7 Simple Ways to Improve Your Communication to achieve Success

success with good communicate

We spend more time on devices than interacting with people. Our world has changed. We are driven by our gadgets, smartphones, devices and technology. In these times, communication still remains one of the sure fire ways of climbing your ladder of success. Perhaps, more than ever  before.

How you communicate can make a big difference to who you are. It reflects your personality and words. Good communication requires understanding the other person more than explaining yourself. It means building a rapport with other person, connecting with them and be able to put your ideas convincingly in front of others.

Strong communication skills can boost your career, enhance your image and help you build good relationships with other people. Here is how you can be a good communicator:

1. Listen to Understand

Listen to Understand

Often good conversation and communication means being able to understand the other person. Good communicators listen to understand the other person, not to reply to them. When you connect with the other person, you can communicate with them effectively.

Listening is one of the most important skills in our world today. People are more interesting in broadcasting things about themselves in social media and rarely connect with others.

A good listener always allows other people to talk their minds. They are often good problem solvers, because they understand things at a deeper level and are more reflective in their approach.

2. Be Brief & Specific

Time is no longer a luxury that people can afford. Communication needs to be spot on, it must respect other person’s time and shouldn’t be vague.

More often than not the more you communicate, the less you’re able to convey. But when you have a short and important message, the other person will be able to perceive it better.

3. Positive Tone

Positive Tone

One of the most important aspects of communication is to show sense of purpose and positivity. When people talk to you, they should feel energized and positive. Good communicators exude a positive vibe.

Even when you have to convey negative feedback or discuss something difficult, the tone of your language can make things easy for the other person. Positive conversations encourage and empower people to bring out their best.

4. Authenticity

Be who you are and don’t try to be someone else. You are at your best when you are authentic. An element of communication requires others to trust you. You can build trust when you’re genuine.

When you mislead others, you create troubles for yourself in the long run. Whether you’re a leader or a team member, you will be become dependable when you communicate with authenticity and sincerity.

5. Stay Open & Never Make Assumptions

Never Make Assumptions

One of the best habits of good communicators is that they are open minded. It means they can change their opinion after knowing the facts. They do not let ego get in their way and are willing to learn from others.

You are seen as a problem solver and a go to person, if you are open minded. Open minded people come up with the best ideas and solutions, because they’re not cluttered their minds with preconceived ideas & assumptions.

You can learn more from others when you keep an open minded approach for conversations. It is a sign of maturity in a person, when he can change his mind without a conflict and embrace a better worldview.

6. Ask Questions

Your questioning shows your curiosity. Good communicators always ask questions that are relevant and it helps them pick up information. The art of healthy communications requires learning to ask meaningful questions.

When you ask questions, listen to the other person with respect. It makes people feel valued for who they are. It also helps you learn more about them. Questions can help you connect with others and gain valuable insights from them.

7. Difficult Conversations

Difficult Conversations

When you are in a professional environment, there are bound to be situations that need difficult conversations. Most people avoid these conversations until they become impossible situations.

Good communicators learn to the art of difficult situations. They communicate with empathy for the other person. They understand that putting off things will only make things worse. They are able to build bridges and build stronger relationships at workplace as well as family.

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How Entrepreneurs Excel in an Overcrowded Market

Success strategies for businesses

Running a business is challenging. Surviving beyond five years is a rare achievement for most businesses. One of the most common causes of business failures is competition or overcrowded marketplace.

In a study conducted by CBInsights, 42% of start-ups failed due to products and services for which there was no market need. For surviving and succeeding in business, entrepreneurs need to create their own space.

Markets are crowded and competition is higher in various industries. Opening a company has become easier, however succeeding at business still remains a daunting task. How a company is able to differentiate itself from others and gets noticed decides its future.

Great businesses are built around excellent products and services. When you build a culture of high performance and excellence, customers will be attracted towards you. Here we look at the strategies entrepreneurs adopt to excel in overcrowded markets.

1. Establish a Strong Differentiator

Every business has a heart and soul. It has a spirit. What is your business, what do you stand for, why you are unique, how you can differentiate yourself from others in the space are some of the questions that need deep reflections.

