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The Pivotal Network Newsletter |
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Issue Number 26
Greetings from the Pivotal Network Resources for the times when you pivot – change direction – towards your personal best … Your personal best – it’s Pivotal!
Inspiration
This week’s Sponsors
Real Photos of Real Athletes showing you complete visual, step-by-step demonstrations of 135 different stretching exercises!
Each and EVERY day offers an opportunity for improvement and each moment serves as an advance or retreat in the pursuit of your goals. Let the Revolution Begin - Your Personal Strategic Plan Success for Entrepreneurs For most entrepreneurs, the only thing more painful than going to the dentist, is … realizing at the end of the week that you’ve only gotten HALF the things done on your weekly “to-do” list. Here’s how to prevail through all the obstacles and challenges. Stay Focused, Purposeful and Driven to make your venture thrive.
Personal Success
Video: David Logan on Tribal Leadership
Article: 3 Ways to Improve Your Productivity to Enjoy Big Success With Your Work There are numerous tools and methods that you can use to improve your productivity in the work place. In fact, some of these methods are so simple you can easily implement them even without further training. Unfortunately, there are still so many professionals who are lagging with their work. After trying one or two methods, they are still unproductive in the office. At first glance, you might conclude that their productivity methods are ineffective. However, you should look closely at the state of mind of a person in order to understand the reasons why he or she remains unproductive. Everything Boils Down to the Right Mind Set To improve your productivity, you need to develop the right mind set in the work place. No amount of special tools and methods will improve office productivity if you do not have the right mind set. Without the right mindset, even the best methods to improve productivity will surely fail. But if you develop the correct mind set, then you will have the right foundation so that your productivity techniques will run perfectly. So here are the three easy ways to develop your productivity in the work place. By following the correct techniques, you could face great challenges and achieve bigger success in the office. 1. Give Value to Your Work You can easily improve your productivity if you love your job and you give due importance to your work. You need to perform your tasks, projects, and assignments with utmost love and care. By loving your work, you will not view your tasks as just another job or another dirty chore to accomplish. If you value your job, then you can perform your tasks with a happy disposition. This will make your work easier and more enjoyable. The end result therefore is great improvement of your productivity. 2. Practice Positive Self-Talk You need to learn the art of positive self-motivation in order to improve your productivity in the work place. You can start by practicing a technique called positive self-talk. This involves motivating yourself to perform the tasks before you. For example, if there is a pile of work in front of you, try to tell yourself that you love to finish it on time. You have to think that accomplishing the job is exciting and will bring bigger benefits for you. Once you develop these mind-sets, performing your job would be much easier. 3. Look for Greater Benefits You can certainly improve your productivity in the work place if you perceive your tasks with a positive outlook. Think something positive about your job and look for greater benefits that you can get from it. You can boost your motivation if you will see the positive impact of your efforts. Instead of finding fault in your job and overemphasizing the problems, you should start thinking of positive benefits because this will improve your performance. Developing the correct mindset to improve your productivity will take time. So be persistent with your efforts so you can enjoy bigger successes in the work place.
Books
Two freebies this week
If you are a librarian looking for weeding guidelines check out Larson, Jeanette.
CREW : a weeding manual for modern libraries / revised and
updated by Jeanette Larson. The whole thing is available online for free at http://www.consultpivotal.com/pivotal_weeding.htm
Why are core values critical to our success in business and in life? Because our values are critical guides for making important decisions. And when in doubt they cut through the fog like a beacon in the night. John Blumberg has written the best book I've ever read on how we build value...with values. And if there was ever a time in the history of this great country that we need to re-visit our core values...the time is NOW. Enjoy an excerpt from John's new book, Good to the Core...Building Value with Values.
Public Speaking
Quote:
In oratory the greatest art is to hide art.
Sound: Is Twitter a Presenter’s Nightmare or a Dream Come True?
Armed with laptops and smartphones, audiences are no longer sitting quietly while speakers are talking — instead they’re using Twitter and other tools to create a backchannel where they chat with one another, make comments about your presentation and broadcast their thoughts to people all over the world.
Cliff Atkinson, author of The Backchannel: How Audiences are Using Twitter and Social Media and Changing Presentations Forever, will share his research and ideas for making the backchannel work for you.
