Category: Uncategorized

How Smart Leaders Spend the Last Days of 2015

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Leadership Development, Uncategorized
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“Cup of Hot Chocolate”. Freedigitalphotos.net

Take a Deep Breath, and Just Enjoy Life

Holiday season can have a tendency of driving many people nearly insane. Buy this, consume that, meet my expectations, fulfill my dreams and tap into the general spirit of the commercially driven society around you, or otherwise… What?

Smart leaders (and people, in general) know that no matter how important it is to feel connected, to have and to follow certain cultural traditions, and to spend holidays with those closest to us, what is more important is to always live and lead a life that truly matters to us, and to surround ourselves with people who actually are there for us even when it is not holiday. Forced family gatherings are a horror show for many, with similar “obligatory rituals” taking place year after year. Yet, most people do unfortunately not have the courage to break out of patterns that make them more miserable than giving them a sense of fulfillment.

Smart leaders do things differently. They do nor force themselves or others into non-fulfilling activities that only drive themselves, and everyone around them, insane, when the REAL purpose of the holiday season and of the last days of the year, in fact is to RELAX and PREPARE, both MENTALLY and PHYSICALLY, for the New Year 2016.

Taking Time to do nothing often brings everything into perspective. Doe Zantamata

Smart Leaders get rid of unnecessary clutter.

The last days of the year are a perfect time to remove all kind of waste from your life. Everything that drains your energy, including toxic relationships. Instead of going over again and again about what went wrong, focus upon the present moment, and the future. Do not hang on to circumstances, material things, or people who have nothing positive to give you. And if you, as a leader, cannot rid yourself of certain relationships, at least make sure to be assertive, take back the power of your life, and protect yourself from mental slavery, or energetic vampires.

Smart Leaders Know How to Relax, in a number of Ways.

If you are constantly online, on the phone, and working during your holidays, you are in fact not relaxing. Get rid of the need to constantly check your mailbox, or even to answer the phone. Learn how to detach, and how to spend time doing absolutely nothing (meditating), but also investing time in resting, sleeping, eating well, and reading at least one good book.

Smart Leaders Know that Holidays are no Excuse for Poor Eating Habits.

While holidays are a time of relaxation and detachment, many people spend their extra days off by making themselves excuses and instead of eating and consuming normally, overeat and make not only themselves, but others around them, sick through excess consumption. Instead of over consuming, try to spend your holiday in a way that in fact improves your energy levels instead of making you feel overall worse.

Smart Leaders Free Themselves from Judgement and any other (negative) Feelings during holidays, and before jumping into the upcoming year.

If you cannot be free from judgment 365 days a year, at least try to find some time over Christmas to actually, at least mentally, step into the shoes of some other person and walk in them for a few days. Be bold and open enough to learn from/about, and tap into the mind of some individual or a certain culture yet unknown to you, especially if this person/culture is very different from what you are accustomed to. The greater our willingness to understand, the greater our capability to practice compassion and if compassion is impossible, at least try to get to a state of decreased prejudice and judgment.

 

Blessed holidays to everyone.  

 

 

 

 

 

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What any Wanna-Be Entrepreneur Must Know Before Taking a Leap Into the Unknown

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Entrepreneurship, Uncategorized
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Image Source: Freedigitalphotos.net

 

The True Entrepreneur is a Doer. Not a Dreamer. (Nolan Bushnell) 

There is no lesson greater in life than learning from entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurship. Being an entrepreneur signifies so many different things to so many different people, and there is no entrepreneur like another, because despite of the many characteristics and personality traits shared by (successful) entrepreneurs, every entrepreneur is still unique, a courageous but most definitely not fearless individual who has chosen the exciting, and often rewarding road of entrepreneurship due to one reason or another.

Entrepreneurs are often dreamers, but more than dreamers they are doers, and people with vision and strong will-power, dedication and a willingness to change things for the better, to improve the world, and to influence people around them and society with their activities. Nevertheless, before making the leap and before jumping into the unknown, every wanna-be-entrepreneur should take into consideration a number of very important things. Many of these lessons, unfortunately, are often learned only through experience, especially if the enthusiastic entrepreneur does not take time to listen to sound advice given to them by people who have already had the same experiences. Many failures could be avoided by listening, and by engaging with valuable mentors. Yet, every entrepreneur also ought to listen to their inner voice, i.e. their intuition before and when making decisions.