Successful entrepreneurs think through things, they research and engage with customers to answer these question. They build their business and establish their core identity, which resonates with their customers as well as employees.

You cannot build a great business just by copying things from others. Businesses are built when they serve their customers, build excellent products or services and stay on top of their customer’s minds. Give them something that they will never forget about your business.

2. Offer Great Value

Offer Great Value

The only way you can be in business is by solving problems. If you don’t solve problems for people, you cannot survive in business. The most successful entrepreneurs solve problems that offer great value for customers.

When the marketplace has lot of competitors, the one that provides the most value wins. Creating a unique value proposition in your business requires identification of the customer needs. The economic value of your offerings to customers decides the value your product and services command.

When you bring value for customers, they will be happy to pay a premium for your services. Businesses cannot hide behind ordinary products and services. If there is no value, no one will use your offerings.

3. Tell a Unique Story

Every business has a unique story to tell. The successful companies are often built around great missions and vision of their founders. When your company can articulate its story and relate to the outside world in a positive way, it goes a long way in shaping your brand.

How businesses use social media, create stories that convey their deepest beliefs and shape the world reflects who they are.

Is your business telling stories in a compelling way? What is it about you and your business that will help others? Why you care to build your business? Telling stories will build a bridge between your business and the outside world. It will not just be another business selling products and services.

4. Become more Customer Centric

Become more Customer Centric

If you’re in a really crowded and competitive market, customers will have more options of choosing who they can deal with. In this case, it is the business that offers them great experience that oftens win them.

When customers can deal with your company in an effective and effortless manner, your business is the beneficiary. Today customers expect personalised services, extra care and attention from companies. The quality of experience and interactions will get your brand noticed.

The digital tools and technology make it easier for brands to interact with customers anytime anywhere. When customers feel valued, they stick around with your business.

5. Go With The Right Team

Go With The Right Team

Today businesses need to deal with unprecedented competition and fast paced changes. The things that were valuable can suddenly become outdated. Your business needs to stay relevant and meaningful to your customers.

When you build a team with a great mix of skills and expertise, you give your business a great chance to succeed. A great team complements each others, contributes to the overall mission of the business and creates valuable progress day in day out. The teams are suitably rewarded when the business succeeds.

6. Feedback & Market:

Feedback & Market

The market never lies. It’s always correct. For any business to establish itself, it has to have paying customers. When customers pay for your products and services, they will tell you how much they value your offerings.

Many entrepreneurs start with intuition and market research data, but eventually it is the feedback from the customers that makes the difference. The market will provide you the right feedback and pointers for you to move in the right direction.

It is possible that you may not succeed with your first idea, but as long as you take the feedback and move in the right direction, you will make it.

7. Focus on Customer Success:

The only way your business will succeed is by making your customers successful. In other words, you have to do things that make your customers achieve what they want.

When your customers are delighted with your products and services, they will choose you over your competitors. When everyone in your businesses focus on your customers, your business will do very well.

Successful businesses understand and solve problems proactively. When you address customer’s pain points even before they ask them, you create value. Great entrepreneurs understand and provide solutions to the customer pain points even the unarticulated ones.

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The 7 Daily Habits You can Adopt to Improve Yourself

Daily Habits

How can you improve your life? Well, the easiest way you can do it is by improving yourself. When you improve, things around you improve too. Our daily habits play an integral part on who we become.

When you look at the likes of Gates, Buffett, Branson, Winfrey and other successful people, they follow simple habits. These daily habits are something you can pick up too. It can make you better and more successful in your life as well. Here’s a look at some of these habits you can adopt:

1. Train your Mind

Train your Mind

The world is constantly driving us crazy. With the amount of information, work and other things that occupy us, it is easy to lose your mind. So, what do you do? Hmm, focus and train your mind. Yes, just like your body needs exercise for health, your mind also needs some training.

What are the ways to train your minds? The mind is always occupied with thoughts, negative emotions and restlessness. You need a way to calm these thoughts. Feed your mind with positive thoughts. Take out time to relax your mind with meditation or deep breathing.

