5S is a method of organizing your workplace and workflow, to improve efficiency and quality of work. Literally, 5S is combination of five Japanese words, starting with the letter 'S'. This method can be applied in your professional as well as personal life.
1. Seiri - Sorting. Remove the unnecessary.
- Sort your documents and items as per requirement. Keep only necessary and remove the unnecessary.
- Review files and folders on your computer. Store only necessary and delete/backup unnecessary.
2. Seiton - Systematic arrangement. Place for everything and everything in place.
- Keep frequently used items closer to you.
- Define specific locations to store all necessary documents and items. It is recommended to stick name tags on the drawers/shelves/containers, where these items are stored. Ensure that they are stored at their designated place only.
- Prepare a list of folders, broadly classified according to contents, on your computer. Ensure that all documents are saved in corresponding folders only.
3. Seiso - Cleaning. Keep the workplace clean and tidy.
- Cleaning your workplace should be a regular activity, rather habit.
- It makes the place more pleasant and worth spending time at. It also increases your confidence about availability and accessibility of necessary items.
- On your computer, clean your desktop, recycle bin, and major folders regularly. Remove unnecessary shortcuts, files, and documents. It will help improve performance of your system.
4. Seiketsu - Standardization.
- Prepare standard procedure of above 3 activities.
- Make index of items and documents, by numbering them in logical manner.
- Maintain a list of items, documents and their locations.
- Also, mention names of persons responsible to follow above 3S's. Explain the standard procedure to all concerned persons.
- Maintain a master document having links to all necessary documents on your computer. Prepare schedule for backup, upgrade, and cleanup of your documents and software.
5. Shitsuke - Self Discipline.
- Ensure that all above 4S's are followed.
- Once the procedure is standardized, everyone concerned must follow it, until new improvement is suggested or some unavoidable reasons are surfaced.
Benefits of 5S:
- Reduce searching time. You know where to look for particular item.
- Increase productivity. The time and energy for searching are saved.
- Improve quality of work. You can focus on core activities.
- Satisfaction of working, without draining your time and energy, and delivering quality results, all the time.
5S - Simple steps to improve working
Author: Mandar Shinde / Labels: Performance, professional tips, Success, Work
Hobby your work
Liking what you do can give you success; but doing what you like will give you both success and happiness.
What is a hobby?
Hobby is something you always want to do.
You do not compromise on anything related to your hobby.
You do not have to 'spare' time for your hobby; you always manage to follow it all the time.
You do not need to ask for permissions or assistance from others to follow your hobby.
You do not have to worry about money to be spent for your hobby, you always prepare for it.
Isn't that true, for any kind of hobby you follow?
Now, replace your 'hobby' with your 'work' in above scenario. How does it sound? Let's see.
Work is something you always want to do. (really??)
You do not compromise on anything related to your work. (is it??)
You do not have to 'spare' time for your work, you always manage to follow it all the time. (difficult??)
You do not need to ask for permissions or assistance from others to follow your work. (how nice it would be!!)
You do not have to worry about money to be spent for your work, you always prepare for it. (sounds interesting, doesn't it??)
Now that you have almost understood why 'your work is NOT as pleasant as your hobby', let us see if we can really eliminate that 'NOT' from this statement.
(Although you can try and implement these ideas in your job, this article would be most applicable for business oriented people.)
One basic challenge all business people face is, to maintain their interest in their work. In a job, you have an option to switch your company, role, boss, or domain. However, in business, you have to work out hundred things before you think of a switch in product, service, or even your location. So how will you ensure that you will always remain interested in your business product or service? Think over it this way – if your business offers a product or service that you yourself buy or use very often with your choice, things would be much simpler!
Now, you must be thinking - 'I buy branded products or avail service from experienced providers in market. How can I beat this competition?' Okay, improve your observation! Analyze the product/service from a critic's view. Look for any obvious loopholes or defects as your grievance in the existing (branded) product or (experienced) service. Also, think of any improvements that yourself would pay for, if added to existing product/service. Now, analyze what and how you can work to eliminate the defects and add value to the same product/service.
By now, you must have figured out something to start working on (that too related to your hobby!). Now who will pay for your product/service? Who should be your target customers? Simple – if you are ready to pay for this product/service, there would be many people thinking like you! You just have to identify them. How??
