149 Days Until Christmas

It seems like only yesterday I was hunting around the shops on Christmas Eve buying the remaining few Christmas presents, vowing that next year I won’t leave it to last minute like I do every year. Time just goes so quickly, new years, then Easter, followed by that summer holiday, Halloween, and then next thing you know it is the 1st December, and you have only just decided to think about that first Christmas present.

It’s the end of July, the temperature is in the 70s, and I am writing about Christmas, and why am I reminding you about it, I hear you say? Each year it gets earlier and earlier, and soon we will be reminded of Christmas in June, before we have even thought about this year’s holiday! Selfridges and Harrods launched their ‘seasonal’ displays yesterday, 149 days before Christmas and 11 days earlier than last year, with this year’s trend being white. Personally, I am a traditional person, and believe that Christmas trees should not be sold in any other colour than green, with it covered in decorations and the whole house covered too from roof to floor.

Christmas can be a stressful time for most people, and just thinking about it now, has got me thinking what I will be buying this year. In order to decrease the amount of stress I get each year from Christmas I will keep the stress out of my life, by planning a head. I will make a start earlier than planned and will eliminate the biggest worry of them all...what if they don’t like it. If they do not like it then I can always take it back, and get them something they really like instead.

It’s only July, and I vow this year to make a start on my Christmas presents early. If you do end up shopping on Christmas Eve then do not worry, and follow the principle How to face trouble: Ask yourself, “What is the worst that can possibly happen?” Prepare for the worst. Try to improve on the worst, and you will enjoy the experience of Christmas a lot more.

Attend our free Dale Carnegie Course Preview on 3rd August 2011 or 6th September 2011to find out how you can Stop Worrying And Start Living.

Stephanie Fletcher

Marketing Assistant & Administrator

http://www.london.dalecarnegie.co.uk/

Communication

The other day I was updating our database with a new client and I arrived at the field asking for the company’s fax number. And this made me think....how often these days do we send faxes? I racked my brains but could honestly not remember the last time I sent one. These days documents are scanned and emailed rather than faxed.

And this in turn made me think about how communication has changed over the years.....we have used messengers, pigeons, letters, telephone, telex, fax, emails, instant messenger and now skype and webinars. All various ways to interact with colleagues, friends and family.

At Dale Carnegie we have embraced the changes in communication and one of our latest ways of learning through webinars has been a huge success. But what about good old fashioned face to face communication.

How often do we email someone when we could easily pick up the phone, or even walk into the next department/office and speak to them? How often do we email our clients when it may be better to call them? Email is a very easy way of communicating and is extremely effective too, especially when dealing with clients and colleagues in different countries.

But you really cannot beat face to face communications. An example of this is when you deal with someone on the phone for a period of time and then you actually meet them – this in fact happened to me this week. Nine times out of ten once you have met that person your relationship blossoms as that interaction makes further communication so much easier.

So next time you decide to email, how about picking up the phone instead....or even better, pick up the phone and arrange a meeting.....you never know what could come of it.

And to end, here are a few tips from our founder, Dale Carnegie, on face to face communications:

~ Smile
~ Become genuinely interested in the person you are talking to
~ Remember that person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most sound in any language
~ Give honest and sincere appreciation
~ Show respect in the other person’s opinion. Never say “you’re wrong.”

For further tips why not come to our free preview session of our flagship programme, The Dale Carnegie Course.

The most useful person in the world today is the man or woman who knows how to get along with other people. Human relations is the most important science in living ~ Stanley C Allyn

Helen Mills
Financial Controller
http://www.london.dalecarnegie.com/

Who wants to be a millionaire?

It’s Tuesday 12th July 2011, 7.45pm. I just realised that I forgot to get my Euro millions lottery ticket. Arghh!!!

I have been putting two lines each on a Tuesday and a Friday for a number of months. I used to only have one, a selection of numbers that have some significance to me. However, when I found out that a majority of the jackpot winners did so through the lucky dip I was forced to add a line. I couldn’t simply drop my numbers because I would be distraught if they ever came in.

Then on Wednesday morning, as I pushed and shoved my way through Paddington station to grab a copy of the Metro I saw that someone had done it, winning an astronomical £161 million, propelling him / her into the top 500 of the UK rich list.

