► Find the Right Mentor

► How to Hire the Right Candidate

► Sharpen Your Competitive Edge

► 7-Steps to Changing Your Luck

► Build Trusting Relationships for Greater Success

► 5 Steps to Creating A Successful & Satisfying Life

► 12 Commandments of Success: Secrets to Making A Difference

► The Color of Success

Find the Right Mentor

Successful businesspeople often wax eloquent about the benefits of having a mentor. Unfortunately, they often skip over the part where they tell you how to find one. How can you find the right person to guide you in your career? And how do you approach that person once you do? Here are some guidelines and tips that can help you find a good mentor. 

Once you’ve decided that you want a mentor, check to see if your current employer, college alma mater, or other organization with which you’re associated has a formal mentoring program in place. If not, it’s time to begin the search on your own. 

When looking for a mentor, seek out someone who has expertise in his or her profession or specialty. This person should be someone you admire and respect, be a good communicator, have a caring attitude, and make you feel comfortable. Your ideal mentor should be passionate and enthusiastic about his or her profession — and it won’t hurt if your mentor is well connected, too. 

Although a mentor may be someone you work with, you’re probably better off with someone who works someplace else. Don’t ask your direct supervisor to be your mentor; it’s better to have someone with whom you can talk freely about career and workplace issues. Although some mentees prefer older, more experienced mentors, don’t overlook peer mentors. Sometimes the people who have the best solutions to problems are the people facing those problems themselves. Mentors can also be found through professional associations. Some associations even have mentoring programs where they match up experienced and inexperienced colleagues. And remember, a mentor doesn’t necessarily need to be the same gender or in the same specialty as the mentee. 

Once you’ve decided on a mentor, approach that individual and ask if he or she would consider being your mentor. Depending on the individual and your current relationship, your proposal will vary in the amount of detail and how it is delivered. At the very least, let the person know what why you selected him or her and what you hope to learn from the association.  

If you’re contacting someone who does not know you, send a letter of introduction indicating that you will be calling in a week’s time. Your letter should state your interest in learning more about that person and your desire to meet to get some advice and feedback. Once you’ve made contact and established the relationship, ask if that individual would be willing to mentor you. 

If you’ve been considering looking for a mentor, don’t put it off any longer. Even if the person you choose declines to be your mentor — and that just might happen — he or she will certainly still be flattered that you asked. 

Finding a mentor takes some work, and it involves some risk. But you’ll find that the benefits that you can reap from working with a mentor will be worth the effort you put into the search.

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How to Hire the Right Candidate

How you interview is as important as whom you interview. Interviewing is an art, experts say, which takes preparation, an awareness of interview approaches, and a knack for asking “the right” questions. The following tips, culled from a variety of expert resources, should help you hire the right person for the job. 

Prepare for the interview ...

• Understand your organization. Be able to clearly communicate the mission, vision, and values of your company.  

• Define what competencies are required for high performance in the particular job. If another person will be the candidate’s direct supervisor, get his or her input — especially if the job (systems analyst programmer or printing press operator, for example) requires a skills set you’re unfamiliar with.

• Perfect your job application. In an effort to make it easy on job candidates, many employers make job applications quick and easy. The problem is they fail to ask questions that can be revealing and are legal to ask. For example, many employers don’t include a question about previous Driving Under the Influence convictions (especially if driving isn’t part of employees’ jobs). But the question is legal, according to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If the potential employee lies and says “no” and you run a background check, you might uncover the lie. And that will give you some insight into the person’s character. Some questions might also want to ask include:

• Tell us about periods of unemployment.

• Why are you applying with our particular company?

Don’t be afraid to leave a paragraph for the answers. The answers reveal not only the information but also a candidate’s communication skills and writing ability.

•  Ready the group. If you’re holding a group interview, give each interviewer a role in the process. For example, the supervisor should ascertain the technical skills of an individual and make sure the job history matches what he or she is looking for.

• Read the resume. Sure, it sounds obvious, but many people don’t take the time to thoroughly review a resume before the candidate steps in the door. That means that you might miss a characteristic that would make the candidate perfect  — or worse yet, an inconsistency that reveals a “white lie.”

Once the candidate’s there …

•  Outline the interview structure for the candidate. First, give a brief description of the company, and then outline the job duties. Finally, ask the applicant questions. After that, give the candidate the opportunity to ask you questions. This sets up the parameters of the interview, keeps you both focused, and gives the candidate an idea of what to expect.

• Ask open-ended questions. Do not ask questions that require yes or no answers. Make the person talk.

•  Mix in some behavioral questions. These questions are based on the premise that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior in similar circumstances. Instead of asking applicants how they would act in a hypothetical situation, these questions ask how they handled a similar situation in the past (e.g., Tell me about the last time you had to handle a problem of staff dissatisfaction. What was the problem? What happened? Was it resolved satisfactorily?).

•  Ask one question at a time — and make them brief. Sometimes interviewers ask a series of questions all at once. The candidate will probably only be able to retain the first or last one, which means that you won’t get all the answers you need.

•  Don’t interrupt. If the information is pertinent, let the candidate finish his or her thoughts. Jot down new questions that occur to you or points that need to be clarified so you will remember to ask it later.

•  Don’t let periods of silence fluster you. Give the interviewee a chance to think of what she wants to add before you hustle her along with the next question.

•  Shut up. The interviewee should speak at least four words for every word you utter. If you’re talking over the candidate and overselling the job, you won’t be looking at and listening to the interviewee to see whether or not he or she wants the job.

