1st Bac - Presentations

Giving successful presentations: The Eight Ps

How do you feel when you have to talk in public or give a presentation? Many people get very nervous and they don’t know where to start. There are a few key things to remember to help you to give a good presentation. If you follow these, hopefully you won’t be too nervous.

The first thing to think about is the people who will listen to your presentation – your 

audience

. This is important as some people are 

specialists

 and know a lot about a topic and for other people it might be completely new. So, you need to make sure the content of your presentation is suitable for the audience.

The second ‘P’ is for purpose. What is the aim of the presentation? What is the message you want to give the listeners? Think about the audience and the time you have for the presentation and choose the most important things to talk about.

The third important point is place. If the talk is planned for a lecture theatre with a lot of people you will need to use a microphone. You may want to use other technology such as a projector. You can even ask people to use Twitter and ‘tweet’ questions and comments to a big screen on the 

stage

. Whatever you decide, you need to think about the 

equipment

 you need in the place you are giving your presentation.

The fourth ‘P’ is 

preparation

. You will be less nervous if you 

prepare

 well. A good idea is to start with a plan of how you will explain your key message and ideas. From there you can write a detailed script and think about the language you want to use. When you are happy with the full script, make a set of cards to remind you of the important points you want to make. You can check these when you give the presentation, so you don’t forget any important points.

I have included phrases as the fifth ‘P’ to think about. There are some typical phrases to help the audience follow your presentation – this is called 'signposting' language. These words and phrases are used to explain ideas and show how different points relate to each other.

The most important ‘P’ is 

practice

. Many people prepare well, but they forget to 

practise

. When you rehearse your presentation, you can check the timing is correct and make sure everything is clear. The best thing is to practise in front of a friend or colleague. They can tell you how easy it is to follow the presentation and give you advice to improve it.

On the day of the presentation, you need to think about the 

performance

. If you have done the right kind of preparation, you will be more 

confident

, but even expert presenters can be nervous. Remember to speak slowly and clearly and talk to the audience. Try to be 

enthusiastic

 about what you are talking about.

Finally, it is helpful to 

plan

 for the questions that the audience may ask. Think ahead and write a list of questions they could ask. Try to prepare your answers for these questions so you are ready for anything!

1st Bac - Problem Solving

Business Problem Solving

Very rarely do entrepreneurs find quick, easy and long-lasting solutions to business problems. Most problems are complex and must be analyzed from a number of perspectives before solutions can be generated. However, by following a systematic approach to problem solving, entrepreneurs and their mentors can build a deeper understanding of specific business problems and find solutions that provide the biggest reward with the lowest risk.

There are three main steps in solving business problems:

1. Identify the problem.
2. Consider your options.
3. Choose the best solution.

Step 1: Identify the Problem

At times, you may be too tightly wound up in your business to notice a problem, especially at the early stages. Even when you start to think something’s wrong, you still might not know what the real problem is. Some problems are actually symptoms of other more complex problems. Consider this example:

• Entrepreneur: “I have a big problem. I don’t have enough staff to do all the work my company has committed to.”
• Mentor: “Why don’t you have enough staff? You hired three new employees last quarter.”
• Entrepreneur: “They all quit. That’s my problem!”

It’s important to understand the causes of the problem, rather than simply looking at its effects. Here is a process for problem identification:
Ask “why?” until an answer cannot be provided. By asking “why?”, you back up to the true cause of the problem. In a continuation of the example above:

• Mentor: “Why did all your staff quit?”
• Entrepreneur: “I don’t know.”
• Mentor: “OK, now we’re getting to your problem.”

State the problem. For example: Staff quitting in under three months.
Develop a detailed problem description by answering the following questions:

• When did the problem first appear?
• What factors or events led to this problem?
• What factors or events made the problem more evident?
• How and to what extent is this problem affecting the business?

With a clear understanding of the nature and extent of the problem, you can move on to Business Problem Solving Step 2: Consider Your Options.

