Author: Scott Asai

Helping people develop their leadership skills to advance in their career

What Drones And Robots Cannot Replace

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With self-driving cars and Amazon Go stores ready to scale the fear of job replacement is real.

The irony is the same technology humans created may soon make us irrelevant for most work.

Can your daily job duties be done more efficiently by a robot?

If you answered yes to the above question it’s time to learn a new skill set.

Yet no matter how much technology advances there is one area that cannot be mimicked digitally:

Soft skills.

Made famous by the movie Wall-E, traits that are unique to humans are: empathy, non-verbal communication, storytelling, public speaking, etc.

These skills have been overlooked recently, but have helped us thrive throughout history.

Practically, networking is about connecting and building rapport. A great storyteller becomes an effective salesperson. Empathizing with others may be the most proactive thing you can do.

Instead of worrying about your job being taken by a drone, spend your time brushing up and improving your soft skills.

Join your local Toastmasters. Attend a local networking event. Watch a Shark Tank episode then pitch your idea to a friend.

Technology is great, but we often rely on it too much. Go back to your roots and identify the personal strengths that make you stand out from the crowd.

During interviews candidates are asked, “Why should we hire you?”

Your answer should include everything a robot cannot.

How to Manage Millennials: 8 Ways to Do It Right

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A recruiter must never be tired to read and research about the millennials; the majority of your employees are a part of Generation Y. While some view them in a negative light, they can be pretty productive and over-achieving when handled right.

Millennials believe they are above their jobs. After working from 8-9 hours a day, they will focus on their hobbies and leisure once they step out your office. Allowing your Millennial employees to have a work-life balance will refuel their energy and recharge their productivity battery.

Millennials love to have multiple goals. They spend a lot of money on traveling to focus on themselves then spread that energy to the people around them.

Start by providing a flexible work environment. This means that you trust them enough to manage their time properly and deliver on their tasks with flying colors.

Infographic by Guthrie-Jensen.

Is Your Business Idea Worth Pursuing? Here’s How To Decide

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There are no original ideas anymore, just recycled ones.

But when a potential business venture strikes you, how do you decide whether to pursue it or not?

Imagine on one side of a spectrum lies your idea(s) and on the other side is making money. In order to bridge the gap you need distribution or a system to connect the two.

A business without profit is just a hobby.

Speaking from experience as great as your idea may sound unless there is demand for it, you shouldn’t waste your time or money.

Distribution essentially means marketing. How will customers find you? When they do find you why should they purchase your service/product? Does your value proposition scream urgency?

System means a selling process. We are so enamored with sales we forget it’s a series of steps for a transaction to be made. How easy is it for customers to buy from you? Is the process user-friendly? If they have questions or concerns how do they reach you and do you ease their skepticism?

For me there are rarely a shortage of ideas, but one thing I wished I learned sooner in my career is the power of partners/teammates. As intriguing as it sounds to be in charge and call all the shots it comes with blind spots and skill gaps.

Think of yourself as a company. When you decide to roll solo you are every department. When something can’t be completed it’s your fault. With partners you’re able to go back to being a specialist which everyone, entrepreneur or employee, excels at.

Investors value sales and marketing. You have to show them results and how you intend to uphold or surpass those standards.

Not all businesses benefit from outside investments, but the goal should be the same: sales and growth.

So it really comes back to that “middle phase.”

Clarify a sound distribution system and move forward. If you can’t stop until you can.

What Should Your Business Plan Look Like in 2018?

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The business world is changing year on year – nothing stays the same for too long these days, what with the major advancements in technology and how fast everything is moving overall. Creating a business plan used to be about looking ahead to the next 10 years and deciding what you’d do with your business and where you wanted it to be, but things can change far too quickly these days to project that far into the future. Here are some pointers for entrepreneurs who are yet to start their business and want to create a plan suitable for 2018:

Keep Your Business Plan Short

Your business plan needs to be short and sweet. You’re going to be using this plan in the coming months to stay focused and make decisions, but you may also use it to secure funding. Nobody who could offer you funding is going to want to read through 100 pages of your business plan. They’re likely going to be a very busy person, and they simply won’t have the patience.

