Get More Out Of Your Day

Be savvy about security

Unfortunately, the world around us is quite unpredictable. Risks have increased. Businesses are invariably far more vulnerable to outside influences. Hence the need to reassess and update security programs at regular intervals, perhaps along the lines of the measures indicated below:

n    Identify your assets. Understand exactly what you are protecting. Ask the question: “What would bring my company to its knees?”

n    Review current security policies. Determine where you could expand or improve on existing procedures. For example: should you add to your current security guard level, or enhance the existing alarm system? Do you have a safe working environment?

n    Identify & categorize potential threats to your business. Consider everything - criminal, natural, accidental or operational dangers. Think about how someone or something could threaten or victimize a particular aspect or area of your business. Rank the potential dangers from least to most important.

n    Select security measures. Decide on the appropriate action for the potential problem. For example, both natural disasters and physical sabotage could be threats to your computer system, Ensure you have the latest ant-virus protection, limit access to the system itself where appropriate, and keep regular back ups of data off-site.

n    Test the system. If you don’t try the system once it’s in place, you won’t know where the bugs are or how reliable it will be when you need it. Set up a time table for regular testing.

Get more out of your day ….

We've all said it: “there are just not enough hours in the day” or I can’t believe its 4.00 pm already”. Perhaps that frustrating feeling that we never had enough time to accomplish everything we had to do let along the tings we really wanted to do. So, how can we squeeze more time into our day?

Target time-wasters – there may be things you do every day simply out of habit that don’t need to be done. Evaluate your daily activities and ask yourself what would happen if you didn’t perform each task. You may find that some things can be discarded without any problems.

Set realistic deadlines – don’t kill yourself with self-imposed due dates. If possible, rearrange projects you have direct control over to set acceptable time limits. Re-examine the factors that are determining your project deadline.

Re-evaluate your routine – does the same crisis occur month after month, perhaps at the same time each month? Are you always scrambling for time just before a major deadline? Take a hard look at your work patterns and determine the best and most logical way to meet your objectives. Figure out the most efficient and practical way to organize your time. Identify the root causes of time loss and deal with them tactfully.

Take charge – don’t let other people control your time. When you are truly busy, let them know (politely). Wherever possible, ask to reschedule discussions, meetings and other activities until you can devote adequate time to them.

Assert Yourself

Good customer service doesn’t just pertain to outside customers. Internal ones - our co-workers - are just as important. How we deal with each other has a great deal of influence on our attitudes and how we will relate, in turn, to the outside customer. It’s important to strike a balance between straight-forwardness and tact, especially when facing a problem or delicate situations. Knowing how to assert yourself will allow you to communicate your opinions, feelings and thoughts in a calm, non- threatening way. It will go a long way toward keeping things on a positive, even keel with both external and internal contacts.

These practical tips on asserting yourself may help:

n    Make eye contact. Let your co-workers know you are sincere about what you are saying by making direct eye contact while talking. But be careful to not stare anyone down, which can be mistaken for overbearing or aggressive behavior.

n    Stick to the facts - be specific. Make sure and explain yourself clearly and concisely and discuss only what is clearly observable.

n    Never say never. Steer clear of absolute words like “never”, “finally”, or “always”. These can exaggerate the real facts and put people on the defensive.

n    Don’t fidget. Don’t tinker with a pen or notepad on your desk or rattle the change in your pocket. Any such distraction weakens the importance of the conversation, as well as the impact of what is being discussed.

n    Let your face and demeanor reflect your feelings. The expression on your face should show the message that you want to convey. If you are truly angry or upset about something, don’t smile and make light of it. On the other had, if you are genuinely pleased with the situation, be sure you project that positive feeling.

Succeed by taking risks

Taking risks is difficult - whether for an individual or a company - because it involves uncertainty. Fear of the unknown ends to hold us back. But because risk is one of the main paths to success, intelligent, calculating risk taking is worthwhile. Here are a few tips to bear in mind:

Don’t focus only on the negative. Consider the possible benefits - you’ll never reach the top of the mountain if you’re always looking down.

Welcome fear. But don’t let it immobilise you. Use it to increase your alertness and further the chances that your risk taking will meet with success. Fear should act as a helpful warning, not a barrier.

Weigh up the odds. It doesn’t make sense to risk a lot for a small potential gain. Ask yourself the following:

“Exactly how much am I likely to gain? What are the realistic chances of success? What could I lose, either by going ahead or standing still?”

Get the facts. The more you know about a situation, the better you can evaluate the risks involved. Taking a risk does not mean making a blind leap - intelligent risk taking is based on thorough market analysis, planning and research.

Examine the worst case scenario. Often you’ll find that it’s not as bad as first thought. For example, if you’re hesitant about trying a potentially better way of doing your job, because you feel your job will be at risk if it backfires, sit down and reconsider. Talk it over with a trusted colleague, friend or employer. They may be able to give you a differing, more realistic perspective.

Bet on yourself. Risk in business should not be like going to the race track and betting on a horse. In most of the risks you take, your own hard work, initiative and sheer determination will naturally play a crucial role in the outcome.