By solving problems in an orderly way, you can dramatically increase the power of your thinking.

Proceed With A Positive Attitude
First, approach the problem with the expectant attitude that there is a logical practical solution just waiting to be found. Be relaxed, calm, confident and clear in your mind.

Second, change your language from negative to positive. Instead of the word "problem," use the word "situation." Problem is a negative word while situation is a neutral word. "We have an interesting situation", is better than, "We have a problem."

Define the Situation Clearly
The third step in systematic problem-solving is to define the situation clearly, in writing. "Exactly what is the situation?" Then ask, "What else is the situation?" Sometimes stating the problem in different words makes it much easier to solve.

Once, when I was working with the Chamber of Commerce, I came to the attention of a senior executive who hired me away from the company I was working for a year later at triple the salary. Meeting people is very important. Network at every opportunity.

Fully 50% of situations can be resolved by accurate definition.

Learn to get thing done with Crunch Time!

Identify Causes and Solutions
Step number four is to, ask "What are all the possible causes of this situation?" Failure to identify the causes or reasons for the situation often causes you to have to solve it again and again. Fully 25% or more of situations can be effectively dealt with by discovering the correct causes.

Step number five is to ask, "What are all the possible solutions?" Write out as many solutions or answers to the situation as possible before moving on. The quantity of possible solutions usually determines the quality of the solution chosen.

Clear Decisions Are Key
Step number six is to "Make a clear decision." Usually any decision is better than none.

Step number seven is to "Assign clear responsibility for carrying out the decision and then set a deadline for completion and review." Remember, a decision without a deadline is just a fruitless discussion.

Finally, step number eight is to follow-up, monitor the decision, compare actual results with expected results and then generate new solutions and new courses of action.

Action Exercises
Now, here are two ways you can apply this technique to think more creatively.

First, state the problem clearly, in writing, so that you know exactly what it is that you are trying to solve. Ask, "What else is the problem?"

Second, develop as many solutions as you possibly can, including doing nothing, before you make a decision. Quality of ideas is in direct proportion to the quantity that you generate.

Crunch Time!

Winston Churchill once said, "Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it all others depend." The systematic development of the deep down quality of unflinching courage is one of the fundamental requirements for leadership in any field. Fear, or the lack of courage is more responsible for failure in management, and in life, than any other factor. It is always fear that causes people to hold back, to sell themselves short, to settle for far less than they are capable of!

Eliminate Fear and Doubt
I firmly believe that you can do, have or be far more than you now know if only you could eliminate the fear, doubts and misgivings that consciously and unconsciously interfere with your realizing your full potential.

Unlearn Your Fears
If there is anything positive about fear, it is that all fears are learned, that no one is born with fears, and that having been learned, they can be unlearned. If you want to understand the role of fear in shaping the course of your life, just ask yourself, if you had a magic wand that would absolutely guarantee you success in any one thing you attempted, what goal would you set for yourself.

Accomplish more than you can imagine with The Miracle of Self-Discipline

The Great Question
"What one great thing would you dare to dream if you knew you could not fail?" If you had no fears at all with regard to money or the criticism of others, what would you do differently? Most people can think of all kinds of changes they would, or could, make in their lives if they had no fears to hold them back.

The Origins of Fear
The development of courage begins with understanding the psychological origins of fear. The newborn child has only two fears; the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. All other fears that we experience as adults are learned as we are growing up, primarily as the result of well-meaning but destructive criticism from our parents.

How Fears Develop
When the curious child gets into things and makes a mess, the parent scolds and punishes the child, eventually building up a pattern of fear connected with trying or getting into anything new or different. As adults, we experience this as the fear of failure, the fear of risking, of making a mistake, of losing.

Action Exercises
Here are two steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, imagine that you had no fears at all. What would you set as a goal for yourself if you were guaranteed of success?

Second, decide exactly what you want and then act as if it were impossible to fail. You may be surprised at how successful you are.

The Miracle of Self-Discipline

What is the purpose of a business? Every time I ask this question during a business seminar, the immediate answer that I get back is, "To make a profit."

