Dale Carnegie London

Successful Entrepreneurs

2012-02-01T10:16:00.005Z

I have recently been reading about entrepreneurs and how they started up as I find people really interesting, especially those who have achieved personal success, in whatever way they view it. It’s all to do with having an ‘ology’ you see!

I love to read their stories and how getting there wasn’t all plain sailing, glamorous or indeed easy. Having ups and downs is very much part of business and it’s reassuring to read that it happens to the best of them.

It was interesting to read why they decided to start up their own business. Toni Mascolo, co-founder of Tony & Guy Hairdressers loved building things...whether it was collections of coins or a family business. After fighting to keep the Toni & Guy name he built up the international business we now know.

Jenny Irvine of The Pure Package was brought up on a farm and has always been self sufficient. Her love of quality healthy food and wanting to make a difference to people prompted her to start up her gourmet diet food delivery service. She strived for success, but to her success was being happy and having time to be with her loved ones, thus eventually creating a business that didn’t rely on her day to day.

Whatever the entrepreneur’s reason for creating their business or businesses, there appeared to be a common denominator. The majority of the people I read about, including Richard Branson, set goals. They set short term achievable goals, mid term goals and some of them long term goals. Apparently Richard Branson always carries a notebook with him with his goals written down – whether you like him or not you can’t fault his success.

For one person to say they wrote down their goals and read them every day is one thing, but for 90% of the successful entrepreneurs to do this must mean it actually works.

A common feeling was that if they are not written down then they are harder to achieve as there is no focus, consciously or subconsciously. One entrepreneur looked at his long term goals every day, morning and night and achieved them all within one month of his deadline. And they were not small goals either, unless you consider buying a house, car and having a significant amount of cash in the bank a small goal.

At Dale Carnegie we believe in setting goals and visions both personally and in business. Whether your goal is financial, a change in lifestyle, a holiday of a lifetime or even getting that new promotion you so desire they are well worth setting. You can set them for three months time or a years time, whatever works for you, as long as they are meaningful and achievable with belief and in the cases of the entrepreneurs, good old fashioned hard work.

So go on, write down a few goals and start the journey towards them......you will feel over the moon when you achieve them.

Helen

Wheres The Motivation?

2012-01-30T12:03:00.001Z

It was two weeks ago, on a wet and cold Thursday evening (a bit like today), and I had just fought my way through rush hour, and I sat on the sofa, with a cup of tea watching Come Dine With With Me, for what was suppose to be a 5 minute rest, before I went to the gym.

5 minutes slowly turned into 10 then into 20 minutes, and before long I had lost all motivation to go. I sat there an hour later, regretting not going straight from work, as then I would not have had the temptation of saying “I will make up for it tomorrow” or “it’s too cold to go back outside”. My mother didn’t help by convincing me that it is too cold outside, and that I had had a long day either.

We were watching BBC Ones The One Show, when Fern Cotton and Gary Lineker did an advert for run 1 mile for Sports Relief on 25th March. It was then, I got my motivation! Seeing and hearing how my contribution to running a mile would help raise money for charities all over the UK and the World, and how it has bought families, communities the young and the old together has inspired me. I instantly logged on on-line to sign up, where I then had the dilemma of running, 1, 3 or 6 miles. I thought to myself that 1 mile would be a “walk in the park”, 3 miles would be achievable, but 6 miles would be a challenge for someone who was at her peak 10 years ago, and whom needs to reach her target by May.

2 weeks on, I am training 4/5 times a week to complete my first ever charity run, and finish the 6 miles in an hour. So far, it’s going well, I have inspired another fellow “Get Fit” lady, who has seen me on numerous occasions in the gym to enter, as well as the men of Dale Carnegie London, and I have even broken my record by 2 minutes, but it hasn’t been easy. I am a very sociable person, and I can easily be persuaded into activities which are not fit related, but my motivation is at an all time high so I have actually said no, on the odd occasion. I have been inspired to not only reach my own personal goals, but hopefully help to achieve others along my way too. It’s not always about reaching your targets, but how you achieve them, and trying to keep motivated as you do so. To achieve my target, I will be doing a range of events, including one which will be a big test to me……..a day’s silence!! If I can achieve that, then I can achieve anything, and so can you.

Stephanie Fletcher

Who's agenda are you really on?

2012-01-27T16:48:00.003Z

Ever found yourself in the midst of yet another fruitless cold call from a sales person who professes to be the answer to all of your business problems?

Have you found yourself during the call, internally questioning "just how do you propose to help my business when you haven't asked a single question about us so far, you've simply blurted everything about what your company does and what you want!"?

With some cold callers the more you pull away the more they feel they should push until one of you is cornered or conflict is arrived at. What is it they don't understand about
"I'm not interested"?

In each case I am confident to speculate that only one or two key elements are being missed however the impact is multiplied each time they fail to be applied within the conversation.

In truth who amongst us has the time or indeed the inclination to stop what we are doing on a busy day and listen to somebody who displays little to no genuine interest in what is important to us?

Consider how much more useful it would be if the person calling questioned effectively enough to uncover what makes your business tick, to allow you to share what has made your business successful over the course of its existence? The very fact that you are in business must mean there are any number of things really working well surely?

The true value of a cold call lies in the sales person genuinely seeking to understand the opportunities and challenges your business is facing now and is likely to face in the foreseeable future. They should strive to draw out the ambitions that lie at the core of your strategy for moving forward. Only here both of you really begin to recognise if what they offer will in fact help propel you forward and accelerate the achievement of key objectives.

When a potential supplier applies this approach they begin by demonstrating how they aim to partner you in the accomplishment of your ambitions. They don't waste your time selling you something you don't need to buy.

Angelina Foden

The difference between confidence and nerves.

2012-01-25T16:17:00.004Z

As I am coming up to the half way point of the Dale Carnegie course I thought I could use this blog to maybe describe one of the key breakthroughs I have made so far. The course is designed to develop a variety of skills and mentalities which in turn will be beneficial in your relationships with others, enable you to project confidence and maintain a positive attitude in all situations.

I have recognised through the presentations I have made on the course and speaking to others partaking that we all get nervous. Whether its presentations or something entirely different, I don’t know anyone who does not get nervous at some point. I use to think that by being constantly nervous I was somebody who suffered from a lack of confidence but would often be given good feedback in the areas I thought I was not confident in.

I have come to realise that nerves are more related to the significance of an event and confidence is linked to our preparation for it. If I have to give a presentation on a particular subject and I’m not prepared, then I will be nervous and have no confidence in myself to carry out the presentation. If I have prepared for the presentation then I have total confidence in my ability to deliver a good presentation but it does not stop me from feeling nerves.

I have learned to welcome the feeling of nerves in any scenario in life as for me it underlines it is something of importance. If I don’t feel confident about my ability to get through it, then I need to find what’s missing in order to rectify it.

I would encourage you to embrace nerves as a means of motivation. Next time you have a presentation and you feel nervous…good, it means that what you are doing is important to you! Next time you have a presentation and you don’t feel confident…work out what is missing, change it and give yourself the confidence that you have all the tools to give the presentation of your life.

Brett Mills

Can a lack of communication be the difference between life and death?

2012-01-20T17:13:00.007Z

I was shocked about the news this week regarding the Costa Concordia crashing into rocks off Giglio Porto and subsequently sinking. This has resulted in the death of at least 11 people with another 24 still missing. A sad loss of life’s that simply should have been avoided.

In the aftermath, Captain Francesco Schettino has been arrested on suspicion of multiple manslaughter with some reports suggested that he was amongst the first to leave the ship after the crash.

As some of this is unsubstantiated at this moment in time I will refrain from passing my own judgment on the man.

However, recently video footage has been released in which a female crew member is urging passengers to return to their cabins. Passengers were also told that the problem was electrical and confined to the ships generator. Apparently, the footage comes from the period after the ship hit the reef. In another audio tape aired yesterday a crew member is heard describing the situation to a port authority official as a blackout.

Wherever the truth lies regarding what actually happened in the time before and after the crash, I can clearly tell that there was a distinct lack of communication from the crew to the passengers as well as to the port officials.

I work for an organisation that appreciates the importance of communication, whether that is internal to your peers and bosses or external to other stakeholders and clients. We have spent the best part of a century coaching and training people in this area, who are looking to gain credibility, increase team member engagement or simply to develop their own careers.

I love the work I do, so much so that I about to undergo my training to become a trainer / coach for the company and so will be dedicating my life to improving the communication skills (amongst other key soft skill areas) of individuals, teams and companies in the years to come.

I understand that in the current tough economic climate a lack of communication has a massive impact on the ability of an organisation to thrive or survive.

However, after reflecting on the aforementioned events it really saddens me to think that many innocent lives were snatched away under these circumstances.

My thoughts are with everyone that lost their life, the people still missing and all their respective friends and family.

A lack of communication can really be the difference between life and death.

Amar Garcha

Making better use of our own time !

2012-01-19T17:07:00.002Z

Intelligent leaders make resolutions and set quarterly targets, charting progress against ambitious plans and goals. Wise leaders, however, take a different approach: they root themselves in a noble purpose, align it with a compelling vision, and then take action — not just for that year, but for the rest of their lives.

We have a choice in creating the life that we desire. With our judgment, choices, actions we take, we change the course of our future and steer our destiny, moment by moment. Wisdom is not about focusing on the future, but rather about acting in the present, and having a abilty to priotitize .

Prioritizing requires reflection, reflection takes time, and many of the individuals I meet are so busy racing just to keep up they don't believe they have time to stop and think about much of anything. Therefore saying no, thoughtfully, may be the most undervalued capacity of our times. In a world of relentless demands and infinite options, it behooves us to prioritize the tasks that add the most value. That also means deciding what to do less of, or to stop doing altogether.

Making the correct choices requires that we regularly step back from the madding crowd. It's only when we pause — when we say no to the next urgent demand or seductive source of instant gratification — that we give ourselves the space to reflect on, metabolize, assess, and make sense of what we've just experienced.
Taking time also allows us to collect ourselves, refuel and renew, and make conscious course corrections that ultimately save us time when we plunge back into the fray.

Therefore take 30 minutes out of your diary at the end of each week to reflect on the last 5 days of work . Once you have had to chance to reflect , map out what elements you want to give more focus on for the following week. This simple process will allow you to be in control of each week and it will give you focus to get most of your time at work thereby giving yourself more time to relax when you get home.

Win Business or Win More Business? Both.

2012-01-16T16:38:00.006Z

As I was sitting in a meeting with a potential client, during those 45 minutes David used about 4 or 5 client examples to establish credibility and demonstrate capability. As soon as we came out of the meeting I suggested we should create a concise document outlining some of the major clients we worked with, solution and results.

Being around for 100 years means we have a lot of case studies and testimonials. It's great to have so many success stories but sometimes, in particular for newer members of the team, is difficult to memorise all the information and probably end up not using it.

In our next weekly team meeting (today) we have kicked off the process and in the space of 10 minutes we came up with 6 examples which have been written and are ready to be used. We will continue to do this every week and in just a few months we'll have lots of client examples everyone can use.

If you are looking to increase conversion ratios take 10-15 minutes every week to think, write, share credibility statements. This will share knowledge within the team and create a stronger impact with prospects and clients.

Corina Balaneanu

So what does it take to be a leader?

2012-01-13T15:43:00.001Z

Leaders only need one thing ....!

FOLLOWERS

and perhaps the more people that twig onto this simple notion then the more we will accomplish each day - individually, as a society, as a nation and as a world of 7 billion souls.
So what does it take to be a leader? Well, here are a few pointers.

Appearance. This is the first thing that anyone notices and if we do not create a positive first impression then we are out of the running immediately. So as a leader am I ever off stage? The answer is no. This means we do have to be 'smart' within the accepted dress code. We have to smell right, and sound right and our overall body language must be positive.

What we say and how we say it are the next two. It's not the words that people listen too in the first few seconds they listen for tone of voice. They listen for passion, desire, drive, belief and a whole myriad of other words we might use to describe elements of charisma. This is where we demonstrate our congruence. That alignment between our values, actions and outcomes together with how we show up in the world is congruence. It is the exhibition of authenticity and leading an intentional life.

So appearance attracts, what we say and how we say it holds attention.

In fourth place then comes our actions. How do I relate to others? Do we do what we say we are going to do? Is our conversation littered with doubt in the form of ifs, buts and maybes. Do we wait or act? Do we dream hope and wish? Or do we live life as it comes cherishing each and very moment, exploring all opportunities? Do we create solutions to problems and implement without delay?

It is only now, after we maintain the attraction of others through these four elements that anyone will start to take notice of our technical capability, our business or academic competence.
So, would you follow the person who looks, acts and sounds the part, who is congruent and authentic? If the answer is yes then you know who you need to be and how you need to show up in the world for others to follow your lead.

Begin now, as you sign off from this blog. Become conscious of your incompetence as a leader and start working on it right away. Yes, that's it, have a look in the mirror. A good look.
If you need some help - call.

David Pickering

Regaining Sanity

2012-01-11T09:00:00.003Z

I was fortunate enough to take two weeks off over Christmas and New Year and I returned to work this week. Taking time off is good for the soul . Period. However....... taking time off is great but coming back to two weeks work, plus what you were working on before you went away isn’t good for the soul. It can bring you stress, added pressure and like me yesterday, made me a tad grumpy (thank you for the hug Corina).

So I started to think about what I can do to take some of this away and the first thing that came to mind was something that I learned years ago, in previous employment, where demands were high and my days never seemed long enough. I was given a book to read, I can’t remember who gave it to me and I can’t remember the name of the book (so I apologise now to the author as I duly like to give credit where credit is due). In this book it gave ideas on how to manage your tasks and to do list. And here was what I learnt.

First of all write everything you need to do on a piece of paper, pad or word/excel document – whatever you find easiest to work from. Combine all those post it notes haphazardly stuck on your screen, all those pieces of paper with notes on. Write them all on one document. Then throw the post it notes and bits of paper away. You are left with one list.

Next to each item on your list rate it A, B, C, D.....A being urgent, B being important, C being important but not urgent and D being anything else. If you are working on paper it might be best to do this in pencil.

Now you have all your items with a letter next to them, the next step is to look at all the A’s and number them by way of priority. For example, the most urgent task will be A1, the next urgent task will be A2 and so on. Then do the same to the B’s, C’s and D’s. Again do this in pencil. Eventually you will have a list of tasks with letters and numbers.

Then you start at A1 and work your way through the list. Then when all the A’s are done start with the B’s and so on. The reason I mentioned doing this in pencil is that if you are anything like me, your list won’t get done in a day and eventually you will find that other jobs creep in. So at the end of each day review your list and re-prioritise your workload. That way you can come in the next day knowing exactly where you need to start.

Right I’m off to practice what I’ve just preached.

Helen Mills

One Off Event On A One Off Day

2012-01-09T16:10:00.003Z

Everyone says it….. “2012 is going to be my year” just like 2011, 2010 and 2009 was their year too. However 2012 really is Dale Carnegie’s year, as we celebrate our 100th Anniversary. We have a range of new seminars and white papers for example, which will be on offer throughout the year, with our first one off seminar, be held on a one off day.

The How To Win Friends And Influence People in the Digital Age, will be held on the one day women can propose to men…..Wednesday 29th February 2012. Mr. Carnegie left a legacy of Human Relations Principles that helps us open our minds to the need for and desire to change. He also developed a system of processes and approaches that make change seem easier to implement for our participants, and these principles are very much valid today, as they were 100 years ago.

The digital age is changing how we work, play, communicate and think. It is an exciting frontier that rewards those who leverage the power that it presents. Competing in the new environment will require higher levels of competence. While it may seem challenging to keep up with the pace of technology the good news is that it is evolving so quickly that it’s easier to learn and use than ever before.

This one off workshop will teach you to realize your personal best, achieve work-life balance, lead effectively, strengthen relationships, enhance communication skills, and most importantly the attitudes of success, necessary to move to new levels of effectiveness in the digital age.

For more information on how this free, 2 hour, one off seminar on a one off day, can help you to juggle the demands of the digital age, visit www.londondalecarnegie.com/events, or call on 0207 379 4323

Stephanie Fletcher

Whats in a name?

2012-01-06T15:54:00.003Z

'What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.'

Shakespeare wrote this. He is trying to tell us that our names do not matter and it is only what we do that’s important. It would be foolhardy to argue that our actions are not relevant but to imply that our name means nothing is in my opinion equally so. Let me tell you a story.

A young man travels to rural Africa. He spends three months teaching English in the harsh, poverty stricken area of Kezi, Zimbabwe. He builds up phenomenal relationships that cross the cultural divide and through his teaching, feels he has made a rare connection with the men and women he had the privilege of interacting with. It’s an experience he will never forget.

On his last day, he attends a dinner designed to bid him farewell. All of the people he has met and taught are in attendance. He spends time speaking to all of his students, who when he first arrived were unfamiliar faces but now were dear to his heart. Towards the end of the meal a young man approaches, someone he’s known for three months and who he could spot in a large crowd. The young man asks him something that changes his entire trip…for the worst.

‘Can you remember my name?’

He freezes. His face now a shade of crimson as he is gripped by the embarrassment he has bought upon himself. In his mind, he scrambles and claws for a name that doesn’t come, an excuse fails to present itself and even the most basic words cannot force their way out of his mouth. For what seems like an eternity all he can do is look into the eyes of a young man whom he thought he knew so well, and yet it is in that moment that it dawns on him that without this one simple piece of information, he barely knows him at all. He manages to say three words, three pitiful words, to which the young man walks away dejected.

‘No…I’m sorry’

Since then he has never underestimated the importance of knowing someone’s name. Thankfully for him, he has just started working for Dale Carnegie and is currently doing the ‘Dale Carnegie course.’ The first session made him more passionate in his belief that it is not enough to know people as ‘he’ or ‘she.’ He was provided with fantastic techniques for remembering names and by using those methods he was able to recite the names of all 19 people doing the programme with him.

He walked away encouraged and with a smile on his face, knowing that 19 more people no longer knew him as ‘he.’ They knew him as Brett Mills.

Brett Mills

Happy New Year

2012-01-04T15:47:00.000Z

Well it’s 2012 and what will the year bring..... What goals and dreams will be achieved?

Promotion within the business
More bonuses
New place to live
New relationships
??????

I was inspired last night to listen to an enthusiastic group of people setting their goals and visions for the year ahead at the first session of the Skills for Success Course at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel.

The group talked about the importance of setting goals and the power of leading an intentional life. As you think about the year ahead, as many of us do at this time, an effective way to make sure we achieve our goals is to write down a vision for 2012. If you choose to take some time out today to do that here are a few simple tips to writing an effective ‘Vision & Goal Statement’
Write in the Present tense – start your vision with the words “It is (Pick a date) and I am ...... By locking in on a set date and writing as though things are already happening it makes it real for us and easier to remember where it is we want to get to.

