Why Exercising is no Longer an Option?

Summer in its midst with its intolerable heat and various events such as outings, parties, weddings, and holidays that involve food and drinks, make this time of the year an excess in relaxation time which aches our bodies, kills our mood and affects our health. Meanwhile going to the gym or doing any kind of exercise is like serving a hard labor sentence. In order to show you that exercise is no longer an option but a necessity that should become a lifestyle, we have compiled 5 reasons to motivate you to turn exercise into a habit:

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How can we discover our blind spots?

In one of my introduction exercises during my last workshop, I have asked the participants to represent themselves in a simple symbolic picture, showing what is the best thing they are known for. For example, a ‘+’ sign would represent a positive person, a smiley face would represent a happy person etc… and to my surprise, there was a high number of people who, actually didn’t know what to draw, or scratched a picture which wasn’t at all representative of their characteristics. People sometimes tend to think that they are fully aware of all their good behaviors, qualities and virtues. Few are the ones who actually acknowledge their little mistakes or what we call vices. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case in my last mentioned example, as the majority of the 40 attendees, couldn’t tell me that ‘one thing’ that differentiates them from their other colleagues. Over and above all, what intrigued me was how challenging to have all the team in agreement with the symbol each one chose. In fact, and as per the JOHARI window, a person is represented by four quadrants as follow:
to read the full blog go to www.ideasgrp.com/blog

Why most training interventions fail

In today's business environment, efficiency is the ultimate goal to save resources and reach effective operational cycle. Training is used among other means to help reach that purpose.

American companies spend as much as 200 billion dollars on training interventions (Carnevale, Gainer, and Villet 1990). Most of that budget is considered a waste and most importantly it does not achieve the desired objectives. As a result, businesses have diverted their focus to measure training effectiveness, and its Return on Investment.
Although researchers have tried continuously to find the magical equation to calculate training effectiveness, yet it is still an area of continuous debate. There are two schools of thought in this regard: For example, Philips (1990) devised a methodology to quantify training results and called it Training ROI. At the other bank of the river, DeSimone, Werner, and Harris (2006) stated that training effectiveness is a "relative" matter. Given both schools of thoughts, the fact remains that the squandered resources on training remain an area of business concern.

Taking a closer look into such matter, it is valid to ask why most training interventions fail? Such question was legitimized by Cromwell & Colbs' (2004) finding that "not more than 15% of learning transfer to the job, after attending any training". Such finding is astonishing!
From my experience in training management, and as a trainer for 10 years now, the reasons for training failure are:

1. Training is not designed for specific purpose. Generic training has no specific objectives to accomplish.
2. Training not related to trainees' daily work. Concepts addressed in training are not paralleled to the trainees' daily work functions and not applicable to what they do and therefore irrelevant to their need.

to read the full blog go to http://www.ideasgrp.com/blog

Overcoming stage fright part 2

In Part 1 last December http://www.ideasgrp.com/blog/blog-entry/overcoming-stage-fright we wrote about 5 tips extracted from our stage fright section of our “Public Speaking and Presentation Skills” workshop:
1. Realize how your audience really feels
2. Visualize success
3. Change your physical state so that you affect your mental state
4. PPP- Practice Practice and Practice
5. Arrive early

Here are 5 more tips to help you overcome stage fright

6. Mingle with your Audience
Prior your speech try to talk to your audience in any subject. The effect of mingling is tremendous

to read the full blog go to www.ideasgroupblog.com

The power of Gratitude

I came across an inspiring quote sent to me by Charbel Khoury at Atlantis financials From The Secret Daily Teachings:

“It is when you no longer feel the need for money that money will come. The feeling of needing money comes from the thought that you don't have enough, and so you continue to create not having enough money. You are always creating, and when it comes to money, you are either creating the lack of it or the abundance of it.”

And Charbel explains after the quote the importance of gratitude in one’s life. Here I couldn’t just stop without sharing with you the importance of gratitude and the wonders it has done to my life.

to read the full blog log on to www.ideasgroupblog.com

Let us remember 2010

Now that 2010 is over, let us remember some of the major events that have happened in the course of the year. Hoping to learn from our successes and mistakes and make of 2011 an amazing year.

We have compiled the below event in 6 different categories: Natural disasters, air crashes, economy, achievements, miscellaneous and left us in 2010.

To read the full blog go to wwww.ideasgroupblog.com

Overcoming stage fright

Does your heart pounds, your hands shake, your forehead sweats, your mouth goes dry and your stomach feels like a blender on high speed every time you are about to speak or present to a group?