•  Debrief the candidate after the interview. Ask: “How do you think the interview went?” “What did you find most interesting about the opportunity?” “What about this position concerns you?” This will help you identify any obstacles to a job acceptance in advance so you have the opportunity to counter them — particularly if the person interviewed is a desirable candidate.

Let candidates know when the position has been filled. Follow up with the candidates via e-mail or phone. This is one more way of extending a professional courtesy, and it gives the interview process closure.

Some interview don’ts ...

•  Don’t show off. You shouldn’t use the interview to showcase your knowledge, vocabulary, charm, or other abilities.

•  Don’t break the law. Under the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act, 1984, it is illegal to ask questions that aren’t related to a person’s capacity to do the job. Avoid questions relating to marital status, plans for having children, child-care arrangements, religious practices, racial background, or physical disability.

•  Don’t get too chummy. Keep all your questions job-related. If you spend the interview chatting, you may make a hiring decision because you liked the candidate versus whether the person is truly qualified for the job.

•  Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If interviewing isn’t really your thing, seek the advice of a coach or collar a colleague who always snags top employees and ask for support

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Sharpen Your Competitive Edge  

Although every small businesses is unique, each faces the same issues, including how to better manage customer relationships. Communication technology has made that easier — and a lot more complicated at the same time. Just having voice mail and a fax machine isn’t enough. Here are some high-tech etiquette tips that will ensure that you stand head and shoulders above your competition. 

Telephone

• Answer promptly (on the second or third ring if possible).
• Speak clearly and distinctly in a pleasant tone of voice.
• Start with a greeting and then state your company name and your name (Good morning, Cardinal Contractors. Lou speaking.)
• Remember: You may be the first and only contact a person has with your company, and that first impression will stay with the caller long after the call is completed.

Voice mail

• Make sure your message is brief and concise.
• Speak slowly and enunciate clearly so the listener can understand what you’re saying.
• State the date, time, and reason you’re calling. To minimize telephone tag, mention a good time to reach you.
• Always leave your full name and phone number, even if the other person already has your number. Recite the number slowly and clearly, including the area code. Then repeat it a second time so the other person doesn’t have to keep replaying your message to get the number.
• Your outgoing message should include your name, title and company name.
• Keep your outgoing voicemail message current. Update the message weekly or daily.
• When out of town, state in your message when you’ll be back, whether you’ll be checking in for messages, how to contact you, or who to contact in your absence.
• Remember: Voice mail can be a help or a hindrance, depending on your voice-mail etiquette.

E-mail

• Write as if you were writing a letter or memo. Use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Answer all questions, and preempt further questions.
• Make sure your reply contains the message thread.
• Use templates for frequently used responses.
• Do not overuse the high priority option.
• Avoid attaching unnecessary files.
• Remember: Answer swiftly. Customers send e-mails because they wish to receive a quick response.

Fax

• Use a cover sheet that includes the following: the receiver’s name, number, and fax number; your name, your business name, address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address; the date and total number of pages being transmitted; and a brief message explaining the fax contents.
• Unless requested to do so, don’t send lengthy documents via fax.
• Use at least 12 point type, and leave adequate white space to ensure readability
• Limit the use of dark colors, which increase transmission time; but do not use light colors for text because they may not be dark enough to register.
• Try to avoid color images and photos.
• Remember: Anyone can walk by a fax machine and see the fax you sent. If your information is sensitive, highly confidential, or of a legal nature, you may want to consider sending it another way or asking the recipient to stand by the fax machine while it’s being transmitted.

Proper communication really can affect your bottom line: When it comes to unhappy customers, only 30% are displeased with products or services; however, a full 70% are unhappy with the treatment they received. And you may not even know why you lost the business. Only 4% will complain or take action, but they’ll tell 8 to 20 people about the poor service they received. So spruce up your high-tech etiquette and take a giant step toward strengthening customer care.

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7-Steps to Changing Your Luck

Ok, perhaps it's naive to call it "luck." But ask most successful people about the secret to their success and I bet most will say "hard work, talent and a little luck." Call it educating your "gut" or the ability to act on a hunch, here are a few ways to improve this think we call luck...

1. Hang On! If you have a difficult time believing you can "control" your luck or if all else fails, know that even negative events create changes that often open up unexpected opportunities and good results. The odds are actually in your favor!

2. Pay attention! Take time to look around your world...actively looking for good opportunities will help you spot good luck.

3. Talk to strangers! You may meet an important business contact or the love of your life. Talk to people who seem interesting and follow up afterwards.

4. Listen to your doubts! Red flags are often accurate biological alarms. Don't automatically dismiss them just because you cannot pinpoint a rational reason immediately. When we have to talk ourselves INTO something, it is usually not a good
move for us.

5. Expect good things! If you think something is going to happen, you're more likely to spot it when it does. Plus you'll be inclined to make decisions that spur more positive results.

6. Keep a rabbit's foot in your pocket! A rabbit's foot, lucky coin or other token of fortune doesn't have special powers, but if it gives you confidence then go for it -- that alone can be powerful.

7. Stay relaxed! The more centered you can stay in high pressure situations the more likely you will be able to see alternative, more positive solutions. This is likely to impress people as well, which can lead to more good luck.

Whether you believe in luck or not is not important. The point here is to make aggressive changes in your attitude and expectations. Research has clearly shown that we get what we focus on, so choose wisely and expect good fortune.

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