Found 0 posts
Dreamers and entrepreneurs are separated by one simple thing: the ability to successfully execute an idea. Assembling the right team to implement an innovative idea takes a strong leader at the helm to make it a reality. The term ‘leadership’ has various definitions, and everyone will have an opinion on the qualities a great leader should possess. However, there are universal key factors that the most successful trailblazers should have.
Learn more about Cydcor and our latest job openings on our LinkedIn.
Confidence: Those put into leadership roles might worry that showing too much confidence can come across as egotistical or arrogant to their co-workers. A reality is that everyone wants to know and feel that their leader is both capable and secure in their decisions and knowledge. Showing confidence in your posture and presence along with using positive language is also vital. There is also poise in those leaders who are capable of saying, “I don’t know” to their co-workers. It takes great confidence for a leader to admit to not knowing the solution; it also requires having trust in their team to kick into gear and help out.
Communication: A trailblazer can have a lot of ideas, but are they capable of clearly expressing their thoughts effectively to others? Honing communication skills is vital, as you want to be able to succinctly designate and describe what needs to be done in order to produce the idea and meet the goal. Being unable to relate a vision to a team can lead to severe miscommunications and misunderstandings.
Are you on Twitter? Follow @Cydcor for our latest updates and company news.
Create a productive atmosphere that focuses on everyone’s communication ability. Open door policies, daily updates and check-ins—and making those in decision-making and planning roles available for discussion—can all contribute to a healthy interoffice environment.
Obligation: Lead by example. A leader has an obligation to stay committed to their goals, and there is no greater motivation for a team than seeing their leader get down alongside them and muscle into the workload. Proving commitment to the brand and idea can earn a leader respect among their workplace. Create a reputation for working hard and keeping promises.
A quote by Carl Zuckmayer says, “One-half is luck; the other half is discipline—and that’s the most important half, for without discipline you wouldn’t know what to do with luck.”
Luck doesn’t just happen, and it’s Cydcor is a firm believer that it's entirely possible to create your own. There are many events that happen over the course of an individual’s life that they have nothing to do with—both negative and positive occurrences.
The concept of ‘luck’ is truly about being at the right time and the right place. But how can you be sure you are?
Those who are successful project an appearance of being positive. When someone is positive, others want to be around him or her. What does ‘be positive’ really mean? Radiate appreciativeness and share your knowledge and friendship with others. Everyone has insecurities, and spending time with those who are negative only exacerbates them.
The more effort you put into creating a positive, professional relationship, the more opportunities will be presented to you. Others will see you have a ‘can-do’ attitude and will turn to you for help. People want to work with those who provide solutions and aren’t bogged down by negative frustrations.
Things are also not as black and white as they appear. Try to keep an open mind and make sure your vision isn’t narrow when it comes to what you feel is possible or impossible. You can miss out on opportunities if you have tunnel vision.
Create your own luck by setting yourself up for opportunities!
Check our the Cydcor CareerBuilder page to learn about our current open positions.
While Cydcor knows there isn’t one way to achieve goals and become successful, there are certain truths about a successful career that remain. Especial for those choosing a career in sales, these ten laws will guide you through to generating a good income for your clients, your company, and yourself. These laws are based on classic clichés you are tired of hearing, but there is still value behind them.
What are your laws of success? Let Cydcor know on Facebook or Twitter!
Here is Cydcor's review of The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufman.
About The Personal MBA: This is a pocket version of what you would learn in business school. Getting an MBA is a big commitment of both time and money. One book can’t replace an education, but The Personal MBA provides tools and resources to get you in the right direction to become a successful business leader. Josh Kaufman founded PersonalMBA.com as an alternative to the business school boondoggle. His blog has introduced hundreds of thousands of readers to the best business books and most powerful business concepts of all time. Now, he shares the essentials of entrepreneurship, marketing, sales, negotiation, operations, productivity, systems design, and much more, in one comprehensive volume. The book argues that true leadership comes from self-driven individuals and not from school.
Cydcor recommends this book to future leaders because: It explains the big concepts of navigating both the corporate world and the path of entrepreneurship. These concepts include The Iron Law of The Market (being limited to the size of your market and how to identify large, unsaturated ones), The 12 Forms of Value (many ways to create value for customers), The Pricing Uncertainty Principle (knowing how to support charging more), and 4 Methods to Increase Revenue (the ways in which you can earn more money for your business). The book covers the nuts and bolts of running a company, large or small.
Our favorite part: Kaufman provides a long list of examples of people who did not need an MBA to succeed in business. Quotes from prominent businessmen to motivate you is also a great help, and when you want more information, the book also contains a list of the “99 Best Business Books” for further learning.
Cydcor is the global leader in outsourced sales. Follow Cydcor today for more information on careers, sales and other business information.
This week Cydcor wanted to post a round-up of our favorite content on Cydcor Reviews, our book review site. Recommended for team members by team members.
