Your Work/Life on Balance

Here is 10 steps to make Work/Life balance.

1. Make a proper schedule for everything including your office tasks and personal duties toward home, family and friends. Strictly follow the schedule and try your best not to allow the unusual and unexpected things to interrupt and disturb your schedules.
2. Consider everything and keep in mind the things which are more important to you at a specific time regarding your work, family/friends or personal. Don’t always follow the brain but sometimes follow the heart.
3. Draw a clear line between your work-life and personal-life. Arrange the free hours and don’t plan any tasks to do in it. Try to spend list free time and let the things move on naturally.
4. Over-time or extra work is a worse danger to an employee. Try your best to get all things done at the deadline.
5. Keep everything around you clean, organized and well decorated. It is really important for your mental satisfaction and peace.
6. Arrange all the necessary material/equipment you need to accomplish your task beforehand. It speeds up your performance with better results and less stress.
7. Try to keep a smiling and cheerful attitude always. Don’t care of how big are your worries, how difficult is your job and how much satisfied you are of the things around you.
8. Don’t accept the extra/unnecessary burden of work until you have not accomplished yours. Helping others is a good moral point but finish first you have committed for.
9. Don’t feel afraid of anything. Keep your mind free of all constraints, troubles, fears and stress. Try to live independent of all not only for your own self but also for others.
10. Do your best at work but arrange friends and family gatherings when you find free time. Make phone calls to them, send them Emails or visit them often. It will keep your personal and social relationships stronger and blooming.

Build a Happy and Productive Team at Work

If you’re in charge of a project at work, you’ll find that one of your most important priorities is to make sure your team is going to get along and get things done effectively. A happy and well-organized team is one that will excel.



i) Get to Know Your Team’s Members

• Take the time to really learn about everyone on the team. What is each team member like and what are they good at?


• Knowing your team’s skills and weaknesses is something that is important to keeping everyone happy and productive.

ii) Keep Everyone on the Same Page

• One reason good teams fall apart is that some members have information others do not or some members feel unequal to others.


• Remember that keeping your team briefed is an extremely important part of being a good team leader. Keep everyone up to date on the information that is available, and if it is not available, let them know why.

iii) Don’t Force Contrasting Personalities to Work Together

• Your team doesn’t have to be a second family. Trying to force all team members to get along can cause more trouble in the long run!


• Acknowledge that everyone doesn’t have to get along, but everyone must be respectful.

iv) Don’t Let Bad Apples Hold the Team Back

• It’s almost inevitable that you’ll have a member of your team who thinks they can sit back and let the rest of the group do all the work. If you find yourself in this predicament, don’t let it set the entire team back. If, after discussing the issue with the employee, they still refuse to pull their weight, remove them from the team and assign their portion to someone else.

• As the team’s leader, you may need to take on the extra work yourself, but at least it’s getting done and your team will appreciate and respect your efforts.

v) Be Respectful of Their Talents

• One of the most important things a team leader can do is to stand back and let talented people work. When you’re constantly hovering over their shoulder, you’re essentially saying that you don’t trust them to do their job. Have faith in your team!

vi) Reward Members for a Job Well Done

• One great thing you can do is to show your team how much you appreciate their efforts. Check with management, if necessary, to decide how you can reward your team so they know you appreciate their hard work.

Tips to Get a Promotion

These are important tips taken from “Who Gets Promoted, Who Doesn’t, and Why: 10 Things You’d Better Do If You Want to Get Ahead.” By Donald Asher.

1. Work for companies that can give you room to grow.


2. Concentrate on just doing the level best of you.


3. Make sure people know you're doing a great job.


4. Be popular.


5. Make sure the right people know you want a promotion.


6. Apply for jobs within the company.


7. Seek out new skills.


8. Get a mentor. [A strong relationship with a manager or someone higher up in your department can open a lot of doors for you.]


9. Groom a successor.


10. Develop a new position. [If you figure out a better way to do your existing job or see the need for a new position, don't be afraid to talk to management about creating this position.]

