March 12, 2010

Free Learning by Thinking

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Often you don’t need to learn theory by attending a course or reading – you can extract it yourself from examples and analogies that you’re already aware of.  It’s an incredibly powerful way to learn and make highly memorable connections in your mind.

Use What You Know

Learning is attaching what you don’t know to what you do know.  By starting with something you already know and using it to trigger what you think you don’t know (hang in there, I’ll explain!) you create something that’s always at your fingertips, rather than having to learn completely disconnected new theory.

It’s like the difference between being able to derive formulae back in maths, vs memorising one.  Anyone who knew how to derive formulae knew how powerful this was.

Here’s What I Mean

Well, I’ve just done it in the paragraph above.  If you want to learn productivity, then choose an example of something you already know that’s very productive, and pick out the ingredients that make it so productive.  Write them down. There’s your lesson.

Or use an analogy.  You might ask yourself how doing your work each day is like going on a flight somewhere, with a take off time, and landing time, and so on.  I did this in a recent blog post myself which you might find useful.

Free Lesson on How to Make More Money

If you want to learn how to make more money, extract the lessons from people you know who have made money, or again, choose an analogy.  Maybe somehow you could relate making money to earning respect from people and question how they’re similar.  You might decide that to earn respect you must keep promises and provide value to people.  You might realise that to earn more respect you should provide even more value, and do it to more people, so they all respect you.  You might realise that doing it once isn’t enough, but doing it again and again means they’re bursting with respect for you.  Then you might realise that it’s the same rules for making money.

Einstein said that everything is connected to everything else.  So sometimes, do away with books and external sources, and see what useful lessons your mind can conjur up based on what you already know.  It’s a powerful and cost effective way to learn, and you can do it anywhere you like.

March 10, 2010

Learn Productivity from Airlines

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This post can help you tighten up your entire approach in your work.  You’ll increase your productivity based on how much thought you’re prepared to put into this.  Despite how unproductive you may feel airlines are from a passenger perspective, they always strive to be more productive and produce a slicker turn around.  Their survival depends on it.  My next door neighbour is a pilot.  When he’s not flying, he spends most of his time answering my endless stream of questions about everything to do with flying planes.  As he talks, I clearly see the similarities between his work, my work and everyone’s work.  In fact, I see his work as one of the best models or analogies I know of to improve how we function in our own work.

Let’s steal the hard work of the airline industry…

Your flight:

  • your days work
  • your projects/tasks
  • your entire business or career

Your roles:

  • pilot
  • check-in
  • navigator
  • co-pilot to a colleague
  • and many more, depending on your team structure

Here’s some things to think about that the airline industry take seriously.  So should we:

  • the point of the flight – to get passengers from A to B as safely and enjoyably as possible
  • the procedures for passengers from arrival to check-in, boarding and so on (preparation to commence work)
  • pilot procedures (controlling the plane, checking the dials, communicating and updating…)
  • departure times (when you begin work)
  • landing times (when you aim to complete work – deadlines)
  • check-in times
  • security (preventing any problems creeping in to your work)
  • videos of what you can do at destination (what will you do when you complete this task/project?)
  • turbulence
  • emergency procedures (if x goes wrong, do y)
  • changing the flight plan (be flexible, you MUST get your passengers to B somehow.  Diverting and organising a bus is an option.  Remember, your passengers are your customers.  And your team.  And your boss.  They all want you to help them get from A to B)
  • air-traffic control (landing your tasks and projects safely to completion and organising the ‘take off’ of other tasks and projects)


How Does This Work in the Airline Industry?

This list is just a start, but I write it to encourage you to ask yourself, whenever you have a problem in your productivity or process flow, ‘what’s the equivalent of this in the airline industry?  How do they make it work?’  You’ll find some useful answers to transfer back to your own work.  A lot of productivity theory they train on courses you’ll get from this exercise if you think deeply enough.

Also, remember, the plane keeps flying even when the pilot takes a break (the co-pilot mans the controls together with autopilot).  They keep you heading to B.  So how could you maintain progress when you take a break?  Can your computer get on with something?  Can your co-pilots keep momentum on your work?  Organise yourself and delegate before taking breaks to make this possible.

Circling Planes

And they always keep moving until they land – they have to!  They circle the plane while they wait for clearance which of course costs a lot too.  Every minute they spend circling, the cost goes up and the urgency to land increases.  What flights of yours are currently circling and getting costly?  If they must land, you better prioritise and land them.  Get some order here and land them one by one!

Think about these ideas to improve how you operate in your work.  And if you have any more airline analogies (or others) for improving our productivity then please share them below in the comments.