Step 2: Consider Your Options

Even when problems are correctly identified, they are often not given the attention they deserve nor the action they require. Once you know what the
problem really is, you must take action to solve it. Try this approach to come up with some potential solutions to act upon:

Consider the specific factors that must be addressed in the solution. By spending some time looking at the problem from an open and objective perspective, you will be able to generate a clearer picture of the factors that need to be addressed in the solution. Create two vertical columns on a page. In the left column, list all the factors you can think of.

Identify potential solutions that address most or all of the factors. In the right column of the page, write down potential solutions beside each factor to be addressed. Be creative!
With several potential solutions identified, you can move on to Step 3: Choose the Best Solution.

Step 3: Choose the Best Solution.

Evaluate the alternatives. For each potential solution, determine where on the grid it fits, according to how easy it would be to implement and what level of impact the solution would likely have on your business goals. With this analysis, you can narrow down your alternatives and select one or two tentative solutions.

Weigh the risks of your tentative solutions. This is your opportunity to prepare for and take steps to avoid any potential negative effects of your final decision, at no cost.

For each of your alternatives, ask yourself the following questions:

• What RISKS do you see in the solution? Or in other words, what could go wrong?
• How would you MITIGATE the risk?
• Who would take the RESPONSIBILITY to mitigate the risk?

1st Bac - Teamwork

Teamwork involves different people and different groups across your business working together to maximize their efficiency and reach a common goal. There are many ways of organizing teams – some teams are organized around a particular product that is being developed, while others are organized around a process, such as manufacturing or research. In addition to providing team members with experience, benefits of teamwork include increased efficiency, financial savings, innovation and morale.

Improves Morale By Promoting a Sense of Ownership

Teamwork allows employees to take greater responsibility for decision making and also allows team members to control more of the work process. This can lead to improved morale as employees gain more authority and ownership over the projects they are working on. The extra responsibility can lead to a more rewarding work environment and lower turnover. Working on a team also gives employees a greater sense of belonging and of recognition, which helps them take more pride in their work, and their company.

Builds Trust and Enhances Relationships

In workplaces where teamwork isn't consistent, establishing groups helps build stronger relationships between employees and lets individuals learn to work through a disagreement. Establishing teams, even when they aren't necessary, creates an environment where workers continue to take pride in independent accomplishments while also celebrating the contributions of coworkers.

When a dispute arises, the team must settle the issue and resolve conflicting ideas instead of a manager interceding. This type of give and take often spills over into day-to-day operations and communications.

Greater Flexibility for the Organization

Teamwork can help companies to be more flexible. By bringing employees from different parts of a project together into one team, problems or bottlenecks can sometimes be ironed out more easily. For example, car manufacturers might sometimes use this method when designing automobiles. Instead of each new car design going through separate areas, such as design, engineering and parts supply, the car manufacturer will organize one team that includes employees from all those areas to design each car. As problems arise in one area, the entire team can deal with them and the work can proceed much faster.

Fosters Creativity and Innovation

Some companies use teams and teamwork to create a work environment which excels at creativity. These companies sometimes base their corporate structure almost entirely around teamwork, where staff are hired into general work areas and then chose to work on projects that best match their skills and interests. Leaders are appointed, and there is no chain of command or leadership hierarchy.

2nd Bac - Business Meetings

As companies become more focused on efficiency, productivity and profitability, it has become essential that businesses look at their numbers to ensure that their time, money, and manpower are being put to good use — one of the biggest opportunities lies in assessing how business meetings are run.

We’ve all been in meetings that were run poorly, included the wrong people and didn’t lead to concrete objectives. By improving how meetings are run, businesses have a major way to immediately improve the way time is managed and how team members collaborate. Following best practices, using the right tools and holding everyone accountable can significantly improve your meeting experience. 

What is a business meeting?

A business meeting is a gathering of two or more people for the purpose of making decisions or discussing company objectives and operations. Business meetings are generally conducted in person in an office, however with the rise of video conferencing technologies, participants can join a business meeting from anywhere.

Let’s take a look at the six most common types of business meetings, including:

1. Status Update Meetings
2. Decision-Making Meetings
3. Problem-Solving Meetings
4. Team-Building Meetings
5. Idea-Sharing Meetings
6. Innovation Meetings

Tips for Making the Best Use of your Meeting Time 

With most managers agreeing that meetings tend to be an unproductive use of time and 65% of them saying that meetings prevent them from completing their own work, there needs to be a better way to meet more effectively. Here are three easy ways to get the most out of every meeting.