Attitude Toward Customers/Clients - "No Customer—No Job."

•    Understand cultural diversity—including race, religion, sex, and mental and physical disabilities.
•    Be service-oriented.
•    Always greet people with a smile.
•    Always stand to greet people (if possible).
•    Practice making proper introductions and greetings.
•    Observe nonverbal communication of others—and be careful with your own.
•    Use positive language—especially in negative situations.
•    Do not react to irate customer/client—learn to diffuse the anger.
•    Practice courteous and efficient telephone techniques.
•    Make a good first impression.
•    Always endeavor to be helpful.
•    Be sympathetic with a customer who has a problem with the company—but do not admit any guilt prematurely. Don't take the blame too quickly!

Put yourself in the customer's place.
Understand "no customer—no job."

Attitudes Toward Your Co-Workers

•    Respect privacy of others.
•    Understand cultural differences.
•    Be supportive of each other (especially female/female relationships).
•    Promote teamwork.
•    Help others to accept change.
•    Use positive language, even in conflict situations.
•    Strive to settle differences before they become a problem—don't carry a grudge.
•    Work to achieve common goals.
•    Do not overemphasize winning—may lose more by winning than by losing a few arguments.
•    Be a good negotiator.
•    Think before  you speak (don't shoot from the hip).
•    Learn to be assertive, not aggressive.
•    Refuse to participate in malicious grapevine information.
•    Don't brag constantly (or whine).
•    Pay value to co-workers—their feelings do count. Show appreciation. Genuinely care about your co-workers.
•    Listen!

Attitude Toward Your Job

•    Accept change.
•    Maintain honesty and integrity.
•    Understand cultural diversity.
•    Understand the entire business operation and where your job fits in.
•    Understand the importance of teamwork.
•    Avoid office politics.
•    Observe office hours—and other company regulations.
•    Accept constructive criticism concerning your work.
•    Accept responsibility.
•    Remain loyal.
•    Respect privacy of others.
•    Learn to work under pressure and adjust to being pulled in many directions at once.
•    Respect time—make every minute count.
•    Look for the challenges of your job—enjoy doing a job well.

Attitude Toward Yourself

•    Think well of yourself personally—self-esteem, self-confidence.
•    Think well of  yourself professionally—competency.
•    Project a professional image at all times.
•    Appreciate and understand the importance of the work that you do.
•    Seek professional self-development on your own—don’t wait to be told!
•    Carefully select professional and/or community organizations for membership.
•    Consider the value system of others while examining your own values.
•    Realize your personal worth.

If you don't think well of yourself, it is difficult for others to respect you.

Shiv Khera - Motivational Speaker in India, Corporate Training India, Leadership Training India

Top 5 ways to improve attrition in Organization

Attrition is often seen as a health check for any business. If a high number of people are leaving then something is wrong. The question is what, and what can be done to improve it.




Communication:

Communication is key to any successful business! In IT companies there is a need for everyone to understand the goals of the business.  It is important that employees feel part of the brand, and understand what the business is striving for and the part that they have to play in making it happen.

• Attrition rates are high in IT companies when employees feel disengaged, “nobody listens to me”.


• Targets need to be aligned and communicated effectively. Results need to be reported and discussed.

Promotion/Progression:

Promotion/Progression is also very important for business success.

• The project lead should encourage the team members, while reaching the goals


• Internal Job Postings - This gives employees the knowledge that if they work hard and do well they have a chance to progress.

Management Style:

This area is closely linked to communication. Does an employee feel valued? Do they want to come to work? There is an old adage: “you don’t leave the business you leave your manager”. How many times have you heard someone say “the job’s ok but the people are great”? This shows how important management style is to employees. The company should be a great place to work, with an element of fun and hard work. The management approach will go a long way to achieving these goals.

Work-Life Balance:

Work-life balance is not easy to achieve. Employees have to understand that the business must meet its customers’ demands, while the business must understand that employees have external pressures as well and do all it can to help them.