March 8, 2010

How You Limit What You Earn

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The problem a lot of employees have during their work is they get paid to perform a specific set of actions, so they rarely tend to do anything outside of these.  Why should they if they’re not getting paid to?  That’s the common mentality.

Unfortunately, the deal they’ve agreed to keeps them firmly in place, and for many stifles their potential value and input.  Neither they nor their employers get the rewards they’re capable of creating.  The thinking is set, the actions are set, the pay is set and the rewards are set.  And all the while the thinking is set, the others won’t really change.

Entrepreneurs and business owners are ‘free’ to move in any direction and know that they get paid more for thinking of new things, innovating, creating and acting way beyond a specific set of actions.  They know they need to look for problems and solve them.  They know they need to make order from chaos.  They know the pay and rewards come in the medium to long term.

The same rules and laws however apply to employees.  Don’t let your job description and pay limit and determine what you do.  Start thinking outside of what you’re paid to think.  Start looking for problems to solve, and create more order within your team or department and more order for your customers or those who pay you.  Ask yourself how you’d run things if you were the big boss?  Then, don’t just keep your ideas to yourself.  Use them to add more value, and steer things so that you earn yourself more rewards.

March 5, 2010

Big Decisions: Taking Risks

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Most people seem to throw around the idea that you must be a big ‘risk taker’ to make it in business.  It’s a viral message passed between people who haven’t thought about it enough.  Unfortunately it gets passed on to some poor hopeful who is rather risk-averse.  He definitely doesn’t want to risk making himself happier in life, in case it all backfires and he’s miserable.  So he chooses to stay put in his less-than-fulfilling job for the rest of his life.  Oh, the irony.

Let’s not pass this viral message on any longer until we’ve thought about it:

First up, everything you do, every decision is a risk.  So you’re a risk taker.

Second, you’re in business if you’re earning a living.  Whether you’re ‘making it’ or not in your career is for you to decide.

So the idea doesn’t mean all that much anyway.  It just means that you have to make some hard decisions to ‘make it’ in your career.  Yeah we know that.  The thing about risks, is they’re on a scale.  Low risk is still a risk.

And the thing about the majority of successful entrepreneurs and businesses is that they didn’t all take huge risks, despite things appearing that way.  That’s why they succeeded.  They took risks, yes, but they tipped the odds in their favour by researching, measuring, thinking and planning ahead.  It might look like a big risk to the casual observer.

Of course the real big risk takers, many of them failed.  Those who didn’t research ahead, think it all through, measure and act on the data.  You don’t hear so much about them as they tend to keep everything quiet.

Your job is to discover and decide where the risk vs opportunity is relatively low in your career decisions.  Then to do whatever you can to tip the odds even more in your favour.

If you let me drop you by helicopter in the centre of the bush in Australia, you’d be taking a huge risk.  But how could you reduce that risk?  You’d check I could pilot a helicopter first.  Then you’d learn all you can about bush survival.  You’d practice various life saving techniques perhaps and play out various scenarios in your mind to increase your survival.  You’d study a map of the area and take it with you, with enough supplies.

When well prepared, the risk is lower.  The opportunity and potential benefits may seriously outweigh the risks.

So learn, study up front, do your market research and plan contingencies and fallbacks for those big decisions you could make.  And if you don’t have a big decision ahead of you and you value the short time you have on this planet, go ahead and find one now, quickly.

March 3, 2010

Smarter Learning: The ‘Theory’ Rash

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A lot of people come out in a rash when they hear the word ‘theory’.

Theory is boring isn’t it?  We want the fun, hands on, useful practical stuff.  What you may not consider though is that the practical experience came before the theory (and will come again if we apply it).  The theory, usually, is developed from noticing cause and effect over time.  The theory is the learnable set of rules or observations that we can translate into action and results again.  Well…that’s the theory.

The big problem with theory these days is that it becomes out of date faster than ever.  Often, it no longer applies.  Things change so fast that we’re forever playing on a different playing field.  Or it applies to some people and not others.

So what can we do about it?

1.  Learn to recognise the theory or laws or rules that are timeless first of all.  Even then, be careful.

2.  Stop learning new theory and instead upgrade your learning ability.  Learn how to learn fast.  It’s a learnable skill.  You’ll need it moving ahead.  You’ll be forced to do it sooner or later, so you might as well cash in on it now and build your skill.

3.  Purposefully question everything you learn and ask yourself if it’s up to date and resonates well with you, whilst also being accurate and credible.  A hard one to answer sometimes, but do your best.  Definitely ask yourself these questions.  People can deliver up to date theory now online faster than ever before.  You can learn from someone’s actions that they took just hours or even minutes ago.  We’re all pulling together these days and sharing our own personal experiences.  It’s there if you look for it and connect to the right people.

