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The Institute for Independent Business
FOUNDED IN 1984 in the UK, the Institute for Independent Business (IIB) is now one of the world’s largest international networks of business advice providers.
As of 30 April 2008, 5,197 carefully-selected men and women had been accredited worldwide as IIB Associates.
Experienced senior business people in their own right, who have elected to become self-employed business advisers, Associates and Fellows of the IIB have received additional training to enable them to focus accurately and cost-effectively on the needs of clients and prospects.
This ensures that Associates’ clients receive the “practical advice that works”— the Institute’s motto in every country in which the Institute operates.
Extract Articles
Lessons in failure I learned from my two-year-old child
by Marnie L. Pehrson
A RECENT CONVERSATION on a discussion list set me thinking about the
word failure — what is failure?
As I was trying to determine the answer, I thought of my two-year-old son, Nate. I believe we can learn a lot from our children about failure and success.
In observing Nate, I discovered seven important lessons.
1. Let nothing stand in your way Nate lets nothing stand in his way. If he wants a cookie on the top of the refrigerator, he locates a chair, pushes it over to the counter, climbs up and goes for the cookie.
If he wants a box of crackers in the pantry, he maneuvers his way up the shelves until he snatches them. Granted, these aren’t risk-free moves;
there is danger along the way, but he moves ahead impervious to peril.
2. Try until
There is no limit to his trying. He doesn’t say, ‘’Ok, I’m going to try to get that cookie 10 times and if I can’t get it, I’ll just quit.’’
No, he tries until he gets it. He may change his approach and try different tactics, but he tries until he gets what he wants. When he was learning to walk, he didn’t give up. He tried until he could do it.
3. Driven by desire
Nate’s ability to keep on trying is driven by his desire. He really wants that cookie or that toy and he lets that desire for what he really wants motivate him. He has no hidden agendas. He does not con himself into believing that he wants a carrot when he really wants a cookie. He’s totally honest about his
desires and goes for them.
4. No ego or pride to bruise
When he slips and falls or doesn’t quite reach his objectives, he doesn’t beat himself up for it. He doesn’t let it make a crushing blow to his ego or take it personally. Sure, he’s upset that he’s struggling, but it doesn’t make him feel worthless.
5. Take help from others
Nate is not above asking for help. If he can’t reach something, he’ll come tug my sleeve and grab my hand and point to what he wants. It doesn’t offend him or make him feel less of a person because he has to ask for help. He takes help when offered and asks for it when needed.
6. Learn by imitation
He learns how to succeed by watching his older brothers and sisters. He watches their mannerisms, listens to their words, and learns how to walk, talk and act by imitating those who are successfully accomplishing what he desires.
7. Be grateful
When Nate does get help, he’s grateful for it. He’ll give you a big hug, a kiss and a sweet smile to let you know he’s grateful for what he received. Perhaps we adults should remember what it is like to be children.
So what is failure? ’
The greatest failure is in the refusal to try.
. . . . . . . . .
Dying for a compliment
You've heard the old expression "Don't speak ill of the dead."
IT MIGHT BE A BETTER WORLD - and certainly a happier workplace - if people would stop speaking ill of the living.
Or better yet, think about all the good things you'd miss about your employees if you never say them again - and share those things before it's too late.
That's exactly what the NEW YORK SUN did for master showman P.T. Barnum just before his death in 1891.
The editors got wind of the ailing circus impresario's complaints that the press only says good thing about people after they die.
So they did the unthinkable - ran Barnum's obituary while he was still alive.
The headline read: "Great And Only Barnum. He Wanted To Read His Obituary. Here It Is."
Send us an email and tell us your favourite article.
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Telephone 5546 4950
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Valuable information covering a broad range of topics published by The Institute for Independent Businesses.
 Articles of interest written by Executives of IIB.
- Volume11 - No1 - Global
What's wrong with Corporate Memos?
This piece of internal communication needs an editor's guiding hand. by John Ylisela
Have you ever thought about...mobile phones and your self esteem?
Go Beyond reasonable - Consumers have a world of choices even for the most mundane purchases - Garth Borgelt
Head off employee lawsuits - the best lawsuits are the ones that never get filed.
Understand the problem to respark your business - you are the SPARK PLUG for your business. When the sparks don't seem to ignite, you have got to do something about it.
Five Breakout Business Ideas
How to avoid being Twimpersonated - Twimpersonation occurs when another company uses your name in its twitter feeds.
Most popular small business marketing tactics
How to get more work done today.
- Volume10 - No 2 - Global
When the going gets pricey - How to keep travel costs down within an ever-tightening budget.by John M Cowan
Have you ever thought about...the fundamentals of Success?
IN LIFE AND IN BUSINESS there are only a few fundamentals that make life work out well and they have never changed.
The purpose of your business - Garth Borgelt
Can you trust your staff?
Research suggests companies of all sizes should keep a closer eye on staff and adopt a zero-tolerance approach to employee theft.