Just like most of you that do spend money in the hope of one day hitting the jackpot, I believe my investment of just over £400 a year is money well spent. Who knows, the next time it could be me.

However, that said this desire to become an instant millionaire does not outweigh my desire to be successful in my own right. I realise that for most of us success is not thrust upon us but it is something we earn. In fact most people would argue that winning the lottery will make you richer but not necessarily more successful.

I want to be able to work hard and be the best I can be. I want to be respected by my colleagues for the work I do and the results I achieve. Equally, I want my clients to see me as a trusted advisor. Ultimately, success for me is helping other people to become more successful.

If like me, you really want to be successful, the first step you must take is to define what success actually means to you. Please take a minute to define success for yourself and jot down your thoughts on a piece of paper and keep it somewhere safe. Make sure you look at it from time to time and ask yourself what you have done to achieve the items on your success list.

If you are genuinely interested in developing your own skill set or that of others within your organisation then please take the time to come along to any of our free course previews and seminars and find out how Dale Carnegie supports individuals, teams and organisation to reach their goals, faster and with less anxiety.

I would like to leave you with a couple of quotes. The first is from an American educator by the name of Marva Collins and the second is from our founder Dale Carnegie.

“Excellence is not an act but a habit. The things you do the most are the things you will do best.”

“Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.”

Amar Garcha
Sales Consultant

www.london.dalecarnegie.co.uk

Why all this talk of talent management suddenly?

“Managing talent has now overtaken “risk” as top of the CEO agenda, according to analysis from Price Waterhouse Cooper’s 14th annual CEO survey. 83% said they plan to change their talent global management strategy in the next 12 months and for 31% of these changes will be major”

Talent management encapsulates the following things: Retention, Employee engagement and companies vision for future and current employees.

And if not managed successfully the impact to the business financiall can be excessive. To give you an idea of that cost ? The annual cost of staff turnover for medium to large organisations can be in some cases 9 % of the company’s annual turnover, to put that into context. An organisation with an annual turnover of 12 million would be looking at a cost of 1.08 million to the business to replace and train new staff? Therefore in these difficult financial times it’s critical that we have robust a clear talent management process in place to make sure our investment in staff is not a poor one.

One of the main obstacles in implementing a successful talent management programme is that it requires the full support of the senior executive team—and especially the support and personal commitment of the CEO. Talent management is not an HR program; rather, it is the CEO’s program. The CEO is the chief customer and constituent.

Here are several action steps that are necessary to gain commitment from the senior level:

• Clarify and communicate why a talent program is needed for the organization, based on its business needs
• Specify the measurable results desired from the program
• Gain agreement from, and the full support of, the senior executive
team and CEO for the talent program
• Decide what action steps will be taken to meet the program needs
• Clarify the roles and behaviours of the HR department, top managers,
middle managers and workers in the talent program
• Establish methods of holding people accountable to meet measurable
Talent management objectives

To find more on how to go about implementing a talent management training plan, download our White paper for free on our website www.london.dalecarnegie.co.uk

Mark de Stadler
Performance Training Consultant
Dale Carnegie

Building Long Term Relationships

When we talk to our clients about the impact of the Dale Carnegie Skills for Success Course, we talk about the results it delivers for people, and we often mention the supportive environment and strong relationships that you build with other delegates on the course. I was therefore delighted to receive recently, an e-mail from a graduate of the programme from 13 years ago:

Hi

Not sure if this of interest to you, but this story is testament to the bond that Dale Carnegie creates.

In 1998, a group of strangers attended a DC course in Chelmsford, Essex. Although we didn't socialise during the course, seven of us stayed in touch afterwards and thirteen years later, we still meet up several times a year. We have become firm friends, and even go away on holiday every year now that one of the group has moved to Malta!

We often reminisce about our DC days, and still remember most of the names of the people on the course through the techniques we were taught. We all strongly believe that Dale gave us a good grounding, and played a part in forming the people we are today.

As you can imagine, a lot has happened in our lives during that time, but we have remained friends through thick and thin.

Thank you.

Vicky

If you'd like to develop your skills and perhaps build some long term friendships, come and join us for a free preview of this programme on the 3rd of August at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel.

David Anderson
Managing Director Dale Carnegie London