The author has conducted workshops for over 2,300 managers in Asian and Pacific countries and has carried out tasks in 16 countries.  Participants in the workshops taught him much and many of their experiences were included in his books. He now  has time to share some of their comments and advice in these blogs. …

The Best Handful of Tips 100 – Back to Work: After a lengthy time out of the workforce you can return to work by following these handful of tips. You may have been raising a family, been made redundant, been a student studying full time or serving time for a misdemeanour. Confidence and self-esteem can…

The Best Handful of Tips 99 – Answering Questions: How often have you been to a meeting where the chairperson asks “Are there any questions?” There is often a deathly silence. There are ways to overcome this problem. Question time can be very important because it can help clarify points you raised during your presentation.…

The Best Handful of Tips 98 – Strategic Planning:  Minutes spent planning can save hours when it comes to getting things done. The planning process is logical because it reflects the successive steps and conditions required to reach objectives. Strategic planning is ‘what we will do’, the tactical planning is ‘how we will do it’.…

The Best Handful of Tips 97 – Effective Displays and Exhibits:  An effective display and an exhibit should arouse interest, stimulate thought and cause action. Most fail to do this. Too many displays are cluttered and contain conflicting messages. Displays and exhibits must get their messages across quickly. Displays should contain simple messages. The fewer…

The Best Handful of Tips 96 – Get Known It’s not what you know but who you know that counts most. It is essential to get known and to network to build new business relationships and generate new work opportunities.  Try to connect with people you enjoy, people you have common interests with and people…

The Best Handful of Tips  95 –  Thanking a Guest Speaker:  When you are asked to thank a guest speaker there are a few simple rules to  follow. When a guest speaker has finished addressing a meeting, the chairperson usually asks a member of the audience to propose a vote of thanks. A speech to…

The Best Handful of Tips 94 – Listen Carefully: Learn to listen carefully. Leaders who listen to their people are the most effective as well as the most popular. You cannot listen if you are talking – and if you are talking you are not learning about things that could be of interest or concern.…

The Best Handful of Tips 92 – Preparing Speech Notes I have recently seen the British Prime Minister lose her speech notes in the wind. If they had been prepared correctly  this wouldn’t have happened. If you are a professional, such as a scientist, a manager or a politician you will want to be reported…

  The Best  Handful of Tips 93 –  Training Ways   Training should be to inspire action rather than to fill with knowledge. Having run training workshops in many countries I have experimented using different ways to train. At the Singapore Institute of Management ( now Singapore University of Social Sciences) I ran 31 three…