60-80 % of all new jobs come from small business. (US Small Business Association)

This is true not only in the United States, where already 30 % of total workforce are freelancers, according to successful entrepreneur Tony Robbins and his team: 7 Finance Tips for Freelancers, but also everywhere else in the world. Self-employment and small businesses, in fact, are the lifeblood of any society. An additional fact that every professional ought to understand is that every economy does rely very heavily upon entrepreneurship, micro-, and small businesses. And, every large-scale business has begun small – it is only a matter of studying the history of any large organization, and see where it once has started, how it has evolved and developed throughout the decades, and where it stands today.

 The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Create it (Peter Drucker)

Listen to the naysayers. Also listen to the optimists. 

Definitely – do listen to the naysayers – but do not let them discourage you from realizing your plans. The naysayers often have important lessons to share that we can ultimately benefit, and learn from. However, make sure not to let the pessimists sway you away from believing in what you do. Every naysayer has a reason for their behavior, and their attitude is 100 % about either negative personal experiences, or fear. Every entrepreneur has to listen to, and learn from, naysayers and pessimists, but most importantly, focus more upon, and learn from those who have gone from failure to failure, yet never given up – those, who ultimately are the real optimists, and who have achieved success despite of the many ups and downs that their entrepreneurship may have involved.
Know What You Love. Know What You Want. And, go for it! 

Entrepreneurship, at its best, is all about doing what you really love, and fulfilling your passions. Entrepreneurship, like life, is not about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself, and the world you want to see around you. Being a successful entrepreneur is not a part-time, or even a full-time job. It is a lifestyle. Be brave enough to take the leap, especially if and when you want to fulfill your personal life mission instead of living someone else´s dream, in a 9 to 5 job. To become, and to be a successful entrepreneur is about believing in yourself and in your dreams regardless of what anyone else may have to say.

Plan Your Business (Activities), but also be prepared for changing your plans and goals along the journey. 

Planning one´s activities is one of the most important aspects of successful entrepreneurship. If this is one of your weaknesses, make sure to learn how to plan, both short-term, and long-term. And, find someone who can help you with the planning if you personally are a lousy planner. Entrepreneurship is not a hobby – it is in fact hard work, and no matter if it is a lifestyle, planning your dream lifestyle with all necessary activities included, does require careful planning. Value your personal time much enough in order to take the necessary time, and make the effort to plan your activities. Otherwise, you will be unfocused and risk burning yourself out.

Get a(n) experienced mentor/mentors. Value fruitful relationships. Network. 

Every entrepreneur needs at least one mentor, perhaps several. Make sure to find mentors with whom you have a respectful, honest, and objective (business) relationship. Seek mentors who are entrepreneurs themselves. And, make sure to focus upon building long-term, mutually beneficial (business) relationships. Network. No entrepreneur survives alone, and every successful entrepreneur seeks advice from a number of professionals – choose wisely.

Choose Your Partners Carefully

Many entrepreneurs go solo, while others prefer partnering up with other people. If you partner up with someone, make sure the professional in question is sharing your enthusiasm, vision, but most of all, that you can rely upon him/her. Business is always business. Make sure to have everything on paper, and make proper agreements/contracts (not only in spoken form). Many entrepreneurs have stated the fact that they wish they had signed that contract. Do not take anything for granted, or trust anyone but yourself.

A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship. (John D. Rockefeller)

The 10 Myths of Entrepreneurship (published on YouTube by HSGUniStGallen):

 

LinkedIn – online mötesplats för kreativa & progressiva professionella

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in LinkedIn, Uncategorized

 

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Business Team Meeting. Image source: Freedigitalphotos.net

Oavsett om vi tycket om det eller inte, har de sociala medierna, inklusive LinkedIn, kommit hit för att stanna. Grundat i 2003, är LinkedIn med sina fler än 400 miljoner användare i dag det största och mest beredda professionella nätverket i hela världen. Det som skiljer LinkedIn från sina konkurrenter, t.ex. Xing och Viadeo, är faktumet att LinkedIn används överallt, i nästan varje land och i varenda marknad runt om jorden.