Join groups related to your hobby.
Discuss your hobby with your colleagues, relatives, friends, neighbors. (I am sure you do not need any training or preparation to talk about your hobby.)
Share your experiences about existing products/services and be prompt to grab the opportunity when others start looking for a better option.
How does it sound? Interesting, isn't it?
(If you can observe yourself, you have thoroughly read this article just because it emphasizes more on hobby than mere work. That's the key!!)
"Success itself, is best defined as the progressive realization of predetermined goal."
The speed of our progress is of minor importance. Of major importance is the direction in which we are traveling. We must stay on the main highway and not be led astray into detours.
Secrets to Peak performance
Author: The Performer / Labels: Performance, professional tips, Success, Work
It is scientifically proven that Loss Prevention is the primary and most effective way to improve performance. As it relates to optimizing internal capacities, it is quite easier and faster than applying any external improvement techniques. No external applications would result unless all causes of internal loss are prevented. Let us consider example of a balloon. You will not be able to blow it to size with whatever amount of air, until it has even one small hole. Similarly, you need to optimize your potential energy before enforcing additional efforts.
Here are some tips on buffing up your efforts:
1. Lead a well-rounded life
People who get their work at home until bedtime get on peak early and get addicted to work in short span of time, too. High performers can leave their work at office and spend good amount of time on the things they like. This allows their minds to refresh and rejoin work with improved efficiency.
2. Proper selection of career
Selection of work plays vital role in your career. High performers select the kind of work they like to do and focus on the internal satisfaction, not on external rewards and powers. In the end, as they enjoy their work, their work is always better than others’ is and result in high returns.
3. Rehearse each challenging task mentally
Before facing any challenging situation, high performers prepare for it by judging pros and cons, possible actions and reactions. They rehearse the task mentally so that when it happens, they have already gone through it.
4. Seek results not perfection
Many hardworking and ambitious people focus on perfection, leaving them short of time in everything they do, leading to missing on opportunities. High performers do not focus on perfection, but on accomplishment of the task. The mistakes are taken in as lessons, and not as bitter memories.
5. Be willing to risk
Most people like to create their comfort zone, and live with that for their lives. They are always in search of security, and run away from risks, thus missing on hidden opportunities. High performers, by contrast, are geared up to take risks by carefully considering how things would work and making provisions for failures and worst scenarios.
6. Don’t underestimate your potential
People presume that they know their limits. In fact, they don’t know, but they believe and limit themselves. Self-limiting is the biggest obstacle in high-level performance.
7. Compete with yourself
High performers focus on building themselves and improving on their own skills. Worrying about competitors’ abilities and possible superiority can often be self-defending. People differ in their potential and skills; hence, one can be better in one skill, while poor in another. High performers are interested in doing the best possible job by their own standards.
"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." - Winston Churchill
Attitude plays a vital role in the life of any human being. Setting right attitude is instrumental in the process of being successful or achieving things you want in life. Here are some useful tips on attitude setting:
1. Do not fear
“Attitude is not walking like a King; it’s walking like you don’t care who the King is!”
Do not limit your thoughts fearing potential reactions from others. Be a self-believer.
2. Accept new things coming your way whether you like them or not
“Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.” - Napoleon Hill
Many times, opportunities come in disguise. You tend to avoid something, which would have eventually turned beneficial for you.
“I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one” - Mark Twain
3. Mould yourself as your work demands
“The way to learn to do things is to do things. The way to learn a trade is to work at it. Success teaches how to succeed. Begin with the determination to succeed, and the work is half done already.”
If you want satisfaction in what you do, you have to take on the most difficult assignment. Simple and easy tasks leave you underutilized and hence, unsatisfied with yourself.
If you do not have knowledge; but if you feel or circumstances say that you have to work on it, instead of saying no, gather information and build knowledge. No one can steal this treasure from you.
4. Give 100%
“Luck is what you have left over after you give 100 percent.” - Langston Coleman
Whether it is expected from you or not, give your 100% and make it a habit. It’s better to say, “I did it” than saying, “I could have done it”.
