Right Attitudes » Ideas for Impact
» by Nagesh Belludi

Courage is the price life exacts for granting peace.
* Amelia Earhart

Perhaps love is the process of my leading you gently back to yourself.
* Antoine De Saint-Exupery

More children are punished for copying their parents,
than for disobeying them. We should be what we want to see.
* Unknown

Time and money spent in helping men do
more for themselves is far better than mere giving.
* Henry Ford

Be this his praise,
If praise be needed,
As a father
He succeeded.
* Edgar A. Guest

You’ll never prove you’re too good for a job by not doing your best.
* Ethel Merman

My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
my love as deep. The more I give to thee,
the more I have, for both are infinite.
* William Shakespeare

I like to listen. I have learned a great deal
from listening carefully. Most people never listen.
* Ernest Hemingway

A life without love is like a year without summer.
* Swedish Proverb

One hundred percent of the shots you don’t take don’t go in.
* Wayne Gretzky

Visit www.Inspiration.RightAttitudes.com for my compilation of inspirational quotations by author and topic. You may also subscribe to the weekly newsletter of inspirational quotations by sending a blank email to iqml-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations

In the age of knowledge work, we are all paid to think — to evaluate solution-paths and solve problems creatively. Yet, we get busy doing and fail to devote part of our days for deep thinking.

In today’s workplace, we all have too much to do in too little time with too few resources at hand. This faster pace of work-life coupled with the emphasis on getting things done has come to accentuate busyness. The result is that we lack a sense of control of our time. We do not take the time out to think and plan.

The Tragedy of Our Times

If I had eight hours to chop a tree,
I would spend six hours sharpening my axe.
* Unknown

Jack Trout, author and business leader, explains that with “No Time to Think,” we have become a world of reactors.

With the world of work getting more complex and difficult, and with the demands of people, cell phones, BlackBerrys or just too much communication, having the quiet and time to sort things out and figure what to do is fast disappearing. We have become a world of reactors, not thinkers, at a time when good thinking is so desperately needed.

Publisher-CEO Michael Hyatt advocates “Finding More ‘Head Time.’”

Most of us don’t spend time thinking. We are so busy doing that we have almost forgotten how to think. Yet it is our thinking, more than any other single activity, that influences our outcomes.

The problems we face will not likely be solved by working harder. New gadgets won’t really help either. In fact, I sometimes fear that our many gadgets have only added unnecessary clutter to our lives. What we need is better, more profound thinking.

Call for Action: Book Frequent Quiet-Time

Thinking requires a great deal of time and energy. With frequent interruptions and distractions, dedicating time for deep thinking or intense work can be very challenging. Schedule frequent quiet-times into your day.

During each quiet-time session, completely shut yourself off from your colleagues, from e-mail, phone calls and other distractions. Use this time to focus on challenging or highly-priority tasks. Reserve a conference room in your facility, arrive early at work or work at your local library. Even brief periods of dedicated thinking or work can make your day vastly productive.

In addition to booking frequent quiet time, assess time- and energy-wasters. Filter incoming information, delegate effectively, automate routine tasks, fight-off distractions and frequent interruptions from your colleagues, and, be selective in what meetings you attend.

***See other articles related to time management, personal organization, productivity, ideas for impact, work-life, stress management

Motivate them, train them,
care about them, and make winners out of them…
they’ll treat the customers right.
And if customers are treated right, they’ll come back.
* J. Marriott Jr.

A friendship can weather most silly things and
thrive in thin soil – but it needs a little mulch of
letters and phone calls and small silly presents
every so often – just to save it from drying out completely.
* Pam Brown

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
* Beverly Sills

What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens.
* Thaddeus Golas

There are two big forces at work, external and internal.
We have very little control over external forces such as
tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, disasters, illness and pain.
What really matters is the internal force.
How do I respond to those disasters?
Over that I have complete control.
* Leo Buscaglia

Some of us think holding on makes us strong;
but sometimes it is letting go.
* Herman Hesse

Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is.
* Will Rogers

Fear and guilt are unpleasant bedfellows who disturb our sleep.
* Unknown

Nonchalance is the ability to remain down to earth
when everything else is up in the air.
* Earl Wilson

Better is the enemy of good.
* Voltaire

Visit www.Inspiration.RightAttitudes.com for my compilation of inspirational quotations by author and topic. You may also subscribe to the weekly newsletter of inspirational quotations by sending a blank email to iqml-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations

Peter Drucker is widely regarded as the “Father of Modern Management,” and one of the most influential management philosophers of the modern era. In “The Effective Executive,” Peter Drucker advocates that a manager focus on an employee’s strengths when appraising his/her performance.