Vad för nytta har vi som användare av LinkedIn? LinkedIn erbjuder sina användare mycket mer än professionellt nätverkande online. Det professionella nätverket har blivit en mötesplats för arbetssökande och arbetsgivare, men är också en plattform som erbjuder t.ex. små företagare olika slags möjligheter, inklusive online-annonsering och marknadsföring på kreativa vis.

Om du som arbetssökande, arbetsgivare eller småföretagare vill veta mer om hur du kan optimera dina aktiviteter på LinkedIn, vänligen kontakta mig via LinkedIn och boka ett online-möte.

 

 

How To Create a Following on LinkedIn?

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in LinkedIn, Uncategorized

The Best Leaders Are the Best Followers

LinkedIn, as the world´s most expansive, and largest online professional network, has currently a limitation for its professional users: Any professional can currently reach a maximum direct, 1st contact level of 30.000 professionals. How do I know this? Well, I do know this because I spent an X amount of hours expanding, and growing my personal network through a number of means, until I reached the limit of 30.000 direct, 1st level contacts on LinkedIn. Back then, in 2013, having 30.000 contacts was not yet so common globally – some individuals, from a variety of industries (mainly HR/headhunting/recruiting), had made the efforts and actually achieved their goal to reach the maximum potential of direct LinkedIn contacts. Today, the number of professionals globally with a 30K LinkedIn contact network is no longer rare, but what does it actually take to 1) build such a large network on LinkedIn and 2) what are the benefits?

Building a large network on LinkedIn, and reaching the current maximum amount of 30.000 contacts on this professional site, and the benefits from a large LinkedIn network:  

Requires a lot of dedication to online networking, together with hard work.

A huge professional network alone is no guarantee for business, or for professional success. Yet, the advantages are far more important than the disadvantages, with one of the advantages being that you in fact always are six degrees from separation to any professional/individual in the world. The larger your LinkedIn network, the easier it is for you to get in touch with people who do matter. But, after all, EVERY single individual in your network does matter, regardless of their current professional role, situation, or title. Always remember to treat people fairly, and with respect.

– LinkedIn has become like a huge, global “phone book”, making it easy for people to get in touch with, and reach professionals, that used to be out of their reach (thanks to a number of reasons).

Despite of its shallow aspects in terms of growing large networks, and the lack of “real” F2F communication, LinkedIn has so much to offer for its active users. A large network alone is no guarantee for increased business, entrepreneurial, or job seeking and finding success, but yet a targeted activity for any business/non-profit professional can bring much value to those who in fact do take the time and effort to invest in the correct activities, depending upon the goals. For a personal/business consultation upon these, always feel free to get in touch with me.

–  Official LinkedIn Influencers are leaders, business owners, and experts in their field of industry around our globe who have been officially selected and contacted by LinkedIn, and who have accepted the request from LinkedIn to become an official Influencer. At the time being, it is not possible to send LinkedIn an application to request becoming an official Influencer on LinkedIn. If LinkedIn determines that you are a suitable candidate for such a “position”, they will most certainly contact you. As a LinkedIn Influencer, you must fulfill their criteria for the “nomination”.

– Publishing on LinkedIn.

Since LinkedIn now has enabled public publishing for every user, the amount of published posts (and, active writers) has grown rapidly, giving business professionals around the world an additional possibility of a) growing their professional network and b) growing their amount of following on LinkedIn. Every single post you publish on LinkedIn, either on behalf of your private business as an entrepreneur, or as an employee for an organization, is content marketing, enabling you to grow your audience in line with your business activity. Your posts getting featured on one of the official LinkedIn Pulse Channels is another way of growing your following because, individuals and professionals who do enjoy reading your posts, will most likely either send you a direct contact request or, click the follow button and start following you on LinkedIn.

