The Top Distractions at Work & How to Deal with Them

Workplace distractions

Workplace distractions are a big issue for teams. Overtime, these distractions can build up and kill valuable time that could be spent doing meaningful work. So, what are the top distractions at work? According to a poll conducted by Udemy & Toluna, chatty co-workers are the biggest distraction at the work place.

Impact of Distractions

Impact of Distractions

Are distractions really bad? Yes, they are. When you are constantly distracted, blabbering away and not focused, it is hard to do quality work. You take more time in accomplishing simple tasks and end result of the work is often mediocre. It can lead to stress, low self esteem and even inhibit your progress.

Here is the list of the top distractions at work as per the 2018 workplace distraction report.

1. Chatty Coworkers

Chatty Coworkers

80% of the respondents reported chatty co-workers as their biggest distraction. When tasks need focus and attention, silence is golden. Some of these colleagues can be loud, noisy and constantly distracting.

The distractions are more harmful than you think. When someone interrupts you with an unneeded conversation or loud voice, your brain takes time to switch back to the original task. It is not just a minute. Your brain takes more time to get into the flow again, its rhythm gets disturbed.

Resolution:

Find a place where you can work with minimal disturbance. When you are in a quiet place, focused and attentive to what you are doing, you can really excel at your work.

2. Office Noise

Surprisingly, 70% of the workers reported office noise as the second biggest distraction. The office settings with open offices can contribute a lot to the overall noise. Whether it is the constant movement of things, people, music, loud discussions, everything contributes to noise.

A place which is always buzzing with unnecessary noise will be counterproductive in the long run.

Resolution:

Don’t ignore constant noises and loud voices. Take affirmative action, either move to some other place or ensure that you report the matter to authorities who can take corrective measures.

3. Feeling Overwhelmed by Changes at Work

Feeling Overwhelmed by Changes at Work

61% of the workers feel overwhelmed with work. It is not a surprise, given the changing priorities of business, customer demands and pressure to achieve challenging targets. It is important for professionals to embrace change, adapt proactively and always take things in the right spirit.

You can only grow at your workplace by doing quality work and meeting the demands of your supervisors and the organisation.

Resolution:

Proper communication is a must. If you have too much on your plate, communicate with your manager regarding your work, prioritise things and work with mutual understanding. Your job is to understand what is expected of you and what your team or organisation is trying to achieve.

When you go higher up in the hierarchy, you will need to communicate better, resolve conflicts and get things moving.

4. Meetings

60% of the workers reported meetings as a constant distraction at work. The respondents cited meetings as a distraction that doesn’t let them complete their work. Meetings are gatherings where most people are only half present and switched off. They are time consuming and long hours are spent without concrete outcomes.

Resolution:

Track how much time you’re spending on meetings. Only attend meetings where your presence in a must. Organise your meeting time to discuss important issues; make sure you stick to the   agenda and have concrete action items from the meetings.

5. Social Media

Social Media

You knew this was coming. 56% of the professionals feel social media is the biggest distraction at workplace. Most people felt that they don’t social media to do their jobs, but they are often distracted by it. Many of them cannot spend a day without social media. 51% of the people said, that their employers should restrict the use of social media.

The constant notifications, smart phones and other digital distractions can take a toll on employees. Not only it lowers their performance at work, many studies have shown that social media usage can have detrimental health and emotional stress too.

Resolution:

Say no to social media, digital distractions and smart phones when you don’t need them. You don’t need them most of the time. But constantly checking these things can kill your time, productivity and ultimately lower your self esteem too. Use social media to advance your skills, learning and growth, not to kill time.

Conclusion:

Distractions can be detrimental to growth; it can prevent people from reaching their full potential and doing quality work. The Udemy study also found that when employees are not performing well, they feel bad about themselves, their careers and jobs.

On the contrary, when people are engaged, focused and productive, they deliver high quality work. They learn by doing things, take challenges as stepping stones to growth and contribute whole heartedly.

When people do great work, they feel happy about themselves and also grow in their profession lives.

