Team Building 101

When I was a kid and just starting to drive, I would jump at the opportunity to get in my first car and just drive. I wouldn’t have a clue where I was going, but I was looking cool doing it. With the cost of petrol today, I plan out my route to do my errands and meetings before heading out, That way, I can work smart to save time and money.

How does this relate to building you team you might ask? You must plan the day so you and your team’s time is not wasted and you get the most out of the day. When you call a meeting, make sure there is a good reason to call one. You should have an agenda on paper on what needs to be covered. Make sure the team is healthy and find out what their needs are and how can you help provide the necessary tools for them to do their job. Leonard Nimoy, Actor and best known for his role as Spock in the original Star Trek said; "The miracle is this - the more we share, the more we have." Make sure you share your visions, dreams and goals with your team.

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Continually develop your team for success. You could recommend reading or listening to motivational books in their down time. Today, books on a mp3 player are easily available. One of my favorite books and inspiration for this article and others is The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork by John Maxwell.

Whenever you offer up or implement a new policy and or procedure, get the buy in from the team. Answer any questions they have and make sure they know what is expected of them.

As a leader, you must be constantly reading to ensure you have the tools and mindset to help make the team run smoothly. If the engine in your care was running rough or firing on two less cylinders, you would take it to a car garage and have it repaired? It's no different with your team. To ensure team success, make sure they are running on all success cylinders.

Wayne Bailey is a Distributor with SendOutCards. He has recognized tremendous growth in his personal and business relationships by implementing the strategies he talks about in his articles. You can email Wayne at wayne_bailey642@hotmail.com or visit: www.sendoutcards.com/waynebailey.  

The Benefits of Working as a Team

The essence of workplace productivity comes down to the ability of your team to effectively work together. "Teamwork" is defined as "cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together in the interests of a common cause." As a leader of your organization, you can either spread the message of cooperation or you can create competition between your team members. Teamwork is proven to increase productivity while competition between employees will breed counterproductivity. Which would you rather have in your company?

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Low Morale in Your Team?

Have you ever worked for a company or led a team and morale is low? As a leader, we must do productive things to give the team an energy shot. When you first start as a team, any achievement is ended with high fives and a toast. To keep the momentum going, you have to provide the team with more victories. As the old saying goes, “You can't steer a parked bus.” It’s hard to achieve any victory if the team is not going forward.

What does it take to get the bus moving?

People will do what they see – The best way to get a big return is to model the behavior. If your team sees you out there serving customers with a friendly smile, they will too.  

Develop relationships – If you’re going to win a game, you need players who can put balls through the hoops and others who can make touchdowns. Start first with the team members who don’t need micro managing. Don’t give them too much work in the beginning. It’s often said that a leader will touch a heart before they ask for a hand.

Set up your team up to succeed – The more wins your team has, the more confidence they will develop the confidence they need to win the tougher victories. Start with people who have the best potential to win.

Communication - Keep the vision before your team. Thomas John Watson was a master at raising morale. Watson often motivated his employees through slogans and songs, a company newspaper and school, a country club that any employee could join for a dollar a year, and the promise of lifetime employment. One of his slogans was "World peace through world trade."

During the NCR years, to raise the morale of a dispirited sales force, Watson adopted his famous motto "THINK" and placed framed placards with that single word throughout the company's offices. Years later, he would use that same slogan at IBM, a company that was formerly known as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR). Today, you still see the famous motto on lap top computers known as “THINK Pads.”

Wayne Bailey is a Distributor with SendOutCards. He has recognized tremendous growth in his personal and business relationships by implementing the strategies he talks about in his articles. You can email Wayne at wayne_bailey642@hotmail.com or visit: www.sendoutcards.com/waynebailey. 

The Future is So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

The title is from a song by Timbuk3 back in the 80’s. The future of a company or a family should be so bright, they all have to wear shades. How? This depends on the leaders mindset.

Leaders understand the importance of what goes into their mind. There are some great nuggets found in Proverbs 23 about our minds and vision for the day and the rest of our lives. Below are some nuggets to ponder as we go into 2012.

Your thoughts throughout the day will determine your character. Zig Ziglar says, “People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.” It’s important that we have positive affirmations coming into our lives, minds, souls and spirits daily. A good way to make this happen is to sign up for daily email that provides the type of nourishment your mind needs. An author, John Maxwell, is an inspiration to me and the articles I write. He has a one minute video he sends out daily that inspires the mind.

We become what we think. Have you ever had a co-worker come up to you and say, “You don’t look well today.” Up to that point during the day, you felt fine. As the day went by, you kept thinking about the comment your co-worker made. You may have ended up going home early because you started to feel sick. You later realized that there was nothing really wrong with you. A “sick” seed had been planted and you nourished it all day until it bore (bad) fruit. What IF you had exchanged that bad seed for good seed? What would have been the difference? Be careful of your thoughts; they may break into words at any time.

