Continuous Learning

Actually, everything you are exposed to every day has educational value. Every conversation that you have with peers, coworkers, friends, colleagues, customers, and even strangers offers you an opportunity for you to learn and to compare what you learn to what you know. As for strangers, every encounter you have with a stranger has potential unless the stranger is just not approachable or just undesirable.

One mistake that we must avoid is that we have learned enough up to this point to get us through the next year, next month, next week, or even next hour. We always need to grow and learn. With each passing year, it becomes clear that I really don’t know as much as I thought I did. I am amazed how much I can learn from younger people.

School-aged people are still in a maximum learning mode and they grasp things quickly. We adults often make the mistake that kids are not grasping what we want them to. Sometimes, they are grasping the right things even before we comprehend what the right thing is. Be careful of that. There is a fine line between looking out for and instructing younger people versus imposing the wrong information on them simply because we are out of date.

Here is a real example. Many years ago (over 25 actually) a young relative of mine asked me for advice on basketball shoes. He was in the eighth grade and trying out for the basketball team. Of course, I advised him that the only shoe to wear for basketball was the Converse All-Star. After all, 15 years earlier, we all wore those.

So, we went out and got him some to wear to the first day of tryouts. Guess what, he was the only one wearing such a shoe. Everyone else must have gotten advice from a more up-to-date adviser because they were all wearing the more modern, leather Nike and Rebok shoes. Time had passed me by quickly in the basketball shoe department. I should have asked advice from someone more current in this field.

Your Education

This is both a formal and informal process. Our founding fathers had the foresight to make some formal education mandatory. That contributes to a civilized society. You need much more than that.

You need as much formal education as you can stand plus a regular personal program of learning and growing. Read in your fields of interest every day. Read at least one-half hour per day in your job field. You will be far ahead of your peers after a short time with all that you will gain from your reading. You will be absorbing ideas and concepts that will lead to further personal success.

Be very selective in your reading choices because your investment of reading time must be used wisely. Find some regular authors whose advice makes the most sense. Ask other successful people what they read. Again, some of my favorite authors are Brian Tracy, Marcus Buckingham, Don Blanchard, and Jim Collins. They all have a unique perspective on personal business success. They are all very inspirational. Give them a try.

Getting better at what you do ...

The goal of everything in this blog is to improve yourself, improve the self that others see and interact with because that will improve your opportunities. Don’t default to thinking that the language, dress, culture, and moral codes portrayed constantly on TV are OK. You are capable of better. You are capable of setting your own standards without the help of TV.

Go ahead and be entertained by TV. Go ahead and learn what is happening by watching the news. But please go ahead and make your own decisions. Seek out your role models carefully. Some good role models could actually appear in today’s TV programming but be careful not to default to TV as the only place where you will look for role models.

Always strive to be your best self by controlling the things that you can control. Language, dress, attitude, and behavior are all things that you can work on and improve. Turn to the experts for help. Their advice is always worth the effort to listen to or read.

Make the most of opportunities

The act of speaking to a client, prospect, or any other business contact on the phone is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to portray your best self. You have the chance to connect to your caller or call receiver by being polite, clear, and professional. It is always a good idea to make a good impression. This is true not only for individuals who can buy from you but also for every person you contact.

Through making the best impression possible, you will gain respect for yourself and for your message. Speak clearly and allow the other person a chance to speak and react to your message. This will enable clarity in your telephone communication and that is essential.

Your phone skills should be an extension of your own speaking skills. Come on guys, don’t use those sloppy double negatives. It is easy to do and it becomes a habit. It is also very unbecoming. Something simple like saying “pardon me” versus “huh” is another attempt to improve yourself. You only want to make a good impression after all.

Phone and Voice Mail Skills

What about your phone and voice mail skills? These are very important components of your communication functionality and you need to be good at them. Again, turn to the advice of Shawna to get some training on how to make the very best use of the telephone and voice mail system. She has written a book titled “How to Nail Voice Mail,” and I suggest that everyone using a phone and voice mail reads it. Leaving an upbeat and interesting message is refreshing and inviting according to Shawna. The messages that you leave on your end are just as important as the messages that you leave when you get someone else’s voice mail system.

Use these tools to portray the best self image that you can by being polite, enthusiastic, and professional. The message that you record on your voice mail is a direct reflection of you. If greeting customers and prospects warmly on the phone is your standard, make it so on voice mail too.

If receiving phone calls in your business is something very positive, then treat these voice mail messages as opportunities. If someone has taken the time to call you to inquire about doing business, make them feel comfortable with your message.

