5 Secrets to Coaching Your Employees to Greatness

To integrate coaching into your talent management strategy, the following five steps should be taken:

1. Educate your leaders

Start at the top and educate your executives on the differences and benefits of coaching versus counseling. Interview them on their perspectives on coaching and assess their willingness to participate and support a coaching initiative. Explain the benefits of coaching and ask them where they see applications for coaching inside their organizations.

2. Identify coaches, participants and executive sponsors

Look for individuals and managers that can become trained to be internal coaches inside your company. These individuals may be inside your talent management and organizational development areas or could exist inside the business itself. Consider having talent management or human resources executives trained and credentialed by the International Coach Federation as professional coaches. Alternatively, you may choose to utilize external coaches. If so, you can submit a request via the International Coach Federation Coach Referral Service website or ask colleagues for recommendations.
Simultaneously, you will want to identify candidates to participate in the coaching program. Participants should be excited to be part of the program and willing to make a commitment. Just as important as identifying the coaches and participants is to make certain that you have executive sponsorship. Determine which executives would like to sponsor the program and be a participant. Request that they support you in your coach and participant identification, marketing efforts, during participant enrollment and throughout the program’s life cycle.
Related: Leadership Playbook: 3 Ways to Coach, Not Criticize,

3. Manage expectations

Be sure to clearly set expectations with your internal coaches, individuals being coached, the executive sponsors and, of course, your managers and colleagues. It is best to run the initial program as a pilot and build upon its success. Make certain everyone is clear on the goals of the program, time commitment and their roles and responsibilities.

4. Train

Enroll your internal coach candidates in a coach-training program that is designed to train individuals that work inside companies as a coach. If you choose to enroll internal employees to become coaches, ensure they’re being coached by a coach with experience coaching internal coaches. In addition, be sure to train the individuals who are to be coached on the role and responsibilities of the participant, while establishing a clear and consistent process for enrolling clients, coaching time and exiting clients.

5. Measure success

Prior to starting the program, determine how you will measure its success. It may be done simply by using a net–promoter score or setting up a simple impact study. (It doesn’t have to be a rigorous measurement such as ROI.) If your program is embraced and utilized (coaching clients show up and participate in the coaching), then that’s a great sign. Interviewing them or surveying them on the benefits they received is also an excellent idea. In addition, be sure to ask the managers of the program’s participants about the changes they may have noticed in their employee’s behaviors after being coached.
In a time where we’re surrounded by change and have so many demands on our personal and professional lives, the need for coaching is at an all-time high. Coaching is a model for engagement, empowerment and accountability. It teaches those being coached to be responsible and to “own” their results. By engaging in coaching, you’re making a decision to replace mediocrity with high-performance.

For Your Partnership to Succeed, It Needs to Be Balanced

The best partnerships come when you’ve found another person that doesn’t share the same capabilities and/or thought processes. To be specific, someone that’s not like you. So in order to get the benefits of a true partnership, you need to have some opposing ideas and differing but complimentary skill sets and although you both need to know and understand what is going in throughout the company, it’s really important that you’re not sharing every decision.
Part of an effective partnership is knowing that you can trust your counterpart to do what’s best and make the right decisions in their day-to-day responsibilities. Of course you need to work together on the larger decisions that affect the direction of your company, but if you’re both overseeing the same things, it’s going to quickly feel like one person is looking over the other’s shoulder. Also, this is completely inefficient.

How do you communicate?

Startups move fast and, as a result, require fast decisions -- that’s what gives new companies a huge advantage against larger and more rigid established competitors. So you’re not going to be able to talk about every single decision -- as covered in the previous point -- but you do need to understand what’s going on throughout the broader context of the company, which comes with communication.
Related: 7 Strategies to Help You Pick, Then Develop, the Perfect Partner
Make sure that you set up a specific date and time for a weekly meeting, whether at the beginning or end of the week -- or maybe both -- and use the opportunity to discuss the greater decisions that were or need to be made so you can both add in from your differing view points or areas of expertise to come to the best decisions for your company.

You absolutely must set expectations.

This point is really one that needs to be established well before a formal partnership is structured -- although I realize that sometimes it’s just not that simple. You and your partner(s) need to have an understanding, in writing, as to who is responsible for what and what the expectations are for your time and responsibilities, as well as any financial commitments.
It’s really easy to just believe that you’re friends and you’ll work anything out and it may be uncomfortable to sit and hammer out expectations, but when things get really difficult, everyone’s true colors show and you need to be able to refer to a written agreement to hold others accountable.
Related: How to Survive Losing Your Star Employee or Partner

21 Success Tips for Young and Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Being successful often means learning from those who have already achieved their goals. Having a mentor is an amazing blessing to an entrepreneur, but not everyone can find one in person.
If you haven’t yet found your personal business guru, here are 21 tips for young or aspiring entrepreneur to help get you started.

