can do this at your company. Put yourself in charge of the project to make sure it goes smoothly. Show you’re a leader by being attentive, organized and assertive when discussing the details and assigning roles.
Ask for Feedback
Be open and honest with others about what you’re trying to achieve and ask for feedback. Approach people you work and interact with on a daily basis for their comments and suggestions for improvement. You may find some of what they say surprising and be able to use their advice to help you improve your leadership skills. You never know what other people are observing that’s difficult to see for yourself. Focus on what you’re doing right and be honest about where you’re struggling, so you can fix it.
Take Advantage of Professional Development Opportunities
You’re not going to progress by sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself that you’re not a top leader in your company. Be proactive and ask your company what they offer for leadership training. Take an online course or an in person training session that allows you to practice your skills in front of others. Use this as an opportunity to educate and challenge yourself to becoming a better leader, boss and partner at home. Always be learning and jumping on any training classes that will help build your skills.
Conclusion
Be glad that there are ways to improve your leadership skills, so you can keep moving forward in the right direction. Don’t worry about your weaknesses. Look at them as opportunities for growth.
Why Professional Translations Matter in Business
/in Business Communications/by StrategyDrivenHere we’ll take a look at why professional translations matter so much in the business world, and why you don’t want to be taking any shortcuts.
Legally Binding Contracts
One of the most obvious reasons proper translation matters is because you want to be sure the legally binding contracts you enter are exactly what you understand them to be. Signing something only to discover what it means later on down the road is never a good plan. You could end up in an agreement that harms your business, and yet you’re stuck in it.
The Cost of the Translation Pays for Itself
Professional translations don’t come cheap, but what business owners have to think about is how much money it can save them in the end. Again, if you use the wrong wording when drafting a contract in another language, that simple mistake could cost your business a lot of money in the long-run. It’s just not worth taking the chance.
Make Sure Your Messaging is Clear
These professional translations also help you to make sure your messaging is clear. That could be messaging with clients/customers, vendors, suppliers, partners, overseas staff, and anyone else you are hoping to communicate with.
All you have to do is take a look at some of the rather ridiculous examples of real life funny out of order signs on the mantasticpursuits.com site to see just how important the right words are. Without using the right ones, your messaging is lost and often misdirected.
Ensure Your Content is Always High-Quality
Another benefit to using professional translations is that you’re going to be making sure that all the content you put out regarding your brand and its products is high-quality. This is especially important when it comes to your digital content thanks to the newest Google search engine algorithm. You don’t want to risk your website being penalized by Google, thereby missing out on potential business.
A Chance to Localize Your Content
It’s a fact that when you localize your content it performs better not just locally but on a global scale. Part of that “localization” includes understanding the local culture and language, and appealing to them in a way that makes communication accessible by all.
Not the Place to Make Shortcuts
While there are a number of areas that allow for shortcuts and budget cuts, providing high-quality translation shouldn’t be one of them. Making sure that your message is being relayed and understood as it is intended has a massive impact on the actual success of your business. What this means is that the translation service pays for itself.
Why Your Premises Should Emulate Your Brand
/in Entrepreneurship, Marketing & Sales/by StrategyDrivenIn the twenty-first century, offices are much more than a set of booths, each one with a tower computer and a waste paper bin. Working environments are now much more user-friendly with opportunities for collaborative working and they are designed to consider the needs of employees to a much greater extent. Your office should emulate the ethos of your brand, be an open, welcoming and bright space, and be the optimum area for the most productive working. Take a look at how you can create your perfect premises no matter what industry sector you work in.
Location
If you run an advertising agency, you need to be in the thick of a city center environment; close to the big brands, next to excellent transport links and amongst other like-minded businesses. Clients will be attending your offices for meetings, to view your latest presentations and to brainstorm ideas for their next marketing campaigns. It’s vital that they have confidence in your credentials the moment they work through the door. Your interior needs to be sleek, modern and a hive of activity. City center premises can be older and more traditional, or you could opt for an office in a more minimalist and modern building depending on the ethos of your brand.
Space
How you use the interior space is up to you. You could opt for a more traditional zonal system where you cater to those colleagues who need to knuckle down alone in more private spaces as well as providing meeting rooms for those brainstorming sessions and collaborative meetups. You may forego the tried and tested cubicles, for a more open, transparent office environment. If you’re implementing something new, you’ll need to utilize the services of an outfit like BCI Worldwide international logistics company who can kit out a brand new office without you having to lift a finger. They use intuitive project management systems and logistics platforms to track all tasks required throughout the lifecycle of your project installation. By outsourcing a project like this, you are tapping into external expertise and networking with fellow professionals to achieve your desired office environment.
Technology
For some businesses, the latest technology is vitally important. For others, it is more of a luxury. Don’t get too hung up on having the biggest, best and latest gadgetry. What’s more important is the staff team that you surround yourself with and the minds that you manage to merge together to think outside the box and create initiatives that enable your business to grow. Having an attractive premises and office environment will hook those perfect candidates attending an interview for a role within your company. They’ll be eager to work in a dynamic space and one that is conducive to being at the forefront of your particular industry.
Your premises can reflect your brand in the most subtle of ways. If you are an honest, transparent and collaborative company, show this off in your office space. By doing this, you can reflect your company’s core values and promote your business vision effectively.
3 Effective Strategies for Keeping Employees Focused on the Task at Hand
/in Management & Leadership, Talent Management/by StrategyDrivenThe reason you worked so hard to complete an executive masters in business administration program is that you wanted to make a difference. Over time, you saw areas which could have been handled more efficiently and at lower costs within your organization. Although you were already in a position of authority, you felt you needed better skills to keep things flowing smoother in accordance with best practices, as outlined in the company manual.
The one issue you kept running up against daily was keeping employees focused on the task at hand. You’ve finally gotten that online executive MBA degree and it’s time to put it to use building strategies to keep your team on task.
1. Complete an Assessment of Why and How Employees Become Distracted
The first step in building any strategy is to determine what it is you’d like to accomplish. The end goal sets the stage for any strategy because, by its very nature, a strategy is a roadmap to success. In this case, you are using your MBA to define common causes for distractions, in order to facilitate a more focused approach to the jobs at hand.
2. Create New Policies to Avoid Distractions
One of the best strategies is one in which you set new rules. In the course of assessing the source of distractions, you’ve discovered that altogether too much talking is going on about things totally unrelated to what they are currently working on. While you don’t want to be a hard taskmaster, you do want to keep things moving along to increase productivity. Why not set a rule that talking is allowed only in terms of job-related issues and all other conversation is best left to the break room.
3. Keep Peripheral Distractions to a Minimum
As you studied for your executive masters in business administration online, you knew that you needed to be in a place where there were minimal distractions. As a result, you set aside one room in your home where you couldn’t hear the television and noises from the playroom couldn’t filter in. You can use the same strategy on the job! Reroute foot traffic through areas where employees aren’t sitting at desks or working on the line and try to keep announcements over loudspeakers to a minimum.
Research indicates that distractions on the job cost employers over $10,000 per person per year!
In the End – You’re the Boss
You can clearly see that distractions are costing your company a ton of money each and every year. Not only do distractions cut profits, but they also increase the risk of inferior quality of work. In fact, you may even want to open the floor for discussion among the very employees you’ve found to be most distracted while on the job. Their input could be invaluable. They might define a whole new set of issues they find distracting, after which you can devise strategies to reduce those as well.
Your job as an administrator is to devise and implement strategies. Reducing distractions is a great place to test your newfound skills. Don’t let it be your last.