When there is a sense of calm, clarity and happiness in your inner world, it will reflect in your performance and work life too.

2. Stay Curious & Learn

When we are learning and curious, we keep ourselves young and vibrant. The people who are willing to improve themselves are always open to new things. They are curious about discovering what they don’t know and prioritise learning.

Whether you’re a leader or an individual contributor, the pace at which you learn is the speed at which you will grow. The world is increasingly driven by tools and technologies that require constant learning and understanding. Open minded people willing to adapt and learn constantly find ways to grow.

3. Try New Things

Try New Things

Never lose the thrill of doing something for the first time. When you constantly challenge yourself and try new things, you will be able to do amazing things in your life.

The people who experiment, innovate and do great things in life are those who are always trying. They don’t complain, they are busy building their skills and trying new things to make them successful.

4. Spend Time on Your Hobby

Steve jobs shared this anecdote about his Calligraphy classes at the Stanford commencement speech. At that time, he had no idea where and how these calligraphy classes will lead him. But when Mac team was building the PC, the design skills of Jobs proved handy.

Successful people have a way of connecting things. They understand the value of doing something with great care and attention never fails them.

5. Admit When You’re Wrong

Admit When You’re Wrong

No one can be right all the time. When people admit that they’re wrong, they can correct themselves and make amends.

Successful people make mistakes, but they learn from those mistakes and move on. They try out things, experiment and finally find a way to get things done.

When you admit your mistakes, you can embrace a greater worldview beyond yourself. You show that you have humility and you’re genuine. But when you disown your mistakes, no one can correct them for you.

6. Be a Minimalist

“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like.”

Will Rogers

The social media and our digital life has complicated things. People are constantly comparing themselves with others who are enjoying a vacation, looking good and having a good time.

Comparisons make your life complicated. Never do things to impress other people. Do it only if you really care about it.  The fear of missing out (FOMO) is adding unnecessary stress to our modern lives.

When you focus on things that really matter, you will matter. Give up things that take away your time and add complexity to your life. Simplicity has great power and you can move the world with it.

7. Relax & Sleep Well

Relax & Sleep Well

Give yourself a break, you don’t have to work 24X7. It is important to relax, rest your mind and body. Experts and studies suggest that getting as little as one extra hour of sleep a night will improve your memory, boost your productivity, and reduce your chance of illness.

A lot of people who struggle in life miss the small things. But successful people have simple routines and habits they follow to achieve their goals. Always, remember life is a journey and when you become better, everything around you will improve too.

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8 Things Satya Nadella Did to Make Microsoft a Trillion Dollar Company

Satya Nadella

Satya Nadella has been credited for the turnaround of Microsoft. Ever since he took the reigns of Microsoft as its CEO in February, 2014. His mobile first and cloud first strategy resonated with the enterprise world.

He focused his efforts on reviving Microsoft from the grassroots and has played a significant role in making it only the third US company to touch the magical trillion dollar market capitalisation.

Microsoft joins the elite company of Apple and Amazon to touch the trillion dollar market cap. It is ahead of Google in market cap and strong as ever with dominant enterprise offerings. Here are 8 things Satya Nadella did to make Microsoft a $1 trillion company:

1. Cultural & Mindset Shift

Cultural & Mindset Shift

Nadella advocated an open minded approach after taking over the hot seat at Microsoft. He has inspired his team to embrace learning big time. He calls this learn-it-all curiosity, it has rallied the developers, customers and the investors for microsoft.

The company is looking at novel ways to reinvent itself and do things better in today’s context, not just relying on its past.

2. Rediscover the soul of Microsoft :

When Microsoft was launched by its legendary founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975, it had a mission of bringing a computer to every desk. It was one of the most audacious dreams that shaped the modern world.

The success of Microsoft is a folklore of the technology world. The Microsoft had achieved its mission though. Nadella realised that for the company to excel and push its past glory, it needs a new mission more relevant today.

