Managing difficult people

If you want to be really good at managing difficult people, you need to learn and apply the magic of rapport. I say magic, because if you develop that skill, you will make your life so much easier.

Rapport is not just about speaking to other people; it’s about listening and understanding how the other person sees the situation. It’s also about being able to empathise and appreciate how others feel.

Everybody sees the world in a different way. The person with good rapport skills understands this and thinks about it when communicating with other people. Good rapport-building skills are about conveying to the other person that you see the world in the same way that they see it.

It’s not just about being creative

THE popularity of the American television programme Project Runway may lead people to believe that it is easy to transition into the fashion industry.

More individuals are jumping into the business without the benefit of a fashion education. While it is certainly possible to do so, the learning curve is bound to be significant.

Young designers should know it takes more than a great-looking garment to be a successful designer.

Time and time again, I see start-ups so focused on designing beautiful garments that they miss the bigger picture.

Before venturing out and launching a new collection, designers should be able to address the following issues:

1. Clearly and concisely identify your target audience
When speaking to young designers, the first question I ask is: “Who is your target audience, who is the customer you are selling to?”

Many respond with “I sell to everyone”, or they tell me a range of customers that span 20 years in age.

My response to that is: “If you try to be everything to everyone, you’re nothing to no one.”

If designers do not have a clear and specific target audience, it is going to be difficult for them to formulate a marketing message to reach their prospective customer.

2. Create the brand’s Unique Selling Proposition(USP)
There are thousands upon thousands of brands for consumers to choose from, so how are you going to stand out? What is your USP? Why do I want to buy from you?

Designers need to have a clear idea of what they have to offer to consumers with their apparel.

Maybe you offer exercise or yoga wear for the plus-size woman, office wear for very tall men, or shoes for people with wide feet.

The USP must also be conveyed in your marketing message.

3. Create a meaningful brand name that speaks to your customer
Al Reis and Jack Trout, the authors of Positioning, The Battle For Your Mind, identify a key issue: “In this positioning era, the single most important marketing decision you can make is what to name the product.”

I couldn’t agree more. Too often, new designers pick obscure or personal names because they think it is cute or cool.

They need to be thinking about the product and the target audience.

They should select a brand name that is memorable and appropriate to the product and target audience.

It also should easily translate to an available web domain name.

4. Develop the brand personality
Just as individuals have a name and a personality, so do brands.

The brand personality is something that should be created by the designer in the early stages of the brand development.

Brand personality can be conveyed to the consumer visually by the product design, in the store layout and something as simple as the brand font or corporate colours that represent the brand.

The closer you can get your brand personality to that of your target audience, the easier it is going to be to sell to them.

5. Establish the brand positioning
What is your product known for in the marketplace?

Volvo holds the position for being a safe family car, Tiffany’s is known for fine jewellery and McDonald’s is synonymous with fast food and happy kids.

Each designer should establish his brand position by writing a brand positioning statement.

The positioning statement takes into account the customer, the competition and what makes you unique in the marketplace.

6. Design a sales and marketing plan
In the movie Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner continually hears a voice from above telling him: “If you build it, they will come”. This only happens in the movie.

You must have a sales and marketing plan to create awareness for your brand and a means to continually promote the products to drive traffic to your store or website.

It is simple. No traffic, no sales.

Develop a sales and marketing strategy before you open your doors to the public.

7. Make sure your business hat is bigger than your designer hat
As the creative force behind the label, designers sometimes forget that they have a business to run.

There is a misconception that being a designer is all about creating beautiful garments and that very little time needs to be spent on the other less glamorous stuff.

Designers need to be savvy enough to know that there are times when they need to be working “in” the business and working “on” the business.

Running the business is a bigger hat to wear. If you are not prepared to wear this hat, look for assistance such as consultants or partners.

Count Your Blessings

Sometimes, I would find myself wishing I had more of this or maybe the skill of that. Then I would pause and realise that I should be grateful for everything and anything that I already have.

Great leaders always count their blessings and are grateful. When you start complaining and comparing, you begin to lose sight of the joy of pursuing life.

So, my advice to you :
Count your blessings for what you have and go on to pursue life!

Failures

All through life we’ve been taught that failures should be avoided. Yet, if you look back in history, all great achievers were born out of failures.

Walt Disney was once fired because he lacked creativity. The Beatles were rejected by several record companies. Thomas Edison’s teacher told him that he was too stupid. Michael Jordan failed to make it into his high school basketball team.

Failure is the starting point of success. When you fail, you learn. When you learn, you grow. When you grow, you succeed.

So, my advice to you :
Don’t worry when you fail. Keep chugging along as success is just around the bend!

The Kaizen Mindset

At Toyota, their employees believe in the "kaizen” mindset, which simply means that there is only one way to move - forward. To them, it is a crisis if they do not create improvement each day. Hiroshi Okuda, Toyota’s chairman, once proclaimed, "Failure to change is a vice.”

Kaizen, or the resolve to constantly improve, is what great people do. The best people in the world constantly change, grow, improve and innovate.

So, my advice to you :
If you want to become a great person, make a room to constantly grow and improve yourself. Keep moving forward!