4.  Remember that there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

5.  Finally, my advice is track down 2 or 3 resources that are trustworthy, useful, enjoyable to learn from and help you keep up to date in your field or work.  They’re your ‘heartbeat’ in your work from now on.

Follow those steps and your ‘rash’ will disappear.

March 1, 2010

Choose Your Rewards and Frustrations

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When you say ‘yes’ to a task or activity, remember you’re simultaneously saying ‘no’ to a whole lot of others.

When you say ‘yes’, make sure you acknowledge what you’re saying ‘no’ to.

Are you saying ‘no’ to something more important?

Are you saying ‘no’ to something that will have a bigger impact on your career or life in the short, medium or long term?

And is now really the very best time to be doing the one you’re saying ‘yes’ to?

Before deciding the long path you’ll head down, think it through.

P.S.  What did you say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to today?  What can you do to put things back on the right track?

February 26, 2010

If You Don’t Like Your Work, Get Out!

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The best advice I ever acted upon.  I can hear these words bounce around my head so clearly.  They were the words of my Grandad who sadly passed away a few days ago.

When I was very unhappy in my career years ago, he repeatedly said this to me.  I eventually acted on his advice.  The problem I had though is I kept ‘getting out’ and landing in to another miserable line of work!

I quickly learned that the common trial and error approach is a poor choice when it’s your career.  It’s way too costly in terms of time, money, energy and your own mental state.  It distorts your worldview too.  It’s typical ‘working harder, not smarter’.

But my Grandad didn’t mean just ‘get out’ did he?  He meant ‘get out and get in to your ideal career’.  I eventually realised that, so I made it my mission to do so.

8 years on and I still love my work.  I keep myself on track.  It’s a great reason for me to get out of bed in the morning.  And I’m proud that I learned how to keep myself happy.  I guess you might be wondering how you can put yourself in a similar position?

Well like Newton said, ‘I stand on the shoulders of giants’, I’ve stood on my Grandad’s shoulders and built on his advice.  Unfortunately he didn’t know this before passing away, but his message and what it meant to me personally inspired me to help others in the same way.  So I have drawn upon all of my learning and experience about thinking, planning, working smarter and decision making and I’ve created an informal step by step process to lead you in to your ideal career.  Not some fluffy pipe dream career, but a realistic career that aligns your strengths, your experience, your talents, passions and pride with a sustainable paying market.

The process I’ve created helps you break the whole decision down into smaller parts, and work through it methodically.  I help you make connections along the way with others who are in the same boat as you and who may help.  I help you generate plenty of relevant ideas that will no doubt surprise and inspire you.  And I help you narrow your ideas down to a short list.  And finally I help you take your top ideas and check thoroughly if there is a sustainable paying market for them.  You can’t always just make money doing what you love.  You need to align what you love doing with the needs and wants of your customers.

My Grandad’s message started this, and I’ve tied it up in to a whole ‘how to’ ecourse which I’ve called ‘The Great Career Escape’ to reflect my Grandad’s original words.  And I’m offering this for free to the first 20 people who convince me that they’re unhappy in their work and are serious about working through a process like this.  It takes time and effort to think and plan, so I’m not offering these places to dabblers.  Your place isn’t guaranteed, you’re going to need to convince me by dropping a short note about yourself.  If you’re serious or know someone who is, I invite you to get in touch.

Details are here: www.thegreatcareersecape.com

P.S.  I just received an email from my sister.  She said that our Grandad gave her the best advice she ever heard in life:

‘Don’t take life too seriously… don’t worry too much.  It’s not worth it.’

Well done Grandad, that’s 2 pearls of wisdom from a wise old man.  Maybe it’s just his Grandchildren thinking the world of him, but perhaps too he’s got a point.

February 24, 2010

Better Learning, Business and a Much Better Career

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Better Business

Businesses do best when they continuously give their ideal customers what they want.  This applies to individuals too (where their customer is their boss or employer).

Better Learning

Learning works best when the learner learns information using their own strengths.  If you read well, you should read.  If you learn best by video, use video.

What if you’re in the business of educating your customers?

You are.  When you market and sell or even communicate, you’re usually educating.  Even more so these days where businesses share all sorts of information online to help educate, inform, inspire or entertain their customers to increase engagement.

So then, you want to give your ideal customers what they want when learning too.  If they want to read, then write for them.  If they want to watch videos, create videos.

