"14 Lessons From Benjamin Franklin About Getting What You Want In Life"

Benjamin Franklin was a man of action. Over his lifetime, his curiosity and passion fueled a diverse range of interests. He was a writer (often using a pseudonym), publisher, diplomat, inventor and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

Here are 14 action-inducing lessons from him: 

• Less Talk, More Action 
  
  
  “Well done is better than well said.”
  Talk is cheap. Talking about a project won't get it completed. We all know people who constantly talk about the things they are going to do but rarely ever take that first step. Eventually people begin to question their credibility. Taking action and seeing the task through to completion is the only way to get the job done.

• Don’t Procrastinate 
  
  
  “Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.”
  This is probably one of the first quotes I remember hearing as a teenager. With an impressive list of achievements to his credit, Benjamin Franklin was not a man hung up on procrastination. He was a man with clear measurable goals who worked hard to turn his vision into reality. What are you putting off till tomorrow that could make a difference in your life today?

• Be Prepared 
  
  
  “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
  You need a plan to accomplish your goals. Charging in without giving any thought to the end result and how to achieve it, is a sure way to fall flat on your face. Think like a boy scout. Have a realistic plan of attack and a systematic approach for getting where you need to be.

• Don’t Fight Change 
  
  
  “When you're finished changing, you're finished.”
  Whilst many of us don’t like change, others thrive on it. Either way change is inevitable. The stronger we fight against it, the more time and energy it consumes. Give up the fight. Focus on proactively making positive changes, instead of having change merely thrust upon you. Wherever possible, try to view change as a positive instead of a negative.

• Get Moving 
  
  
  “All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.”
  There’s a reason we use the expression, movers and shakers. Movers are the ones who take action, the people who get things done, while the immovable are sitting around scratching their heads wondering how others could possibly be so successful. Which group do you want to belong to?

• Avoid Busywork 
  
  
  “Never confuse motion with action.”
  We are always running around doing things. We rush from one meeting or event to the next, sometimes without achieving a great deal. At the end of the day, how much of our busywork are we proud of? How much of that running around improves anyone’s life (including ours) for the better? Make your motion mean something.

• Give Yourself Permission to Make Mistakes 
  
  
  “Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.”
  If we fear making mistakes, we become scared to try new things. Fear leaves us nestled in our comfort zone. Staying in your comfort zone rarely leads to greatness. Taking risks and giving yourself permission to make mistakes, will ultimately lead you to whatever your version of success may be.

• Act Quickly on Opportunities 
  
  
  “To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.”
  Opportunities are everywhere. The trick is being quick enough and smart enough to seize them when they arise. Instead of jumping to the conclusion that something won’t work or can’t be done, allow yourself the freedom to ask what if?

• Continue to Grow 
  
  
  “Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.”
  We all have vices of some description. The key is to keep them under control or preferably eradicate them entirely. Be kind to those around you, whether they are neighbors, family, co-workers or friends. Never accept that you have finished growing as a person.

• Keep Going 
  
  
  “Diligence is the mother of good luck.”
  Have you ever looked at a successful entrepreneur or business person and thought how lucky they are? Most of the time, luck has nothing to do with it. Hard work and sacrifice on the other hand have everything to do with it. Successful people deal with failure. They tackle their demons head on. They pick themselves up and keep going.

• Know Yourself 
  
  
  “There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one's self.”
  Understanding ourselves is not easy. Sometimes we just don’t want to see ourselves for who we really are. It’s much easier to hold onto a romanticized version of ourselves or to simply view ourselves through other people’s eyes. Start by being brutally honest with yourself. Follow through with understanding, compassion and acceptance.

• Don’t Self-Sabotage 
  
  
  “Who had deceived thee so often as thyself?”
  We spend so much time worrying about other people hurting us, yet fail to comprehend the damage we inflict on ourselves. If you are using negative self-talk, lying to yourself or indulging in addictive behavior you are self-sabotaging. Life can dish up enough challenges without us adding to the mix. Be kind to yourself. Treat yourself like you would a best friend.