The Real Purpose of A Business
But this answer is wrong. The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer. If a business successfully creates and keeps customers in a cost-effective way, it will make a profit while continuing to survive and thrive. If, for any reason, a business fails to attract or sustain a sufficient number of customers, it will experience losses. Too many losses will lead to the demise of the enterprise.

Why Businesses Fail
According to Dun and Bradstreet, the single, most important reason for the failure of businesses in America is lack of sales. And, of course, this refers to resales as well as initial sales.

So your company's job is to create and keep a customer, and your job is exactly the same. Remember, no matter what your official title is, you are a salesperson for yourself and your company. And the best way to increase your value as a salesperson is to build your customer base.

Build your customer base with Customers for Life

Why Businesses Succeed
The two most important words to keep in mind in developing a successful customer base are Positioning and Differentiation.

Positioning refers to the way your customers think and talk about you and your company when you are not there. The position that you hold in the customer's mind determines all of his reactions and interactions with you. Your position determines whether or not your customer buys, whether he buys again and whether he refers others to you. Everything that you do with regard to your customer affects the way your customer thinks about you.

The Key to Competitive Advantage
Differentiation refers to your ability to separate yourself and your product or service from that of your competitors. And it is the key to building and maintaining a competitive advantage. This is the advantage that you and your company have over your competitors in the same marketplace - the unique and special benefits that no one else can give your customer.

Select Your Customers Carefully
When you begin to think about acquiring and keeping customers for life, you need to think about the particular types of customers for whom your competitive advantage is so important that they would be poorly served by using anyone else's product. You need to then emphasize again and again that the special features and benefits you offer are so important that they should not even think of going somewhere else. If, for any reason, you fail to do this, you may lose the customer and all the work you've done in building that relationship in the first place.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, determine exactly what your current positioning is today with your customers. How do they think about you and what do they say? How could you improve your positioning?

Second, determine your exact competitive advantage, your area of superiority in what you do. How can you increase in your area of excellence and then convey it better to your customers?

Customers for Life

Your goal is to become a transformational leader, the kind of person that motivates and inspires people to perform at levels far beyond anything that they had previously thought possible.

Keep People In the Know
Transformational leaders empower others by keeping them "in the know," by keeping them fully informed on everything that effects their jobs. People want and need to feel that they are "insiders," that they are aware of everything that is going on. There is nothing so demoralizing to a staff member than to be kept in the dark about their work and what is going on in the company.

Give Regular Feedback
One empowering behavior practiced by transformational leaders is regular feedback on performance and results. People need to know how they're doing so they can improve if performance is below standards and so that they can be proud of their successes. The more feedback you give to people, the better it is, as long as the feedback is objective and not critical. My friend, Ken Blanchard, says that, "Positive feedback is the breakfast of champions."

Learn how to motivate, inspire and uplift people to achieve your vision with Leadership: The Critical Difference.

Be Generous With Praise
Be generous with your praise and encouragement. Remember, people are the only asset that can be made to appreciate in value by giving them warmth, respect, approval and by creating a climate of positive expectations.

Create An Exciting Future
What companies and countries and institutions need today are courageous visionary leaders who are committed to creating an exciting future for themselves and others. You have within yourself the ability to evolve and grow as a leader and to make a real difference in the world around you. And the one thing you can know for sure about yourself is that, no matter what you've accomplished up to now, there is far more that you can do.

As you practice the behaviors of effective leaders, you will grow more and more toward the realization of your full potential. It's completely up to you.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action in your work.

First, hold regular meetings with your staff and tell them everything that is going on. Invite their comments, questions and concerns. Make everybody feel as if he or she was an insider in the organization.

Second, continually look for opportunities to give positive feedback, praise and encouragement. People need praise and encouragement like roses need rain and sunshine. Take every opportunity to make people feel better about themselves and their work.

Leadership: The Critical Difference

Your goal is to become a transformational leader, the kind of person that motivates and inspires people to perform at levels far beyond anything that they had previously thought possible.

Keep People In the Know
Transformational leaders empower others by keeping them "in the know," by keeping them fully informed on everything that effects their jobs. People want and need to feel that they are "insiders," that they are aware of everything that is going on. There is nothing so demoralizing to a staff member than to be kept in the dark about their work and what is going on in the company.

Give Regular Feedback
One empowering behavior practiced by transformational leaders is regular feedback on performance and results. People need to know how they're doing so they can improve if performance is below standards and so that they can be proud of their successes. The more feedback you give to people, the better it is, as long as the feedback is objective and not critical. My friend, Ken Blanchard, says that, "Positive feedback is the breakfast of champions."

Be Generous With Praise
Be generous with your praise and encouragement. Remember, people are the only asset that can be made to appreciate in value by giving them warmth, respect, approval and by creating a climate of positive expectations.

Communicate With Power

Create An Exciting Future
What companies and countries and institutions need today are courageous visionary leaders who are committed to creating an exciting future for themselves and others. You have within yourself the ability to evolve and grow as a leader and to make a real difference in the world around you. And the one thing you can know for sure about yourself is that, no matter what you've accomplished up to now, there is far more that you can do.

As you practice the behaviors of effective leaders, you will grow more and more toward the realization of your full potential. It's completely up to you.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action in your work.

First, hold regular meetings with your staff and tell them everything that is going on. Invite their comments, questions and concerns. Make everybody feel as if he or she was an insider in the organization.

Second, continually look for opportunities to give positive feedback, praise and encouragement. People need praise and encouragement like roses need rain and sunshine. Take every opportunity to make people feel better about themselves and their work.

Communicate With Power

Being respected by others is very important to each of us. A survey done by the Gallup organization found that the most prominent living Americans rated the respect of others as the most important measure of success in life. They worked very hard to earn the respect of their parents, the respect of their spouses and children, the respect of their peers and colleagues, and the respect of mankind at large.

Why You Respect Yourself
It seems that we truly respect ourselves only when we feel that we are respected by others, and we will go to great lengths to earn and keep that respect. When we feel that someone respects us for who we are and what we have accomplished, we tend to be more open to that person's influence.

Two Things You Can Do
We can do two things to put ourselves in a position to be respected by others. The first is to develop our knowledge of our field. The more people perceive you know about your subject, the more they will respect you. The highest-paid people in almost every field are those who know more than the average people. They are recognized as experts, and they develop what is called "expert power." Because of their superior knowledge, they are looked up to and listened to, and they are much more capable of influencing others to act in a particular way than they would be if their knowledge level were just average.

Learn how to earn the respect and support of others with Leadership: The Critical Difference.

Develop Your Expertise
Another way to put ourselves in a position of being respected by others is to develop your expertise. Expertise is closely tied to knowledge, but it is a little different. Expertise is the ability to do, the ability to perform well in your chosen field. Men and women with expertise are those who practice over and over in whatever they do until they become known far and wide as the very best in their field.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:

First, study your field in detail. Dedicate at least one hour per day to reading, listening to audio programs, studying to become more and more knowledgeable about what you do.

Second, continually upgrade your knowledge and skills in your field. Identify your weakest important skill and go to work on that.

Knowledge and know-how are the keys to the 21st century.

Leadership: The Critical Difference

Employees report that the best managers they ever had were people who cared about them as people and as friends. These managers took the time to ask them questions about their lives, and to listen patiently while they talked about the dilemmas and problems and situations in their families. The more that the employees felt that the boss liked them and respected them, the more empowered and motivated they felt.

Learn how to stay positive, energized, and powerful with The Science of Positive Focus.

Caring is the Key
The flip side of this motivator is the de-motivating feeling that the boss doesn't care. This is almost invariably expressed in a lack of recognition, a lack of approval, a lack of appreciation and a general failure to pay attention to the employee over time.

Spend Time Listening
Remember, the amount of time that you spend talking to and listening to an employee is a signal to that employee that he or she is important to you and to the company. This is why the very best bosses spend a lot of time walking around and chatting with their employees. They sit with them for lunch and coffee. They invite their comments and encourage open discussion and disagreements about work. They create an environment where people feel that the work belongs to them as well as to the company. In that environment, employees feel good about themselves and more fully committed to doing the job and doing it well.
 
Become A Positive Person 
To empower and motivate your customers, your suppliers, your bankers and so on, you simply need to be a genuine, positive and cheerful person. You develop a positive mental attitude. You be the kind of person from whom, "never is heard a discouraging word." You are easygoing, genial, friendly, patient, tolerant and open minded. You make people feel comfortable being around you.

Emotions Determine Everything
Remember, everyone is primarily emotional. Everything that people do, or refrain from doing, is triggered by their deeper emotions. Your job is to connect with their higher and more positive emotions so they feel so good about you they want to help you and please you in some way.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, get out of your office and go among your friends and coworkers. Ask them about their personal lives and concerns, and then listen carefully to the answer.

Second, resolve to be a genuinely positive person under all circumstances. Be the kind of person people feel happy being around and working for.

The Science of Positive Focus

It can mean the difference between success and failure. It can guarantee your progress and enable you to use all of your other skills and abilities at the very highest level. Your persuasion power will earn you the support of others.

You Have Two Choices
There are always two choices: either you can persuade others to help you or you can be persuaded to help them. It is one or the other. Most people are not aware that every human interaction involves a complex process of persuasion and influence. And being unaware, they are usually the ones being persuaded to help others rather than the ones who are doing the persuading.

The Key to Persuasion
The key to persuasion is motivation. Every human action is motivated by something. Your job is to find out what motivates other people and then to provide that motivation.

People have two major motivations: the desire for gain and the fear of loss. The desire for gain motivates people to want more of the things they value in life. They want more money, more success, more health, more influence, more respect, more love and more happiness.

Human wants are limited only by individual imagination. No matter how much a person has, he or she still wants more and more. When you can show a person how he or she can get more of the things he or she wants by helping you achieve your goals, you can motivate them to act in your behalf.

A Presidential Insight
President Eisenhower once said that, "Persuasion is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do, and to like it." You need always to be thinking about how you can get people to want to do the things that you need them to do to attain your objectives.

The Fear of Loss
People are also motivated to act by the fear of loss. This fear, in all its various forms, is often stronger than the desire for gain. People fear financial loss, loss of health, anger or disapproval of others, loss of the love of someone and the loss of anything they have worked hard to accomplish. They fear change, risk and uncertainty because these threaten them with potential losses.

Use Dual Motivation
Whenever you can show a person that, by doing what you want them to do, they can avoid a loss of some kind, you can influence them to take a particular action. The very best appeals are those where you offer an opportunity to gain and an opportunity to avoid loss at the same time.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, before trying to convince someone of something, take a little time to think and ask questions to find out what it is he really wants. Then, motivate him to act by showing him how you can help him get it.

Remember, people are motivated for their reasons, not yours.

Speak to Win

Leadership has been called "The ability to get followers." One of the deepest cravings of human nature is the need to feel important, to have a sense of meaning and purpose in life and work. Leaders are invariably those who can tap into the deeper emotions of others and get them to rise above and beyond anything they may have accomplished in the past.

Inspiring Words Lead to Victory
Winston Churchill was able to arouse and inspire an entire nation with words like these: "Let us so carry ourselves that if the British Empire should endure a thousand years, men will still say, this was their finest hour."

Spearhead A Turnaround
Lee Iacocca stepped into Chrysler Corporation when the company was almost bankrupt. Through the sheer force of his personality, his unshakable determination, his appeals to Congress, to Chrysler workers and to Chrysler customers on television, he spearheaded a turn-around that will go down in the history books as one of the greatest achievements in American business.

Trust Other People
The key to getting followers in every case is to "trust your subordinates." Many studies have concluded that it is the mutual bond of trust and respect that acts as the catalyst that creates high performance. Not only must you trust your subordinates, but even more important, they must trust you.

Act With Integrity
In order to "get followers," your subordinates must have an absolute belief in your integrity. They must believe that you will abide by the highest ethical standards of fairness and justice. Integrity appears over and over as the most important leadership quality. People can only put their whole hearts into their work when they feel secure and they can only feel secure when they can relax and trust you completely.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to bring out the very best from the people who look up to you.

First, make people feel important. Tell them how important and valuable they are and then give them both the responsibility and the opportunity to do their job the very best they know how.

Second, set a good example. Be an inspirational leader by being a role model for everyone else to follow. The more people look up to you, the better they will do their work and the happier they will be.

Communicate With Power