Have you ever heard, “Go where you’re celebrated, but not tolerated?" Don't waste your thoughts on those who don't hunger for them. It’s like throwing seed out onto the pavement and expecting something good to grow. The rule of thumb is if you’re asked for advice, give it accordingly. Never give unwanted advice. A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.

In leadership, who is the first person you lead and the organ you master? If you said “You” are the first person to lead and the “Mind” is the first thing to master, you’re correct. As a leader, you set the pace and steps for others to follow. The leader also sets the temperature in the room. The leader is the thermostat, not the thermometer. If you come into a room looking in control and confident during trying times, everyone else in the room will follow your lead.

Mastering your mind and what goes into it will help you during tough times. Think of a football team that's down 21 points going into the locker room at half time. What does the coach have to do or say during those few minutes? The coach must change the mindset of the team to help them believe they can still win the game.

I encourage you to say confident in the new year and your vision will come to pass. Discipline your thoughts to remain steadfast in what you know is right.

Wayne Bailey is a Distributor with SendOutCards. He has recognized tremendous growth in his personal and business relationships by implementing the strategies he talks about in his articles. You can email Wayne at wayne_bailey642@hotmail.com or visit: www.sendoutcards.com/waynebailey.

The Importance of Promoting "Team"

Business owners looking to create a stronger, more cohesive working environment are constantly searching for ways to motivate their employees. There are a number of things you can do to promote commitment from the people who work for you, like developing a learning culture in your organization and communicating your values and goals; however, there's more.

Click HERE to read this article in its entirety and learn how you can begin to create success in the workplace.

Our Latest E-Newsletter: How to Decide Where to Network & Building a Learning Culture

Running a successful business is about "people." Building relationships and being an effective business leader means helping others see their potential, thereby enabling them to achieve their potential. This issue of our Profit-Driven Tips e-newsletter focuses on how to determine where to network as well as building a learning culture in your organization.

Click HERE to read this issue.

Spare Change

Love and truth form a good leader; sound leadership is founded on loving integrity. Proverbs 20:28 (The Message)

It's a little like earning and spending pocket change. Each time I make a good leadership decision, it puts change into my pockets. Each time I make a poor decision, I end up paying a late fee and lose money. All leaders have a certain amount of change in their pockets when they start in new positions.

The half dollars are from an amazing project that I did and the pennies were given to me for keeping something from falling through the cracks. I always come to the next project with change in my pocket from our last job. From then on, I either build up change or I pay it out. It doesn't matter if the mess up was my fault or not. If it happens on my shift, it’s my responsibility. If I make one bad decision, I lose a coin or two. If I keep making bad decisions, I will run out of change and I’m out as a leader.

What usually makes the difference in keeping or losing change? Credibility. A leader's history of successes and failures will make a big difference in this category. Changingminds.org says “Build your credibility before persuading. Understand what builds and destroys it. Protect it like a baby, because once lost it can be impossible to recover. Use it to gain commitment without having to argue your case.

Wayne Bailey is a Distributor with SendOutCards. He has recognized tremendous growth in his personal and business relationships by implementing the strategies he talks about in his articles. You can email Wayne at wayne_bailey642@hotmail.com or visit: www.sendoutcards.com/waynebailey.

Building Your T.E.A.M.: Motives

What do you focus on, your dream or your team? If you focus on your team, the dream will take care of itself. Have you ever heard, "If you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want: from Zig Ziglar? It's true. Sow how do you achieve your dreams? Grow your team.

Think of a company that grows a sales team. The owner gets a percentage of everything that is sold. Does it happen automatically? No. They are willing to provide the capital to start up the company. Provide the team with the tools, encouragement, resources and a commission to be the best they can be. They may send you back to school and pay for it. They are giving before receiving. They are helping others get what they want so they can get what they want. If you build the team to just benefit yourself, watch out. You're heading for disappointing times.

When you build your team, you will build community. You will do fun things together like going bowling and having pizza parties, road trips, and picnics. You will celebrate birthdays and new babies coming into the family and you'll be there to help them move into that new house. I remember working in a bank and we had a social every month. We built community because we were together more than we were with our families. You'll be there for the highs and the lows in their lives and they'll be there for yours. John Churton Collins, a critic, said, "In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.

If your desires and wants are to build a team, to add value to others, to help them accomplish their dreams and goals, to see them not live a poverty mindset, but to live life abundantly, you're right on track. I encourage you to start today and send a word of encouragement to someone on your team and tell 'em how much you appreciate them.

Wayne Bailey is a Distributor with SendOutCards. He has recognized tremendous growth in his personal and business relationships by implementing the strategies he talks about in his articles. You can email Wayne at wayne_bailey642@hotmail.com or visit: www.sendoutcards.com/waynebailey. Want to try SendOutCards for your business? Take advantage of his coupon below.