Don’t let a college degree fool you
Don’t be blinded by a college degree when you are hiring new employees. It is not a piece of paper that makes a person a success. The world is full of educated derelicts. It is a person’s attitude and determination that is absolute.

Getting time estimates from your staff before setting deadlines
Managers often feel that setting deadlines is entirely and solely their responsibility. In fact, deadlines should only be established after consulting your staff and getting time estimates on all aspects of the job. This enables underlings to get involved in the decision-making process, and forces everyone to be honest about how long the tasks will take. Remember to always factor in time for unforeseen circumstances.

Win the game of telephone tag
Trading phone calls with a business associate or prospect is one of the biggest time-wasters in corporate America. You can eliminate this problem by leaving the right kind of message. Remember The Four Ws - Who, What, Why, and When - Who you are; Why you called; What you want the person to do; and When you’ll be available for a return call. Make sure each of your messages has each of the four Ws, and on your outgoing voice mail message, ask callers to leave you the same information.

Sleep your way to creative solutions
Are you looking for the answer to a tough problem? Psychologists say that sleeping on it may help. Try visualizing the problem in the darkness at night before you go to sleep. Tell yourself that in the morning you’ll have a solution. When you wake up, try not to think about the problem at first. Your subconscious mind will “slip” the solution to you.

Be a Trouble-shooter
When you run into a problem, try to think of at least two solutions before you take that problem to your boss. It shows that you’re a thinker and problem-solver, as well as a doer.

Make a good impression
Want to get ahead in business ? One of the easiest ways to create a good impression with your customers, colleagues, and superiors is to write a thank you note every time someone helps you with anything. You don’t need to write pages and pages; a couple of lines, typed or handwritten, will let people know you appreciate their time and assistance, and will make them more apt to help you out when you need some extra help in the future.

What managers can learn from entrepreneurs
Many companies today expect employees to have an “entrepreneurial spirit”. They want managers to take risks, to identify new opportunities, to be empowered to make major decisions. Developing an entrepreneurial spirit if you don’t already have one can be tough - but it’s not impossible. You have to develop certain personality traits. Research has shown that the best entrepreneurs share these common characteristics:

Confidence
Decisiveness
Perseverance
Patience
Courage
Self Motivation
Drive
Self Awareness
Knowledge
Experience

About The Author - Dennis Sommer