Engaged but enraged — the surly side of motivation ...Your crew has crossed the line from self-sacrificing to surly; they’re motivated but murder-minded.
Doing business in the Cellophane Era
The Singapore way
Debate and desist
How to get more work done today ...LACK OF PRODUCTIVITY and the many causes.
Choose your battles and ease your stress
- Volume10 - No 1 - Global
 YouTube in the workplace... Banning YouTube and Facebook tends to be among the first entries on a company’s internet policy, fuelled by management’s fears over staff wasting time on the popular social-networking sites.
Have you ever thought about…cloning yourself? ONE OF THE KEY DISTINCTIONS between creating your own job and building a business, is the ability to train other people to do your work for you.
The way I see it...Create new ‘attractors’ to manage transitions
Offer great customer service and win loyal customers... EXCELLENCE in customer service is the single most important element in determining your business’ future success or failure — particularly in a poor economic climate.
Practise ‘omakerasu’... OMAKERASU MEANS TO TRUST (something to someone) or to let another person guide the decision-making. To have a successful mentorship a novice manager must practise omakerasu says consultant Faith Popcorn.
Setting the right price...Setting the right price for your product or service is a delicate balancing act.
HERE ARE FIVE WAYS to use body language that will make you more exciting and attractive to buyers and more successful in sales
Business planning in uncertain times
Master the art of giving and receiving compliments...We all like to hear compliments. But most of the time, compliments aren’t as effective as they could be.
Thinking outside the box
 Why you need difficult customers
- Volume 9 - No4 - Global
 How to boost team morale on a tight budget ..
Have you ever thought about… coping with change?
The way I see it... All you have to do is believe and ask
Opening up new markets ... WHILE SOME MOAN about tough times, others are galvanised into action.
When mentors fail to go the distance ...The question of what to do with a mentor you have outgrown has recently played out all over the political landscape.
How to dominate your market ...Some people argue that in today’s price-driven world, there is no customer loyalty.
Get your business noticed
Why testimonials attract more customers ...TESTIMONIALS FROM satisfied customers
are among the most powerful tools in your marketing portfolio. When you use them
properly they can dramatically increase the number of new customers.
- Volume 9 - No 3 - Global
Getting in the front door of prospects - Five creative marketing ideas that work. 1. Connect via a hot line - 2. Play with words ... 3. Guilt with gifts ... 4. They'll eat it up ... 5. Go nuts.
Have you ever thought about ... nurturing creativity at work.
The different between good and excellent is very, very small - Garth Borgelt - High achievers know that small differences make all the difference - This week do a few ordinary things just slightly better. I think you'll see an extraordinary change in your results.
Security - Are your staff a security threat? Most companies now have an IT security policy in place. But employee use of the internet in and out of work could pose the biggest threat.
And Insecurity - If at first you don't succeed... Don't fall into the trap of thinking irrationally
Depression - Are you feeling blue? If you're depressed three or four days a month, you're normal.
Networking for fun and profit
Keeping your customers - Some people argue that in today's price driven world, there is no customer loyalty.
The joy of right livelihood - There was a time when work was a necessity for sheer physical and mental survival.
Go ahead take a chance ...
- Volume 9 - No 2 - Global
 Leverage your hidden assets - Every business contains a wealth of undiscovered and unused assets and often the value of having an adviser is in helping the owner or manager utilize those assets far more profitably.
1. Let nothing stand in your way ... 2. Try until... 3. Driven by desire 4. No ego or pride to bruise ... 5. Talk help from others ... 6. Learn by imitation ... 7. Be grateful.
Have you ever thought about ... coping with change?
Businesses cannot "advertise their way to success" Garth Borgelt - Marketing is about YOU more than your product or service. It's about your level of responsibility and your follow through.
Retaining customers in hard times - Three key methods for keeping customers with cost effective strategic marketing.
Measure your marketing efforts
Smart Marketing - Measure your marketing efforts - Three basic measurements you should be tracking on a constant basis.
How you can fill senior positions - Over half of senior executives place worklife balance and flexible working higher than salary.
Selling is NOT a mechanical process; it's more like a focused conversation where all participants have agreed on the topic.
The freedom of self-descipline - We all long for freedom and the ability to "do whatever I want".
Do you know YOUR USP - To sell effectively to the right market you need to define what you do best. You need to find your Unique Selling Poin.
Personal mastery - New outcomes require new road maps.
- Volume 9 - No 1 - Global
 Follow these steps to fire up your employees - What do professional athletes, newspaper editors, accountants an delivery drivers have in common?
Have you ever thought about - The REAL secret to success
You gotta make some noise! Garth Borgelt - The key to building your business is taking action
Can you cope with change - Business owners are making a grave mistake by prioritising short-term concerns over more fundamental operational issues.
What really winds up customers - Small business need to offer better means of online communication to meet growing customer demand, according to new research on customer service.
