Biz Growth Express - April 30, 2007

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IN THIS WEEK’S ‘BIZ GROWTH EXPRESS’

Hi

I hope you are having a great week and welcome to the new members of our ‘Biz Growth’ community.

Thank you to all of you who sent us good wishes for our anniversary. This weekend we had another celebration – Elisha’s school drama group won a drama competition for their play – Hansel and Gretel.

Not to be outdone, her five year old twin sisters both had school concerts this week.

I guess it’s all good practice in building their confidence in being on stage whether speaking in public, a great way to build your brand and grow your business.

You might be thinking ‘yes but how do we get time to build our brand through public speaking?’

Yes the demands on us a business leader are great. For example, if you are anything like me, you probably get over 300 emails in your in box each day.

Well we have two special calls planned to help you overcome email overwhelm. Firstly today the theme of our ‘Biz Growth Live’ call and feature article is how to manage your email before it manages you. I do hope you will be able to join us as our guest expert has some really effective strategies and tips to share with us.

Next week we have a public holiday here in Ireland so our next ‘Biz Growth Live’ call will be on the 14 May 2007 where we will be covering how to delegate and outsource so that we free up more time for family, friends and fun and at the same time grow our business.

Each week we look to provide you with valuable content to build your brand and expand the success of your professional practice.

As you know, our goal is your success, providing you with strategies, inspiration and tips that you can adapt, adopt and apply to grow your business. 

I hope you enjoy this week’s edition of ‘Biz Growth Express’.

And if you have friends and colleagues who you believe would benefit from the strategies and tips we cover in the ‘Biz Growth Live’ calls and our ‘Biz Growth Express’ newsletter, I would be honoured if you forwarded this email to them or alternatively you can invite them to register here.

Your recommendation is how we grow! Here’s to bringing YOUR brand to life!

Thank you for being part of our thriving ‘Biz Growth Community’ and please do share your suggestions for areas you would like us to cover in future editions and that would support your business growth in 2007 or subjects for our weekly ‘Biz Growth Live’ calls.

Best wishes

Krishna

FEATURE ARTICLE: ‘HOW TO MANAGE YOUR EMAIL BEFORE IT MANAGES YOU’

Can you remember the days when you did not have an email account?

I can distinctly – it was 1988 and I had just started a new role with an international FMCG company and my then boss had a computer in his office. I was astounded that he had the ability to connect with colleagues all over the world through that computer.

Roll forward almost 20 years and now almost anywhere in the world we can find a computer to connect us to our colleagues.

In fact today with PDA’s, mobile phones and wireless connections, we seem to be connected 24/7.

It is estimated that over 40 per cent of employees are spending over 40 per cent of their time each day on email. And this is at a time where we are asking our people to get more connected and engaged with customers and clients and spend more time innovating and being creative.

We are almost all looking to reduce email volume, but despite good intentions most of us rarely end the day with an empty inbox for email.

Here are seven actions you can take today to reduce email overload:

  1. Send fewer emails – yes this is an obvious one, but if you send fewer emails, you will probably receive less email. Particularly in corporate environments, many people are copied on email when there is no need to clog their email inboxes. Set the standard in your office in only sending an email to the people who need to see it. Check that the email you send is timely, topical and targeted.
  2. Provide guidance – while there is a proliferation of email, we also want to remain polite. You can reduce the number of emails that are sent as a reply to your email by advising the recipient if you do not need a reply.
  3. Strengthen the subject line – be explicit in the title of your email so that people understand the urgency and content of your email. This will add clarity and context to your email.
  4. Keep it simple – wherever possible keep your email succinct and with just one message. Increasingly we scan email so the more you can keep the email body succinct so it is quick and easy for the recipient to read, understand and action.
  5. Think before your send – all too often emails go back and forward between people when it would have been easier to pick up the phone and talk. Remember that most of us are not trained in typing yet we can speak at the speed of sound. Could you reduce the number of emails back and forth by talking rather than writing?
  6. Turn email off – yes I know that may sound drastic, but many of us constantly check email all day – in fact as soon as we see a new email arrive. Could you check your email instead just once or twice a day so you are able to stay focused on your other activities during the day?
  7. If you did not send it delete it – a previous CEO I worked with had a mantra about business documents – that if he did not create it he would bin it. He expected the originator of the document to hold the original document. How many times are you holding onto emails “just in case you need it in the future”? If you are not the originator and you have taken the action required, make sure that your correspondence is filed as required and then delete the emails that are not required.

Email is a terrific tool to enhance business communication and the speed of sending information to colleagues across the globe. Using these seven tips could help you reduce email overload so that you no longer feel that your email inbox is running your life.

THIS WEEK’S ‘BIZ GROWTH’ ACTION STEP

The next time you look at your email inbox, consider could you provide more guidance to your team where they are keeping you copied in on email that you do not need to see.

Think about your email habits and explore ways that you could reduce the amount of time you spend writing and replying to email.

PERSONAL BRANDING TIP OF THE WEEK – ‘HOW INSPIRING IS YOUR BRAND?’

As we consider out personal brand and how it is perceived by others, particularly as we look to move forward in our career or attract a great client or project, those opportunities are often afforded not to just the people who have the right technical skills and abilities.

Perhaps you have noticed how some people you meet leave you inspired and energised after meeting them. In fact you want to spend more time with them, you find the time you spend together flies by and you look forward to your next meeting.

Yet others you meet leave you drained of energy and enthusiasm, and the thought of your next meeting with them leaves you cold.

You see it is not who you know and what you know, but also how you make someone feel that could make a difference between outrageous success and mediocre results.

