5 Tips for Surviving an Unfair Boss

Every job has stress, but the workplace environment can seem almost unbearable when working for an over-demanding or unfair boss. You don't have to like your boss, but you do need to be able to co-exist and co-operate with him for you to be productive and successful at your job.

Other than a change taking place, as I discussed in the article 'Unhappy at Work? A Change is Coming,' there is no perfect solution for dealing with a difficult boss, but here are five suggestions that might make your situation a little less painful.

#1) Think of your boss as a parent and you as his teenage child.

This sounds silly at first, but the relationship between you and your boss is very similar to that between a parent and child. Teenagers often have problems with authority and experience disagreements with their parents. Meanwhile, parents often create rules the child believes to be unfair. If the situation gets bad enough, as soon as the child is old enough he finds a way to move out and make it on his own. Parents aren't perfect and neither are bosses - both will make mistakes.

#2) Do the absolute best job you can.

Sometimes the child misbehaves.

J. Paul Getty once said, "The employer generally gets the employees he deserves."

Make sure you are the type of employee you would want working for you if you were the boss. I know this goes against the notion of revenge and tucking it to an unfair boss whenever possible, but by doing the best job possible you give the unfair boss less ammunition he can use to make your life miserable. He also might think twice about upsetting one of his better employees when there are plenty of other, easier targets he can take aim at.

Don't draw attention to yourself. Unless you are the only one your boss has it in for, there should be plenty of others to draw his wrath away from you. Let someone else wear the target on their back.

#3) Learn all that you can from an unfair boss. 

We can learn something from everyone we come into contact with. While from a good boss we can learn good management techniques, it is also true that from a poor boss we can learn how not to act. Don't just suffer, gain something from the situation that will benefit you in the future. Watch how your boss handles different situations and make a mental note of which techniques worked and which failed.

#4) Forget about yesterday.

Yesterday is history, it's over with. Try not to let your issues from yesterday spoil today. Instead, start each day with a new, positive outlook, telling yourself that today is going to be better.

Sometimes we get into a rut, expect the worse and act accordingly - we subconsciously force a person (in this case, our boss) to act the way we expect him to act. Make sure you are not unintentionally adding fuel to the fire. Starting each day with a fresh slate is the best way to get past previous differences. Holding onto a grudge only hurts yourself.

#5) Take responsibility.

Don't expect someone else to end your suffering.

Complaining is easy, but it accomplishes very little. Worrying about a problem won't make it go away while losing sleep and dwelling on an issue only makes it seem worse. You will never be happy if you are focusing on worry. If you are truly in a situation that is causing you pain, you need to begin taking steps to improve the situation.

The Roman Philosopher Sallust said, "Every man is the architect of his own fortune."

Have you actually looked for another job? Have you tried to improve your skills through in-house training, adult learning centers, books or correspondence courses? Even the smallest step in the right direction is progress. An obstinate boss won't change his ways, but you can improve your own skills. Why not let your difficult boss be the motivation you use to better yourself? http://Infosdemocracy.com 

How do I communicate with my virtual assistant?

A very valid question but also a very easy one to answer. First, you must remember that your professional virtual assistant is a human being, just like you, and just like someone who may sit in the office right next to you. She has feelings, morals, standards, kids, pets, and a life - just like you.

While I can't speak for other virtual staffing agencies, at Team Double-ClickSM, we go to great pains to be sure our clients can communicate directly and openly with their virtual assistants. This ability is vitally important to any business relationship and especially that of a businessperson and his or her assistant. Without that communication, there is no exchange of ideas and tasks.
We do monitor communication between our virtual staff and our clients, but this is simply the mechanics of our business model in motion. We monitor these communications to first be sure the communications are there and second so that we can step in if we spot a problem or see something that can be done more efficiently. However, we encourage our clients to get to know their virtual assistants on a personal level as well. As with any relationship, the better you know one another, the better you'll be able to anticipate one another's moves, needs, and pet peeves. Now that the "why" is out of the way, we can talk about the "how".