1. Set Clear Goals

Having a clear meeting agenda will help you minimize the amount of time the meeting takes. If you have tasks that attendees need to do beforehand, send out a checklist in your meeting invite to make sure everyone attending is aware and prepared. The basic goal here is to do everything in your power ahead of time to prevent an entire team’s time from being wasted.

The ideal meeting has no surprises and follows the agenda to a T. This could be a challenge since side conversations and tangents are pretty common in the conference room, so it’s important to keep those off-topic conversations short — you can always book another time to discuss further. 

2. Run Through a Post-Meeting Recap

If you have a clear desired outcome, it is instantly clear when a meeting is a success. Afterward, managers can assess whether it achieved the desired outcome and figure out what would have made it more successful. 

Sending out a quick recap of the meeting will boost the retention of information as well as clear up any miscommunications that might have occurred. You can also include any further action that your colleagues might need to take to reiterate the outcome of your meeting. Learn how to take effective meeting minutes to ensure you don’t miss any important details or takeaways from your meetings.

3. Use Dependable Video Conferencing Software

Productive business meetings don’t always have to be held in person — with the right video conferencing solution, you can still meet face to face and have a quality meeting experience without leaving your office space. If your video conferencing tool is intuitive enough, you’ll be able to share your screen, record your call and scale your meeting to guest callers across different devices seamlessly.

Completely dedicated to delivering the best video conferencing experience possible, Lifesize is the 4K quality and easy-to-use video conferencing solution you and your IT admin have been looking for. After more than fifteen years of developing conference room systems, wireless meeting room presentation devices, mobile apps and a global cloud network that ties it all together, Lifesize delivers an unmatched unified meeting experience that you can trust.

3rd Bac - Teamwork

Teamwork involves different people and different groups across your business working together to maximize their efficiency and reach a common goal. There are many ways of organizing teams – some teams are organized around a particular product that is being developed, while others are organized around a process, such as manufacturing or research. In addition to providing team members with experience, benefits of teamwork include increased efficiency, financial savings, innovation and morale.

Improves Morale By Promoting a Sense of Ownership

Teamwork allows employees to take greater responsibility for decision making and also allows team members to control more of the work process. This can lead to improved morale as employees gain more authority and ownership over the projects they are working on. The extra responsibility can lead to a more rewarding work environment and lower turnover. Working on a team also gives employees a greater sense of belonging and of recognition, which helps them take more pride in their work, and their company.

Builds Trust and Enhances Relationships

In workplaces where teamwork isn't consistent, establishing groups helps build stronger relationships between employees and lets individuals learn to work through a disagreement. Establishing teams, even when they aren't necessary, creates an environment where workers continue to take pride in independent accomplishments while also celebrating the contributions of coworkers.

When a dispute arises, the team must settle the issue and resolve conflicting ideas instead of a manager interceding. This type of give and take often spills over into day-to-day operations and communications.

Greater Flexibility for the Organization

Teamwork can help companies to be more flexible. By bringing employees from different parts of a project together into one team, problems or bottlenecks can sometimes be ironed out more easily. For example, car manufacturers might sometimes use this method when designing automobiles. Instead of each new car design going through separate areas, such as design, engineering and parts supply, the car manufacturer will organize one team that includes employees from all those areas to design each car. As problems arise in one area, the entire team can deal with them and the work can proceed much faster.

Fosters Creativity and Innovation

Some companies use teams and teamwork to create a work environment which excels at creativity. These companies sometimes base their corporate structure almost entirely around teamwork, where staff are hired into general work areas and then chose to work on projects that best match their skills and interests. Leaders are appointed, and there is no chain of command or leadership hierarchy.

1st Bac - Interview Skills

The most important thing to remember about any interview is that it is a two-way process. It is as much about you finding out whether you want to work for the company as them finding out whether they want you. This means it is important to present yourself as you really are, not pretend to be something you’re not.