THIS WEEK’S PERSONAL BRAND ACTION STEPS

  1. Consider who you met last week that left you inspired and energised – what specifically did they say or how did they behave that resulted in this impact.
  2. Review who you met last week that left you drained of energy and demotivated – what did they do and how did they behave that resulted in you feeling this way.
  3. Prepare for your meetings this week taking into account what you learnt from points 1 and 2. Consider what you know about the people you are meeting and the agenda you will be covering. If the conversation is about poor performance, what can you do and say in the meeting to encourage and inspire the individual to perform better next time. If the meeting is with a potential client, how can you prepare for the meeting so they feel inspired to hire you.

If you want to nurture your personal brand but are looking for expert guidance, make sure that you register today for details of our forthcoming personal branding programme for business leaders which will be starting in June. Just send an email to solutions(at)neoceangroup.com.

BIZ GROWTH TELECONFERENCE – 30 APRIL 2007
SUBJECT : ‘HOW TO MANAGE YOUR EMAIL BEFORE IT MANAGES YOU’

Guest Expert: VICKI HALSEY
 
Did you realise that many of us spend over 40 per cent of the working day on e-mail with at least a third of that time on non productive unprofitable email according to a survey by Cohesive Knowledge Solutions.

Would you like to know how to manage your email most effectively, reduce the number of emails that you receive and discover how to clear out an overflowing email box?

Then join me this week on ‘Biz Growth Live’ where I will be in conversation with Vicki Halsey, co-author of ‘the Hamster Revolution – how to manage your email before it manages you’.

I promise you this is a call not to be missed as Vicki has some tremendous ideas that we can put into action straight away.

NEXT ‘BIZ GROWTH LIVE’ TELECONFERENCE – 14 MAY 2007
SUBJECT : ‘DELEGATE AND OUTSOURCE TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS’

Guest Expert: Erin Blaskie

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to have more free time for family, friends and fun?

But are you concerned that if you employed more people in your team it would be a huge impact to your fixed overheads?

Or perhaps you are note how delegate more areas of responsibility to members of your team?

Well delegation and outsourcing strategies to grow your business is the subject of our next ‘Biz Growth Live’ where I will be in conversation with Erin Blaskie, Virtual Assistant.

Erin has worked with many business coaches taking on accountabilities so that they can focus on client centred work while Erin manages the administration for their growing businesses.

If you have questions about how to more effectively outsource and delegate areas of administration in your practice, you can post your questions before the call here.

BRANDING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PODCASTS

As you know, here at Oneocean, we are all about building brands, from your corporate brand to attract great clients, to your employer brand to attract and retain great talent, to your personal leadership brand to build your personal reputation as an expert in your field and expand your success.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT PODCAST: Our recent podcast at TodaysWomeninBusiness.com is all about enhancing organisational performance through employee engagement. It is full of great content so be sure to get ready to take notes.

You can post your comments and questions against each of the podcasts, so I look forward to hearing from you with your thoughts, ideas and what works for you.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to leave comments at our media centre, you can call +1 214 615 6505 ext 6842.

BRAND BUILDING AND MARKETING LIVE EVENTS AND WORKSHOPS

There are a number of terrific events that are coming up in the next month I am speaking at and that I think you will find them of immense value.

WRITE YOUR BOOK IN 45 DAYS – STARTING 25 APRIL 2007

If after attending the recent series of ‘Biz Growth Live’ interviews about writing , marketing and publishing your business book, you find you still need some additional support and accountability to get your book written, then why not join my good friend Andy Wibbels for his forthcoming Write your book in 45 days.

Register for the programme today.

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR TRAINING – 3 MAY 2007

If you already have your book published but are wondering how to attract more sales from the comfort of your own home, have you considered a virtual book tour? We have helped many authors now sell more books with this strategy and now you can learn how to manage your own virtual book tour.

This is a content rich 90 minute seminar.

*** Use the VIP code VBT3964 to save US$79 on the tuition***

TALENT MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE DUBLIN – 2 MAY 2007

If you are looking t attract and retain great talent, you will not want to miss the forthcoming Talent Management Conference brought to you by the Irish Times. I will be speaking about using traditional and new media solutions to build your employer brand. Places are booking up fast so be sure to book this week if you want to attend.

NO-COST WELLNESS AND HEALTH TELESEMINARS – 2 MAY 2007

Growing a successful professional services practice can mean that we do not always find to look after our health and wellness. Some of the world’s top experts have come together to offer no-cost teleseminars – the next one takes place on the 2 May 2007.
You can register to attend here:

Wishing you continued success, so until next week.

Best wishes,

Krishna De
Bringing YOUR vision to life!
www.bizgrowthlive.com
www.bizgrowthnews.com
www.krishnade.com
www.oneoceangroup.com
www.todayswomeninbusiness.com

P.S. If you have friends and colleagues who would like to join the weekly teleconference call, they would be very welcome – please invite them to register at Biz Growth Live.

©Krishna De, Oneocean Ltd 2007.  All rights reserved.

“Biz Growth Express” is a Oneocean Publication.  Oneocean Ltd is a leading business development consultancy with a difference – we focus on the unique strengths of an organisation and its people to unlock extraordinary performance and growth. You can learn more about our work here

TERMS OF REPRINT: You are welcome to publish extracts from “Biz Growth Express” in your own online ezine or news letter, providing the article is printed in its entirety and is left unedited and you include the copyright notice and the following statement:

©Krishna De, Oneocean Ltd 2007. All rights reserved. Reprinted from “Biz Growth Express”, a Oneocean Ltd publication for leaders in professional services practices, featuring inspiration, strategies and tips to build your brand, attract your ideal clients and enjoy greater success with less stress.  Subscribe today at http://www.bizgrowthlive.com and access free weekly teleconferences where we interview experts from across the globe on how to build your brand and expand your professional and personal success.