Learn on the job

Most people believe that we learn best by attending classes and listening to teachers. Research however, shows that people learn best by seeing and doing. Not by listening. Classroom training really accounts for a mere 10% of real learning and growth. 70% of what a person learns is through experiences and 20% by observation and role modelling others

So, for you to keep learning and growing, you need to keep experiencing. Take on a new project, practice a new skill or just do something different that enables you to grow. It’s not complicated and you don’t need to go for expensive classes to learn. Everyone can learn.

So, my advice to you :
Go and experience something new! Leaders learn best when they Do

Leadership tips: Self Awareness

In my years of observing leaders, I discovered a key trait that all great leaders have – self-awareness.

Great leaders understand who they are – their strengths and development needs. They leverage on their strengths and know how to hide their weaknesses while working on developing them. Famous leaders like Jack Welch, Gandhi and Mother Theresa all had weaknesses. But they were aware of their weaknesses and focused on improving these areas. You can do the same.

So, my advice to you :
Spend time getting to know yourself more! Recognize your strengths and work on developing your weaknesses. You might just become the next great leader.

Don't let your past affect your future

Many of us are convinced that our childhood and past experiences made us who we are today. A miserable childhood, a broken family, and a terrible accident might influence you to act in a certain way, but they certainly do not make you do anything. Start growing out of your past today. Living on past failures will only bring you down. Living on past successes will never bring you up either.

So, my advice to you :
Be determined to constantly change yourself for the better! Never let your past hold you back or make you contented.

Don't cry over spilled milk: Move onwards and upwards!

We all know that there is no use crying over spilled milk.

Abraham Lincoln had 2 breakdowns, lost 8 elections, and was bankrupt twice. Yet he said that he chose to see his situation not as a setback but as a new starting point in life. You too can choose to forget the past and worked forward to the future.

So, my advice to you :
Choose to look at setbacks as an opportunity to grow. as a springboard for newer and better things to come.

Don't be fooled! There are no shortcuts to success

You probably have heard that “practice makes perfect.” If you keep practicing, you can actually be an expert at something. In fact, research has proven just how much practice is required to become a genius - 10 years or 10,000 hours of extensive practice.

Bill Gates had 10,000 programming hours under his belt before he made it. The Beatles practiced for years before they were regarded as a good band. Tiger Woods and David Beckham had to practice their crafts for many years before they became world-class athletes.

If you do the math, just three hours a day of practice for 10 years can make you an expert.

So, my advice to you :
If you want to be a genius in something, just practice! It’s not easy, but we never said that achieving world-class performance was easy. But it can be done with practice.

Failure is not the end of the road

Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player ever to live missed over 9,000 shots in his career. He lost almost 300 games. 26 times he was entrusted to take the game-winning shot but missed, causing his team to lose. He failed over and over again in his life. And that is why he succeeded.

Even great people like Michael Jordan have significant moments of failure. But they never let failure derail them from their goal of winning.

So, my advice to you :
When you lose a game, miss an opportunity, or fail to execute a task, do not lose heart. You can win too – just don’t let failure derail you.

Talent is in everyone

Most of us think of talents as belonging to the privileged few talent people. The truth is, everyone has some form of talent.

I once met a girl who noticed weeds by the roadside, picking the weeds and made beautiful cards and artworks out of them. Many were cheered by her cards. Later, she became an expert on preserving pressed plants.

This girl had a talent – she appreciated something that most people ignore. You have a talent in you too. It is a matter of looking into yourself and discovering it.

So, my advice to you :
Tap into your talents and use them to fulfill your potential!

Broken windows: Change yourself one step at a time

When I was living in New York City in the 90s, I saw the city transform from the most dangerous city in the world to one of the safest. This transformation happened because the leaders in New York City focused on fixing their “broken windows.” Instead of focusing on big crimes, they focused on eliminating small and petty crimes. As they eliminated small crimes, bigger crimes soon started to disappear too.

The same can be said for you. When you start focusing on small areas to improve yourself, over time, you will see big improvement overall.

So, my advice to you:
Don’t aim for the sky today. Just change 1 part of you. Focus on small changes in your life and soon you will see a transformed you!

Success is only a sweaty climb away

Thomas Edison once said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” He is the same man who created the light bulb after more than ten thousand experiments that failed.

The founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergio Brynn worked tirelessly for many, many years before they got the algorithms of Google search completed. David Beckham practiced 500 free kicks a day for more than ten years before he became the king of free kicks.

We live in a world where we expect everything to be instant. Yet, to be truly exceptional and great, we need to put in time. There are no shortcuts to success.

So, my advice to you :
Go and work. There are no shortcuts to success. Leaders work hard at everything they do.

Changing Yourself

In our research, we found that only 5% of what we become is determined by our genetics and heritage. The remaining 95% is learnt. This means that 95% of you can be changed and transformed.

So, stop giving the excuse that you cannot change. Everyone has the power to change a bad habit, learn a new skill, or build a new business.

So, my advice to you :
Start building a new you by changing yourself today! Remember, 95% of you is learnt.

I somehow feel like being betray. I'm not going to trust anyone else. I just believe on myself! Yes or Not is me to justify, NOT you! Please don't try to demotivate me again! I just wish to make my life simple!