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Everyone has something they wish to change. Employees want to change the boss’s mind; leaders want to transform organizations and marketers want to change their customers’ preferences. In the book ‘The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind’, Professor Jonah Berger outlines a compelling approach to change. He asserts the more we force people to change, the more they push back. It’s not about pushing harder; it's about overcoming resistance by reducing friction and lowering the hurdles to change. By taking on a catalyst’s role, it’s possible to accelerate change in even the most resistant individuals.
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It’s not the size of our networks that matters but the quality of connections that impacts the way we experience the world. Beyond the walls of our homes/offices, the relationship we share with others plays a role in exposing us to the new and sailing through life’s ups and downs. As the National Director of Corporate Connections UAE, I came across a fascinating read ‘Social Chemistry’ that got me to deeply reflect on our networking techniques and the meaning we derive from our connections.
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Traveling for business may have taken a backseat during the pandemic but it is back with a vengeance. Though businessmen and professionals have retrieved their travel gear to hit the air again the budgets of the heyday need some catching up. Priority seats, chauffeured pickups, high-end hotels and elaborate room service are habits that need some adjustments. Adding to the budget woes are new fees for baggage, change of tickets, late check-out, car drop/pick-up and more.
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Are you qualifying your time with a worthy list of activities that add value and meaning to life? Is year-round work more important than going with family on a vacation? Most people, given their hectic schedules and busy lifestyles, find it difficult to qualitatively utilize time. If you don’t plan your available time, you’re likely to spend it carelessly. However, this ultimately boils down to the choices individuals make.
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In most meetings, conversations that discussed work schedules are often forgotten, and as days pass by people can hardly recollect the tasks assigned to them or their deadlines. In order to simplify task management and bring in more clarity, the WWW (What, Who, When) Tool is a foolproof method to break complex projects into manageable tasks, allocate them to responsible persons and set submission timelines.
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In the business realm there are many instances where we need support, guidance and referrals from others. Since we’re approaching the end of the year, it’s time to ponder on our New Year Resolutions. Apart from personal resolutions like eating healthily or exercising more we can include work-related resolutions. Learning a new skill, forging new connections and enhancing our networking skills will surely bolster your business dealings.
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Many individuals who’ve prevailed in their careers attribute it to strong networking channels built over time. Investing in people is equally important as investing in your business and yourself. By surrounding yourself with industry experts and influential people, you’ll eventually set yourself up for holistic development, business opportunities, and financial gain.
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CorporateConnections is about building valuable connections. Connections that alleviate your business, facilitate personal growth, enhance your leadership skills and support you. It’s a platform where leaders continually learn and share opportunities for business expansions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, and the co-creation of new businesses. The advantages of joining CorporateConnections (CC) are many, but the most valuable benefit members gain is peer support.
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You may be highly intellectual and technically excel at work, but if you can’t understand what motivates your team members or collaborate with others, these skills get overlooked. This is often the reason why highly intelligent individuals miserably fail when promoted to leadership positions. Over the years Emotional Intelligence—also known as EQ—has turned into a must-have skill for leadership development
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In a fast-paced world things turn obsolete quickly and so will you if you don't keep upgrading your knowledge and skills. You must keep learning to keep earning and the process has no finishing line. Constant learning has the power to broaden your intellect and is one of the most gratifying experiences you can gain. Learning and upskilling is the very essence of being a leader. In order to elevate your business to a new level or diversify into global markets you need to garner knowledge of various industries, market preferences and laws of the land.
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As a leader there are various ways to learn and grow in the corporate world. From theoretical to practical knowledge, the avenues to grow are many. However, learning from your peers is one of the most effective ways. Being at the top is rewarding because you empower your team and imbibe the fundamental skillsets to pursue their goals. By imparting new knowledge and training, you facilitate members’ holistic growth, but this is nowhere equivalent to learning from someone on the same level as you. This begs the question — How will you grow and improve as a leader?
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It was a privilege to present my take on Mastering Time to a room full of entrepreneurs at the CorporateConnections Global Conference in Lisbon. The collective worth of the audience's time would have crossed millions if I account for the individual value of each one's 20 minutes spent listening to me. The standing ovation at the end of my presentation was very gratifying and assured me that my message well received.
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Growing your business worldwide is complicated; however, it’s the most effective way to cater to new markets, utilize foreign resources, acquire global talent and set yourself up for long-term success. The enthusiasm to tread international waters is enticing but a company void of a sound global strategy will be at the receiving end of wasted time, money, resources, and efforts.
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Business leaders and entrepreneurs ought to know what’s going on in different sectors around the world. Any executive attend global conferences with the intent of staying on top of their game and giving wings to business expansion plans. Apart from this, conferences are wonderful places for entrepreneurs to learn, exchange ideas and connect with members from different countries. Networking, sharing of contacts, meaningful connections and opportunities for growth emanate from such events.
