Your Friday Lesson with Richard Branson

Beware the "Us vs Them" Environment

A workplace should be one in which the boss and his or her employees communicate well and work together toward the same goal. “If employees aren’t associating themselves with their company by using ‘we’, it is a sign that people up and down the chain of command aren’t communicating,” says Richard Branson.

If you think there might be discrepancies or tension between employees and management, Branson advises to check with the middle management first to try to uncover the source of the problem and address it head on.

What are the Common Mistakes Exhibited by Sales Professionals?

Even the most experienced salespeople make mistakes as everybody does in every walk of life. Here are three common ones...

Pretending. Sales is a job that carries a target. Often quite a challenging one. Because of this, many people in sales feel under pressure from expectation and from their managers too. This means that most salespeople are overly focused on making the sale. When meeting clients they "pretend" that they are interested in the client but really their main interest is in making the sale.

Sales superstars are genuinely interested in their clients. They put their clients and their needs and wants first. They ask questions, they listen and they try their best to see things from their client's perspective. You've probably heard the expression "to walk a mile in someone else's shoes" and that's exactly what salespeople need to do.

When you focus your attention on someone else and their needs and wants, rather than your own, then their defences and barriers come down and they share their real thoughts, feelings and opinions with you. This allows you to tailor solutions and offerings that add more value than those of your competition who failed to engage as well as you.

Thinking that good enough is good enough. 
We are in a very competitive market these days and there are still lots of opportunities... but only for the best. Good enough is not good enough anymore. Clients want to work with the best. If you want to make sales, lots of sales, you need to give 100% and be the best that you can be.

Not adding enough value. 
To be great in today's economy you need to add massive value, more value than anyone could ever have expected you to. But value is not determined by you, it is determined by your clients and the only way you can find this out is to ask questions and genuinely care about what your client has to say.

Study Identifies Top 5 Abdominal Exercises

Achieving a toned midsection is a major goal for many people. But every fitness expert seems to have a different opinion about how best to tighten the abdominal muscles. The amount of conflicting information can make it confusing if you're new to training.

San Diego State University set out to address this problem by finally answering the frequently asked question, "What's the best way to train the core?" 

The Study

A team led by Peter Francis, Ph.D., and Jennifer Davis, M.A., in SDSU's Biomechanics Lab, conducted the study. They recruited 30 women and men (20 to 45 years old). Each participant was reportedly in good health with an activity level ranging from occasional to daily exercise. The researchers asked participants to perform a variety of abdominal exercises at random while hooked up an EMG machine, which monitored their level of muscular activity as they worked each movement.

Using the collected data, the researchers were able to establish each exercise's average level of muscle activity. Based on these numbers, the exercises were then ranked from best to worst.

The Results

Every tested exercise proved to be relatively effective—but some were more effective than others.

The Top Five Abdominal Exercises

• Bicycle Crunch
• Captain's Chair
• Stability Ball Crunches
• Vertical Leg Crunch
• Reverse Crunch

What This Means for You

First, remember that everybody does abdominal exercises differently. So although these are theoretically the "most effective" abdominal exercises, you may prefer Planks or standing abdominal work.

It's best to choose based on your preferences and experience. No matter which exercises you choose, take the time to train and strengthen your abdominal muscles. Strong abdominal muscles can help with posture, alleviate lower back pain and contribute to your long-term health.

Enjoy your workout!

Exercise Your Brain

Think of your brain as a muscle: It gets stronger with exercise. Your everyday mental tasks are like walking, but how about a real workout? Try this simple exercise to boost your brain power and clear away the fog of forgetfulness.

Move your fingers to improve your brain!
It could be that people who use their fingers more frequently are more intelligent. In fact, some studies show that engaging the fingers stimulates nerve endings that go directly to the brain, increasing circulation. Take advantage of this by practicing motor activities that use your fingertips, like crocheting, knitting, and other arts and crafts where you are manipulating small parts. Try playing the piano or a stringed instrument. 

Here is an exercise you can do anywhere, at any time. Put one finger on top of the one next to it, then try to stack the next finger on top of that. Or hold a pencil or pen between your index and middle fingers, roll it over until it's balanced between the middle and ring fingers, then again to between the ring finger and pinky. This exercise has a beneficial impact on brain health for anyone at any age, but especially for people in their 40s, 50s and beyond -- when signs of brain aging starts to set in.