 

Comment utiliser LinkedIn pour en profiter?

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in LinkedIn, Uncategorized
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Business Meeting. Image source: Freedigitalphotos.net. Image edited by Anne-Maria Yritys

LinkedIn, le plus grand réseau social professionel dans le monde, à reussi à toujours augmenter le nombre d´utilisateurs – au jourd´hui, plus que 400 million profiles existant sur LinkedIn. Malgré le fait qu´il ne soit pas toujours 100 % secure, les avantages sont plus nombreux que les disavantages, lorsque on sait comment communiquer dans un manière permettant ces avantages.

Voici quelques tips pour profiter de LinkedIn:

  • Si vous êtes en recherche de nouveau emploi, ou si vous cherchez un/e salarié, il faut toujours commencer par créer un profil professionel ou, pour votre entreprise, créer un page d´entreprise. Vous trouvez tous les instructions sur LinkedIn, avec les prix pour un site d´entreprise. Sélon les réglements de LinkedIn, c´est interdit de créer un site pour l´entreprise representant un profil privé (ces sont deux choses séparées). Il ne faut pas oublier que vos chances de trouver des nouvelles possibilités, soit de l´emploi, ou des clients, augmentent lorsque vous prenez du temps pour remplir votre/vos profil/site selon les récommendations, et les instructions.
  • Pour trouver des contacts utiles sur LinkedIn, n´hesitez pas d´être courageux par envoyant des invitations aux gens intéressants, particulièrement s´il s´âgit d´un individu interessant pour vos affaires, ou quelqu´un qui pourrait vous aider à atteindre vos objectifs. La plupart des professionels sur LinkedIn sont prêt et heureux de pouvoir établir un réseau de contacts pour une nombre des raisons.
  • Profitez d´utiliser la possibilité de rejoindre les groupes des vos préferences sur LinkedIn. Ceux qui utilisent LinkedIn Basic (type de compte), peuvent rejoindre un maximum de 50 groupes. Avec un compte Premium, le nombre des groupes est encore plus haut. Dés que vous êtes très actif/ve sur LinkedIn, 50 groupes devrait suffire. En plus, vous pouvez créer vos propres groupes. Ici également important de suivre les instructions et les régles sur LinkedIn, et dans chaque groupe.

Merci pour avoir lu ce bref introduction sur comment profiter de LinkedIn en l´utilisant. Bonne chance avec vos activités sur LinkedIn. Je serais heureuse et contente pour vos comments de vos experiences sur LinkedIn, et comment vous en avez profité. Et quels sont les differences entre LinkedIn et Viadeo ?

Comment créer son profile LinkedIn en moins de 5 minutes par Jean Paul Lareng sur YouTube:

 

 

Vorteile Von Sprachkenntnissen

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Cultural Heritage, Uncategorized

Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenze meiner Welt (Ludwig Wittgenstein) 

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Image Source: Freedigitalphotos.net

Sprachkenntnisse sind immer von Vorteil für Menschen, egal ob Ihnen jemand etwas anderes behaupten möchte. Diejenigen, die Sprachkenntnisse unnötig finden, wissen nicht wovon sie sprechen, oder sind leider nur neidisch, weil sie selbst keine Ahnung davon haben was es genau mit sich bringt, eine neue Sprache (und, mehrere Sprachen) zu beherrschen.

Obwohl wir in der Welt eine gewisse Anzahl so genannte Weltsprachen haben, d.h. Englisch, Chinesisch, Hindi, Spanisch, Französisch, Arabisch, Russisch, Portugiesisch, Bengalisch, Deutsch, Japanisch und Koreanisch, ist jede zusätzliche Sprache für einen Mensch von Vorteil – wenn nicht beruflich, denn schon aus eine Menge anderen Gründen.

