Ackces.com.......Pomoting Positive Team Spirit

“Management means helping people to get the best out of themselves, not organising things” Lauren Appley.

5 ways to Inspire & Improve Team Performance

All great minds think alike, and so do great managers when it comes to managing their teams and employees. A Team is a collection of individuals. Make sure you know what makes each individual tick. Make a note of important dates, birthdays and similar; showing that you care makes a massive difference but be sincere.

Team Building creates effective teams, which means

• Improved team motivation
• Increased productivity
• Improved harmony & job satisfaction
• Greater staff retention

1. Motivation: find out what makes your employees tick, and then once that’s done, use it to boost their motivation level in a way that will encourage them to use their strengths for the task at hand. This is a key element when working as part of a team. Understanding and encouragement will enable a group of people to feel stable and will ensure good performance. Motivation can take form in recognition i.e. individuals should be praised and recognised for meeting targets. Praise will encourage those who are doing well to continue and others to aspire.

2. Goal Setting: It’s not only important for you as their manager or leader to know the company vision or project vision. It’s important to communicate this from the onset and to constantly direct that towards the goal. Make them feel like they are part of the business and not merely hired hands. Provide weekly/monthly feed back to ensure targets are me.

A team exists when members have responsibility for accomplishing a common goal. An effective team is aware of and manages:

The extent to which goals are clear understood and communicated to all members
The amount of ownership of team goals
The extent to which goals are defined, quantified and deliverable
The extent to which goals are shared or congruent
The extent of goal conflict or divergence

3. Praise: It is in people’s nature to want to be appreciated, show your appreciation from anything as simple as a verbal acknowledgement to a bonus in pay. Company organised incentives are one thing but saying “thanks” for a job well done can really provide a buzz in individuals and teams. Use names and praise. For Example the team bonus: this means that to enhance team working member could decide how they spend the reward i.e. split the money equally or use the money towards a team weekend vacation etc. This can also help to levitate stress and promotes healthy competition between individual teams.

4. Feedback: It is a positive aspect to keep the team updated with team performance, activities chances etc. The more people know the more they can work together to improve and meet targets. Provide constructive criticism as necessary but be sure to throw in some great praise in between for the good points and the potential you see your employees reaching.

5. Management: have an open door policy in general; make yourself a resource and not just a manager of human resources. Become a model of that performance from which you want your employees and team to achieve. In recent years "benchmarking" has come to mean examining someone's successful work procedures, with a view to learning the process, copying its best features, and using it as a standard against which to measure progress.
Many organizations follow the practice internally. Benchmarking has helped many companies to improve safety through examining the practices of other companies with excellent safety records. But we also discovered that you can do a whole lot, just by observing a successful department, team leader or supervisor within your own organization. We learned that to achieve results from benchmarking, you have to do your homework, know what you want to achieve, and be prepared to give your mentor something in return.

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Ackces.com........The Wow Factor.......

Creating Your Unique Personal Brand

Love it or loath it, most entrepreneurs know that “self-branding” is important if you want you (and your company) to get noticed.

Image is important. Whether you want to the next Donald Trump or have the aura and wealth of Oprah Winfrey, or even the all powerful Alan Sugar and Simon Cowell.

All these successful businesspeople know that their image commands respect,. They are what they say and they say what they are. They dress for success. And although behind the scene many have their carefully hired publicist, stylist, trainer, nutritionist and even spin doctor -they all have one thing in common. They have the wow factor!

So what about you? What happens when you enter a room? Are you forgettable or do you own that room? Do others stand up and take notice of you?

We all have a signature style - something that sets us apart from those around us; and if we don’t it is important that we cultivate one for ourselves.

So it is important that you create a strong brand in the way you move, speak, dress and present yourself.

When dressing for your body type, think in terms of a silhouette. You don’t want your signature style to showcase a part of your body you dislike. Instead, aim to camouflage your trouble areas while playing up your best features.

So how exactly can you brand yourself?

