Randy A Brown

Author: Randy A Brown

  • Think Positive

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    In today’s business world, companies hold workers to high demands. These high demands tend to make us negative and overwhelmed. Negativity is bad for the soul, and for those around us. I used to mold figurines for a living. We had a product that had a nine-piece accessory set. It was a very difficult and time-consuming piece to make. Some customers would order 1000 sets at a time. That’s 10,000 pieces. That made a very long week and it could easily make the entire week a negative experience. In order to see this in a positive way I started thinking about the two ways I could view molding just one set. I could look at the one set and say that I’ve ONLY molded one set and I have 9999 to go, or I could say I’ve molded one set and I ONLY have 9999 sets to go. It’s the same number, but it had a different result. One was negative, which made the work even more difficult, and the other was positive, which made the work more enjoyable a lifted my mood for the week. If the end result is the same, look at it in a positive light. Everyone around you will appreciate it.

     

  • Qualities of a Good Leader

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    There are many qualities that make a good leader. Some qualities are more important that others; some qualities are more difficult see or develop; other qualities are more defined and expected. In general, people have an ideal set of qualities they expect a leader to have. Here is a short list of those qualities.

    • Honest
    • Patient
    • Decisive
    • Intentional
    • Responsible
    • Confident
    • Educated
    • Enthusiastic
    • Reliable
    • Trustworthy
    • Loyal
    • Focused

    This skill-set can be summed up in many ways, using words such as vision and competence. Of course this list is no where near complete, but this is the basic list I feel is important to focus on when developing your leadership skill-set.
     

     

  • Jesus – The Ultimate Leader

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    Jesus is the ultimate leader. His leadership strategy was much different than most leaders we see today because he had a very different purpose. His goal wasn’t to be popular. His goal was to train a few, rather than many. Jesus focused on depth and long-term results. He taught thousands at a time, but he didn’t focus on telling them what they wanted to hear. He didn’t focus on telling them how great they are, or how they can achieve anything they wanted. He usually left them confused at his teachings. His goal wasn’t to give them the answers to all of the questions.

    Although he taught thousands, he narrowed his focus down to seventy disciples. From the seventy, he chose twelve to be Apostles. He taught and trained these twelve more deeply than he taught the seventy. From the twelve, Jesus was closer to three. He made these three his ‘inner circle’ and taught them even deeper than he did the other nine.

    What was his purpose? Jesus wasn’t just training leaders. He was training leaders of leaders. These leaders changed the modern world. Jesus was teaching a complete paradigm shift and he knew what it would take to make this paradigm work. He knew he didn’t just need disciples. He needed disciples that could make disciples. Jesus had more foresight than any leader before or after. Jesus truly is the ultimate leader.

  • Free Video Online Leadership Course

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    Wise Jargon offers a free online video lesson series titled Ten Principles of Being a Godly Leader. The series is based on the book Think Like Jesus Lead Like Moses. You can see the series here:

     

    Ten Principles of Being a Godly Leader

  • Failure

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    Is it OK to fail? I was recently asked this question. My first thought was ‘failure is not an option”. Then I was reminded of Thomas Edison who, when asked about how many failed attempts he had while inventing the light bulb, said that he didn’t fail- he learned how not to make a light bulb (paraphrased- the actual number changes). The point is Thomas Edison saw the failures as something positive. Failure is an opportunity to learn. Failure can be costly, but not learning from failure is even more costly. Don’t hope for or expect failure, but when it happens use it to your advantage. Learn from it and you’ll have an advantage over those that don’t.

  • Time Management

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    Time Management involves prioritizing your tasks according to a set schedule. The first step is to pay attention to where your time is going. I recommend writing down in a journal all of the tasks you have to accomplish, and then place them on your schedule according to priority. Keep a check your schedule to ensure you are managing your time appropriately. It is a good idea to keep a check on how long tasks take. This way, you can determine which tasks are taking the most time and you can study those tasks to discover ways to make them more efficient. I was surprised to find how much of my time is non-productive, but I would not have known that without analyzing my schedule. We all have 24 hours a day. Use it wisely.

     

  • Six Sigma

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    Six Sigma is a business management strategy developed in 1986 by Motorola. The purpose of Six Sigma is to improve quality by identifying and removing the causes of defects and variation within the process. The goal is to increase quality, reduce costs, and increase profits. There are many concepts and strategies within Six Sigma as well as several certifications.

  • Essential Tools: Microsoft Office

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    Microsoft Office is one of the most valuable tools and skill-sets that a Manager or Engineer can have. There are cheaper alternatives, but most industries use Microsoft. Even if you use one of the alternatives, I highly recommend being familiar with Office. Also, adding Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to your toolbox only adds to your value.

    There are many packages of Office. I recommend being very familiar with:

    • Word
    • Excel
    • PowerPoint
    • Access

    Microsoft Offices skills are an essential element in today’s business world.

  • Free Online Management and Leadership Course from Master Class Management

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    Master Class Management has a free 10-lesson course on Management and Leadership skills. The course is a mini MBA that you can study for free at your own pace. You can even get a certificate if you want. Lessons include:

    1. How to be a Great Manager through Strong Leadership
    2. How to Manage and Organize your Department to Meet the Goals
    3. How to Manage your Employees & Build a Strong Team
    4. How to Hire & Retain the Right People
    5. How to Deal with Conflict, Problems, Difficult Employees & Firing
    6. How to Delegate, Manage your Time, Solve Problems & Make the Right Decisions
    7. How to Get your Point Across through the Art of Business Communications
    8. Business Basics Part I – Business Types, Ethics& Law, Economics, Finance & Accounting
    9. Business Basics Part II – Operations Management, Customer Service, IS & HR
    10. Business Basics Part III – Marketing & Sales

    There’s a lot to like in this course. You can take the complete course or just the sections you choose. Highly recommended. You can find the course here:

    Free Online Management Training & Leadership Skills Course Business Management Certification

     

  • Building Effective Habits

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    Effective Managers and Leaders build habits that lead to their success. Stephen Covey, in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, outlines seven habits that effective people follow:

    1. Be Proactive
    2. Begin with the End in Mind
    3. Put First Things First
    4. Think Win-Win
    5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
    6. Synergize
    7. Sharpen the Saw

    I work with many great Leaders and Managers and I see these habits in all of them. I can’t recommend these habits enough. When applied correctly, these habits will lead to success. Learn them, practice them, live them.

     

    269513: Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, Revised edition Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, Revised editionStephen R. Covey’s incredibly successful book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is a pathway to wisdom and power. It offers a revolutionary program to breaking the patterns of self-defeating behavior that keep us from achieving our goals and reaching our fullest potential. Covey describes how to replace bad habits with a principle-focused approach to problem-solving. This edition has a new foreword and afterword by the author, different from the original version. Paperback.