Introduction of Kaizen Advantage

To be happy, to make others around them happy, to live life to it’s fullest. These are the top three reasons we seek to continually improve in life. Without happiness, smiling faces around us and living life to the fullest, what type of life would we live? Today, I would like to introduce you to a little something called kaizen – many of you may have heard of this before, but to some, this may be a foreign word. Simply put, it is a Japanese management strategy that can be incorporated into all areas of your life, from work situations to personal life issues and the management thereof. Roughly translated, it means; “Continuous slow improvement, or good change.”Kaizen, is the philosophy of using small steps, or contributions, that work towards a big change, or ‘big picture’. It focuses on you and me, the individuals that form part of a small business, corporation and even a country. It encompasses the little things that can be changed by each one of us, on the path to becoming better, healthier, fitter Human Beings. This is achieved by concentrating and improving on the little things that with time, effort and consistency, add up to a way of life, creating success almost effortlessly. To get to this point, we have to conquer our bad eating habits, cogitating, lack of activity and stress. We have to take small, but steady steps towards achieving our goals, no matter what they might be! We can use the power and effectiveness of Kaizen, to accomplish all of this. Kaizen is a long term commitment. It takes a long term view and the most important principles are that it is a daily, continuous and steady exercise. It is not important that huge and sudden improvements are made. Small improvements are great and it is important that you continually look at ways of making things better, no matter how small. You know the saying, “if it works, why change it?” Well, the Kaizen philosophy suggests that there are always ways to improve things, no matter how small that these changes may be. We all know that it is better to prevent a problem than to fix one. By incorporating the Kaizen principles into your life, any obstacle to your success can be removed, even if it is one step at a time. Just remember, a thousand mile walk begins with the first step. How to start?  You have to start with your mind. What motivates you? What is your reason for wanting to do whatever it is you want to do, be it weight loss, planning a trip, or improving your financial well-being? How will reaching those goals make you feel and how it might change your life? We have to learn to be patient. This can only be measured by your commitment to your goals. You are committing to changes to improve your life and this will not change over- night. As they say, Rome was not built in a day! When you have embraced the Kaizen philosophy, you will not be put off by setbacks, but will enhance your vision with objectives based on time lines and measuring your success on a daily basis, by sticking to your commitment. Well now it’s time to take a closer look into this subject of Kaizen, through this short journey we are going to uncover exactly what kaizen is, the history behind it, the different types of Kaizen, how to create a Kaizen environment in your home, and much more.

Leadership: Management and Leadership

Although some people treat the terms management and leadership as synonyms, the two should be distinguished. As a matter of fact, there can be leaders of completely unorganized groups.  On the other hand, there can be managers, as conceived here, only where organized structures create roles. Separating leadership from management has important analytical advantages. It permits leadership to be singled out for study without the encumbrance of qualifications relating to the more general issues of management.  To clarify, leadership is certainly an important aspect of managing. The ability to lead effectively is one of the keys to being an effective manager; also, undertaking the other essentials of managing — doing the entire managerial job — has an important bearing on ensuring that a manager will be an effective leader. Managers must exercise all the functions of their role in order to combine human and material resources to achieve objectives. The key to doing this is the existence of a clear role and a degree of discretion or authority to support the manager’s actions. The essence of leadership is followership. In other words, it is the willingness of other people to follow that makes a person a leader. Moreover, people tend to follow those whom they see as providing a means of achieving their own desires, wants and needs. Leadership and motivation are closely interconnected. By understanding motivation, one can appreciate better what people want and why they act as they do. Also, leaders may not only respond to subordinates’ motivations but also arouse or dampen them by means of the organizational climate they develop. Both these factors are as important to leadership as they are to management. Leadership can be defined as influence, that is, the art of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically toward the achievement of group goals. Ideally, people should be encouraged to develop not only a willingness to work but also a willingness to work with zeal and confidence.    