1. Identify your unique selling point (USP). This is simply what makes you unique. Remember that you are an original – there is no one else quite like you. What do you stand for? What are your philosophies? Try to sum up are your key strengths and talents in a few key words or phrases.
2. Develop a personal brand statement that tells the world who you are and what you do. Since your brand statement is the essence of you, incorporate it into all of your printed material. Make it a part of your introduction at networking and other functions. Communicate your brand statement in the way you conduct business and in your personal image.
3. Watch your appearance: If the visual image you are projecting is not a direct reflection of your personal brand statement, you are doing yourself and others a disservice. Consider your personal image as the packaging of your personal brand.
4. Check your brand behaviour: Packaging your brand includes not only your appearance but your conduct. Do you return phone calls and emails promptly? Do you deliver on your promises? Although it may seem obvious, being forgetful and stretching yourself so thin that you don’t deliver on what you promises can negatively affect the integrity of your personal brand.
5. Evaluate your brand regularly. Make an appointment with yourself twice a year to re-evaluate your personal brand statement. If your unique values and key attributes have undergone changes (we are continually growing and evolving and there are times when that growth is so great it alters our personal brand) compare those changes with your personal brand statement and adjust as needed.
8. Invest in your brand: Many people will make the excuse that they don’t have enough money, or time, to invest in themselves (or their brands). No brand is successful without making an investment. Whether that’s your appearance or your filing system - if it needs attention, find a way.

Now take a good look at yourself. Would you buy into you? What do you think would give you an edge and set you apart from your competitors?

The mirror should be your best friend. If you cannot confront yourself then you are spending too much time fooling yourself. If you were in a room with a handful of people and you had to choose one to run your company and make it a success - would you choose yourself? Could you be the face of the next billion dollar brand?

If it is yes: you are on your way to becoming a star.

If however you answer no: research…redefine...restyle…repackage…rebrand and then sell! Sell! Sell! And sell!

We hope to hear your success story soon on Ackces.com

Ackces.com......The Eleven Rules of an Entrepreneur

You live and die by the standards you create for yourself in life

"The chess-board is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the universe, the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature. The player on the other side is hidden from us."

What is a successful entrepreneur?
1. Determined: I will succeed no matter what because I always stick to my goals until they are achieved. (Tip: Determination means never taking 'no' for an answer and never ever saying you'll give up.)

2. Resilient: I can bounce back and start again no matter what obstacle, pain, disappointment and emotional misfortune I might encounter. (Tip: To overcome defeat, remember where you started and how far it took you to reach where you are now. Remember the mistakes you made in the past and how much wiser you are today.)

3. Focussed: I will let nothing and no-one stand in my way and will summon all my energy and channel it into achieving my goals. I will never lose track of what it is I am aiming for in life. (Tip: Always keep a monthly diary and evaluate what you have achieved and how far you have come on a monthly basis.)

4. Driven: I will consistently push myself to my limits to achieve my dreams. (Tip: Nothing in life is free and nothing comes easy. It is through pain that we realise our limits and by knowing this, we can only get stronger.)

5. Courageous: I know how to take risks because I fear no one. (Tip: Evaluate each risk by assessing the possible gains and losses. Develop a strategy and determine the stake you will win and how high you have to climb before you reap the rewards. Remember with every risk you take, you must ask yourself this: Is it worth it and what are the consequences I may have to face?)

6. Persistent: I will always keep going even when the going gets tough. (Tip: If the tough keeps getting tougher and it seems as if you are not going very far very fast, redefine your strategy and plan and look at alternative routes towards your end goal.)

7. Charismatic: I have the ability to charm anything and anyone. (Tip: You must create a strong reputation for yourself. Reputation is everything. Guard it with everything you have in you and more.)

8. Strong: I WILL ALWAYS find the survival instinct within MYSELF to keep going even when my will feels feeble and my body has failed me. (Tip: Remember your strength is locked within your mindset and by believing you are a champion you will become a champion. Never assume the role of a victim; always maintain control, by appearing strong and powerful. People treat you according to how you act. If you act like a victim you will be treated like one.)

9. Achievement-driven: I will make sure that every step I make leads to reward, recognition and achievement of all my goals. (Tip: This can often be something as simple as congratulating yourself for a job well done.)

10. Full of self-belief: I believe in the impossible because I will never give up until the impossible is achieved. (Tip: Remember that there is always a way to achieve what you want if you are absolutely committed to achieving it. Try thinking laterally!)

11. Proud: I will stand tall no matter what the circumstances because I am proud, strong, intelligent, confident and powerful. (Tip: You must put a value on yourself. Like everything in life, you must state your price and stick to it. Create you own unique selling point that will justify your price. Make yourself irreplaceable.)