All employees are different and it would be wrong to assume we know what everyone wants or needs, so providing options is a great way of providing a suitable solution for all.

5 Ways to Prevent Employee Attrition:

Although attrition is a natural element of any business, it would be nice to keep your employees with your, especially if they are great workers, for as long as possible.



1. Recruitment. When you look for a new employee, don’t settle. If you have released a job posting, don’t fill the position until you have found someone that is perfect for the job. Avoid hiring someone “because you have to.” Make sure you hire those who are the utmost best for the position.

2. Make them feel irreplaceable. If they feel that they are worth something in the company, your employees will likely want to stay in such as flattering position. Don’t be shy with praise and let your workers know that without them the business cannot be successful. This must be given constantly in order to keep your employees happy as much as you possibly can.

3. Career advancement. Many employees will leave a company because they feel that have reached the pinnacle of what they can do for you. This should be avoided. Make sure that your employees know that there is never an end to potential advancement.

4. Be aware of the way they feel about your company. Many employees leave a company because they are not happy with either their work or the mission statement of the company. Make sure your employees are satisfied, challenged, and happy with their work and with your company in general. They should enjoy coming to work every day.

5. Be aware of any problems between employees and management. Many problems occur when an employee is dissatisfied with their immediate supervisor. You must stay aware of these relationships. Many people leave their job because of a poor relationship with their bosses.



Summary:

If you understand what motivates employees and what de-motivates them, you then know which areas to focus on to improve attrition. Many believe that pay and benefits have a significant impact on their attrition rate.

Top 10 Tips for Career Success

1. Decide to Succeed
Success will only come to people who wants to succeed (to the people who dare to think big). So, one cannot wait for the success to come his way. The wait will go infinite if it is calling no actions.

2. Remain Bold
People who want success have to fight with many challenges. Some challenges may be a hard obstacle and some may be a soft way to failure. It is important to resist both affecting the ambition.
If you have any complains then raise it sooner than later. Do not compromise on things specially if it is prolonged issue. The solution will follow only when the issue is raised.

Consider a scenario where you are a associate and you have problems with your manager. Till you complain, no one will even think over the issue. Even there are ample chances for you to be under the same manager next time too. It will be a less risky step for the Sr. Manager or Director to continue a bond where problems are not seen. That makes every sense.
Everyone have their own work and they seldom think for you, and that is how organization work. They all are right in their own way. So if you want peace of mind and good career with a company, be bold to raise any issue faced.

3. Plan and execute your promotion
Most people complain about Manager for the later not helping him succeed and when I ask them whether they have raised the issue to the manager, mostly the answer is NO. If something is unsaid, it is highly probable that it is not communicated. It is always the self who can understand the wants of an individual and for everyone else it has to be communicated.
Also, the best career map can be made by self. No one else can make it for someone else. Manager can at best facilitate the people under him to attain his goals, but it is highly dependent on the individual to make good career plan and execute it.

4. Push-pull theory
The best way to grow in any organization is to force manager to grow upwards. Once he is grown, there is a vacancy created and it is in your manager’s interest to pull you up rather than filling it from outside as you are the person whom he understands best. Restricting any body’s success in your group will make it difficult to grow as any friction created to anyone’s success is always reciprocated.
So, if someone has to grow it has to be you, your lead or your manager.

5. Complain up and motivate down
People at the management are responsible for change. They are better be criticized for betterment. Positive criticism brings good energy to the organization.
But criticism of any company policy or product has to go up and not down. You are the people who is looked by your juniors and any complain downwards looks like frustration to them, and that increases negative energy in the company. It will damage in two ways. One it make your juniors less motivated to work affecting the day to day operation of the company and another it eroding your image as a good leader.

6. Growth is always organizational
People grow when company grow. It is very hard for people to grow in a loss making organization. So everybody should work for the best interest of the company and avoid any actions that affects company’s growth.
It includes not criticizing company in external world. It has to be avoided in all cases. The company’s image adds to the personal brand equity and negative publicity will harm you as much as your company management.
Also, any criticism of your company can be played by its competitors to play against both you and your company. This can also lead to damaging your personal image in the mind of other people in the industry making you less employable.