Well the good news is that you are in the majority, and that almost everybody shows the same symptoms when they are asked to speak or present to a large group. Even the most experienced speakers still feel stage fright at times.

The other good news is that with simple techniques you can use stage fright to your advantage.

Below are 5 tips extracted from our stage fright section of our “Public Speaking and Presentation Skills” workshop:

To read the full blog go to www.ideasgroupblog.com

Are you effective at influencing others?

In order to progress on the social and professional levels, we all find ourselves trying too hard to influence others. I have to admit, that doing so effectively is not a walk in the park, especially in the Middle East and North Africa region, where above interpersonal skills needed, the diversity of the region that is home to more than 150 nationalities creates a need for intercultural understanding.
In order to assist you doing a better job at it, I have jotted down below Influencing Do’s and Don’ts

To read the full blog log in to www.ideasgroupblog.com

More effort needed to make presentations in the Middle East inspiring

I was attending an inspiring conference in Dubai yesterday, where speakers were supposed to share stories and best practices to enlighten the participants.

The event’s organization was great; the whole conference was free of charge for its participants, everything was so generous (giveaways, food networking gadgets), the idea of the displays and signage was very creative, in brief it had an amazing feel.

The only thing that stroke me was the level of most presentations. Some speakers started with about 30 participants in their sessions to find that only a dozen has left at the middle of it, others confused their audiences with mixed messages that lacked clear objectives. On the other hand only a few elite speakers presented in an innovative way that pushed their audience of their seats.

As a professional speaker, I might be a bit biased in believing that every presentation should leave a WOW effect, otherwise people could just watch a live streaming of an industry expert or a DVD of Anthony Robbins.

You don’t have to be in the position of Steve Jobs to be able to leave your audience with a lasting impression, you can apply the little changes as per the points below:

to read the full blog go to www.ideasgroupblog.com

Are we born creative?

Read this amazing inspirational story about creativity on ideasgroupblog.com

Are you on the right track to get called for an interview?

How many times have you send your resume and never got an answer back from the recruiter? What is your ratio of being called for a job interview in relation to the number of resume sent?

We have advertised for a position using a classified newspaper, and you cannot imagine the responses we got. Although we were specific about the position (level, responsibilities) we got bombarded by all kinds of resumes. Some senior positions applied for an admin role, and although we have specified the location, we got people requesting jobs in different geographical locations.

Only few resumes stood out, so i thought of sharing those 5 best practices that you should do when sending your CV:

To read the full post log on to www.ideasgroupblog.com

You Tube- ideas group profile

Using Criticism; a Leader’s success attribute

The first thing that most people do when criticized, is to jump on the defensive side and justify themselves, trying to prove that the other party is completely wrong. What these people don’t realize is that by blocking any chance of taking anyone else’s opinion, they may lose the chance of perhaps getting an excellent advice. However such reaction to criticism is a natural innate reaction, similar to the “fight or flight” response our pre-historic ancestors had.

According to the British Psychological Society, “ The main reasons that get to leaders derailment is that they acquire an inflated sense of self-importance, grandiosity and entitlement, with weaknesses such as sensitivity to criticism, poor listening skills, a lack of empathy, a dislike for mentoring, and an intense desire to compete.”

To understand how successful people deal with criticism, we have studied 18 personalities from several industries, and came up with the 5 most important “must haves” that enable leaders to accept criticism and work with it turning it to their advantage.

To read the full blog go to www.ideasgroupblog.com

Almost half of UAE professionals may quit their jobs after the summer holidays

Dubai, UAE,  30^th August 2010 – New research from Regus reveals that UAE professionals may quit their jobs after the summer vacation due to lack of promotion and bosses that do not know, or do not communicate the company’s goals.

To read the full article visit www.ideasgroupblog.com

Five essential elements to conduct a one on one feedback session

Giving feedback to team members is not the most enjoyable thing that a manager likes to do, however as Kelvin Lord puts it, “You cannot improve what you cannot measure” and as a Leader or a manager your job is to look for constant and never ending improvements.

To make things easier for you, we have come up with five essential elements that will make the feedback session easier for the employee and the manager and most essentially link it to sustainable organizational performance.

Full blog on http://www.ideasgrp.com/blog

Pakistan Flood Aids

A man trying to join a naval boat with his children in Sukur

Picture: Reuters

Extract from the UN news centre

“According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 14 million people – almost one in every 10 Pakistanis – have so far been affected by the flooding, which began late last month in the wake of heavy monsoon rains.

