4 Tips to Make Your New Year's Resolutions Successful

               I have never been a big believer in New Year Resolutions. My thinking is that if you want to change something such as lose weight, work out harder or get rid of a bad habit, then do it when you decide to make the change, rather than waiting, potentially months.

However, it is still a good time to take a look at ourselves and our lives and seek areas to improve. With a new year in front of us, it is a good time to look at the new calendar like a blank page stretching out in front of us. If you are motivated to make some changes, keep some of these tips in mind.

1.           What do you want to accomplish? Think of your own personal goals, not what your boss wants or what co-workers are shooting for. Rather, think of what it is that you are missing or want to get done.

2.          Find the obstacles holding you back. What is keeping you from your own ideas on success? Keep in mind that success does not just mean financial gains, but could, and should, include personal development. Are there talents that you are not using? Skills that you are leaving undeveloped? Once you identify what is holding you back, it will be much easier to overcome that challenge.

3.          Control your priorities. It is easy to lose focus on goals with all the distractions at work or at home. Last minute demands from the boss or urgent client requests can easily shake you from your own priorities. Always make time for yourself, to keep an eye on your path, despite the distractions.

4.          Take small steps. The road to success must include setting realistic goals. If your goal is a big one, break it up into manageable steps with each one bringing you closer to your finish line. For example, if you want to spend more time growing your network, think of two or three people a week to connect with, rather than trying to get through your entire contact list in one month. If your goal is to make better use of your time, set a goal of spending one hour, three times a week, dedicated to that ‘better use’ rather than try for never wasting anymore time.

These four tips can help move your New Year’s goals from the ‘to do’ list, to the ‘done’ list by year’s end.

Combining his law enforcement and corporate security experiences plus a love of martial arts, Eric Smith created Business Karate, LLC. His new book, Workplace Security Essentials, outlines how any business, school, hospital or organization can master the art of self-defense, reduce losses, avoid liability and build a safer workplace. Visit www.businesskarate.com for more. Follow on Twitter @businesskarate

7 Secret Agent Hints to be Victorious at Work

The idea that a super spy and your success at work could be related is probably as foreign as, well, as James Bond's exotic travel and lifestyle. Even so, there are some lessons about what it takes to be successful at work from the fictional secret agent.

You do not have to face death-defying odds or evil villains at your job. You may not even travel to cool international destinations or drive a fast car or have an assortment of secret gadgets. However, there are common keys to success that you can use at work as well.

From Wiki Commons

The James Bond character is known for being well-dressed, always pulling off a defeat of the bad guy from the brink of disaster, saving the world and, of course, winning the heart of the beautiful heroine in the end. You are on your own when it comes to winning the girl, but in the other areas, following these 7 steps will help you build your own professional reputation and create steps to your own success.

1.      Knowledgeable. James Bond always knows some obscure or bizarre trivia or information that helps him impress the boss as well as save the day from the bad guy. Rare orchids to business leaders are just some of the examples of the little facts that come into play in the movies. For your own success, first you have to know your business. Understand the many different aspects internally that affect how the organization works, as well as the market forces outside that drive consumers.

2.     Be professional. Being knowledgeable will take you far, but to cross the finish line ahead of the competition you have to look and act professional. Bond is known for being well dressed. Whether nightlife in a tuxedo or tweed jacket for the English countryside, Bond is the picture of professionalism. Dress to the level you want to reach within your company and act with class. Leave the crude talk and profanity at home, if you must talk that way at all.



3.     Never give up. Throughout the stories, both the books and movies, James Bond never gives up. No matter how bad the situation looks or how dire the circumstances, Bond keeps fighting for himself, for those he cares for and even for the safety of the world. No matter what, he finds a way to keep fighting and a way to win. When things get tough at work, keep moving forward and stay focused on what you need to do to succeed. It is truly a state of mind more than anything else.

From Wiki Commons

 

4.     Flexible and Decisive. Throughout his missions, Bond often stumbles across new tips or leads and even if that means a change to the original plan, he is flexible enough to jump on those new pieces of information and change direction. Do not stay so focused on your original goals that you are unable to change or adapt to new information or circumstances. Once new information comes to light, being flexible allows you to see different alternatives, but to follow through you have to be decisive. Throughout the books and movies, Bond can visualize his objectives and makes up his mind that he will follow through to the end.



From Wiki Commons

5.     Take risks. Danger is the companion of movie secret agents and Bond is no exception. Be willing to take calculated chances and willing to expose yourself to some level of risk in order to succeed. Do not let fear hold you back, but instead picture the success your risks will bring. Remember that failure to do anything is often far more dangerous than taking some action or response to a potentially hazardous business situation.

