Trevor Jones – Page 3 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

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Entries by Trevor Jones

Turn Off Your Brain: How to Regain Control of Your Sleep as an Entrepreneur

February 1, 2021 /0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger /by Trevor Jones

Establishing good sleep habits can improve your health and productivity as an entrepreneur. Reclaim your sleep with these tips. Today’s post is by Brad Wayland, Chief Strategy Officer at BlueCotton. If you are anything like me, you are no stranger to long, sleepless nights – no matter how bad for your health they might be. But take it from me, this is not something you want to make a habit. You need to reclaim your sleep. Here’s how to do just that: It is three in the morning, and you are on a roll. It does not matter that you need to be up at eight tomorrow. You have work to do, and now is the time to do it. Except it is not. At all. Not only are you killing your productivity by pulling these all-nighters, but you are also slowly killing yourself. I will spare you the details. I am sure you have already heard repeatedly that sleep deprivation is directly linked to a range of very nasty illnesses. I am sure you already know that you need to start sleeping more and sleeping better. And I am also sure you have no idea how. I have been there.

5 Phrases That Make You Sound Ridiculous

January 27, 2021 /5 Comments/in Communications /by Trevor Jones

Paying attention to your word choices will make you a more effective communicator. Keep your speech concise by avoiding these common phrases. Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS. “At the end of the day…” You sound ridiculous. You just don’t know it. Word choice matters. We spend countless hours in meetings with colleagues discussing big, important ideas. We write hundreds of documents making our case for one initiative or another. We write thousands of emails. We give dozens of presentations. And you know what? We sound ridiculous. Using buzzwords can make us sound like hyper-educated idiots who swallowed a thesaurus. In our efforts to sound more intelligent and compelling, we use big words and bigger phrases we hear other smart and compelling people use. The problem is, those words and phrases didn’t mean anything in the first place. By adopting those vapid phrases as our own, we’re saying things that are just as meaningless as the first person who uttered them. Stop. Please stop. Speak plainly. Speak simply. Speak directly. Doing otherwise is a disservice to you and your audience. There are two reasons you’re likely using these words and phrases: either you’re using them as verbal pauses (instead of “um” and “uh”) or you think they sound really intelligent. If it’s the former, get comfortable with silence and simply collect your thoughts. If it’s the latter, it’s having the opposite effect but your coworkers are too polite to tell you so. Here are a few of my (least) favorite ridiculous words and phrases:

5 New Year’s Resolutions to Make Your Business Culture a Winner

January 25, 2021 /0 Comments/in Books, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Trevor Jones

Meeting company goals begins with employees and managers working well together. Mark McClain shares his advice for improving business culture in 2021. Today’s post is by Mark McClain, CEO of SailPoint and the ForbesBooks author of Joy and Success at Work: Building Organizations that Don’t Suck (the Life Out of People) (CLICK HERE to get your copy). New Year’s resolutions are not only for individuals but businesses too. Company goals set for the year ahead are usually measured in data and tied to categories like revenue production and expense reduction. After a difficult 2020 due to COVID-19, many enterprises’ bottom-line numbers will take on extra importance in 2021. And business culture will be just as crucial. Any resolutions that company leaders make are an effective way to measure their work environment and help their teams meet performance metrics. Meeting individual, team, and company goals begins with employees and managers working well together in a vibrant environment. And given the changes and challenges of these times, culture and how leaders pay attention to it have never been more important. The bottom line falls into place when everyone is on the same page. But even if leaders have established a strong culture, it bears constant vigilance to ensure everyone is rowing in the same direction, especially now when a volatile world can threaten to throw even the most solid companies off course. These are some business culture resolutions for the New Year that leaders could consider:

Life Lessons Interview with Mike Figliuolo

January 20, 2021 /0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Career, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

Mike Figliuolo, thoughtLEADERS’ Managing Director, recently sat down with Jinky Diola of WorldClassPerformer.com to share some life stories, perspectives, and experiences that have shaped his career to date. Read the full interview below. You can find links to this interview and other WorldClassPerformer interviews at the bottom of this post. Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like? Did you have any particular experiences/stories that shaped your adult life? I grew up in New Jersey just outside New York City. I had a normal suburban kid life. I was entrepreneurial from a very young age. Started by selling painted pencils at school. I’d use about $0.10 of materials and charge $1.00 apiece. After that, it was a paper route. Then my comic book collecting/selling business where I actually ran comic book conventions at hotels at the age of 14. I cleared $1,000 in a day (and for a 14-year-old in 1984 that was a lot of cash). My entrepreneurial background has really been something that has enabled me to succeed in running my own business for the last 16 years. What is something you wish you would’ve realized earlier in your life?

Marketing 101 As We Head Into 2021

January 18, 2021 /0 Comments/in Books, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Social Media, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

As the world continues to change, organizations can benefit from adapting their marketing strategies. Michael Stahl shares ten ways to make the most of your marketing efforts in 2021. Today’s post is by Michael Stahl, CMO at SERVPRO (CLICK HERE to learn more). The year 2020 brought both challenges and opportunities to marketing professionals. In fact, that’s probably an understatement. But the year has come to a close (thank goodness!), and it’s time to look ahead to hopefully brighter, safer, and more profitable days. As we shift our sights to 2021, I’ve put together ten marketing basics that can help you build a strategy to increase engagement, market share, and revenue. Reposition your product for modern consumer needs Considering we don’t know when the global pandemic will end, nor fully understand its long-term repercussions, we need to

Timeless Advice for Beginner Entrepreneurs

January 13, 2021 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Strategy, Training /by Trevor Jones

Starting a business? Don’t know where to start? Avoid beginner mistakes and make the most of your time by taking advice from someone who’s been there before. Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS. In 2012, I gave an interview to The Metropreneur in which I shared my answers to the five most common questions I’m asked about entrepreneurship and thoughtLEADERS LLC. Although this interview took place eight years ago, I believe all the guidance is just as relevant today as it was when I first said it: When do I talk to the venture capitalists? Five years from now. Seriously, entrepreneurs need