More than 1,200 people have been killed, and at least 2 million left homeless, by the disaster which has also destroyed homes, farmland and major infrastructure in large parts of the country, most notably the north-west province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK).”

Although there have been some mixed sentiments, a lot of countries have pledged aids for the disaster, one of which is India, a country known to be in a political conflict with its Neighbor Pakistan.

It is interesting to see who are the donors countries to date. Te list  ranks the donors as per their contributions as of Aug 18,2010.

To view the full list click on the following link www.ideasgrp.com/blog

“When you lose something, you are just making space for something bigger”

I have received a call last week from one of my clients, who for internal reasons had to cancel one of the  biggest contracts we have signed this year. To tell you that I wasn’t deceived would be lying; The news could have ruined my whole day, week or even month because of the magnitude of such contract. However as I am committed to have a high EIQ (emotional intelligence quotient), I had to analyze the choices I had, so I quickly drew the below mindmap (click to enlarge).

As you can see, by just changing my paradigm from deception to choices, a multitude of options started flowing  and I was suddenly enveloped with a warm feeling of happiness. It is strange and weird but in the nicest possible way.

So I continued my analysis and tried to come up with computer and IT analogies; when we delete files in our computers we are just making space for another file, the same goes in our lives; when we lose something we are just making space for something bigger.

A lost opportunity = more focus on a bigger one
A lost job = a chance for doing what you love
A lost family member = more love for other family members, or more focus on continuing what the lost one has started
A lost friendship = opportunities for a better one

And the list goes on...

A women in Lebanon has lost her son in a water sports accident, and after grieving him for a while she felt that her life had stopped; You just can imagine how hard it is to loose a child. But one day she woke up and asked herself the following question: What is the reason that my son was taken away from me at a young age? What is the message behind it? How can I use this incident to serve others?

A week later she has started a foundation with a purpose of making parents aware of the dangers of inattention when it comes to their children. So going back to her choices, she had two choices; either grieve her child for the rest of her life, or help thousands of other households save their children. With the latter choice she now feels that her son’s decease was a rebirth for a thousand more child.

“When you lose something, you are just making space for something bigger”

So if you just think about a loss as a free space, you will not get stuck in the past and will start generating opportunities for the future. It is all about using your energy- any kind of energy; negative or positive - and turning it into choices that will get you closer to your goals.

To know more about increasing your efficiency and how to generate healthier choices, visit our website: www.ideasgrp.com

You can complain or you can....

 

The world that we live in presents enough challenges for de-motivating the most positive people on earth. On the other hand, people seek comfort when they start sharing their problems with others; and some take that comfort to the next level and will find a need for complaining. As one of my friends puts it: “As human beings, we love to be victimized. Being victimized is perhaps the best way to run away from our responsibilities.”

This implication of being victimized spreads across all aspects of life: Relationships, education, health and most importantly careers.

Looking at the career and professional aspect, it is really annoying to be around people that whine and moan every day at work; sometimes this excessive negativity will drag others into it and will have a slumping effect on performance.

So how do we stop those people from complaining and how do we lift our moods if we think that we are in an awful situation.

First of all, Start by auditing your life: List the good things that are happening in your life and the bad things that you are exposed to and ask yourself those two simple questions: 1) How can I increase the good things? 2) What can I do specifically to change each of the bad things on my list?

Second, Don’t be positive: Yes you are reading correctly. Being positive and wishing for good things to happen is like staying at home without contacting anyone and waiting for Microsoft to ask you to become one of their Vice Presidents. Instead of being merely positive, have a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) and draw plans, while acknowledging that you will face some negative challenges. So have a PMA and identify what might go wrong so you will be able to pro-act and not re-act.

That brings us to the third point which is Be Proactive. As Dr. Stephen Covey puts it in his habit 1: “Take responsibility for your life”. If you cannot see a change make the change, if things are not going the way you plan, you have two options: sit down and watch things go terribly wrong or take control of the situation and ask yourself how can you change the situation. The how questions open a lot of doors and will get you closer to your desired situation.

The choice is yours; take the driver’s seat and lead your life to your own victory or complain while watching other people climb the peaks of success.

To learn more about how to increase your Leadership Quotient and other workshops by ideas group visit our website on www.ideasgrp.com

9 tips to avoid conflict and miscommunication when writing

According to a survey done by ideas group on 60 companies in the Middle East, 85% of the workforce conflict stems out of miscommunication.

