15 Ways To Be More Productive In Your Business

#1 Focus or Fail

"My 2 cents are that startups need to demonstrate laser focus in order to be productive and successful. It’s just not about what they are going to focus on, but also a good sense of what they are not going to do despite the temptations! So for me it’s all about focus, focus and focus!,” Niren Shah, Managing Director, NVP India.

#2 Indigestion Can Be Fatal

“Startups often die of indigestion not starvation! Stay focused on the things that will deliver a tangible milestone that can be used to showcase risk mitigation. This is especially important if you will need to speak to investors for a round of financing. One way to manage this process is to set 30, 60 and 90 day goals across the major functional areas (product, technology, hiring, marketing). Ensure that these goals are tied to your overall objectives and assess progress weekly,” Sandeep Murthy, Partner, Lightbox

#3 When In Doubt, Cut It Out

1) “No hocus locus, just focus” Cut the unnecessary functions and costs. Focus on what’s absolutely necessary and key business metrics.

2) Seek innovative ways to increase ROI on marketing spends. Startups need to manage COCA (cost of Customer Acquisition) very efficiently. Rajesh Sawhney, Co-founder, Innerchef

#4 Keep it Short And Simple

“Productivity starts with understanding the status quo and real progress so the right framework of evaluation is important and technology can be very useful in capturing key metrics. Empowering teams, encouraging creativity but yet holding them clearly accountable for performance is another important aspect of building a strong company. And the best productivity tool is - keep meetings as short as possible!” Vinod Murali, Managing Director, Innoven Capital

#5 Time Management

“The starting of productivity is how we manage our time. That is the raw material for start ups. With so many moving pieces each day a start up entrepreneur must focus on what’s important and not urgent. There is a temptation to always give attention to things that are pressing and in the process important things gets compromised,” Rajeev Chitrabhanu, CEO, JM Financial

#6 Collaboration

“The opportunity for start-ups is to cater to a large & growing market, and the constraint they have is lack of resources. It is, therefore, critical that they micromanage their cash spend and maximise collaboration to become profitable quicker. Innovative ways of reducing spend to build their business becomes paramount – using shared infrastructure, shared services, complementary sales partnerships, etc. Also, sharing equity with key management, mentors and investors helps bring in best of breed talent usually unaffordable for start-ups,” Padmaja Ruparel, President, Indian Angel Network.

#7 Innovation And Productivity Go Hand-In-Hand

“Innovation, risk taking and bootstrapping are the hallmarks of a start-up. Unfortunately, some of the important management aspects such as profits, productivity, systems & processes etc. are overlooked by start-ups in their quest for success. For eg., productivity is overlooked citing the importance of innovation. In a resource-starved world of start-ups, higher productivity means better use of limited resources (capital, human). Innovation and productivity can go hand in hand provided both are assimilated in the startup culture in a non-confrontational manner,” Shaji Varghese, Partner & Director, EQ India Advisors

#8 Use existing resources

“Startups should have a laser sharp focus on their value proposition is. There are already successful business models in place that companies can take advantage of and will create efficiencies. Whether you are pitching investors, selling to a key client or speaking to a large audience, it is important to differentiate yourself from other startups and stand out. As a company grows, it can be challenging for upper management to focus on the most strategic initiatives,” Karthee Madasamy, India Head Qualcomm Ventures.

#9 Slow Down to Go Fast

Startups suffer productivity losses largely due to two key factors:

“Being stressed due to huge and varied demands on their time and resources and being drawn in multiple directions in pursuit of revenue. Being productive is a natural outcome of having clarity and competence. By being focused - being sure of what one wants to do - and being methodical - having a plan and executing it individual and organisational productivity shoots up. The biggest reason for loss in productivity is to have to redo things. This also takes a toll of team morale. As an investor we believe - Going fast means going slow, without faltering. For us, the single most important productivity tool is mindfulness - being aware, being reflective and being open.” Sunil K Goyal, Founder & CEO, YourNest Angel Fund

#10 Planning for productivity

“Planning increases Productivity, if you have 10 hours in a day, plan your work in such a manner that you can finish your work in 60% of your time, as 20% of your time would be utilized in allocation of work and rest of your time would be utilized in untimely problems which you have to solve every day. Finishing 100% of your planned work in 60% of your time also sets as example to all fellow co-workers to plan efficiently.” Rohit Chokani, Principal Founder, White Unicorn Ventures

#11 Delegate, Delegate, Delegate

“Start-ups face many challenges while building their venture, especially when raising fund or building team. We may have several tools to help build organisation efficiently but the one thing which is very finite to all is time. Well time is very important whatever the stage of business is but it is very crucial during formative days.

When building organisation grounds up most of the founders do multitasking and are more productive but at the same time their productivity is hampered due to involvement in many issues which can be delegated. The fund raising exercise keeps founders away from their core operating areas and some time for days, hence one should follow measurable matrix in order not to hamper the performance of the organisation and maintain high productivity.

As an investor we are aware of this one trait and hence we keep telling founders to follow some daily performance MIS which enables them to keep track on performance also it is very important to delegate work as one tend doing everything himself to achieve perfection but no action is worst then delayed performance. Also one should make use of technology to lower the burden and improve on performance.” Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures

#12 Declutter Your Mind

“Every startup always has several different objectives and challenges and we feel that one of the major reasons for sub-optimal productivity is that founders or employees often try to tackle multiple objectives either at the same time or with equal priority. This is why, soon after our investment, we do extensive strategic reviews to identify the top 1-3 priorities of every company on a monthly and quarterly basis, and mutually define targets. We have found that this helps de-clutter the founder’s mind and helps them focus on the goals that matter the most.” Shubhankar Bhattacharya, Venture Partner, Kae Capital

 #13 Keep creating value

“A key to success is to have ideal cost effective market strategy which results in low cash burns and higher results, higher repeats and increasing average ticket size of the customer purchase. In short, if a startup has unit economics in place, it can really go a long way in a steady manner. In case of 50% of the startups, the base metric is GMV, which tried to indicate that there is plenty of headroom for growth for big eCommerce and foodtech companies. Apparently, to suit new realties, the KRA has changed from gross merchandise Value (GMV) to profitable orders, which is really working well for the startups -investors relations. Ultimate aim should be at Creating value for customers who is a definite a step forward towards productivity.” Dr Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Co-founder and President, Venture Catalysts

#14 Culture Affects Productivity

“Informal interactions over coffee or just plain chat for about 5 or 10 minutes almost every day with not your direct reports but a few two or three random people across the organisation or ranks helps to know the pulse and noises at the right levels. What it does to you is one have direct informal connect with anyone in the organisation but also sense the right sound bites from almost everywhere. It makes people approachable and to get to know about how busy or engaged one is informally has had great results. Extremely important once the organisation grows at a rapid pace sometimes mindlessly. This I have been able to do really well and now ensuring everyone does it as a habit. “Productivity is one of the direct outcomes of open culture, engagement and continued dialogues with one another.” Rajesh Razdan, Founder and CEO, mCarbon

#15 Prioritize

“Being a young entrepreneur which demands a better time management in life since I need to handle various responsibilities in both professional and personal life. Each of these life segments ought to be given their own priorities, therefore I segmentize my day into four buckets that is Health, Family, Personal learning and the organization. Each day is divided on the basis of these four buckets. I begin my day with either a walk or gym, during those hours I update all my managers the objective for the day at the office. I make sure that I spend some time reading and in case if I happen to miss my reading, I conduct training program for my team through which I learn something for the day. And whenever I am with my family, I give them complete attention without any work interference unless something inevitable come my way. Last but not the least I always look for an opportunity to add value to the employees and help them grow in the organization. These practices have helped me and the organization to grow so far.” Sudarshan Purohit, Founder & CEO, Zenify

11 Public Speaking Tips From the Best TED Talks Speakers

TIP No. 1. Use self-deprecating humor to lower barriers.

Unlike many other TED Talks speakers, Robinson doesn't have a dynamic physical presence. Furthermore, because he's an academic, he must overcome the perception that he's likely to deliver a boring lecture.

He therefore opens by poking a little fun at himself and at educators in general. By puncturing his own balloon, he makes everyone feel more comfortable and more likely to listen to what he has to say.

TIP No. 2. Tie your experience to the shared experience.

In the midst of his humor, Robinson relates his personal experience at the conference to that of the attendees. This further humanizes him and brings him into the community of the audience.

Robinson establishes such a strong rapport with the audience that he doesn't need visuals or graphics to make his points.  This is a testament to how well he manages to capture and then hold the audience's attention.

2. Amy Cuddy

TIP No. 3. Get the audience to take an immediate action.

The point of all public speaking is to convince the audience to make a decision, which means convincing them to move (conceptually) from wherever they are now to wherever you'd like them to be.

Cuddy starts by getting the audience to move physically, thereby creating the momentum for the conceptual move she intends them to make. This is a more creative take on the "show of hands" opening that less-talented speakers use.

TIP No. 4. Create a sense of suspense.

In her first few sentences, Cuddy also promises the audience they'll be learning something important later in the presentation. This causes the audience to pay attention lest they miss the promised nugget of wisdom.

Note how cleverly Cuddy intermingles Tips 4 and 5! The suspenseful promise lends additional meaning to the movement, while the movement helps "lock in" the importance of the promise.

3. Tony Robbins

 

TIP No. 5. Express passion for your subject matter.

It's ironic that this TED Talk should be Robbins's most-watched YouTube clip because he looks exhausted and like he slept in his clothes. Normally, Robbins tends to be meticulously polished, even when dressed casually.

However, the passion Robbins feels for his material shines through his rumpled appearance. He's energetic and focused, obviously committed to providing as much value as possible in such a short amount of time.

TIP No. 6. Set appropriate expectations.

More subtly, though, Robbins spends much of the first two minutes deconstructing the preconceptions the audience might have about him, while simultaneously focusing their attention on what they can potentially learn from him.

Unlike Robinson, who gently creates rapport to lower the barriers between himself and the audience, Robbins simply blasts through the barriers to get to his point. Either technique works; use the one that best fits your personality.

 4. Brene Brown

 

TIP No. 7. Begin with a relevant anecdote.

As Brown mentions in her opening, she's a storyteller, and thus she begins (and continues throughout) by telling stories. Stories have power because human beings are genetically programmed to arrange thoughts into narratives.

What's important here, though, is that her opening anecdote is immediately relevant to introducing both herself and her message. This is the exact opposite of the old (bad) advice that you should start your presentation with a joke.

TIP No. 8. Use body language to signal a segue.

At about 1:30, Brown segues neatly from her introductory anecdote into the main content of her Talk. Note how she changes her expression and stance to communicate to the audience that "now it's time to get a bit more serious."

These visual cues help the audience make sense of the material, much like punctuation in a sentence. Without them, even a speaker with great ideas can come off like a droner or a motor-mouth.

5. Dan Gilbert

 

Tip No. 9: Start with a startling fact or statistic.

Gilbert introduces his TED Talk with an unexpected fact that's immediately relevant to his overall message, and uses contrast (20 minutes versus two million years) to frame that fact, thereby making it seem more vital.

Startling facts grab the attention of both sides of the brain. The neurons in your left brain signal "Yay, here's a fact to remember!" while the neurons in your right brain signal "wow, that's really weird!" 

TIP No. 10. Use visually arresting graphics.

Gilbert immediately reinforces the startling fact with a graphic of two skulls that reinforces and strengthens both the informational content (for the left brain) and the emotional content (for the right brain). 

By simultaneously hitting both sides of the brain, Gilbert completely captures the imagination and interest of the audience, even though he's only 30 seconds into the presentation. 

TIP No. 11. Simplify, simplify, simplify.

This is true of all great TED Talks speakers but particularly true of Gilbert, who is a master at reducing complex ideas into easily understood chunks of content.

Indeed, if you watch any great TED Talk, you'll notice at once that speakers neither "drill down" into details nor take the proverbial "50,000-foot view." Instead, they simplify without ever becoming simplistic.

09 Tips to Writing Emails Under the Influence Of Anger

1. Walk away.

Literally. Go get a glass of water, read an article, whatever. Leave the scene for a moment to give yourself a chance to disconnect from your emotional response to the email and your actual written response to the email.

2. Know it’s not always about 'you.'

Put aside your likely very warranted immediate desire to scream at either the individual or your screen. Then consider: Maybe the sender was up all night with a terrible migraine. Maybe he was under the gun from his boss to meet a crazy deadline.

Know that although she is sending this email, its tone and mood may not really be (and most likely isn’t) about you. Know as well that this doesn’t make it right -- that there is never an excuse for someone to exhibit poor behavior or take out his frustration on the nearest inbox. Then remind yourself that that frustration does make the email's seeming hostility a lot less personal.

3. Hit “reply”; then immediately delete the sender's email address.

Right when you’re really settling into a nice, unedited rant will come your discovery of a new, quick key for “send email.” But don't pull that trigger. Instead, save yourself from yourself, and keep the "to" field blank until right before you’re really ready to send your reply. 

4. Re-frame things.

Think of a friend or colleague you get along with really well. Then, re-read the email, pretending it came from that person. Emails from people you don’t like, or people who have a history of sending less-than-pleasant communications, can be re-painted with that brush.

Before you let yourself judge this particular instance based on that history, re-frame it for just a moment: What if someone you liked had sent that email? Read it again as if it were from that friend, and see if there’s a difference.

5. Reply not to what was said, but to what is needed.

Use the classic negotiation technique of separating positions and interests. To cite a professional example, the sender's position might be, “All work has stalled, and you’re obviously not trying very hard to deliver by the deadline." But this person's interest is actually to find out where a project is currently at.

Ignore the emotional clutter that's been added in, because it just distracts from the point. Instead, focus on and reply only to what the sender is really asking about.

6. Find a point of agreement.

Once you’ve figured out what the real substance of the email is, ask yourself, is there anything in there you can find that you’re on the same page with? Including or even opening with a point of agreement, in your reply, can be extremely disarming. Is the project running longer than you expected, as well? Express that you too were hoping for things to be further along. Establishing common ground is a great way to turn the tone of the entire email thread around.

7. Edit for absolutes.

None of us “always” do anything. Avoid words like “never,” “definitely.” “best” and others in that vein, because they distract the reader from your point and weaken your credibility: You are unlikely to be correct using them. Rather, you should be trying to disarm and resolve, and absolute words just add fuel to the fire.

8. Finish, then delete at least half.

Complete your reply only after focusing on the substance of the sender's ask and not the distracting negativity. Once you’re done, go back and delete at least half of your email.

Don’t explain, where no explanation has been requested. Don’t go into details that aren’t strictly necessary to answer the question at hand. If you force yourself to follow these directives, you’ll end up removing what would have been your own emotional content. Never be curt or short; just bear in mind that brevity always wins in these situations.

9. Sleep on it.

If you have the luxury of time, save your draft, and come back to it in the morning. Nearly every time I’ve done this, I've reworked or generally taken a fair bit out of my response. This time and space offers valuable clarity.

I once had a colleague who was dealing with a nasty email, fighting the urge to blast back. The colleague sought me out for advice, asking, “When is the right time where I can really just say what I want -- when can I just tell them off?”

My very unsatisfying response, for her, was "never." Business circles are small. How will you remember that person who consistently sends you nasty emails? No matter what other great things he or she did, that is what will stand out for you.

7 Essential Make-Or-Break Traits Of Successful First Hires

1. Purpose Fit

Alignment of purpose can work like a vaccine during the challenges that arise.

For example, at the core of Simple Mills is our purpose to positively impact the way food is made, and a belief that the food we eat impacts how we feel on a daily basis. If wholesome, nutritious food isn't an important part of a candidate's lifestyle, they're not a fit for us.

Ask why candidates are interested in your company and what they are passionate about.  See also:

2. Culture Fit

Company culture starts with your first employee and it's very difficult to change once it's created. Soul search ahead of time to determine what is important to you about how work gets done and how employees interact.

For example, I believe that analytics, attention to detail, and in-person collaboration are critical to business. Someone who does not share this view or prefers to work remotely may not flow in our culture.

Identify what you believe is important to your culture and business, and discuss it with potential hires.  

3. Appreciation for Change

In the first years of an early stage company, each month looks different and jobs change quickly.

During the interview, be upfront about this; nothing is guaranteed or etched in stone. Note that those who ask many questions about the stability of the business are often seeking a more stable atmosphere.

Look for candidates that who don't just like change, but love it.

4. Pace

A strong sense of urgency is necessary in every high-growth company.

Test this during the interview process by giving the candidate an assignment. You will not only learn about the employee's raw skills, but also their pace.

Those who return the assignment near or after deadline are red flags for a high-growth company.  Look for candidates who are eager to turn around high-quality work, quickly.

 5. Prioritization Skills

High-growth companies have continuously competing priorities and lengthy to-do lists. Employees must be able to prioritize and accomplish most important items first, or they will feel constantly overwhelmed and consistently underperform.

Ask your candidates how they organize their week, how they start their day, and what they do when they have a large list of tasks.

6. Drive for Achievement

Someone who isn't content with the status quo, who wants to see accomplishments for themselves and the team, is an ideal first hire.This individual will constantly rise above obstacles, help move colleagues, and strive for the same success you want to achieve.

This is one of the few traits you can actually see on a resume. Look for past achievements or any other quantification of success.

7. Grit

High growth businesses hit many bumps along the way.

Our first hires traveled ten weekends out of the year, toted heavy bags across the country, and worked late hours.  Not everyone is cut out for this, but you need people on your team that say "Game On!" in the face of difficulty.

Ask candidates about the career challenges they've faced and how they reacted.  And most importantly, be clear and honest about your expectations for hours and work so that misfit candidates can select out.

07 Money Saving Tips for Entrepreneurs

Use Organic Search Instead of Paid Acquisition 

Most entrepreneurs feel that investing millions of dollars into paid advertising, such as Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. ads are some of the best ways to grow your business but what tends to happen with new companies is they start a company and spend money on paid acquisition. This means that their base of growth becomes unstable.

Instead, it’s better to invest in advanced SEO techniques such as content marketing, link building, and optimizing for on page as well as off page SEO. You will see your traffic grow and then can use paid ads to grow the fire even more.

Cut the Fat

If you live in an expensive city, such as New York, it becomes very difficult to focus on building your business along with managing payroll and high rent costs.

I suggest first-time entrepreneurs to spend wisely when it comes to office space and focus more on building a bigger business that will pay dividends in the long run.

Spend Money Where it Matters

Have you ever seen entrepreneurs that are too cheap when it comes to their expenses? What I have seen over and over again are entrepreneurs that skimp on services such as lawyers, and accountants. These services become increasingly important when the crisis comes about such as a lawsuit or contractual agreements with clients.

My suggestion is to take sufficient recommendations from entrepreneurs who can tell you who are good lawyers and not so good lawyers.

Use Free Software

If you are running an agency you could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on software like Photoshop. Especially if you are just starting out, a smarter way to go about this is to use websites like download.com. You can use this website to try thousands of products for free. If you can’t find what you need, go directly to the product website and you can find specifically what you are looking for there, and you can usually try it for free as well.

Don’t go at it Alone

There is a famous proverb that says if you want to go fast go alone if you want to go far go together. This proverb is also applicable when it comes to saving money as an entrepreneur. Simply said, it’s much easier to save money if you have a co-founder who can do the opposite of what you can do.

For example, if you are a marketer, finding someone who is a developer will save you money on development costs in the long run instead finding someone who is exactly like you.

Improve Workplace Safety

From employees’ viewpoint, it’s essential for them to feel safe and secure at the workplace, in terms of their health. Whether or not it is a startup, employees need to have the assurance of the safety of their health. The employer has to provide its personnel with health cover, typically under a group plan.

While some employees may have individual health plans too, offering them group health coverage makes the even safer.Thus, it’s prudent to compare multiple health insurance plans online, as this helps to find out one that complements the budget in the long term.

Avoid Extra Expenses

Instead of brand new printers, Xerox machines etc., you can opt for recycled editions of such devices. You can easily get these devices when available for sale online or offline, typically when one or more multinational companies move from one location to another. These devices are often needed at the organizational level, so you must explore and purchase them when available at an affordable price.

Conclusion

Saving money as an entrepreneur can be a daunting task especially as costs increase day by day as you expand. But it doesn’t have to be like that and now you can finally find a solution to the madness by simply taking a step back and evaluating what costs are worth experiencing and what are areas in which you can save money on.

7 Indisputable Signs You Are Your Own Toxic Boss

Overthink

Overthinking can disguise itself as diligent planning. Yes, you need to dot your 'i' and cross your 't.'

And - yet. Might you - unintentionally, unconsciously - be holding on to and reworking not out of true necessity, but fear?

Trust your gut.

Give yourself permission to experiment.

Plant the imperfect and nourish it now.

You've got one precious opportunity to make a real difference. Claim it.

Overcommit

You say yes when you know you should say no. Or, not right now. You ignore your own needs. Soon, the time and energy you've promised outstrip what's actually available.

An honest intention to serve others winds up derailing your ability to serve anyone - including yourself.

We all do this.

Here's the thing about unrealistic expectations. They set you up for disappointment and let down. They destroy your self-trust. When you're over-extended and depleted, you can't rely on your own instincts and decisions.

If you're good at what you do, many people will take from you more than you should offer. It's easy to slip into over giving. No one can serve as gatekeeper to your time, focus, and energy. Not an assistant. Not a spouse. Not a child.

Only you can safeguard your most intimate assets.

Question your own instincts

Do you find yourself second-guessing your intuition?

That little voice in your head is the spokesperson for your highest intentions and deepest truth. It's the channel through which you connect with who you truly are, as a person. It's direct access to your wisdom.

Your instincts are a trustworthy resource. Tune into them. Trust them.

Make self-limiting assumptions

Where are you sizing yourself up as not good enough?

Why?

I don't need to give you stories about people who don't limit themselves. There's plenty of those right here on Inc.

Open up your self-limiting assumptions. Sit with them. Study them. Do they hold water? Or do they simply hold you back?

People who dream big and deliver don't go it alone. You don't have to, either.

Consider the support you need. Is it perspective? Lessons learned from the trenches? Who might you tap into? Make a list of 2-3 people. Right now. Commit to call or email.

I've supported industry-leading CEOs for 25 years. The biggest mistake they all make?  Not getting support earlier.

Beat yourself up

It's good to take stock of and learn from mistakes. It's critical, to lessen your chances of repeating them and to leverage gains and lessons.

Brilliant pathways unfold from mistakes.

But, then what do you do with them? Do you let your mistakes go - or allow them to squat, freeloading valuable real estate in your head?

There's nothing to be gained by beating yourself up.

Focusing on your shortcomings undermines what you do have. What you can do. What you have already accomplished. Don't undermine your capability. Give yourself permission to be human.

Acknowledge to yourself how your errors in judgment have contributed to your growth.

Block possibilities

You're overwhelmed. You're faced with the unknown. At times like this, your capacity for trust in yourself and others may shrink.

You may find yourself jumping to conclusions. Engaging in all or nothing thinking. Dropping people and situations into one of two buckets:

Good. Bad.

Right. Wrong.

Success. Failure.

Trustworthy. Untrustworthy.

Black-and-white thinking blocks possibility. It slams doors. Alternative viewpoints, ideas, and solutions can't get in.

Ease open that rigid thinking. Peel it back. Tap into your curiosity.

Take stock of what can be salvaged and learned.

Give away your power

Do you speak your truth? Or have you given that power away to others?

For 25 years, I've run my own business. When I started, my field of trust didn't even exist. I know firsthand how hard it is to be out ahead - the icebreaker.

Challenging the status quo. Sharing what's not popular. Carrying the torch for ideas whose time has not quite come.

Yet, what happens when you share only what you perceive will be accepted by others? When you stuff your truth?

You risk losing it.

When was the last time you checked in with your truth? Stay current with your own thinking.

How to Have an Awesome Day: 7 Questions to Ask Yourself Every Morning

1. "Do I show enough gratitude?"

Gratitude is the key to unlocking happiness. Happiness helps drive performance, fulfillment, and success. Are you writing down ten things you are grateful for everyday?

Do you show people how much you care?

2. "What does my 'gut' tell me?"

You you know that gut feeling you have? Trust it. Trust your intuition. Then question the reason you have that gut feeling. You will learn tons about yourself. You have had immense experience and your subconscious processes it all.

Your "gut" is a driving force curating your emotions, knowledge, and experiences. Use it and learn from it.

3. "Why do I do what I do?"

Why are you doing what you are doing right now? What makes you want to do it? How does what you are doing help you realize your ultimate goals? Do your actions help others? What can I learn?

Focus on learning. Focus on experiences. The more experiences you have to learn from, the stronger your ability to help others becomes.

4. "Is this the best I can do?"

Ask yourself: Am I doing my best? Can I do more?

If you can't, awesome, keep going. If you can... get better. Do more. Try harder. Work smarter. Ask others to help you do better.

Master your skill. Master your craft.

5. "Am I using my mentor or coach effectively?"

Mentors and coaches are not always the same person, even though they can be. You might need both, but always have at least one.

Help them help you by actually listening and applying what they teach you. Ask them deeper questions. Ask them to help you stretch yourself. Ask them, "Why?"

6. "Do I love myself?"

This question is hard to answer.

Answer it anyway.

Check your self talk. Am I negative about my actions or thoughts? Do I give others more credit than I give myself? Do I treat my mental and physical self with respect? Am I truly loving myself?

When you love yourself, you can better love other people.

7. "Am I helping enough people?"

At the end of our lives our relationships are the things that matter. The people who we have helped, and who have helped us, build our lives. The more we help others the more fulfillment and satisfaction we will feel.

While success as a destination is hard to find, success as a journey can be experienced every day.

Help more. Make your journey better and bring others with you.

10 Reasons You Don¹t Have an Amazing Life (And How to Fix Them)

1. Being ungrateful for every day.

A lot of people waste time complaining about what they lack or the problems they have in their lives instead of appreciating the here and now. "Be thankful for everyday and remind yourself each morning when you wake up that you have another day to be thankful for. Gratitude is the root of happiness," noted Sweeney.

2. Being afraid of fear.

"Fear is the most powerful, yet least understood components of personal growth and most adults do their best to avoid it," admitted Sweeney. "Scare yourself once a month on purpose and learn to recognize the physical manifestations--because you can use those the way mothers can lift cars off their trapped children."

3. Wasting time and energy on things you can't control.

There is no single person in the world who can control everything. So stop trying to be that person! "From the weather to traffic to your boss's mood, if you create internal stress over things you have no control over, it will gnaw at your happiness every moment," Sweeney emphasized.

4. Focusing only on making money.

"No one has ever been on their deathbed wishing they made an extra $100k. The biggest regret people have at the end of their life was waiting too long to go after their 'bucket list' experiences, not spending enough time with family and friends, or not making a difference in the world," narrated Sweeney. "Do something great now, even if it costs you money. The world is full of people who say 'I wish I could do that' or 'Someday I'll get to...' Most of them are so focused on their bank balance, or so afraid of what might happen they never do it and then get old telling their grandchildren not to make the same mistake they made. Don't be one of them."

5. Being obsessed with being right.

People love being right, even when they are wrong. It gives them a sense of control and power over others. But it also stunts growth and diminishes your circle of influence. "The need to be right is symptomatic of a lack of confidence and over active ego," added Sweeney. "Curiosity is the antidote, whenever you catch yourself trying to be right, ask yourself if the opposite of what you believe could be true and get curious."

6. Keeping score on compliments, praise, or love.

People want to feel loved, but looking for signs of love or praise from others might turn into a greater frustration than the fulfillment you seek. Instead of looking for praise and signs of gratitude from others, dish it out yourself. "You have an unlimited supply of random acts of gratitude and praise, which are life-changing for both parties. I share my gratitude each night with whomever I eat dinner with, no matter how bad your day was, you always can find something to be thankful for," Sweeney suggested.

7. Lying to yourself and others.

"Lying, making up excuses and not being true to yourself uses up so much energy to just manage a web of lies that it can take away from living in your passion and genius," said Sweeney. "Have faith that your beliefs, your honesty and your opinions are valuable enough."

8. Making enemies and carrying grudges.

Everyone has conflict with others at some point. But regardless of whether you inflict pain on others or are the one hurt by them, carrying pain and anger only makes your life more miserable. "Realize that everyone is on this earth to teach you something. You decide if you learn the lesson the hard way or the easy way," recommended Sweeney.

9. Fighting against the world.

Survival can be brutal and often gives people the misperception that the world is hostile and unfriendly. "It took me 40 years to realize the world is a very friendly place," revealed Sweeney. "I was always getting ready for a fight whenever I wanted something. Then I realized if I had an open mind, and open heart--it opened many more doors than a closed fist."

10. Ignoring the world around you.

"I tell my kids every couple of days to look up. We live in the mountains and it's the most beautiful place on earth, but it's so easy to get caught up in everyday deadlines, chores, work that we forget to look around us and appreciate everything we have that's great."

7 Tips From Successful Small Business Owners

1. Build a Support Network

For Laura Kelly, being a business owner can be an isolating experience at times. "Especially if you're a solo business owner, you can lose touch with other business owners," says Kelly, who 15 years ago started The Handwork Studio, a Narberth, Pennsylvania-based company that runs needlework camps and classes for kids in 10 states along the East Coast.

The crucial solution for Kelly has been to stay networked in the larger business community. That means meeting with her personal business coach for an hour every four weeks. The coach has helped her find solutions to problems and work through tough decisions with her business. She also networks on Facebook and Linkedin from the comfort of her own home. 

"She walked me through some visualization exercises," Kelly recalls. "Just that sheer exercise of removing myself from the business and looking down on it really helped me see the problems that were bothering me. In an hour's time, I walked away with clarity and an action plan to move forward. 

And then there's the mastermind group to which Kelly belongs. She and her fellow women service business owners get together over a conference line. "We discuss problems and solutions, and we talk each other off the ledge."

As a busy business owner, It's tough to find time to network, but getting better at networking and making contact can pay dividends in the future. 

2. Be Very Specific With Your Goals

Another lesson Kelly has learned over the years: break big goals into smaller ones. "I have 10-year goals, I have 3-year goals and 1-year goals, and I have quarterly goals for my business," she says. "When it comes to revenues, I will break them into smaller numbers so they're easier to obtain. If I know I need to make a couple hundred thousand in revenue in the first quarter, I say, 'What does that mean in terms of camp sales? How many campers do I need to obtain?' If I know I need 800 campers to reach the revenue goal, then it's easier to figure out how to achieve it. These kinds of really specific goals can drive your actions."

Every employee at The Handwork Studio has a dashboard with their goals on it which shows their progress toward those goals. It helps keep everyone focused, Kelly adds: "I can tell you at any exact moment how much revenue we have, the traffic of our website and how many Facebook likes we have."

Building a performance-driven culture all starts with being very specific about goals- for yourself and your employees. 

3. Delegate Whenever Possible

When the Marks Group, a technology consultancy, started in 1994, it was just Gene Marks and his dad. "He was doing sales and I was doing service," Marks recalls. Then his dad died. "When he passed away, I took it over and realized I couldn't do it all, and hired some new employees. I've learned that you can make a lot more money when you have other people doing it for you."

As he hired more people, it dawned on Marks that he had been doing work that he was pretty bad at doing. The revenue of the business soared as he brought on new people because he was hiring people who were better than him at certain jobs. "I just sort of learned the hard way: focus on what you do best, and delegate the rest."

4. Keep Your Overhead Low

Eight years ago, it dawned on Marks that he was just sitting in an office costing nearly $30,000 a year in rent, while his employees were out working with clients. So Marks got rid of the office in suburban Philadelphia and made his workforce virtual. Along the way, he replaced the landline with an Internet-based phone that cost about $10 a month, and he ditched computer servers for the cloud, too.

Lowering the overhead brought Marks some peace of mind through the Great Recession. "When things turn bad, you don't have to panic, because you can take a cut in revenue," Marks says. "Even in the brunt of the recession, we never lost money. Cutting down overhead really gives you that peace of mind. If your overhead is low, you can make pricing decisions that you otherwise wouldn't be able to make." 

5. Find Your Best Niche--Stick With It

Trying to do too much too soon?  Feel like you need to be all things to all clients? Maybe diversifying isn't always the best strategy. Sometimes, it's good to replicate the magic if you have something that works really well. That's been the successful strategy for Ace Apparel, says Marc Mathios, who along with his two brothers are the third generation to run the 78-year-old family business.

"One of the industry silos that we're really good in is parking garage operators," Mathios says. "The reason that parking garage operators like to work with us is because we manufacture our own line of jacket that's suited for parking garage companies...We've duplicated that success with 30 different parking garage operators across North America."

Finding your niche and continually innovating around that niche is a path to success.

6. Keep Your Day Job Just a Little Longer 

 It is a common trap: A person gets excited by a small business idea, quits his or her day job--and then runs out of money and fails.

Spanx founder Sara Blakely credits her success to the fact that she actually kept her day job as an office equipment salesperson for two years, learning to work with minimal sleep as she got her form-fitting shapewear company off the ground. Blakely did not want to resign from her day job until she was absolutely sure her small business idea would work, according to Forbes.

By the time Blakely resigned in 2000 from what was then office equipment supplier Danka, she had already spent countless nights and weekends studying pantyhose design and existing patents. She would drive from her Atlanta home to North Carolina, where she sought out hosiery mills willing to make the product.

"There were days that I'd be at Danka all day and the semi-trucks would drop boxes of Spanx outside my apartment...I resigned on October 14, 2000. I quit Danka and two and a half weeks later I was on the Oprah Winfrey Show," Blakely says.

7. Avoid Distractions at All Costs 

A few years ago, Seattle-based content marketing company AudienceBloom was operating so swimmingly that its founder and CEO Jayson DeMers decided he could get away with focusing on a second startup that he was intrigued with. DeMers would come to regret the decision.

"Running a company 'just fine' is not what an entrepreneur's job is," DeMers says. "Successful entrepreneurs don't do the minimum for their company; they constantly work to grow it, evolve it, and prepare it for the future. Because I was splitting my team between the two startups, growth stalled at my first company, and I didn't have enough time to dedicate to the new startup to make it successful."

Eventually, the second venture failed. AudienceBloom was able to grow again once DeMers was able to focus his full attention on it. "I learned that a successful venture requires 100 percent attention, focus, and effort. Secondary ventures need a full-time manager or else they'll just distract you and derail your existing efforts if you aren't careful."

Avoiding distractions applies to managing yourself so you get stuff done on a day-to-day basis too. "I know when I'm smart and when I'm dumb" says Marks. "I save the big tasks for the morning when I'm smartest, and do the monotonous ones when I'm dumb at the end of the day." Keeping yourself organized and on-task is the real key to small business success.

8 Signs an Employee Is Exceptional

1. They think well beyond job descriptions.

The smaller the company, the more important it is that employees can think on their feet, adapt quickly to shifting priorities, and do whatever it takes, regardless of role or position, to get things done.

When a key customer's project is in jeopardy, exceptional employees know without being told there's a problem, and they jump in without being asked, even if--especially if--it's not their job.

2. They're quirky...

The best employees are often a little different: a little eccentric, sometimes irreverent, even delighted to be unusual. They seem slightly odd, but in a really good way. Unusual personalities shake things up, make work more fun, and transform a plain-vanilla group into a team with flair and flavor.

People who aren't afraid to be different naturally stretch boundaries and challenge the status quo, and they often come up with the best ideas.

3. And they know when to rein in their individuality.

An unusual personality is a lot of fun--right up until the moment it isn't. When a major challenge pops up or a situation gets stressful, the best employees stop expressing their individuality and fit seamlessly into the team.

Exceptional employees know when to play and when to be serious; when to be irreverent and when to conform; and when to challenge and when to back off.

It's a tough balance to strike, and a rare few can walk that fine line with ease.

4. They praise other people in public...

Praise from a boss feels good. Praise from a peer feels awesome, especially when you look up to that person.

Exceptional employees recognize the contributions of others, especially in group settings where the impact of their words is even greater.

5. And they disagree in private.

We all want employees to bring issues forward, but some problems are better handled in private. Great employees often get more latitude to bring up controversial subjects in a group setting because their performance allows greater freedom.

Exceptional employees come to you before or after a meeting to discuss a sensitive issue, knowing that bringing it up in a group setting could set off a firestorm.

6. They ask questions when others won't.

Some employees are hesitant to speak up in meetings. Some are even hesitant to speak up privately.

An employee once asked me a question about potential layoffs. After the meeting I said to him, "Why did you ask about that? You already know what's going on." He said, "I do, but a lot of other people don't, and they're afraid to ask. I thought it would help if they heard the answer from you."

Exceptional employees have an innate feel for the issues and concerns of those around them, and step up to ask questions or raise important issues when others hesitate.

7. They like to prove other people wrong.

Self-motivation often springs from a desire to show that doubters are wrong. The woman without a college degree or the man who was told he didn't have leadership potential often possesses a burning desire to prove other people wrong.

Education, intelligence, talent, and skill are important, but drive is critical. Exceptional employees are driven by something deeper and more personal than just the desire to do a good job.

8. They're constantly exploring.

Some people are rarely satisfied (I mean that in a good way) and are constantly tinkering with something: reworking a timeline, adjusting a process, tweaking a workflow.

Good employees follow processes. Great employees tweak processes. Exceptional employees find ways to reinvent processes, not just because they are expected to...but because they just can't help themselves.

05 Seemingly Innocent Things You May Be Doing That Make You Less Likable

1. Being Too Intense

Intensity and passion are important in business. People gravitate towards strong personalities. This could be the difference between being an effective leader and people talking over you in conversations. Unfortunately, it's easy to take things too far. Being too intense or serious can drive people away.

Being passionate doesn't mean being hyper-focused to the point of being un-fun. People gravitate to passionate people because of the energy they exude. They make things fun and exciting. When you're too serious, you can bring the room down.

2. Constantly Humble-Bragging

There's a practice called "humble-bragging", where people self-deprecate but are actually showing off or bragging. For example, you could call yourself weak after going to the gym but you're actually trying to call attention to your fitness. It seems clever, but a lot of people can see through it. Used on occasion, it's funny. Used constantly, it's aggravating.

What makes this practice irritating is not just the bragging, but that it's an attempt at deception. Whether you meant to or not, you're indicating that you think you can trick them. Being proud of your accomplishments is OK - trying to make yourself the center of attention through trickery is not.

3. Using Your Phone During a Conversation

When you're in a business meeting, it's important to give the participants your full attention. Nothing changes the tone of a meeting or conversation faster than you checking your phone. Even a quick glance can make other parties feel unimportant or ignored. All of a sudden, what could've been a smooth conversation becomes awkward, even impossible. If you must check your phone, inform participants of this ahead of time. Let them know why you're checking it. Stress its importance.

4. Being Close Minded

Open and clear communication is part of the foundation of a successful business. Productive conversations require an open mind. You're going to be wrong a lot and that's OK. There's always something new to learn. You have to be open to that, because nothing shuts down a conversation faster than a closed mind.

Closed minds aren't willing to accept new ideas, which by its nature means a conversation can't happen. Having one makes you inflexible and unable to adapt to new changes in the industry. Remember that having a closed mind doesn't make you a bad person, but it does mean you need to change. Try viewing things from other people's perspectives. Remember that understanding another person's perspective or valuing their opinion doesn't mean you have to believe the same thing or even condone it. It just means you have to make an effort to understand them.

5. Dropping Names Left and Right

In business, who you know is as important as what you know. However, problems can come up when all you do is drop names. Using every interaction as an opportunity to drop names is not only pretentious but annoying. People can and will easily interpret that as insecurity. It also cheapens the conversation as a whole and can keep people from listening to the rest of what you have to say.

Ironically, people often shy away from people who demand or are desperate for attention. More often than not, all you need to is be considerate and friendly. People will often be more interested in who you are and what you do instead of who you know.

Being more likable demands an understanding of how you appear to people. What people think of you isn't necessarily the most important thing in the world, but it does count in business. These are far from the only things that can negatively impact people's impressions of you, but getting rid of these habits should be a good start.

06 Necessary Ways to Manage Investor Expectations

Entrepreneurship is hard work. I've been in the trenches of founding technology companies since 2001 and have raised over $40 million in funding for my two companies SVOX and Pixability. I've learned that one of the hardest parts of entrepreneurship is managing an investor's expectations for you and your company. But through clear, honest, and frequent communication with investors, you as the entrepreneur can ensure the continued their support of your vision.

Here are 6 tips that worked well for me when I was fundraising:

1. Prep well

Managing investor expectations begins with preparing well. Your business model should dissect the market in depth. It can be difficult, but investors will expect your model to be thorough in estimating your addressable market. For example, investors get irritated if you claim to be going after a billion-dollar market and then claim "we only need to capture 5% of the enormous market" without showing what 5% of the market you will concentrate on.

2. Boil it down

However, investors don't want to get into the weeds immediately -- you first need to be able to describe your business potential succinctly. By coming to the table prepared with a detailed, comprehensive business model, but one that you can summarize effectively, you can manage how investors begin to think about investing in your company.

3. Don't expect a check immediately

Don't expect a check after the first meeting, or even the next. Investors are trying to get a read on you and how you conduct your business. When meeting with investors make sure to listen and write down their input. When going out for fundraising, I've always adhered to the maxim "ask for advice first, money second." You don't have to take all of their advice, but if you do, thank them for it -- people love to hear that their advice was valuable. Then keep that conversation going. At Pixability, I kept in touch with an investor for 3 years (since our A round) before they eventually invested in our $18 million C round.

4. Once the money hits, the management doesn't stop

Once an investor cuts that check, managing expectations only becomes more critical. Get in the habit of updating your numbers regularly. It's never too early to be disciplined about your company's metrics -- not only are they important to you as a benchmark of progress, they're important to your investors as well. Also, while sharing good news with your investors is essential to managing expectations, it's important to report difficulties as well. For example at Pixability, I maintain communications with our largest investors with frequent calls plus a monthly written investor check-in, with a rundown of what's working and what's not.

5. Don't communicate when you are down in the dumps

When communicating with investors, it's important to be clear and level-headed. As entrepreneurs, we're often riding the emotional ups and downs of the "entrepreneurial roller coaster."

But when managing investor expectations, the tone of your reports should be steady and honest. Also, take care to address what you're going to do to improve your business. At Pixability we learned a few years after our founding that our video marketing data was actually more useful and monetizable when we used it to place video advertising. That was a scary pivot into a - for us - unknown market but our investors backed the change because we had frequently communicated our thinking along the way. Investors won't be disappointed if you have to change direction as long as you don't change direction every week. While you're keeping your investors informed, don't forget about courting new investors for the next investment round. Prospective investors want to understand how your company is evolving long before you ask for their money.

6. Be clear when you will need more money

Lastly, clear and frequent communication is important when you need more money. Start fundraising early, at least six months before you need the cash. Nothing is worse than having to turn to investors with no runway left. By staying proactive in understanding and communicating your runway, you should be able to jump start the next phase of fundraising.

07 Ways Body Language Speaks Louder Than Words

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Now picture yourself, approaching a co-worker or a prospective client, walking into a board meeting or a party. How do you look? What message do you communicate the moment you walk into a room?

What are your eyes, hands and feet saying? What information can people gather about you before you ever say a word? Regardless of your competence in the field, your body language is a huge factor in determining how others respond to you.

Here are seven ways you can use body language to show confidence and win respect.

1. Offer a genuine smile.

A genuine smile not only stimulates your own sense of wellbeing, it also tells those around you that you are approachable, cooperative, and trustworthy. Instead of wearing out those cheeks with a permanent (and fake) smile on your face, try on a more neutral but friendly expression until you make eye contact with or meet someone. Wait until someone introduces himself before you flash your pearly whites. This will make you more approachable and make the other person feel like your smile is just for them. 

2. Be authoritative.

Even if you are friendly and down to earth, your relaxed attitude should never overshadow the fact that you are in control. When you are introduced to someone, stand tall, extend your hand, and introduce yourself by saying your first and last name.

To sound authoritative, speak in a normal, conversational tone. And if you are a female, watch that your voice doesn’t rise at the end of a sentence as if you are asking a question or seeking approval. When stating your opinion, use the authoritative arc, in which your voice starts on one note, rises in pitch through the sentence and drops back down at the end.

3. Be approachable.

If you are the type of leader who has a naturally-authoritative demeanor, others may be intimidated by you. Reduce your intimidation factor by avoiding intense gazes and stern facial expressions. Show that you are engaged by sitting in a relaxed position. Lean forward when someone is talking to you. Avoid leaning back with your hands behind your head and propping your feet up on your desk. When standing, uncross your arms and keep your hands off your hips and out of your pockets. 

4. Demonstrate control.

There are times when everyone feels unsure, anxious, impatient, frustrated, bored or nervous. Avoid the temptation to check your text messages, take phone calls, or check your watch. Instead, focus on those who are speaking by turning your head and torso to face them directly and by making eye contact. Avoid actions such as nail biting, pen chewing, finger or foot tapping, pacing and fidgeting.

5. Remove barriers.

Physical obstructions are especially detrimental to collaborative efforts. Take away anything that blocks your view or forms a barrier between you and the person with whom you are speaking. When someone steps into your office to say hello, step out from behind your desk to shake his or her hand.

During a networking event or coffee break, don’t hold your beverage in a way that blocks your body or distances you from others. According to the book, The Silent Language of Leaders by Carol Kinsey Gorman, Ph.D., the higher you hold your coffee, the more of a physical barrier you put up between yourself and the person you’re talking to. Hold it closer to your waist when you want to seem open and engaged. 

6. Show empathy.

Being in charge is demanding on your time, however, you should always give others your full attention when they speak with you. Think before speaking instead of rushing the conversation or finishing someone’s sentences. The greatest leaders know how to be patient and maintain control while showing empathy and respect.

7. Control facial expressions.

Your facial expressions have the power to motivate others to give you their best or can totally destroy their morale and drive to succeed. Avoid negative gestures like eye rolling, brow knitting, nose twitching or mocking grins. Be mindful of the message your face sends.

Nonverbal behavior is the most crucial element of communication. Studies by Dr. Albert Mehrabian, indicate that 55 percent of communication is conveyed though facial expressions, gestures and posture, 38 percent is conveyed through tone and only 7 percent comes through the actual words. If you follow these simple and powerful body language tips, you’ll increase your nonverbal impact, both personally and professionally.

10 Trick Yourself Out of Being Lazy

1. Create a checklist. It's easy to procrastinate, especially with boring everyday tasks. A simple fix is to create a system for every multi-step task. Think of creating a checklist that walks you through the tedious part of your daily routine--not to dictate to you but to make it easy to follow things and get done quickly.

2. Time yourself. If you dread the long stretches of work required by a lengthy task, set a timer for ten minutes. Commit to doing the task for ten minutes with full concentration and focus, then give yourself a break. Working with a timer can help you with focus and momentum.

3. Batch tasks. Sometimes the smallest tasks get lost between the cracks. A simple solution, is to batch tasks together when you have several small items that require the same kind of attention. Batching tasks is a great way to get things done rapidly and without distraction.

4. Start exceedingly small. When you have a big, challenging task, it's easy to become overwhelmed and come up with every excuse you can think of to avoid dealing with it. Break the project up the task into exceedingly small tasks so you can get a toehold. The trick is to develop a mindset where you can motivate yourself even if you're not in the mood, because the task is so small that it will take just a moment.

5. Focus on what's most important. Even a small shift amounts to enormous change over time. Every day, identify the three (or whatever number) most important tasks you have to get done--the ones ones with the biggest impact and highest priority--and get them done first thing in the morning. You'll have made some progress, and starting the day with a sense of achievement may motivate you to do more.

6. Get second-hand motivation. When you can't motivate yourself, listen to someone who can. Find a productivity podcast or a motivational TED talk to connect to. Set half an hour a day aside to connect to a source of motivation.

7. Create a sense of urgency. Lazy people will procrastinate until it's the last minute and a simple task has turned into an emergency. Take advantage of that trait by developing a habit of self-imposed deadlines. Tell yourself it has to be done within a set timeframe OR ELSE.

8. Capture your ideas. One theory is that laziness is actually a way of coping with overload. If that may be the case from you, it may be helpful to regularly empty your head of all the things you need to remember and do. Write it all down in any format and order that works for you--just get it all out of your head so you can stay focused on the task at hand.

9. Enforce the two-minute rule. This is a strategy of David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done. He has a two-minute rule for email--if he can deal with it in two minutes or less he handles it immediately; otherwise he reserves it for later or deletes it.

10. Recruit a partner in crime. If you're having a hard time getting things done by yourself, find yourself a partner who can keep you accountable and responsible. If you can find a hyper-driven Type A to partner with, so much the better!

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Best Regards

 

JAYARAMAN UMASHANKAR 

Trainer & Consultant 

 

t +91 9626282000 | m amarjay@gmail.com |  | 

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11 Ways to Negotiate Better With Anyone

Very few people actually like to negotiate. That's why so few people are good at negotiating; it's a task to be avoided or completed as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, negotiating is a fact of life--especially business life. Fortunately, negotiating has less to do with competition than simply communicating: explaining the logic and benefits of a position, convincing others that an idea or premise makes sense, showing people how a decision will generate a desired return, helping people understand the benefits of change...

In essence, negotiation skills are communication skills.

So with that in mind, here are some specific ways to make your negotiations a little more fun and a lot more successful:

1. Swallow your fears and make the first bid.

People hate to go first, if only because going first might mean missing out on an opportunity: "If I quote a price of $5,000," the thinking goes, "and he would have happily paid $7,000, I leave money on the table." In the real world, that rarely happens, because the other person almost always has a reasonable understanding of value.

So set an anchor with your first offer. (The value of an offer is highly influenced by the first relevant number--an anchor--that enters a negotiation. That anchor strongly influences the rest of the negotiation.)

Research shows that when a seller makes the first offer, the final price is typically higher than if the buyer made the first offer. Why? The buyer's first offer will always be low. That sets a lower anchor. In negotiations, anchors matter.

If you're buying, be first and start the bidding low. If you're selling, start the bidding high.

2. Use silence to your advantage.

Most of us talk a lot when we're nervous, but when we talk a lot, we miss a lot.

If you make an offer and the seller says, "That is way too low," don't respond right away. Sit tight. The seller will start talking in order to fill the silence. Maybe he'll list reasons why your offer is too low. Maybe he'll share why he needs to make a deal so quickly. Most of the time, the seller will fill the silence with useful information--information you would never have learned if you were speaking.

Listen and think more than you speak. When you do speak, ask open-ended questions. You can't meet in the middle, much less on your side of the middle, unless you know what other people really need.

Be quiet. They'll tell you.

3. Definitely plan for the worst, but always expect the best.

High expectations typically lead to high outcomes. Always go into the negotiation assuming you can get what you want. While you should have a bottom line, walk away, none shall pass position in mind, always assume you can make a deal on your terms.

After all, you will never get what you want if you don't ask for what you want. Always ask for what you want.

4. Never set a range.

People love to ask for ballpark figures. Don't provide them; ballpark figures set anchors, too.

For example, don't say, "My guess is the cost will be somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000." The buyer will naturally want the final cost to be as close to $5,000 as possible--and will come up with plenty of reasons why his or her price should be at the low end of the range--even if what you are eventually asked to provide should cost well over $10,000.

Never provide an estimate when you don't have enough information. If you're not ready to quote a price, say you aren't sure and keep asking questions until you are sure.

5. Never give without taking (in a good way).

Say a buyer asks you to cut your price; you should always get something in return by taking something off the table. Every price reduction or increase in value should involve a trade-off of some kind. If they don't, that just means your initial price was padded.

Follow the same logic if you are the buyer. If you make a second and higher offer, always ask for something in return for that higher price.

And if you expect the negotiations to drag on, feel free to ask for things you don't really want so you can concede them later.

6. Try to never negotiate "alone."

While you probably do have the final word, if the other side knows you're the ultimate decision maker that can sometimes leave you feeling cornered. Always have a reason to step away and get a final OK from another person, even if that other person is just you.

It might feel wimpy to say, "I need to talk this over with a few people first," but it's better to feel wimpy than to give in to pressure to make a decision you don't want to make.

7. Use time to your advantage.

Even though you may hate everything about negotiating, never try to wrap a negotiation up as soon as possible just to be done with it. Haste always results in negotiation waste.

Plus, there's another advantage to going slowly. Even though money may never change hands, negotiations are still an investment in time--and most people don't want to lose on their investments. The more time the other side puts in, the more they will want to close the deal...and the more likely they will be to make concessions so they can close the deal.

While some people will walk away if the negotiation takes time, most will hang in for much longer than you might think.

8. Ignore bold--and emotional--statements.

Never assume everything you hear is true. The bolder, the louder, the more emotional a statement might be, the more likely that statement is either a bullying tactic or a sign of insecurity. (Or, often, both.)

If you feel intimidated, walk away. If you feel drawn in emotionally, get some distance. Maybe you will decide to give the other side what they "need," but make sure that decision is a decision and not an emotional reaction.

9. Give the other side some room.

You naturally feel defensive when you feel trapped. So does the other side.

Push too hard and take away every option and the other side may have no choice but to walk away. You don't want that, because...

10. You shouldn't see a negotiation as a competition.

Negotiating isn't a game to be won or lost. The best negotiation leaves both people feeling they received something of value. Don't try to be a ruthless negotiator; you're not built that way.

Instead, always try to...

11. Start a valuable relationship.

Just as you should never leave too much on the table, you also shouldn't take too much.

Always think about how what you say and do can help establish a long-term business relationship. A long-term relationship not only makes negotiating easier the next time, it also makes your business world a better place.

Want to Be Happier? Science Says Do These 11 Things Every Single Day

Obviously, we all want to be happier. But there's another reason to wish to be more lighthearted and content: Happiness is definitely a result, but happiness is also a driver.

While I'm definitely into finding ways to improve personal productivity (whether a one-day burst of output, or a lifetime of increased effectiveness, or things you should not do every day), probably the best way to be more productive is to just be happier.

Happy people accomplish more.

Easier said than done though, right?

Actually, many changes are easy. Here are 11 science-based ways to be happier from Belle Beth Cooper, co-founder of Hello Code, which makes Exist, a cool app that connects all of your services to turn that data into insights about your life.

Here's Belle Beth:

1. Smile more

Smiling can make us feel better, but it's more effective when we back it up with positive thoughts, according to this study:

"A new study led by a Michigan State University business scholar suggests customer-service workers who fake smile throughout the day worsen their mood and withdraw from work, affecting productivity. But workers who smile as a result of cultivating positive thoughts--such as a tropical vacation or a child's recital--improve their mood and withdraw less."

Of course, it's important to practice "real smiles" where you use your eye sockets. (You've seen fake smiles that don't reach the person's eyes. Try it. Smile with just your mouth. Then smile naturally; your eyes narrow. There's a huge difference between a fake smile and a genuine smile.)

According to PsyBlog, smiling can improve our attention and help us perform better on cognitive tasks:

"Smiling makes us feel good, which also increases our attentional flexibility and our ability to think holistically. When this idea was tested by Johnson et al (2010), the results showed that participants who smiled performed better on attentional tasks which required seeing the whole forest rather than just the trees."

A smile is also a good way to reduce some of the pain we feel in troubling circumstances:

"Smiling is one way to reduce the distress caused by an upsetting situation. Psychologists call this the facial feedback hypothesis. Even forcing a smile when we don't feel like it is enough to lift our mood slightly (this is one example of embodied cognition)."

2. Exercise for seven minutes

Think exercise is something you don't have time for? Think again. Check out this seven-minute workout from The New York Times. That's a workout any of us can fit into our schedules.

Exercise has such a profound effect on our happiness and well-being that it is an effective strategy for overcoming depression. In a study cited in Shawn Achor's book The Happiness Advantage, three groups of patients treated their depression with medication, exercise, or a combination of the two.

The results of this study are surprising: Although all three groups experienced similar improvements in their happiness levels early on, the follow-up assessments proved to be radically different:

"The groups were tested six months later to assess their relapse rate. Of those who had taken the medication alone, 38 percent had slipped back into depression. Those in the combination group were doing only slightly better, with a 31 percent relapse rate. The biggest shock, though, came from the exercise group: Their relapse rate was only 9 percent."

You don't have to be depressed to benefit from exercise, though. Exercise can help you relax, increase your brainpower, and even improve your body image, even if you don't lose any weight.

We've explored exercise in depth before, and looked at what it does to our brains, such as releasing proteins and endorphins that make us feel happier.

A study in the Journal of Health Psychology found that people who exercised felt better about their bodies even when they saw no physical changes:

"Body weight, shape and body image were assessed in 16 males and 18 females before and after both 6 x 40 minutes exercising and 6 x 40 minutes reading. Over both conditions, body weight and shape did not change. Various aspects of body image, however, improved after exercise compared to before."

Yep: Even if your actual appearance doesn't change, how you feel about your body does change.

3. Sleep more

We know that sleep helps our body recover from the day and repair itself and that it helps us focus and be more productive. It turns out sleep is also important for happiness.

In NutureShock, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman explain how sleep affects positivity:

"Negative stimuli get processed by the amygdala; positive or neutral memories get processed by the hippocampus. Sleep deprivation hits the hippocampus harder than the amygdala. The result is that sleep-deprived people fail to recall pleasant memories yet recall gloomy memories just fine.

"In one experiment by Walker, sleep-deprived college students tried to memorize a list of words. They could remember 81 percent of the words with a negative connotation, like cancer. But they could remember only 31 percent of the words with a positive or neutral connotation, like sunshine or basket."

The BPS Research Digest explores another study that proves sleep affects our sensitivity to negative emotions. Using a facial recognition task throughout the course of a day, researchers studied how sensitive participants were to positive and negative emotions. Those who worked through the afternoon without taking a nap became more sensitive to negative emotions like fear and anger.

"Using a face recognition task, here we demonstrate an amplified reactivity to anger and fear emotions across the day, without sleep. However, an intervening nap blocked and even reversed this negative emotional reactivity to anger and fear while conversely enhancing ratings of positive (happy) expressions."

Of course, how well (and how long) you sleep will probably affect how you feel when you wake up, which can make a difference to your whole day.

Another study tested how employees' moods when they started work in the morning affected their entire workday.

"Researchers found that employees' moods when they clocked in tended to affect how they felt the rest of the day. Early mood was linked to their perceptions of customers and to how they reacted to customers' moods."

And, most important to managers, employee mood had a clear impact on performance, including both how much work employees performed and how well they performed it.

4. Spend more time with friends and family

Not staying in touch with friends and family is one of the top five regrets of the dying.

If you want more evidence that time with friends is beneficial for you, research proves it can make you happier right now, too.

Social time is highly valuable when it comes to improving our happiness, even for introverts. Several studies have found that time spent with friends and family makes a big difference in how happy we feel.

I love the way Harvard happiness expert Daniel Gilbert explains it:

"We are happy when we have family, we are happy when we have friends and almost all the other things we think make us happy are actually just ways of getting more family and friends."

George Vaillant is the director of a 72-year study of the lives of 268 men.

"In an interview in the March 2008 newsletter to the Grant Study subjects, Vaillant was asked, 'What have you learned from the Grant Study men?' Vaillant's response: 'That the only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people.'"

He shared insights of the study with Joshua Wolf Shenk at The Atlantic on how men's social connections made a difference to their overall happiness:

"Men's relationships at age 47, he found, predicted late-life adjustment better than any other variable. Good sibling relationships seem especially powerful: 93 percent of the men who were thriving at age 65 had been close to a brother or sister when younger."

In fact, a study published in the Journal of Socio-Economics states than your relationships are worth more than $100,000:

"Using the British Household Panel Survey, I find that an increase in the level of social involvements is worth up to an extra 85,000 a year in terms of life satisfaction. Actual changes in income, on the other hand, buy very little happiness."

 I think that last line is especially fascinating: "Actual changes in income, on the other hand, buy very little happiness." So we could increase our annual income by hundreds of thousands of dollars and still not be as happy as we would if we increased the strength of our social relationships.

The Terman study, covered in The Longevity Project, found that relationships and how we help others were important factors in living long, happy lives:

"We figured that if a Terman participant sincerely felt that he or she had friends and relatives to count on when having a hard time then that person would be healthier. Those who felt very loved and cared for, we predicted, would live the longest.

"Surprise: Our prediction was wrong ... Beyond social network size, the clearest benefit of social relationships came from helping others. Those who helped their friends and neighbors, advising and caring for others, tended to live to old age."

5. Go outside more often

In The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor recommends spending time in the fresh air to improve your happiness:

"Making time to go outside on a nice day also delivers a huge advantage; one study found that spending 20 minutes outside in good weather not only boosted positive mood, but broadened thinking and improved working memory ... "

This is good news for those of us who worry about fitting new habits into already busy schedules. Twenty minutes is a short enough time to spend outside that you could fit it into your commute or even your lunch break.

A U.K. study from the University of Sussex also found that being outdoors made people happier:

"Being outdoors, near the sea, on a warm, sunny weekend afternoon is the perfect spot for most. In fact, participants were found to be substantially happier outdoors in all natural environments than they were in urban environments."

The American Meteorological Society published research in 2011 that found current temperature has a bigger effect on our happiness than variables like wind speed and humidity, or even the average temperature over the course of a day. It also found that happiness is maximized at 57 degrees (13.9C), so keep an eye on the weather forecast before heading outside for your 20 minutes of fresh air.

The connection between productivity and temperature is another topic we've talked about more here. It's fascinating what a small change in temperature can do.

6. Help other people

One of the most counterintuitive pieces of advice I found is that to make yourself feel happier, you should help others. In fact, 100 hours per year (or two hours per week) is the optimal time we should dedicate to helping others in order to enrich our lives.

If we go back to Shawn Achor's book again, he says this about helping others:

" ... when researchers interviewed more than 150 people about their recent purchases, they found that money spent on activities--such as concerts and group dinners out--brought far more pleasure than material purchases like shoes, televisions, or expensive watches. Spending money on other people, called 'prosocial spending,' also boosts happiness."

The Journal of Happiness Studies published a study that explored this very topic:

"Participants recalled a previous purchase made for either themselves or someone else and then reported their happiness. Afterward, participants chose whether to spend a monetary windfall on themselves or someone else. Participants assigned to recall a purchase made for someone else reported feeling significantly happier immediately after this recollection; most importantly, the happier participants felt, the more likely they were to choose to spend a windfall on someone else in the near future."

So spending money on other people makes us happier than buying stuff for ourselves. But what about spending our time on other people?

A study of volunteering in Germany explored how volunteers were affected when their opportunities to help others were taken away:

"Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall but before the German reunion, the first wave of data of the GSOEP was collected in East Germany. Volunteering was still widespread. Due to the shock of the reunion, a large portion of the infrastructure of volunteering (e.g., sports clubs associated with firms) collapsed and people randomly lost their opportunities for volunteering. Based on a comparison of the change in subjective well-being of these people and of people from the control group who had no change in their volunteer status, the hypothesis is supported that volunteering is rewarding in terms of higher life satisfaction."

In his book Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being, University of Pennsylvania professor Martin Seligman explains that helping others can improve our own lives:

" ... we scientists have found that doing a kindness produces the single most reliable momentary increase in well-being of any exercise we have tested."

7. Plan a trip (even if you don't ever take it)

As opposed to actually taking a holiday, simply planning a vacation or break from work can improve our happiness. A study published in the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life showed that the highest spike in happiness came during the planning stage of a vacation as people enjoy the sense of anticipation:

"In the study, the effect of vacation anticipation boosted happiness for eight weeks. After the vacation, happiness quickly dropped back to baseline levels for most people."

Shawn Achor has some info for us on this point, as well:

"One study found that people who just thought about watching their favorite movie actually raised their endorphin levels by 27 percent."

If you can't take the time for a vacation right now, or even a night out with friends, put something on the calendar--even if it's a month or a year down the road.

Then, whenever you need a boost of happiness, remind yourself about it.

8. Meditate

Meditation is often touted as an important habit for improving focus, clarity, and attention span, as well as helping to keep you calm. It turns out it's also useful for improving your happiness:

"In one study, a research team from Massachusetts General Hospital looked at the brain scans of 16 people before and after they participated in an eight-week course in mindfulness meditation. The study, published in the January issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, concluded that after completing the course, parts of the participants' brains associated with compassion and self-awareness grew, and parts associated with stress shrank."

Meditation literally clears your mind and calms you down. It's often been proved to be the single most effective way to live a happier life. According to Achor, meditation can actually make you happier long-term:

"Studies show that in the minutes right after meditating, we experience feelings of calm and contentment, as well as heightened awareness and empathy. And research even shows that regular meditation can permanently rewire the brain to raise levels of happiness."

The fact that we can actually alter our brain structure through meditation is most surprising to me and somewhat reassuring that however we feel and think today isn't permanent.

(For more on the subject, here's what happened when I (Jeff) decided to try meditation.)

9. Move closer to work

Our commute to work can have a surprisingly powerful impact on our happiness. The fact that we tend to commute twice a day at least five days a week makes it unsurprising that the effect would build up over time and make us less and less happy.

According to the Art of Manliness, having a long commute is something we often fail to realize will affect us so dramatically:

" ... while many voluntary conditions don't affect our happiness in the long term because we acclimate to them, people never get accustomed to their daily slog to work because sometimes the traffic is awful and sometimes it's not."

Or as Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert put it, "Driving in traffic is a different kind of hell every day."

We tend to try to compensate for this by having a bigger house or a better job, but these compensations just don't work:

"Two Swiss economists who studied the effect of commuting on happiness found that such factors could not make up for the misery created by a long commute."

10. Practice gratitude

This is a seemingly simple strategy, but one I've found to make a huge difference to my outlook. There are lots of ways to practice gratitude, from keeping a journal of things you're grateful for, sharing three good things that happen each day with a friend or your partner, or going out of your way to show gratitude when others help you.

In an experiment where participants took note of things they were grateful for each day, their moods were improved just from this simple practice:

"The gratitude-outlook groups exhibited heightened well-being across several, though not all, of the outcome measures across the three studies, relative to the comparison groups. The effect on positive affect appeared to be the most robust finding. Results suggest that a conscious focus on blessings may have emotional and interpersonal benefits."

The Journal of Happiness Studies published a study that used letters of gratitude to test how being grateful can affect our levels of happiness:

"Participants included 219 men and women who wrote three letters of gratitude over a three-week period. Results indicated that writing letters of gratitude increased participants' happiness and life satisfaction while decreasing depressive symptoms."

11. And the easiest tip of all: get older

As we get older, particularly past middle age, we tend to naturally grow happier. There's still some debate over why this happens, but scientists have a few ideas:

"Researchers, including the authors, have found that older people shown pictures of faces or situations tend to focus on and remember the happier ones more and the negative ones less."

Other studies have discovered that as people age, they seek out situations that will lift their moods--for instance, pruning social circles of friends or acquaintances who might bring them down. Still other work finds that older adults learn to let go of loss and disappointment over unachieved goals, and focus their goals on greater well-being.

So if you thought getting old will make you miserable, it's likely you'll develop a more positive outlook than you probably have now.

How cool is that?