Tag: work etiquette

ARE WE REALLY ENJOYING OUR WORK?

Work is worship for those who take work seriously and it should be so because your work reflects your personality to some extent and how we do it is also part and parcel of our identity. Here in, comes the real trouble because when you do the work you enjoy, you try to put in your heart and mind into it but, if you are unfortunate enough to be doing the kind of work that you are not proud of, then surely enough it shows in your outcome.

Money, being the prime factor in today’s world and so, when your sole priority is to mint money, then it hardly matters whether you are an engineer or an interior designer. You would try to impress upon the authorities in your field with the sole objective of prosperity in your field. For this, you may go to any extent of unethical attempts, without even thinking about its aftermath.

Mental tension and stress and the related health hazards are all part and parcel of today’ s changing world. Today’s young generation is the first generation of professionals who are earning, four times more than what their parents have earned and so they have a lot of money at their disposal, which is making them spend more All this was possible only because of India’s changing economic condition and the advent of multinational companies with huge capital investment and infrastructure.

In fact, the call centre culture has also changed our lives for the worst, since lifestyle patterns are changing drastically. Initially, youngsters seem to be enjoying the western influence of working like asses on five days and reserving the weekends for parties and celebrations. And to get those two days of relief, they are ready to slog whether they like their job or not. It henceforth, becomes a mechanical slogging where, you are not concerned, whether your mind is at work but it’s just about the finished product that they look forward to. On the whole, we cannot rule out the fact that there are people, who are fortunate enough to bag the job they desire or those who have ultimately landed in those fields, where they have wanted to be. Such people are really lucky in the sense that they do their work with the utmost dedication and they have a fulfilment in life, even if they are not taking home fat salaries like their counter-parts, but don’t have any satisfaction to boost of.

There is a third side to all this and that is trying to derive meaning in whatever meaningless things we are doing to make both ends meet. So even if, one is in a job that is detested by him, he can still work towards generating a positive attitude to one’s Work. Try and enjoy, what one is doing and thus try to attain a sense of satisfaction, that he supposes, he could have otherwise got.

Does Business Require Competition?

“Competition is a good thing; it forces us to do our best.”

  • Nancy Pearcey

Since every aspect in life has two angles, competition too can be considered in the positive as well as the negative sense. Mostly, competition is used in the negative sense which is the reason most of the businesses end on a short note. Thus, we will be learning a positive sense of this word in today’s article.

The term becomes negative when you resolve to imitating the procedures followed by your competition. As discussed in earlier articles, a business needs to stand out for which uniqueness is quintessential. Thus, blindly following the footsteps of your competition isn’t going to help. Also, focussing merely on your competition and their profits isn’t the right move because that diverts your attention from the possible surplus you could generate. In short, avoid opening up an encyclopaedia of services offered by your competition just so as to match their ability because that isn’t possible. All have different capabilities and varied ways of thinking. Perhaps you could do better than the competition and in order to believe yourself, lay aside continuous inspection of the competition. Let us understand this better.

For instance, a company selling electrical appliances and will of course have competition because one can’t possibly come up with a business extremely alien to all, owing to the desires of the mob. Thus, competition persists because we need to consider the needs of the population on this planet and arrange for such services that would benefit. Uniqueness must come in the way we exhibit or present those services.

Getting back to the story, you are receiving good deal traffic but are occupied in considering the competition. You’re trying to get into their good books so as to know more about their ways of introducing and presenting the services. However, while you are busy understanding your competition, you failed to comprehend over the fact that you could understand the psychology of the customers and list their desires thereby coming up with a unique form of exhibition of your services. In short, you lose access to creativity when you are busy imitating which certain businessmen term as ‘taking inspiration’. A point to be noted is, that inspiration means simply learning from the competition and coming up with your own unique form of services while imitation is looking up services provided by the competition that seem to best appeal to the mob and trying out the same! Most businessmen resort to the latter but coin their efforts as former!