  1. Balsam für das Gehirn: Laut Forschungen und Studien ist Fremdsprachen lernen, und beherrschen, Balsam für das gesamte Gehirn, da mehrsprachige Menschen tatsächlich seltener z.B. an Demenz erkranken. Dazu fällt es mehrsprachigen Menschen anscheinend leichter, gleichzeitig auf mehrere Sachen zu achten.
  2. Fachliche Kompetenz: Obwohl es heutzutage möglich ist, in einem fremden Land auch z.B. mit Englisch zurecht zu kommen, ist es oft eine Voraussetzung die Sprache des Landes zu meistern, ehe eine Anstellung in Frage kommt. Natürlich gibt es hier Ausnahmen, aber nur falls die Stelle in Frage nur schwer besetzt werden kann, und der Arbeitgeber deshalb bereit ist, auch jemand ohne die Landessprachkenntnisse einzustellen.
  3. Globale und Interkulturelle Kompetenz: Wer eine neue Sprache lernt, versteht dadurch auch die Kultur eines Landes besser. Tatsächlich. Die Sprache eines Gebiets, oder eines Landes, ist ein großer Teil der Kultur und lässt uns auch einen tieferen Einblick darin zu werfen, und durch die lokalen Sprachkenntnissen auch besser verstehen, wie die Menschen in der Kultur denken.
  4. Integrierung, Respekt, und Toleranz: Andere Länder, andere Sitten. Wer schon in ein neues Land umzieht, oder anderswo arbeiten möchte, kann sich durch gute Sprachkenntnisse auch besser und schneller gut integrieren. Es ist auch höflich, Interesse an Kulturelle Aspekte so wie die Landessprache zu zeigen. Es gibt leider nichts Schlimmeres als schlechte Integrierung und Menschen, die in einem Land Jahrzehnte wohnen, ohne die Sprache zu lernen.
  5. Allgemeine Zivilisation und die Tatsache, dass eine Fremdsprache die Türen zu ganz neue Welten eröffnet: Jede zusätzliche Sprache macht es weiterhin einfacher, wieder neue Sprachen zu verstehen, auch wenn man sie nicht perfekt beherrscht. Deutschkenntnisse machen es z.B. einfacher, Schwedisch, Norwegisch, Dänisch und Holländisch zu verstehen, da dies alle Germanischen Sprachen sind. Bei den Lateinischen Sprachen gilt dasselbe: wer Französisch spricht, kann auch viel einfacher Italienisch und Spanisch verstehen, da diese Sprachen verwandt sind.

Es gibt insgesamt ungefähr 7.000 Sprachen auf der Welt – ein Zeichen von Vielfalt und Kultur. Auch wenn niemand sie alle beherrschen kann, wäre es, und ist es ja immer Schade, wenn eine Sprache ausstirbt. Wenn dies passiert, verschwindet auch immer ein Stück Kultur der Menschheit.

 

 

What To Put Your Focus Upon on Social Media

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in online media, Uncategorized

 

Worry About Your Character, Not Your Reputation. Your Character is Who You Are, and Your Reputation is Who People Think You Are. (John Wooden)

The explosive and exponential growth of online media, and social networking platforms/sites in the past decade has most definitely had a significant influence upon businesses, entrepreneurial activities, individual´s lives as a whole, organizations, and therefore also upon environments and societies, because societies are made up of people, and the way people act and behave in their everyday lives impacts how societies develop, thus also having both direct and indirect effects upon how economies are shaped and transformed. Not everyone uses online media, but those who do, need to figure out a few relevant issues regarding their online presence, and their online activities. A few tips for business professionals, entrepreneurs, leaders, and, also for employees and individuals as private persons regarding their online activities:

  1. Define a/the purpose for your online presence.  

Everyone who uses online media and social networking sites has a meaning and purpose for their online presence. Defining that reason/those reasons are relevant in any aspect of a person´s life. While defining the reasons for your online media/social media networking, also make sure to define the amount of time you actually do spend on social media. By doing this you may, and will definitely discover a number of useful things regarding your online presence, including the actual time spent, your online behavior, but also, and most probably, finding out what you could possibly do differently in regard to your online activities.