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This is What Meditation does for Your Career Growth

Meditation for Career Growth

Meditation is being practiced since centuries. It is one of the most transformational habits that you can develop. Meditation helps in building and improving our well being rapidly. This practice helps reducing the stress and anxiety at workplace which in turn leads your mind into a state of calmness, helping you to relax.

Meditation helps our brain to digest the information constantly bothering us, rather than just gulping it down. Michael Carroll, the meditation expert, says,” The practice teaches us to slow down instead of trying to be faster, better or quicker.”

Practicing regular meditation can help you to build a foundation for success. Scientific studies show that mediating on a regular basis helps in boosting your career. It can be helpful for your routine job as it helps in settling down your mind from an extreme stressful situation, making you more productive.

There are various positive aspects of meditation which are covered in this article.

1. Reduced Anxiety

Meditation for Anxiety

Anxiety is often triggered by the limbic system, a part of our brain which is responsible for emotional behaviour. Meditation helps to settle our overactive brain which in turn helps in reducing the anxiety.

“For someone with anxiety, it sometimes feel like their mind is like a  hamster on a wheel-constantly running, but not really getting anywhere”, says Corboy, founder and director of OCD Centre of Los Angeles. It has been proven that meditation helps to decrease the activation of amygdala.

2. Higher Concentration

The practice of meditation helps in increasing concentration which in turn leads to better productivity at work. It helps in focusing and decluttering your mind to reduce stress.

Various studies show that people who meditate on a regular basis have a higher concentration than those who don’t.

3. Improved Communication

Meditation

Clear communication is an essential part of running day-to-day operations in a business. A stress-free mind expresses clear thoughts which helps in building a good communication at your workplace. For this, meditation is a powerful tool.

4. Boosts Creativity

Studies have been done specifically to determine the ability of problem solving in the people who meditate. The result of these studies show that people who do not meditate are more rigid than the ones who are regular.

Also, the non-meditators have a difficulty in providing solutions or provide outdated denouements as compared to those who meditate.

5. Decision Making

Meditate for Creativity

Meditations provides a clarity to the mind which in turn helps in better decision making. Decisions should not be made out of fear or anxiety. Under stressful conditions our brain loses its ability to concentrate resulting in lack of decision making.

Meditations helps in training the brain to be mindful and away from distractions. This in turn leads to quick and better decision making.

6. Creates Positivity

The more tensed you are, the more negative you become towards your work and environment. It becomes tough to control the stressful situation and be positive. In these cases meditation helps to focus the important things and keeps away the polarity.

As we all know that positivity play a vital role in completion of tasks and providing a clarity for your future goals. A positive environment is necessary for attaining success and growth in career. All these can be achieved by spending only a few minutes on thoughtfulness.

7. Restoration of Energy

Meditation for Health

Our body drains energy very quickly when its in anxiety or depression and to overcome this, meditation is the solution. It can beat all the fancy energy drinks out in the market and is free from any side effects too!

Meditation keeps your energy level high, which helps in completion of the work within set time limits, keeping you determined towards your goal.

8. Improves Health:

As per a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, “You must meditate for a minimum of 12 to 15 minutes at a time to get the health benefits of it.” The meditation helps you in slowing down brain activity and stay relaxed.

Since the brain is connected with every cell in the human body, when you are relaxed, it creates well being & improves your overall health too.

9. Practice it Regularly

Meditation for Youth

One can practice meditation anywhere that makes you feel serene. It requires a quiet place free from any disturbances.  You can choose your own time, whether be it a few minutes or an hour. It has no age limit; it’s for everyone and results are truly mesmerizing. Practicing it regularly can create a world of difference for you.

So, including meditation in your daily routine will help you in various ways as described above in the article. Also, it does not require a huge amount of subscriptions unlike the gym ones. Make your life happening and stress-free by meditating just for a few minutes daily.