 

Suitable For You

Your business plan needs to be written not just to secure funding, but so that it’s suitable for you to use, too. It should help you to grow your business over time, and be something you can refine later on. Your business plan shouldn’t go stale – you should look to update it when appropriate!

Suitable For Your Audience

Your business plan also needs to be written so that it’s suitable for investors to read through and understand where their money will be going. Here’s an idea of what you should include in your business plan:

  • Summary – this is an overview of your business and plan, should be around two pages long.
  • Opportunity – here you should outline what you are selling, who the competition is, who the target market is, and any other relevant information.  
  • Execution – how will you turn your opportunity into a business? Also include your marketing and sales plan.
  • Team and company – describe your current team and who you need to hire to succeed.  
  • Financial plan – include a financial forecast and know your numbers so that investors can feel more confident in what you’re saying to them.
  • Appendix – here you should include product images and additional information.  
  • Executive summary – introduce your company, explain what you do, explain what you’re looking for from your readers. Should be able to stand alone.

Make sure you talk about what you’ll spend money on in your business plan, as well as how investors will get their money back from you. You need to make it attractive. You could even include where you’re going to get equipment and machinery from. Have a look at TruckDealersAustralia.com.au today to get a good idea of prices and what you can include in your plan. You should also include a one sentence overview and summarize the problem you are solving. Knowing your target market is absolutely imperative. This is because your business plan needs to outline what makes you unique and why customers will come to you rather than the competition.

Who are the competition? What will you do differently? Know your exact funding requirements too – you need to know what you’re asking for, even if you expect you will get a counter offer. Remember, you can find templates online if you need one.

Safety Belongs Outside The Office, Not Just Inside

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When you’re creating a safer working environment, like most employers, your focus might be on what goes on between those four walls. But, so long as it’s your property, you’re liable for any injuries or accidents that happen outside the workplace, as well. Here, we’re going to look at how you extend that safety-conscious thinking out to the work beyond the office and how to make sure you’re not putting your team at risk.

Branches, leaves, and other dangers

It might sound insignificant, but the risk of having unkempt trees on your business’s doorstep can be quite legitimate. First of all, branches fall in bad weather can cause serious injuries, including head injuries. Having the work premises covered in tree debris will increase the chances of slips, trips, and falls, too. Arborist services can help you keep things tidy and safe, reducing the chances of injury caused by trees outside the workplace.

All roads lead to work

There’s a good chance that you have some parking spaces in the workplace or that you will fit some if you don’t already. If you have a lot of traffic going in or out or passing by, you need to consider some road safety, too. Installing all types of road safety signage to your entrance can help make access safer and encourage employees to drive safely when leaving the premises. Furthermore, you can reduce their risk by installing speed bumps or extendable barriers at the entrance of the parking space. Of course, these barriers will also help you control who, exactly, has access to your property with their vehicle.

Be extra prepared for winter

If you thought leaves and other tree debris could be a slipping risk, then your first winter is going to be an unpleasant experience. You should be extra conscious of your team’s health and safety during the winter months. Make sure that any outdoor areas are gritted to prevent slipping and hire a snow shoveling service to help keep any parking or pedestrian areas outside the office safe and clear. Be aware of the risks your team faces on the road, too. Be willing to give them some leeway to avoid having to come into the office when the weather is truly terrible.

Employee safety is no joke

It’s not just accidents you should be aware of. Businesses are often a target for crime, and this can include your employees. A mugging or assault on the business’s front doorstep can erode the sense of safety your team has. Keep them safe by investing in more security features for the business. CCTV cameras work not just to capture and record any wrongdoing but also as a visual deterrent. Similarly, keeping any parking spaces or entrances well-lit means they’re less likely to be targeted by criminals.

When you’re carrying out a risk audit of the workplace, don’t make the mistake of neglecting the outdoors. Some of the most dangerous falls, car accidents, and other injuries can happen on the exterior of your property and it could end up costing your business and team morale dearly.

Discover How To Find Fantastic Opportunities Online

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A quick look at the job or business market will probably lead you to believe that opportunities are slim. But actually, they’re not. You just need to know how to look or rather how to get the attention of the right people. If you make the right decisions online, you won’t have to go looking for your next job or employment contract. Instead, the client or the employer will come looking for you. We’re going to teach you some of the best ways to make sure that you are making the most of what the online world has to offer when you are chartering your career.