6.     Use secret gadgets. We live in a high tech world. Do not lose sight that new technology could change how you operate your business or how your customers shop and make buying decisions, even if you do not personally like or use the new devices. Bond always seems to pull out the right gadget at the most appropriate time to save himself and the world from disaster. Use whatever means you need to in order to make the best use of your time, reach your customers or keep ahead of the competition.

From Wiki Commons

7.     Enjoy. There is no doubt that Bond has a certain ‘joie de vivre’. He enjoys life, from selecting the best meal off a dinner menu or choosing the accompanying wine, to the way he drives, the women he dates and even the quirky one-liners that are perfectly scripted for him. At the end of the day, to be truly successful at work, or at anything, you have to enjoy what you are doing. Do not lose sight of the fun factor, no matter what career you find yourself. Even if you are not a super spy, living a top-secret life.

Use these top-secret tips to find your own success and come out ahead on the job, no matter what kind of work you are in. And remember, this message will self-destruct in five seconds…

 

Eric Smith, CPP is the leading authority on organizational self-defense. He has extensive experience in law enforcement as well as security management. Eric is available for staff education and security awareness training as well as business coaching to help organizations provide safe workplaces. To learn more email eric@businesskarate.com.

 

 

If you would like to reprint this post, please contact Eric at eric@businesskarate.com.

Winning IS Everything

 

If you’ve ever played any sports or have kids who play sports, then you’ve heard the saying “winning isn’t everything.”  You’ve probably also noticed that it is usually said by the losing team.

That philosophy is fine when talking about school sports – losing is part of playing and part of learning sportsmanship.

There are times, though, when winning is everything.  Survival is one, whether it is in a literal sense, such as self-defense, or perhaps in a more ‘figurative’ sense, for example, keeping your livelihood alive – helping your business thrive.

There is no magic formula that will guarantee a win, but following these five steps will get you there 90% of the time.

1. Determination – A lackadaisical attitude is a certain path to failure.  Whether dealing with management issues, fighting for self-defense or sports, attitude and mindset will drive the winner forward.  If you are not determined to succeed, you won't.  The Olympics are a great example.  Two top athletes will dedicate their lives to the sport, training hard and striving for that win.  Often only a fraction of a second will separate the top medal contenders and that determination and mindset is one aspect that the athlete can control to make that slight difference his or hers.
2. Preparation – Lack of planning is an obvious way to fail.  However, it is easy to deceive yourself into thinking that you are prepared only to find in reality that the plan was lacking.  I like to think of preparation and planning in terms of cooking.  Planning is the equivalent of having a recipe.  It is the plan that will get you a good dinner.  For that plan to work, though, you need preparation.  You need to go to the store and buy groceries, pre-heat the stove, have the pans and dishes you need for the recipe and so on.  For self-defense, preparation means practicing and training to respond to various attacks.  For the workplace, preparation includes creating the right policies and procedures to deal with the various situations that arise.
3. Execution – The ability to follow through on the planning and preparation is critical to success.  With the dinner example, stopping when half of the ingredients are mixed and walking away will not get a finished dinner on the table.  Lack of execution or inability to put the plan into action is just an ingredient for failure.  This is true for self-defense in several ways.  One way is to put everything into an attack to get a ‘knock-out’ punch.  Another is to keep the attack going until your attacker is stopped and you can escape.  For business leaders, execution comes in the form of making sure that expectations are being met.  If customer service is a key expectation (and it always should be) then a manager needs to be sure that everyone is trained and understands the expectations and performs as expected.
4. Accountability – This is one that can sound strict or mean depending on the how it is used.  Good accountability means that employees will be measured on their success and improve where necessary.  Accountability is the setting of stringent criteria that are necessary to ensure success.  For martial art students, this may mean practicing forms until each piece, the footing, balance, kicks, punches and blocks are all done exactly as required, at which point they may be ready to move to the next belt level.  For businesses, leaders need to keep everyone on track to meet goals and hold individuals responsible to their actions.
5. Act – It is easy to get bogged down by decisions or over-analysis of every detail.  Sometimes, the only element separating winners from losers is the simple fact that winners tried.  Going out and taking some action is more often than not better than doing nothing at all.  In self-defense situations, people tend to freeze if not fully prepared and that failure to respond can mean everything.  Taking some sort of defensive action against an attacker will through them off enough to escape and can mean the difference between life and death.  When it comes to your business, putting an advertisement out there will be more helpful than not, even if you’re not sure the ad is in the right publication or has the best copy write. 

There is one common theme with each of these tips.  You must have an underlying vision or goal that gives you the focus for your determination, guides your preparation, defines your execution, creates your accountability and gives you the motivation to act.  You can win by defining that view and following the steps above.  Winning is everything, but is up to you.

Eric Smith, CPP is the leading authority on organizational self-defense.  He has extensive experience in law enforcement as well as security management.  Eric is available for staff education and security awareness training as well as business coaching to help organizations provide safe workplaces.  To learn more email eric@businesskarate.com.