Preparing For The Interview
Research the Organisation

Your preparation before the day of the interview needs to be on two main fronts:

Find out as much as you can about the company.

Look at their website, and any information that they have sent you, and see if you can find their mission, objectives, any value statements and the like. It’s helpful to be familiar with the organisation’s guiding principles. Also try to find out how the job that you have applied for fits into the organisation.

Make a list of the questions about the organisation, ideally around work, such as the team you will be working with, or the work that you will be doing on a daily basis. It’s OK to ask about the on-site gym and the holiday allowance, but don’t sound as if you’re only interested in getting away from work!

It’s probably not a great idea to ask whether you’ll be able to work part-time at this stage. Either you should already have done that before applying, or you need to be prepared to work the hours stated.

About you

You need to sit down with the person specification and your application, and develop some new examples of how you meet at least a few of the requirements. It is fine to talk about the examples on your application form or CV/covering letter, but it’s useful to have a few new ones too. Describe the situation in one sentence or less, and focus on your actions, the results that you achieved, and how you knew you were successful.

It’s also helpful to prepare answers for some of the standard icebreakers, such as ‘Tell me a bit about your current job’, or ‘Tell me why you’ve applied for this job’. Your answers should focus on your skills, and how you can use them in the new job, again based around the person specification. Don’t learn them off by heart, but have a good idea of what you want to say.

Do:

• Arrive in good time. The interview panel may be interviewing a lot of candidates so do not keep them waiting.
• Dress appropriately. Some organisations, especially technology companies, have a very casual dress code but, for most, a suit will be appropriate interview wear. Remember that you are being judged on the appearance that you present.
• Act appropriately, which usually means following the interviewer’s lead. If you are offered a hand to shake, then shake it, but don’t offer your own hand if nobody else seems interested. 
• Engage with the interviewers. Smile, make eye contact, and build rapport.
• Answer the questions that are asked, using relevant examples where at all possible.

Don’t:

• Be afraid to blow your own trumpet a bit. After all, nobody else is going to blow it for you; however do not lie or exaggerate. If you want the job, be enthusiastic and positive.
• Be over-familiar or share too much information. For example, the interviewers don’t want to know how you’re going to manage your childcare.

2nd Bac - Employee Motivation

Employee motivation is a critical aspect at the workplace which leads to the performance of the department and even the company. Motivating your employees needs to be a regular routine.
Employee motivation is the level of commitment, energy and innovation that a company's staff hold during the working day.

Maintaining and improving employee motivation can be a problem for companies, as not every task will be of interest and excitement to those who must complete it. Therefore, businesses must work to find ways to keep up the motivation levels of their staff. 

Importance of employee motivation

If you imagine an employee with low levels of motivation, they are working at a slower pace, spending more time away from their tasks and possibly occupying themselves by surfing online or spending time on their phones. But most of all, they’re largely unfocused and aren’t putting their all into their work.

This isn’t only wasting your resources but could have a knock-on effect to other employees, potentially holding back the entire company from producing work to the highest standard or meeting important targets.

On the other hand, a motivated employee is enthusiastic, driven and takes pride in their work. They accomplish tasks quickly, take action and want to do a good job, both for themselves and for the company.

Whether your company is currently at the top of their game, or on the way up, employee motivation remains at critical importance at every level. The moment employee motivation drops, revenue and company accomplishments could soon follow.

Benefits of Employee Motivation

Higher productivity levels

If people are motivated to work faster and more efficiently, this will lead to more output. This can enable your company to do more, and even sell more.

More innovation

Not only will they produce more, but motivated employees are also more likely to make the offering even better. Being highly focused on the product or service, motivated employees will see areas for improvement and will be driven to work to enhance these.

Lower levels of absenteeism

Motivated employees are happier with their working lives and have a goal that they are working towards. These employees are less likely to miss work without good reason as they feel that this could delay their progress.

Lower levels of staff turnover 

Motivated employees are more likely to stay in their roles as they can see the effects of their work and feel that there is an ongoing difference that they can make in the company. This can lead to lower training and recruitment costs for the company as employee churn is reduced.