The Key Here is Ideal

You’ll see I highlighted ‘ideal’.  You can’t aim to please everyone.  My ideal online customers are readers, for sure.  That’s why I mostly write.  The majority of readers have things in common that match up to my chosen market.  Naturally I’ll lose people who prefer to learn by video.  But I know this and it’s part of the plan – they’re outside my niche.  I won’t concentrate my efforts, time and money on them.  I’ve got to focus.  They can find videos elsewhere online, and that’s fine.  The point is, I’m repelling them.
You’ll Be Losing Attention Too

You’ll be doing the same when you communicate online.  You’ll be attracting some people and repelling others, just based on their learning preference!  I’ve just finally given up using an instructional based service I used for quite some time.  Why?  Because they only put their manuals up as videos.  I speed read and learn information about 10 times faster when reading than I do through audio or video.  They’ve lost me as it’s too time consuming for me to use them.  That cost outweighs the monetary cost.  If they wanted to attract video based learners as their customers, then they’ve done the right thing.  If they haven’t thought about it, they’ve done the wrong thing.

How do your ideal customers (or boss) learn best?  Are you delivering to them appropriately so that you hang on to them?  Are you attracting the right customers and right attention?  Are you getting the balance at least right?


My New Service that Appeals to All Learning Styles – The Great Career Escape

Finally, whilst most of my work is written (or in person), my new service The Great Career Escape will meet all learning needs.  It’s in written format, and will soon be in video and audio (for iPod/mp3 listening) too.  I don’t want to lose anyone based on their learning preferences.  I want to help as many people as I possibly can find and get in to their ideal careers, no matter how they learn.

With everyone well aligned to their work, everyone will surprise themselves by the impact they have on others, and the impact on their own life.

As well as helping you find and get in to your ideal career, The Great Career Escape will also help you build a network of people to assist you in your challenge (and make it more social), and you’ll get hold of some excellent mind mapping software which you’ll learn how to use for planning and thinking purposes.  It’s a thorough e-course with loads of useful stuff thrown in.

FREE Access?

The site is practically ready (version 1) and if you are interested and serious about getting out of your career and in to your ideal career, you can get access for free if you’re quick and if you convince me that you’re ideal for it: http://thegreatcareerescape.com

P.S.  There’s just 20 places going free to those who qualify (you have to convince me by dropping me a quick note), so get in quick.

February 19, 2010

How to Fly High in Your Work

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This post is about flying solo in business, but the same ideas apply to you in your career too.

If you’re flying solo in your work or thinking about flying solo do you know clearly what sort of flight you’re going on?  Have you thought about:

  • where you’re flying to?
  • why you’re flying there?
  • what you’re going to do when you’re there?
  • how you’ll make your flight enjoyable?
  • what turbulence is ahead?
  • your flight safety and what to do in an emergency?
  • your fuel efficiency?
  • what sort of plane you’re in?

I offer this as a word of warning.  I meet plenty of people who work for themselves.  Some fly solo to get away from a bad or frustrating situation.  Some fly solo because they feel they have no choice.  Some fly solo because they just fancy it.  Some fly solo because they come into money via other means.  Of the business owners I’ve met like this, many haven’t known clearly where they’re going.  Some haven’t even seemed that bothered about the purpose of their flight.  Many have had a very bumpy flight.  Some have nose dived.

The business owners I meet who are flying high (or even looping the loop or victory rolling) tended to start differently.  They chose a different sort of flight.  They chose an important flight for them personally to make.  They plotted a course to fly to a specific large group of people quickly and help them.  They knew the common enemy of those people, and they flew to save them because they were strongly compelled to and knew they were the person to do so.  They knew they were skilled, strong, proud and passionate to save those people from their enemy.  And they knew the personal rewards it would bring them.  They also made a point of planning their flight thoroughly, looking for turbulence ahead (and knowing that there will be turbulence), doing safety checks and checking their radar and dials regularly.  They’re the business owners I’ve met who are making a difference and winning their battles against the common enemy.  They’re the heroes.

Flying solo is one thing, but choose your type of flight carefully.   You’re not in a stunt team – don’t fly to impress.  Don’t glide either.  Don’t fly to escape, or because you can afford your own airplane.  And don’t plod along on autopilot either.  If you’re going to fly solo, fly to make a real difference to people that you care about because you’re the best person to do so.  Choose a mission and fly as the hero to your chosen niche market, nothing else.

What mission and flight are you really on?  Do you need to land and plot a new course?

February 17, 2010

Business Books I Recommend

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These books have all made a great impact on my work over the last 8 years or so.  Highly recommend them all.

http://www.epi-learning.com/books.html

Any to share with us that have made a great impact on your work?  Post them below in the comments.

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