Four Questions for Performance Appraisals

Effective executives usually work out their own unique form of performance appraisal. It starts out with a statement of the major contributions expected from a person in his past and present positions and a record of his performance against these goals. Then it asks four questions:

1. What has he [or she] done well?
2. What, therefore, is he likely to be able to do well?
3. What does he have to learn or to acquire to be able to get the full benefit from his strength?
4. If I had a son or daughter, would I be willing to have him or her work under this person? If yes, why? If no, why?

Call for Action

Strong performance motivates outstanding performers. Therefore, managers must make it a priority to understand each employee’s motivation and strengths and provide objective, fair and consistent appreciation to keep him/her fully engaged.

Managers, however, often fail to realize the prospect of enhancing employee performance by targeting their efforts on each employee’s strengths. They often resort to deliberating over an employee’s shortcomings, and, thus attempt to develop abilities not inline with the employee’s strengths.

Address the above four questions when preparing the performance appraisal of an employee. These questions enable you, the manager, to reinforce the strengths of the employee and guide a career that focusses on his/her strengths.

***See other articles related to Performance appraisal, performance review, evaluation, Peter Drucker, managing, Ideas for Impact

Give to every other human being every right that
you claim for yourself–that is my doctrine.
* Thomas Paine

Things that were hard to bear are sweet to remember.
* Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Life is God’s gift to you,
What you do with it is your gift to Him.
* Unknown

The secret of health for both mind and body is
not to mourn for the past,
not to worry about the future,
or not to anticipate troubles,
but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.
* Gouthama Buddha

If everyone were clothed with integrity,
if every heart were just, frank, kindly,
the other virtues would be well-nigh useless,
since their chief purpose is to make us bear
with patience the injustice of our fellows. -
* Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (Moliere)

I want to stay as close to the edge as I can
without going over. Out on the edge you can see
all kinds of things you can’t see from the centre.
* Kurt Vonnegut

What a luxury it is to spend time with old friends …
talking, as old friends should talk, about nothing, about everything.
* Lillian Hellman

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability
to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time,
and still retain the ability to function.
* F. Scott Fitzgerald

Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones
which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.
* Henry Clay

All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.
* Mark Twain

Visit www.Inspiration.RightAttitudes.com for my compilation of inspirational quotations by author and topic. You may also subscribe to the weekly newsletter of inspirational quotations by sending a blank email to iqml-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations

Your résumé is your personal advertisement. The purpose of a résumé, therefore, is to sell you, not to describe you. In order to grab a recruiter’s interest and create a positive impression within a few seconds, your résumé should be comprehensive and tidy.

One-page résumés are appropriate for college candidates (entry-level candidates, to be more specific,) and candidates with less than ten years of work experience. Such candidates rarely have substantial accomplishments to justify a résumé of more than a page in length.

More-experienced candidates may use two pages to describe their accomplishments. Even here, one-page résumés are recommended. Recruiters will survey the second page only if the contents of the first page are appealing.

A one-page résumé acknowledges the importance of a recruiter’s time. A two-page résumé is a sign of disregard.

Compact your Résumé

Follow these guidelines to consolidate your résumé content into one page.

• Comprehension is crucial. Recruiters hate wordy résumés. They first glance through the organization of a résumé and quickly skim over particulars in key sections. A strong, comprehensive presentation is consequently appealing.
• Avoid a tell-it-all résumé. Avoid the common mistake of providing too many details. Leave some details for discussion in a potential interview.
• Restrict accomplishments under each position held to two or three bullet points only. Weed out unimportant details. Use phrases if necessary.
• Do not cram. Do not reduce page margins and font-sizes or eliminate white space. Résumés crowded with information are hard to read.

Conclusion

A one-page résumé is usually long enough to present all the essential information concisely and captivatingly. It can easily engage a recruiter and convince him/her that your background merits further consideration.

***See other articles related to resume, resume tips, job search, career, interviewing, communication

CNNMoney offers a self-survey to help you understand if you deserve a raise. Here are the six questions in the survey.

1. If you left the company, how easy or hard would it be for the company to replace you?
2. To what extent do you have abilities or possess knowledge that most others — both inside and outside the company — do not have?
3. If your company had to eliminate departments, what would happen to yours?
4. Is your department respected by other parts of the company?
5. How much does your business or division contribute to the profitability of the company?
6. Does it look as if your business will grow or shrink in coming years?