1. Challenge yourself. 

Richard Branson says his biggest motivation is to keep challenging himself. He treats life like one long university education, where he can learn more every day. You can too!

2. Do work you care about. 

There’s no doubt that running a business take a lot of time. Steve Jobs noted that the only way to be satisfied in your life is to do work that you truly believe in.

3. Take the risk. 

We never know the outcome of our efforts unless we actually do it. Jeff Bezos said it helped to know that he wouldn’t regret failure, but he would regret not trying.
Related: The 3 Key Elements to Make Your Business a Success

4. Believe in yourself.

As Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.” Believe that you can succeed, and you’ll find ways through different obstacles. If you don’t, you’ll just find excuses.

5. Have a vision. 

The founder and CEO of Tumblr, David Karp, notes that an entrepreneur is someone who has a vision for something and a desire to create it. Keep your vision clear at all times.

6. Find good people. 

Who you’re with is who you become. Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, noted that the fastest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be.

7. Face your fears. 

Overcoming fear isn’t easy, but it must be done. Arianna Huffington once said that she found fearlessness was like a muscle -- the more she exercised it, the stronger it became.

8. Take action. 

The world is full of great ideas, but success only comes through action. Walt Disney once said that the easiest way to get started is to quit talking and start doing. That’s true for your success as well.

9. Do the time. 

No one succeeds immediately, and everyone was once a beginner. As Steve Jobs wisely noted, “if you look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” Don’t be afraid to invest time in your company.

10. Manage energy, not time.

Your energy limits what you can do with your time, so manage it wisely.

11. Build a great team. 

No one succeeds in business alone, and those who try will lose to a great team every time. Build your own great team to bolster your success.

12. Hire character. 

As you build your team, hire for character and values. You can always train someone on skills, but you can’t make someone’s values fit your company after the fact.
Related: 7 Reasons Rock Star Entrepreneurs Hit Home Run After Home Run

13. Plan for raising capital.

Richard Harroch, a venture capitalist, has this advice for upcoming entrepreneurs: “It’s almost always harder to raise capital than you thought it would be, and it always takes longer. So plan for that.”

14. Know your goals. 

Ryan Allis, co-founder of iContact, pointed out that having the end in mind every day ensures you’re working toward it. Set goals and remind yourself of them each day.

15. Learn from mistakes. 

Many entrepreneurs point to mistakes as being their best teacher. When you learn from your mistakes, you move closer to success -- even though you initially failed.

16. Know your customer. 

Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s, cited knowing your customer as one of his three keys to success. Know those you serve better than anyone else, and you’ll be able to deliver the solutions they need.

17. Learn from complaints. 

Bill Gates once said that your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. Let unhappy customers teach you where the holes in your service are.

18. Ask for customers’ input. 

Assuming what customers want or need will never lead to success. You must ask them directly, and then carefully listen to what they say.

19. Spend wisely. 

When you spend money on your business, be careful to spend it wisely. It’s easy to spend too much on foolish things and run out of capital too soon.

20. Understand your industry. 

Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos, once said, “Don’t play games you don’t understand, even if you see lots of other people making money from them.” Truly understanding your industry is key to having success.

21. Deliver more than expected.

Google's Larry Page encourages entrepreneurs to deliver more than customers expect. It’s a great way to get noticed in your industry and build a loyal following of advocates.
Being a successful entrepreneur takes a lot of work, a lot of vision and a lot of perseverance. These 21 tips, from entrepreneurs who have already found success, will help you navigate the path much more easily.
What’s your favorite success tip for entrepreneurs? Share it below in the comments section below.

6 min read 7 Myths About Starting a Business That I Used to Believe

world is not flat, but there was a period in time when those myths were accepted as fact. Similarly, there are myths built up around starting a business that simply aren’t true. Here are seven common entrepreneurial myths about starting a business that I used to believe, which I can now debunk for you.

1. You have to know what you’re doing.

You actually don’t need to know exactly what you’re doing to get started. Time has proven that continuously. From Magellan, Einstein, Madame Curie, Steve Jobs and beyond, there was never an exact plan for the course ahead -- just a general idea that something more was out there. Let your curiosity overpower the myth that you have to know exactly what you’re doing to get started.

2. You have to have a full business plan.

I personally don’t like giant business plans. Something simple that effectively outlines your mission, vision and marketing tent-pole efforts with some data matrix around how you’re measuring your success and you should be good to go.
I’ve witnesses many entrepreneurs get bogged down in the mud of insisting they need a full business plan to start their businesses, even going so far as to hire someone to write it and filing for a trademark before they begin. I’m of the philosophy that you should test out whether your business is even viable before you sink money into it.
Get a solid two- or three-page outline of your business plan and then get to work. Don’t get trapped in business plan analysis paralysis.