Great reputation and stronger recruitment 

As we will all be familiar with, people talk about the things they enjoy, and more notably, the things they don’t. Satisfied workers spread the word and in turn, give the firm a good reputation as an employer. As a result, it becomes easier to recruit the leading talent.

3rd Bac - Decision Making

The decision-making process involves identifying a goal, getting the relevant and necessary information, and weighing the alternatives in order to make a decision. The concept sounds simple, yet many people overlook some of the critical stages and risks that occur when making decisions. Wherever possible, it’s important to make the best decisions under the circumstances.

There are at least four strong benefits to making good decisions:
1. Good decisions last longer. You will rarely need to revisit a decision that was made using a well thought out process, and it can sometimes last the entire lifespan of an organization.
2. Good decisions weigh internal and external factors. A decision-maker should consider a company holistically. A sound decision won’t have one part of the business succeed at the expense of another. Both internal and external factors can affect the decision and the company's road map.
3. Good decisions eliminate conflicts of interest. With transparency and stakeholder buy-in during the decision-making process, questions or concerns after the fact become far less likely. The benefits of this process keep the organization on track and focused, and reduce churn.
4. Good decisions actually work better overall. Good decisions actually get the decision-maker, department, and company closer to their goal, and solve the initial problem.

Five Step Process in Decision Making

Many organizations follow the five-step process when making decisions. As you compare the following processes with the varying numbers of steps, you’ll see that some, like this one, combine activities, while others list them as separate steps. Here are the five steps in this process:

1.    Identify the end goal.

2.    Gather all your information needed to inform your decision.

3.    Evaluate all the risks and consequences.

4.    Make the decision and execute it.

5.    Evaluate the decision after the fact.

1st Bac - Time Management

Jane arrived at work and found 70 emails in her inbox and a note on her desk to see her boss as soon as possible. She had two meetings in her calendar, three important phone calls to make and an urgent report to write with a deadline of 5.00 p.m. Her Personal Assistant said she also needed to sign a contract urgently.

Her colleague, Maria, asked her if she wanted to have a coffee. Jane smiled and said, ‘Sorry, no time for coffee this morning. I’m too busy! I always have too much to do and I don’t know where to start. You’re busy too, but you’re always very relaxed. How do you do it?’

‘It’s easy,’ said Maria, ‘you need to think about your priorities, then make a list and plan your time. Let’s get some coffee and I’ll show you what I mean. The secret is to decide what is important and what is urgent.’

To be successful at work you must manage your time well. As Maria said, you need to decide which tasks are the most important to meet your objectives – you have to prioritise. You also need to think about which activities are urgent – these are tasks which you need to complete quickly, perhaps to meet a deadline. Other people, your manager, your colleagues or your customers often ask you for things very quickly, so these tasks are urgent, but are they important? Good time management is about deciding which tasks are the most important for your objectives and the business, so you complete these first.

Have a look at the table below. It’s a useful time matrix which many professionals use to help with decisions on time management.

	Urgent	Not urgent
Important	1 Tasks that are important and urgent.	2 Tasks that are important but not urgent.
Not important	3 Tasks that are not important but are urgent.	4 Tasks that are not important and not urgent.

Look at box 1, these tasks are important and urgent and you should do these first as a priority. What next? The problem is that many people want you to complete tasks for them quickly. So you often have lots of tasks in box 3, these are urgent but they are not important for you and your team. Sometimes you spend lots of time doing these tasks and forget about box 2, the bigger tasks which are not urgent, but are very important to achieve your work and career objectives. You may want to take time to prepare a report or do research, for example, but then something urgent arrives on your desk and you do this first. The tasks in box 4 are neither important nor urgent, so perhaps you could delete them, or give them to someone else.

Listing all your tasks in a time matrix like the one above helps you see which are the most important for your objectives so you can plan time to do them. To do this you need to make a to-do list with all the tasks in your calendar. There are many digital planners and apps available now with checklists so you can see which tasks you have done and which you need to do. A notebook and a diary are also fine and easy to carry with you. However you do it, if you invest some time in planning, you’ll learn to manage your time better.