Unwritten rules to live by

I read this article in the Men's Health magazine. I must admit that I don't agree with all of them but here are the key ones which I think are worth giving a second thought.



It is more important to have good health insurance than good health.

When one of the big bosses at work unexpectedly says something really cheery and friendly to you, he means absolutely nothing by it. Not even if he's your father.

Wear as much black as you can. It makes you look slimmer and cooler. But avoid black jeans.

When someone in your family is going through a divorce, always side with the blood relative.

Pointedly praising something unusual a person owns or has done will make you appear far smarter in his eyes than a 10-minute discourse on world events

The man who can't dance, can't converse, and can't provide psychological support to a woman is only half a man; the other half can't cook, can't clean, and badly wants a drink.

Trying to "teach someone a lesson"never works

Be careful about publicly discussing your hobbies, as most hobbies strike people as somewhat pathetic: most notably, collecting stamps, coins, or anything else, bird-watching, bowling, rockhounding, spelunking, table tennis, poetry, dog shows, chat rooms, polka music, yoga, herpetology, marathon running, and religion. The only hobbies you can safely own up to when among people you need to impress are fly-fishing and go

Always imply, in every possible way, that the person you're talking to is smarter, better-looking, slimmer, and more successful than they really are.

When choosing a bottle of wine to bring to a dinner party, spend between 10 and 15 dollars. That's for a bottle, not a gallon.

Never get into a pissing match via e-mail. If he forwards, you lose.

Three Questions to Get the Feedback You Need

One of the things that I have got hooked to is the HBR Management Tip of the Day. I like it coz its a nice tip that is easy to digest and great to execute.

Here is a great one from the source

Three Questions to Get the Feedback You Need

No leader improves without feedback. But getting people to be honest about your performance isn't always easy. Give your team a way to supply you with the candid information you need to change by asking them these three questions:

What should I stop doing? Ask which behaviors stand in your way of success.
What should I keep doing? Inquire about what you do right, and should continue to do.
What should I start doing? Once you've stopped unproductive behaviors, you'll have more time and energy for new behaviors.

In Presentations, Learn to Say Less

As a consultant, when I sometimes notice the slides of my clients, I freak out.
I notice that
- It has a lot of text
- Key messages are missing
- It is not made for the audience

Here is an interesting article. It has three solid points

1.When you prepare a presentation, work backwards. Start with the key message or takeaway that you want to convey. Then imagine that you had to send that message via Twitter instead of using slides, charts, documents, and discussions. Force yourself to summarize your key points in no more than 140 characters. Based on that focus, then think through what other information you'll need as backup and support.

My suggestion is that these 140 character should form the header of your slide so that the reader understands what is the content of the slide.

2.Practice making your presentation without any slides or other supporting materials — and limit the time to six minutes. Think of it as a TED talk that's going be watched by millions of people on YouTube. Doing this (and getting a friend to capture it on video) will force you to be very clear about what you want to say and how to say it with conviction and zest.

If you notice Partners, they carry a set of slides in their back pocket, but actually keep the audience engaged with their talk.

3. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience and imagine how they might react to your condensed message. What questions will they ask and what concerns might they have? How will you address these, and how open will you be to alternatives? Speculating about these scenarios ahead of time will give you confidence to state your position clearly and respond to audience feedback.

It's not easy to say less and convey more. But if you learn how to do it well, you'll have much more impact on your audience and on your organization.

Quotes

Feedback is the breakfast of Champions

FOCUS - The main thing about the main thing is the main thing

How to Look and Act Like a Leader

Do you have the " Executive Presence". If not, then work on it. Read this article.

Savvy executives know the part, act the part and look the part. That's because they exude "executive presence," a broad term used to describe the aura of leadership...

....Executives with presence act self confident, strategic, decisive and assertive, concludes a study released late last year by the Center for Work-Life Policy, a New York think tank....

...To correct this misperception, Mr. Bernstein says he embraced many of her suggestions. He tried to avoid a monotone in commanding his employees, sit upright during meetings and display powerful confidence at a conference table by marking his territory with a water bottle and notebook...

How to Network Across Culture

A very interesting article especially for all the folks who struggle to network in a different cultural environment.

The ability to network — to develop contacts and personal connections with a variety of people — is a critical skill for any global business leader. The only problem is that global networking can be extremely difficult to do when the rules for networking vary so dramatically across cultures.In fact, these cultural challenges can be so strong that many of the young potential foreign-born global leaders that I know often purposefully avoid networking opportunities in the United States — despite how important these opportunities can be for developing their careers.

....... I have found three key tools for success in learning to adapt behavior across cultures in a networking situation or in any other situation where you need to switch your cultural behavior to be effective in a new setting.

Learn from those around you: Watch carefully how others operate in networking situations, and learn what behaviors work and don't work in that setting. Customize your own approach from what you observe to develop a style that feels authentic to you, and that is also effective in the new setting.

Master the new cultural logic: Learn the rationale for this new behavior from the perspective of the new culture. Learn, for example, why "small talk" is such an important part of networking in the United States. Understand from the American point of view why it's actually appropriate to speak positively about yourself and your qualifications. Master the logic of the new culture and the behavior will feel much more comfortable to perform.

Finally, Practice! Practice multiple times, and ideally in settings that mimic the stress and pressure of real situations. Integrate the behavior so deeply into your psyche that it becomes your "new normal" — something you do naturally and instinctively