Yes, there is a possibility of better inclining towards the latter because we feel that more customers would be attracted to us as well, as they do to the competition. But a point that we miss out on is, that if the customers have already tried that way out, why would they be interested in yet another company offering the same format with no particular speciality or uniqueness in its services? Also, customers remain glued to the same company for ages owing to the trust and genuineness they feel towards that brand which is the reason, they wouldn’t actually be interested in trying out a new brand with the same level of services. Why take the risk and opt for a new brand with same manner of exhibition of services when the old one does the trick? That is when uniqueness comes into the picture because your aim shouldn’t be to snatch the customers of your competition which is a tedious task and may gain no possible results. Instead, your aim should be to gain a new set of enthusiastic customers for yourself. Don’t go for Renaissance in business that is rebirth or revival of your competition. Go for something unique that people would be excited enough to try out owing to the way it functions.

Thus, competition should be taken in a positive sense. Take inspiration from them. Capture some of their bonus points that help them and develop your business with creativity on the basis of that structure. In short, use your competition as stepping stones to success! Also, competition can help you grow vividly because it helps understand updates of market trends which keep changing and are visible in your competition. By closely observing the same, you could flourish your business and step by step, move further than your competition not by imitating them but by personal creativity. The competition would neither blame you for stealing their ideas nor would you feel guilty of being a copy cat! So, be yourself and unique in business to ensure additional bonuses in the future!

Thank You For Reading!

SOFT SKILLS

What are soft skills?

Soft skills are the traits that make your character. These are the skills that are common for anyone who is seeking a job regardless of the work domain. Soft skills are opposite to the hard skills that are completely related to the job stream. Hard skills differ from person to person while soft skills are common to all. These are the skills that should be demonstrated in our work environment and cannot be added to the resume. Some of the soft skills are communication, leadership, interpersonal skills, teamwork, critical thinking, creativity, work ethic, and many more.

Communication

Communication is the most important soft skill that anybody can possess. It is the speaking and writing skills that show the way you express yourself and your thoughts. It is a crucial skill for people in sales fields. Some common skills that fall under communication are presentation, public speaking, verbal and non-verbal communication, and listening.

Leadership

It is the quality that takes a person to higher positions. It shows how you mentor and your co-workers and employees and guide your teams. This includes the quality of volunteering and taking responsibility. This skill helps you to grow in your career. It is also critical for entrepreneurs. The leader must be able to take decisions. It includes decision-making skills, management skills, and mentorship.

Inter-personal skills

Inter-personal skills are the ones that we use unknowingly on a daily basis. These include the way we communicate with our teammates and co-workers. The relationship we maintain with others in the work environment and the optimistic approach towards things also are considered interpersonal skills. Some other skills which come under this are empathy, patience, diplomacy, etc.

Teamwork

It is the coordination that you maintain within the team. Taking the consent of each team member before starting work, giving equal opportunity and priority to each member’s opinion, discussing the plans and executing it in the right way, working together and faster to accomplish tasks – all these are combined and said as teamwork.  

Critical thinking

It is the ability to analyze and understand the problems and find out a solution for them. The person should have the quality of making the right decisions and changing them if they went wrong. The situations need to be handled smoothly without tension and stress. Observation, logical thinking, troubleshooting, flexibility, curiosity, and acceptance of changes come under critical thinking.

Work ethic

This is the quality of being punctual, organized in their works, submitting reports before the deadline. It is most essential for any type of job, be it small or big. Some of the work ethics are being independent, dedication, attentiveness, multitasking, time management, and so on. Employers are more likely to offer the job to a person with a good work ethic as it shows your professional behavior and organized approach towards work.

Creativity

It is a skill that requires innovative thinking to find a solution. It is needed in every field but it is most indispensable for designers, architects, and artists. Some skills that are included in creativity are thinking out of the box, imagination, mind mapping, application of the idea, experimenting, etc.

Apart from these, there are many more soft skills like planning, management, business ethics, business etiquette, self-confidence, time management and stress management, decision making, etc. You can cultivate these skills by practicing in your day-to-day life with your colleagues and friends.

Do check this course to learn more about it. 

Source: https://learning.tcsionhub.in/courses/career-edge-young-professional/