People underperform in sales (and other roles) for several reasons, in this podcast, we will explore the knowledge aspect of a role.
Sales can be easier than other roles to spot when people underperform given the metrics available but identifying the factors behind underperformance is not so easy.
What do we mean by knowledge? Mark and Ricky explore what we mean by knowledge, discussing why knowledge is more than just job knowledge and exploring why it’s important. What is the knowledge requirement by your team, if you expect them to perform?
Creative thinking techniques and tools for success
Tune in if you want creative thinking techniques and tools for success.
If you want to boost your creative thinking to help you solve problems and achieve smart goals, then we probably have the simplest and most effective creative thinking tool!
Creative thinking is an essential skill, whether you are working on a project, pursuing a personal smart goal, or solving a problem. It is about thinking differently and getting outside the box.
The secret to this comes with three key components
Context, a focus or a problem statement. Of course, it could be all three.
Purpose – reason to want to do something about it.
Imagination comes from asking the right questions, and for this, you need context and purpose.
O ideas is one of our most powerful mental models, tools, or techniques, depending on how you want to describe it.
O ideas provide a cognitive shortcut. We’ve taken some of the most commonly asked questions when problem-solving, goal-setting or tackling a project.
The principles are consistent. So to save time and make people more effective and productive, we created o ideas to help.
Creativity is about asking the right questions and freeing your mind to allow it to find solutions, but creative thinking is not about judgment, qualifying and committing. Not yet, at least.
First, open your mind, explore the superhighway of your imagination, and wander through the after of the possible.
We have many critical thinking tools (check the link) to use after, but only after you’ve wandered into the creative sphere ( yes, I made that up), but it is a real place we all have tucked away in our brains.
New Year’s resolutions will be on the minds of lots of people; if that’s the case, if you’re serious, you need to get goal setting.
A lot of the time, New Year’s resolutions focus on feelings and confidence, and SMART goals don’t work for something subjective, not until now, that is. SMART goals are great for goal setting, when you know how to set goals using SMART they’re awesome, but what do you do when the subject of your goal is a feeling, a perception or a judgement, something subjective, well we have the perfect solution with benchmark goal setting.
You can take something that is hard to measure and turn it into something that will work with a SMART goal. SMART goals are essential to the Thinking Focus Toolkit for Team Leaders and Managers.
Need to define Smart goals? – before you do, are you doing them right? if you want to achieve what you want that is!
Smart goal-setting works, which is probably why no one has managed to reinvent them. Smart goals are the staple diet for team leaders, managers and leaders. Without smart goals, you have no idea what you’re working on, what your people are working on, or what your organisation is working on. Your future is at risk and left to chance.
In this video, Graham walks you through the smart goals process and gives a practical example. We also shared why we think most are getting it wrong, at least the order that is.
This is the last of our podcasts around our leadership model. This time we explore the leader’s role in process.
Leadership creates stability and change, and this dichotomy shines through when it comes to process. How do leaders deal with the dual roles of creating efficient and consistent approaches, while at the same time continually improving to make them better, or occasionally transforming them to create competitive advantage?
Doing both of these is something many leaders find difficult; Rob and Paul consider why this is and what you can do about it.
This podcast is part of a series about the role of leaders, exploring the nuts and bolts of what leaders need to do. It is based on a model (we created) to help aspiring leaders work out what it means to be a leader.
The SMART goals technique is arguably the most well-known of all goal-setting techniques. How to set goals is really important if you want to be more productive, have success, and ultimately achieve your goals.
The acronym S.M.A.R.T. is well used across the world. But knowing what it stands for is only the start, you need to understand the individual components to make it work for you and improve your productivity and effectiveness.
Anyone can set a goal, but if it ain’t specific, you’re saying you don’t care what you achieve or if you achieve it. Denzel Washington said, “Dreams without goals are just dreams”.
So if it’s important to you and you want it, get specific and go for it. In this video, we explore the types of measures and how to make them work for you. SMART goals are essential to the Thinking Focus Toolkit for Team Leaders and Managers. Watch this video to find out.
We are all subject to the insanity loop from time to time, that feeling when we seem to keep doing the same thing yet expecting a different result.
We get stuck! To get unstuck, we need to change our thinking; in this video, we explore why you get stuck and offer three easy ways to free yourself from Einstein’s insanity loop. Thinking skills are essential to the Thinking Focus Toolkit for Team Leaders and Managers.
Learn how to make your self-talk work for you. In this video, I share with you how to change how you think so that you can achieve your goals more easily.
By Self-talk, we mean those inner voices that determine your mood, confidence, emotions and appetite to want to do something – or not. We are often our own harshest critic, yet rarely are we our own best friend.
Ethan Kross talks deeply about how your inner dialogue affects your performance in his book, Chatter. At Thinking Focus, we help people get out of their own way by providing practical tools they can use for themselves; after all, thinking is one of the crucial tools you have in your arsenal for success. Thinking skills are essential to the Thinking Focus Toolkit for Team Leaders and Managers.
So whether you’re focused on personal goals, like losing weight, making more money, or achieving your work goals, this video is a great way to start changing your self-talk and achieving your goals!
This time we dive into engagement. How do leaders create engage followers?
To us, engagement is more than just making sure people like working here. It is the way that leaders connect people to purpose, the team and the plan. This is an ongoing role, constantly needing updating and resetting as the team gets buffeted by day-to-day challenges.
This podcast is part of a series about the role of leaders, exploring the nuts and bolts of what leaders need to do. It is based on a model (we created) to help aspiring leaders work out what it means to be a leader.
This is another podcast in our series about the actual things that leaders do.
This time Richard, Rob and Ricky talk feelings! In particular, they discuss the leader’s role in managing feelings; dealing with conflict, smoothing over loss when difficult decisions need to be made and most importantly creating a psychologically safe environment where people can flourish.
Leaders who ignore the people elements of the role risk damaging their own productivity and put their underlying purpose at risk.
This podcast is part of a series about the role of leaders, exploring the nuts and bolts of what leaders need to do. It is based on a model (we created) to help aspiring leaders work out what it means to be a leader.
