Archive for May, 2011

Leadership Traits of the USMC



Many of you know that I spent some valuable time as a U.S. Marine; a period of time in my life that I am very proud of and a time when I learned so much about myself. I can honestly say that if I had not learned these vital life lessons as a young Marine, I would not be in the position I am today. Many of the Marine leadership training sessions dealt with handling life’s situations and how to conduct oneself in an organizational role; a lesson that I use every day of my life both at the professional and personal level. Leadership is defined as an act that allows a person “to rule, guide or inspire.” Leadership and management differ to this extent; leaders lead people. Managers manage tasks.

I recently saw a post on the Internet that really cut to the chase on the differences between management and leadership. It said, “A manager is responsible for seeing that the right people are in the right place doing the right things at the right times. A leader is responsible for seeing that they actually ‘want’ to be in those places at those times and doing those things.”

Positive leader traits do much to help you positively build your life and your business and I’d like to share a just few of these traits with you that, if applied, will certainly help you develop confidence in yourself and loyal cooperation from your staff.

- Justice – This trait will allow you to create a sense of fairness and consistency in your organization. An effective leader never demonstrates favoritism but treats people and things with equality at all times.

- Dependability – If you are dependable you can be counted on to accomplish all of your tasks properly and on schedule. It also means that you always put forth your best effort without ever making excuses.

- Initiative – A person that has the feeling of initiative is a self-starter and doesn’t wait to be told to do something. It means meeting new projects head-on and using problem-solving techniques to accomplish a task efficiently.

- Enthusiasm – Know what your passion is and create an optimistic approach to everything you do. A keen understanding and conviction to your job will add to your eager desire to devotedly accomplish all your responsibilities.

- Knowledge – The more you know about your task, the better and more passionate you will be about completing it. Listen and observe to the conditions and situations around you. If you don’t know – find out. Read, go to class, and learn from your peers.

- Loyalty – A distinct sense of loyalty means you are devoted to your superiors, your peers and your subordinates. But also faithful to the mission and always speak positively about those you work with. If you are asked to do something, do it to the best of your ability.

- Courage – A display of courage doesn’t mean you experience no fear but it is the way you handle your emotions in the face of fear. Manage your fear and dread by practicing self-control.

Your ability to lead will determine the amount of success and well-being you will be able to experience in this life. Leadership comes from an ability to inspire trust in others and if people trust you, you can be sure that they will follow you. It’s human nature – plain and simple. If people can’t trust you then eventually things will start to fall apart around you. Leadership is important and can be learned by anyone who aspires to show others a clearer path to success.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in Article Marketing!



Article marketing can promote your website and protect your website from competitors. You can strengthen your article marketing strategy by evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in your article submissions.

Article marketing provides you with an opportunity to optimize your website for search engines, promote your website visibility, and keep your website strong in the face of competitors. Applying a traditional SWOT analysis to your article marketing strategy can sharpen your strategy to capitalize on opportunities that might have otherwise gone unrecognized. SWOT is the acronym for strengths, for more details visit to www.article-writing-secret.com weaknesses, opportunities and that has been used in business development, organizational development, and competitive marketing strategies for decades. This highly acclaimed strategic method for planning can be applied to your article marketing strategy.

Your article marketing strategy should analyze the strengths of your website, your knowledge and your content. Analyzing your strengths positions you to create content that capitalizes on your greatest strengths and can keep your articles central to your primary content. Your article marketing strategy should also analyze the strengths of your competitor’s website. By researching the articles on your competitor ‘s websites and blogs, the articles submitted to article submission directories, and the topics the competitor typically writes articles on, you can plan to write your content to surpass your competitor and position yourself as the more knowledgeable author.

Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the websites that you are submitting your articles to is critical to your reputation. Your article marketing strategy should specifically plan to submit articles only to quality websites. If your competitor has a relationship with a link farm, not being everywhere your competitor is will protect your website. If your competitor has neglected to post pertinent information or has posted incorrect information, capitalize on that opportunity in your article marketing strategy.

Article marketing strategies should always look for opportunity. You should be where your competitor is, (unless they are linked with the wrong crowd), and where your competitor. You should also look for opportunities to submit articles with sought-after content. Top tens, recent news, sharp or contradicting opinions, for more details to www.effective-contents.com how-to has and reviews always offer opportunity to submit articles. Social book marking websites can be researched for popular topics and be made a regular part of your article marketing strategy.

Threats are an unavoidable aspect of an article marketing strategy. New competitors constantly enter the market, and ethical and unethical competition seeps through every link that is posted on the web.

Article marketing requires strategic development to optimize its success. Applying the SWOT analysis to your article marketing strategy will serve to refine your article submissions for optimal search engine positioning and website protection. Take the time to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are an intricate part of your article marketing strategy, and your marketing will surpass your competitors and reach search engine success.

Presentation Skills Training Can Benefit Everyone



Presentation skills training is something that can benefit you regardless of your profession or lifestyle.  Think back to the last time you were asked to present something to a large group – or even to a small group – of people.  If you are like most people, this was not a very pleasant experience.  Many people report feelings of anxiety and worry when asked to present something to a group.  This is true regardless of the content of the presentation.  Most people experience anxiety whether they are promoting a product or simply giving an introduction for a guest speaker.

People experience a wide range of symptoms caused by the anxiety from presenting something to a group.  Some people experience racing thoughts or sweaty armpits, while others have full blown panic attacks.  Even those who appear entirely confident and secure speaking in front of a group of people probably experience some degree of trepidation about the event.  The good news is that although some of these symptoms can be debilitating, there are things you can do to alleviate such symptoms and actually become a superb presenter.

Presentation skills training encompasses a wide range of skill subsets, all of which are vital to becoming successful in your chosen arena.  Starting with simple communication, presentation skills training teaches you how to effectively convey your message to a group of people.  You will learn about both the verbal and non-verbal components of communication, and you will gain an understanding of how what you do and say while giving your presentation can influence your audience.

Presentation skills training goes further than just focusing on your communication skills.  It will provide you with the insight to use technical and non-technical visual aids and supplements as tools of persuasion.  The fact of the matter is that we have a tremendous number of tools available to us, but many of us do not know how to effectively employ them in a presentation.  By learning about how and when to use technology and simple handouts, you can be incredibly more effective at presenting information to a group.

By supplementing your presentation with other resources, you can be sure to get your message across in a variety of methods.  And the fact of the matter is that by utilizing several methods of communication, you can be more certain to impact your target audience.

To a great degree, your success may rest on your ability to convey your message.  In the business world we are regularly given opportunities to present a message to a group.  Presentation skills training will prepare us to best deliver our message when the opportunity arises.

Learn more about presentation skills training at http://www.presentationstoryboarding.com.