Use Social Media Effectively

There’s no excuse anymore, if you’re on the job market, you need to make sure that you are active on social media. It’s not uncommon these days for employers to use social media detectives when they recruit for a position. It could be one of the first things that they look for. Essentially, this individual will be looking for your digital footprint online. You might think that if there’s nothing to find this is the brightest outcome, but it isn’t. Your social media can be a digital snapshot of who you are and what you could bring to a business. If you show the right qualities and traits, you could be in a prime position to get the interview and impress them even further.

Obviously, the main social media to focus on would be Linkedin. Here, you can build up an actual professional profile and give employers all the information they need to consider you. The downside of this is that if there is a problem with your profile, you’ll be passed over for a lot of jobs without ever realizing why. The plus side is that if your profile is great, you could find jobs without even trying.

Get A Recruitment Agency On Your Side

What is a recruitment agency? A recruitment agency will essentially be the keyholders of your CV. By doing this, you can pay to have a company manage your job prospects for you. If you have the money, this is well worth doing. It essentially means that businesses or clients will go to the agency for CVs or indeed advice on who to hire. The agency can then recommend you if they think that you’ll be suited for the position.

This can work both ways. Business owners or individuals can look for things like commercial construction jobs on one side, while on the other clients or other business owners can seek out the contractors and managers they might want to hire. Regardless of what side you’re on, it will be useful to get a recruitment agency.

Never Forget To Network

Finally, you need to make sure that you are networking as much as possible, connecting with people who could benefit your career. As the old saying goes, it isn’t what you know but rather who you know. These days, it’s easy to get to know people in the online world who could help drive you towards career victory.

Are Chatbots Destroying Customer Service?

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When’s the last time you visited a site and immediately greeted by a chatbot?

We do the majority of our shopping online and prefer not to be bothered by a salesperson.

Chatbots seem very impersonal, but the last thing you want is to be hounded by customer service while you’re browsing.

This is much different than the retail experience where employees usually greet and ask if you’d like any assistance. Since retail has been dying stores have taken a different approach and tend to let shoppers browse on their own now.

The bottom line is: customers are educated and want the freedom to do things themselves; they’ll initiate support if needed. Between reviews and recommendations online platforms such as Amazon and Walmart are self-service e-commerce sites.

There’s evidence that Millennials spearheaded this movement, but with the convenience of home delivery it’s generation-wide accepted.

As a business owner the shift that needs to happen is creating a sales free process. That doesn’t mean eliminate customer service completely, but make the buying transaction as efficient as possible.

For example, with the online SAT/ACT prep company I own, this student profile form collects the same information an initial phone call would. It offers parents the opportunity to input the information on their own time without having to talk to anyone.

Chatbots aren’t destroying customer service, in fact they are enhancing it by allowing the shopper to reach out when they are ready. Self-service is the wave of the present and companies must adapt or die.

Millennials, Here’s How To Use Your Tax Return

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It’s that time of the year again where you’re stressing about filing your taxes on time. When you finally receive that refund check in the mail, it might be tempting to treat yourself. But you should think of it as money that should have been on your paychecks to begin with, and not as a bonus. Review your current financial situation and then allocate where your refund should go. Here are some tips and tricks to get the most bang for your buck.

Student loans can be a huge burden, especially with high-interest rates these days. To pay them off quicker, refinancing your student loans can make a huge difference! It’s hard to focus on your future financial growth with debt tying you down and companies like Earnest help you consolidate your debt all in one place. You can find out more information on how to do that here.

Even if you know your stuff, don’t be afraid to get professional advice by talking to a credible financial advisor that can find possible missed deductions and opportunities. With the right amount of organization and planning, tax season will become a breeze!

What Is Behind A Healthy Work/Life Balance?

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When the modern workforce never stops claiming the right to a healthy work/life balance, too many companies continue to misinterpret their demands. Indeed, there is as much a need for healthy behaviour, as there is for a balanced home and work life. In other words, a healthy work/life balance is the combination of three elements that influence the wellbeing of an individual: health, home and work. The delimitation of each factor blurs into the next one so that it’s not uncommon for employees to blame their company for health or home-related issues. In other words, when dealing with the protection of this essential human balance, it’s crucial for companies to take steps that go beyond the realms of the workplace. Indeed, businesses that offer on-site health and relaxing services, or that provide their teams with discounted home offers – whether it’s about equipment, services or entertainment that can be relevant in the home environment – show a deeper level of understanding of their responsibility in the health and happiness of their employees.