  1. What are your online activities?

If you are merely a hobby user of a number of social media sites and platforms, you may want to compare the benefits and advantages of your online activity with the possible drawbacks and negative influences it has upon your life. Most businesses, entrepreneurs, and organizations have, however, realized that having an online presence is essential for a number of business activities although, it is questionable and up to each business owner/entrepreneur/leader to define which online/social media sites actually are useful in their respective business activities.

  1. Why does your business/organization use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, WordPress, Google+, YouTube or any other social media platform? 

Are the previously mentioned online media sites all part of your online marketing strategy, and do you have any additional options to these? Is it necessary for your business to be active in all of these, or could you leave some of these platforms out, and perhaps replace it with a more effective branding, communication, and marketing tool for your business activities?

Even though your online content is meant for a human audience, it must still meet the needs of the search engines. (Jay Torrence)

  1. What kind of content do you share online? 

The content your business/organization shares online should be in line with your business mission and vision. This may seem obvious to every business owner and entrepreneur, yet most small business owners fail to segment their marketing activities accordingly, poor segmentation practices is a major reason why especially small businesses fail in their branding and marketing endeavors. However, since branding is the very core of a business, representing its image and bringing forth its values, it is a matter of continuous effort and activities, including the fact that every single individual of an organization in fact are its branding agents. Therefore, branding is what makes you/your business/your products and/or services unique, and what differentiates your business from the mainstream. Marketing, on the other hand, are the activities your business takes to share your brand identity to your target segment, and to your targeted clients.

  1. How do you measure the benefits of your online/social media activities? 

It is no secret that brands can hugely benefit from the many options that today are available online. All businesses, even individuals, and states, have a unique brand identity. How well we manage to communicate and market our brand identity to the world/to our clients is directly associated with the capability of our brand to succeed in the marketplace. There are a number of tools to measure the activities, and the actual outcomes and results of online branding.

Thank you for reading, liking, and for sharing this post. Please comment with your thoughts about how brands can improve and strengthen their identities through online/social media activities. Feel free to comment with concrete examples, e.g. from your brand´s activities and its success, and/or with personal experiences about the significant aspects of online media presence in successful branding. 

 

Excellent Arguments for Business Leaders to Invest in LinkedIn Networking

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in LinkedIn, Uncategorized
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“Young Woman With Her World Wide Clients” stockimages on Freedigitalphotos.net

 

Online Networking is a Phenomenon that really has just started to reach its stride (Ivan Misner) 

The reasons for online networking, networking on social media, and especially on the world´s largest professional networking platform, LinkedIn, should by now be realized by every serious business professional, without the necessity for further argumentation or debate about why, or for what purposes. With more than 400 million professional users globally, LinkedIn is today the world´s leading communications, branding and online marketing platform for businesses and organizations in every possible industry. Regardless of business activity and industry, LinkedIn has plenty of possibilities to offer. Even Hillary Clinton, 2016 Presidential Candidate in the United States, has been selected as an official LinkedIn Influencer and uses LinkedIn as one of her personal branding, communication, and influencing channels in the presidential campaign.

Some of the core reasons why EVERY business professional, and business leader, should have a LinkedIn profile and invest time and effort into benefiting from the many possibilities LinkedIn does offer for its users:

  1. LinkedIn is the world´s largest, most widespread professional networking site. 

LinkedIn is by far the largest and most actively used network for professionals in all possible industries. Launched in 2003, LinkedIn has grown and expanded rapidly in every corner of the world, having more than 400 million professionally qualified users as per today. The company went public in 2011, and is today traded on the New York stock exchange (LNKD).

  1. LinkedIn is the Number 1. Networking platform for creative knowledge workers and talent. 

Especially favored by online advertisers, online marketers, headhunters, recruiters, job-seekers, LinkedIn does in fact offer a number of benefits regardless of industry, or geographical location.

  1. LinkedIn has opened gateways and become a channel for finding new clients, business partners, and much more, in a number of creative ways. 

