Posts tagged "environment"

Psychometrics

Psychometrics and You

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“Personality is only ripe when a man has made the truth his own.” Soren Kierkegaard

Understanding oneself is a major step that has to be undertaken to create change in ones life. To be successful and achieve set goals, it is vital to identify one’s strengths, weaknesses and limitations. Psychometrics does not provide you with all the answers, but what it does, is help make the abstract concepts of personality more tangible. Listed below are a few ways that specific psychometric personality assessments could aid and benefit growth.

1. Identification of strengths: Tests such as strength finder highlight and bring greater emphasis to your strengths. From childhood, aspects of our lives which were weakest got the most attention, for example if you were exceptional at english literature and not the greatest at math, a lot of energy used to go into making your math skills better at the expense of developing your skills in literature further. Through psychometrics and targeted assessment we can identify areas of exceptional skills and focus on developing them further.

2. Identification of drivers: Tests such as the values & motives inventory provide specific reports which show what motivates you and what sort of entrepreneurial or career paths you may be more suited towards. These can be really insightful and help you focus your energy on paths where you may be more inclined to follow with more accuracy.

3. Work environment preferences: Tests such as the 15FQ+ provide tremendous insight into the sort of team player slot you are most suited for based on your preferences,the sort of leadership styles that are most effective with your personality and even how you can be more effective in communicating your thoughts and ideas. This provides a comprehensive picture of the sort of working environment that would suit you the most and how to be more effective on the path you take.

Listed above are just the few ways psychometrics can help you to understand yourself better in an objective and accurate manner. It is then upto you to use the results when you get them. Ideally you should talk them over with a trained consultant and get feedback on your report as also answers to any queries. Think of it as a giant stepping stone which provides you with the ability to understand aspects of yourself without the benefit of time and experience . 

 

Advice Strategy

Squash and strategy

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“All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.” Sun Tzu

I started playing squash around a year ago with a lot of enthusiasm. Like all sports, on the surface it looked like a simple game. Four walls, two players one ball; first person to miss the ball loses the point and the game is played up to 11. I was like, how hard can this game actually be. So I started off with a coach who taught me the basic rules, how to hold the racket and basic squash etiquette. That took around 3-4 lessons and by the end of the 4th session I was like “Bring it on”. However, he told me at this point that there was a lot more to learn regarding the game and it would take at least another 3-4 months till I got some basic strategy pat down such as serving, placement, running and steps.

That didn’t sit well with me so I told him that I would learn along the way and we should just start playing games and he could monitor my progress. He told me this wasn’t advisable but in the end agreed and we started playing. I noticed another guy who had started at the same time as me and who was getting regular coaching . I made a mental note that I would play him in a couple of months to test how well our two different routes had turned out. Fast forward to 3 months later, my coach told me that I had made good progress and was getting better. So I asked him to set up a match with the other regular. It was setup shortly thereafter and we decided to play a best of three. I sort of crushed him in the first game 11-5 and remember thinking this was going to be a cinch. Sadly I ran out of gas in the middle of the second game and lost the remaining two matches.

With my ego fairly bruised I spoke to my coach and he pin pointed the areas where I was handicapped. My opponent had learnt his steps correctly which directly impacted stamina as you use less energy to move around the court correctly, he had also learnt how to use less power in his shots to get the same impact I was getting, using the greater force I was generating. It was apparent I had a lot of catching up to do and a year into training I am still unlearning all the bad habits that I picked up earlier on.

This holds a very clear analogy to startup businesses. We start off thinking we have got the next best idea after google and begin to pursue it without getting the groundwork settled. We start with a vague or no business plan and without a clear short term or long term strategy. We face competition in our sphere very soon and others appear to be moving faster, more effectively and efficiently as compared to us and we wonder why. Its all about strategizing and getting those foundation blocks right. Don’t just push yourself to get into the game as fast as you can, take a step back and get a better idea of where you want to go and how. Plan diligently and follow it with perseverance. There is no short cut to success.

Advice Sales

Sales and relationships

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“Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ”Make me feel important.” Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.” Mary Kay Ash

A couple of days ago on my way to a meeting I was stopped at a traffic light junction when a disabled man came to my car window, he was selling car cleaners . I didn’t need any, so he passed me by after asking. Moments later another disabled man who was selling the same came up to me. This was a man who has been selling similar merchandise at this traffic junction for the last 15 years and over the course of time he has sold many members of my family who pass this traffic crossing daily. He came up to my window,greeted me and condoled my grandmother’s passing away 2 months ago. The fact that he knew caught me totally off guard. He followed with casual chit chat regarding the health of the rest of my family and never once during this 5 minute exchange once mentioned whether I wanted to buy anything. You have to realize that we were at a traffic light crossing and were in a time sensitive situation. However, at the last moment, he casually asked whether I needed anything, I obliged and bought a fair share. Later on during my drive to the clients I began to think about what had just happened.

Sales is a very personal process, you are always more comfortable buying from or through individuals whom you trust or have a relationship with. Here was this man who had spent a large part of his life building a meaningful relationship with passer byes at traffic light junction . This continuous interaction on a relatively regular but short time frame basis had enabled him to build a relationship through which he could sell irrespective of whether you needed it or not. It wasn’t solely because he was handicapped otherwise I would have bought from the other vendors who attempted to sell me the same. It was only because of our relationship.