7. Hard work and hardcore fun.
Everyone knows that it is very important to work hard to grow. But most people forget that to work hard, it is essential to keep own body ready for the challenge to avoid any health hazards and frustrations/work stress. Hardcore fun while not working does that. So, enjoy up to your limits in the weekends and work hard in the weekdays. This may include regular outings, parties, long drives, adventure sports etc. Choose something that gives you maximum fun.

8. Work you portion but know the big picture
Company pay us to do the work assigned, so it has to be done in time at all cost. But that should not stop you from knowing why you are doing that work, basically knowing the overall picture of the project. If you are not working in a open company which provides this information to all working, you should ask to your seniors.
Here you are trying to understand the business goal of the project. This will prepare you to take higher positions.

9. Know your company
Knowing your company is important to your project. Knowledge about the project will be given to you but for other information you need to take initiative yourself and learn. Try to get as much information as possible regarding your company’s management, organizational structure, offerings (products and services) etc. This will help you work better and be an brand ambassador of your company, thus adding fuel to your company’s growth.
Knowledge about the company also gives good impression to the seniors helping you grow faster within the organization.

10. Competitor Analysis
Well, this is quite a tricky step to grow faster in the industry. Knowing your company accelerate growth within a company but knowing its competitors guarantees your success in the industry. there are two advantages competitor analysis brings.
One you can help your company counter the competitors move thus affecting your company’s revenue positively. This is in most cases rewarded with promotion and bonus. Secondly, if you are not given fair compensation from your company, you know where to move next. Thus you give tough time to the management and the HR not to let you grow.

Top 10 reasons why employees hate their boss

Bangalore: Bosses! Can't work with them, can't work without them. Everything seems to be fine when you join the job but if you are one of those fortunate ones, sooner or later your boss starts smirking in your nightmares.

A chat with employees working under tough projects and small teams who usually face tremendous work pressure will give us interesting insights about the bad bosses they have. Even in a company sans work pressure employees regularly bump into bad bosses. And their experiences are real bad [pardon me of your boss is really good] which they only share once they are in a new job. Good bosses are hard to find and employees hate their bad bosses for very many reasons. We at SiliconIndia did a survey to know why employees hate their boss. Listing the Top



10 reasons below:

1. Incompetent and unacknowledging – Employees hate bosses who doesn’t have the essential competitive skills but still scorns the work they do. Whether or not the boss is competitive, the employee really longs for his good work to be acknowledged and not to be treated as a ‘piece of crap’.


2. Privacy Invasion – ‘He always keep guard about what I do, constantly checks out on the office phone about what I am busy at (an indirect way to know whether I am on a call with any acquaintance) and one day even peeped through the door to see what I am doing. Now I even doubt whether he is watching me once I reach home’ says Anamika (name changed to protect identity). Now that’s a real bad boss.


3. The narcissist boss – Employees hate bosses who acts as the ‘know it all’, who thinks they are second to none, hears nothing until it directly benefits him and so self obsessed to be called in the informal way ‘a narcissist glory monger’.


4. Personal Insults – Bosses who torture employees with personal insults rather than choosing to reproach on the basis of their work quickly gets in the hate list. Many employees have long stories to say about bosses who frequently torture them with comments about their attitude and discriminate them deliberately.


5. The angry ‘yelling’ boss – You are the boss, thumbs up. But how on earth could you yell at me like that. Employees at some point or other meet the unfortunate fate of being victim to their boss’ wrath. Justifiable the reason may be, but you are in my hate list boss.


6. The ‘opportunist’ boss – Employees obviously develops a dislike to their boss who refuses to mind them. But one day the same boss who never acknowledged your presence comes to you, smiles at you and the next thing you know, you are on an extra shift with heavy workload. Dislikes turn to hate for such opportunist bosses.