Beware! ... your true intentions are showing - Change your question - change your language - change your role
Why you struggle with hiring - The majority of people interviewing candidates for a job have poor interviewing techniques which result in picking the wrong person
Ask the question "How am I doing?"
STOP speaking the language of weakness - Overdosing on qualifiers, inserting needless filler phrases and giving wimpy opinions will destroy your authority.
- Volume 8 - No 3 - Global
Beware of the top 10 time wasters in your life - in one year there are still only 8,760 hours. The key is using your time efficiently and eliminating time wasters from your day.
Have you ever thought about - setting aside time to learn 'how' to lead?
If you 'can' do better, shouldn't you? Garth Borgelt - If you can make more money, or serve more customers, or live a better life ... should you?
Build sales success around these core beliefs.
Leadership - Teams at the top strengthen a company.
Only do what you do best - Recently the old adage, to focus on what you do best and hire someone to do everything else, came home loud and clear.
Smart managing - Assuming is losing - Why you should always ask the obvious.
Are your employees afraid to talk to you? When was the last time your employee gave you constructive criticism?
How to beat the talent shortage - Companies find it even more difficult to attract and retain staff now then they did a year ago.
Spread the work about special words.
Never underestimate the value of a trial run - No matter how reliable your product or how well you planned - if something can go wrong, it will.
- Volume 8 - No 2 - Global
Manage your meetings with skill and style - Studies show that managers spend over half their work time in meetings.
Have you every thought about ... how you can fight burnout effectively?
Satisfied employees take less sickies.
Systems beat goals every time (Garth Borgelt) - To create the life you truly want, you need systems that automatically carry you down-stream toward your ultimate goals.
Accident-proof your workplace with these guidelines.
Dying for a compliment - See extract to the left.
Build customer relationships with practical news - Every time you call your customer, you should have something of value to share.
How to be an effective leader.
Should people tell the truth? - when to hold your tongue.
Selling cold-calling phonophobes - summary of cold-calling tips.
Designing a questionnaire - get better results and more meaningful results if you follow these tips for better questionnaires.
Choosing and using keywords - use multi-word phrases.
- Volume 8 - No 1 - Global
Use mental Akido to diffuse office conflict - applying the right tools and strategies to resolve conflicts.
Making money is an interesting hobby.
How to play the integrity card - express your concern for integrity by contributing to you organisation's policies, training programs and communications about the need for honesty and a sense of personal responsibility.
Are you using a great strategy? The biggest problem in that most people have wonderful goals but match them with a terrible strategy.
Unconditional service guarantees can be cost effective - Many companies now give service guarantees to assure customers they'll get what they want.
Use 'Guerrilla Recognition Tactics' to recognise superior performance.
Think laterally to boost creativity - managers would throw out a logical, linear approach and try instead to attack problems in a more lateral, open-minded, creative way.
Help overtime workers stay in touch - and safe.
- Volume 7 - No 4 - Global
The top ten ways to improve your leadership skills - Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other John F Kennedy.
Have you ever thought about - how to make (and keep) your business more profitable.
Principles for positive business ethics.
Make downsizing a learning experience for everyone - two approaches to downsizing when working with World Bank.
Systems work better than you do - If you run a business, work harder on your systems then you do on your job.
Five sure-fire ways to drive good employees away - Keeping good employees has never been more critica.
Ways to add 'extra value'.
How to overcome 'buyer remorse'.
What makes happy people tick - a list of things a large percentage of happy people seem to 'do'
Danger of micro management - managers who over instruct their employees.
- Volume 7 - No 3 - Global
Corporate fraud - the multimillion pound problem.
Have you ever thought about - coaching yourself to total success.
Build your business with 'Attraction'.
Reality never lies.
The four basic traps of negotiating a deal.
Business strategy - If you don't focus, innovate and evolve, you die.
Where you can get free software.
Web Marketing - 3 ways to improve web site navigation.
Measuring visitors numbers on your web site.
Generating goodwill among customers and employees.
- Volume 7 - No 2 - Global
Have your cake and eat it, too, with an independent advisor.
Have you ever thought about - the secrets of getting rich?
Eight classic web marketing mistakes.
Fraud prevention - In suspicious circumstances.
Face-to-face - Control your volume to keep the discussion going.
How to create and manage opportunity.
Dive into the pool - again and again.
Choosing and remembering passwords - two ways of keeping your vital information in hand.
Using your ISP's autoresponder - reply to e-mails.
- Volume 7 - No 1
Managing business risk - Every business should have a strategy for managing risk.
Get a risk champion, categories of risk, financial risks, strategic risks, operational risks, hazard risks.
Have you ever thought about Change - Be aware of 'gradualists" and 'suddenists' .
Teamwork - the great wastebasket shootout.
Problems created by favouring the first-born - the difficulties facing small firms as they expand ....
Define your ideal assistant - five qualities to consider.
Use these methods to tap into workers' internal motivation - as a manager, it's your job to motivate your employees...right? No - It's your job to help employees motivate themselves.
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