• Don’t Give Up 
  
  
  “Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
  Achieving our goals can be downright exhausting. There will be days when you want to give up. There will be times when your energy levels flatline and you wonder why you bother getting out of bed. Yet you push forward, day after day because you believe in yourself and you have the determination and strength to back up that belief.

• Wise Up 
  
  
  “Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.”
  Benjamin was definitely onto something with this one. Who hasn’t had the thought - I wish I could know then, what I know now? Unfortunately there is no time machine; there is no going back. The key is to wise up as early as you can to start forging a life of purpose, achievement and happiness.

Read more: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DumbLittleMan/~3/DWbgFnI_6wc/14-action-inducing-lessons-from.html#ixzz1tVCYCwrC

"Why Bossy Is Better for Rookie Managers"

Nobody likes to be bossed around. Numerous studies, including my own, have shown that a collaborative management style is usually best.

But there’s an important exception. New leaders who are perceived as having low status—because of their age, education, experience, or other factors—face different rules. They get better ratings and results from their teams when they take charge, set the course, and tell subordinates what to do. For those bosses, it pays to be bossy.

This conclusion is based on two experiments. In the first, 68 current and former business school students watched video clips of people portraying team leaders and rated their effectiveness on a scale from one to seven. An inexperienced leader who was just 32 years old and had graduated from a second-tier school got an average rating of 4.25 when he told team members what to do, compared with only 3.55 when he solicited their opinions.

In the second experiment, 216 people, most of them undergraduates, were placed on four-person teams working on a complex computer-based task and were instructed to solve problems with the fewest possible clicks of the mouse. Team leaders played either high- or low-status roles and used either directive or participative styles. Low-status leaders who took a directive approach received higher ratings from their teams in terms of both confidence and effectiveness (their scores on these measures averaged 4.76 and 4.52, respectively) than low-status leaders who took a participative approach (their scores averaged 4.01 and 4.19). And teams with low-status directive leaders performed better (108 clicks to solve a problem) than those with low-status participative leaders (126 clicks).

If these results seem counterintuitive, imagine this: You’re on an experienced team that gets an unfamiliar leader. You look for clues about his status—How old is he? How does he dress? Where did he train?—and form an assessment accordingly. If he seems to be a lightweight, you’ll probably resist his attempts to influence you. And if he asks for your input, chances are even greater that you’ll view him as lacking in competence. But if he’s directive and assertive, you’ll take that as confidence, and you’ll come to see him as more able than you first thought. His perceived capabilities will rise.

It should come as no surprise that the leaders who were viewed as the most confident and effective—and whose teams performed the best—were the high-status participative leaders. That finding is in line with everything we’ve heard for decades about collaborative management. As long as a leader is viewed as experienced and knowledgeable, team members prefer and perform better under a participative style. High-status leaders who give orders are viewed as less confident and less effective, and the performance of their teams suffers.

New managers should gauge team members’ perceptions. If you sense that you’re viewed as experienced and competent, it’s best to give subordinates a say. But if you sense that you’re seen as a low-status boss, you’re better off setting the agenda, establishing a clear direction, and putting people to work on what you think needs to be done. Only after your status has risen should you introduce a more collaborative style.

"Email Tips: 5 Ways to Get Action"

Does your email get action--or get ignored? Here's how to craft a message that's relevant, timely, and easy-to-digest.

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1. Make the subject line relevant to the recipient.Even if you're emailing somebody who generally reads your emails (like your assistant), the subject line "pre-frames" the email so that the decision-maker sorts it into the "something worth paying attention to" bucket or the "nice to know but not important" bucket. (Even worse: the "Why did this idiot send me this?" bucket.)Email is now the medium of choice for most business decisions. Unfortunately, most people have only the vaguest idea of how to write an email that actually persuades somebody to make a favorable decision. Here are the five key rules:

2. Frame the problem/solution with timeliness. Every decision is a solution to a problem, and some problems are automatically more important than others. To give your problem (and solution) priority, communicate it within the context of what's likely to be on the decision-maker's mind.