7. The ‘tensed’ boss – Employees tend to hate bosses who are always tensed and want them to finish of the work in a hurry. “He is so tensed and rushes things as if his head is on fire. His tension is so contagious that even we get tensed in his presence” Rahul, a software employee.


8. Stealing credits – Employees feel cheated and hate their boss when he or she steals the credit of their work but never forgets to blame them if something goes wrong.


9. Lack of clarity and feedback – Employees hate bosses who don’t brief them properly and keep the employees ignorant with any real feedback on their work. And worse, employees are blamed for something which in turn would be the result of void feedback.


10. Lack of rapport – Employees hate bosses who lacks mutual respect and always play bossy without any real interest in befriending the employees.

How to Avoid Gossip in the Workplace

A negative work environment is a less productive work environment. Gossip in the workplace can create an uncomfortable atmosphere for not only the person the gossip is about, but for everyone in the workplace. Gossip can often become likened to the old childhood game of "Telephone", where one person starts the spread of information, and by the time it reaches the last person, it has evolved and changed into something entirely different. Some bits of gossip may have truth to it, while other bits of information carried on the gossip relay may be false. Either way, gossip is a hurtful means of communication and should be avoided at all cost. Read on to learn more.

Instructions:

1. Analyze the source of the gossip. Think about whom the person is and their character when considering the information they are spreading. Ask yourself why they would say what they are saying, how will they benefit from spreading the gossip? There is no real benefit that will come from gossip and its main reason is to degrade and take pleasure in negative information about another person.


2. Evaluate the information you share with co-workers. There are some things that are better left unsaid than to share it with those you only socialize with in the workplace. You may think what you are sharing is harmless to you and others, while someone else may see it as the latest scoop and start spreading it. Again, think back to the childhood game of "Telephone" and consider how your information may get twisted and changed as it gets passed along.


3. Limit your association with the office gossip. By not being associated with a person that tends to thrill from spreading gossip, you will have less the chance of being included as the original source of the gossip. Remember how easy it is to fall prey to guilt by association.


4. Let the gossip end with you. When you are given a tid-bit of gossip, do not pass it on. Gossip that receives no fuel will smolder and fizzle out before it has the chance to do any harmful damage.


5. Walk away from situations where gossip is being formulated. Again, not giving power to the source of gossip will help extinguish the spread of information that may have little truth.


6. Change the topic. A quick way to stop gossip in its track is to change the topic of discussion.


7. Confront the person that is gossiping. Ask them why they believe this information should be spread around the office and what personal gain they will derive from it. Sometimes the best defense against office gossip is to have a strong offense in not tolerating the action of gossip. Let the gossiper know you are not comfortable discussing the information they are fueling the gossip with. You can even say, "Hey, I do not like talking about other people's private business, because I sure would not like them talking about me."


8. Tell the person who is gossiping that maybe you both should go and ask the person the gossip is about to clarify the information. This is a sure way to stop gossip in its track, because most gossipers tend to cower away at that thought of confronting the person the gossip is about.


9. Remind the gossiper that workplace gossip does come with consequences that can include them being reprimanded by the higher-ups if they are found to be the source of gossip. Most workplaces have an established work environment handbook that includes discipline actions for the spread of gossip.


10. Do not gossip yourself. Lead by example. When you choose not to gossip or participate in gossip sessions, you send a clear message to others that gossiping is a negative attribute in the workplace. Also, you do not want to be part of spreading information that might be false and or hurtful about another person.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.



It is the culmination of much internal analysis and external research. Thinking about the outcome, one can define SWOT analysis as the extent to which a firm’s current strategy, strengths and weaknesses are relevant to the business environment that the company is operating in.

SWOT analysis is often presented in a matrix form:

SWOT Analysis Matrix

Strengths and weaknesses are internal aspects and Kotler (1988) suggests that these should cover the four areas of marketing, financial, manufacturing and organisational.

Opportunities and threats look at the main environmental issues such as the economic situation, social changes such as the population getting older and technological developments including the internet.
A SWOT analysis example for a cosmetics manufacturer might include:

Strengths

* Strong, experienced marketing team
* High brand recognition
* Well established consumer testing panel

Weaknesses

* Prices perceived to be too high
* Costs spiralling out of control due to increases from raw material suppliers
* Inconsistent brand identity

Opportunities

* Growth of the internet leading to an increase in the number of consumers willing to buy online
* New emerging teen market

Threats

* New ‘affordable luxury’ entrants to the market threatening to take share from premium brands
* Major competitor planning to integrate vertically and sell direct to the consumer
* Rise in popularity of nail spas leading to decline in demand for nail products

10 Steps To Improve Our Personality

The "personality" is the typical pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaviors that make a person unique.
When we say that someone has a "good personality" we mean that they are likeable, interesting and pleasant to be with.

1. Be a better listener.


2. Read more and expand your interests.


3. Be a good conversationalist.


4. Have an Opinion.


5. Meet New People.


6. Be yourself.


7. Have a positive outlook and attitude.


8. Be fun and see the humorous side of life.


9. Be supportive of others.


10. Have Integrity and treat people with respect.

Motivation

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EI) describes the ability, capacity, skill or, in the case of the trait EI model, a self-perceived ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of one's self, of others, and of groups.
There are three main models of EI:
1. The ability EI model
a. Perceiving emotions
b. Using emotions
c. Understanding emotions
d. Managing emotions
2. Mixed models of EI
a. Self-awareness
b. Self-management
c. Social awareness
d. Relationship management
3. The trait EI model:
Trait EI is "a constellation of emotional self-perceptions located at the lower levels of personality"
It refers to an individual's self-perceptions of their emotional abilities.

Motivation

Motivation is the activation of goal-oriented behavior. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but, theoretically, it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well.
Intrinsic motivation :
It refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure.

Extrinsic motivation :
It comes from outside of the individual. Common extrinsic motivations are rewards like money and grades, coercion and threat of punishment. Competition is in general extrinsic because it encourages the performer to win and beat others, not to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of the activity.

Self Control :
The self-control of motivation is increasingly understood as a subset of emotional intelligence; a person may be highly intelligent according to a more conservative definition (as measured by many intelligence tests), yet unmotivated to dedicate this intelligence to certain tasks.

Growing to Greatness

While seeing this video, what i feel is "Yes!! we can come out from all the failures". It was an real examples of great personalities. It gives good motivation to all who like to succeed in life.

Sea Temple . . Amazing

Hii All,
In Gujarat, One temple is in the mid of the sea. There is no boat services to reach the temple, people go by walk that is the speciality in the temple(Natures Gift). Every day the sea water went off and paying way to the devotees to worship the lord for a period of time.. It is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEDpGnz0xiU&feature=related

Top 10 most powerful women

Number 10

Ellen DeGeneres (52)

Title: Talk show host

Comediene DeGeneres is a jack of all trades.  Best known these days as the host of the Ellen DeGeneres Show, she has also been a judge on American Idol, she's the face for Cover Girl and Vitaminwater Zero,  and is an active gay-rights supporter. The talk show host declared her sexual orientation 1997 and married actress Portia de Rossi in 2008. Her talk show is currently in its eighth season.

Number 9

Beyonce Knowles (29)

Title: Singer, fashion designer

American singer Beyonce's ever-expanding business empire has earned her a whopping $80-million in 2009. The singer can count 118 million records, seven films, 16 Grammy awards and modelling contracts with L'Oréal and Coty to her name. She has millions of fans the world over, including US first lady Michelle Obama.

Number 8

Gail Kelly (54)

Title: Chief Executive, Westpac

South African-born Kelly is the head of Australia's second-largest bank, Westpac. With assets of around $551-billion and $15.9-billion in revenue, Westpac's CEO is considered the country's most influential businesswoman. Kelly obtained her BA degree from the University of Cape Town and completed her MBA in 1986 while pregnant with her eldest daughter. Kelly and her husband moved to Sydney, Australia, where she took up the position as General Manager of Strategic Marketing in the Commonwealth Bank in October 1997. In August 2008, Forbes ranked her the 11th most powerful woman in the world and she was ranked 18th in 2009.