Linchpin was written by marketing expert Seth Godin, who believes that finding career success today depends on learning how to market one’s self. Linchpins are an upcoming role in the world of tech, start-ups and the age of entrepreneurship. The linchpins are those that come up with new solutions, break the mold, and foster creativity in companies. Linchpin is about learning how to break out of the systemic roles traditionally in the workplace and implement new ideas where you work. Often, the linchpins are the indispensable people in the background, empowering others, but staying out of the spotlight. They often have a less specific role in the company, but rather focus on specific needs as the work scape morphs and changes. Godin believes everyone has something brilliant to offer, and being able to harness that brilliance and bring it to the workplace can equal success and happiness.
The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell is an in depth look at how ideas get made into wildly popular companies, books or trends. Everything from television shows to teen smoking, popularity of ideas is modeled like an epidemic. There are carriers, those that evangelize the idea and get people excited about it. Malcolm Gladwell explains that there are three types of people involved in spreading an idea: connectors, mavens and salespeople. Connectors are people with a wide social network that are good at creating communities to rally for the concept. Mavens are knowledgeable experts that enjoy educating the public on their area of expertise. Salespeople are gifted at drumming up excitement for new things.
Lincoln by David Herbert covers the life of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. Lincoln was raised in rural Indiana in a poor household. The book follows Lincoln’s perspective as he picked himself up through poverty and through political savvy made his way into prominence quickly. The book examines his character, his key advisors, and reveals his human flaws as well as his greatness. Biographies and autobiographies are excellent sources of inspiration for anyone looking to achieve professional goals. Lincoln is an especially beloved figure for Americans because he was raised in poverty and came from a disadvantage to well educated men raised in wealthy homes in cities.
Competitive Advantage is a model for creating and managing an enterprise successfully. Porter offers tools for analysis that are taught in MBA programs around the country. Michael Porter is a professor at Harvard Business School, and lectures and writes prolifically on managing a business. Tactics such as the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis teaches critical thinking that is crucial to successfully leading a company. Porter also discusses strategy at length, and helps businesses to either produce a scale economy or define a niche that will keep them profitable.
Onward is the story of how Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz turned Starbucks around after a downturn in financial performance. Schultz explains that while the recession definitely had an impact in the loss in profits for the massive international coffee and specialty company, the biggest factor was a shift in company culture. Onward explains Shultz’ decision to return to the CEO position after a departure to implement a hands on strategy to bring his company to its most profitable year ever. Between 2008 and 2011, Starbucks was able to find its way again and Schultz continues to lead it to record profits every year.
Want to learn more about Cydcor? Check us out on the Cydcor LinkedIn page for our career advice, job news and more.
In a sales-driven environment like Cydcor, meetings are powerful tools. Bringing people together to share energy and announcements is a good team. Since our business focuses so much on building personal relationships, our team members benefit from face to face communication whenever time allows. Sales meetings are the best vehicles to unite and energize your team, and make sure that important information is conveyed.
So how do you conduct effective sales meetings for your business? You must start by defining the purpose and structure of the meeting. Time is an investment from your team, so it is important to make an effort to make the meeting worthwhile. A solid agenda and time budget will keep meetings productive and focused. Sales meetings should not last more than an hour in order to make sure all information is retained and your team has time to get back to serving clients. Always make sure to start the meeting on time instead of waiting for stragglers. If everyone knows the meetings always start promptly as scheduled, they will make sure to hustle. This will also reward punctual team members with respect instead of making them wait.
Start the meeting with a high energy, encouraging talk. Be sure to thank your team for being there, and incorporate positive reasons why the meeting works. This will wake people up and make them feel appreciated. Express gratitude for the stand out performers. Let your team know how your vision is being executed and celebrate the things that are good. Do not focus on the challenges during sales meetings, rather focus on the purpose of the meeting, which is to motivate the team.
Move down the agenda in a timely manner and then reserve 5-10 minutes for questions or appreciations.
What’s the best meeting you’ve been to? What did you like about it?
Follow Cydcor on LinkedIn for more tips and inspiration.
Another great book, Cydcor reviews The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.
Description of this book: Gladwell, a journalist and writer for The New Yorker magazine, is known for his comprehensive examinations of how change or success happens. The Tipping Point is an in depth look at how ideas get made into wildly popular companies, books or trends. Everything from television shows to teen smoking, popularity of ideas is modeled like an epidemic. There are carriers, those that evangelize the idea and get people excited about it. Malcolm Gladwell explains that there are three types of people involved in spreading an idea: connectors, mavens and salespeople. Connectors are people with a wide social network that are good at creating communities to rally for the concept. Mavens are knowledgeable experts that enjoy educating the public on their area of expertise. Salespeople are gifted at drumming up excitement for new things.
Cydcor recommends this book to future leaders and business people because: Gladwell has a talent for identifying key factors in how to make something popular. The biggest difference in an idea that fails and one that succeeds is knowing the right people to hand your idea to. Networking, knocking on the right doors and finding the people who will think the idea is “cool” is the best way to become a viral sensation. However, Gladwell also explains that ideas need to have “stickiness” factor that will help the important people spread it to others. Both of those factors also have to an in an environment where the idea and the people are relevant to current sentiment.
Our favorite part: "The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts."