Article: You Too Can Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking! So, feeling nervous about presenting at that next meeting, trade show, or conference? Have no fear! You are not alone. Public speaking is the number one human fear according to The Book of Lists Top Ten Human Fears. Yes, number one! Ahead of height, insects, financial problems, deep water, sickness, death, flying, loneliness, and dogs. Can you believe death ranked seventh? So at a funeral, we would rather be in the casket than delivering the eulogy. Heck, I can relate to all of this. I was deathly afraid of public speaking in my college days. In fact, I failed out of a communication class simply because I refused to speak in front of the class. Now I speak to groups professionally as a full time job. Imagine that! I even teach a public speaking class at Rutgers University. So, what does this mean to you? If I can overcome this fear, anyone can! Why do we feel nervous just before and often during a presentation? Some of the obvious (or not so obvious) reasons include lack of preparation, self-confidence, and credibility in relation to the topic and/or audience. Hold it right there! If you're not prepared to speak to a group, than you shouldn't be speaking. End of story. The exception might be an impromptu word or two - but you get the idea. Also, if you have little or no credibility with an audience, better establish it fast - like in the first few minutes of your speech. Otherwise, be prepared to fold like a cheap umbrella. You might be thinking that if you prepare to the hilt and connect your message with the audience, you will have more self confidence and be less nervous. See how smart you are? Some of the fears we have as a result of what we're lacking (or think we're lacking) include the fear of failure, inadequacy, embarrassment, being poorly evaluated, and the unknown. Bottom line, we like to be in control of our destiny and when speaking in front of an audience (even a small one), we give up some of that control. What are some ways of controlling nervousness before the presentation (or even the big sales meeting)? Everybody handles nervousness before and during a presentation differently. It just takes a little trial and error to determine what works for you in overcoming your fears. Here are some suggestions. Know your topic and your audience cold. Answer your audience's (or your prospect's) questions - before asked. Recall what went well and not so well the last time so you can make adjustments for this time around. Take your time when speaking (when nervous we tend to rush things a bit). Start with your best stuff (I often open with a powerful story, quote, scenario, or challenge). This way you will build your confidence and set a nice tone for the audience. Get excited about your topic and have the tone of your voice and body language reflect it. Have a sense of humor about yourself. If you make a mistake and correct it, it always makes you look more "human" to the audience - especially when you make light of it. Speak clearly and articulate every word. Visualize delivering a dynamic and powerful message that the audience can't get enough of. Remember, you know your topic better than anyone. Besides, if you forget to mention something, the audience will probably never know. But you will - for the next time. Never, never, never confess you are nervous, wing it, apologize (unless you have offended someone), panic, use lots of notes (less is more), pace back and forth (I'm still working on this one), cross your arms, fiddle with pens, markers flip chart pages, or slides. And finally, try not to rush. Some other thoughts - never lose your temper in front of the audience, argue with an attendee, or use profanity. You always lose and appear wrong. Nobody likes to be put in their place in front of a group. Remember grade school? Give yourself a break! It's OK to feel a little nervous before a big talk. Even the pros do - trust me. Often, nervousness means you recognize the importance of the venue and what you have to say. It is truly a gift that someone has enough faith to invite you in to speak about whatever it is you speak about. Prepare, know your audience, speak from their perspective, visualize success, and practice - lots. If you do, you'll always have a great opening story to share.
For Kids
(and their teachers, parents … anyone who wants to bring out the
best in kids ) Quote:
There comes a time when a woman needs to stop thinking about her looks and focus her energies on raising her children. This time comes at the moment of conception. A child needs a role model, not a supermodel. ~Astrid Alauda, on the "hot mom" trend
Book: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
~ Adele Faber, Elaine Mazlish
a step-by-step approach to improving relationships in your house. The "Reminder" pages, helpful cartoon illustrations, and excellent exercises will improve your ability as a parent to talk and problem-solve with your children.
Activities for Kids
Sea Week has just gone, but this site still has heaps of activities and information
How to make … Tissue paper eggs
Aerial analysis challenge – From the Central Intelligence Agency
This lorry full
of tortoises collided with a van full of terrapins.
Free Resources: Teachscape's ‘Module of the Month Club’ Professional Development Content Teachscape is continuing its Module of the Month Club (MOMC) series by offering teachers, administrators, and instructional leaders access to free professional development content. The following modules are featured as part of the MOMC Spring 2010 schedule: February 2010- Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback March 2010- Adolescent Literacy: Addressing the Challenge April 2010- Talking about Texts May 2010- Linear Equations June 2010- Teaching Strategies for Content InstructionFor complete details and to become a member of MOMC, visit http://www.consultpivotal.com/pivotal_teachscape.htm
Quote:
Computer corner
I could tell you 10 different ways on how you can lose data, however I am sure everyone has experienced one or two of them. Your hard drive can crash, there may be a power surge, or someone could simply spill a drink on the computer. This is why backup is so important! What to Backup A list of files you should backup from your computer
Just for Fun
Tito Ingenieri built his house out of six million empty bottles. He will gladly teach anyone how to build this kind of ecological house that recycles materials and keeps the streets clean. In his town of Quilmes, Argentina, people gladly give him their empty bottles and admire his artistic creation.
Closing thought
Beauty, truth, friendship, love, creation – these are the great
values of life. We can't prove them, or explain them, yet they are
the most stable things in our lives.
Please support this week’s sponsors …
Real Photos of Real Athletes showing you complete visual, step-by-step demonstrations of 135 different stretching exercises!
Each and EVERY day offers an opportunity for improvement and each moment serves as an advance or retreat in the pursuit of your goals. Let the Revolution Begin - Your Personal Strategic Plan
Success for Entrepreneurs For most entrepreneurs, the only thing more painful than going to the dentist, is … realizing at the end of the week that you’ve only gotten HALF the things done on your weekly “to-do” list. Here’s how to prevail through all the obstacles and challenges. Stay Focused, Purposeful and Driven to make your venture thrive.
My very best wishes for the coming week,
Bronwyn
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with Cliff Atkinson