Number 7

Lady Gaga (24)

Title: Singer and performance artist

Lady Gaga - or Stefanie Germanotta - is a New York University-dropout who has taken the pop world by storm. Her latest album, The Fame Monster, has put her on par with other female stars Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Mariah Carey  with six No. 1 Billboard hits. She has single-handedly reinvigorated pop music and pop culture while her eccentric fashion sense has grabbed the attention of millions. She is also a vocal supporter of gay rights.

Number 6

Indra Nooyi (54)

Title: Chief Executive, PepsiCo

Indian-born and mother of two, Nooyi received her Post Graduate Diploma in Management (MBA) from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta in 1976 before moving to the US in 1978 to attend Yale School of Management. In 2007 she became the fifth CEO in PepsiCo's 44-year history and in 2009 her total compensation package amounted to $10.6-million.

Number 5

Hillary Clinton (62)

Title: US Secretary of State

Former first lady and US senator, Clinton entered the political arena long before running for the Democrats' presidential candidate in 2008. Now an active campaigner for victims of rape in Congo and of flooding in Pakistan and the millions of mothers exposed to dangerous cook stoves, Clinton has been compared to the Iron Lady, former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

Number 4

Angela Merkel (56)

Title: German Chancellor

Educated in Templin and at the University of Leipzig, where she studied physics from 1973 to 1978, Merkel has topped Forbes' list of 'Most Powerful Women' in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. She was awarded a doctorate for her thesis on quantum chemistry while working as a researcher in the early 1990s. She assumed office in November 2005 and in 2007 she became only the second woman to chair the G8 summit after Margaret Thatcher.

Number 3

Oprah Winfrey (56)

Title: Talk show host and media mogul

The world's most successful black woman, Winfrey will be celebrating 25 years in the entertainment industry in December 2010. The talk show queen announced that she will air her final show on 9 September 2011. But what's next for the media mogul? She will be launching OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, a joint venture of Discovery Channel and her own Harpo Productions, in January 2012. Winfrey opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy School for Girls in South Africa in January 2007.

Number 2

Irene Rosenfeld (57)

Title: Chief Executive, Kraft Foods

Rosenfeld earned her stripes in the business world after going to war with investment guru Warren Buffet. In 2009 Rosenfeld announced plans to acquire British candymaker Cadbury. Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway owned 9.4 percent of Kraft, voted against the deal, threatening to sell off his Kraft shares. Rosenfeld powered ahead with the plans and Buffett sold 33.1 million of his Kraft shares. Who was right? Kraft's second-quarter revenues rose 25.3 percent to $12.3-billion, boosted largely by Cadbury's business in Europe and in developing markets.

Number one

Michelle Obama (46)

Title: First Lady

The First Lady of style, Obama is a qualified advocate having obtained her LLM from Harvard University. But unlike Hillary Clinton, who championed health care reform while her husband was president, Obama has stayed away from hard policy. In response to her Let's Move! campaign against childhood obesity, companies like Coca-Cola, Kellogg and General Mills have pledged to reduce the calorie content of their foods by 2012.

The Basis for Corporate Training Design

Training is a method - learning is the result.  If no learning takes place, training is a waste of time and money. Our focus, therefore, is to provide every opportunity for the trainee to learn. The trainer and the trainee, together, control the training.  The purpose of training is to provide learning.  Learning, in turn, leads to improved performance. During Performance, more learning takes place.  Employees will continue to learn and continue to improve their performance…

7 Tips for Motivating Employees

1. Set a Good Example.

Remember that your attitude is contagious. Kevin Plank, founder of Under Armour, an apparel company located in Baltimore, says that communication is key to making members of your company's team feel including in major decisions. "I listened to everyone's opinions, and, without fail, they'd bring up things I hadn't thought of. More important, my team members knew that they were part of the process and that their voices mattered," he told Inc. "Employees are more motivated when they feel needed, appreciated, and valued." Plank also recommends hiring employees who have great leadership skills. At his company, he calls these natural leaders "engines," and peppers them strategically around the organization. Read more.