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The Highest Spending Users in Global E-Commerce

The Highest Spending Users in Global E-Commerce

The E-Commerce websites and portals have created an unprecedented revolution in the world. More users are now buying stuff online than ever. According to Statista, China alone boasts of more than 1 billion ecommerce shoppers. This is more than the population of any other country barring India & China. US is second in terms of ecommerce shoppers around the world.

E-Commerce users Statista

US has over 259 million ecommerce shoppers, but ranks highest in terms of revenue per user. On an average every ecommerce shopper spent $1,952 in US in 2018. UK comes close behind the US with an average spending of $1,639. Interestingly UK only has $53 million ecommerce users. Germany ranks third with an average spending of $1,101 per users. It has 64 million users. Germany has the largest number of ecommerce shoppers in Europe.

ecommerce shoppers

France is fourth on the list and the last one where the average spending was over $1,000. France currently has an ecommerce user base of 49 million and revenue per user $1,010. China follows France with an average spending per user of $634. China has a mind boggling 1,003 million ecommerce users. No wonder China has some of the largest ecommerce companies on the planet including JD Inc, Alibaba and Tencent among others.

Spain is next on the list with average revenue per user of $601. It has a user base of 28 million currently. As per Spain government’s official figures, the internet penetration is 85%. Italy ranks seventh in the global revenue per user with $407 per user. It has 38 million ecommerce shoppers currently. The European Union makes it easier to sell ecommerce products across Europe increasing the consumer base. 

Mexico ranks eighth in the ecommerce spending per user spending of $134. Mexico has 60 million ecommerce shoppers. Brazil and Argentina round of the ninth and tenth spots on the highest revenue per users list globally. Brazil has 119 million users and per user spending of $123. Argentina has the lowest number of ecommerce shoppers among this list. It has 26 million users and average spending of $118.

ecommerce markets

The ecommerce markets around the world continue to grow at rapid pace. The penetration of smart phones has augmented the growth of mcommerce in countries like China and around the world. Logistics is also playing a key role in enabling ecommerce growth. With Amazon prime service, the swift delivery of ecommerce goods is bringing in more users. The advanced digital technologies and widespread use of software platforms for user analysis, marketing, analytics and AI is also pushing ecommerce growth in various markets.

The global ecommerce market is expanding rapidly and more users are being added to it every passing minute. As per IBEF, India is the fastest growing market in the ecommerce sector growing at 51% annually. New industries are being disrupted by the ecommerce revolution. The online platforms for selling goods and services are increasingly preferred by users today.

ecommerce revolution

The ecommerce market has generated an ecosystem where consumers are able to purchase international brands and products with ease. It is also generating export opportunities for suppliers and vendors. Many businesses are tapping into digital business opportunities for growing and scaling their reach.

The ecommerce market is also creating millions of jobs around the world in building software platforms, operations, logistics, warehousing and technological innovations. The online trading platforms are primarily driven by software as a service delivery model, powered by advanced analytics, data and cloud based infrastructure.

cloud based infrastructure

The ecommerce phenomenon has emerged as a strong force, which has shaken up the world’s biggest retailers and industries. The push to bring more offline services, vendors to the ecommerce bandwagon will see greater technological adoption. The mushrooming of services aggregators, online marketplaces and ecommerce portals across various industries and sectors is expected to bring transformational changes in our day to day lives.

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How to be Super Productive at Work

How to be Super Productive at Work

First of all what is meant by being productive? Productive means a person’s capability to work efficiently and give his desired output which is beneficial for the organisation he is working for. It is also a surefire way to ensure growth for an individual.

Spending time at work without proper output leads to stagnation. People who excel at their work make best use of their time in doing something valuable.

Productive Workplace

Being productive at workplace is not as tough as people think, rather it just requires how effectively and efficiently you can manage your time. No matter what you do, there are only 24 hours a day that you need to manage on your own.

Below listed are some easy yet fruitful techniques which will help you in being more productive at your work. Please have a look & charge yourself:

1. Time Management

You should divide your time for tasks and try to accomplish them within the limits. However, there are some reports that show only a few percent of people are able to complete their specified task on time.