Of course, there are several options for communicating tasks, assignments, and other matters to your virtual assistant:

E-Mail is a very effective mode of communication when working virtually. It allows you to quickly attach a file and send it to your virtual assistant so that she may make changes, print a letter and mail it, or keep it as a reference. Be sure to talk to our Client Services Rep Denise Schrock or your virtual administrative assistant if you need help attaching and sending files.

Using the telephone to communicate with your virtual assistant, while obvious is quite underutilized and so simple to do. Tired of looking up your virtual assistant's phone number each time? Simply program her phone number into your office phones and cell phone's speed dial. One-touch dialing your virtual administrative assistant is a snap and no harder than buzzing a bricks-and-mortar assistant in the next room

Instant messenger is another example of a wonderful technology, which is underutilized when it comes to communicating with virtual assistants. There are several excellent instant messaging programs and they're so easy to use.

IM programs to check out:

Yahoo: http://messenger.yahoo.com
MSN: http://im.live.com/messenger/im/home/?source=MSNTDLINK
AOL: http://www.aim.com
ICQ: http://www.icq.com

With an instant messaging program you can, with just a couple clicks of the mouse, type messages back and forth with colleagues and your virtual assistant - all in real time. You type, she types, and before you know it, the questions you and she had are all answered and you can move on. http://Infosdemocracy.com

A Leader Should Be Willing To Take Responsibilities

Who would forget the ever-famous line of Peter Parker's grandfather, "With great power comes great responsibility." The society expects Spider-man, a comic book, TV, and movie superhero, to be responsible for saving his town, or even the world, in some instances, from evil because he has super powers.

From all the episodes he appeared in, he never let us down. With the power he possesses, he makes sure to be responsible in using it for the good of the people around him.

Leadership is not at all different from being superheroes. Yes, you may not have super powers like Superman and Spider-man, but you have the authority to lead other people towards success. This is so much greater and stronger since it is a power that can be used by real people in this real world.

Hence, being a leader requires great sense of responsibility, the second quality a successful leader should attain.

The power to lead your people towards aiming your vision comes with responsibilities like making sure they are on the right direction, being aware of each and everyone's tasks and mistakes, and putting them back on the right track when they get lost.

Who said it is easy to be a leader? Well, it is not…It comes with tons of responsibilities. True leaders are willing to accept them all.

There are instances where sometimes it makes us feel better to blame somebody or something else when something goes wrong in a task. However, this should not be practiced, especially by a good leader!

A leader should take full responsibility of a task - not just before he accepts to take it, but also after it has been accomplished. As much as he is responsible for his team's success, he should also be responsible for any failure. He represents the whole team so whatever happens to it, he is the one responsible.

Making excuses and blaming something or someone else for failed jobs is not a quality of a good leader. What he should do, instead, is to accept the fact that something went wrong with the organization, even if it is not his fault. It is normal to make mistakes. In fact, mistakes are opportunities to learn something better. As a leader, he must ensure that the team members learn from these mistakes and that these errors will not be repeated next time.

You may not have full control over other people and are not expected to have full control over their actions, but you have full control of your own reactions. Knowing what to do over unexpected and unpredictable situations will make you responsible, hence giving you the feeling of power.  http://Infosdemocracy.com

The Keys To Success In Business

Success in business has nothing whatsoever to do with salesmanship, little to do with a knowledge of your company's products or services.

It is owing to some far more basic fundamental principles which will determine your success or failure at anything you do in life.

They are your A,B,C's, Attitude, Belief and Consistency. Taking them in reverse order.

Consistency
We get up every morning, we brush our teeth wash, get dressed have breakfast. We are consistent in our actions. We do it every day. We need to do the same in being consistent with our tasks associated with our business for the days that we have chosen we are going to work, be it 1 or 7 days a week. We need the 6 marbles in our left pocket or left side of our bag and transfer 1 marble to the other side every time we have carried out a positive action i.e. seeing a customer, talking to someone about the business, etc. etc. We need to do it consistently. We need to have transferred all 6 marbles (better still 10) by the end of the day. We need to concentrate on the actions not on the result. I'll repeat that, we need to concentrate on the actions not on the results.

