Do it When you want to make a better relationship. This idea is closely connected to your private life. Since every businessman has a strong urge to balance his private and business life, this idea would affect your business life.The idea is to turn off your cell phone once in a week. Let’s say it would be Sunday. Make an agreement with your partner to turn off cell phones for whole Sunday. Can you survive it? If you can succeed in it, I would like to congratulate you. This little idea could affect your business life and improve your relationship with your partner. And when you improve your relationship…, anything is possible. 🙂 Remember, what your Bikram Choudhury said: “Never too old, never too bad, never too late, never too sick to start from scratch once again.”
Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Just imagine your perfect relationship with your partner. What does it look like?
2. How do you describe this relationship in one sentence?
3. What would be the time frame for this goal?
4. Why is this goal important to you?
5. Who would you be when you reach that goal?
6. Why is that … Read more
Idea #58 Be a 10 minute Observer
Do it When you want to make a change in your company. Everyone in the group still sitting in their chairs has to mentally leave the group and take some of the corners of the room. Now, looking from that position to the group he/she has to imagine a business scenario for the next year. What changes in the team have to be made? What would be the most effective thing that each of us has to make? Write down everything and discuss in the end. Do it now, because: “A year from now you will wish you had started today.” – Karen Lamb
Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine the next business year on your market! What changes do you see?
2. How those changes are affecting your business?
3. What are advantages of those changes?
4. What are the bad things in those changes?
5. What else is even more important to your right now?
6. How important to you is to make necessary changes?
7. Who else will benefit from those changes?
8. Make a list of all actions that you have to make so you will be prepared for the change?
9. Now, think about … Read more
Idea #36 Compare your present & dream 24 hours
Do it when you have to organize your day. Some people believe that they are delivering Time Management training. I don’t think that is possible. You can only manage your actions, not time. I am not playing with word. When you realize difference you are on the right way. So I am asking you to fulfill two identical circles. One with actions that you are doing right now during 24 hours period. Then do the other which is called your dream 24 hours. Then compare the difference. All you have to do is to make action plan how are you going to manage the difference. And that is managing actions in time. Take time and do this. Remember what Seneca said: “If not us, who, if not now, when?”
Now, more coaching questions for you:
1. Looking at your dream 24 hours, tell me what kind of person would you be with that kind of organizing your actions?
2. Who else will benefit from that?
3. How satisfied will you be on a scale from 1 to 10?
4. What will you be able to do to have that kind of life?
5. What will be the time frame … Read more
Idea #35 You in 5
Do it when you have to explain the importance of change. Give a flip chart paper to participants. Their task is to draw. First, in lower left part they have to draw them in present time. Their faces are toward center of the paper. Then in upper right part of the paper, they have to draw themselves in 5 years. Again faces turned to the center of the paper. Now they have to connect those 2 pictures. They can choose type of the line. It can be straight or more in the waving mood. But it has to start from left lower corner and finish at upper right corner. Now they have to draw and explain critical moments in those 5 years. What they predict has happened and how they have overcome it.
Crucial is that suddenly they will come to the idea that they have to change themselves.
At this moment mankind posses only 5% of the knowledge that it will have in 2060.
So we have to invent and to learn 95% of it. 
Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine yourself going in year 2060 and taking that knowledge. Remember now you have only 5% of … Read more
Idea #34 Action plan at The End
Do it when you have finished your training. It is always good to see how participants have accepted training and what are they going to implement. On one page of handout give them matrix 2 x 2. In 4 quadrants give them headlines: I will do More, I will do Less, I will Stop and I will Start. On every quadrant make at least 3 lines so they can fulfill them. At the end of that page make a space so participants can sign. This is very good commitment that they will really follow their action plan.
And remember that We Can Not Change our Past but We Can Change the Future.
Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Find area in your life where you want to make improvement. Which area is that?
2. How important on a scale from 1 to 10 is it to you?
3. Whom will you be when you make that improvement?
4. To make that improvement you will have to start doing something differently. Name 3 things!
5. You will have to stop doing something. Name 3 things!
6. You will have to do something more than you are doing now? Name 3 things!… Read more
Idea #32 Change what you do
Do it when you want to show importance of change. Give to all participants colored paper balls. Ideally, there are 14 of participants. On your sign they have to throw paper balls to each other. Every time someone has to catch just one ball. On sign everyone will have new ball. Do that 8 to 10 times. Then ask them to wrap up all paper balls.