Internet Business Startup Guide

Step 1: Register Your Business Name  It will benefit you in the long run to register your business with a legal business name to ensure everything is legal. By doing this you will also keep other people from using your business name and benefiting from your hard work.     Do a little research on the tax benefits of being incorporated (INC) or being a limited liability corporation (LLC) versus the disadvantages and see if either of those will give you an advantage for your business.      Get a second address for your business for privacy and to keep your personal and business mail separate. Consider renting a mailbox from your local post office to use as your second address. Make sure you get the best size for the amount of mail you will receive. You may also have the choice to pay in 3, 6, or 12 month incremental payments. Step 2: Open a Business Bank Account Open a separate business bank account to keep your personal and business expenses separate.  You can open a business bank account anywhere, but having a local branch nearby can be helpful, especially if problems arise and they can only be resolved in-person.            Explore different merchant accounts to take credit and debit card payments. There are several options: Traditional banks, PayPal, Stripe, etc. • • Banks will require more information about your business (including a business plan and forecasts) to grant you access to a merchant account. Virtually anyone can apply for and get a PayPal or Stripe account (without providing the level of information a traditional bank requires), so you will be able to take payments more quickly. Step 3: Open a New Google Account and Services  Set up a Google account to take advantage of Google services such as:        Gmail        Google Analytics       YouTube       •Etc… Head over to JVZoo and set up a free account. You can set up a free JVZoo account to sell your own products and to promote other marketers’ products as an affiliate. Step 4: Get Your Domain  Name and reliable Web Hosting To set up your own business website, the first thing you will need is a domain name. Here are a few domain name registrars:     GoDaddy     Namecheap Don’t forget about reliable Web hosting HostGator BlueHost Try to register a domain name that has your main topic or keyword in the domain name. Doing this will help with your site’s ranking in the search engines and be easier for prospective customers to find. Try to register a .com, .net, or .org domain name if possible- arguably, the three most-recognized domain name extensions. Be sure your Web hosting provider provides good customer service whenever you have an issue via online chat, email or phone. Also be sure your Web hosting provider has reliable uptime for your site. You can’t afford to have a provider that can’t keep your site up and running at all times. Step 5: Create Your Website and Graphics  Decide which website creation software you plan to use to make and edit Web pages. Most web hosting providers have website creation software you can use or use a content management system (CMS) like: WordPress Drupal Joomla  etc. Doing it yourself will save on costs and time in the future if you learn how to effectively work with the software you decide to utilize. When adding products to your website, be sure to create cover graphics to give a nice visual representation. When doing this, people will be more likely to click on them and check out the offer. Most Internet marketers provide their affiliates with graphics and sales copy to promote their products- use them in your promotion of such offers and place them appropriately on your website. Step 6: Send Some Traffic To Your Site  Traffic is the lifeblood of your business because no traffic equals zero sales. Quality traffic is especially vital. There are free and paid traffic-generating methods. You can use any combination of them to get quality traffic to your site. Here are a few to get you started:      Social media marketing      Viral marketing      Content marketing      Facebook advertising      PPC advertising      Solo advertising Step 7: Count Your Profits and Pay Your Taxes  Don’t spend your early profits frivolously because the tax man will come knocking before you realize it. Remember: Be sure to put enough money aside to pay your yearly business taxes. It will always benefit you to invest some of your earnings into yourself. Increase your knowledge of current marketing methods so you can stay profitable.

How To Unleash All Your Leadership Potential

There is a steady flow of information in the form of books, articles, white papers and training all in the context of “what is leadership” or “how to develop a leader” ?. In this issue, I will avoid those two questions and write about two others that I believe might be on the minds of a lot you readers and they are: Why does better leadership make a difference? and how does better leadership achieve those differences? Leadership is a highly unique form of human behavior that requires the integration of character, knowledge and experience. So what can you do if you step up and unleash your leadership potential? Change the world. Your journey to unleashing your leadership potential begins with a great understanding of self. Discover your personality traits and how they relate to leadership. When we know ourselves, we can maximize our positive traits, and become aware of our weaker areas, which help us to achieve our leadership potential. Once you understand and know yourself, next you must hone your communication skills. These are not limited to your public speaking skills either. This includes your writing style and your body language. Your ability to communicate effectively enhances your ability to improve interpersonal relationships. Another important skill is to learn how to learn. Examine different teaching methods and learning styles to identify how you and those you may lead learn best. This skill will greatly enhance your ability to make decisions and give clear instructions. An Exceptional Leader is one that recognizes the value of harnessing the skills and abilities of team members and leads them toward greater efficiency and effectiveness….And so leader is not a title and leadership is not something you are born into. Leadership is something you develop. This is what Dr. Ken Blanchard, in his book “The Heart of A Leader” had to say about good leaders; “If you want to know why your people are not performing well, step up to the mirror and take a peek.”    