The ability to relax

When it comes to your health, sleep is just as important as following a balanced diet. Indeed, when you rest, your body can maintain your immune system and ensure that your mind stays sharp and acute. But when you’re too stressed out to sleep, your mental health can rapidly degenerate. According to eh national College Health Assessment Survey, 15.8% of college students suffer from anxiety which keeps them awake at night. it’s likely that the percentage of anxious individuals is much more significant in the workplace. Employers need to consider new options to facilitate relaxation at work, such as meditation room or even noise-cancelling facilities. As stress is the number one health issue in modern companies, ignoring the situation can only cause more issues for your team.

The potential to build a home

While it isn’t your role, as an employer, to provide a home for your staff, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your employees have access to the essentials facilities to maintain their home. At a basic level, this means that you need to ensure fair pay on time and to limit overtime as much as possible. But you can also through perks support employee home life with discounts on appliances, and recommendations for an industrial waste management company like Instant Waste Management – which is helpful for anybody making home improvement works – or a professional financing advisor. If you make it easier for people to manage their home – whether they’re looking to buy, improve or simply refurbish – it means that they can be more focused on their work during the day, hence reducing overtime, stress and personal issues.

A satisfying job

Finally, the last element of the employee’s trinity is job satisfaction. Naturally, money is a key element of satisfaction, but it’s not the only one. The opportunity for growth through job crafting and improved internal relationships can make a great deal of difference. While your employees need to find meaning in their tasks, your role is to guide and help them to develop their skills.

In conclusion, there’s more than just a job behind the complaints about healthy work/life balance of Millennials. For employers, it means changing the way they think about work significantly.

How To End Professional Relationships Well & Conclusively

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A professional candor and personality, particularly in the field of your career, can help you achieve untold things and form wonderful relationships. However, much like anything else, those relationships will change over time. Sometimes they can even come to a halt. This might be precipitated by a natural growing apart, or you might be wrestled from that person by a circumstance or difficulty. It could be a conflict that promises to make you both weaker after the exchange.

Knowing how to end relationships professionally and conclusively is one of the hidden skills of the competent business leader. It’s also the one that is thought about the least, as no new business owner or even employee believes things will end in conflict with certain parties. Sometimes however, things don’t work out. It’s unlikely you’ll evade a form of workplace conflict for the entirety of your life, so it’s important to know how to handle it.

Here are some tips to help you do that:

Go Through The Right Channels

It can be dizzying to handle all the requirements of the situation by yourself. This can surely make you feel less than you are, and trouble you as you come to a solution.  It might come with a great deal of stress as an added consequence. Going through the right channels can help you with this. This means either using a lawyer to handle a situation or litigate your woes effectively, or it could be preventing that step with the right advisory, conciliation and arbitration service.

Sometimes having an official platform to backup your side of the argument can help you win the situation. It might be that these services suggest that you’re in the wrong, and how to best manage your affairs to evade the coming issues with the most dignity and least harm. Whatever happens, knowing you have a professional eye looking over your affairs can be calming when every move you make will matter in the long run.

Communicate

Miscommunication between people can be one of the most insidious and difficult things for either party to get over. Either a wrong word here or an insult there can create a toxic atmosphere, in which both sides believe they have to ‘up the stakes’ in order to achieve a win. This becomes a self-reinforcing feedback loop which puts people down, and makes the whole affair feel awful for you both.

Communication can also stop things from escalating in other ways. If you manage to express or listen to a rationale from either side, it might be that the atmosphere of the ending is put to rest much more easily than assuming idiocy on the opposing side. It’s very easy to think that the other person is completely out to get you, but often they’re simply acting in self-interest, as you are. It won’t always happen, but sometimes you can evade one in five destroyed relationships. Not that you’re to experience this many, but you get the point of how this step is always worth trying.

With this effort, we for sure know that you’ll be justified in ending your relationship, because you’ll have handled it expertly.