On every paper should be just one word. Give them 3 minutes to make sentence.
Correct answer should be “If you do what you always do you will get what you always get.”
Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that you can restart your life, starting from the year that you are now. But, you can work your dream job. What it will be?
2. How will you know that it is your real dream job?
3. How satisfied would you be on a scale from 1 to 10?
4. Who would you be working that job?
5. Who else will be proud of you?
6. What type of resource you have?
7. What would you be ready to do to achieve that dream job?
8. What would be your first step?… Read more
Idea #30 Think outside the box
Do it when you want them to think outside the box.
All you need is flipchart. Draw following:
1
11
21
1211
111221
Now they have to continue. Give them 5 minutes. Help them by giving a clue:
_ _ _ _ _ _
Answer is in reading. First line is one one which is explained in 2nd line. 2nd line is two one which is said in 3rd line. 3rd line is one two, one one which is said in 4th line.
Next we continue with one one, one two, two one said in 5th line.
6th line will be 3 1 2 2 1 1 (three one, two two, one one).
All over the world 20 % of children 3rd grade solve this problem.
You are clever to; Just, we all have to think outside the box.
Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Think what is it in your business that at this moment no one is doing because it is impossible?
2. Make a list of 20 items. What from that list would be the most important for your business?
3. What would be the first step … Read more
Idea #24 Masters I give you 3 wishes each
Do it When you want to know what is really important to your people and what they want to change. Just imagine that in a basement of your company building you have found an old lamp. When you rub it a good genie appears. The genie gives to each member of your team 3 wishes. Everyone has to make 3 changes. You have to change yourself, your manager and your job.
You have 5 minutes for preparation and then you start presentations, one by one.
You can make variations by making dividing people on groups of 3, so they can work and make presentation together. In that case give them flip chart. when you finish make a picture of presentations and use them in your company, Of course send one copy to us.
1. While that good genie is in the house, ask him for one additional wish. What it will be?
2. Why is it so important to you, that you will spend that one wish on it?
3. What changes in your life it will make?
4. How might you take it even further?
5. What skills would you need for it?
6. How are going … Read more
Idea #21 How to learn a new skill?
Do it When your team have to learn some now skill or to face a difficult change.
People say that:” The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change”. But employees are often afraid of a change. Sometimes they are even afraid of some new skill that they have to adopt. Show them that learning new skill is easy as A, B, C… or should I said Z, Y, X…?
Ask your group to say alphabet from A to Z. People will laugh and did it with moderate speed. Tell them that new task is to do the alphabet backwards. They will laugh even more and say that is not possible without reading.
Tell them that it is all up to them. If they think it is not possible, for sure they are right.
But they have 3 minutes to prepare strategy for learning and 10 minutes for practicing. During that time they can use whatever they want just to learn that new skill.
After those 13 minutes for sure they will succeed. Ask them:
How did they feel when they heard for the first time what the task is?
In which way preparation of strategy … Read more
Idea #14 How to listen like Benjamin Disraeli?
Do it When you want to underline how important is active listening.
Here is a story concerning how important is active listening. William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli, both eminent British statesmen were considered as two the smartest persons in England, in the late nineteenth century. A young journalist said that she would dine with both so she could decide which one was smarter. She has compared the two men this way: “When I dined with Mr. Gladstone, I felt as though he was the smartest man in England. But when I dined with Mr. Disraeli, I felt as though I was the smartest woman in England.”
The point being made is that Gladstone spoke but Disraeli was a good listener to the woman. That evening Disraeli made the woman the center of his universe. If you practice attentiveness to others, you’ll find it does wonders.
They will enjoy it, and so will you. You will accomplish much more.
Elements of active listening skills are:
- Maintaining eye contact
- Nodding
- Be focused to hear
- Questioning
- “Listen” to the speaker’s body language
- Paraphrasing
- Summarizing
- Empathy feedback
- Not interrupting
- Not finishing his/her sentences
- Clarifying
Questions for you:
1. What also is important for … Read more
Idea #13 What to do when someone is late?