When we go mountain climbing, if we would continually look at the summit we would soon trip up and fall. We need to concentrate on every step at a time, one after the other and as surely as the sun goes down we will reach our summit.

Belief
An absolute and genuine belief in our business, it's products and services and what it can give it's customers.

Attitude
Possibly the most important of these three but useless on its own. It's no good having the best attitude in the world if one's sitting on one's own in a closed room not talking to anyone. So what is attitude apart from how one feels about oneself and others. I describe it like this.

Your face is transparent, totally transparent and your attitude shines through whether it's positive or negative. The first second that a prospective customer sees you maybe even before you see him, your attitude comes through. The customer sees it, maybe only subconsciously and will react accordingly. We all know that the first thing any salesperson has to sell is themselves even before they open their mouth. If they can't sell themselves they might as well turn round and go home and go back to bed. If they can't sell themselves they wouldn't be able to sell packet of peanuts or a Mars bar.

Another description of attitude, when I took my 14 year old daughter recently to Disneyland Paris we went one evening to an aquatic circus. Very unusual, people diving, dancing and somersaulting on water. It was a spectacular show. What made it even more enjoyable (we were sitting on the front row) was the fact that all the performers without exception were obviously really enjoying themselves. They were loving every minute of it and gave it their all. Their attitude really shone through like a beacon and this made our enjoyment total.

So when we get up in the morning and do our consistency things let's get a really big warm smile from within feeling good about ourselves and keep that all day. When we go about our business we need to keep out good attitude with us. If we can't also be in the place where we are physically there's no point being there in the first place. It's easier to ride a horse in the direction that it's going.

So those are my 3 all important ingredients that determine one's success or failure at anything in life.   http://Infosdemocracy.com

Watch Your Business From Across the World

When most people think of video surveillance, they think of cameras in stores. But many businesses are using them to keep track of meetings and ensure clients and business associates stand behind their word. Cameras can also provide proof of wrongdoing, connecting the dots when people are where they shouldn't be.

At anytime and in any place you can't watch, a camera can. Many surveillance systems offer remote accessibility. This option allows people to see what is going on from their PC or laptop, whether they are across town or in a hotel room across an ocean.

CCS International (OTC BB: SITG) is one of the most well-known makers of surveillance equipment. Its video surveillance systems can monitor, record and broadcast real-life conditions to ensure peace of mind.   http://Infosdemocracy.com

CCS video systems can be either covert or overt. Covert video does not allow subjects to know they are under surveillance, while overt video does.

Video images are an invaluable tool for companies, whether they are used to help protect against theft and sabotage, or merely to keep an eye on warehouse operations.

The Spy Line-4 from CCS International, for instance, can be set up in a variety of settings - stores, factories, warehouses, board rooms or even in a home office - and can be accessed and controlled from a remote personal computer.

This video security system is available in color and with audio and can transmit high-quality compressed video images from four cameras.

Why Do Your Customers Complain and What Can You Do About It?

As the Internet becomes an increasing part of our lives there are a growing number of web sites which are run for dissatisfied customers to publicly air their complaints about bad service. See your name posted on these sites or get contacted by them and you know you have a problem!

How can you prevent your business from becoming 'feature of the week'? Of all the skills small business owners need these days, the one least practiced is the ability to step back and look at your business from the customer's perspective.

Having an effective complaint handling process is important but that is the equivalent of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted – it's too late, your customer has already suffered.

It's more effective to know what your customers could potentially complaint about and put it right before it happens.

So what are the common reasons for customer complaints? Mark Bradley of Customer Service Network (www.customernet.com), which facilitates in benchmarking, improving processes and implementing improvements to help reduce customer complaints, says,
"Financial loss is the obvious reason but the rest can be split into operational and emotional reasons."