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Loneliness at the top one of the top leadership blues. Despite being surrounded by their people, leaders often struggle with loneliness in their ivory tower. This is because very few people can relate to and appreciate the unique set of challenges leading an organization brings. Having both dealt with loneliness myself many times and having come across leaders who’ve struggled with similar issues, I understand how awful you feel at the apex of your business.
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The journey of running a business is seemingly a rollercoaster ride with exciting highs and crashing lows. At the helm of affairs, most leaders have felt cold and lonely in their ivory tower despite being surrounded by their people. This is because they have no one to share their aspirations, triumphs and tribulations with confidence. Also, very few can relate to the big picture, see beyond the horizon or feel that excitement during early project stages.
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Over the years mankind thrived by living in groups, forming connections and discovering new things. It’s this very aspect of human connection that helped advance our world from hunting and farming to doing business and networking with one another. Though we formally exchange business cards at networking events, the real test is how we can make people remember us and remain in contact once the meeting lapses.
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Have you ever bumped into a connection that changed your life forever? Whether the encounter ignited sparks of partnership, or innovative ideas rolled over, impromptu meetings and informal chats can open possibilities that never existed before. From initiating insightful discussions, giving wings to new ideas or launching new products, a chance meeting can open doors to drive businesses forward in unimaginable ways.
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Networking is critical to innovation where ideas disseminate as useful insights to another. In this context, networking is more about gaining ideas than about resources. While resource networkers interact with people of homogenous backgrounds to gain access to greater resources (contacts, funds, influence, or information) to further their careers, idea networkers interact with people from heterogeneous backgrounds to gain diverse perspectives and simply learn new ideas.
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In a world of uncertainty and unprecedented challenges, organizations need to be resilient and nimble as change itself. Rule-plugged management systems and lofty hierarchies have failed to be responsive and agile to events around them. I stumbled across an interesting concept 'Humanocracy', which presents a blueprint for creating organizations as inspired and inventive as the humans inside them.
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Do you always tell yourself you cannot achieve something? Do you discourage yourself from trying the new? If yes, then subconsciously self-limiting beliefs are stopping you from attaining what you want in life. All the positivity in the world won't be of much help if you aren't willing to break free from the thoughts weighing you down. Limiting beliefs are thoughts that restrict you from realizing your full potential.
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With our businesses venturing into new markets, international travel is going to be an exciting phase. However, as you start interacting more with foreign clients, you soon realize that manners and gestures differ and carry varying interpretations. Now that it’s trendy for meetings to occur during lunchtime, you can’t afford to disregard behavioral norms for introductions or dining. The first impression you create will influence the meeting flow and therefore, you need to discerningly handle yourself to get the most out of the deal.
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If you walk around, spot a bunch of smiling faces and say everybody looks happy...then you're not actually listening. Most bosses have lost the art of listening even though it remains the most fundamental trait of great leader. This is because leaders live in fallacy that they are way ahead of everyone else and love to listen to themselves. In the long run, such overconfidence and arrogant notions are doomed to fail.
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Forum is a group of individuals sharing with each other in complete confidence their work and life. The objective of the forum is to help each other live a fuller life by sharing experiences and knowledge. To make the most of your Forum, here are a few tips to follow.
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Exchanging business cards is a ritual in most networking meetings and once it ends, you’re left with a pile of cards. On the contrary, converting a card into contact and pursuing a connection of value marks the beginning of a relationship. These are often based on interests, hobbies and goals, beyond generic conversations or candid talk.
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We all have our share of ups (peaks) and downs (valleys) in life. Whether you're at the pinnacle of success or led down in life, the book 'Peaks and Valleys' will equip you with time-tested principles in life's journey. Narrated as a series of conversations between an unhappy young man living in a valley and a wise old man experiencing life on a peak, the nuggets of wisdom from the book amazed me.
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Are you involved entire day in a whole lot of activity and then wonder why you haven't accomplished much? Then it’s time for you to power up and get organized. When you try to execute several tasks that flash your mind, no matter how hard you try, it gets challenging to accomplish everything as expected. It feels you're bouncing from task to task and never really doing justice to any of them.
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At the threshold of a New Year, almost each one of us set resolutions, desiring to be better than what we were in the previous year. Resolutions could be getting in shape, advancing your career, networking better, giving up a bad habit or simply spending more time with family. Sadly, very few of us live up to these resolutions and as the year progresses, they are forgotten. This is primarily because we don’t break up resolutions into actionable steps and all that was spoken is gone up in the air.
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'Networking is essential for success' is a piece of advice repeatedly given. The critical part missing in this advice is the mechanism to build a professional network. Forbes article 'The Networking Advice No One Tells You' beautifully articulates the reasons that limit us from being an effective networker.
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In the past, leaders instilled a certain amount of fear to churn more work out of people with focus being on profits at any cost. Pushing employees to work led to declining morale and motivation levels. However, the post- pandemic phase altered the way we work, by offering more flexibility on job. With Covid-19 having imposed several stressors the significance of empathy at work has cropped up and sticking to old ways may do more harm than good.