Call for Action

In preparing to ask for a raise or a promotion, or in preparing for a performance review, you need a strong understanding of arguments supporting your desired outcome and counter-points your boss (and other approvers) may raise. The above survey questions from CNNMoney can help you start gathering your thoughts.

The key yardstick that your boss will use to appraise you is the significance of your efforts to the organisation and the perceived promise/potential you hold. Review any expectations that your boss laid-out during prior discussions. Prepare a self-evaluation by documenting your accomplishments against these expectations and their significance to the goals of the organisation. Collect evidence: try to quantify and be precise as possible. Maintain a journal of all your achievements and summarise your journal in your self-evaluation.

***See other articles related to performance appraisal, performance review, promotion, raises

Love is always open arms. If you close your arms about love,
you will find that you are left holding only yourself.
* Leo Buscaglia

Inspire me with love for my art and for thy creatures.
In the sufferer let me see only the human being.
* Moses Maimonides

Your children will see what you’re all about
by what you live rather than what you say.
* Wayne Dyer

Make each day a Masterpiece!
* John Wooden

People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.
* Dale Carnegie

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
* Mary Oliver

The question is not how many years are in your life,
but how much life is in your years.
* Anonymous

It’s attitude, not aptitude,
that affects your altitude.
* Unknown

If what you are doing is not moving you toward your goals,
then it’s moving you away from your goals.
* Brian Tracy

Whatever you can do, or dream you can do – begin it.
* Unknown

Visit www.Inspiration.RightAttitudes.com for my compilation of inspirational quotations by author and topic. You may also subscribe to the weekly newsletter of inspirational quotations by sending a blank email to iqml-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations

The popularity of the English language spread with the British Empire. Over four centuries, the English vocabulary expanded by absorbing words and phrases from diverse languages and cultures. Various geographies developed dialects–specific styles and patterns in spelling, grammar and sentence construction.

Two of the predominant dialects of English are the British style (through the expansion of the British Empire) and American style (courtesy of American capitalism.)

Differences in spelling and vocabulary are easily noticeable: colour (in British English) v/s color (in American English), cutlery v/s silverware, petrol v/s gasoline, aeroplane v/s airplane, etc. Purists can also recognise differences in grammar and usage: ‘Indianapolis are the champions‘ (in British English) v/s ‘Indianapolis is the champion’ (in American English.)

Guidelines to Choose between British and American English

When working on a résumé, report or any other form of written communication, here are three general guidelines to choose between the British style and American style.

• When writing for a predominantly American audience, use the American style. When writing for a predominantly British audience, including audience in the former British-colonies (India, Singapore, etc.,) use the British style. For example, use American spellings and grammar to compose a résumé for an ‘on-site’ job opening in the United States.
• Use the style that is apt for the subject of your document. For example, if you are writing an article on the Fall-colours you witnessed during your trip to the United States, use the term ‘Fall‘ instead ‘Autumn‘ to refer to the season, even if you are writing for a predominantly British audience. (’Fall’ in American English is equivalent to ‘Autumn’ in British English.)
• If you are writing for a broader audience, be consistent–pick a style and stick to it throughout the document.

***See other articles related to persuasion, written communication, British English, American English, resume

Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.
* George Herbert

And what is laughter anyway?
Changing the angle of vision.
That is what you love a friend for:
the ability to change your angle of vision,
bring back your best self when you feel worst,
remind you of your strengths when you feel weak.
* Erica Jong

Some people think it’s holding on that
makes one strong. Sometimes it’s letting go.
* Sylvia Robinson

Execution is the job of the business leader.
* Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan

Always remember, look forwards not back,
Believing in making your dreams all come true.
Always believe in the best you can be
And have faith in the things that you do.
* Unknown

The thing that matters is not what
you bear, but how you bear it.
* Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Dreams don’t come true. Dreams are true.
* Anonymous

The trouble with opportunity is that
it only knocks. Temptation kicks the door in.
* Unknown

Nobody gives you power. You just take it.
* Roseanne

Life gives us tragedies and heartaches,
but it also gives us reasons to celebrate,
and we must not allow the tragedies to stop us celebrating
the good times, but celebrate them all the more.
* Rudolph W. Giuliani

Visit www.Inspiration.RightAttitudes.com for my compilation of inspirational quotations by author and topic. You may also subscribe to the weekly newsletter of inspirational quotations by sending a blank email to iqml-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations