March has been a funny month really, people seem to be in limbo, unsure what to do about today let alone the future. What is happening to our banks, businesses and multinationals? Like many others you may be wondering if they can’t get it right how can you a small business owner or manager within a chain of command? As I see it, we all have to take some decisions, you can curl up and accept what’s happening and let disaster come to you or you can toughen up and take control of yourself, your business and your team to ensure you are as strong as you can be to manage these somewhat uncertain times.
Businesses of all sizes can not afford to ignore the current situation in which we find ourselves. Some businesses are telling me they are busier than ever others are saying their staff turnover has decreased and others are telling me how their suppliers are offering great deals. So maybe now isn’t such a bad time and if you can keep your customers happy and gaining value for money it may not be as bad as you think.
This is also a great time to consider personal development and so this month’s theme is Investing in Your Future.
Top tip of the month from Rebecca
If you are going to spend time and money on training, don’t forget to take some time to review your learning. Far too often people attend a training course or conference and then go straight back to work and carry on just as they were doing before. It’s important to spend some time after the training to consider what you learnt, what you would now like to do differently as a result of this learning and how you can implement this. You then need to go back to this review a few weeks later and reflect on the new things you have tried and the results you have gained.
This will give you time to consider new options, review them and reflect on your own experiences after trying out new ideas, techniques and styles. By doing this you will make the most of your learning experiences.
"You can finish school, and even make it easy - but you never finish your education, and it is seldom easy." Zig Ziglar
Main Article from Rebecca
Many of us become so busy with the day to day of work and life that we forget about investing in our future.Your own personal development is vitally important to ensure your long term success in business and the workplace. Then why do so many of us take a chance and put personal growth to one side often only thinking about it during annual appraisals, applying for a new job or when a customer asks for something we are unable to deliver. At these times we often scold ourselves for not taking up the opportunity to attend that course on selling or the conference on leadership.
Things change in management and business and not keeping up to date can mean we look less suitable to manage that project or gain the promotion we felt we deserved. A few years back I did some research on the involvement of senior women in learning. I disappointingly discovered that many knew they should do more to gain new skills and keep themselves up to date but often saw it as a low priority.
Women’s perceptions of what are the most important factors of career advancement seem to differ from those of men; often concentrating on the development of their staff over their own development. Men are more likely to be involved in career advancement training than women, giving them a more positive impact on their promotional activities (taken from Skills, Competencies and gender issues report for Institute of employment studies)
It can be beneficial to you and your business to take some time out to learn a new skill, technique or method. This doesn’t have to be through training courses. Consider reading suitable articles, books, short on-line or distance courses, coaching, DVD’s, job swaps the list goes on.
Whatever activity you become involved with don’t forget to reflect on your learning and share the learning experience with others, as a key to remembering something new is to tell someone else about what you have learnt.
Happy learning.
Rebecca Recommends
Keeping a learning log will help you in your personal development journey. Try visiting http://www.andrewgibbons.co.uk/ and look at his learning logs and CPD (Continual professional development ) information.
Rebecca's last thoughts
If you find it difficult to take time out for training courses or find the cost of conferences unrealistic for your budget, take a look at some of the excellent (and often free) webinairs run by trainers, coaches and professional speakers. I have some planned for the summer, keep your eye open for them.
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Taken from 'The Have it all Business Woman' Newsletter by Rebecca Jones. Published monthly, the newsletter for women in, or starting in, business.
For more information visit http://www.rebecca-jones.co.uk/
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Want to know how I can help you start your own business
Rebecca opened her first business at 19 and has since been a successful entrepreneur, wife and mum. Her years of experience as a woman in business and also working as a business consultant, has enabled Rebecca to develop her own coaching and business consultancy. Aimed at women starting or already running a business, who need a bit of help and support to see them flourish.
Rebecca personally coaches clients at various stages of business: start up, growth and development. She also runs workshops for women in business and women in leadership roles.