5. Do not evaluate too much
“We get volumes of data, pro and con. So often we get volumes for and volumes against, so we don't do anything. If we can't please 1,000 percent, we do nothing.” - Jack Coyle
It’s good to assess every situation; but not at the extent of isolating from the scene. Don’t think much on pros and cons, every action will have both good and bad reactions.
Top 10 Professional Tips
Author: The Performer / Labels: Performance, professional tips, Success, WorkIn today's competitive age, if you miss your competitive edge, chances are high that you miss everything. The Performer brings you few tips - easy to remember, interesting to implement, and beneficial in results:
1. Interact with people on valid topics -
Communication has its own significance in corporate world. Here, we are referring to horizontal communication, the one you have with your colleagues, partners, and team members. The stress is on 'valid topics', which should benefit to both the ends of communication - broadcasting and receiving! There are lots of topics which need neither your opinion nor your approval. Identify those topics and AVOID talking on them. A more generalized statement would be - don’t talk much.
Another point is Greeting people when you are in, it highlights your presence.
Listen to people – it helps you understand atmosphere around you and plan your work accordingly.
2. Share your knowledge -
There can be a big debate on this - sharing your knowledge. Some people would say, disclosing your cards would draw the end of game nearer. Let's look at it from a new angle - if you want to grow horizontally, hold on with what you know; if you want to grow vertically, release it as soon as possible. Sounds confusing? Couldn't be simpler! If you want to go on working in the same way what you have been doing since years along, just continue with that. Hardly anybody would be interested in receiving the knowledge from you, as you are not known for updated knowledge pool. On the other hand, if you go on releasing what you have learnt yesterday, you would be more flexible to learn new things today and implement them tomorrow.
3. Look smart -
A most overlooked aspect! Keep your worries at home, don't carry them. Nobody is going to buy them from you, even if you showcase them throughout the day. The more pleasant you look, the more positive things you will attract - positive people, positive thoughts, positive results. The sadder you appear, the more negative influence you are going to have - people will approach you with their own grievances, are you looking for it?
Keep your eyes and ears open, that surely helps!
4. Make quick decisions and implement them -
The key is the word 'quick' - decision in no time and implementation even faster than that! Delaying decision carries lesser risk than delaying implementation. That's because, the idea is already out in the market... So let it be more decisions and at least few breakthroughs, than dwelling upon fewer decisions and no results.
5. Be a diplomat -
A diplomat is a person, who tells you to 'go to hell', in such a manner that you actually start looking for the trip! Doesn't that explain what it means?
Be strict whenever required - first understand 'whenever'...
6. Keep in touch with the top ones -
Hierarchy in corporate world has to be observed with due respect. However, that should not impact your existence. The top-most layer of any organization is always in search of ideas and suggestions, which can be supplied the most from bottom levels. Present yourself with innovative solutions, whether all of them are accepted or not is not that important. What's more important is, you are being heard and noticed.
Never criticize your boss in front of your team. You will receive the same level of respect what you show them.
7. Be active -
The initial phase in any organization is the right time for you to outperform. Don't lose that precious stage in merely learning. Impress your colleagues, bosses with your work before they start expecting. Set your own standards of performance.
Understand your job profile and work on key points right from initial stages.
Take initiatives. Don't let too many to boss you around. Be your boss at first hand.
8. Don’t gossip -
It is the last thing you need to succeed in corporate world. While you keep on talking about others, they work and leave you far behind. Don't become a time-killing aid for your colleagues. Maintain safe distance from gossips and rumours in office.
9. Be aggressive in meetings -
When you have been called to speak, SPEAK UP! This is really funny - people talk what and when they are not supposed to and remain silent when and where they are expected to! Do your homework before any meeting and present aggressively what you have prepared. Meetings are not meant to be political campaigns, where one talks and thousands listen. However, before you start, ensure to be logical, be innovative, and be creative.
Keep clarity in your communication. Don't let others draw conclusions from your thoughts. Always end your talk with your own conclusion.
10. Delegate -
Delegate your work to your team members, it makes them feel important and motivated. Highlight initiatives taken by you in front of your team and superiors. At the same time, appreciate others' efforts publicly, that's far better than criticizing personally.
Arrange team meetings regularly. Your team should become your strength. It can be a large source of ideas and solutions. Utilize it.