Write using Powerful language – the words you write should stir your enthusiasm and if when you read it back you’re excited about what you read and looking forward to making it happen you’re on the right track.

Write in Positive language – Talk about things you will be doing rather than things you won’t. For example rather than saying ‘I won’t be stressed and worried at work when something goes wrong’ try something like ..... ‘I’ll be happy and relaxed when problems come up at work and deal with them effectively.’ The reason behind this is our brains are generally more inspired by positives than negatives .... give it a try!

We encourage the clients we work with to set goals for themselves and their businesses and love helping people achieve things that they didn’t think was possible.

We wish you every success in achieving your goals and dreams in 2012. Anything we can do to help give us a call or come along to one of our free sessions.

David Anderson
Managing Director

Christmas Wish

2011-12-30T17:04:00.001Z

Did you get your Christmas wish this year?

Ok, how about your ideal Christmas gift? A quick search on ebay using the term “unwanted Christmas gifts” returns 1018 items. A search under “unwanted gifts” returns more than double!
Personally, I am keener to give gifts than receive. However, I do accept any gifts with open arms. So if anyone feels that they want to get me an ipad 2 after reading this, please do not let me stop you.

All jokes aside I want to share a couple of things about two people I admire. These two people have worked very hard and smart to get to where they are.

The first is one of my mentor’s, who just the other day mentioned that he was sitting with his fiancé looking at their respective and collective 2011 to do list. Marking off all the things that have been achieved and getting ready for the things that need to be achieved in 2012. He is always clear on want he wants to achieve in the business and personally. In fact he could describe a 3 year plan for the business “off the cuff” because he has spends so much time and energy on it.

I am sure you have been told that writing down goals makes them more real. Let me explain why I believe this is the case. By writing down your goals, instead of having a vague idea of what you need you force yourself to be more specific. Secondly, if you look at your goals on a regularly basis, you will be continuously reminded of what you should be focusing on each day.

The second is my best friend (sister and another one of my mentors). She has done really well for herself. She always has goals for the short term, mid term and long term. In fact, I am sure if you were to bump into her today you will find that she carries a notepad with all these respective goals written down. A few years back she wrote a five-year plan on where she wants to be. She then went about trying to connect with people that are doing the very thing she would like to do. Emails, phone calls, whatever it took to get some time with these people to find out how they got there and what they like, dislike about what they do. By doing this she created a clear path that she knew (provided she was willing to work extremely hard) would get her to where she wants, nay, needs to be.

Both of these people are a massive positive influence in my life, so much so that I have made out my game plan for 2012. As opposed to a list I have written my vision in a document which details all the things I want to achieve both professional and personally over the course of the next year. I have also ensured that I used positive and powerful language in the document. I also talk about my feelings on reaching my goals, so it is written in the present tense.

It will not cost you anything to do this. Spend some time leading up to 2012 thinking about everything thing you want to achieve then articulate this in the form of a vision. I recommended you keep somewhere you can see it regularly, whether that is by your desk or by your bed side so that it is the first and last thing you see everyday.

I will leave you with a couple of quotes.....

Robert Collier
Imagination gives you the picture. Vision gives you the impulse to make the picture your own.

Peter Marshall
Give to us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for - because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Amar Garcha

How to set achievable new year resolutions in few simple steps !

2011-12-28T14:54:00.004Z

With new years just round the corner, the chat in the office today has focused around what we would like to achieve personally in 2012 ? As we all know the first question we are asked by everybody after they have recovered from the festive seasons holidays is ……(drum roll) …… So Kevin what are your new years resolutions going to be for 2012?

I believe that question could possibly be rephrased to what are your new year procrastination resoultions ? because how many times have we or one of our close friends set some goals that in the end they never even came close to achieving?

Well, if you find yourself falling into the procrastation catergory then you are in the right place because both Dale Carnegie and Heidi Grant Halvorson who is an motivational psychologist, Ph.D. and author of the book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals. Explains below in detail how we can set new year resolutiuons and truly achieve them.

Below are extracts from blog written by Heidi Grant Halvorson for the Harvard Business Review Daily.

Research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do. Here are 9 simple steps that we can all follow :

1. Get specific. When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. "Lose 5 pounds" is a better goal than "lose some weight," because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you'll "eat less" or "sleep more" is too vague — be clear and precise. "I'll be in bed by 10pm on weeknights" leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you've actually done it.

2. Seize the moment to act on your goals. Given how busy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling at once, it's not surprising that we routinely miss opportunities to act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them. Did you really have no time to work out today? No chance at any point to return that phone call? Achieving your goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers.

To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., "If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I'll work out for 30 minutes before work.") Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%.

3. Know exactly how far you have left to go. Achieving any goal also requires honest and regular monitoring of your progress — if not by others, then by you yourself. If you don't know how well you are doing, you can't adjust your behavior or your strategies accordingly. Check your progress frequently — weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.

4. Be a realistic optimist. When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve it. Believing in your ability to succeed is enormously helpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. But whatever you do, don't underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal.

Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, and persistence. Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure.

5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Believing you have the ability to reach your goals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability. Many of us believe that our intelligence, our personality, and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, we won't improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather than developing and acquiring new skills.

Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong — abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. Embracing the fact that you can change will allow you to make better choices, and reach your fullest potential. People whose goals are about getting better, rather than being good, take difficulty in stride, and appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

6. Have grit. Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn higher college GPAs. Grit predicts which cadets will stick out their first grueling year at West Point. In fact, grit even predicts which round contestants will make it to at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The good news is, if you aren't particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it. People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don't have the innate abilities successful people have. If that describes your own thinking .... well, there's no way to put this nicely: you are wrong. As I mentioned earlier, effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies are what it really takes to succeed. Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself and your goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.

7. Build your willpower muscle. Your self-control "muscle" is just like the other muscles in your body — when it doesn't get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. But when you give it regular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger and stronger, and better able to help you successfully reach your goals.
To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you'd honestly rather not do. Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourself slouching, try to learn a new skill.

When you find yourself wanting to give in, give up, or just not bother — don't. Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they occur ("If I have a craving for a snack, I will eat one piece of fresh or three pieces of dried fruit.") It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier, and that's the whole point. As your strength grows, you can take on more challenges and step-up your self-control workout.

8. Don't tempt fate. No matter how strong your willpower muscle becomes, it's important to always respect the fact that it is limited, and if you overtax it you will temporarily run out of steam. Don't try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking and dieting at the same time). And don't put yourself in harm's way — many people are overly-confident in their ability to resist temptation, and as a result they put themselves in situations where temptations abound. Successful people know not to make reaching a goal harder than it already is.

9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do. Do you want to successfully lose weight, quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? Then plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. Research on thought suppression (e.g., "Don't think about white bears!") has shown that trying to avoid a thought makes it even more active in your mind. The same holds true when it comes to behavior — by trying not to engage in a bad habit, our habits get strengthened rather than broken.

If you want to change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? For example, if you are trying to gain control of your temper and stop flying off the handle, you might make a plan like "If I am starting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down." By using deep breathing as a replacement for giving in to your anger, your bad habit will get worn away over time until it disappears completely.

My new years resolution after writing this weeks blog is the following :

Less talking and way way more action .....and the outcome I’m looking for is to run one half marathon by 2013 , so who’s joining me ?

Mark de Stadler
Performance Consultant
Dale Carnegie London office
0207 379 4323

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T11:11:00.001Z

2011 is nearly over, and we are very much looking forward to the new year. We have a range of new programs starting, as well as celebrating our 100th anniversary, which we are very excited about.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for reading our blog, and gaining an insight into the Dale Carnegie World. The new year will continue to bring further information, smiles and how we are applying Dale Carnegies' principles in real life examples, as well as new information.

We wish you a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

From all at Dale Carnegie London

How to deal with difficult people? What if he is your boss?

2011-12-23T11:02:00.000Z

You know these people that think they are always right? People who cut you off before you finish your talk, because they know the words you are going to say.
I had to work with this person for many years as a key colleague at my organisation.

Looking at things from the other way around, I felt that if I left him to treat me like this, he would remain behaving that way, or even doing it more and more. On the other side, if I confronted him, then we could end up in a big fight where nobody wins. What would you do if this person was your boss? And quitting is not an option!

After some years, I realized that there are more than the two options of to fight or fly. There are other options like to understand that the reason this person is behaving in this way, is because it’s the only way he knows. Think about! He is doing his best to deal with this issue and, more than often they are treating us like that because they honestly think it will be in our best interest. They think this is the best way to make us put into action.

Be honest, we can’t blame someone for something that we are already doing as well. When we strongly believe in something, we become defensive to protect our ideas such as where our company should be going, the education of our kids, where we should live, etc.

My message: Be compassionate, try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view and be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires. This is the way that we will make them feel more comfortable with us (less aggressive / defensive) and opening channels of communication. This will allow you to get their will and achieve your goals.

Merry Christmas & A Happy New year

Jose Bort

Christmas spirit!

2011-12-21T13:02:00.008Z

What makes events outside work so important?

We had our Christmas party on Tuesday...our usual venue The Royal Automobile Club (Pall Mall). I know, very posh!

It's always great to get together and have conversations outside work, people are more relaxed and you get a better insight into people's lives. A funny question was posed to our MD, David: "So how are you like outside work?". I thought that was very candid and subsequently very entertaining. It's those kind of conversations we wouldn't normally have in the office..and it's those kind of conversations we tend to remember.

So why don't we get together outside work more often? We are all very busy people. From my experience when we invest some time to really get to know people around us we build stronger relationships, we are more engaged and we achieve more.

Have a great Festive Season!

Corina Balaneanu

Consultant

"Carpe Diem - So What?"

2011-12-19T12:05:00.003Z

This popular phrase is often translated into, as we know, 'seize the day'. But it's not the full phrase and so, as we will see later, perhaps it became foreshortened because the full phrase is less easy to live by. It is an easy act, a simple behavioural affirmation. It infers take chances, perhaps take risks. To some it might mean those risks are ill judged. For others it might mean giving in, or giving up. For a few it just might stimulate an expansion of their comfort zone. For others it might just get them moved beyond their comfort zone and into the unknown.

I have recently grown to have great regard for the writings of M.Scott Peck, particularly his classic 1980's piece, 'The Road Less Travelled'. Right the way through this, its sequels and related works, the authors stress that we all have choices in life. I get the feeling Scott Peck admonishes the majority of us that make up todays society for taking the easy choices route. Indeed his opening sentence is 'Life is difficult'.

So let's now think about seizing the day and what it might really take:
Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero – "Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the future"

Here's the real point, or at least my feelings about the point. If we should put little trust in the future then perhaps today is the only opportunity we have. Even, at THIS moment we have the opportunity. Later today we may not have. It is the only opportunity to love, smile, be happy, be there, be with, to create, to care, to .....

Dale Carnegie in his book 'How to Stop Worrying and Start Living', Chapter 1, suggests we 'live in day tight compartments. The easy thing to say is - 'I will not let the emotional experience of one event impact on the next'. The difficult thing will be not to let that moment pass without getting the very most from it, especially if the most is for the entire benefit of others.

The road less travelled will be to love, smile, be happy, be there, be with, to create, to care, to .....
You can make up your mind what follows the dots ....

Have a wondrous Christmas and glorious New Year

David Pickering

Catch my Disease :)

2011-12-16T15:32:00.007Z

Florida, the sunshine state, where everyone is smiley and wears flip flops year round. It’s my home; Orlando, Florida to be exact. “What on earth would I be doing here?” you might ask. Well, that’s another story for another time.

I’ve been in England just over two years now and yes, I absolutely miss home. I miss the food, Disney World, Universal Studios, New Smyrna Beach, warm weather, and friendly faces. Also, nothing compares to a having a sunny Christmas where it’s 23 degrees out (sigh).

Then on the other hand, there’s London. Fish and chips, Thorpe Park, Madame Tussaud's, Brighton, rain, and less smiley faces. I struggled quite a bit when I first moved here because well…. you may understand where I’m going with all of this.

You can’t make eye contact with passers-by, people step on your feet or shove you without saying excuse me and even worse, if you even try to ask a stranger a question, he/she may look at you as if you have seven heads.

Those behaviours really got me down for a while until one day I decided I would buck the trend and treat everyone the way I did while living in Florida.

No matter where I went or who I interacted with, I would give a smile. It’s amazing how contagious it is when you smile. You should try it sometime. I even do the same on the underground on my way in to work. In fact, just this morning there was a woman standing in front of me who looked really umm…..let’s just say, unhappy. We made eye contact, I smiled and she surprisingly gave me a very warm smile right back. Her smile made me grin and as I walked off the train onto the platform, my grin made someone else in passing smile. I’m sure the woman might have thought, “Uh, why is she smiling at me? That’s a bit weird.” In the end it worked anyway, she smiled!

I even go as far as talking to the clerks at grocery tills and asking them about their day. This is all much to their dismay of course, but I believe some of them actually like it when others take an interest in what they’re doing.

I acknowledge that not everyone you try this with will react as positively as you might want them to, but I really challenge you to smile more. It’s contagious whether other people recognise it or not.

Stacey McPherson

Never give up your dreams

2011-12-14T08:00:00.002Z

Image courtesy of The Big Issue

I have been known in the past to talk about Billie The Big Issue Seller, mainly because personally I find her extremely inspiring.

From the time I have known her – about 8 or 9 years – she has met Boris Johnson, The Prime Minister (and been inside Number 10 Downing Street), appeared on Radio London talking about the Night Walk, had numerous articles written about her, the latest one being in Time Out Magazine a few months ago and is somewhat of a celebrity in her own right on the corner of Cranbourn Street and St Martin’s Lane.

The reason for me talking about her once again is because in less than two months time she will be employed and helping people who are in need of drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

Just over a year ago we stood on her pitch chatting about the winter weather and how cold it was – I think at that point snow had fallen in London. She told me that she was worried about being out in the cold in the mornings as her health is not too good due to the years of abuse she put her body through. She just didn’t want to do it anymore. As we were chatting we got on to the subject of working with people who needed help to conquer their drug and alcohol addictions and that she would be perfect for the role. It was something I knew at the time Billie would be good at as she has a real way with people. I will never forget how she looked out for me, hugged me and listened to me when my father was going through terminal cancer. She was amazing.

It was Billie’s dream and one that she held on to.

A few months ago her long term relationship ended and she was almost forced back on the streets again. It’s the only time I have ever seen Billie lost and quiet (you can hear her cheery voice from a good distance). She was scared as she didn’t want to go down that road again. Her customers rallied round and gave back to Billie what she had given to them in all the years she was on that corner. We gave her encouragement, towels, bed linen, curtains....customers looked after her dog when she couldn’t have her and they even gave her money to see her through whilst she was unable to work in order to sit at the council and beg for somewhere to stay. She was given emergency accommodation and started to get back on her feet.

Image courtesy of the London Housing Trust

It was at this accommodation that she met the landlord who helped house people with drug and alcohol problems and they saw her in action. Saw how she dealt with people. And how she really understood them as she had been there. She didn’t judge, but listened.

Around that time Billie started taking days off from her pitch, which is rare for her and it turns out that she was put on a course to become a drug and alcohol rehabilitation counsellor so she could do this properly. They loved her so much and admired how she helped people that they offered her a job. She has her own office, computer and above all respect.

So as from the end of January, Billie will be starting a new phase in her life. With everything she has been through – and from what I have read, she has been through a lot – she deserves to have this chance. She will be missed on the corner as she is more of a friend than a Big Issue Seller, but I am over the moon that she is doing what she loves especially as she told me that she was made to do this job.

And it goes to prove that when you have a dream, a goal, an ambition, never let it go, hold on to it and take little steps to make it happen. Grasp opportunities and say out loud what you want. Your dream can come true too!

You can read Billy's story here
Helen Mills

Dale Carnegie Catalogue

2011-12-12T15:51:00.006Z

After months of hard work, we are very proud to announce that the first of many, Dale Carnegie London Autumn/Winter Catalogues have arrived in our office, and has hopefully landed on your desk too.

The catalogue has been created to celebrate Dale Carnegie 100th Anniversary, and throughout next year we will be celebrating this achievement with new & exciting courses, seminars and new material, to illustrate that Dale Carnegie’s principles are just as relevant today, as they were 100 years ago.

The catalogue is available as a hard and soft copy, and allows for anyone to search the Dale Carnegie offerings with ease. It not only contains our classic courses such as the World known Dale Carnegie Course, but also our newest additions such as the 1 day Public Speaking Mastery program, and our 3 hour on-line training programs.

Access the Dale Carnegie London new catalogue at a click of a button today by visiting: https://www.london.dalecarnegie.co.uk/assets/223/7/Dale_Carnegie_Autumn_11_catalogue_Lo_res.pdf

Alternatively if you would like to receive a hard copy or have any questions please contact us at 0844 800 8260.

Stephanie Fletcher

When Push comes to Shove

2011-12-09T15:48:00.006Z

Due to the fact that I now work in Central London, I have been forced to become one of many commuters using London’s tube system and endure the dreaded rush hour. The myth of being one of hundreds of sardines trapped in an elongated tin can has now become a reality for me and it’s safe to say I’ve experienced far more comfortable journeys in my short time on this earth. I have discovered there is a great irony with all passengers who use the tube. Unless you are travelling in a group, we completely isolate ourselves from one another. We do not make eye contact, share a smile and conversation is mainly restricted to, ‘have you finished with the Metro.’ In spite of this however, no matter how much we refrain from any form of social interaction, everybody at some level is thinking one collective thought.

‘I hope I get a seat.’

There’s no need to be ashamed of this. I’m certainly not. I see nothing wrong with not wanting my journey to work at 7am to consist of being elbowed in the ribs by someone trying to turn the page of the latest bestseller or tripping over somebody’s luggage fresh off the plane at Heathrow. My dilemma comes not from wanting a seat, but from what potentially could happen if you’re fortunate enough to obtain one. Aside from the sense of victory you feel, you have now unknowingly placed yourself in the position of being a human moral compass. How so I hear you cry? An example would probably be most fitting.

Its 7.15am. I’ve been on the tube for ten minutes and the train is just pulling up to South Ealing. The very little patience I have in my grouchy and tired state is being tested to the limit by a man who, despite being sandwiched between me and the door, still feels this is the perfect time to read a broadsheet newspaper even with his head at an unnatural forty five degree angle. I was about five seconds away from offering my own, somewhat unsubtle opinion on when is the best time to catch up on world events when suddenly I spotted a gentleman in a seat folding up his newspaper. He places it behind his head by the window and grabs, but does not pick up his bag. This is a clear indication that the man is preparing to vacate the chair and I begin my approach. Slowly, so as not to arouse suspicion, I stalk my way across towards where he’s seated, using the tried and tested, ‘I need to see the tube map to work out how many stops I have left’ method as justification for my movement. We arrive at South Ealing and as I anticipated, the man arises from this chair and proceeds towards the doors. Quick as a flash, I swan dive towards the now vacated seat and in one swift movement grab the paper he left behind, open it to the sports section and plant my derriere in the chair, making sure not to knock the recently purchased Kindle out of the hands of the person next to me.