In this article we will look at some of the operational and emotional or human issues within your business which could give your customers cause to complain. Take a look at these and examine each part of your business. How do you stand up?
"You didn't do what you promised."

When did you last review your advertising material or web site? Do they contain service promises which sounded great at the time but have since been forgotten? For example, do you promise to deliver within 24 hours but changes in processes have meant that is no longer possible? No one may have complained yet but sooner or later someone will.
"Your product didn't do what it's supposed to do."

When did you last undertake a quality check of your product? Random checks can help weed out poor quality workmanship before a customer spots it. When buying your stock or finished item do you test it?
"You're never open when I need you."

9 to 5, 5 days a week may have been acceptable when you first started out, but is this still what the customer wants? Check with your customers – they may want you to open later and close later.
"It's a long time before someone answers the phone."

Hanging on the phone while it rings and rings is very irritating. It conjures up images of staff sitting drinking coffee and chatting; not the impression you want to portray and not the way to put customers in a buying mood! Do your staff understand the importance of the phone being answered promptly?
"Whenever I ring in and get transferred to another person I often get cut off."

Have your staff been trained in getting the best out of your phone system? Do all staff have a handy list of extension numbers to avoid annoying 'sorry wrong department' answers? Ask a friend or business colleague to ring in and take note of what happens – good and bad.

Mark Bradley says, "We usually encounter a number of interesting correlations that fundamentally prove that operational accuracy leads to customer satisfaction."

Take some time to look at your business from the customer's perspective and you should be able to stop customer complaints before they hit your desk.

It's not only the operational side of the business which can let you down; the human side of business can also generate complaints – your staff! No matter how good your product is one loose cannon in your team can upset everything. What actions can your staff take that can lead to a customer picking up the phone or putting pen to paper?
Bad Attitude

There's no getting away from it – some people have a bad hair day every day! The way they speak to people is enough to turn the most mild mannered of customers against your company. They act as if the customer is an interference to their daily routine. A person with poor job skills can be taught the relevant knowledge or skills but a person with a generally bad attitude, the proverbial chip on the shoulder, is harder to bring into line. 
These type of people are the ones who never acknowledge your presence when you are standing in front of them, or still chat away on the phone The solution? Get them away from your customers.
Not Willing To Seek a Solution

These people are the ones who may acknowledge a customer's problem but just can't be bothered to find a solution; it's too much hassle. The stock answer is, "I can't help. It's company policy." Their favourite words are "I can't", "Yes, but", "won't", "shouldn't". They can find nothing positive to help the customer. If this happens, your customers walk away thinking you are a 'can't do' instead of a 'can do' business.
Not Giving Full Product Explanations

Your product may be the best in the world, but if it doesn't do what the customer wants then you have one unhappy purchaser. Lack of understanding of how the product or service meets the customer's requirements could be down to your sales staff being too anxious for a sale – persuading the buyer that the product is just right when it clearly doesn't fit what the client needs. This is partly down to sales training but also attitude. Do you want staff that are happy to sell to your customers on this basis?
Not Willing To Admit a Mistake

Isn't it refreshing to hear someone say, "Do you know, you're right. We really messed this up." If you get this as an opening line when making a complaint, you immediately know you're in business. However, sometimes getting a business to admit it has made a mistake is like pulling teeth. If you're in the wrong, get your staff to own up and say, "Yes, we were wrong", it can take away the emotion which sometimes blocks successful resolution of complaints.
Not Keeping You Up To Date

In any effective complaint handling process, everything can be done according to the book, but it can all be thrown away if the client is not kept up to date. A complaint, followed by days of silence, allows doubt and anger to bubble up again. It may be that the person handling the complaint had a bad time when taking the initial query; he's not motivated to pick up the phone and engage in another torrent of abuse! However, not speaking to the client can only make matters worse, and so guaranteeing that the next call will be even more interesting! Get 'strong' characters to front your complaints, people who are not intimidated and are happy to solve problems.
Broken Promises

This is probably the most frequent reason for human cause of complaint; 'Yes, I'll do that for you. Leave it to me." What happens? Nothing! The impression given is that your staff just don't care, or that the customer is not important. Impress upon your staff the importance of following through on their promises. Any broken promise will compound a complaint.

