What is holding your career back from progress 1?

Many people are found trapped in their careers. They do not move forward nor do they move sideways. They are stagnant. They are found trapped in a hole. But, what are the factors which hold people's career back from success? Before we look at the causes, let us first define what is meant by a stagnant career.

     The career of a person is considered stagnant when compared with his or her peers. When someone does not receive promotion while almost all his peers have been promoted. Some peers may have even reached the position of vice presidency or presidency. In some cases, promotions are not done vertically, but horizontally. For example, the function can be the same, but importance may be different. A person may hold the same function, but with many subordinates or with many subsidiaries or even more important department such as the Finance.

     How do you feel when you see your peers going into higher positions? If you feel bad about it, what do you do? The first thing to do if your career does not move vertical or horizontal is to ask yourself what is wrong with you. For you to do a thorough analysis, you need to consider some factors. These factors will be explained in the next post!             

   

The effect of culture on negotiation 2

In my last post, I wrote about the effect of Oriental Culture on negotiation with the western culture and what westerners should be aware of. Today, let us look at how Latin American culture influences its negotiation process. 

     Latin America is composed of countries located in the Southern and Central America. Someone doing business or going into negotiation with a Latino person should be aware that he or she needs a reference or referee who is known by the Latino. The door opens to you through this referee. Generally, they do not trust people they do not know. So, having a good referee is more important than a written contract. 

     Another observation is with respect to pricing. Prices are not generally given freely through the phone. Prices are given to you only when they see you in person and are sure you are going to buy the product or service.

     So, do not ignore these cultural differences while negotiating with someone from Latin America.         

The effect of culture on Negotiation

In my earlier post, I wrote about the art of negotiation. In that post, the art of negotiation did not consider the effect of culture. The post considered people of the same culture. Now, how does one go about negotiating with people from other cultures? The cultures generally considered are East and Western cultures. However, we have sub-cultures within these. 

    The Eastern or Oriental culture is known for not being too verbal or too persuasive like the Western culture. In the same way, the Orientals do not like a lot of persuasion. This means when you are negotiating with people from Asia (China, Japan, etc.), you need to give them all the information you have without making a lot of maneuvering tactics or going from point to another. Present your minimum price because there is no room for a lot of bargaining. You should understand that you should not get immediate reply or order for your products or services. Do not consider that to mean the deal will not be closed.

     Another difference lies on the fact that they maintain their words, with or without written contract. In the next posts, we will look at the effect of other cultures on negotiation. So, check out!       

  

How does your behavior affect your career 3?

In my earlier posts, I gave some tips about the effect of your behavior on your career. In the present post, I will give some advice on what to do after discovering that your behavior may be affecting your career. Immediately you notice any of the tips given in the second post, you need to take the following steps:

 - think about the last time you met with your superiors and remember how
    they felt about your comments and your suggestions;   

 - did you notice anything from their body movement when you made the
   comment?
 - imagine yourself to be the boss and someone made the comment to you. How
   would you react?
 - if you cannot find solution by yourself, look for outside help immediately;
 - do not look for help from your organization because your colleagues might be
   afraid to tell you the truth; 
 - the appropriate outside help will be psychological one. They have various 
   tests about human comportment. This is what you need;
 - you need to invest some time and money in this process. It is not a problem
   someone solves in very short period of time;
 - bear in mind that changing behavior is very difficult, but you can do it
   because you are the one who desires for the change; 
 - do not enter into the trap of thinking that investment in personal development
    is a waste of money. It is an investment with a huge return; 

After the training, you will see how people will like to be associated with you. Good luck!
      

    

Negotiation is an art!

Negotiation is an art. It is an art of discovering who needs the deal the most. Who needs the deal the most has to accept the conditions imposed by the other side. It is as a simple as that, although nobody will give you this information. The jargon generally used is a win-win negotiation. There is nothing like a win-win negotiation. If one wants something he does not know how to produce or know the components or from where to get them, the person will be very happy to have the product at the price given to him. If the buyer has some information or some knowledge about the product or where he can get competitors, his negotiation capacity increases. In this case, he cannot any price given to him.

     When going into negotiation, try as much as possible to have information about what you are negotiating. On the contrary, you are going into submission and not into negotiation. So, think of that!    

How does your behavior affect your career 2?

In  my last post, I wrote about the effect of one's behavior on his or her career. I wrote about how bad behavior may be a barrier to his promotion to an executive position. But, what are the red flags that may tell you that your behavior is not all that good? You should watch out for the following signs:

- your invitation to participate in some meetings with your peers and not invited

  in other meetings;

- not sending you to represent your Company in important events;

- your boss asking you if you would like to work another subsidiary of the

  Holding, but to accupy the same position;

- your boss asking you to head a smaller company of the Holding instead of 

  being promoted to an executive position at the head office; 

- your director, vice president or CEO wanting to have only brief meetings with

  you;

- your superiors always in a hurry whenever you are approaching them or

  always trying to dodge you;

- your superiors wanting you to send them reports by writing instead of face-to

  face meeting;

The above tips may give you indication that your situation with your compny is not very good. After observing these signs, you should immediately check yourself. The next thing is to ask yourself: what should I do?