Why does this work? A map of the brain shows that the nerve endings on your fingertips correspond to more areas of the brain than any other body area, except perhaps the tongue and lips. Therefore, finger exercise and movements can be useful in stimulating the neurons in the brain. The National Institute of Mental Health conducted experiments that showed finger exercises enlarged the capacity of the participants' brains, increased connections between neurons, forged new neural pathways, and increased circulation to the brain areas. The researchers concluded that finger exercise contributed significantly to brain plasticity, the ability of the brain to renew itself. Increased circulation means more oxygen and nutrients for the brain cells and decreased waste products that clog up the brain.

Your Friday Lesson with Richard Branson

Be Visible

Sir Freddie Laker gave Richard Branson some timeless advice when building Virgin Airlines, “Make sure you appear on the front page and not the back pages,” said Laker. “You are going to have to get out there and sell yourself. Make a fool of yourself, whatever it takes. Otherwise you won’t survive."

Branson always makes a point of traveling often and meeting as many people as he can. This, he says, is how he came by some of the best suggestions and ideas for his business.

Control What You Can!

"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."  
John Wooden

There is so much in life that happens to us that we do not control, but don'’t let that distract you from making the best of every day. Focus on what you can do to take advantage of life today and then get busy doing it. 

How can you maximize how you invest your time today to make a difference where it counts to you?

Improve Your Self Awareness for Personal Development

Self awareness involves being conscious of who you are and how you will react in certain situations – but it’s also more than that.

The Benefits of Self Awareness

When you become self aware you grow as a person. You develop self-acceptance and this in turn makes you more accepting of others. You become more self-reliant and self-motivated. These are the qualities that help you to continue growing as a person and to be successful in your chosen field.

Techniques For Greater Self Awareness

We have already discussed the importance of reflection to becoming self aware – but there are other things that we can do to develop this quality in ourselves. In the East there is a greater recognition of the quality of self awareness and this is often achieved through the practice of yoga and meditation. Buddhist monks for example have to learn to meditate to develop a taste for silence.

Meditation comes in many forms. Some forms of meditation rely on the reciting of a mantra or sacred phrase. Christians, Muslims and Jews also recognise the benefits of meditation and contemplation and how this leads to greater self knowledge. A more recent tool in developing self awareness is cognitive therapy where we take greater control over our thinking processes and try to correct thoughts that are erroneous.

Finally, rediscover what is important to you. One way of doing this is to keep a journal. Many more people are now recognizing the benefits of journaling. Here you can record your thoughts, chart your progress and decide what you see as important. When you decide what is important in your life then you have an idea of what you value. Knowing what you value in life is a vital tool in self awareness and success. When we know what our values are, then it is much easier to chart a path in life that adds to our personal growth and happiness.

To Your Success

David

Exercise Your Brain

Think of your brain as a muscle: It gets stronger with exercise. Your everyday mental tasks are like walking, but how about a real workout? Try this simple exercise to boost your brain power and clear away the fog of forgetfulness.

Work out your brain!
You have to use it or lose it! You can work out your mind just like you work out your body. Mental exercises that will keep your brain fit include doing crossword puzzles, playing chess, or memorising names, shopping lists, and phone numbers. When I was a young boy, to keep my brain function strong, my father had me memorise poetry. Every day I had to memorize a new poem and recite it back. Learn the words to a poem or a new song and repeat them back from memory. Set aside the calculator and add manually instead. Keep challenging yourself with tasks that are new to you.

Whatever mental exercise you choose, the key to success is to practice every day at the same time; you are developing and activating new neural pathways, and consistent cycles will keep the brain on track. 

Your Friday Lesson with Richard Branson

The Customer is Always Right, Most of the Time.

The customer is always right... unless they’re wrong. After all, they’re only human too. Your customers’ opinions are important, but “you should not build your customer service system on the premise that your organisation will never question the whims of your clients," says Richard Branson.

Branson warns that many entrepreneurs think if they provide 'the-customer-is-always-right' service that it will improve their businesses. This is only sometimes true. Beware not to damage relationships with customers or staff with your customer service policies.