The study was conducted across companies in different industries: Government, FMCG, Aviation, Industrial, Banking and Finance Telecom and IT, in 11 countries in the following cities: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Dammam, Riyadh, Kuwait City, Doha, Muscat, Damascus, Amman, Manama, Cairo, Casablanca and Beirut.

When working in virtual teams or working across the region, miscommunication is magnified by the lack of proper writing skills, whether in    emails, Memos, Instant messaging or even blogs and other social media.

So to simplify things for you we came up with this checklist of 9 items to look at before sending emails:

·      Simplify your message: In Business it is not about literature or chic fancy words, the more simple your message is, the less misunderstanding it generates. So keep your sentences short and straight to the point.

·      Use bullet points: People like to see a summary of your ideas, so if you put your main ideas into bullets, it will help the reader scan quickly through it and this will speed up the communication process.

·      Use punctuation in the right place: Each punctuation has a meaning a question mark (?) is to ask a question, an exclamation mark as the Meriam-Webster Dictionary puts it “ is used to indicate forceful utterance or strong feeling”. So ending a sentence with a exclamation mark is like a warning sign…two exclamation marks are two warning signs.

·      Never write full sentences in CAPS: Capital letters or “caps” are a sign of shouting or yelling, so unless you want to yell at your reader do not write in caps.

·      Use calm colors: Using red fonts when writing emails also indicates anger, so whenever its possible try to use blue or green instead for highlighting.

·      Make sure your email has a subject: Sending an email without a subject can be frustrated for people who use the search function of their inboxes, it helps the reader understand the email content.

·      Avoid the URGENT and (!)High importance/priority  signs: Some people are just used to the habit of sending all their emails with High Importance or High Priority; So when they have an issue with a real high importance, how will they let their readers know that this one is really important? I once received one of those with an email that said Happy Holidays. This will only stress the reader.

·      And finally, Read the email before sending it: We discover a lot of mistakes just by reading it again. If its an email going to important person, try to get a colleague to read it as well; some sentences might make sense to you but not to the reader.


To know more about conflict management, communication trainings or any other workshops visit our website on www.ideasgrp.com 

Do you want to be the next Carlos Slim, Oprah Winfrey or Steve Jobs?

Some people just seem to be naturally successful. They reach one peak after another. And the more they achieve the more success seems natural and easy. Those people are not aliens, and if you study them closely, their environment wasn’t all success.

If you want to follow the track of great people like Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Pope Jean Paul II, Oprah Winfrey, and Steve Jobs you have to understand what they have done in their lives, and how they have challenged people around them. Those legends have pushed the boundaries of what is common; they have created new industries and found solutions to very complex issues.

After compiling their bios and studying their paths we have discovered that most of them share the following attributes:

1. They have a vision

Not one single high achiever has reached success without a clear vision, a set of goals and ways to achieve them. When Warren Buffet was asked about his path he said “I always knew I was going to be here”

2. They leverage their circle of influence

You might think that high achievers do not need anyone, however none of them got to success without leveraging their contacts. Its not only about what you know, but also about who you know. Steve Jobs of Apple, used Bill Gates of Microsoft several times before launching his products…who would have thought?

3. They are flexible

High achievers adapt to the environment around them exactly like chameleons, and this is how they identify opportunities. While others are complaining about the financial crisis or high oil prices, successful people tend to create opportunities to benefit from the situation.

4. They play at work

None of the top achievers wasn’t extremely excited about what they did, they have all showed passion and excitement in what they do. So if you don’t Love What You Do, its time for a change.

5. They are compassionate

People who hurt others no matter where they reach do not make it far in life, , or at least they don’t grow comfortably. Donald Trump keeps bouncing up and down, went bankrupt, and has thousands lawsuits against him. Do you want to be there?

6. They help others

It has been observed this year that the top 3 of the fortune billionaires list donate large amounts of their worth to others, and more than half of the world’s richest people are big Charity Donors. Those people believe that “What goes around, comes around”. The interesting part is that most of the successful people do not wait till they get rich to start giving, Carlos Slim was always a person to go to when in need, and a free advice giver at all times.

So are you ready to step in the bandwagon of success? All you need to do is to adapt the above 6 attributes to your life.

For more information on how to enhance your life, career and relationship or to attend The Psychology of Success Workshop, visit our website on www.ideasgrp.com