So, this is the first step in being productive. There are various tools like Pomodoro Timers which help in managing your time in different work sections.

Create a strategy where you devote your best times for cracking the hardest and the most important things first.

2. Rest Intervals

Rest Intervals

Scheduling breaks time to time has proven to be really effective as it helps in improving the concentration levels. A person’s performance can decline if he works without taking any gap.

For producing quality work, fatigue is a salient feature as small breaks during long chores can help in maintaining a stable performance level. One can walk a bit or listen to calm music for concentrating better.  

3. Say No to Multi-tasking :

Nowadays we think that doing multiple tasks at a time can help bringing the effectiveness and completion of job on time; but this is not always true. In order to seek various tasks at a particular hour, one can lose his productivity as well as time.

Therefore, complete a single work and then move onto the next. In this way there won’t be any reduction in the effectiveness of tasks performed.

4. Set Deadlines

Set Deadlines

Imposing deadlines for ownself is really important if you want to manage your work. Self-stress in a reasonable level is a unique way for focusing on tasks and meeting targets on time.

So, just work under a time limit and you will be amazed to see how coherent you were while doing your job.

You create value when you finish tasks with high quality and within reasonable deadlines.

5. Practice the “two-minute” rule :

The “two-minute” rule from the famous entrepreneur Steve Olenski emphasizes on doing small chores that can be accomplished in two minutes or less. The reason behind this concept is to save time time by doing short tasks immediately, rather than coming back to it later.

By practicing this “two-minute” rule, Steve Olenski has become one of the most successful online content strategist.

6. Prioritize your Work :

Prioritize your Work

Every chore is not equally important. For this, you have to first look behind the consequences of not completing the task. Divide your time among each task and complete the ones with immediate deadline rather than with extended ones.

This way each work can be finished on time and targets can be achieved within the set frame.

7. Have an Optimistic Approach :

It’s the negativity that keeps you distracted and less motivated from your work. So, it’s really important to start your day with positive energy.

The fact is, if you are happy and have an optimistic approach, then you will be doing your job more productively as you’ll be focused and not diverted from your goal.

If you believe that you can handle the pressure and complete the work on time, then you can definitely do so. Happiness and optimism go hand in hand; so you should be both in order to achieve what you want.

8. Eat Healthy and Exercise Daily

Eat Healthy and Exercise Daily

It is prominent to keep an eye on what you eat as it has an impact on boosting brain power and the productivity of your work. Eating healthy not only helps in maintaining but also in improving the productivity.

On the other hand, exercising assists in building a good physique as well as mental wellbeing. If you want to be productive during your task, you have to be both mentally and physically fit. If you are healthy you’ll provide more quality work and there will be a tremendous change in your productivity level.

These are some of the basic tips to be productive while doing your work. You don’t need to be master of all, but yes implementing these in your day-to-day life will definitely make you super productive and very effective. At the end, always work smarter & take pride in what you do.

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The Political Shoe Strikes

The Political Shoe Strikes

There has been lot of controversy with politicisation of the recent Balakot surgical strikes. Now shoes have been hurled in an official meeting, which demeans politicians.

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The Richest Women in the World

The Richest Women in the World

Who is the richest man in the world? We bet you would know the answer to this one. It if Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. What about the richest woman in the world? This is a bit tricky. I am sure you wouldn’t have come across the list of richest women in the world that frequently.

Francoise-Bettencourt-Meyers

So, to answer the question, French L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is the richest woman in the world. She has a net worth of US $49.3 billion. She has taken over the title from Walmart heiress Alice Walton who was the richest woman in the world last year.

Alice Walton is the second richest woman in the world. She is the only daughter of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. Her wealth has been received as inheritance from her father. She is currently focused on collecting art works and is not involved with Walmart operations unlike her brothers. Her wealth is estimated at $44.4 billion, making her the richest woman in United States.