If not yet realized, you as a business professional and business leader should by now realize that LinkedIn, in fact, offers a vast amount of solutions that in fact do reduce costs, and the need of traveling for business. Where, and how else, could your business so easily find new potential customers in targeted markets and segments, if not on LinkedIn? Online networking, finding and generating new leads through existing and potential direct contacts, has in fact already replaced cold-calling. And, as a matter of fact, LinkedIn offers the possibility of getting in touch with people and professionals that would otherwise most probably be out of your (business) reach. With a vast global network, I have personal experience from this, and the fact that LinkedIn does reduce the amount of cold-calling that sales professionals have to do.

  1. LinkedIn Publishing enables everyone to become an Influencer

Publishing content, articles, posts, and thus influencing through your content marketing and management is today possible for every LinkedIn user. To learn more about publishing content on LinkedIn, please feel free to either contact me personally for additional information, or, read LinkedIn´s instructions to learn more about how to publish articles on LinkedIn, and how to get your posts featured in one of LinkedIn´s official channels. Highly recommended feature for every business professional, even for job-seekers, or simply for businesses and organizations that wish to use LinkedIn as one of their preferred channels for online content marketing, lead generation, and (free-of-charge) advertising for their business. It is not even necessary to upgrade in order to publish on LinkedIn, and you can use the same content for your blog(s), and for your business´s/organization´s official website. And, there is no need to publish in English if your target market is elsewhere. LinkedIn supports a number of languages, and in addition to the supported languages, you have the option of choosing which language you would like to publish content in. Très simple & très effectif!

  1.  LinkedIn groups.  

LinkedIn offers its basic members to join a maximum amount of 50 groups, and if you are a premium user, the amount of groups you can join is even higher. And, you can create your own groups! In case you have a business, or quite simply if you are a job-seeker, you can create (a) personal group(s) that are aligned with your professional activities, and interests. As an example, I have personally created two groups on LinkedIn: Around Online Media in 180 Days, and Leading With Passion. How to recruit members to your groups is another topic, too broad to be discussed in this post.

LinkedIn´s Vision for the next 10 years:

 

 

Why Compassion & Passion Are Important For All Leaders

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Leadership development coaching, Uncategorized

A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life (Christopher K. Germer)

Soft leadership skills are more required than ever. In a world full of ambition, achievement, harshness, competition, hard management, leaders who possess, and have the capability of leading change with the combination of both humanity, purpose, meaning, are those who actually know how to make a positive difference in people´s lives, rather than focusing upon quick returns on investment, and material gains for a selected few individuals.

All leaders want to make a positive difference in their environments, societies, and in the world. The problem is that many leaders, on their path of pursuing greatness and in making a difference, do forget and neglect the facts that actually, all leadership is about serving people, societies, and the world as a whole rather than seeking to make quick profits at the cost of the majority of humanity.

When comparing leaders with passion, and leaders with both passion & compassion, the major difference between these two leadership styles is the fact that leaders with compassion actually aim and strive towards making a real difference in all people´s lives, serving individuals and mankind regardless of their socioeconomic status. Leaders with passion (and, a lack of compassion) on the other hand, are driven and have real passion for their mission and purpose. Nevertheless, leading with passion without compassion is no guarantee for the capability of making a real difference in people´s lives. Hence, passionate leadership should always have the capacity of integrating compassion into leadership activities. With passion, but without compassion, a leader may easily get distracted and start following the wrong path of leadership. Leading with passion, and leading with compassion, do not exclude one another. A passionate leader can always develop, and increase, their amount of compassion and a compassionate leader can, and is most probably rather passionate about his/her purpose, mission, values, and vision.

Passion and compassion are both leadership qualities that cannot be bought with money. If a leader has no passion for the work he/she does, or no compassion for the people he/she leads (and serves), no amount of money can substitute the shortage of these. Before dying, american psychologist Abraham Maslow in fact did admit that he should have turned his hierarchy of needs upside down, suggesting that in fact, the core need of any human being is having a need for fulfillment in life, i.e. making it more important for the modern man to focus upon self-actualization rather than upon other needs. Whether this is true or not can be long debated, or researched within different kinds of societies.

Avalokiteshwara Performance – Buddha of Compassion

 

 

 

What Behavioral Patterns Do Successful Leaders Avoid?