Shawna Schuh suggests that you make the caller feel welcome and interested in talking to you when you get the chance to call them back. You might also consider streamlining your message to exclude some of the common commands like leave your name and number. It is important to convey to your caller that you are grateful for their call and you want to insure them that you will be calling back.

Communication is Essential

How good and how developed are your communication skills? Do you feel comfortable talking to anyone at any time? Your ability to connect with others will be critical to your success. Miscommunication is a great obstacle to achievement. Non-communication is just about a complete roadblock.

Are you annoyed by service counter workers who make little attempt to communicate with you other than to take your order and money? Are you annoyed by service agents who take no interest in you? No eye contact and no interest is always disappointing. Is that how you communicate with others.

So much is missed in life because of a lack of an effort to communicate. Both language and body language are critical to your happiness. A bit of effort with everyone you make contact with will only help you.

There is a golden rule of communications that reads something like communicate with others in a clear and polite manner as you would like to be communicated with. If you feel good when people communicate with you with interest and respect, won’t they feel the same way when you do too?

There are many hurt feelings and misunderstandings in life that happen just because of miscommunications. Perhaps you said something the wrong way or were misunderstood. Always be aware of how well you are understood.

Speak slowly and clearly. Many social circumstances might put you on edge and nervous. This may be reflected in your speech, but don’t allow that. If you find yourself intimidated by others and thus always trying to word your message in the clearest way possible, you might tend to start and stop sentences in order to improve your message. This only makes your message more unclear. Think through what you want to say and finish your sentences. If, at the end of your sentence, you feel that your message has not been communicated, re-phrase it. Give it a chance though by finishing the sentence.

Dress for Success

Do you dress for success? Is your wardrobe complete with the clothing and accessory items that you need to look professional? Is it at least proper for your current position and adequate for the position that you are trying to attain? There are many coaching resources available for wardrobe, fashion, and overall appearance. I would suggest that you be very attentive to successful people and make note of how they look. Try to look appropriately professional all the time.

Don’t take the easy way out and default to what is comfortable or cool. Dress appropriately to the success level that you hope to achieve. Dress to command the kind of respect that you want. If you are striving for increased professionalism, your wardrobe will help.

You can certainly develop your own style as long as it is designed for your own growth and advancement. The best advice that I have learned is from self-help expert, Shauna Schuh. She tells us that the way we look is a gift to others, not ourselves. She advises us to use color and dress appropriately in every case. People recognize how you look and you want them to remember you for your outstanding appearance. Again, don’t just default to what others are wearing or what feels comfortable for you. Remember that your clothing is a huge part of your appearance. People will judge you on your appearance whether that is appropriate and correct or not. This is something that you can control. So do so.

Dressing up can be difficult at times because the default can often be to wear what is convenient. How often do we see people in public with sweats or non-matching clothes, or hair or makeup that is out of order? What can one gain from that? Nothing. On the other hand, a little effort to improve your appearance at all times at least has the potential at all times to help you. Fix yourself up the best that you can in order to make a good impression on others and to extend that gift of your best self to others.

Giving It Your Best

When you do find a career track that you can love, even if not with the particular company at the time, put all of your effort into building that career. Build it from the day that you start until the day that it ends. Never coast or wind down, ever. Always work to be the best that you can be at what you are doing in preparation for the next step. Always be ready for a new opportunity by working on yourself all the time. Most of all, NEVER GIVE UP.

Look for seminars and courses at local community colleges that might enhance your career track. Get training in not only what you do but in the peripheral jobs to yours. In other words, if you are involved in a production job and your department is closely involved with billing and other accounting practices, take an Accounting course. If marketing is part of your job but you were not formally schooled in it in college, take a marketing course. The appreciation of the other functions of your company will only enhance your value to the company and improve your career. Many times, companies will pay for advanced education courses as they relate to the job. You will certainly gain the recognition of your managers if they become aware that you are working on skills that will help you on the job.

Going deeper, work on skills that make you a better you. How do you speak? How broad is your vocabulary? Do you have adequate computer skills that enable you to fully participate in the cyber explosion that is taking place today? There is no good excuse for most people not to have the basic skills they need to use communication tools like e-mail very effectively. Furthermore, a command of the internet and all that it offers is essential for most professions today. It is easy to get the training you need to pave the way for career improvements as it relates to that thing known as your computer.

If you think that computer skills are important today, they are, and they will be even more important tomorrow. Even if the standard personal computer is not the exact device that you will be using in the future, something like it will be. The skills you learn today and tomorrow will lead to the skills that you need the day after. If you are not proficient on the skills and understanding that is needed to effectively use your computer today, you will only be left further behind as digital communication and digital work continue to develop.