Satya Nadella worked with the senior leadership team in reframing what Microsoft stood for. The mission of the company needed to inspire their teams and customers. Nadella reinforced that work should have profound significance for the teams. He helped redefine Microsoft’s mission as  “Empower every individual and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”

3. He Understands the Business Value of AI

Business Value of AI

Satya Nadella has been credited with making the right technology moves for Microsoft’s success. Microsoft has also been pushing with AI initiatives that are creating impact and will be the source of major competitive advantage in the future.

Microsoft has always had a sizable presence in the enterprise software world with its office suite, enterprise emails, productivity suite, SQL-Server, operating systems etc. The company is now a dominant player in the cloud world.

The Azure cloud offers an integrated way for customers to store and access all these softwares. Microsoft is also augmenting its cloud with AI features and leveraging the strong enterprise data to take an unprecedented lead.

4. Balance of Consumer and Enterprise products:

Microsoft has been experimenting and innovating like never before. It’s offerings and balance of consumer and enterprise products are making other technology companies cringe.

Office 365 is an example of how the company has tailored its old products to today’s context. Offering the productivity suite on cloud and making them accessible like consumer products shows the great capabilities of Microsoft.  

5. The shift from personal computing to cloud computing

cloud computing

Nadella had put smart bets into Azure. It transformed from a minimal hosting service to a full fledged dominant cloud based ecosystem driving the core Microsoft products now.

The customers actually wanted this. They are now taking advantage of a automated data centre, cheaper services, more sophisticated and state of the art technology for their enterprise software. Azure offers platform as a service to its clients and hybrid cloud has become the mainstream. Satya Nadella started talking about this five years back.

Today Azure is coming out with great features and hosting more customers in the cloud than anyone else in the world.  

6. Nadella prefers Collaboration

Microsoft and Apple have been engaged in a war for decades. Nadella has been instrumental in making moves that have made Microsoft more collaborative. The open and collaborative approach of the company is pushing new frontiers for its developments.

Microsoft made its office apps available on the iPad. Nadella grabbed headlines when he used an iPhone at a Salesforce event in 2015 to demo an  Outlook app.

7. Open Source Community

Open Source Community

Microsoft has had a history and some of its top leadership have had lot of adverse remarks for open source, Linux etc. Steve Balmer once described open source software as cancer.

Microsoft has shown a new liking to open source software under Nadella. Infact, they have also purchased Github and the company is now contributing to open source prolifically. Diversity has taken a new meaning in the company under the present leadership.

8. Making Connections

“A leader must see the external opportunities and the internal capability and culture, and all of the connections among them and respond to them before they become obvious parts of the conventional wisdom.”

Satya Nadella

One of the most remarkable attributes of Nadella has been to build the right connections within and outside of the company. Nadella has been known for taking initiative whether it was Microsoft’s jump into the portable PC market with Surface Book, its first laptop, or embracing cloud and open source software.

The new approach and leadership of Satya Nadella has certainly taken Microsoft to great heights. Bill Gates couldn’t have chosen a better successor to Steve Ballmer than him.

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25 Peak Performance Quotes to Achieve Greatness

greatness quotes

Greatness needs extra ordinary levels of persistence. It needs something that stretches us beyond our self imposed limits and defensive mindset. When you believe in yourself, have a great mission and work towards achieving it, greatness is achievable. It’s invariably your peak performances that define the heights you reach. There are no limits..

Very often, it is what you do, how well you do and for whom you do it that differentiates you from others. You can be great in your chosen field. You can have all the impact in the world with what you do. Here is a look at some of the remarkable quotes that will push your performance and help you achieve greatness.

1. “Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.”

Jessica Guidobono

2. “Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”

John Gardner

John-Gardner

3. “Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.”

Pat Riley

4. “The extent of your impact on the world depends on the size of your devotion to excellence.”

Robin Sharma

Robin-Sharma

5. “An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.”

Mae West

6. “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.”

Paul J. Meyer

Paul-J.-Meyer

7. “Champions keep playing until they get it right.”

Billie Jean King

8. “You don’t get any medal for trying something, you get medals for results.”

Bill Parcells

Bill-Parcells

9. “Life is an echo. What you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get. What you see in others, exists in you.”