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Leadership development coaching, Uncategorized

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together (African Proverb)

ALL leaders want to focus upon POSITIVITY, including positive affirmations and positive behavior in both our personal lives and careers, but also in our day-to-day interactions with people and circumstances that DO affect the behavior(s) of those around us. We do know that positivity creates more positivity, and that negative behavior and thinking is poison not only for our bodies, but also for our souls. Despite the fact that we should ALWAYS focus upon positive, meaningful communication, leaders in all possible areas of life and in every industry do need to recognize the negative patterns both in their personal leadership style, but also the possible negative aspects and characteristics in people around them (you).

As a leader, you learn far more from negative leadership than from positive leadership. You learn how not to do it. Instead, you learn HOW TO DO IT. (Norman Schwarzkopf)

On your personal (and professional) leadership path, you will face all kinds of behavior. Most importantly, you have to learn how to balance your personal behavior, stay calm and objective no matter how demanding the situation is. Balance is key to everything, including the capability of stepping above the problem(s), and remembering that we all in fact, deep within ourselves, are humane, no matter how thick-skinned and hard on the surface. As a successful leader, please remember to retain your integrity and use soft communication and negotiation skills when in complex, demanding leadership situations, and while “penetrating” under the skin of your counterpart, i.e. the individual you are facing. Great leaders always respect ALL people, regardless of the situation, and regardless of the background and actions that another individual has taken previously. Great leaders always seek to listen, and to understand the deeper meaning behind the behavior of individuals/groups.

Being positive in a negative situation is not naïve. It is called leadership. (Ralph Marston)

Any emotionally intelligent, self-confident leader, should avoid a number of behavioral patterns, including:

1. Successful leaders avoid taking themselves too seriously, or thinking their leadership is irreplaceable. 

Leadership, and a leadership position, should always be taken seriously – do not misunderstand the message being conveyed here. Nevertheless, serious leaders do lead because it is their calling, and because it makes fun and challenges them to be a positive role model, and a source of inspiration for others. As soon as a leader thinks of themselves as something superior to the people they lead, it is time to have a long look in the mirror and to question the purpose of their leadership. This is also true if a leader feels that he/she is irreplaceable, i.e. does not understand the fact that every individual with certain characteristics can be developed into a great leader.

2. Successful leaders avoid judging people around them and being full of prejudice 

All great leaders have learned that prejudice and judging behavior only leads to misunderstandings and increasingly poor communication, and behavior. No matter how difficult the circumstances, great leaders always seek to remain objective and humane. In addition, they do have the capability of putting things into perspective, and seeing everything from the other person’s point of view.

3. Successful leaders refrain from gossiping, neglecting people around them and from any other improper communication. 

As a leader, no one of us can afford either to gossip, or neglect the people around us. If we do, it is time for some serious self-reflection. Especially if you are running your own company, and leading people – but of course, in any organization or business. Successful leaders always make sure to have integrity and CARE about their employees/people in the organization.

4. Successful leaders never ask their people/employees to do things they would not be capable of handling themselves.

Leaders should always be capable of demonstrating in practice their demands upon their employees/people, and capable of serving as an example and a role model. Leaders should always walk the talk, and seek to understand the circumstance and field of business/industry they operate in/lead, before placing any excessive demands upon the shoulders of their people. Leaders MUST seek the truth, and also remain reasonable in their demands – based upon experience, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.

5.  Successful Leaders Should Avoid Behavioral Patterns that do Harm either themselves, or People Around them. 

There are countless negative behaviors and patterns that leaders have the risk of falling into. Make sure not to fall into these leadership traps personally. These traps include:

– Lack of experience => not necessarily always a problem since a humble leader who is willing to learn from his/her employees/people is open to development in all circumstances.

– Lack of dedication and interest => If you have a lack of these in your daily leadership activities, please ask yourself why this is the case, and try to analyze the reasons behind your behavior and feelings. We all face challenges and difficulties in both professional and private life, and lack of motivation is something that every leader should take seriously. If a leader lacks motivation, and is uninspired, it will most definitely affect the whole team, and the complete organization.