3. You have to start at the right time.

Wrong. The only timing that will ever be right is now. In fact, countless entrepreneurs have started their businesses at the worst possible times in history, and the worst possible time in their personal lives.
Entrepreneur and podcaster Pat Flynn started his first online business after the nearly simultaneous news that he was being laid off from his corporate gig and that his wife was pregnant with their first child. No one would likely choose that high-anxiety period in their personal life to start a business, but life tends to take us where we need to go.
Microsoft was founded in 1975 near the end of a recession and later re-incorporated in 1981, just as the recession of the 1980s kicked off. These were two horrible times to start a business, but that hasn’t stopped Microsoft’s success.
The timing will never be right -- that’s why you need to start right now.
Related: 5 Business Myths that Used To Be True

4. You have to have a lot of money to start.

You don’t need a lot of money to get started. There’s a whole book by Eric Reis about why this is the case called The Lean Startup.
There are lots of ways to kick-off your business without a bunch of capital. One of the best ways to debunk this myth for yourself is to start micro-testing your product or service either on the side or in small batches to scale your growth incrementally. Big chunks of capital might help you grow faster, but sometimes a slow and steady growth rate can help you stabilize and get your business legs underneath you while your profit margins grow.
I highly recommend the book for ideas on how you can get started without spending a lot of money up front.

5. You have to hire staff.

This is one myth I quickly debunked when I started my first business with my brother. Staff is expensive to keep, cost time to manage and are in most ways the biggest expense any business will have on the books. The longer you can keep your business under your core leadership, the better.
Also, in my experience, when you can outsource to agencies or freelancers, for most businesses that’s almost always better. Keeping yourself free of staff overhead costs when you’re starting a business will help you be successful.

6. You have to work 24/7.

Entrepreneurs tend to work long hours most days. In startup mode, that’s simply what’s required. However, you have to be aware not only of your cash burn rate as a startup, but also your personal burn out rate.
If you grind yourself into the dust day after day without relief, you’re going to get sick and unhealthy, and that’s going to affect your success. You don’t have to work 24/7 to run a successful business. While you will need to work hard, and there will definitely be periods of seriously intense work, you also need to balance that with good sleep, good food, plenty of movement and some fun sometimes.
Entrepreneurship is hard work, but it’s supposed to be enjoyable, too.

7. You have to do it all.

This might appear to belie the earlier myth about not hiring staff, but the truth is that you don’t have to do it all in your business. It’s important to delegate and outsource some of the daily tasks and responsibilities of the business so you can have breathing space from time to time. Doing it all will mean burning yourself out and it’s a common mistake I see amongst new entrepreneurs.
Keep your sanity and learn not to do it all.

Korede Bello Performs In Church Again [PICS

Mavin act, Korede Bello has once again performed at another Church service despite the view of some fans that a secular musician should not be allowed to mount a pulpit and sing in the church.

He performed last weekend at Embrace International Assembly in Lagos.

Korede first appearance as a performing act in a Church was at HICC(Harvesters International Christian Centre) where he sang his smash hitGodwin.

When he was criticized for his actions, the Young singer said that he was going to perform in a church again.

In an earlier interview with NET, he said;

“If you are the pastor of a church and you invite me to perform the song, Yes I will perform the song again.

“It’s God’s song and whatever is happening now is predetermined, people are talking about God that’s all that matters”.

“From the inception of Godwin, I knew that it wasn’t my song, I knew that anything that’s for God has the potential of growing bigger than you imagine. It’s not quite a gospel song, it’s an inspirational song, what I mean by it’s for God is the fact that it’s dedicated to God. I don’t see it as my song, I see it as people’s song and I see it as a song for God.”




http://tunezmedia.com/?p=13910

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Nigerians Should Ignore ‘hate Messages’ From Radio Biafra, Says NBC by nige delta

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), on Friday, urged the public to ignore radio Biafra transmission.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs of the commission, Alhaji Awwalu Salihu, made available to newsmen in Abuja.

The statement said the commission had become aware of a pirate radio station transmitting seditious and divisive content contrary to the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code and law.

It assured the public that it was working in conjunction with security forces to track the source of the broadcast.

It urged the public to ignore the inflammatory content of the broadcast and continue to work toward a strong, united and prosperous nation.

It would be recalled that Radio Biafra caused a stir on social media after it aired some ‘hate messages’.

