This is on a personal note. This is my wife, Laurie. She turns 50 today. I had this word map created for her. I ask family, friends, and coworkers to share two to three of forming words. I took those words and then created a word map that displays these affirming words. The larger the words, the more people used that word.

Everyone needs affirmation.  Who could you encourage today? 

A coworker who is retiring? 
Someone who has worked at your company for decades?
A community leader who is an unsung hero? 

The power of a truly great idea can’t be understated. With one great idea, you could build a multi-million dollar business. You could solve the world’s problems. One great idea could change your life.

Having the ability to come up with great ideas is a highly prized skill. But how exactly do people come up with them? Some people seem to think it’s all about inspiration – the kind that just strikes whenever it wants.

It’s like the story of Isaac Newton. This is something we’ve all heard before.

Newton was sitting under a tree when an apple fell and bumped him on the head.

Immediately Newton was struck with a brilliant idea – the theory of gravity. In an instant, he changed how people see the world.

The big problem with this story is that it’s not true. Newton didn’t come up with his idea of gravity in an instant. It took a long time of thinking and working out the math.

But this instance is how many people look at generating ideas. They think it happens at a single moment when inspiration comes to them.

The problem with this way of seeing ideas is that it’s passive. Ideas come to you.

That’s not how ideas work. You have to actively be seeking them out; it takes some work to get there. If you just wait for them, a truly creative idea will probably never come to you.

If you want your life to change with a brilliant new idea, you have to be on the lookout for them. They don’t just happen out of thin air.

Be active, not passive.

Do things that mentally stimulate your brain so that ideas can be born.

Things like:

1. Surrounding yourself with brilliant thinkers

Great ideas don’t usually form alone. They often come from interactions with have with others. A small idea gets bounced back and forth in conversation until something extraordinary comes out of it.

Read the rest here:  http://addicted2success.com/success-advice/7-ways-to-inspire-truly-great-ideas/

Found here: http://www.talent-technologies.com/new/2012/06/management-skills-infographic/

The Link Between Culture and Motivation

Explain the link between culture and motivation.

A company’s culture is what motivates—or demotivates—its people, telling them whether to do their work for the love of it or for the fear of punishment (at this point, you can guess which is more effective).

The biggest misconception about culture is that it is a collection of sentiments and perks like “honesty,” “integrity,” and in-house yoga. In fact, culture is the set of systems and processes people have to interact with as they go about their work, including favorites like mission and values, but also job design and compensation. And to inspire the highest levels performance, the entire ecosystem has to be aligned in the right direction.

Total motivation provides a scientific and actionable basis with which to create that alignment—toward the direct motives and away from the indirect ones.

As you studied companies and thousands of workers, what was most surprising?

We were most surprised by how tight the link between motives and performance was. One study of a call center found a $141 difference in revenue per hour between representatives that had positive ToMo and those with negative—that represented a 60% difference. Think about the man-hours and resources companies commit for a fraction of that lift today.

We surveyed people at global banks, 20-person start-ups, even school districts, and what the highest performers and the highest performing organizations had in common was positive total motivation. When we looked at major airlines, Southwest came out on top; retailers, Nordstrom; and among grocers, Trader Joe’s. These companies’ reputations precede them, but never before has a data-driven narrative, agnostic of role, industry or larger-than-life leaders united them all.

Read the rest here:  http://www.skipprichard.com/how-to-build-a-culture-primed-to-perform/?utm_content=buffer50708&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Read the article that goes along with this at:  http://www.leadershipandchangemagazine.com/appreciative-inquiry-to-build-a-culture-of-kindness/

Tai Goodwin, The Career Makeover Coach, is a professional development coach that specializes in career rejuvenation and reinvention. She is also host of the online radio show, Career Makeover Strategies.

Listed below are ten principles of success to always remember. These are ideas many of us already know or have seen elsewhere. We often need to be reminded of important lessons we’ve already discovered but quickly forget.

1. There is no progress without action.

What is not started today is never finished tomorrow. Some of the greatest ideas never made it. Why? Because the genius behind the idea failed to take action. So take action now and begin to move in the right direction. Once you get started every step afterwards gets easier and easier. Eventually, what had once been invisible, starts to become visible, and what once felt unattainable, starts to become a reality.You must believe you can. It all starts with a dream. Add confidence, and it becomes a belief. Add commitment, and it becomes a goal in sight. Add action, and it becomes a part of your life. Add determination and time, and your dream becomes a reality.

3. You are the only person responsible for your success. 

The best part of your life will start on the day you decide your life is your own – no one to lean on, rely on, or blame. You are in control of your future. Believe with all your heart that you will do what you were made to do. It may be tough at times, but don’t give up. There is no happiness and success to be found by playing it safe and settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

4. Failure is necessary. 

Don’t wake up at seventy-five years of age sighing over what you should have tried, but didn’t because you were afraid to fail. Just do it, and be willing to fail and learn along the way. Very few people get it right the first time. In fact, most people fail to get it right the first few times. If what you tried today didn’t turn out as you hoped, tomorrow is a new opportunity to do it differently. Interpret each failure as a lesson on the road to success.

5. Persistence always wins. 

As Winston Churchill once said, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” It may take more than one swing to compose an efficient hit, so make sure not to give up on strike #1. And remember, a river cuts through rocks not because of its power at a given moment, but because of its persistence over time.

6. Focus is everything. 

Read the rest here:  http://chrisbanescu.com/blog/2012/09/ten-success-principles-to-remember/

About Chris Banescu:

Chris is an entrepreneur, business consultant, small business owner, writer, speaker, attorney, and university professor. He is a business management and e-commerce specialist with an entrepreneurial spirit and passion for excellence.

His career experience spans small and medium-sized companies, Fortune 500 corporations, traditional and online universities, and several Internet and entrepreneurial ventures. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Marketing from New York University and a Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern University School of Law.