So, in what areas are your staff letting you down? Are you doing everything to ensure your staff are treating everyone as loyal customers? Listen to what your staff are saying, and listen to what your customers are telling you. Get the human side of your complaint process right and you have more chance of keeping your customers for life.

The art of complaint handling is not only resolving it to the customer's satisfaction; it's also about taking action on what you find out and being proactive in finding potential problems before they become problems.              http://infosdemocracy.com

Four Easy Steps To More Motivated Employees

There is no particular set of rules that one should follow in motivating employees. We each have our own driving force when it comes to doing an excellent job at work. A working mother could be motivated by her children, who serve as her inspiration to succeed. A trainee who is fresh out of college is motivated by the compulsion to learn and climb to the top. A long-time company employee will get motivated to perform well so that he or she can be promoted. Others are motivated by financial rewards. As a manager, team leader, department head or supervisor, you need to determine the individual driving forces of those who are in your team so that you can create a motivated workforce.

1. Goals For Employee Motivation:

- Increase employee performance at work
- Spice up team spirit and build a cohesive team
- Eliminate individual differences and avoid conflicts
- Have an open communication between peers
- Set and achieve a common goal

2. Lead By Example

There is one joke where it says that the new definition of a boss is one who is always early when you are late and who is always late when you are not. Do not let this apply to you. Be consistent. The simple gesture of arriving before or as the same time as your employees will show them how much you value their time and yours. This is also a good way of showing employees that you respect the company that pays you for your time at work. If you do come in late, apologize to those who are under you and explain why you are late. This is so that they would not think that the no-late policy does not apply to the boss, showing them that you are equals when it comes to company rules and policies.

2. Keep Communication Lines Open

Some employees are afraid to talk to, or even look at superiors who exude the touch-me-not aura. This is not a good way to motivate your employees. When you come to work, do not just go straight to your office and deal with your paper works. Mingle with the employees and ask them about their previous day, on what they have accomplished so far. Then you can tell them about the output that you expect by the end of the day. This way, you would know what to expect from the employees and vice-versa. It will not only help you set a goal for the day but with this, you are also optimizing your interaction with the employees by mingling with them on a more casual basis.

3. Share What You Know

Do not be selfish. Sometimes, a company does not grow because there are employees who know something advanced about the industry or a certain aspect of the company, and they are not willing to share their knowledge to others. They think that this would make them invaluable to the company, especially if they are the only ones who know about a particular process or idea. This attitude would not help your company succeed. There should always be a sharing of knowledge. When an employee is asked to train abroad, they are often asked to sign a contract that they should not resign for the next year or two. Why do you think this is so? Imagine what would happen if the employee who trained abroad or attended an exclusive seminar about an advanced technology on the industry just up and leaves right after the training. A company would not spend thousands of dollars to train an employee for nothing. They want you to share and impart the knowledge to your fellow employees. If you share a new technology to your entire team, who knows what newer and better ideas the knowledge would bring? Do not stutter the company's growth by keeping your ideas to yourself.

4. Implement Your Ideas

What good would a new idea or technology do if you do not apply it? After sharing the knowledge, gather the team and think of ways to improve the company's operation with what you all have learned. As a leader, you should be a people person. You must know how to adopt to the things that motivate your team members and use this knowledge to your advantage. Without a good and solid workforce behind you, you will not accomplish anything. You may have ten or a hundred employees, but if you apply these steps to motivate your team, you can bring out the best in them and contribute towards your company's growth and success.

http://Infosdemocracy.com