Triumphant, I sat on my new found throne adorned with an out of date seat pattern and worn in piece of chewing gum, safe in the knowledge that my journey would be one of relative comfort from here on in…or so I thought. No sooner had I selected an album to serenade me into central London, was a man tapping me on the head (and I literally mean my head, like he was telling off a dog) claiming angrily that I had stolen his seat. Unfortunately we weren’t underground yet so I couldn’t pretend that I was finding it hard to hear him and naturally everyone was listening. I must confess that my natural instinct in situations such as this would be to confront the gentleman, question his entitlement to the aforementioned seat and declare unashamedly that I would not be moving. I do not shy away from verbal confrontation as I can talk anyone into the ground; I might not even be right but I’ll still win through sheer perseverance. The stage was set for a showdown.

Suddenly, I remembered a key phrase from a book I was reading. The book had been given to me as I had recently started working for Dale Carnegie and it was titled, ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People.’ The phrase was simply, ‘The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.’ I sometimes have a problem processing books but I always find that certain sentences and ideas stick out and due to my argumentative nature, this sentence stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb. Realising that this was an ideal opportunity to try out such a technique I simply smiled at the man, stood up and ushered him into the seat offering my apologies. To my astonishment, he smiled back and offered his thanks. He then too apologised and went on to tell me that he had had the worst possible start to his day and even something as small as getting a seat on the tube had made him feel that much better. With a simple change of mentality I had gone from being a further nuisance to a man having a bad day, to being part of the solution to his downbeat morning.

You might be reading this and like me, find yourself in confrontation far too often and sometimes might even seek confrontation for the sake of it. I would encourage you to take onboard, as I did, the words that Dale Carnegie phrased so expertly. ‘The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.’ I’d like to think that ‘the best’ not only applies to what you get out of it, but like my example shows, could also be the best thing for the other person too.

Brett Mills

Dale Carnegie & Jeffrey Gitomer form partnership to deliver world leading sales training

2011-12-02T17:00:00.002Z

Exciting news!!!!! At this years Annual Dale Carnegie Convention in San Diego it's been announced that the leading Author Jeffrey Gittomer and Dale Carnegie Training have formed a partnership to develop some of the worlds leading sales training collateral and the first step will be to launch a new programme in 2012 titled Jump Start Your Sales Success that will be followed later in 2012 with an advanced sales training and a cutting edge sales management programme.

Learn more about our new partner here.

In a world now dominated by social media where it is infinitely easier to find out information about products and services over the internet and even evaluate the sales person coming to meet you on facebook, linked in and google. Buyers are more informed than at any time in history therefore to differentiate ourselves in this competitive information heavy market we need to recognise as Gitomer says 'People hate to be sold to but love to buy' These new programmes will help you to get onto your clients agenda and sell more than ever.

Watch this space for further updates on this exciting new sales curriculum.

David Anderson
Managing Director

POT LUCK

2011-11-25T21:52:00.004Z

I have just experienced my first Thanksgiving meal. This lunch time we partook in something called Pot Luck. If like me you are unfamiliar with this term, please let me explain… but just before I do I’ll give you a little back story as to how Thanksgiving found its way into our office in London. Recently a young lady (Stacey) joined the team. She hails from the good ole US of A and she suggested that for lunch everybody brings some food in and we all eat together.

That’s what pot luck is, it is as simple as that. I am lucky enough to belong to a team that are close and we share a common vision to ensure that each of us and the business as a whole is successful and yet our lunch seems to be a rather more private affair. Normally, everyone takes an each to their own approach when it comes to that midday meal.

However, today we managed to fashion a smorgasbord of epic proportions. Needless to say the pot luck approach went down really well with the whole team. We had a really great time, eating, talking laughing and listening to Jose’s (Our Special One), let’s just say eclectic mix of music.

We didn't manage to get through all the food but we were efficient in cleaning up and getting back to work. The rest of the day seemed to fly by and everyone seemed a little bit chirpier.

It did make me reflect that something so simple can create such a great atmosphere in the office.

Someone senior in the organization told me when I first started in the company that people support a world they help create. Well, today through the guidance of Stace we created a Thanksgiving feast and were all better for it.

Regardless of your position within your organisation, why don’t you try something to see if you can also increase the level of engagement of your colleagues?

I am really looking forward to the festive period as it approaches and am really excited about Christmas. Maybe if I’m lucky enough the team will rally around and soon we will be having POT LUCK PART DEUX.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Amar Garcha

Obtaining willing commitment by understanding what influences others !

2011-11-21T11:04:00.007Z

Human interaction is based on a entricate system of give and take. Quick example could be as simple as “I will do this for you even if I won’t get something in return right now, because you will ‘owe me one’ for future redemption.”

Robert B. Cialdini, a professor in psychology at Arizona State University, has been studying the importance of persuasion in influencing our social and workplace relationships.
From his research in this area, Cialdini has identified six widely used and usually successful principles of influence:

1. Reciprocation.
People are more willing to comply with requests (for favours, services, information, and concessions) from those who have provided such things first. Because people feel an obligation to reciprocate, Cialdini found that free samples in supermarkets, free home inspections by exterminating companies, and free gifts through the mail from marketers or fund raisers were all highly effective ways to increase compliance with a follow-up request.

For example, according to the American Disabled Veterans organization, mailing out a simple appeal for donations produces an 18% success rate. Enclosing a small gift, such as personalized address labels, nearly doubles the success rate to 35%. “Since you sent me some useful address labels, I’ll send you a small donation in return.”

2. Commitment and Consistency.
People are more willing to be moved in a particular direction if they see it as consistent with an existing or recently-made commitment. For instance, high pressure door-to-door sales companies are plagued by the tendency of some buyers to cancel the deal after the salesperson has left and the pressure to buy is no longer present.

When you visit a car dealer to purchase a new car, one of the first questions asked by the sales person is, “What kind of qualities are you looking for in a car?” They then proceed to direct you to models that have attributes that are consistent your needs in a car.

3. Authority.
People are more willing to follow the directions or recommendations of someone they view as an authority. Few people have enough self-assertiveness to question authority directly, especially when that authority holds direct power over an individual and is in a face-to-face confrontation or situation.

This is why children are especially vulnerable to adults (and especially trusted adults such teachers or camp counselors) — they are taught to view adults as authority figures, and will often do what they are told without question.

4. Social Validation.
People are more willing to take a recommended step if they see evidence that many others, especially similar others, are taking, buying or using it. Manufacturers make use of this principle by claiming that their product is the fastest growing or largest selling in the market.

Cialdini found that the strategy of increasing compliance by providing evidence of others who had already complied was the most widely used of the six principles he encountered.
Some people need to feel like they are a part of the “in crowd” by using or doing what everybody else is perceived as using or doing.

5. Scarcity.
People find objects and opportunities more attractive to the degree that they are scarce, rare, or dwindling in availability. Hence, newspaper ads are filled with warnings to potential customers regarding the folly of delay: “Last three days.” “Limited time offer.” “One week only sale.”
One particularly single-minded movie theatre owner who managed to load three separate appeals to the scarcity principle into just five words of advertising copy that read, “Exclusive, limited engagement, ends soon.”

6. Liking and Friendship.
People prefer to say yes to those they know and like. If you doubt that is the case, consider the remarkable success of the Tupperware Home Party Corporation, which arranges for customers to buy its products not from a stranger across a counter but from the neighbour, friend, or relative who has sponsored Tupperware party and who gets a percentage of its profits.

According to interviews done by Cialdini, many people attend the parties and purchase the products not out of a need for more containers that go pffft when you press on them, but out of a sense of liking or friendship toward the party sponsor.

A social network’s business value is in the sheer number of people who sign up to use it. And what better way to induce people to drive new users and traffic to their sites than to have friends recommend the site to their other friends?

Obviously, not every situation is open to direct persuasion or influence using one of these six factors. But being aware of these factors may help you better navigate a personal, family or work situation better in the future.

The renowned communication specialist Dale Carnegie once said, “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.” People are far more willing to help you get your way with something if they view you as someone similar to them, are friendly and polite, and treat the other person as though you were asking a favour or task of yourself.

Therefore to quickly summarize this weeks blog . By understanding what motivates people to take action allows you gain the willing co-operation , so treat others like you would like to be treated by them and you will increase your ability to influence and motivate people to take action.

Mark de Stadler
Performance Consultant

How to Tweet like Dale Carnegie

2011-11-11T17:40:00.004Z

“The two highest levels of influence are achieved when
1) people follow you because of what you’ve done for them and
2) people follow you because of who you are,”

A recent article reviewing the book How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital World, explores how Dale Carnegie's classic advice makes a lot of sense when applied to the world of social media.

Here are seven social media tips from Dale Carnegie:

1. Take your criticism offline. Little good comes from public humiliation, whether it’s by Tweet or blog post. The rise of anonymous message boards and online comments seem to incubate negativity, but Carnegie warns that engaging in that kind of back-and-forth does little good for anybody. (And, in fact, the book points out that some people have even gotten fired for posting negative comments about their work on Facebook.)

2. Commit to self-improvement instead. Instead of telling other people what they could do better, Carnegie’s strategy involves saving the harshest criticism for oneself. “To win friends and influence others in today’s world takes … the understated eloquence of grace and self-deprecation,” states the book.

3. Focus on other people’s interests, not your own. This might be a hard one to follow, given that Twitter asks users to describe “what’s happening” to them and Facebook similarly inquires about one’s status updates, but according to Carnegie’s philosophy, social media users must resist the temptation to talk about themselves. Instead, ask about others, comment and inquire about their own updates, and focus on what interests them, not you.

4. Engage with others. According to the book, bestselling author Ann Rice responds to every piece of fan mail she receives, which further builds her following. (The author currently has close to 30,000 Twitter followers.) Social media, after all, is all about interaction, and people use those platforms with the hope of hearing directly from their favorite author, celebrity, or company. Companies like Zappos take advantage of this fact and use social media to build their brands.

5. Smile. Dour expressions might be rampant on Twitter profiles and Facebook pages, but Carnegie’s book proposes a more toothy expression. In fact, it cites recent research that analyzed Facebook profiles and found that people who frown in photos tend to be on the outskirts of social networks instead of in the center of them. In other words, smiling gets you more friends (and influence).

6. Spread positivity. On that same note, if you can make other people smile, you’ll also grow your own popularity. Tweeting positive thoughts is far more effective than tweeting negative ones, according to the book. In fact, it recommends skipping negative Tweets and posts altogether.

7. Don’t argue. Has anyone ever won a back-and-forth over Twitter? Or by leaving snarky comments on an online article? Carnegie’s strategy dictates that even if the answer is “yes,” the potential damage to your reputation by such an exchange makes such public arguments bad ideas. “While you in fact might be right and the other person wrong, there is no sense in denting a person’s ego or permanently damaging a relationship,” states the book.

Cold Calling. What is it happening?

2011-10-28T15:54:00.001+01:00

It’s funny…

Sales people blame prospects because they don’t give them enough attention.
Sales people blame sales people cold calling.
Sales people would like to sell more but they don’t want to talk to a new prospect by cold calling.

Receptionist don’t like cold calling.
Executives don’t like cold calling.
Executives blame sales people because they don’t make enough calls!

I think I made my point here. The question then is, Why?

Why would Sales people like to make more cold calls?
Why don’t Executives know how to make cold calls?
Why don’t Telesales trainers like to make cold calls?

AND THE ANSWER IS…

We need to bring Curiosity in a second through a Cold Call, but this is not an easy task because each person is different and each person can be impulse by different motivations.

The more impulsive we can be in the shortest period of time, the more present our prospect will be. Being in the present and grabbing people’s attention is the way to engage them.

To find out more, come along to our “Effective Communications & Human Relations “preview on 16th November at 6.00pm at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel.

Jose Bort
Performance Consultant

Be Ready for this Funny Old World

2011-10-24T10:09:00.003+01:00

So there it was, just round the corner, this blaze of white. Fresh, beautiful and vibrant.
This sudden warm spell of the last few days here in the South East had caused a Viburnum to burst into flower. A hand written sign said that it was more usual for this to occur in April or May. Was it six months early or six months late. I don't think the Viburnum cared less.

Nobody knows of cause. That is, nobody but the Viburnum. Something had happened that caused it to just go ahead and flower. Being true to itself and the influences of nature it just did what it knows best. No, what if's, maybe's, I wonder's, perhaps or am I dressed properly, is this the right thing to do. It just got on and did it.

Delivering our latest Executive Leadership Programme caused me to reflect that if we are going to get the most out of our life we should be like nature - natural and responsive to what is going on around us.

How many of us, I wonder, sleep walk through life. I know I did. Not noticing all the opportunities that presented themselves, not going with the flow and resisting when resistance what not appropriate or necessary. That was then and this is now, and being much more aware of the world, I sought to understand what had happened to the Viburnum.

What an obvious parallel with life. So next time you find you have missed the opportunity to flower. Wake Up. And as the Nike ad says - just do it.

Call me if you want to know more about waking up to life as it happens.

David Pickering

Business Consultant and Trainer

How To Win Friends & Influence People in the Digital Age

2011-10-17T17:03:00.002+01:00

With Dale Carnegie Training turning 100 years old next year, we have some brilliant new releases being launched throughout the year, to celebrate this fantastic achievement.

The newest addition to the Dale Carnegie World, is the release of the new book, How To Win Friends & Influence People in the Digital Age.

Dale Carnegie’s principles have endured for nearly a century. Since its original publication in 1936, his timeless classic How to Win Friends & Influence People has gone on to sell 15 million copies World Wide. Now, introducing new readers to Carnegie’s words of wisdom comes, How to Win Friends & Influence People in the Digital Age, a new guide for a new era. The book includes advice for bloggers but keeps the rules of the 1936 original.

In Jolie O’Dell latest review, he states how Dale Carnegie original techniques are as relevant today, as they were in 1936. “Handal says this book’s revamping brings something new to the table. It not only shows us how to avoid hurting ourselves with our online behavior; it also tells us how we can take these online tools and be proactive about using them to benefit our careers and lives.” http://venturebeat.com/2011/10/06/win-friends-influence-people/

How To Win Friends & Influence People in the Digital Age, is out now to purchase, and is a must-have guide for anyone who wants to find success on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and any social media format today and in the future.

I leave you with the top 5 principles to follow in order to know How To Win Friends and Influence People, which are just as relevant 75 years on:

1. Don’t critize, condemn or complain
2. Give honest, sincere appreciation
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want
4. Become genuinely interested in other people
5. Smile

Stephanie Fletcher
Marketing Assistant
www.london.dalecarnegie.com
0207 379 4323

The end of an era....

2011-10-07T10:08:00.007+01:00

This week the world mourned the death of an inspirational and visionary man. Steve Jobs made an impression on the world. He changed the world. He inspired generations of people and showed how with hard work, dedication and perseverance, you can turn an idea into a world leading product. That anything is achievable.

He touched the lives of millions of people, some famous, most of us not, and I think it’s safe to say that without Steve Jobs, the world of computing and all it’s devices would not be where they are today

A few months ago I came across Steve Jobs commencement speech at Standford University and in all honesty, it was one of the most amazing and inspirational speeches I have ever heard. How fortunate those graduates were to have Steve Jobs address them as they embark on their future. I would love to know if any of them really listened to him and took his advice. If you haven’t watched it, then I urge you to do so. It’s amazing, thought provoking and inspirational.

Here is an excerpt from it:

(After being fired from Apple).....”Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.”

For anyone looking to make life changes there are books you can read, videos you can watch and programmes you can attend and like Steve says, don’t settle. The world really is your oyster.

Steve Jobs death has had a profound effect on me – I was quite surprised to be honest just exactly how it has affected me. I am a user of Apple products and have been for some time now, but it’s not that. It’s that the world has lost a creative genius at such a tender age of 56 and that in itself is tragic.

I’d like to leave you with some quotes that have been in the press since his death:

Barrack Obama - "Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it. The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented."

Bill Gates, his friend, competitor - "I will miss Steve immensely. The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.

Carol Bartz, former Yahoo Boss - "He got to where he was because he had a vision and a purpose. It's easy to try and please everyone, but he kept to his principles."

Thank you Steve for being an inspiration.

Helen Mills
Financial Controller

Networking in style

2011-09-29T14:57:00.006+01:00

On Tuesday evening I attended a good seminar held at Altitude 360 Bar, Millbank Tower. The event was organised by Cisco & The Daily Telegraph regarding the Olympics, about the level of preparation businesses need to undertake during those times. The games will no doubt affect not just people getting into work but also business operations, stock levels, and the level of employee engagement as no doubt there will be more exciting things to do and see during that time!

The location played a big part on why people attended but also because they were giving away 100 free video cameras. Lots of incentives but most important lots of useful connections.

So before we start thinking about and plan for the Olympics, I'll leave you to enjoy the snap shots I took from the 28th floor.

LIMITLESS

2011-09-27T10:55:00.003+01:00

On the 19th of September 2011 the unthinkable was achieved as the light barrier was broken for the first time. I accept that at the time of writing the results are being checked and rechecked, but as it stands the world-wide scientific community has been in shock with these extraordinary claims.

What seemed impossible....no longer is. If you know your history you would know that there was a time when many people thought the Earth was flat or that we were in a geocentric universe.

Based on this new evidence, I think that some self-reflection is in order. Think about it, what can you achieve that you thought was completely beyond you?
About a year ago, I left the comforts of working in the family business to pursue a career with Dale Carnegie as a performance consultant. This year I am about to start the long and arduous process of training to become a coach / trainer. I have been informed that it is very challenging to balance both the role of a consultant and a trainer successfully. When you spend more time on one the other area the other suffers and so forth.

This has just made me even more determined to succeed. Luckily for me all the tools are here for me to succeed, the people, the training, my mentor. I know if I don’t make it, it will be simply because I am not trying hard enough.

To ensure that I stay focussed throughout the process I have goals. I have mapped out the next five years for myself with key milestones to be achieved along the way.
You must hear that all time....”it is important to have goals”......”it is important to write them down”...and so on. You hear it all the time because it’s true.

We help improve the performance of companies by improving the performance of their people. I use this sentence with pride on a regular basis but appreciate that it can be misleading. Most people automatically assume that we only work with the largest companies and conglomerates. Even though we are proud that many of the big players in any industry are amongst our clientele, in the last year here in London almost 70% of our business was with either individuals or small to medium businesses.
So if you fall into one of the latter categories please note that we offer a complete range of courses, from your webinars, one / two day seminars and longer time spaced programmes.