"Really, the fundamental, ultimate mystery -- the only thing you need to know to understand the deepest metaphysical secrets -- is this: that for every outside there is an inside and for every inside there is an outside, and although they are different, they go together."

Ackces.com.....Your bodies...Your dreams...Your Future...

It's a sort of bloom on a woman. If you have it, you don't need to have anything else; and if you don't have it, it doesn't much matter what else you have.

James Matthew Barrie on charm, in What Every Woman Knows

We’ve spoken before about success, the process of becoming successful. It’s a fact that successful people are those who navigate the highs and lows – the ones who pick themselves up and dust themselves down after every fall… and move on to better things. I’ve been very impressed with all of your comments and personal stories here on Ackces.com, and I want to salute the huge numbers of fighters and survivors we have out there. We’re here to support you in your battle.

Becoming Powerful
Think about some of the most powerful people in the world today.
Power is the ability to influence both people and your surroundings. It’s the ability to act instead of simply reacting to events as they occur; it’s the ability to make a change instead of remaining a helpless spectator. Power is what can make some people respect you and others fear you and it's what can help you get what you want.

What about the power that we all hold in our bodies, our eyes, and our lips? How can we cultivate it?

Becoming Charismatic
Charisma is a certain quality, observable in many successful people. One person sets himself apart from others, and is admires for his power or successful qualities. It’s a physical and emotional power.

Become magnanimous
Those with presence and charisma draw a following because of their ability to say things in a way that’s appealing. Their strength lies in the ability to convey messages in a most convincing manner that charms those around them. Charisma is a quality that can enable you to accomplish almost everything you could ever want faster than you can imagine. It is a quality that highly successful people have developed and use to their advantage in everything they do.

Your charisma is really a measure of the power of your personality and is largely based on perception. It is based on what people think about you. It is not so much reality as it is what people perceive you to be.

Men and women with charisma and personal magnetism almost invariably have a clear vision of who they are, of where they’re going and what they’re trying to achieve. They are totally focused on accomplishing some great purpose. They are decisive about every aspect of their lives. They know exactly what they want and what they have to do to get it. They plan their work and work their plan. People are naturally attracted to those people who exude a sense of self-confidence, those who have an unshakable belief in their ability to rise about circumstances to attain their goals.

It’s all about your power to believe in yourself.

You live at the level at which you speak. The link to your success is you!

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Ackces.com: Rags To Riches...The Power of Positive Thinking.

Could it be that just by wanting something hard enough, you can make it happen?

Could the universe be influenced by the positive and negative “vibes” YOU give off?

Are your perceptions and thoughts shaping the world around you?

Claptrap, you might think. There’s no way that I could end up more attractive, or wealthier, just by visualizing it. Is there? It might surprise you to hear that the Law of Attraction - the belief that positive thinking attracts health, wealth and happiness - has huge numbers of ardent followers, who spend time every day visualizing achieving their goals... and then go right out and do so.

Perhaps there is another explanation.

You and I already know that real success is not always about being able to achieve your goals, and more to do with rising up after every fall and not losing faith that you can get there in the end. It’s about seeing yourself as you would like others to. It’s about believing in yourself, against all the odds. How many times have you proven someone else wrong about yourself? I sure have, and I still have to do so, every single day.

So who are you? Are you a survivor - or have you given up hope? Are you still fighting?

Millionaires can be reduced to beggars in a matter of seconds; likewise a beggar can rise from the gutter to take on the world and make his fortune. Don’t be fooled by his shabby clothes - if he has vision and self-belief, he’s halfway there already. Your mind is probably the most powerful tool you have in your possession, and it’s what you put it to that defines who you can be in life. There are so few insurmountable obstacles in your path, once you begin thinking positively about what you can - and will - do.

Take a few minutes every day to visualise your success. In your mind’s eye, touch it - feel it - even smell it. That’s right. See yourself at the helm of your own company, in the front seat of that Aston Martin, sunning yourself on that yacht. Whatever it takes -if you visualize where you want to be, you’ll be ready for it when it happens to you. Don’t hinder yourself with self-doubt; instead know in your heart of hearts you can achieve anything... and you will.

Ackces is the place to connect with the fastest rising young entrepreneurs and creatives.
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