Forbes has released its annual list of billionaires. There are 2153 billionaires in the world, 55 fewer than last year. Surprisingly only 11% of the top 100 billionaires are women. What’s even more surprising is that all of them have made their fortunes via inheritance from family or husband.

Kylie-Jenner

Kylie Jenner, 21, is the youngest woman on the list. Infact, she is the youngest self made billionaire ever. Her wealth is attributed to her cosmetics business. She has also been a TV personality and model with a huge social media following. Martha Ford, 93, is the oldest woman billionaire on the list. She is the widow of William C Ford, a grandson of Henry Ford. Overall, there are 243 women billionaires in the world right now. In 2010, there were only 91 women billionaires.

Martha-Ford

Wu Yajun of Beijing is the richest female self made billionaire on the list. She is currently ranked the 149th richest person in the world. She has made her fortune from a real estate company, which was co-founded with her then husband. After divorce, she is now chairing the company herself. There are many other women who built a self made fortune and ended up in the list of billionaires this year.

Jacqueline-Mars

Jacqueline Mars is the third richest woman in the world. She is an American heiress who received her fortunes from Mars Candy company. She is the granddaughter of Frank C Mars, founder of Mars. She has a net worth of $23.9 billion currently. Yang Huiyan is the fourth richest woman with an estimated net worth of $22.1 billion. She owns a majority stake in the real estate company, Country Garden Holdings, largely inherited from her father.

Susanne-Klatten

Susanne Klatten is the fifth richest woman in the world. She holds 19.2% stake in BMW. Her net worth is $21 billion. Klatten also transformed her grandfather’s pharmaceutical company, Altana AG into a world renowned company.

The sixth richest woman is the widow of Steve Jobs, she is Laurene Powell Jobs. Her net worth is approx $19 billion. She received her fortune from Apple and Disney stakes that were inherited from Steve Jobs. She is currently involved in many philanthropic projects in education, media, social justice etc.

Abilgail-Johnson

Abilgail Johnson is the seventh on the list. She serves as the CEO of Fidelity investments since 2014. She is also the chairman of the group since 2016. She took over from her father. Her current net worth is $15.6 billion. Iris Fontbona is the eight richest woman with a net worth of $15.4 billion. She is the widow of Andronico Luksic, who had built his wealth from mining and beverages business.

Gina-Rinehart

Gina Rinehart is the ninth richest woman in the world. She is also the richest Australian citizen. She built her wealth on iron ore and continues to expand robustly. She currently serves as the chairman of Hancock Prospecting, a firm founded by her father Lang Hancock. She took over this business from her father. Gina has a net worth of $15.2 billion. Kwong Siu–hing rounds of the list at number ten. She has derived her fortunes from the real estate company Sun Hung Kai Properties co-founded by Kowk Tak-Seng her late husband. She has a net worth of $15.1 billion.

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7 Amazing Life hacks Shared by Successful Entrepreneurs

7 Amazing Life hacks Shared by Successful Entrepreneurs

Most entrepreneurs fail. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. However, the entrepreneurs who do succeed and rise to the top inspire positive changes, create opportunities and influence things in our world.

The entrepreneurial journey stretches people beyond their comfort zones and success doesn’t come easy. The successful entrepreneurs develop amazing life hacks and practice great habits to optimise their routines. Here we look at some amazing life hacks that will make you more successful too.

1. Mediocrity or Excellence is a Choice:

Mediocrity or Excellence is a Choice

Mediocrity doesn’t meet the cut. To survive as an entrepreneur, you need excellence. Entrepreneurs who succeed are excellent with execution. They set their standards high and constantly push their levels higher.

The market always rejects the mediocre, but rewards excellence. When you do something that is excellent, it attracts opportunities. But when you’re satisfied with mediocrity, you limit yourself and choose failure.

As JK Rowling says, “It is our choices … that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

2. Integrity & Reputation:

Never compromise on your integrity. A great reputation is built by what you do day in and day out. It takes years to build a great reputation and a lifetime to maintain that reputation. In a world driven by devices, it is easy to forget values and integrity. But long term success is attained with strong values, integrity and honest commitment.