     In the next posts, we will give you some guides on what to do. So, watch out for the tips!

       

  

How does your behavior affect you?

In my last posts, I wrote something about the two qualities that affect our work. These are your skill and your comportment (behavior). You may be an expert on something, but nobody likes working with you neither your company's clients wanting to negotiate anything with you. On the other hand, you may be the most sympathetic person on earth in attending people and working with people, but you do not have the necessary skills required for your job. People will like to have fun with you and hang out with you socially, but cannot consult you in order to solve technical problems. In other words, you need the two attributes. You need to have good skills and good behavior. 

     I know you have good skill before your Company hired you. This is because job interviews are generally centred on skills and less on behaviors. The question now is: how does your behavior affect you? Have you ever asked yourself this question before? The fact is that nobody will tell you about this, even your closest friends. This is because many people are afraid of hurting others. The situation is worse for people in high positions. Everybody likes to be a friend of the boss in order to be favoured by the boss. As a result, they cannot say anything negative about you in order to continue with their priviledges. Stop for a while and ask yourself the question above. 

     One director of Human Resources once told me that they do not verify the behavior aspect during the interview. They only worry about it during promotion to managerial positions. As a result, they provide trainings about leadership and people management for senior positions. If the trainings do not solve the problem, they tend to hire executives from the market. That is the reason for writing this post. You may not why your Organization did not promote you to the executive position. It may be because of your behavior! In the next posts, we will verify some of the points you should consider in order to assess yourself. Have a good week!

         

 

The power of the subconscious mind

Our subconscious mind is the most powerful force we have through which we can solve practically all our problems. The problem is that many do not know how to use it. As a result, they are always thinking that the solution to their problems must come from the outside. The famous motivational speaker, Late Jim Rohn, once said that when he realised that the change had to come from him, his results started changing. He used to use the famous phrase "the government was the same, politics was the same, economy was the same, etc." In other words, all the external factors remained the same. The only change was the internal change. What was the internal change he was talking about? Of course it was the activation of the subconscious mind in such a way that the original contents were replaced with new ones. That is what the speaker meant by saying that your result will only change when you change".

     Everything we do is controlled by what is inside our subconscious mind. You can accomplish whatever you desire only if your subconscious mind says you can. Sometimes, people make comments that others thought they could not succeed or achieve certain levels in life or even that they were being discriminated against. As a matter of fact, what actually happens is that these limitations are fed into their subconscious minds. No one can say or establish your level of success. You are the only one who has the power to control it. That does not mean there are no obstacles in the way. 

     It is true that subconscious mind remains a very powerful tool, the question remains on how to activate it so it can work to your benefit. Working to your benefit implies unleashing your maximum potential. In my next posts, we will look at how the subconscious mind can be activated. So, check this out!       

          

Getting out of debt is easier said than done!

It is very common to hear people say that they want to get out of debt. This may occur as a result of them seeing others do it or from the experience of what they see others passing through. However it may be, getting out of debt is not an easier task. It requires a lot of sacrifice - a change in lifestyle or behavior. Lifestyle, as you may know, is like culture. It is deep-rooted in a person that its removal demands a big opposing force. It is difficult to change the behavior of an adult. This can only be accomplished by internal force. This force has to be bigger than the fear of losing status, being afraid of what people will say, and the shame that goes losing status. 

     For example, many cannot sell their cars and settle their debts while going on foot. Others cannot accept living in a smaller house in order to save money and pay their debts. Instead of scaling down, many prefer to borrow money from one source to pay debt from another source. Others prefer bring all debts together and refinance them in what it called debt consolidation. Call it what you like, debt is debt. Debt is eliminated when it is paid off. As a result of refinancing, many continue spending more than they make. 

     Getting out of debt requires a change in behavior and nothing more. It does not depend on how much one makes. Change in behavior, like anyother problem of comportment, deals with emotion. Anything that delas with emotion can be solved by using the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind gives you the vision or the picture of where and how you will be. In order words, it gives you the "big why" behing doing something. The reason why many say getting out of debt without accomplishing this goal is that they lack the capacity to activate the subconscious mind. The alternative is to go for counseling where they should be worked through the process. 

     Therefore, look for outside help in case you are not able to activate your subconscious mind!

  

             

"How can you think big in a bad scenario like this?"

The question many folks ask is: how can one think big when the current scenario is too bad and there is no sign of recovery? It may seem that everything is bad now because of real time communication means we have today. Has there been any time in history when people enjoyed heaven on earth? I asked this question because the information we have today were taken from books of history or sometimes, from imaginary simulation of the past. In any form one may put it, the world scenario has always been ups and downs. If you wait until everything is perfect, you cannot do anything and as a result, will achieve nothing.

     This is where the phrases of motivational speakers take shape. It goes like this: "you have to change how you see things since you cannot the scenarios" Another thing one has to learn is that many thrive in the so-called difficult scenarios. The question you should ask yourself is: how did they do that? This also leads us to another quotation from motivational speakers - "associate yourself with successful people if you want to be successful"

     We are the ones who determine what we want in life and to the extent to which we can go. There is no limit for those who believe they can make it. So, you can think big in any scenario!