If you are interested to find out more please visit our website (www.london.dalecarnegie.co.uk) and talk to one of our many consultants who would be happy to arrange a complimentary consultation to help you gain some clarity as to where you should be focussing your time and energy to get the results you are looking for.

I would like to leave you with a couple of quotes the first by Albert Einstein and the second by Richard Bach.

“Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.”

“There is such a thing as perfection...and our purpose for living is to find that perfection and show it forth....Each of us is in truth an unlimited idea of freedom. Everything that limits us we have to put aside.”

Amar Garcha

Shifting performance through improved attitude !

2011-09-19T12:56:00.004+01:00

We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is to rely on the one source of strength we have and that is our ATTITUDE.

I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to people and 90 percent how we react to it. It is all a matter of attitude. A positive attitude doesn’t just happen. It’s something you have to work at all the time. At Dale Carnegie we get our graduates to understand that behaviour change does not happen just because they have graduated from a 3 day intensive personal development programme. Behaviour change is a long term process that requires the individual to want to change fundamentally.

With a positive, optimistic attitude, each of us can overcome adversities and prove negative attitudes and predictions to be wrong. A positive hardy attitude is of primary importance in dealing with life challenges. Persons with positive attitudes have a clear focus, well-defined objectives and enthusiasm for life. This has nothing to do with how bright they are it is all attitude.

Attitude is our reaction to life’s every day experiences. Attitudes are personal feelings that we create and control. We, therefore, need to use our energies to bring about positive attitudes, thus empowering ourselves with good feelings that improve all aspects of our lives physically, socially and intellectually. Our attitude is a big determining factor of our own destiny as individuals and employees. A website that I have found of interest that maps out your personal rhythms/attitudes http://www.facade.com/biorhythm might give you some food for thought around this topic.

All of us, at one time or another, express the three different types of attitudes: positive, negative and neutral. “Those with a neutral attitude are sometimes the most challenging to deal with. We often try to avoid contact with those carrying a negative attitude, “the critics of the game of life.” And we are drawn to those with a positive attitude, “the players of the game of life.”

So how do you adjust your attitude toward the positive and maintain that attitude?“Listen to yourself talk and listen to the voice within. “You have to pursue happiness. It won’t come knocking. You have to find the good things in each day, and you have to stop shooting yourself, stop berating yourself for something that didn’t work quite right.”

To maintain that sunny disposition, try starting each day with a pep talk to yourself; make it a habit to enjoy the good moments; express, rather than suppress, your feelings; and surround yourself with a positive environment, by decorating your home or office with things that give you pleasure.

So if you are looking to shift your own attitude or that of your team, then get in touch with one of our consultants today .

Mark de Stadler
Performance Consultant
Dale Carnegie London

How are we perceived?

2011-09-11T19:06:00.002+01:00

How can understanding how we're perceived help our careers?

It's probably fair to say that most of us would like to think we're good at our jobs and that we'd also like to think the people around us see what it is that we do well.

An assignment that I've been working on for a client this week has got me thinking about people's perceptions and how they impact our careers. We are half way through a project to complete a 360 degree assessment for a group of senior managers working in a technical business environment and this week I had to write an e-mail to them to accompany their completed reports. For those who haven't come across a 360 evaluation before it's an online questionnaire that asks those who work around us to assess our strengths and weaknesses and we then compare those scores against our own perception and take actions to improve our performance.

The question perhaps you're asking yourself is how would others rate me? The challenging thing when one asks this question is we have to be prepared to deal with what we find out. Therefore when we give people the reports it's important that we help them to interpret what they read. What I wrote to this group is the following:

"We find that typically when reading a report like this people tend to get a few pleasant surprises where others rate us higher than we rate ourselves and at the same time we'll identify a few areas where the people around you don't rate us as highly as we'd perhaps like to see.

The typical reaction here is to take a slightly defensive posture and generally we'll seek to rationalize and tell ourselves that the people that rated us don't fully understand what we think and all the things we have to do. That said what makes a 360 survey particularly useful as a development tool is that whether the perception expressed is right or wrong it gives us an understanding of actually how we are perceived and the focus of the coaching conversation next week will be to identify ways we can develop ourselves, address those perceptions and lead our teams in the most effective way."

As you've probably worked out the real benefit to each of us of asking other's perceptions is not in the knowing but in what actions it allows us to take. Any time I work on a project like this I'm reminded that in business and in all aspects of our life we have a responsibility over how people receive the messages that we send out not just a responsibility for the message we send.

If you'd like to know more about how people perceive you and therefore what actions you can take to develop your career please make contact with us to discuss our range of 360 survey evaluations.

David Anderson
Managing Director
Dale Carnegie London

Football Loyalty

2011-09-02T16:18:00.004+01:00

Scott Parker had been a hero for a legion of West Ham UTD fans for 4 years, scoring the late equaliser in the Carling Cup fourth-round win over Stoke City last October, to making his 100th appearance in the 2-2 draw against West Bromwich Albion, and this year winning FWA Footballer of the year.

However like most football players, he has followed his career, and left us fans broken hearted by transferring over to our rival London team….Tottenham, but we are thankful for all the hard work he has put in.

However, the transfer window does mean that fresh blood will be running through the team. Sometimes a player - be it sport related, or work, may be worshipped by senior members of the team, and their word or play is gospel. Movement of these so-called heroes allows room for other, less vocal team members to make more of an impression and show what they are capable of.

Young footballers need the right coaching, and to be playing on regular basis, to practice and show their new and developed skills, so they can become as successful as Scott Parker. This is the same situation within the working environment too. Employees need high quality coaches in order to be able to progress, and develop their skills. They need leaders that they can relate to, and will allow them to build their self confidence so they can become high vocal team members and make more of an impression.

The key to becoming a successful, professional person is having the following skills at a high quality level:

• Communication
• Confidence
• People Skills
• Leadership
• Attitude

These are the 5 key drivers of success and at Dale Carnegie we can develop these skills, with our high quality coaches, who will allow you to practise the skills you have learnt. Please visit www.london.dalecarnegie.co.uk, or call 0208 379 4323 for more information on the range of courses we have to offer

Stephanie Fletcher
Marketing Assistant & Administrator

Random Act of Kindness

2011-08-26T08:24:00.004+01:00

In a world where turmoil is prevalent it is refreshing to stumble upon random acts of kindness. It is also reassuring that no matter what goes on here in the UK or in the world, us humans still dish out those random acts that make us smile and feel good.

I have come across three acts in less than a week. The first one happened when I was commuting home on the tube and an elderly couple were lost and desperately trying to get to Goodge Street but they just couldn't work out how to get there. They looked distressed especially as the lady had an injured arm and fellow passengers took them under their wing and helped them to get where they needed to go. In a city where people say we don't talk to each other it was lovely to see them being helped from the other end of the carriage. Everyone in the carriage was involved one way or another, even if just to give the couple a reassuring and welcoming smile.

The second instance happened to me. I went into my local Pret a Manger to get a muffin for my breakfast and the staff insisted on giving me a free cup of tea. I thanked them very much for being so kind (I actually said just that). I later found out that this happened to another lady and my work colleague. It is reassuring to know that Pret a Manger like to make people's day by giving them a freebie, and in return they gain custom. It's a win win situation.

The last act of kindness was an article I read in The Big Issue. I still had last weeks in my bag and decided to have a read and imagine my delight when I came across an article where a Big Issue vendor found a stray cat with an injured leg and decided to take him to an animal shelter for help. They bandaged him up and James, the Big Issue seller nursed him back to health. When the cat was better the vendor opened the door to his shelter to let the cat go on it's merry way but the cat refused. The cat (now known as Bob) decided that he liked this particular person and wasn't going anywhere. And so now you will find Bob, The Big Issue Cat with James, selling the Big Issue in Covent Garden and Angel. What a wonderful story of kindness. If you click on the J-Peg you can read all about it. I believe it is now being made into a book and Bob has his own Facebook fan page too! I also hear from a certain Big Issue seller in the know, that Bob the cat has changed the vendor's life, from being somewhat wayward to a man with responsibilities.

It really is great to hear and see random acts of kindness and when it happens to you it really makes you feel good.

At Dale Carnegie our founder recognised that Human Relation skills are paramount in building relationships with everyone, from friends and family, co-workers and clients. For instance such simple, basic but powerful things such as remembering someones name or smiling. It all adds up. If you would like to find out more, why not check out our website for our courses or maybe join our Facebook fan page.

And I will leave you with this thought.......can you imagine what the world would be like if we all did one random act of kindness each day.............?

Helen Mills
Financial Controller

Great Teams - Strength in Depth

2011-08-19T17:00:00.000+01:00

It is only when the occasion arises that we really get to appreciate what strength we have in the depth of our teams.

Three examples in the space of 24 hours demonstrate the importance of being part of a team with diverse strengths and abilities.

At a Board meeting yesterday the Directors were faced with some challenges that they were concerned about how solutions would be provided. Over the years the Directors have invested significantly in the capability and personal attributes of the team. This investment paid off when one of the non-Directors in attendance stepped up and volunteered to achieve the result. We all thought this was beyond their capability and after some reassuring answers to our questions it was clear they would be successful.

Closer to home, my train was late this morning meaning that a client meeting needed to be facilitated by a colleague. Again capability was unknown, but the outcome was a huge success for everyone. Indeed, functionally I did not need to be at the meeting.

Finally that day, another colleague came to the fore when a possible client sprung a conference call on us at the last minute which the nominated team members could not attend.

Some lessons worth remembering:
1. Recruit, hire and train your team to be talented, capable and confident
2. Create opportunities for others to flourish. We do not have to do it all: all of the time.
3. Freely grant your trust to others and it will be willingly accepted.

Well done Corina and Mark, you make me proud to be part of your team.

David Pickering
Business Consultant and Trainer

Behind the Riots

2011-08-12T14:23:00.002+01:00

“They don’t care about us”, “Showing the rich we do what we want”

At this day and age, we Londoners have lived a tough and not expected experience at all. We have seen buildings in fire, burglaries and riots. Now, we are watching TV programmes where experts are talking about the reasons behind these behaviours.

A person who says “Showing the rich we do what we want” is one who hates our society. A person who says “They don’t care about us” is one who feels rejected and discriminated.

Having in mind the Dale Carnegie’s principle, they feel that they are not important for our society. So what can we expect from anyone who feels that they don’t belong to this society?

On the other hand, the US government has released over $1 Trillion in bailouts from 2008. We could easily eradicate the poverty and invest in the education of next generation with all of this money.

Is our system taking care of ourselves? What can we expect from the next generations if our society doesn’t show to them that we care of them?

Dale Carnegie’s principle no 4: “Become genuinely interested in other people”

Jose Bort
Performance Consultant

What I sell vs. What people buy

2011-08-03T13:57:00.005+01:00

Just got an email from someone inviting me to a workshop about Health & Wellbeing.

Since I'm trying to eat more healthy I was interested and opened the invitation to check the details. It had all this wonderful things about the speaker and her credentials on the topic, and it was asking lots of good questions around some of the health problems people face.

Got to the end of the flyer and I was wondering what will I get by attending? Why should I invest my time & money to go to this event when the internet is full of free information?

And then I remembered (when you are trying to sell an idea) how important it is to talk about the Application/ Outcome not just the Features & Benefits (FAB's). Most companies sell products/ services that have many good FAB's but how many of them talk about the outcomes their customers will expect to get?

Here are a couple of examples:

The Dale Carnegie Course
Feature: Participants learn & practice 30 Human Relations principles
Benefit: They'll be better equipped when dealing with disengaged team members
Outcome: Able to hold difficult conversations without creating conflict

The Leadership Training for Managers programme
Feature: Participants practice techniques on managing performance
Benefit: Clear and consistent standards across the team
Outcome: Appraisals become more than 'tick the box' exercises and outline things to focus on to deliver results

Would you like to know an effective way to articulate the outcomes for your clients?
Please contact us on 0207 379 4323 for a complimentary 45 minutes consultation.

149 Days Until Christmas

2011-07-29T11:45:00.009+01:00

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

2011-07-21T09:57:00.009+01:00

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?

2011-07-15T16:08:00.004+01:00

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?

2011-07-08T17:06:00.003+01:00

“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

2011-07-01T09:45:00.006+01:00

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

2011-06-24T09:13:00.005+01:00

“Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion, or it will be killed.
Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle, or it will starve to death.
It doesn’t really matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle….
…..when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”
Some questions come to mind from this story:
What time do we wake up every day, to start running?
Do we run every day? If not, why?
What makes us keeping running for a long period of time?

This is what we do at Dale Carnegie. We assist people to find out what makes them run, and we develop them to their full potential, to be brave to become the best of themselves.

Please feel free to come along, and invite any interested colleagues to our next Inspirational Leadership seminar on the 5th July at our office in Covent Garden, London.

Jose Bort
Performance Consultant

Live Life to the full - and be prepared for it

2011-06-17T13:04:00.007+01:00

One of the distinct benefits of getting older is that, without doubt, ones wisdom increases. Now this statement does not necessarily mean that the breadth of our wisdom increases, indeed our wisdom may only be habits of things that work well in the narrow scope of the society with which we interact.

A few things have happened to me in the last couple of weeks that suggest we need to live life to the full. My experience, particularly since joining Dale Carnegie over 25 years ago, suggests that we should start living life to the full at the earliest opportunity.

Two deaths in the last two weeks of people who are known to me at levels 1 and 2 of the six degrees of separation prove, without doubt, we never know when the end is coming. This fact alone should be enough to get us fully charged and into action to live life to the full - each and every day. These are big events that impact those close by to change their lives and lifestyle without any prompting or support from other.

It is the lesser happenings though; the disappointment of not getting that pay rise, or promotion, or idea taken up by your boss, that should promote an equally dramatic response. But what if our comfort zone does not allow us to be confident around others, speak our heart and mind with passion or put ourselves out on a limb.

Then, are we consigned to a life of mediocrity?

The vast majority of people I have met that, for whatever of these reasons, and others, get involved in the Dale Carnegie Course or Executive Leadership Programme say that the programme changed their behaviours and changed their lives for the better.

In the context of life's earnings, the financial investment in programmes such as these is a mere speck. In the context of living life to the full, the investment is irrelevant.

Please do not wait for the 'big' events to persuade you; do what over 8 million other people have done. Change your life today

David Pickering
Trainer and Sales Consultant

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

Holiday

2011-06-09T16:59:00.008+01:00

I am lucky!

I was given the possibility of taking extended annual leave and I visited South East Asia. It was the best holiday I've had so far.

Thailand is amazing, Malaysia is different and Singapore is like London but much hotter. My favourite place is in Thailand....Krabi area (Ko Phi Phi). PARADISE!

We met other travellers and most of them quit their jobs because they were bored, didn't find it interesting anymore or couldn't cope with the stress. I realised how lucky I am to love my job.

Some advice from one of my colleague: What ever you do make sure you enjoy it. When you wake up and it pains you're going to work you should look into doing something else.

I understand most of us work out of necessity but if possible we should look for work we enjoy. When you are passionate about what you do, that's when you can generate the best results for you and for your organisation.

Corina Balaneanu

Sales Consultant

www.london.dalecarnegie.co.uk

A Nation of Shopkeepers

2011-06-06T09:25:00.007+01:00

Whilst lying in bed feeling unwell, I overheard, rather loudly, my sister and my mother discussing Napoleon and his famous quote putting us down, that we were a “nation of shopkeepers”, implying that Britain was incapable of great things, and would not be successful. However, it was these small businesses that built our economy and won the war (in short). Today, according to the Financial Times, 99.9% of all businesses are small and medium-size; these “are the backbone of Britain’s economy”.

As quoted by the Financial Times, Wednesday 1st June 2011, The Great Place to Work® Institute “defines a ‘great workplace’ as a place where people take pride in what they do, trust the organisation they work for and enjoy working with their colleagues...The dimensions of trust, pride and camaraderie are not soft or ‘fluffy’ intangibles. Research indicates that organisations that get this right have greater productivity and profitability.” It is these principles when successfully practised, tend to be more favourable, offering consequent impact on the bottom line, and allowing small best workplaces the edge over large best workplaces.

Dale Carnegie can teach you the skills be it if you’re in a small or large workplace, by powering you to move far beyond your comfort zone as you attain ambitious new goals and more, on the Dale Carnegie: Effective communications & Human Relations/Skills for Success course starting on 28th June 2011 http://www.london.dalecarnegie.co.uk/events/dale_carnegie_course/

Stephanie Fletcher

Marketing Assistant

New iPhone app out NOW! - Personal Leadership

2011-05-27T14:15:00.003+01:00

After claiming the top spot on the iTunes business list a week after its release, Dale Carnegie Training® is back with a follow up to the popular “Secrets to Success” iPhone app with their new “Personal Leadership” application.

This pocket size Carnegie Coach is designed to build individual’s confidence by identifying the right leadership skills using situational examples. The app (available to download on iTunes for £0.59p) also works to self-motivate individuals and coach teams to reach their peak performance. As the worldwide authority in leadership training, Dale Carnegie Training® is thrilled to bring their practical offerings to the digital realm and predicts this app will be as much as a triumph as it’s first.

"We wanted to build off the excitement of ‘Secrets to Success’ and keep the momentum going by launching a new app on another important topic - leadership," says Peter Handal, chairman and CEO of Dale Carnegie Training®. “There is obviously a demand for having personalized training instantly at your fingertips and we want to continue expanding on this concept."

“Personal Leadership” Features:
•13 video segments that demonstrate key leadership principles
•Tips to learn Carnegie ways to win people to your way of thinking

For more information and to download Dale Carnegie Training “Personal Leadership” go to: http://www.dalecarnegie.com/app/.

Helen Mills
Financial Controller
www.london.dalecarnegie.co.uk

iphoney

2011-05-20T14:09:00.016+01:00

People that know me will tell you that I am a massive football fan. So much so that some of my colleagues from Dale Carnegie have requested that I stop writing blogs about the sport or indeed my favourite team. So instead I want to talk to you about an incident that took place a couple of weeks ago and how it affected me.

A couple of weekends ago I received a letter with the logo of a famous mobile telephone provider on the cover. However, this was not my provider and upon opening it, to my horror, it was a welcome letter. Apparently, I had signed up for a two year deal with an iphone. I immediately went to one of their stores and explained the situation. I was told that I needed to contact customer services by phone.

At this point things began to look bleaker. I was explained that not only had I taken out the contract but the phone itself was delivered to my house and signed for. What?

Could it have been that I managed to do all of this subconsciously? I know there are many people that sleep walk and get up to all sorts of shenanigans. Could I have become a sleep shopper? The answer is no. I was just another victim of identify theft.