Warren Buffett once shared this, “The best advice I’ve ever been given is by my father, who told me it took 20 years to build a reputation and 20 minutes to lose it.”

3. Reading:

Reading

Reading is one of the best ways to develop new insights, learn and grow. Many entrepreneurs and billionaires around the world attribute their success to reading. Whether it is Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, or Elon Musk, books have had a profound influence and changed their way of thinking.

Bill Gates thinks books are still the best way to learn new topics & shared this recently on his blog, “Although I’m lucky that I get to meet with a lot of interesting people and visit fascinating places through my work, I still think books are the best way to explore new topics that interest you.”

4. How You Spend Time Defines You

How you spend time makes you who you become. Great achievers in any field spend time learning, practising and refining what they do.  World class performers spend time and that is the reason they rise to the top of their fields.

So, what separates world class performers from others? In his book, ‘Talent is Overrated,’ Geoff Colvin affirms that spending 10,000 hours in your chosen field can mould you into an expert.

5. Make Things Happen:

Make Things Happen

You have to make things happen. You can’t wait and watch, you have to take action. Entrepreneurs succeed because they build things that can capture the imagination of people, solve problems for them and create great value in the process.

While there are always people who will discourage you and put you down, eventually your efforts will make things happen. As Jeff Bezos remarked, “The common question that gets asked in business is, ‘why?’ That’s a good question, but an equally valid question is, why not?”

6. Success Comes With Experimentation:

Successful people work hard to attain what they achieve. Success is never served on a platter. As an entrepreneur, your focus is on doing better, taking feedback and criticism in your stride to improve yourself. The number of experimentations you make, your willingness to work hard until you can find the solution and your ability to patiently hang in there makes the difference.

As Mark Cuban says, “It doesn’t matter how many times you fail. You only have to be right once and then everyone can tell you that you are an overnight success.” Success requires persistent efforts and experimentation.  

7. Execution Trumps Everything:

Execution Trumps Everything

No one will bother how much you worked unless you created something exceptionally good. The most successful entrepreneurs understand the difference between being busy and doing meaningful work. They understand that all work is a way to create and build value for others.

Ask yourself what is the most valuable thing you can do & how you can contribute? Great execution requires competence, skills and right attitude. The Mexican billionaire, Carlos Slim summarises it very well, “Work well done is not only a responsibility to yourselves and society; it is also an emotional need.”

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Media Frenzy Embarrassing

Media-Frenzy-Embarrassing

The need of the hour is to deal with national security issues sensitively and with restraint. The media is however going over the top with their coverage and driving people crazy.

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8 Powerful Leadership Lessons by Howard Schultz

Howard Schultz

Howard Schultz is one of the best known leaders in the world. He led Starbucks to enormous success and made it a global phenomenon. He held the position of CEO & Chairman of Starbucks from 1986 to 2000 & from 2008 to 2017. He currently serves as the Chairman Emeritus of Starbucks.

Schultz came into limelight for his great leadership in making Starbucks the largest coffeehouse in the world with more than 23,000 locations. As per Forbes, Howard Schultz has an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion(as of Feb 19).  He is one of the richest men in America was recognized as Fortune Magazine’s 2011 Businessperson of the Year. He is also expected to be a candidate in the 2020 US Presidential elections.

Howard Schultz’s journey from a sales person after graduating to becoming a CEO and Chairman of Starbucks has many leadership lessons for everyone. Here we look at some of the powerful leadership lessons from one of the most influential leaders of our times.

1. Vision

The success of Howard Schultz can be attributed to his remarkable vision. When he joined Starbucks, he could see things that others didn’t. He knew there was more to Starbucks than coffee. He wanted to build the complete experience, a place where people enjoyed spending time and eventually ended up creating a haven for coffee lovers called Starbucks.

Howard Schultz came from a humble background. His father worked as a truck driver, factory worker and cab driver. Howard Schultz was the first person in his family to graduate from college.

