HOW TO GET WHAT YOU WANT

The following three strategies have worked well for me in my business career. These are ways I used for improving my effectiveness. I highly recommend these strategies to achieve superior results.

Prioritize tasks for tomorrow: At the end of each business day, make a list of the five (5) most important things you have to accomplish the following day. Now rank these items in terms of their importance to you. When you arrive for work the following day, handle each listed item in the order of its importance. Begin with item number one on your list, and then go on to complete the remaining items on your list in the order of their priority. Make a new list of tasks for the following day, in the order of their priority, at the end of each day. You need to make it a habit to prepare this list before going home each day. It is very easy to validate the effectiveness of this approach. Just pursue this approach for two days, and I believe you will be amazed by how much you are able to accomplish by following the list of prioritized tasks.

Be fully prepared for each business meeting: This means preparing an agenda for what you want to accomplish in each meeting and putting together the resources to support your objective. Whenever you are in a meeting of any kind – a staff meeting or meeting with outside vendors, clients, or prospects – everyone else in the meeting room is trying to judge you. They judge you by the way you present your thoughts and yourself and how you interact with others. The kind of impression you create at the meeting depends on how well prepared you are, how attentively you listen to others, and whether you are able to build rapport with others attending the meeting. As an example, whenever I went for a meeting with a client or prospect to develop additional business, I always prepared a written statement of my objectives and how I was going to accomplish those objectives. I made it a practice to have enough copies of a prepared agenda with me and a written presentation to leave behind. When you approach a task well prepared, it is probable that you will be able to accomplish your objective.

Identify personal development needs: While most companies have training programs for their employees, and some use outside training courses and seminars, the ultimate responsibility for personal development rests with each individual employee. We live in an environment of on-going change. There are changes taking place all the time in our employer organizations, our industries, and the overall economy. We need to regularly ask ourselves the question: “How can I grow my career considering the changes taking place around me?” Your answer will help you identify your personal development needs, and open up new directions and opportunities for your career. You should take full advantage of training courses made available by your company, and also seek out seminars and professional meetings that will help you grow your knowledge. You will be able to advance your career rapidly when you follow this strategy.