Introduction
Business degrees are an incredible asset. But they don't guarantee you'll have a successful career.
There are so many situations you didn't learn about in school where you'll face an attack, challenge or opportunity. And these can catch you totally unprepared. This is where this course comes in...ensuring you're ready for the unexpected, with powerful advice you can immediately put into practice. These are the essential life skills you need in business.
Who am I and why am I teaching this course?
I'm Bruce. Most of my career has been in the corporate world, progressing to the level of CEO at different companies. I've been an executive for the past 25+ years.
This course covers situations, problems, challenges and opportunities that aren't broached in school. I'm passing on to you the knowledge and insights I've learned over 45 years of business, including examples of when I've messed up.
Your journey in this course
I wish I could tell you there is a logical flow with the course sections. But I can't. Each section, and its composite lectures, are standalone topics. The good news? You can view the sections in any order.
This Course's Main Objective: to show you how to adroitly deal with unexpected attacks, challenges and opportunities in the workplace.
Sub-objectives:
1. The fastest way to succeed is to impress the senior management and executive teams. In the Win When Presenting to Executives lecture, I explain how senior managers are different and how that knowledge will make you a stand-out employee when presenting.
2. It took me a while to realize that some people will throw a grenade on the table when leaving a meeting. It's pretty sly if you don't realize they're doing it. I'll explain what it means, show you how to recognize when it's happening and let you know how to deal with it.
3. Can you fake it until you make it in business? I'll give you 3 questions to ask yourself to determine if you've got that "faking it" ability. Hot tip: don't get caught.
4. Confidence. Sometimes it can be elusive, regardless of your role in the company. In the confidence section of lectures I bring in a counselling therapist to speak to us about two methods of increasing confidence that stick and much, much more. Did you know that most of us have created self-confidence assassins we aren't even aware of?
5. We'll explore 3 factors that are critically important for building employee satisfaction and loyalty to you, and the company. We'll also examine methods to create teams that are so strong others will want to join.
6. I've learned that you can be verbally attacked, in front of others, when you least expect it. Typically, it's an attempt at character assassination. You'll need to choose your comeback strategy by defusing, deflecting and/or discrediting your assassin.
7. Performance reviews are stressful, usually because of the potential for the unknown. The Ace Your Performance Review lecture identifies 5 things you need to do before you meet with your boss.
8. In the Words Great Leaders Use lecture we look at weak words all great leaders avoid, and the substitutions they use whether speaking or writing.
9. What would we do without clients? Unfortunately, they can drive you nuts, especially when it comes to pricing and payment. Here's a lecture about standing firm with problematic clients.
10. Time Bandits. They're common at every workplace. And they could contribute to your stress level and your ability to perform at your peak. This lecture identifies who they are and how to deal with them.
11. No-one likes a Suck-Up (but almost everyone sucks up to the boss on occasion). We'll explore several sucking up strategies and evaluate them in terms of effectiveness and sliminess. You decide how far you take it.
12. Going out with coworkers for drinks can be a wonderful way to make the right impression. But it can be fraught with risk. This lecture includes my simple rules for a night out or meal with coworkers, bosses, and clients.
13. Firing employees can also be taxing on you. We look at the three most common reasons for termination (cost cutting, immediate dismissal for doing something wrong, and the 3 strikes you're out scenario) and identify the best approaches for termination.
14. Is there anything more frustrating than the boss (or a coworker) taking credit for your work? We'll examine different situations and the ways you can deal with them. The #1 rule to remember? Calmness wins.
15. Using profiling to understand your boss and coworkers. These are personality types I've encountered in 45+ years in the workforce. In the lecture, we look at how you deal with each type i.e.: should they be your ally? I started it as a tongue-in-cheek exercise for fun, but there is good meat here for understanding others around the meeting room table.
Final thoughts
This course focuses on: a) career development, b) embracing leadership roles, and c) augmenting what you learned in your MBA, BBA or Bachelor of Commerce. It will help anyone at any level who manages people; especially if you're looking to get ahead and become a memorable leader and role model.
If there's anything you would like me to include in this course, let me know and I'll do my best to add it.
And finally, if you're not convinced the insights and advice in my course will help your performance in leadership roles, you have a 100% money-back guarantee within the first 30 days of enrolling.
I'm delighted you're here.
Kind regards,
H. Bruce Jones MBA, B.Ed.
Multi-time CEO, Award-winning Educator, Mentor, and Entrepreneur