2. Focus on Employee Happiness Rather Than Employee Motivation.

Zappos is often hailed as the most employee-friendly business out there. But, perks aside, what really keeps the workers there motivated? When Inc.'s Max Chafkin last interviewed Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh in Las Vegas, he discovered that what Hsieh really cares about is making Zappos's employees and customers feel really, really good. In fact, he's decided that his entire business revolves around happiness. Chafkin writes: "Zappos's approach to workplace bliss differs significantly from that of other employee-friendly businesses. For one thing, Zappos pays salaries that are often below market rates - the average hourly worker makes just over $23,000 a year. Though the company covers 100 percent of health care costs, employees are not offered perks found at many companies, such as on-site child care, tuition reimbursement, and a 401(k) match. Zappos does offer free food to its employees, but the pile of cold cuts in the small cafeteria loses its allure faster than you can say Googleplex. Instead of buying his employees' loyalty, Hsieh has managed to design a corporate culture that challenges our conception of that tired phrase." Read more.

3. Make Sure Employees Share in the Company's Success.

Employee performance, productivity, and motivation can all be tied to how invested a worker feels in his or her company. That's what makes profit sharing such a powerful tool – especially when the company is consistently successful. Sue Holloway, an expert in compensation at WorldatWork, a human resources organization focused on employee benefits, told Inc.com that the objective of a profit sharing plan "is to foster employee identification with the organization's success." By implementing such a program, the CEO is saying, "We're all in this together, and everybody's focused on profit," Holloway says. Read more.

4. Create a Culture of Autonomy and Agency.

In his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, author Daniel H. Pink writes that the crash of Wall Street is a striking example of the peril of motivating employees strictly with gobs of cash. He advises that instead, companies should create conditions for employees to find the joy in work itself. That can mean giving workers the autonomy to choose what they do and with whom, which can help foster a desire for mastery of tasks and skill sets – and simply doing more, better. Read more.

5. Encourage Worker to Voice Complaints.

When Dell amassed an online "antifan club," excoriating the PC maker across the blogosphere, it not only acknowledged criticism, but also actually fixed things, according to Jeff Jarvis's book What Would Google Do. "Dell transformed itself from worst to first in the era of customer control," writes Jarvis. How about applying the same principle apply to employees? There are scores of reasons why employees don't contribute critique of management or their company's culture – from fear of retaliation to hesitation to appear ungrateful. But remember, as Inc.'s Leigh Buchanan writes, "When the heat's not lowered, though, steam escapes." Read more.

6. Take on Fun Volunteer Assignments.

In the heat of the recession, Door Number 3, an Austin-based advertising agency, saw business slow. Thus, creative employees were occasionally idle on the job. M.P. Mueller, the company's president, decided to ramp up the agency's pro bono efforts – an established way to build work portfolios and maintain track records. It also had the side-effect of keeping employees sharp and motivated between projects. Mueller said these projects not only help charities, which also struggle during hard times, but also help employees create some of their most inspired work. "You get a lot more freedom with nonprofit clients," she says. Read more.

7. Get in Touch With Your Inner Start-up.

Every morning in the Chicago offices of Total Attorneys, a legal software and service firm, small groups of the company's 180 employees gather in clusters around the office. Laughter, banter, and collaboration ensue. For about 15 minutes, the office might be said to resemble a college cafeteria – but to CEO Ed Scanlan it's a perfect example of what he calls controlled chaos. That's a process inspired by a process for designing software called "agile development," which aims to foster flexibility, speed and teamwork – in other words, make an established company work more like a start-up.

Keeping Employees Happy: 7 Smart Tips to Retain Good Employees

1. Give generous workers compensation.
2. Provide rewards and incentives
3. Do not be stingy with compliments and recognition.
4. Establish rapport with your employees
5. Give the right benefits
6. Provide training for career advancement
7. Give promotions