I went into work the next Monday feeling violated and so worried and stressed about what details of mine had been captured and used. I then spent the next couple of days talking to the provider to cancel the contract and also investigate why there was no verification or proof that I had made this purchase.

I sat down on my desk feeling defeated, just another victim of a major faceless corporation. It was at this point I found my salvation. It came to me in the shape of an experienced Dale Carnegie coach that lives and breathes the principles that our founder penned many years ago. He went through some fundamental principles for overcoming worry.

• What is the worst that could happen?

Well, the worst already has, I thought. The only thing worse would be if I now got a phone bill for this fraudulent account.

• Prepare to accept the worst.

Ok, I know I didn’t arrange this so I can make sure that I am not liable to pay a phoney bill should it arrive.

• Try to improve the worst.

After gathering up all the evidence I felt much better. I was now in a better position because now I not only knew I was an innocent victim but I could also prove it.

After talking to him and taking action I felt relieved and could concentrate on other more important things. The stress and worry seemed to evaporate.

If you would like to find out more about How to Stop Worrying and Start Living or How to Win Friends and Influence People then please join us on the Dale Carnegie Course which starts on Tuesday 28th June. If you would like to have a taster and experience a session for free prior to joining then please attend the complimentary session on Tuesday 14th June.

All the details can be found on our website - http://www.london.dalecarnegie.com/

Just before I let you go……I did get that phone bill last week. It amounted to £229.39 and yet I do not feel stressed at all.

Amar Garcha
Sales Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Building Relationships in Las Vegas

2011-05-16T11:20:00.009+01:00

Last week I enjoyed the best road trip that I’ve ever done in my life. My wife and I flew to Las Vegas and we drove 1,000 miles to San Francisco through the Sequoia Forest and Yosemite Forest. We had plenty of unforgettable times and what strives me is how our attitude can modify the way we see the reality.

Having planned the whole trip a few months ago, on the first day in Las Vegas my wife had a perforated ear drum and I was in pain too and we had to go to the hospital. Suddenly, we lost over 4 hours and $1,200 in medical bills. Fortunately, we have good insurance! Anyway, this issue could have affected our entire trip and we could have complained about how much bad luck we had had. However, instead of complaining and blaming others and even ourselves, this incident gave us the opportunity to meet a bunch of local people and understand the culture of life in Las Vegas and in America.

Even with our discomfort and pain, we really enjoyed meeting new people and they were absolutely surprised about how interested we were in them. I think it was not a surprise that we had the best ever experience in a Hospital in terms of customer service. Everyone was really pleasant and they showed a real interest in us as well.

I will be reminded forever of the doctor spending over 15 minutes explaining what was happening as we were receiving treatment.

This experience showed me the importance of the Dale Carnegie Principle number 4, “Become genuinely interested in other people”
Show respect, show interest and you’ll receive respect and interest from others.

Jose Bort
Performance Consultant
www.london.dalecarnegie.co.uk

Dale Carnegie London has a new website!

2011-05-06T17:47:00.002+01:00

This week Dale Carnegie has launched its new website! We are really pleased with the it and hope you will be too.

Please click here and have a look around.

You can download whitepapers, find out the latest news, register for programmes and see what job vacancies we have on offer.

So please do go and have a look, we would love to hear your feedback on our new website.

Sophie Whittall
Marketing Coordinator

Royal Wedding - Is it good for the UK

2011-05-02T21:09:00.005+01:00

Royal Wedding – Like it / Don’t like it! But has it been good for the UK.

Whether you are a fan of the royal family or not unless you avoided TV, Newspapers and the Internet for the past month you wouldn’t have been able to avoid the hype building up to the big day for William & Catherine on Friday.

I have to admit I’d had enough of people talking about the wedding a week before it happened and resolutely told myself that I wouldn’t watch it. That said come the day I found myself glued to the television in a pub surrounded by friends watching the event unfold.

With ceremony and the kiss on the balcony out of the way our conversation quickly turned to was this a good thing for the UK and in particular a good thing for London. We speculated on that amount of money the wedding had cost and how much would it bring when you added up the impact of tourism, merchandising, advertising and many more possible revenue streams. I’m sure we weren’t the only group of people having the conversation that day.

One thing that particularly struck me though is this conversation started with a group of about six friends and in the end perhaps a dozen more people sitting at the tables around us contributed to the debate. Somehow this event had given everyone something to talk about …. Something unifying! Looking in the papers in the past few days there are many reports of the two thousand street parties across the country and many report the same thing. “A greater sense of community”

On reflection this for me is one of the greatest benefits of this whole event. I’m always pleasantly surprised when people come on communications and influencing skills training with us and they report back as one of the key benefits being better relationships with colleagues and also people from their greater community. By our nature we are social beings and anything that promotes that has the possibility to promote our happiness both at work and at home.

So as we head back into work after another long weekend take the opportunity to strengthen relationships by talking about your experiences of Friday. Even if your experience was to lock yourself away so you didn’t see the event at all.

It becomes a little easier to get a conversation going when you have a common interest or event to talk about.

If you’d like to become the kind of person who can always get that conversation going (even when there isn’t a royal wedding to talk about) then come and join us for a preview of our flagship programme on the 10th May at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel 6pm – 8.30pm

Free Preview

David Anderson
Managing Director

Value of Introspection in maintaining healthy work life balance

2011-04-21T17:31:00.003+01:00

I had the pleasure of attending a live performance last night produced by a not for profit charity called Phakama. The theme of the performance was exploring freedom, expression and self-censorship.

The 90 min show was thought provoking and extremely interactive, which had the audience reflecting on their own values and morals and how they communicate there feelings to society as a whole. It certainly brought about some introspection for myself around how I express my opinions and what i am consciously doing to help somebody other than my altruistic self.

As humans we don’t seem to take enough time out of our busy daily lives for introspection, as we get caught up in the pace of the modern world we live in. Last nights experience only reaffirmed that it is critical that we create these opportunities and experiences to take stock of where we are going in our lives as often as possible. Because if we don’t allocate the time, we might find 5 years down the line that the career / personal path we decided to follow was not the desired path after all, because our values and beliefs are constantly evolving and changing on a daily basis.

So my small little golden nugget of advice in this blog is that over the coming days and weeks, you block off a couple of hours in your diary be it during the week or on the weekend for some “me” time. Make sure you find something to do that will give you the space and freedom to ask yourself some simple yet very honest questions around what’s important to you and what are you going to do about it starting that inner journey to your own self worth.

Equipping yourself with these simple answers, will give you more control of managing your time and attitude both at work and at home. Thereby creating the important work life balance that many people aspire to, but fail to achieve more often than not.

Quote:
“Unless the distant goals of meaning, greatness and destiny are addressed, we can’t make an intelligent decision about what to do tomorrow morning – much less set strategy for a company or for a human life. Nothing is more practical than for people to deepen themselves. The more you understand the human condition, the more effective you are as a businessperson. Human depth makes business sense.” - Peter Koestenbaum founder and director of Koestenbaum Institute

On that note have a great Easter !!

As an organisation we at Dale Carnegie look to assist people through our strong questioning techniques to come to there own conclusion on what changes they need to make to get their work life balance on track

To enquire on this free consultation please contact ……… 0207 379 4323

Mark de stadler
Performance Consultant

An exciting week for Dale Carnegie London

2011-04-18T08:55:00.009+01:00

The past two weeks have seen the London office appear in the national media twice, once in the paper and then on TV !

Firstly on 7th April David Anderson, our MD for London, appeared in the Daily Express in an article regarding using connections to help you further your career. You can read the article here.

Then one week later, (14th April) David Anderson was again asked to talk on this subject, but this time on Channel 5's Vanessa Show where nepotism was discussed. You can watch the episode here (the segment is approx 13 mins into the show).

It was an exciting time for us and we hope you enjoy the article/show. We have some more exciting news to share in the next few weeks so please keep checking this blog to find out more.

Helen Mills

Financial Controller

http://www.london.dalecarnegie.com/

Focus On The Customer

2011-04-08T15:29:00.009+01:00

There are three strategic imperatives for any business. Firstly, to ensure the shareholder value is increased. If our shareholder, and other stakeholders, do not see a return on their investment they will wish to put their money (and time) elsewhere. Just think about how you feel about your 0.10% interest on your savings.

Secondly, gaining customers and increasing the share of each customer's spend is also paramount. Increasing revenues & profitably is vital if our organisations are not going to stagnate and ultimately die.

Thirdly, costs must be reduced. Now let's be clear this does not mean beating up suppliers for the best price. It means getting the most value from the money we spend and also cutting out waste - of every sort.

When we satisfy these three imperatives we create and maintain a successful and vibrant business. Without we suffer frustration, stress and many other negative emotions.

The easiest way of getting to this beneficial condition of growth and profitability is by ensuring we win more business than we know what to do with and at our competitors expense. Being skilled in the process and relationship aspects of winning business is key. Creating successful relationships with customers will also ensure we streamline our production and delivery systems and processes, this ensuring maximum value form our cost base.

Sign up for our Sales Advantage now and gain an edge over you competition and secure the future of your business and career.

David Pickering

Trainer and Sales Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

It feels like Spring!

2011-03-25T10:24:00.007Z

The sun is shining, the temperature has reached 17 degrees and the flowers are blooming...it’s finally feeling like spring!

It’s amazing what a little bit of sun can do to your mood, it puts a smile on your face when you get up and makes you feel optimistic about the day ahead. After the cold, snow and grey of the last few months it finally feels like things are changing and that anything is possible. The sun always helps to lift my spirits and make me feel happy.

‘The world always looks brighter from behind a smile’ Anonymous

With spring comes new beginnings, so what better time is there to take another look at your news years goals or even to set some new goals.

1)First look at what you have already achieved this year. You may not have reached all your goals but I bet you have done more than you first thought. Write down what you already done this year and this will give you a boost for achieving your next set of goals.

2)Goals are not just limited to your career. You can set goals in any area of your life, goals typically fall in to the following categories – family, social, financial, career, health, spiritual, mental state and community.

3)Make sure that as well as concentrating on what you want you also look at what you are becoming. Setting self-improvement goals will allow you to accomplish your goals more quickly and effortlessly.

4)Share your goals with those around you so that they can support you and assist you in reaching your vision.

Achieving your goals will probably involve time and effort but make sure you have fun while you are doing it and wear a smile on your face. Enjoy the sunshine!

Sophie Whittall
Marketing & Admin Co-ordinator

http://www.london.dalecarnegie.com/

A helping hand

2011-03-18T15:30:00.002Z

Tragedy struck Japan in the last week. A major earthquake and a resulting tsunami struck on March 11 2011 which caused destruction, death and suffering to thousands of people.

Images have been plastered all over televisions the world over and every newspaper in the world has been covering the catastrophe.

Living just under 6000 miles away I can still feel the impact. The unbelievable loss of human life has left a permanent mark on my mind. To say this puts things into perspective is a major understatement.

We spend most of our lives worrying about things which at the time feel more important to us than anything else in the world. I have to hold my hands up and say that I am more guilty than most. I spend too much of my time procrastinating and worry about the past instead of taking action.

I have always been drawn to success stories. I remember reading books and articles about people that have come from nothing and achieved amazing feats.

Many of us are in a privileged position, unlike those suffering in Japan or the millions of people that are born into poverty and struggle everyday of their lives.

I do agree with those who say we should help others whenever we can. That could be donating to charity or volunteering to help others when they are in need.

In addition I believe we need to help ourselves. Think about it, there are millions, nay, billions of people that would swap their life for yours. I have often seen more drive and determination from people living on the streets of Punjab than I have in some office blocks in London.

It is our responsibility to make use of our position. To educate our mind, change our behaviours, improve our skills. The more we do this the more likely we are to be able to make a difference in the lives of those who can not.

Dale Carnegie Training is running a free preview of our flagship programme, The Dale Carnegie Course: Skills for Success on the 23rd of March, you are more than welcome to attend. I will leave you with a quote from Mr Carnegie himself.

'When ill luck besets us, to ease the tension we have only to remember that happiness is relative. The next time you are tempted to grumble about what has happened to you, why not pause and be glad that it is no worse than it is?'

Amar Garcha

Sales Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Purpose

2011-03-11T11:37:00.008Z

John Fisher's transition curve is an excellent analysis of how individuals deal with personal change.

Fisher explains the different emotional stages that a person faces behind a change, with the following order:

1.Anxiety. Can I cope?
2.Happiness. At last something’s going to change!
3.Fear. What impact will this have? How will it affect me?
4.Threat. This is bigger than I thought!
5.Guilt. Did I really do that?
6.Depression. Who am I?
7.Hostility. I will make this work if it kills me!
8.Gradual acceptance. I can see myself in the future.
9.Moving forward. This can work and be good.

If we notice how people think and feel depending on their situation when their environment is changing, we can anticipate their behaviour and take actions.
People’s feelings can provoke them to give up just before a task is achieved.

How do great leaders engage their people when everything seems to be going wrong?
In relation to the above emotional stages, leaders have the power to remind their teams why they are there and give them a purpose.

Most people spend the majority of their time at work, why not give them a purpose for being there everyday? A purpose is what will fill people with the energy and enthusiasm to come to work with the desire to succeed and achieve the impossible.

One of the reasons why Dale Carnegie programmes have been so successful for the last 98 years is because we are focused on changing behaviours by giving people a purpose and a vision. Every participant is encouraged to take risks and try new things that stretch them out of their comfort zone. With this new mindset and courage, people will love their jobs.

People love doing business with people who love their business!

Jose Bort

Sales Consultant

www.London.Dalecarnegie.com

Outstanding Service

2011-03-04T17:09:00.005Z

What's stopping us from building a great lasting impression in our customers mind?

Is it the confidence to ask questions outside the norm? Is it the belief that the customer might not want to have a deeper conversation about anything else outside your business? Whatever that is, I recognise the importance of really connecting emotionally with our customer, prospects, etc...

After meeting one of my clients, the HR Director of a recruitment company I got the feeling she's into fashion. So at my next meeting I told her about a secret designer sale she might be interested in checking out after our meeting. The result? She was so happy she sent me message especially to thank me for the new dress she bought and absolutely loves!

You might not be into fashion, shopping events, etc, but it really adds value when we can think about our customers outside what they might want to buy from us. By taking a genuine interest in them and observing what they're passionate about, we will get far more in return.

So what can you do to add value to your customers?

Corina Balaneanu

Sales Consultant

www.London.Dalecarnegie

Reaching Milestones

2011-02-25T16:16:00.003Z

What is it about turning another year older that makes us think about things a little differently? As you might guess I write this having just celebrated my birthday!

It was a few years ago when I turned 30 that birthdays started to have a little more significance and made me think differently. It was probably because I'd always had in my mind a number of things that I wanted to have achieved by the time I reached that milestone age it was the usual things based around Career, Property, Friends & Relationship. I'm pleased to say that 30 came and went without much drama .... I was content with where I was and what I'd achieved. Four years later I still find myself reflecting on what the year has brought and what the year ahead will bring. It's dangerous turning a year older as it causes us to evaluate what we've accomplished. It won't surprise you that working in the business that I do I'm a believer in setting goals, working with individuals and organisations asking them on a daily basis what is it they want to achieve and by when, you can't help a little bit rubbing off on yourself.

If I look at the goals that I've set for myself in this past year I've achieved about 70% of what I hoped to and on reflection I'm delighted with that. A few years ago I might have beaten myself up about what hasn't happened yet, what hasn't been achieved and focused on that missing 30%. I've heard the argument many times of people not setting goals for fear of disappointment when they don't hit them, If running a business through a recession has taught me one thing it is how important it is to focus on our successes as we pass each mile stone as I know that is what will take us to the next goal. That said it is I believe important to evaluate goals and see how they can be set again or adapted to fit our new circumstance. In business and in life we don't always set achievable goals .... on reflection perhaps a goal to learn more about wine in this past year and develop a flat stomach were not two goals that should have been set in the same year..... You guessed right .... The Wine Won.

As I'm writing this Blog I also have a document open called 'Goals for 2011' I'm sitting on a plane on my way to a meeting in Denmark with other managers from the Dale Carnegie business. One of the things that I look forward to most about these meetings is as well as getting new ideas from my colleagues it causes me to set goals for the months ahead and reflect on what has been achieved in the past business quarter. By the end of the day tomorrow I know that I will have a document full of new ideas and things I want to achieve.

If you'd like to find out more about setting goals, building a vision and making sure that as you cross that next mile stone; whether it be a Birthday, New Year or Business Quarter that you are happy with what you've achieved then come and join us for free at the first session of the next Dale Carnegie Course on either the 1st of March or the 4th of May. By the end of the evening you'll have new goals and breakthroughs in place.

Give us a call to discuss your goals or book your place.

David Anderson
Managing Director
http://www.london.dalecarnegie.com/

People support the world they help create!

2011-02-21T15:50:00.008Z

People will support a world they helped create! A simple statement to comprehend, yet we see so many organisations getting it badly wrong when it comes to creating work environments that are conducive to collaboration and working towards a common goal.

With the current economic climate that we find ourselves in, it has never been more important for organisations to have the individual goals of their employees aligned to the company’s goals, and to treat their employees as partners rather than as commodities.

So let’s consider why employee engagement during times of turbulence is so important. According to Lockwood (2007), employees with the highest level of commitment perform 20% better and are 87% less likely to leave the organisation.

This shows a clear link between employee engagement and performance. In fact, two of the earlier studies on employee engagement conducted by Watson Wyatt found that “high commitment” organisations (those with loyal and dedicated employees) out-performed “low commitment” organisations by 47% in one study and 200% in another study.

Not only have highly engaged employees been linked to higher levels of performance, they have also been linked to delivering more innovative solutions to situations and solving problems more effectively, Scarlett (2008). Finding ways to create an engaging environment for your employees during the financial crisis can yield positive results for everyone in the short term and the long term.

Therefore what changes might you look to implement when trying to increase your employee’s engagement you may ask?

Regular interaction with your employees gives them the mental support to speak out about any issue concerning them. The first lesson is that workers model their leaders’ behaviour. If leaders are not fully engaged, workers will not be either.

So what can leaders do at an organisational level to engage employees? They must create an engaging environment—one that lends itself to providing the tools and elements employees need to build a sense of commitment. Rather than point their fingers at workers alone, the leaders must lead rather than manage. What managers do and how they behave sets the tone for employee engagement therefore managers must model the level of engagement they seek. HR’s role in this regard is to serve as coach to managers when they do otherwise.

In the long term, education and training of personnel is key, not only in their own personal growth but that of the organisation. Employees are engaged because they have a sense of connectivity, and because they have the drive and desire to be a part of the organisation.

Therefore let’s make sure that we as individuals help create a world that our people support.

Dale Carnegie’s next Free Inspirational Leadership for Managers workshop is on the 8th March or 6th April. Click here for more details.