Zig Ziglar

10. “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph-Waldo-Emerson

11. “People seldom see the halting and painful steps by which the most insignificant success is achieved.”

Anne Sullivan

12. “It is the nature of man to rise to greatness if greatness is expected of him.”

John Steinbeck

John-Steinbeck

13. “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”

Aristotle

14. “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”

Chinese proverb

Chinese-proverb

15. “We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life.”

Steve Jobs

16. “Don’t mistake activity with achievement.”

John Wooden

John-Wooden

17. “There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, there are no limits.”

Michael Phelps.

18. “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Joe Sabah

Joe-Sabah

19. “Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.”

George Halas

20. “Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once.”

Drew Houston

Drew-Houston

21. “He who has freed himself of the disease of ‘tomorrow’ has a chance to attain what he came here for.”

G.I. Gurdjieff

22. “People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.”

Edmund Hillary

Edmund-Hillary

23. “Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed.”

Peter S. Beagle

24. “The only way to maximize potential for performance is to be calm in the mind.”

Brian Sipe

Brian-Sipe

25. “Desire, burning desire, is basic to achieving anything beyond the ordinary.”

Joseph B. Wirthlin

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How to Build the Right Team for Your Business

Building the right team

Building the right team for your business is crucial for its success. You don’t need the best people but the right people for succeeding in business. The right people are those who can create maximum value and give everything they’ve got to accomplish the shared goals.

Entrepreneurs often come from diverse backgrounds, but none of them can do everything on their own. How they build their teams eventually creates the big difference. Entrepreneurs need to work with people who can understand their vision and purpose. Here is how you can build the right team for your business.

1. Problem Solvers:

Every business thrives on creating value for their customers. When you’re hiring someone, you have to look at the problem solving skills of the person. People who solve problems and seek solutions excel in challenging situations.

You need people who are ready to learn new skills and build expertise for solving critical issues. The skills and expertise required for coming up with the desired solutions changes fast. But the solution centric approach always finds a way.

2. Reliability & Integrity:

Reliability & Integrity

It is easier to find intelligent people than reliable ones. You need people who can be trusted with important things. Integrity means that your team cares for your business and does the right thing even when no one is watching them.

It means they act with the highest ethical standards in dealing with company matters, work and customer affairs. It means contributing your best with honesty and commitment everyday.

3. Have Fun Building Things:

To succeed in business, you have to put in hard work and consistent efforts in building things. Customers don’t appreciate what you build, unless it offers them great value. You need to spend more time at work than doing anything else.

The struggle comes when people don’t like what they are doing. As long as people have fun building things, they will work incredibly hard and do things that will create enormous value. In the process, they build things that achieve great success and they get their due rewards too.

4. Understand Great Work:

Understand Great Work

Mediocrity doesn’t survive for long and the only way you can delight customers is doing great work.  Your team needs to understand this very clearly. They have to give their best shot for creating remarkable and adorable solutions. It is the only way to survive, thrive and grow in business.

When iphone was introduced, it stood out. It commanded a premium and remains one of the world’s most loved brands. It goes to show that great quality often attracts great rewards too.

5. Complementary Skills:

When everyone in the team has the same skills, the team wouldn’t succeed at many things. Every business needs people with complementary skills. People with diverse backgrounds, skills and expertise can contribute and build great things. It promotes divergent thinking and takes a holistic view of things.

Today it is easier than ever to build remote teams and leverage skills. Entrepreneurs can use online platforms for connecting and working with individuals that can offer value to their business.

6. Personality:

There are some people who radiate positivity and energy into the team. They strive hard, help other people and build a pleasant environment around them. You want to have people who are committed and helpful.

Businesses can often go through rough times and dark phases. It is in such moments that individuals with positive bent of mind and energy make a difference. When you’re committed, you come out stronger in tough times and use all your faculties in building something invaluable.

7. Believe in the Vision:

A successful business thrives on its people. It needs a team that believes in its core mission and vision. Building a business requires people to believe in what they are doing.

Self driven teams take ownership and responsibility for their work. They go the extra mile to delight customers and add value. Finding people who fit your culture and align with your values is important in building a successful business.

 

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