Has your firm just lost a big customer? Build your message around preventing further defections. A competitor just launched winning product? Build it around leapfrogging the competition.

3. Communicate in language the decision-maker values. Decision-makers inevitably see any idea from their own perspective and experience. Because of this, your problem/solution is more likely to be accepted if it's expressed in terms that address the practical business concerns of the individual decision-maker.

For example: If you're talking to a CIO, you emphasize the technical bells and whistles. If you're talking to a CFO, you emphasize cost control.

4. Reduce or eliminate downside risks. Even the boldest decision-makers want their bottoms covered, so anticipate possible problems and objections--and be ready with a response. Think through possible weaknesses or objections and answer the most important of those objections in the email itself. This creates momentum that allows you to move to the all-important close (which comes next).

5. Ask for the next step. If you've done all of the above, it's time to clinch the deal. Ask a final question or request that propels the decision forward.

Need an example? No problem.

First, here's the wrong way to do it:

To: Fred CEO

From: Joe HR

Subject: Fitness and Productivity [1]

Fred:

I recently read the national "Fitness & Productivity Report" based on a survey that our company, and many others, participated in, and it included lots of interesting information. Many companies cited work group physical fitness as extremely important, but very few said their employees actually demonstrate this! In fact, they identify physical fitness as an undervalued competitive asset, but they didn't have a plan for improvement in this area.[2] I agree with the report's point that physical fitness is strongly linked to corporate and individual economic and personal success, in short, our success as a nation. [3] I feel that if we do not address the issue of physical fitness as it enhances workplace productivity, we will be left behind. Therefore, I'm thinking that we should consider converting the secondary conference room (which as you know is seldom used) into a gym. [4] Your leadership on this issue would be much appreciated.[5]

The problems:

[1] Irrelevant. Unless the decision-maker is a fitness buff, he'll probably just hit the delete key.

[2] Meaningless. The decision-maker has no idea why he should care about any of this.

[3] Irrelevant. The decision-maker doesn't care about your opinions. And this is a business memo, not a political stump speech.

[4] Ineffective. Finally, here's the purpose of the email, buried where the decision-maker is unlikely to find it.

[5] Annoying. Just what every CEO needs: another action item. You want a decision, not to upwardly delegate the execution of your solution.

I might also note that the entire email above is presented as sold block of wordy sentences and biz-blab.

By contrast, here's the right way:

To: Fred CEO

From: Joe HR

Subject: How we can easily decrease absenteeism.[1]

Fred:

As you know, sick days are clobbering our productivity. During flu season, for example, we're often so short-handed that we can't answer customer calls! [2] We could hire to backfill, but there's a most cost-effective solution: convert the secondary conference room to an in-house gym. [3]

We recently participated in a national survey entitled "Fitness & Business Productivity Report." The final report, which I have on my desk, points out that:

— Employee physical fitness is an undervalued competitive asset.

— Corporate physical fitness programs can decrease absenteeism by 30%.

According to the report, an in-house gym will encourage employees and help them spend more time at the office. (Google, for example, has in-house gyms.) [4]

I've attached an estimate from a building contractor that we've used in the past. [5] Since employees can use the nearby restrooms to change, the cost is considerably less than hiring a new employee. [6]

Shall I go ahead and submit the contractor's invoice? [7] If not, when can we discuss the idea further? [8]

What this gets right:

[1] Subject is relevant to the decision-maker and appropriate to the sender's job role.

[2] States the problem immediately and leads the decision-maker to "feel the pain" that the idea will cure.

[3] Communicates quickly what's being proposed.

[4] Shows that sender has done his homework and provides a proof point for the idea's validity.

[5] Sender has done the groundwork and minimized risk by going with a known contractor.

[6] Anticipates and answers two likely objections (the lack of changing facilities and the overall cost.)

[7] Moves to close the deal. Note that all that the decision-maker need do at this point is say "OK."

[8] Lays the groundwork for more selling, just in case the decision-maker isn't yet convinced.