Mark de Stadler
Peformance Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

A helping hand

2011-02-11T14:08:00.002Z

This week I read two very interesting news items which really made me think.

Firstly, there was a granny in Northampton who foiled a jewellery robbery by running across the street, and hitting youths with her handbag as they were trying to smash into a jeweller’s store with sledgehammers. Yes you have read this right, an elderly lady decided that she wasn’t going to stand and watch four or five youths with crash helmets on attack and try to rob a jewellers (please note, she was the only one who went to help). Instead she took a stand. And none of the youths hit her, instead they tried to flee but I believe were eventually captured. If it sounds unreal, have a look on You Tube!

Secondly David Beckham, an international football star and probably one of the most famous people in the world today, stopped to help a motorist who had broken down. Everyone else kept passing the motorist but not David Beckham, he decided to see if the driver was ok and helped push the car out of the way.

Two completely different incidents in the same week. One involving an unknown elderly lady and one involving a superstar....but both with the same thing in common....offering help to someone in need.

And the thought struck me....how often do we help those in need without thought for ourselves. And how often do we do this without expecting anything in return. I don’t know about you but I always remember being told when I was growing up that we should never give to receive.

Now I’m not suggesting anyone tries to stop a robbery with courage and a handbag, but for most of us the offer of help could be listening to a colleague who really needs to talk to you, either on a work or personal matter. Help to carry a buggy up a flight of stairs at the train station during rush hour when a mum is struggling. Seeing a colleague over-worked and offering to help them out in any way you can, even if it’s just fielding telephone calls. Or it could be just what David Beckham did, assist a stranded driver.

There’s another old quote which I will leave you with....and again is so true ‘Actions speak louder than words’.

If you are interested in finding out about Human Relation Principles at Dale Carnegie then why not join us for a preview of the course on 23rd March.

Helen Mills
Financial Controller
www.london.dalecarnegie.com

To Do or To Be - that is THE question?

2011-02-04T16:27:00.006Z

Have you ever wondered what makes some people more successful than others? Whether success is measured as wealth, a large circle of friends, health or happiness it doesn't really matter at one level.

What does matter is how we behave - that produces the success? You will have heard of the 'be, do, get' formula. That's the one that says the results we get in life are a consequence of the actions we take (or don't take) and this action or inaction is driven by our being. Our being is our values, paradigms, constructs, habits, etc. picked up on our passage through life. So our success, whether measured by tangibles or intangibles is down to who we are, our being. The formula thus suggests that if we want different outcomes in life they will not be permanent unless we shift who we are.

Dale Carnegie's Golden Book is so because of the golden rule for life - treat other people as you would want to be treated yourself. If we care for others we will be cared for; if we love others we will be loved; if we trust others we will be trusted. It's this simple and one of the reasons why some participants say they did not learn much new from our programmes but they certainly got a reminder of what is important in life - and it changed their lives as a result.
Few training programmes change lives.

ALL Dale Carnegie programmes provide the best opportunity for people to change their lives - permanently. How? By making the 'be,do,get' link come alive in each and every session and by providing the best possible opportunity for a permanent behaviour change by affecting our core being.
So here's the question. Are you a human being or a human doing?

David Pickering

Trainer and Sales Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie

Engage Your Audience

2011-01-28T09:48:00.007Z

A Grand Piano on a beach...how strange you might say? This is probably what the people of Florida thought when a Grand Piano suddenly appeared on a sandbar near Biscayne Bay. An article in The Telegraph tells how the piano prompted great speculation about why it had been put there, people were intrigued. One photographer swam over to it so they could take a closer look and take some photos and another person spoke about how they had seen someone playing it and someone filming it. Whoever put the piano there and for whatever reason, they have definitely engaged an audience.

Whenever you want to put a message across in whatever situation it is always important to engage your audience so they listen to what you have to say. Whether you are presenting to an audience of 100 or presenting to your team in the office, you really want them to take notice and act on what you say.

Here are some tips for engaging your audience during a presentation:

1.Ask a question and give people time to think. Don’t rush to fill the silence.

2.Make eye contact so people feel you are communicating with them.

3.Your voice, face and body language must tell participants that you want questions and responses.

4.Avoid questions that have obvious ‘correct’ answers, especially rhetorical questions.

5.Prepare questions in advance to stimulate thinking, create interest and add transfer of training value.

6.Be prepared to drop your agenda to focus on hot topics for the group.

For more tips on presenting why not join us at the preview of the High Impact Presentations Programme on Thursday 10th February, click here to register.

Sophie Whittall
Marketing Co-ordinator

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Commitments

2011-01-21T16:51:00.004Z

I’ve just read a blog about how Shakira is making $100 million a year.

It’s all about what she wants to achieve and earn! In business we call this the Vision. How often do we sit down with a piece of paper in front of us to write what we want in life?

Some people just do it once a year normally around New's Year Eve and some people never do it. Most of us are thinking it over every week and seeing if we are where we want to be without taking any commitment and writing it down.

Many Dale Carnegie graduates includingWarren Buffet say that the Dale Carnegie programme changed their lives and this is because we create an environment to think, to create and see something different in terms of how to act, how to behave and how to understand our lives.

I encourage you to read the book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” and you will see why life is just our thoughts.

"The key to change . . . is to let go of fear."

Jose Bort
Sales Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Creating and Achieving Breakthrough Goals

2011-01-14T16:58:00.009Z

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our new live seminars!

Secrets of Success Express Webinars provide you with a cost-effective and convenient way to boost your know-how. You can participate in the comfort of your office without the need for travel costs and time. Because the Webinar is live, you can ask our expert questions via online chat during the program. In addition, your registration includes learning aids and other helpful materials.

TUNE IN AND TUNE UP YOUR ESSENTIAL BUSINESS SKILLS

You're probably finding it tougher than ever to achieve your goals. Our turbulent, uncertain economy has put so much pressure on the day-to-day that many of us can’t focus on what’s really important any more. Spend 90 minutes with us and refocus yourself on goals that can be career changers.

Learn how to:

Set goals that challenge you and stretch your comfort zone
Design and implement a plan that achieves your objectives
Stay on track in spite of day-to-day pressures and distractions
Achieve breakthroughs that will power your career to the next level

For further info please follow the link

http://www.dalecarnegie.com/search_courses/sem_desc.jsp?cCode=WEBC4&keycode=ukGoalsPromo1.11

Corina Balaneanu
Sales Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Happy New Year

2011-01-07T14:06:00.010Z

Happy New Year!

I know it is the time of year where promises and resolutions have been made. In fact, it's probably around that these resolutions start to break for most of us. Traditionally, the resolutions that people make are things like eating more healthily, to exercise more, cut down on alcohol consumption and to quit smoking.

However, we need to also consider our own personal development. The first step is to reflect back on 2010. Take a moment to ask yourself the following questions, what went well in 2010? What could be improved?

I am a big football fan and this is also the time of year that many managers get the sack (Roy Keane of Ipswich is the latest to get the chop at the time of writing). This is nothing new or surprising. What surprises me is the lack of flexibility in a large number of the managers that work in the sport, even at the very highest echelons. To give you one example, Carlo Ancelotti
of Chelsea won the double last year and they started this season as they finished the last. However, over the last two months Chelsea have managed just a solitary win in the league and now find themselves nine points adrift of Manchester United.

In this troubled spell Carlo has stuck to the same formation, tactics and has refrained from making changes in the team. A wise man once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. This unwillingness to change may end up costing him his job.

But I digress..........

Now is the time for you to identify key areas of development that will improve your performance at work. It makes no difference whether you own your own business, work part time or anything in between.

Dale Carnegie Training supports individuals, teams and organisations to perform better. If you would like a complimentary needs analysis assessment to help you establish these key areas then get in touch with one of our performance consultants on 0207 379 4323. You can also come along (for free) to our Effective Communications and Human Relations preview on 11th January. This is our flagship program based on the books How to Win Friends and Influence People, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living and The Quick and Easy Guide to Effective Speaking, written by our founder.

You have many options; don't just do the same thing over and over. do everything you can to make sure 2011 is better than 2010.

Amar Garcha

Performance Consultant
Dale Carnegie Training

www.london.dalecarnegie.com

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T15:36:00.005Z

Hello everybody,

I just thought we'd take the opportunity to wish you and all your colleagues and family members a very merry Christmas and a fantastic new year.

It is the perfect time to reflect back on year that went by and remember all those people, who made it special. Our world revolves around our friends and family, who have a special importance during the festive season. However, often we forget our co-workers, with whom we spend a large amount of our time. This Christmas, let your co-workers and friends know how special they are to you.

Christmas wishes are the best way to make your co-workers and friends realise how important their support is to you.

May the holiday season open the gate of new opportunity and success for you! Merry Christmas!

All the very best and safe journeys where ever you might find yourself travelling to and we look forward to continuing the success of 2010!

Best Wishes

Dale Carnegie London Team !

You're Fired!

2010-12-09T11:13:00.005Z

At least one contestant on The Apprentice hears these words each week as over 7 million of us view in to watch the challenges and triumphs they endure.

Last week the teams were split into boys verses girls and were given a list of ten items, a budget and a day to hunt them all down for the best price.

Those of us who love watching human behaviour will have noticed that the boys more or less hit the streets straight away with their Project Managers words of ‘offer them at least 70% less than what they want’ ringing in their ears, whilst the girls sat down with the telephone directories and located the majority of the items before hitting the streets some two hours later.

The outcome was that the boys managed to buy 7/10 items and the girls located and bought all 10. However, even with the hefty fines the boys were given for not getting everything on the list, they still won! Why? Because they negotiated better and some may say harder than the girls!

Negotiation is the most important part of the sales role and can be the hardest, and here are four tips to help you with that process:

There should be three stages of every negotiation.
Learning the other person’s goals and establishing what you want will direct the flow of the discussion. Gather information on the other person and his or her needs by doing your homework. The goal should be to reach a compromise. And both parties should leave the negotiation satisfied.

Work with, not against, others in determining neutrally beneficial solutions.
Try to create a win-win situation. Your customer should feel good about the transaction and you should walk away happy about your sale. Never attempt an offer too quickly; you don’t want to think you could have done better twenty minutes later, nor would you want to leave anything out.

Finalize all agreements.
Don’t depend on working out all the details later. Time pressures cause us to be vulnerable to compromise and human errors as well as the customer backing out later claiming certain points were not discussed. Offer to write up the agreement, if possible. There are always small points that are unclear. When you write the agreement, you define those points.

Follow through.
Do what you said you would do and do it when you said you would do it. Make sure the customer follows through on their end of the agreement.

If you would like further tips then why not come along to our free Sales Advantage session on 6th January. A perfect time to kick start your New Year.

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

Attitude

2010-12-03T14:34:00.005Z

As I sit here in my study the light snow is steadily adding to the 350 cm we have had in the last 48 hours. With daytime temperatures no where near approaching zero I wonder when we will return to some normality.

I could be sitting here raging about the 5 hours delay I had Tuesday evening on a 45 minutes train journey, the postponement of training that is my responsibility with some people travelling the length of the country to attend. Getting frustrated about the new business winning meetings that are scheduled for today and missing my mother's 89th birthday tomorrow will only make me feel worse. Cooperating with the inevitable is essential, not a cop out, its common sense.

Dr Charles R. Swindoll, pastor, writer of over 70 books and regarded as the 25th most influential preacher in the world today, decided that:

“The longer I live, the more I realise the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, or say or do. It is more important than appearance, than giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company.......... a church......... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 per cent what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.”

A vital aspect of Dale Carnegie’s training programmes is that we actively work on shifting attitude to the positive, a can do outlook. Next time you are considering development for yourself or your team make sure you choose the one that has a positive approach to life and not just remedies for taking away the pain.

David Pickering
Sales Consultant and Trainer

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Team Spirit

2010-11-26T10:11:00.008Z

‘Wickets, runs, bowlers, overs, stumps, the Gabba, the Barmy Army...’

This week saw the start of the Ashes and a month of cricket played between England and Australia. The anticipation has been building for weeks and the rivalry between the teams and the fans is strong. Both teams really want to win, England want to hold on to the Ashes crown and the Australians want to take it back. Both teams have been training hard for the test matches ahead and their fans are depending on them to perform at the best.

In order to have any chance of winning each side needs to work together as an effective team, this is the same for any group of people in any business, unless they work collectively to produce their desired outcome they will not achieve the best results possible.

Here are some tips to help your team to be effective and keep on track –

Have frequent and open communication - Most teams dysfuntion is rooted in coommunication breakdowns, such as poor listening, interrupting, rambling, an inibility to get to the point and simply not communicating enough to create team cohesions.

Build Cooperation – In a strong team, individuals rely on each other to make processes and interactions function as planned.

Recognize strengths – Take time to give honest and sincere appreciation to team members.

Manage results, not tasks – Ultimately, what matters is each team member’s contribution to the team’s goals and mission. Strong teams, with diverse peronalities, learn to focus on the results each team member achieves, rather than trying to make indivduals achieve results in a certain way.

Leverage competitive spirit to create communication – Friendly competition generates results. Keep the competition between the team and it’s own past results, not between individual team members.

For more tips and articles on how you and your team can achieve your maximum potential click here to visit the Dale Carnegie Knowledge Centre .

Sophie Whittall
Marketing Co-ordinator

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Unleash Your Full Potential

2010-11-12T16:40:00.003Z

What would be the impact on your organisation if the employees were able to increase their level of performance?

Dale Carnegie helps improve the performance of organisations by improving the performances of their people.

At the recent graduation ceremony of our flagship programme “Effective Communications and Human Relations” participants presented one of the results they have achieved over the twelve weeks. Regardless of their position or industry everyone got one step closer to their goals.

Here are some of their achievements:

Senior Technician (Architecture Design) - improved relationships with clients by being more approachable and turned cynicism into a consistent positive mindset

Service Manager (Insurance) - raised profile within the organisation by getting the confidence to speak in meetings, engaging with his team as well as the senior management

PHD student - increased confidence to deliver presentations and sell an idea to the audience, managed high levels of pressures and stress

Project Manager (Banking) - learnt the art of listening which helped increase efficiencies by getting the correct information to the customer within deadlines

Lead Researcher (Digital Agency) - learnt to coach the team to improve results, empowered others to take initiative, delegated responsibilities which enabled the department to take on more projects

Assistant Manager (Hotel) - became more positive and approachable, inspired the team to do better, and received an award for collecting the most 'Thank You' notes from the team

Is there anything you can do differently/ more of/ better to increase your level of performance?

To find out more about how Dale Carnegie supports individuals, teams and organisations or to arrange a free skills assessment call us on 0207 379 4323.

Corina

Performance Consultant

Be Exponential

2010-11-05T17:42:00.005Z

There is something to be said about being on a roll. Just look at sporting teams, winning two or three games in a row and all of a sudden the confidence and belief is up within the group and they begin to get better and better. Reality is this isn’t just sports teams, it works with business as companies getting better and better, just look at Apple who have grown year on year and zoomed through the recession. Interestingly both teams and companies like Apple have one thing in common – they are driven by people and people are driven by confidence and self belief.

Over the past 11 weeks our Effective Communications and Human Relations Course has been running for one night per week. The class comes every Wednesday and shares their ‘business good news’ at the start of the evening, before cracking into the course content. If there was a graph which measured the results shared by the group over the period it truly would be an exponential curve, much like getting on a roll!

Beginning week 1 session 1 we cant expect all our goals to be achieved straight away, its much more like the age old saying:

How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

Angus Firth

The Secret to Motivation

2010-10-29T16:37:00.005+01:00

A question that we as trainers at Dale Carnegie are often asked is what is the secret to motivating oneself. Whether it’s the motivation to make some extra calls to get new clients; the motivation to start that difficult project; the motivation to have that difficult conversation with a member of staff or perhaps even the motivation to get out of bed in the morning and go to work.

So what is the secret? Based on my own experiences and those I’ve heard from clients over the years the question should actually be in the plural what are the secrets? ..... There are many ways to motivate yourself to action the trick is finding what works for you.

Our founder Dale Carnegie writes in the book ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ that ‘Enthusiasm’ is the secret of success and the key to motivating yourself. I’ve seen this work for many clients over the years as they’ve found a way to get excited about the task in hand. Focusing first on shifting our attitude towards a particular task before we start it can be the key. Like all techniques though it doesn’t work every time..... so what else can help us achieve what we don’t initially think is possible.

During a recent time management seminar we held a discussion on this topic of motivation and the question of tackling difficult or large tasks came up..... We were talking at the time about writing business plans and strategy. Everyone agreed that at some time or other they had been in the situation where they had to do a certain project and found themselves procrastinating as they didn’t even know where to start. Experiences discussed went all the way back to school and university days of writing essays. Through our conversation we came up with a few ideas of how to get started:

1.Breaking down the task into manageable pieces: This is a common technique but we added one refinement which was make your first task simply to decide how you’re going to tackle the project. By taking away the pressure of actually starting the task and just focusing on working out the ‘How’ we can often stop procrastinating and get started.

2. Make a small commitment: We discussed that it can make sense to set a time limit deciding that you’re going to work on a task for only one hour and no more can again help us to get started. Sometimes even taking this down to a ten minute commitment can be enough to get things moving. You might say ten minutes isn’t enough but give it a try and see how it impacts your attitude.

3. The burning platform: The idea is simple set the platform that you’re standing on alight and you’ll have to find the motivation to jump off it before it burns away. In business terms this can be committing to a colleague or perhaps a client that you’ll have something with them by a certain time. Our advice would be think carefully about this one before you try it but again it can really help you get moving.

If you haven’t tried these techniques before then give one a try today and see what difference it makes. If you’re looking to unlock your potential and are struggling to find the answer then come and join us this week at the preview of our flagship programme the Dale Carnegie Course in Effective Communications and Human Relations and find out how to motivate yourself to action.
Click here to book a place.

As always I hope you find the tips useful and hope you can join us for a training session soon.

David Anderson

Managing Director

http://www.london.dalecarnegie.com/

The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch

2010-10-22T15:24:00.009+01:00

What a week in the world of football. As a Manchester United fan and like many of the Red Devils, I was shell shocked by the revelations made by the club regarding the imminent departure of Wayne Rooney. There have been many stories plastered in the papers, uploaded on to websites as well as the extensive coverage on television and radio whilst this saga unfolds.

However, I would like to shift focus altogether on to Sir Alex Ferguson. Arguably the greatest manager in English football history. I believe he has achieved his success not only because of his managerial and coaching ability but also through the use of key principles.

Many players have left United in the past, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and countless others and not once in all of Sir Alex's reign has he criticized, condemned or complained. Even when the Glazers took over the club and placed a huge debt over its head, he simply got on with his job. Sir Alex has also developed raw potential into world class talent and achieved this through honest and sincere appreciation of his players. Many of his players have talked of his continual support and how they see him as a father figure. He has the ability to create a winning team, but more importantly has been able to keep them hungry for more by arousing an eager want for success within his team. He always makes other people (namely his players) feel important.