Whenever you have training or meeting there is someone that is late. Is it true?
What to do with those people that think there time is more valuable than ours?
Obviously we have to change their behavior. And how are we going to do that? The only way is by changing our behavior! Next time introduce to all in your team or group that you are starting at given time and expecting that everyone will be punctual. However, for those who are going to be late you are introducing money box. With label $ 10.
Just put that box on a single chair or on the desk where person has to pass entering the room. You don’t have to say anything participants will react.
Even money has shown best results you can make variations.
Someone who is late has to say motivational quote or sing a song.
Questions for you:
1. What other variations you can imagine?
2. What to do if person doesn’t want to pay a fine?
Please reply and send to us a picture of your money box.
Idea #11 How to deal with miserable people and be fresh like Natasha?
Do it On every training when someone says: “How can I be fresh whole day when I have to deal with people who are miserable?”
When I worked in Vancouver 94/95 I had a friend Natasha. During day shifts she worked as cashier at Safeway. In the evenings she worked as waitress and singer in the night bar.
I remember her as someone with great personality and always with a smile on her face.
Once I asked her: “I know it is hard working with people and especially working with money. As cashier, you work with people and money at the same time.
How do you constantly keep a smile on your face?”
Natasha said: “It is easy. When I notice that angry or miserable person comes to me I greet him with Australian accent. He or she can notice that immediately. Then customer asks me: “Are you from Australia?” And I reply: Yes! Then customer continues: “How do you like Vancouver?” Then I say that I am enjoying staying here. People are so nice and friendly. At that moment customer’s face shifts into smile, and we continue to chat while I make his/her bill.”
When I … Read more
Idea #3 Chess as Your Corporate Gift
Do it When you want to make a really special company gift or during Team building when you want your team members to have a fun and think about the company strategy.
The history of chess spans some 1500 years. The earliest predecessors of the game originated in India, before the 6th century AD. A lot of business people play chess.
At least we are all familiar with the pieces used in chess.
King, queen, bishop, knight, rook and pawn. So, there are 6 different pieces for showing your creativity. Choose 6 your products and use them for all 6 pieces. Even if you don’t make a real corporate gift, you can use this example on your team building while discussing importance of each product.
1. Which one is major and the company will not survive without it (king)?
2. Which one is the most valuable on the market (queen)?
3. Which one is the cheapest product, available in every store and generates a profit everywhere (pawn)?
Encourage every idea that your colleagues will brainstorm. Good luck!
Idea #2 Hidden symbol in your Logo
Do it During Team building when you want your team members to think thoroughly about your company mission or when you want to send a subliminal message with your logo.
Companies have had logos for decades. Logo represents more than just a company`s name in some nice letters. It represents values, and how a company wants to be seen in the eyes of customers. It is image. Amazon obviously wants to be seen as someone offering from A to Z. Right? So just look at their logo. An arrow is starting from the letter A and ends at Z. On the top of that the arrow makes a smile. Great, because it is not obviously.
Let`s see Federal Express logo. It also has an arrow that you can see between the E and the X. What values does an arrow represent? Obviously it is speed and precision, which is excellent for a shipping company.
Now it is your turn. Take a logo of your company and put a hidden symbol in it.
It has to represent some of your values.
1. What are your most important values?
2. Where are they already hidden?
3. What is the … Read more
Idea #1 From Bad habit to Good one
Welcome and enjoy staying with us!
Let’s start with Coaching Your Creative Mind.
Believe it or not, people are not ideal. Each of us has a bad habit.
For instance, some people constantly go from computer to the fridge and eat.
They say that the best way for overcoming a bad habit is with changing it with a good habit. It is easy to say, but how can we trick our emotional brain?
For instance, when taking a break from work, instead of going to the fridge, turn right and take a glass of water.Then, go back to the comp as if we completed the mission. Is it useful?
What can we do when emotional brain starts sending the message: “Let`s have a doughnut”, “Take a beer” or “Sit and watch TV”?
What can you do instead?
1. Write down a BAD HABIT that you want to change.
2. Who would you be when you change that habit?
3. Who else will then benefit from?
4. How might you make this more meaningful?
5. What values does it develop?
6. What actions need to be undertaken?
7. How are you going to commit yourself to fulfilling … Read more