2. Lead from the Heart

Leadership

All great leaders have a deep rooted mission where they want to do good. They want to impact people’s lives positively and that is what drives them. Howard Schultz is one of those leaders.

Howard Schultz has demonstrated great passion for building Starbucks. He has backed his teams and often displays emotions, even vulnerabilities and advocates authenticity as an essential element for leadership.

Howard Schultz advocates doing things from your heart. He says when you “romance what you serve” it creates an elevated feeling and customers can experience it. When you do things with your heart into it, it creates vibes that take it to the next level.

3. Take Responsibility

Howard Schultz says, “I took my life in my hands, learned from anyone I could, grabbed what opportunity I could, and molded my success step by step.”

Great leaders take responsibility for what they do. They go out of their way, push themselves and never accept status quo. The consistency of Starbucks’ products across locations and countries is a proof of this.

As a leader it is important not to blame your team or situations, take responsibility for your actions and help your team find the solution.

4. Give Back

Leadership Lessons Starbucks

In 1961, when Howard was growing up, his father had broken his ankle and couldn’t go to his job. His mother was 7 months pregnant and couldn’t take up a job either. The family found it really difficult to manage the finances.

Schultz writes in his book, “Our family had no income, no health insurance, no worker’s compensation, nothing to fall back on.”

He said he didnt know it then, but he wanted to make a difference. He writes, “I knew in my heart that if I was ever in a position where I could make a difference, I wouldn’t leave people behind.”

Howard Schultz has been generous and always taken care of his team, employees and does charity work for giving back to society.

Howard has a family trust called the Schultz Family Foundation. The foundation focuses on the needs of youth, veterans, and charitable events.

5. Be Bold & Think Big

Howard Schultz has lived his mantra and he advocates, “If you dream small dreams, you may succeed in building something small. For many people, that is enough. But if you want to achieve widespread impact and lasting value, be bold.”

As a leader you have to be bold and think big. You have to do sacrifice, work hard and create something that will create a huge impact. Despite all the hurdles and setbacks, you cannot lose sight of the big picture. Leaders need to keep believing and push themselves towards their goals everyday.

As a leader, it is your job to align your team to a shared goal. It is this shared goal that creates synergy and drives human spirit to achieve things beyond their wildest dreams.

6. Intellectual Stimulation

Starbucks

Who would have thought that people will pay $4 for coffee? But, then Howard Schultz had other ideas in mind. He imagined a place where people will love to spend time and wanted it to be “the third place” the place other than your home and work.

He told his audience at UCLA in 2008, his goal was to build a “different kind of company” one with a social conscience and a soul.

The authenticity of Starbucks made it the brand that it is today. Leaders need to embrace authenticity and constantly stimulate their teams to achieve the highest goals. Great things are always achieved by those who try their heart out and are always keen to improve.

7. Admit Faults & Ask for Help

Howard Schultz says, “Admit you don’t know what you don’t know. When you acknowledge your weaknesses and ask for advice, you’ll be surprised how much others will help.”

One of the greatest strengths of leadership is to admit faults and ask for help. Whatever you do, no matter what your IQ is, you cannot know everything. Leadership demands humility. When you admit faults and ask for help, it shows your humility. It is an important facet that makes leaders more open minded, collaborative and successful in today’s world.

8. Know Yourself

Leadership Lessons from Howard Schultz

Schultz said, “In times of adversity and change, we really discover who we are and what we’re made of.” As a leader it is important to understand who you are, what you stand for and what your core values are. When you are clear headed, it becomes easier to guide others.

Leadership needs consistency, direction and clarity of vision. Tough times are inevitable, how leaders handle these times moulds their future. A leader with strong self awareness is well equipped to lead his team to great heights.

Howard Schultz is a shining and illustrious example of the infinite possibilities the universe holds for those who dream big. Anything is possible, when you are driven by a strong commitment for achieving your goals.

Starbucks is an inspiring tale of leadership. It can be summarised aptly by Schultz words, “When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.”

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