If you are running your own company or working at one where sales falls in your job scope I do believe the key to success is relationship building. I know it may sound somewhat cliched but just how many of your clients do you really know well. Truthfully, I need to do a lot more work in this area and this minor incident just showed me how strong a proposition you can build once you develop a meaningful relationship with your clients.

Advice

Life and Business

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“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business.” Henry Ford

Over the course of last week I have come across some interesting incidents which I documented in personal off topic posts. This week I decided I would share 5 of them so that we could all get a different perspective as compared to the traditional views on business and entrepreneurship I have taken in the past.

Life is a fascinating journey and every morning I get up and look forward to the new challenges that I will have to face and learn from through the course of the day. You need to keep that perspective if you want to live your life fully. I keep telling everyone that life is too short for us to take things for granted. I often hear some of my investment banker friends telling me that they look forward to the time when they can actually stop doing what they are doing and start living. I could empathize with that view a couple of years ago but now it seems not to be the most optimal way to live life. I realize many people have responsibilities and valid reasons for sometimes sacrificing certain things early on in life to enjoy life afterwards. Just make sure that whatever you do it is something you feel deeply passionate about and you wake up in the morning looking forward to the day. You are one of the lucky ones if that is the case.

The same applies for business when you are selecting or working on ideas make sure your value and belief systems are correctly aligned with what it is that you are working on. Money is a valid driver but it shouldn’t be the only one. You must have other drivers which force you to push yourself harder and further. You have to choose to do something which you truly believe in and let it take its course. My last couple of posts talked about losing balance in your life in the early stages with startup ventures, make sure the sacrifice you are making is worth it. It should really be more than just money. Also if you are going to have an imbalance temporarily in your life make sure you have as few responsibilities as possible. When you have a life partner, children or a girlfriend/boyfriend your actions have a direct impact on someone else’s life. That is why I advocate getting into business as early as possible because you have a lot less to lose.

I look forward to a lot more comments and feedback during this week’s blog as the topics are a lot more abstract. A lot of us have very different perspectives on the topics which are going to be written about and I would really like to hear from as many people as possible.

Advice Partnerships

Friends and Business

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“A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.” Anonymous

I firmly believe that partnering is one of the most effective ways of scaling your business. It is natural therefore to look within your network of friends/family and acquaintances to find potential partners. This is a strategy I have used, and even though a lot of people think that mixing friends/family and business is a bad idea, my experience has proved otherwise . Over the last couple of businesses I have been involved in, I have found that setting clear ground rules before starting a venture has been integral to their success.

One of the mistakes a lot of businesses are beset with when starting out with friends/family stem from there being so much left unsaid at the start. This is due to the fact that a mutual understanding is ‘thought’ to exist. The fact of the matter is, that unfortunately when money enters the picture a lot of these ‘understandings’ fall by the way side. Everyone wants to make money and start a successful business. The truth of the matter is that registering a business and starting one with no set plan is easy, making your business a success requires diligence, perseverance and structure.

Over the course of this week I will share with you certain ground rules to set when starting a venture or partnership. These rules have helped me tremendously in tempering expectations, getting ground realities realized and fostering an environment which promotes candour and honesty.

Inspiration Leadership Teams

5 ways to get you and your team motivated

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“People often say often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” Zig Ziglar

Getting and staying motivated requires you to have the desire and faith to achieve remarkable things. It needs you to push yourself harder, test yourself, take risks and believe that impossible is nothing. We all have days which are far from being ideal. Such days test that intense desire to achieve what you have set out to get. The following lists methods to continuously sustain your motivational level and increase it when it begins to dip.

  1. Everything starts with you: Whether you are leading a team or are a part of it, it is your responsibility to bring your A game to work everyday. Identifying what motivates you to get out of bed in the morning is essential. Once you have identified these factors you will become a source of motivation for the rest of your team. To learn more about how you can identify your motivations please click here.

  2. Challenging goals: Creating smart goals for yourself and your company is critical to keep motivation at a high level. When you do not challenge yourself hard enough you tend to stand still. That is about the worst thing you could possibly do for yourself. To read more about setting challenging goals please click here.

  3. Progress motivates: Momentum has the ability to inject life into any project or venture. It is this remarkable energy which infuses teams with the ability to achieve the impossible. Motivational levels hit the roof when a venture has momentum on its side making it a key metric to be monitored continuously. To read more about generating momentum please click here.

  4. Motivational environment: Surrounding yourself with highly motivated individuals in an environment which caters to open communication and creativity is a sure way to keep the motivational levels in check. The environment and the people you work with have a direct impact on your productivity levels. Making sure you carefully monitor this metric will result in higher productivity teams, to learn more please click here.

  5. Rewards and recognition: A well planned rewards and recognition program can do wonders for the motivational level for yourself and your team. You first need to recognize what it is that motivates your team members and tailor a rewards and recognition program likewise. To read more about how to develop a rewards and recognition program please click here.

These are a few ways which have helped me keep track of the motivational level within myself and the teams I have worked with. I hope it helps others develop a framework for their own ventures and companies. Even though the ways outlined are very straight forward we need to continuously monitor them and see where we are lagging behind. I look forward to others adding to this list of ways they keep themselves and their teams motivated.