Cydcor is a leading outsourced sales company that specializes in omnichannel sales. Follow Cydcor on LinkedIn or Twitter for more professional development advice. Want to work for Cydcor? Find our openings on the Cydcor Careerbuilder page today.
Description of this book: Delivering Happiness by Zappos founder Tony Hsieh is the story of how this young man created a new kind of company. Hsieh wanted to build a business that valued customers, employees, and investors equally. The CEO puts a strong focus on positive company culture, operating under the theory that a good corporate culture will let everything else fall into place naturally. A company of happy employees stay in the job longer, work harder and provide better customer service. Company success has to come from being unique and creating something people will get excited about. A focus on happiness not only attracted better talent, but gave Zappos a unique edge.
Cydcor recommends this book to leaders because: Hsieh has been able to build multiple companies in his career and has learned how to create a team of people that will work hard for his vision. Zappos now does over a billion dollars in sales annually. That is no small feat considering the competitiveness of online retailing. Future leaders should have a lot to learn about this company and take some ideas that challenge the norm of business leadership. Building a positive company culture can be a challenge and this book will lay it out for leaders.
Our favorite part: Zappos actually pays employees to quit. By giving them $2,000 to leave Zappos is they are unhappy, the company is less likely to retain team members who may be a negative influence on the work environment. That concept and other ideas.
Cydcor is a leading sales company that specializes in omni-channel relationships with customers. For more information on Cydcor, follow our Cydcor blog.
When an entrepreneur gets an idea for a business, investments need to be made into the idea to make it a reality. Investment is not only a reference to financial backing, but personal time, planning and energy. At Cydcor, we believe today’s job seekers should look to entrepreneurship for inspiration on making career decisions. Treating your resume like a business plan is the best way to create a career that is fulfilling. Starting out can be overwhelming, so it is important to plan and build a winning resume that will get the attention of the employers you want to work for.
Start out by deciding on the job you want the most, then work your way backwards. For example, if you want to be a chief executive officer of a sales and consulting company like Cydcor, then trace the step of the current CEO of the company you like and of its competitors. Learn what skills you need, such as leadership, communication, finance and project management. You can improve those skills through school or various projects. Make a list of skills you need, and the various job titles that will get you the necessary experience, all the way back to the beginning.
Here are some tips on investing in your resume and creating the career you want:
Want more inspiration, support or advice? Check out Cydcor on Pinterest for our all of our posts, reviews and other things we like to share to motivate our community.
In honor of President’s day, Cydcor chose to review Lincoln by David Herbert to study one of America’s finest leaders throughout history.
Description of this book: This biography covers the life of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. Lincoln was raised in rural Indiana in a poor household. The book follows Lincoln’s perspective as he picked himself up through poverty and through political savvy made his way into prominence quickly. The book examines his character, his key advisors, and reveals his human flaws as well as his greatness. The author, David Herbert, is a Pulitzer Prize
Cydcor recommends this book to future leaders because: Biographies and autobiographies are excellent sources of inspiration for anyone looking to achieve professional goals. Lincoln is an especially beloved figure for Americans because he was raised in poverty and came from a disadvantage to well educated men raised in wealthy homes in cities. In many ways, Lincoln is the best representation of the American dream, that hard work and persistence will always pay off. Cydcor highly recommends any manager to take time to read and learn about prominent figures in our culture, not just for inspiration but to improve critical thinking skills and improve confidence.
Our favorite part: Herbert does an excellent job of making sure to incorporate the realities of being president into the book. He explores how decisions were made based on the information available to him, rather than taking the traditional route of glorifying the historical figure retrospectively. It is important to look at leadership objectively and understand that decisions must be made regardless of whether you have all the facts. Leadership is about being able to make the best judgment calls you can at the time it is necessary.
Follow Cydcor on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest for more inspiration and leadership advice.
The Cydcor Community chose to review Don't Sweat the Small Stuff by Dr. Richard Carlson as a great book for personal development and stress management.
Description of this book: Dr. Richard Carlson has built a career on teaching people how to manage stress and let go of the minor pressures of a fast paced American lifestyle. This is the original in a series of books on making life happier and more manageable by not “sweating” the small stuff, and pointing out even in the subtitle “it’s all small stuff”. It is easy to get frustrated and hung up over things like bills, appointments, accidents and more hurdles in life, but the main message of this book is that stress and worry only make situations work. Training your brain to think about solutions rather than fret is a powerful lifestyle choice.
Cydcor recommends this book to leaders because: Stress can be detrimental to your health and career. Stressed out people also radiate negative energy and cause others to feel stressed or demotivated. Good managers need to learn how to project productive and positive energy in order to maintain workplace harmony. This book provides great perspective and can help you change your mental state to becoming a calm, happy and inspiring leader. The book offers easy to commit to strategies that incorporate small changes that make a huge difference.
Our favorite part: "Without question, many of us have mastered the neurotic art of spending much of our lives worrying about a variety of things all at once." Dr. Carlson writes with whimsy and clarity that makes this book easy to read and convey its message. This is one that will stick with you for life.
Cydcor is a leading sales company that specializes in face-to-face relationships and professional development. Follow Cydcor on LinkedIn or Twitter for more professional development advice.