With Rooney, Sir Alex has shared that he is a special player and the door is always open to him. Rooney has since closed the door and thankfully for United fans he will stay at the Theatre of Dreams after agreeing a new contract with the club.

These are just some of the fundamentals Sir Alex has applied in order to become and then remain successful. These principles are inherent in highly successful people. Just take a moment and think about what has been achieved by Richard Branson and Warren Buffet. Now, consider other high achievers you know; friends, a teacher, colleagues or your local businessmen and women, who have gained phenomenal success and you will see they also apply these simple and effective principles. These qualities are not reserved for the gifted few. Anyone can gain the same success, by applying the proven techniques described by Dale Carnegie in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People.

If you aspire to the successes of people such as Warren Buffet then follow his lead and enrol on the Effective Communications and Human Relations programme which is based on the aforementioned book.

Not convinced?

Then come along to the free preview of the programme on November 4th and see for yourself. Click here to register

Amar Garcha
Sales Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

A happy ending

2010-10-15T09:42:00.010+01:00

None of us could have missed the amazing news this week that all 33 miners who had been trapped under ground for weeks on end, had been rescued and brought safely to the surface.

They had spent ten weeks, trapped 2,041 feet under the desert in Chile. When the mine collapsed on August 5th they had no idea whether they could be saved. Living off meagre rations until they had been found alive seventeen days later, they faced and conquered something incomprehensible to most of us.

Whilst the country worked out a rescue plan, they coped and survived underground. No one can imagine what that could be like, whether arguments happened, or how they worked together to get through such a horrible event. As their stories come out in the following weeks, I am sure we will learn a lot more.

The leader of the miners, Luis Urzua carried his duty through to the end and was the last man to leave the mine, making sure all his men were safely rescued before allowing himself to be winched up. Chile’s President, Sebastian Pinera hailed Urzua for seeing off all his men before ‘leaving last like the ship’s captain’.

The rescue operation took weeks and the drilling to free the men veered off course twice, before a successful third time. I can only imagine what the leader(s) of the rescue workers must have been going through each time the drilling failed. Leading such a team on a life and death rescue attempt would have been challenging and stressful to say the least, so when the third drill was triumphant, euphoria must have followed.

This event was extraordinary and one which has captured the world. We all face stress, although hopefully nothing as awful as what the miners have been through. It can affect us in the workplace and our personal life. Stress has no boundaries and all of us at some point in our life, have it thrust upon us. But what can we do. Here are a few tips on taking charge of stress:

~ Get all the facts
~ Weigh all the facts then come to a decision
~ Once a decision is reached, act!
~ Answer these questions:
What is the problem?
What are the courses of the problem?
What are the possible solutions?
What is the best possible solution?

~ How to face trouble – ask yourself:
What is the worst that can possibly happen?
Prepare to accept the worse
Try to improve the worse

Dale Carnegie wrote the book ‘How to stop worrying and start living’ and if you are interested in finding out more, why not come along to our preview on 4th November.

In the meantime, it's nice to see a happy ending......

Helen Mills
Financial Controller
www.london.dalecarnegie.com

Inspiration to make dreams become a reality

2010-10-08T14:48:00.011+01:00

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of meeting a man who has completed some extraordinary feats in his life, in actual fact he has finished two epic journey’s that no person in the history of mankind had ever been able to complete before him.

Leaving Cape Town in July 2003 and returning 2 years 2 months later, Riaan Manser became the first person to circumnavigate the African continent by bicycle unaided - 37,000 km through 34 countries. He travelled north along the western coast of Africa, and hugged the coastline as closely as possible. The journey was not easy by any means as he was held captive by Rebels on two seperate occasions in Liberia and the Ivory coast and had to overcome a range of different problems that one would expect with a mammoth journey like this.

Incredibly that journey was not enough to quench his hunger for adventure and 3 years later he became the first person to kayak around Madagascar, alone and unaided. Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island with a coastal perimeter of 5000 kilometres. The journey took around ten months and much of it on grade five to seven sea levels [severe to impossible] making the completion that much greater.

What made meeting this extremely humble man so special was being able to experience his burning desire to inspire others to make their own dreams come true. His achievements already rank against some of the greatest feats of endurance seen by man, like reaching the South Pole, climbing Mount Everest and sailing alone around the world.

When I asked him what gave him the will to complete his trips, he answered with only one word “Attitude”. He said he never ever at any time during his two epic journeys wanted to give up, as his desire to complete his trips kept him going during the good and the bad times.

Therefore it goes to show, if we want to complete any task or goal in life we need to start at the source which is our own attitude, because without it our dreams will never become reality !

We at Dale Carnegie understand the fundamental importance of having the right attitude and we have been developing people's attitudes for almost 100 years. So come and join us for our next Effective Communications and Human Relations seminar in central London on the 4th November 2010 at 6pm. Click here for more details .

Mark De Stadler
Sales Consultant

www.london.dalecarnegie.co.uk

You've got to 'be' before you can 'do'

2010-10-01T16:41:00.008+01:00

Six months ago I was convinced by a friend to run a half marathon, previous to this my longest run had been 10kms or half the distance required on the day. Once signed up I scoured the internet for training plans, tips and advice, immediately I was overwhelmed at the task at hand and the commitment it would take on my part.

“You've got to 'be' before you can 'do', and you've got to 'do' before you can 'have’.– Zig Ziglar. This famous quote from sales guru Zig Ziglar epitomizes the “Be > Do > Get” model which I used to get a roadmap for my training plan, which can also be used in a business context when looking at a goal you want to achieve.

Looking at the ‘GET’ I had to set myself a goal, in this case it is a finishing time, however in a business case it may be a target, promotion, result or milestone. Once assigning the ‘GET’ or goal, to finish injury free in under 2 hours, I moved to the ‘DO’ part of the equation.

The ‘DO’ or doing is the actions required to get the result, in my half marathon the harsh reality is I need to do upwards of 4 runs per week over a 3 to 4 month period and gradually increase the distance weekly. Once I had listed this I also looked at other things such as how much time I needed to commit, how to juggle this around other work commitments, even as far as - do I need new shoes? Yes, so that’s an action which I put on my list – literally listing everything that needs to be done to get the result. Now looking at my plan I have the actions and the result in mind, but still I need to look at what will drive me there, this is in the being, or ‘BE’.

In order to run 4 times a week, take on a project at work or get the promotion, you need to ask yourself, who do I have to be to do these actions, which in turn drives the result? Coming back to the half marathon example, I have to be motivated, without the motivation I will struggle in the ‘DO’ column and if I don’t do the actions (ie training) I cant expect the result in the ‘GET’ column.

A simple, yet effective tool for creating a plan of action when you are faced with a large or overwhelming task. it has helped me take my training one week at a time, knowing if I control the 'BE' and the 'DO' columns I am on track for the 'GET' - which is next weekend!

Try it for yourself, having three columns on a sheet of paper write out your goal in the 'GET', then work it back through the 'DO' and 'BE' until you have a clear plan of what needs to happen and who you need to be to achieve it!

Angus Firth
Performance Consultant

www.London.Dalecarnegie.com

Leaders don't Bully

2010-09-17T14:27:00.007+01:00

‘The Secret to being a great leader isn’t to bully or harrass your underlings – it’s to be a sensitive listener.’ (David Derbyshire – Daily Mail – 15th September 2010)

The above quote is from an article published in the Daily Mail this week which talks about two pyschologists research into 85 self-help books and biographies. Their findings show that most leaders secrets of success are ‘touchy feely’* and that the leaders themselves are ‘positive and inspirational.’* Doctor Peters one of the Psychologists who carried out the study says that their findings from the research go against the belief that ‘the best leaders were driven individuals with domineering personalities’* She said ‘Actually, it’s someone who is always looking to their followers and who is concerned about their relationship with them.’

Dale Carnegie is one such leader who’s principles and ideas agree with this research and have been used for nearly a hundred years. When it comes to listening he has unearthed that there are 5 levels – Ignore, pretend, selectively, attentively, empathetically. Here are some of Dale Carnegie’s principles for being a leader –

- Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
- Talk about your own mistakes before criticising others.
- Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be "hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise."
- Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
-Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.

So the key to being a good leader is not to dominate but to build and sustain good relationships with your team. Leaders who dictate will eventually lose their position as leader.

If you would like to learn more about becoming a successful leader then why not join us at a preview of our Leadership Training for Managers Programme on 23rd September. Click here for more details.

To read the full article in the Daily Mail - Click here

* David Derbyshire – Daily Mail – 15th September 2010

Sophie Whittall
Marketing & Admin Co-ordinator

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Essential Looks

2010-09-10T14:32:00.017+01:00

There I was, thirty minutes before the show and the choreographer said: 'Models, lets rehearse once or twice before the show!' I thought to myself 'Rehearse what? I wasn't told anything about this!'

I do modelling in my spare time and this event took place at a Hair Showcase in Manchester yesterday. Basically myself and a few other models were completely unaware of this choreography. The organisers just assumed we could pick up the steps just like that, and also the delay in getting there due to the M6 closure didn't help.

I was feeling quite nervous and in a way frustrated that I wasn't told about this sooner so I could have practiced. Then I thought of the Dale Carnegie principles:

What's the worst that can happen? -I can forget the steps and the audience will know it.
Prepare to accept the worst - This happens to a lot of models and they still got offered work.
Try to improve on the worst -Because there wasn't any more time to practice I got a piece of paper, sketched the choreography and ran though it in my head a few times until I was confident I knew what I was doing.

This situation is often found in business, the boss changes the strategy and you have to drive the business in the opposite direction, the client suddenly demands additional details to be added to the project at the last minute or a colleague asks you to do a presentation for them in the afternoon.

So when you find yourself in a challenging situation...Do the best you can!

Or you can come along to the Dale Carnegie Course and learn to think on your feet, handle and adapt to rapid change, control your attitude and be confident in any situation! Click here for more details

Corina Balaneanu
Sales Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Why do we have two masks?

2010-09-03T16:44:00.004+01:00

At the end of 2004 I met the person who changed my entire life and was my Coach for 9 months, his name is Juan Luis and he was the Worldwide HR Director in a multinational company in the automobile industry. He managed more than 39.000 employees around the world, travelling on more than 152 flights a year in the company private Jet, Juan Luis was living in hotels in triplex rooms and he had his own chauffeur.

Juan Luis is a physically normal person, but the expressions on his face and the feelings that are thrown along his body every second make the difference. When he greets you, greetings are done with his whole body and he is physically with you. He is not just shaking hands, he is telling you “I am here with you because I really appreciate you and I want to stay with you”.

In the book “Blink” it explains that our subconcious mind can evaluate situations and characters much faster than our rational mind. I really believe that when I met Juan Luis I knew he was to have a crucial influence on my professional life from the first moment I met him.

And my question is, Why? Why has a so “singular” a person had all the success in life that he wished to have without giving across the image of a weirdo?

Before answering this question, have you met those people who you cannot find out what they are like after 24 hours of living with them? I refer to those people who are changing all the time, not clearly-defined people because they behave in completely different ways depending on the situation they are in, such as personal, professional, social, lifetime,... Of course, it is important to know how to adapt yourself to each situation, but it is different when we talk about changing your individuality; your personality.

Therefore, Juan Luis has success, because he knew how to sell his individuality. Why do we try to change and try to look like others, when being ourselves 100%, is the best way forward. Why did your company hire you and not another person? Why did your partner choose you? Because we offered something different, as Dale Carnegie said in principle number 9: “Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely” with all your body.

For this reason I tell you, Be yourself! Feel proud of who you are! Give away all your energy and you will definitely find the success you wish for.

Because there is just one way to prompt others to action and make a difference; by being a “human being” with your good and bad traits, by being a person who has something different to offer; people pay extra money for the different ones.

Jose Bort
Sales Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Out of the Blue

2010-08-26T14:25:00.008+01:00

You know what it's like. One of those days when you wonder what it's all about. One of those when you thought 'I know a better place to be right now'. And then - wham!! Out of the blue comes something so unexpected, against the run of play that you ponder what divinity inspired intervention chose you, at that very moment, to bless.

Such was the moment ten days ago. As happens these days its likely to be on the golf course. Standing on the 8th hole of the day, a down hill par 3 of some 217 yards distance. In the previous seven holes I had lost three balls and was playing like an absolute beginner - no, worse than that - as if I had never made the acquaintance of a golf club and could not imagine what a golf ball was.

And then it happened - the ball flew off the 5 iron with no discernable impact, was right on line with the flag, hit the front edge of the green and then rolled purposefully to the centre of the cup. A hole in one.

So what happened, a moment of balance, of talent, bordering on genious, conjured something out of nothing. A moment when all the dreams, wishes, hopes, aspirations come together in one fleeting moment of brilliance.

I was reminded in that moment to say thank you, not only to those applauding and offering their congratulations but also to that divinity at work and in such an unsuspecting moment.

Such is the joy and peace that has come so often over the many years as a Dale Carnegie coach. It comes in that moment when someone has a breakthrough. The moment they get it and realise that because of the commitment they made to change their life - it has changed, irrevocably.

Yes, they struggle, question what they are doing here, thinking they'd rather have been somewhere else, practising stuff as beginners ... and then their perseverance pays off. They have practiced and become skilled, still prone to mistakes, but then have moments of brilliance.

Until one is committed, plays the game and dares to try, such moments are absent. It is our responsibility to try to give ourselves the chance of an out of the blue experience.

So take that action you have been putting off - it may not work perfectly every time, experience the ecstasy when it does.

David Pickering
Trainer and Sales Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Goals?

2010-08-20T16:26:00.008+01:00

How often are you asked what your goals are and you cant give a clear, concise answer?

This poses a very interesting point, as in this day and age, no one in the world is as important to us as ourselves, yet a large proportion of us are unclear as to the direction we are headed!
A Japanese Proverb states “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”

Ok, so I need to set some goals, whats the best way to do it?

When setting a goal, no matter what for, check it meets the SMART criteria:

S - Specific – the more details the better!

M - Measurable – Put a measurement in place, without this how will you know when you have reached your goal or if you are on track.

A - Achievable – Whilst making them challenging, we must make sure our goals are achievable!

R - Results driven – this goes without saying, all goals should be results driven!

T - Timeline – having a deadline helps to measure expectations as well as celebrate milestones along the way.

As our next wave of Leadership and Communications courses begin next week and our participants outline their goals for their course, I ask you too, what are your goals for the remainder of the year?

Angus Firth

Performance Consultant
Dale Carnegie Training London
www.London.dalecarnegie.com

The New Social Movement Of Our Times

2010-08-12T13:47:00.007+01:00

The word Philanthropy in recent times has been getting some much needed front page headline exposure, through former Dale Carnegie graduate Warren E Buffet and billionaire friend Bill Gates. They have been able to get forty of the richest people in the US, including themselves to pledge at least half their fortunes to charities of their choice as part of a philanthropic campaign called 'The Giving Pledge Campaign' ( www.givingpledge.org ). The pair are also hoping to expand the concept to some of the wealthiest people around the world to follow the example of those affiliated to The Giving Pledge Campaign.

If we start to look at the numbers we find that the combined fortunes of Gates and Buffet alone comes to an estimated $100 billion fortune, therefore charities are likely to see some unprecedented amounts of money being distributed to them. With that said it is interesting to note the results of one of the largest studies of wealth distribution completed in 2006 that 1% of adults in the world own 40% of the planets wealth. Therefore the success of this campaign could have a real lasting impact on bridging the divide between the ultra rich and poor around the world.

But with that in mind, the reason behind me writing today about the subject of philanthropy stems from researching the original meaning of the word which dates back to Ancient Greek times, 2500 years ago. Philanthropy itself is a combination of two words: philos, meaning 'loving' in the sense of benefitting and caring for and nourishing and anthropos meaning 'human being' in the sense of 'humankind', 'humanity' or 'human-ness'.

This original meaning of the word really resonates with one of the Dale Carnegie principles in effective communication and human relations: Become genuinely interested in other people.

Stop thinking about yourself and what you need, take a minute to think about the people closest to you, be it your family, friends, your work colleagues or that man on the street that you walk past everyday; see how you can help them. By doing this you will be surprised what a positive impact you can have in that person's life. So lets create our own campaign of caring today and look to help others.

Mark de Stadler
Sales Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

What's Your Name?

2010-08-05T08:55:00.005+01:00

You might think what's in a name? It doesn't determine who you are or how you act, but for as long as people can remember, a person's name has been important to them. A recent article on the BBC website - 1066 and all those baby names - talked about how we still use names from the time when the Normans invaded; after the invasion many babies were named after William the Conqueror as the name was assosciated with success and this name is still popular today.

When someone hears their name spoken it makes them feel special and important, but many of us don't take the time to remember people's names or even to use people's proper names. Often we bump into people we have met before and then can't remember their name, not only is this embarrassing for us but it also makes the other person feel insignificant and unimportant. By not remembering somone's names we immediately alienate ourselves from that person.

Dale Carnegie's third principle from the book 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' says -

Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language

It's simple, people that remember people's names and use them are well liked and achieve more. A manager who has a team of over thirty and remembers the name of every member of his team will have earned the respect and attention of that team.

Here are some simple techniques that can help you to remember people's names -

When you are introduced to someone, listen when they say their name and ask them to repeat it if you don't catch it the first time.

When you first hear the name, repeat it several times in your head.

Associate the name in your mind with the features, expression and appearance of that person.

When it comes to dealing with people, just by remembering and using their names you will be well on the way to building good relationships.

For more useful tips like this attend a complimentary preview of the Dale Carnegie Course on 17th August. Click here for more information

Sophie Whittall
Admin & Marketing Co-ordinator
www.London.Dalecarnegie.com

Employee Retention

2010-07-30T13:52:00.006+01:00

Recently HR Review reported about a survey on Employee Engagement. According to the Gallup Engagement Survey only 24% of employees are engaged with their job. That is quite an alarming figure and something that employers need to tackle, especially in this current climate.

In a different survey by ACCOR, 90% of leaders say engagement impacts success, but 75% have no engagement plan.

So why are employee’s struggling to be engaged in their workplace? Is it poor leadership? Are there trust issues? Are the company’s values different to the employees? And what happens if employees are not engaged. Will they produce poor work, not want to involve themselves in projects, or leave and go and work for a competitor?

So how can you raise employee retention? Here are a few ideas:

Relationship with Manager – A recent Gallup poll revealed that a key indicator of employee satisfaction and productivity is employees’ belief that their boss cares about them and can be trusted.

Recognition and Appreciation – Some people are more driven by incentives other than money. Celebrate achievements both individually and as a team; write a note of thanks or recognition with honest, sincere appreciation.