“True Biafrans must go after the hausa Fulani Yoruba ethnic bigots and dismantle their monumental bundle of illegality and lies against Biafrans. Go after them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Viber, Whatsapp etc and all the platforms you find yourselves. We have only told them to stop the decades of injustices against us and they having nightmares. The journey has just begun!” Radio Biafra published on Twitter and Facebook.

How 3 Entrepreneurs Went from Welfare to Multi-Million Business in Five Years

Zaycon Fresh is an unusual business with an unusual story. Two brothers and their cousin, all on welfare after they fell on hard times during the recession, decided to start a business. Today, this business holds events throughout the country where they deliver proteins like chicken, bacon, salmon, steak and more in bulk to customers -- directly from farmers -- at value pricing.
After starting with a test event in 2009 that brought in revenue of $40,000, the company is on track to do $30 million for this fiscal year, it says.
I first heard about Zaycon Fresh from my husband, who has had a client relationship with the company. That’s how I was introduced to Zaycon’s CEO Mike Conrad. With no formal business background and no college degree, Conrad talks about the entrepreneurial lessons he learned from taking his circumstances and turning them into a major business opportunity.
Related: The Simple Customer-Service Mistake That Cost $800

Timing is everything.

For Zaycon, the third time was the charm, so to speak. Mike Conrad’s brother, J.C. -- who was a co-founder and is no longer with the company -- conceptualized the business when he was a meat manager for a supermarket. He did a proof-of-concept test to see if he could get customers to buy in bulk at discounted prices and it was a significant success.
He took that proof-of-concept and tried to launch the business himself in 2000, but was not successful. It wasn’t until after the Internet infrastructure was built up enough to support this event-based business -- and he found partners in his brother and cousin, Adam Kremin -- did this concept get legs as a standalone business.
Remember that even the best ideas may not be successful if launched at the wrong time.

Build your brand the hard way.

Building a business and a brand is difficult, so Conrad and his co-founders decided to start where they had support: with local churches. These institutions helped to spread the word about their premier Zaycon event and continue to be big supporters. The events are often held in church parking lots where there is often extra unused space. Plus, the church benefits from awareness in addition to a Zaycon donation of food.
After the success of the first event, Zaycon’s next endeavor was to engage coupon and deal-oriented bloggers. They reached out to 1,000 bloggers to see if they would be interested in reviewing the company’s product and approximately 450 responded yes. Since Zaycon delivers farm-fresh product, they wanted the experience to be authentic, so they rented a few trucks and hand delivered the 450 boxes of product to bloggers all across the country. This extra effort, while time-consuming, made a big impact. As these bloggers raved about Zaycon, they started adding thousands upon thousands of customers to their database. This was the catalyst for major growth.
 Too many entrepreneurs want to do traditional marketing strategies from the get go, but sometimes, doing the high-labor-intensive, out-of-the-box efforts create the foundation that your business needs for growth.
Related: The Future of Customer Loyalty

Create the ‘right’ team.

To take the business from nothing to $30 million in sales, Conrad says was a true team effort. It was all about having the right people in the right places at the right time. While his brother was a co-founder, he ultimately felt he wasn’t suited for business growth and was bought out of the business.
Also, as the company grew, Conrad and his cousin knew that there many traditional business competencies that they didn’t possess. They sought advisors and hands-on investors who could help supplement those skill and knowledge deficiencies and bring the company to the next level.

Involve your customers.  

You might not think that bulk meats is an enthusiast-driven business, but Zaycon proves that it can be. By involving the customers in everything from initial marketing -- (new events are set when a core group of interested customers in a certain geographic area sign-up) -- to creating a fun experience, the business gets extra mileage.
As Conrad said, “People wanted to be involved in your business. When they feel involved, they want to support you.” That has certainly been the case for Zaycon’s excited customer base, some of whom “volunteer” for free food at events and certainly create a community around Zaycon’s model that helps the company to build its business.

Create a defense with intellectual property.

While the price point and freshness are customer selling points of Zaycon’s model, their secret sauce is actually their logistics. They have invested heavily in creating software systems that help them manage the farm-to-customer logistics of food delivery and event production.
Conrad relates that while the business seems simple in concept, the logistics are very complicated, and their investment in logistics IP helps to create barriers to entry from competitors.

Be willing to change.

Conrad’s parting words are the ones that he thinks are maybe the most important for entrepreneurs. “Be malleable,” he said. “You have to adapt and change. There were at least four times when we thought that the business was dead, but we knew that was not an option. We couldn’t quit, we had to keep going.”
He also said that the willingness to change comes into play in terms of listening. “Always believe you are not the smartest guy in the room and let other people bring ideas to the table,” said Conrad. The path you start for your business -- and often your endpoint as well -- will change drastically as you build the company.
Zaycon Fresh continues to grow and prosper and will rely on their own history lessons to move them forward to the next level of success