Discover your True talents

What talents do you possess that sets you apart from the others. In today's highly competitive world differentiation is they key. Most people disagree on whether to be different or to comform. But in a world where everything is just like the other, you wont be able to make much impact if you just appear to be a clone of someone else.

To be be truely unique is not only a desired quality, it is an invaluable asset. Even as a manager, you will be frequently assessed by your superiors, and sometimes even by your surbodinates. Whether you prefer the authuaritarian or consultative style, it is important to define what speaks to you best.

If you make an effort to match your inherent talent with your styles, then you can easily become unique without much effort. If you are becoming the kind of manager who will not delegate, then you may need to review some of the principles of management.

Knowing that your job is an important part of your lifestyle will make you one of the best managers. You don't have to manager a sports club to cultivate your interest in sports, neither do you have to only challenge your surbordinates within the corporate walls. If you love golf, invite them for a challenge.

Intergrating your talents into  your work will help you build a strong base upon which you can also run corporate objectives. Things like team building that many corporations spend millions for, would become easier with a manager who is able to integrate his special talents into his professional work.

Choosing an MBA Programme-Is it about money or management?

When it comes to  choosing a business school, the one important question on a candidate's mind is financing the MBA. While most good ranking mba schools, charge a fairly high amount of tuition, there are a number of alternative that can help you gain a quality MBA without having to break into the bank.

When starting your scholarship search, consider several options among those that offer academic tuition or accommodation and living expenses. However, there is one caveat, do consider the quality and ranking of the program before even embarking on the financial considerations.

Depending on your interest, your MBA education will help you garner new skills in management, critical analysis, dealing with problems and decision making. These are the skills that you need to bank on as  you advance your MBA career.

I have once come across someone who completed their MBA in a top ranked program and still couldnt figure out where to go. Even though the MBA promises signifincat returns on investment, its main purpose is to train in management nor moneygement. If at all that term exists.

A success career post-mba will mostly certainly result in your ability to constructively apply the knowledge and skills you over a breadth of areas, situations and scenarios.

When deciding to go for an MBA, it is important to keep an open mind about the possibilities upon graduation. Nevertheless, you should not relax your focus in an area of interest if that is what you are in for.

But more generally than not, the your management skills should improve tremendously by choosing a well structured program. Such programs allow you to have both the frameworks and the practical side of business. Whether in form of an academic internship, or a consultation action project, this opportunity opens up you chances to get productive even before you leave the campus. This way, you can  focus on honing your newly acquired skills, and the money will surely come in as you go along.

Improve your presentation skills

During our mba classes, we had a great opportunity to participate in several class presentations. This was a practical way to learn and improve one's presentations. However, good presentation skills, beyond the powerpoint, takes practice.

Every time, I make a presentation, I try to evaluate myself on the following:

1. Eye contact,
2. Pacing,
3. Pause (there is power in a pause)
4. Interaction with the audience, and
5. My overall comfort level.

While these things may appear intuitive, you would be suprised how much time professional speakers have  taken to cultivate them.

Like it or not, any type of presentation you make is a kind of performance. By understanding exactly how performance artists master the skill of entertaining audience, you can start to deliver those electrifying corporate presentations.

Always endeavor to go beyond the software, and be the focus of the presentation. Your audience wants to hear from you, to see how you are connected with the material you are projecting.

On the other side, practice makes perfect. Treat each opportunity to make a public presentation as a learning experience. If you are able to make at least four presentations a year in audience exceeding 50 people, your confidence level will improve.

And to a manager, this can be one of your greatest strengths. So go and practice, and build your presentations skills, one presentation at a time.

How to become a better Negotiator

Whether or not you are into into business, negotiation is a critical skill you need to hone. Associate Professor at Havard Business School, Deeptak Malhotra offers several tips to improve your abilities in this lecture given at an emerging markets conference in 2007.



In many cases, knowledge of game theory can be very useful in negotiation.