Stimulating, Fulfilling Work – Include employees at the beginning of projects. Employees will be more enthusiastic and you will be surprised to see the creative results and different opinions that bubble up.

Clear Career Path and Opportunities – Providing training opportunities with respect to new skills and career development is an indication that a manager or company is willing to invest on behalf of employees. Encourage employees to join professional organizations by paying membership fees and giving the time off to attend lunches and conferences that foster professional growth.

Respect a Balanced Life – Acknowledging and respecting the importance of family and personal life of employees prevents burnout and fosters loyalty.

At Dale Carnegie we understand the need to engage with employees and gain their commitment. If you would like further tips then why not come along to our Inspirational Leadership Seminar on 24th August and 22nd September.

Helen Mills
Financial Controller
www.london.dalecarnegie.com

Team Work

2010-07-16T14:50:00.006+01:00

Henry Ford said:
“Coming together is the beginning.
Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success.”

He was talking about Team Work: When looking at the sporting arena, working with other organisations and also within our own business at Dale Carnegie I never cease to be impressed by the power of a team.

As I’m sure many other people did on Sunday, I watched Spain stand together for 2 hours against a strong and assertive Dutch team and come through with a fantastic goal in the dying minutes of the game to become World Champions. Football is a game that idolises and often rewards individual superstars, there is undeniably great individual talent in that Spanish team ..... but for those who understand the game it is no great surprise that the team with almost 50% more completed passes than any other team won the World Cup. Spain epitomised good team work across the tournament and went on to win.

Perhaps it’s a cliché but I feel that Football like business is a team game. When we start working with new organisations one of the first questions we ask is ‘What do you like about your business?’ In most successful organisations one of the first answers back is always ‘The people I work with.’

Looking to our own business, Dale Carnegie London business has grown by two new business consultants in the past few weeks and already I’m delighted with the energy that a larger team brings to the office. Building a strong team creates an energised work environment, people share ideas and best practice and we achieve far more than we would through working as individuals.

So if you’re looking to grow your business and your team remember these key principles:

1. Think about the people you bring into your existing team .... do the personalities fit.

2. Seek to create a positive fun working environment where people can share ideas and work together.

3. Trust your team to do a good job and give them the responsibility to achieve results.

4. Invest the time to coach and support your team and reward the right activities and results.

If you’d like to find out more about building the kind of team that will drive your business forward join us on the 3rd of August for the next preview of Leadership Training for Managers. Click here for more information

David Anderson
Managing Director

www.london.dalecarnegie.com

Tips for Staying Flexible

2010-07-09T16:56:00.002+01:00

Think of yourself as stretchable, expandable and able to adapt to anything new. Who wants to view themselves as static, inflexible and unable to adapt? Periods of change are unpredictable, and we may be asked to adapt to changes that we never anticipated. In order to stay flexible, follow these guidelines:

1. Set short-term goals
It is best during changing times to think ahead, but not too far ahead. Focus on goals and tasks that can be achieved in the immediate future. That way we can achieve measurable and motivating results, even if the change plan is altered in some way. Instead of abandoning our efforts because of changing priorities, we complete our short-terms goals and move on.

2. Work in intense bursts of activity
Some people call this the “blitz mentality.” Complete tasks with intense periods of creative output that produce concrete results. That way we have measureable outcomes that motivate and inspire us to continue our work and, in the process, better engage change.

3. Focus on team efforts
Teams are in a constant state of changing responsibilities and deadline. By aligning ourselves with others who are aiming at similar goals, we create the opportunity for flexibility in achieving results. We become more focused on others and less likely to retreat into our own comfort zone. We gain motivation and inspiration from the other members of the team, making us more likely to successfully play a leadership role.

4. Plan for possible change scenarios
The most important strategy for staying flexible during change is to prepare for various change scenarios. If we create a plan for each possible set of change circumstances, we are prepared to engage change in any way that affects us in the workplace. This gives us more flexibility, greater confidence and makes us more likely to be successful in leading change without authority.

Click here to attend a free preview of our Leadership Training for Managers Programme

Engaging Employees during Times of Uncertainty

2010-07-01T17:15:00.010+01:00

As a manager, turbulent times can be unsettling. Employees want to be upbeat, positive and encouraged about the future, but news about the economy, conversations with some customers and input from others in the organisation can often leave them feeling uncomfortable and unsure. So how do you balance these conflicting ideas, maintain a positive environment and keep employees focused on a positive future?

Focus on Vision and Mission
Develop Connections

Create Ongoing Dialogue

Encourage Empowerment

While there is rarely an easy answer to the unique issues that arise during times of turbulence, managers cannot retreat to the office and hope the situation will simply cure itself. Difficult times call for consistent leadership. Helping your team stay focused on the organisation's direction, their individual role in achieving that direction and encouraging them to develop new approaches for helping the organisation succeed are just a couple of ways that managers can help create an environment that continues to engage employees in uncertain times.

Join us for a complimentary session of the Engage & Inspire Your People seminar on 27th July from 8.45am - 10.45am! Click here to register

Corina Balaneanu
Sales Consultant

http://www.london.dalecarnegie.com/

Inspirational Leadership

2010-06-25T16:15:00.003+01:00

Leadership is about the ability to motivate and inspire people from a variety of backgrounds to a higher level of performance.

One of the main reasons people are promoted into management and leadership positions is because they were effective at what they did in their job. Now, as a manager, the job is to get others to be able to do things as well as or better than we did them. These require a totally different skill set. Our success requires making the transition from doing to leading in order to leverage our skills and our time.

Without motivation nothing gets done but as soon as we try to hold people accountable they get demotivated, right? Not necessarily! There are tools to hold people accountable for their goals, objectives, and commitments and stay motivated at the same time. With this balance, the more control we have over results for ourselves and our team.

Today, more than ever, a manager’s job is to build people. When we can create an environment where people get results, develop new skills, and become successful, we are fulfilling our highest calling as a manager and leader of people. Communicating with strength and sensitivity, being a coach, and building people are a leader’s highest priority.

No matter what we do there will always be the challenges with negative people and performance management. Our results, and the results of our team, depend on how those situations are handled. Fairness, consistency and strength are required in the right places, at the right times and in the right way. Without this, morale can grind to a halt for everyone, effecting productivity, customer loyalty, and employee engagement-all mandatory in today’s highly competitive work force.

Leadership Development Quotes from Dale Carnegie
“If we want to find happiness, let’s stop thinking about gratitude or ingratitude and give for the inner joy of giving.” -Dale Carnegie

“Remember that the other man may be totally wrong. But he doesn’t think so. Don’t condemn him. Any fool can do that, try to understand him. Only wise, tolerant, exceptional men even try to do that. There is a reason why the other man thinks and acts as he does. Ferret out that hidden reason-and you have the key to his actions, perhaps to his personality. Try honestly to put yourself in his place.” -Dale Carnegie

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming really interested in other people, than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. Which is just another way of saying that the way to make a friend is to be one.” -Dale Carnegie

“One of the surest ways of making a friend and influencing the opinion of another is to give consideration to his opinion, to let him sustain his feeling of importance.” -Dale Carnegie

“This is a hurried age we’re living in. If you’ve got anything to say, say it quickly, get to the point and stop, and give the other man a chance to talk.” -Dale Carnegie

“Make a man laugh a good hearty laugh, and you’ve paved the way for friendship. When a man laughs with you, he, to some extent, likes you.” -Dale Carnegie

“Do you know the most important trait a man can have? It is not executive ability; it is not a great mentality; it is not kindliness, nor courage, nor a sense of humour, though each of these is of tremendous importance. In my opinion, it is the ability to make friends, which, boiled down, means the ability to see the best in man.” -Dale Carnegie

“We ought to be modest, for neither you nor I amount to much. Both of us will pass on and be completely forgotten a century from now. Life is too short to bore other people with talk of our petty accomplishments. Let’s encourage them to talk instead.” -Dale Carnegie

“Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says, “I like you. You make me happy. I am glad to see you.” That is why dogs make such a hit. They are so glad to see us that they almost jump out of their skins. So, naturally, we are glad to see them. An insincere grin? No. that doesn’t fool anybody. We know it is mechanical and we resent it. I am talking about a real smile, a heartwarming smile, a smile that comes from within, the kind of smile that will bring a good price in the market place.” -Dale Carnegie

For more tips like this attend our Engage & Inspire Seminar on 27th July.

Click here to register

Handling Stress and Worry on the Big Stage

2010-06-18T17:14:00.007+01:00

The 18th Fifa world cup, the biggest sporting event in the world, is now in full flight, the South African economy is enjoying an estimated boost of $2.85 Billion (US) thanks to healthy sponsorship and fresh stamps in the passports of some 330,000 football fans who will be curtailed by some 41000 police officers deployed specifically to deal with them.

Impressive stats to a spectator, but to a player they mean pressure, stress and worry. The media scrutinizes the every move of the players, so much could of, should have, would have.
Much is written about the players who find the pressure too much, having the physical ability to deliver but not the psychological ability to do so in the big game. The media is then so damming that it is a downward confidence spiral for the player, at the end of the day they are only human and doing their job.

Whilst researching for this blog I was looking at pressure and stress on sports professionals and who of the top performers embody the Dale Carnegie principles. Kelly Slater, the 9 times surfing world champion, who has had 22 years in the worlds top 44 and boasts a higher winning average than any other sportsman. He wins on average 76% of the time he enters in the water at the highest level of competition, the ASP world tour, where at age 38 he is currently ranked #1. To put this in perspective, the more well known winning machine, Tiger Woods, has a PGA record of 29.3% win rate which is the highest ever on the PGA.

Kelly Slater states the majority of his preparation is mental. Before a heat he prepares himself to win and what that will feel like for him, interestingly, he also prepares himself to loose, thinking what that will feel like, how he will react and how his opponent will react. He goes on to explain in his latest documentary ‘Letting Go’ that he only focuses on one heat at a time and if he focuses on the overall competition win, he gets stressed and increases his chances of bowing out in the early rounds.

What does this have to do with Dale Carnegie’s fundamental principles for overcoming worry?

1. Live in “day tight compartments” in this example each heat of competition is a compartment for Kelly, as is each game for the world cup favorites, who cant afford to be focusing energy on the final before they get there.
2. Ask yourself, A) “what is the worst that can possibly happen?” Kelly does this as his pre heat preparation every time, lets hope English goal keeper Robert Green used this principle before the USA match!
B) Prepare to accept the worst, again Kelly routinely does this.
C) Try to improve from the worst, it must work for the 9 time world champion, as 76% of the time he does!

Overcoming the worry and stress allows athletes like Kelly to perform at their very best – consistently. Whilst we cant all be elite athletes, we can apply these simple, yet extremely effective principles to any area of our life which is causing worry and stress.

Angus Firth

Performance Consultant
Dale Carnegie Training London

Actions and values

2010-06-11T09:25:00.005+01:00

So there we were in a taxi, when Darrell happened to say down the phone those immediately recognised words "Dale Carnegie". Up to this point our taxi driver was a very chatty and knowledgeable individual who just loved to share everything about the day and the fair city of Dublin. On hearing the words "Dale Carnegie" our cabbie immediately said "one - run, two - zoo..." and quoted ebulliently other snatches from the Dale Carnegie Course. His hitherto animated manner shot into overdrive as he regaled us with stories of his experience on the course in 1982. As always he remembered his trainer, who was the local franchisee.

Well now Darrell and I have a friend in Dublin and Martin Shaughnessy will always be remembered. Not just for his ravings about what the Dale Carnegie Course had done for him and how he has consistently followed the principles and aimed to enthuse others as well. No, not just that, but for something rather more profound. Please forgive the possibility of offence but allow this reportage. Firstly, he said about stress and referring to the trappings and possessions of life - "what does it all matter, we only have the lend of it". How very true! And then, and this one operates only at the deeper level of meaning, "Every cripple has their own way of walking".

This is what he is suggesting - that we all have our own way of getting through life - it does not make any of us the owner of the right way AND it also suggests that we all malfunction in some way and get unconsciously lost in that being the only way.

Allow our actions be a true reflection of our values.

David Pickering
Trainer and Sales Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Motivation is What You Need!

2010-06-04T10:48:00.018+01:00

‘To succeed......you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.’ Tony Dorsett

The difference between achieving a goal and not achieving a goal depends on the motivation and inspiration you have driving you forward.

This week the England football team have travelled to South Africa in preparation for the start of the World Cup. They are fully motivated and hungry to win, they will have envisioned themselves lifting the trophy to a huge cheer from the crowd and then returning home to receive a winners welcome from the English fans. When you set yourself a goal imagine what life will be like when you have achieved this goal, picture it in your mind – set yourself a vision for the future.

Create a Vision

Nothing is more personally motivating than creating a compelling vision. Visualize yourself succeeding as a result of the goals you set and achieve. Imagine the benefits of growing as a result of the changes you make -- creating new opportunities, building a more exciting and dynamic future and opening up new opportunities for success.

Inspiration is also an important factor when it comes to succeeding. We are usually motivated to work at achieving something when we have seen someone we respect achieve something similar; someone whose values and beliefs we admire. We can also be inspired by the way someone motivates us to achieve our goals, they can appeal to us in such a way as to make us think and act differently.

The England squad will take their inspiration from the 1966 England football team who achieved their ultimate goal by winning the World Cup and were able to lift the trophy and receive the respect and reward that comes from succeeding. They will also be inspired by their manager Fabio Capello who will give them pep talks before each game and keep reminding them that they can win the matches

Be Inspired

Think of someone who you admire and who really inspires you and whenever you are struggling and feeling de-motivated picture that person in you mind and remember what you admire in them and this will help you to get back on track and succeed. Surround yourself with positive people that will be enthusiastic and help to drive you towards success.

Good luck with your goals and visions for the future and good luck to the England team next week!

If you would like to find out more about setting your vision for the future then please attend our preview of Strictly Business: The Dale Carnegie Immersion Seminar on 10th June – Click here to register.

Sophie Whittall
Marketing & Admin Co-ordinator

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Communicate to Persuade

2010-05-28T15:07:00.006+01:00

One of the most common types of business communication is communicating to persuade. From sales representatives persuading customers to mid-level managers persuading workers and upper management, we spend almost every business day involved in some form of persuasive communication. No matter our role, improving our ability to persuade others is vital to our career growth. Effectively communicating to persuade requires us to be adequately prepared, clear on the action we want our listener to take, and able to provide a compelling reason to take the action we desire. Dale Carnegie recommended a simple three-step structure that can significantly improve our ability to persuade a listener. The formula provides the structure to capture attention, build credibility, eliminate nervousness and call others to action, and it increases the likelihood that we will get results with others. The formula is as follows:

Incident: Relive a vivid, personal experience relevant to the point. Aristotle said, "The speaker's character is one of his most effective agents of persuasion." We must be credible in our example and evidence. We must have earned the right to share our example or give direction. A personal incident is a sure-fire way to grab favourable attention: It pulls people in, opens them up to persuasion and provides evidence as to why our idea is worth considering. In persuasive communication, we spend most of our time providing the situation and evidence before asking the listener to do something.

Action: Call on the listener to take a single, specific action. Too often we assume our listeners will know what to do once we have presented them with evidence to change their thinking or direction. We fail to persuade them if we don't clearly explain what we want them to do. Other times, we may give a clear action but may ask them to do several things -- leaving them unsure about which action should be the priority. Effective persuasion requires us to simplify the message and recommend one clear action for listeners to take.

Benefit: Clearly emphasize how the listener will benefit from taking the recommended action. Again, this portion of the communication must be clear, specific and direct. It must also be based in reality. If the benefit we provide sounds too good to be true, the listener will doubt us. If what we are recommending benefits us more than the listener, the persuasion will seem manipulative and self-serving. So consider the listener's point of view to be sure the recommendation is truly in his or her best interest. This balanced approach will be appreciated and will allow the listener to be more open to what we suggest.

Communicating to persuade is a critical skill to master in our daily business interaction. Dale Carnegie Training's three-step process -- Incident, Action and Benefit -- provides an opportunity to gain the results we desire from others.

By demonstrating that we have earned the right to give direction and are communicating from a position of solid character, not only will we be persuasive, but we also will be compelling. These two factors are a winning combination in our ability to communicate to persuade.

To learn more about how to use Dale Carnegie's three part process and to practice it in a classroom environment sign up for the Dale Carnegie Course: Effective Communications and Human Relations.

To find out more Click here.

Dedicating Time to Time Management

2010-05-21T17:10:00.008+01:00

An interesting thought in our busy day to day grind, actually dedicating time to time management, it sounds like the age old question, what came first, the chicken or the egg?
Taking the time to evaluate, then focus on what’s really important can be the best 15 minutes of your day.

We all know the modern working world can be a very distracting place, for example last year globally there were 90 Trillion emails sent, 360 billion photos uploaded to facebook, along with an overall 18% rise in internet usage. The stats keep going, but it can be hard to keep up just thinking about it, making it very easy to waste time!

Before we get pulled away into cyberspace, consider these 2 simple techniques for time management.

1) Do your to do list the night before so you can hit the ground running when you arrive the next day.

2) Create time logs. For a 3 day period, record every little thing you do, update it every 15 minutes and analyze where you are currently spending your time. Once this is done, focus on the import tasks which bring you results! Review after 2/3 months again for a 3 day period to note improvements.

Haven't been making time for time management? Want to know more techniques? Join us on the 15th of June for a free interactive session focused on Time Management, one thing I can guarantee is it will be an effective use of your time!!

Angus Firth
Performance Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Always look on the bright side of life!

2010-05-14T16:35:00.006+01:00

The volcanic ash fallout obliterated many people’s hopes of travel, either for business or for a well earned holiday. Suffice to say I was affected by this. My dream trip to the Bahama’s was suddenly pie in the sky as the air space closed and passengers were stuck in foreign countries looking for ingenious ways to get home.

To say I was disappointed was an understatement but there was nothing I could really do about it, other than be grateful that I wasn’t waiting hours at an airport desperately trying to get home. The key to this was acceptance. Accepting what had happened and then trying to make the best out of a bad situation. After some calls to hotels, I was all geared up for a holiday in Cornwall where I would still be able to take some time out and relax.

So what do you do when things just don’t go to plan? Here are five tips that may help.:

Acceptance – this really is the key to most things in life...once you have accepted the situation then your mind is free to move on to look at your options

Avoid dwelling on the situation – by churning the disappointment over and over I wouldn’t gain anything other than the continued feeling of disappointment

Be willing to compromise – a trip in the UK wasn’t what I had looked forward to, but it was still a holiday

Focus on the positive – the fact that I wasn’t stranded in a country without somewhere to stay and little money was a relief

Keep your sense of humour – a little light-heartedness goes along way and really helps your body fight stress and anxiety

Needless to say the break was wonderful and although it wasn’t the Bahama’s I was grateful I could still get away.

Helen Mills
Financial Controller