How to Make the Most of a Failed Business Strategy

In the world of entrepreneurship there are times when your strategy is going to fail. Obviously, your goal is to minimize this is much as possible and work as hard as you can to make a strategy work so that it doesn’t fail. But sometimes, there is nothing you can do to avoid it and you must cut your losses and move on. But before you go on to the next opportunity, you should know how to make the most of a failed strategy and learn from it so you’ll be better in the future. Find out Why It Didn’t Work Your first task is to find out why the strategy didn’t work. This might be difficult but it will be vital to not making the same mistake in the future. If you just shrug your shoulders and move on, you could make the same mistakes in the future that cause the strategy to fail. But if you know what mistakes you made, how to fix them or avoid them in the future, you’ll have a big head start towards connect opportunity. Keep in mind, it is usually a combination of several factors that make a strategy fail and not just one single problem. Don’t Let Discouragement and Negativity Keep You from Moving Forward Just because a business strategy failed doesn’t mean that you, personally, are a failure. In fact, the very fact that you failed shows that you’re willing to take a risk and put yourself out there. Most successful people fail several times before they get it right. If they had stopped after one or two failures they would’ve never gotten to the point they are today. A good example of this is novelist Stephen King. He had hundreds of rejection slips posted on his wall before finally getting published and now he’s the most successful novelist of the 20th century. Find out What Did Work Finally, you’re going to break down the strategy as you’re looking for reasons that it failed and find out what things did work. You can use those same things in the future when you’re ready to begin a new strategy. Knowing what worked and what didn’t can be a powerful asset in your next endeavor and understanding what actually did work can teach you just as much is figuring out what didn’t work about a strategy.

How To Overcome Nervousness When You Speak In Public

Even if the speech you have is already prepared and you know everything about it, public speaking can be difficult. Many people are very nervous when they speak in public. Here are some tips for you to overcome your nervous feelings when you speak in front of many people. Preparing your presentation Center on yourself. Try practicing standing properly – with your feet under the hips directly. This position is the best and most stable for speaking in public. Rehearse this position with somebody or in front of your mirror. Your shoulders should be relaxed. The muscles in the shoulders support directly your larynx, so it has a fast effect on your voice. Shoulders should be rolled out. Warming up the voice. You should treat all your presentations as if they were performances. Prepare yourself by rehearsing. Deeply breathe into the bottom part of the lungs. You feel your rib cage is expanding slightly higher than the navel. You should thrice sigh. Sighing is your signal to the body that everything is okay and it is just perfect to relax. Then make a siren sound, starting from a high note to a lower note at the bottom part of the voice range you have. With enough practice, you will be able to find the low note connecting to the place located right above the navel. This is the natural voice pitch that you have.   Managing meeting skills Directing your voice. Every time you speak, imagine that each word you say is like a beam of laser traveling from your mouth to the end person listening to you. Practice this outlook to be able to reach to many people at the same time. Directing your thoughts. Pay attention to your thoughts, especially their beginnings and endings. Make your communication complete and fully rounded. Diction as well as articulation. Convey clearly your message.   During questions Give yourself time and space in breathing. Before answering, slightly breathe out first. When you are flustered or nervous, you usually take in more additional air than you need, and you hold onto that air while you try to think. However, this is not helping you. Usually, this method causes you to panic. Remove this habit by breathing air first before you speak, allowing you to relax and thoughts to come in clearly and more logically.    

© Copyright 2025, Masterminds Business School, London UK.