CDMP-10 - M7 - Professional Skills - STUDY NOTES

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS FOR
DIGITAL MARKETERS
Study Notes
SEO (SEARCH ENGINE

OPTIMIZATION)
Study Notes
Professional Skills for Digital Marketers Copyright © 2023 digitalmarketinginstitute.com 1

Professional Skills for Digital Marketers
LESSON 1: PROJECT MANAGEMENT .......................................................................................... 4
INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................... 5
ROLE OF THE PROJECT MANAGER...................................................................................................................... 5
SEVEN-STEP FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGING PROJECTS ..................................................................................... 8
LESSON 2: AGILE THINKING ..................................................................................................... 12
INTRODUCTION TO AGILE THINKING ............................................................................................................... 13
USING THE 'TEST AND LEARN' APPROACH ....................................................................................................... 14
APPLYING THE AGILE CONCEPT OF MVP .......................................................................................................... 15
BENEFITS OF AGILE THINKING .......................................................................................................................... 17
LESSON 3: ENHANCING YOUR CREATIVITY .............................................................................. 19
GENERATING NEW IDEAS ................................................................................................................................. 20
REMOVING BARRIERS TO CREATIVITY .............................................................................................................. 21
PERSEVERING WHEN YOUR IDEAS FAIL ............................................................................................................ 22
LESSON 4: PROBLEM-SOLVING AND STRATEGIC THINKING .................................................... 25
APPROACHING PROBLEMS IN THE WORKPLACE .............................................................................................. 26
THE STAGES OF PROBLEM SOLVING ................................................................................................................ 27
SKILLS FOR EFFECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING ...................................................................................................... 29
UNDERSTANDING STRATEGIC THINKING ......................................................................................................... 31
BENEFITS OF STRATEGIC THINKING ................................................................................................................. 31
CHARACTERISTICS OF STRATEGIC THINKING ................................................................................................... 32
FUTURE-BASING® ............................................................................................................................................. 33
LESSON 5: MANAGING YOUR TIME EFFECTIVELY .................................................................... 36
INTRODUCTION TO TIME MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................ 37
BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT................................................................................................. 38
PRIORITIZING TASKS AND SETTING GOALS ...................................................................................................... 38

SAVING AND CREATING TIME .......................................................................................................................... 41
ELIMINATING PERSONAL TIME STEALERS ........................................................................................................ 43
LESSON 6: THE ART OF COMMUNICATION AND PERSUASION ............................................... 46
WHY GOOD COMMUNICATION MATTERS ....................................................................................................... 47
DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMUNICATION ......................................................................................................... 48
STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION .............................................................................................. 50
BASIC PERSUASION SKILLS................................................................................................................................ 52
PERSUADING AN AUDIENCE ............................................................................................................................. 54
MAXIMIZING THE IMPACT OF A PROPOSAL ..................................................................................................... 55
OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS ............................................................................................................................. 56

LESSON 1: PROJECT
MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project managers play a crucial role in digital marketing. They help to ensure that campaigns:
Meet the brief with high quality output

Are delivered and deployed on time
Are delivered within the agreed budget
A wide range of project management frameworks and methodologies are available. These include PRINCE2,
Scrum, Lean, Critical Chain Project Management, and more. Here, however, we’ll take a broad look at the
value that project management and project managers bring to marketing campaigns.
So, to begin, what exactly is a project?
Any initiative your team undertakes that has a defined deliverable and delivery date can be classed as a
project. And any project can benefit from the efficiency and clarity that project management will bring.
Planning is a key starting point for any project. Unfortunately, project management can easily be overlooked
when planning resources for a campaign. Unless it’s already baked into a company’s culture, it can seem
unnecessary, especially for smaller projects. And for agencies it can be even harder to justify, as clients don’t
like paying for resource that doesn’t seem to be crucial to getting the campaign delivered.
With that in mind, what benefits can project management by a dedicated project manager bring to a project?
The benefits include:
Fluid communication between stakeholders, marketers, clients, external suppliers, and so on

On-hand status updates on where the project is at any time
Resource planning, ahead of when it is needed rather than being called for reactively
An accountable, central point of contact to manage the web of interdependencies in a project
Client assurance and confidence
Predictable deadlines
ROLE OF THE PROJECT MANAGER
But what exactly does a project manager do? What are their day-to-day responsibilities? And what skills does a
project manager need to have or develop?
Well, a project manager’s role involves carrying out a number of tasks.
First, they guide projects from start to finish. This involves determining scope, assigning tasks, and setting
deadlines. Indeed, it includes everything involved in setting up projects for execution.
Project managers also ensure that everyone has what they need to get their work done. And if people don’t
have what they need, it’s the project manager’s job to figure out what’s required to get them what they need
and remove any obstacles.
Project managers facilitate communication between stakeholders and team members. They get stakeholder
buy-in at the start of the project, and update stakeholders as the project progresses. Also, they make sure
everyone has all the information they need, and ensure team members are communicating clearly with one

another. This can even mean implementing systems such as Slack, Trello, Asana, and so on to ensure
communication is fluid.
The communication skills that project managers need often rely on natural abilities rather than learned
knowledge. However, simply understanding what these skills are can enable project managers to carry out
their role to the best of their abilities.
As well as facilitating communication between others, project managers need to be able to communicate
effectively themselves with all involved. This is where excellent interpersonal skills come into play. If you’re
leading a project, you’ll need to be able to communicate with everyone involved, both verbally and in writing.
Of course, good communication is something that should come naturally to many marketers anyway. As a
project manager, however, you need to constantly monitor your communication skills and think about how
you can communicate most effectively.
Remember that it’s not all about shop talk! You’re a pivotal team player and it’s important that people like and
respect you. On the one hand, you must be firm on your deadlines and deal assertively with people who are
not performing as expected. But, on the other hand, take time to make small talk, and get to know the people
around you. Use emotional intelligence to understand how people are feeling. And make sure that people feel
comfortable approaching you with any questions or issues. Motivate your team and try to ensure that they are
happy to work with you.
Unfortunately, wherever there is a project, there’s likely to be some conflict along the way. All the planning in
the world cannot prevent the unexpected. And when the unexpected happens, people get agitated. As a
project manager, your goal is to manage conflict when it arises. And this is where you’ll need excellent
negotiating skills.
You’ll face immovable problems, no-win arguments, and catch-22 situations. Suppose your project is likely to
miss a key deadline. You might have to become the arbiter between a designer who doesn’t want to stay late
and an account manager who doesn’t want to jeopardize their carefully nurtured client relationship. While you
must always have one eye on the agreed project deliverables, you also need to be creative with compromise.
Being able to offer people concessions in other ways to get what you need is crucial.
Be realistic. In any project team, you’re not going to be able to get everyone to agree on everything all the
time. Disagreements and conflicts are inevitable. So, when conflicts do arise, it’ll be your job to resolve them in
order to keep the project moving forward. You have to become the leader when everyone else is squabbling.
Set an example, by being fair but decisive. Never point fingers or get personal. Always keep it about what the
project needs, and what’s best for the project.
With projects come deadlines! So knowing how to manage your time, and your team members’ time, is a
crucial skill. Everyone on the project will need to know how to manage their time effectively! Of course, it can
become tricky when you have to raise time management issues with a team member. It’s not easy to do it
without making people feel judged. Always address the time management issue without attacking the person.
The best approach is to lead by example and have your own time management tools and techniques in plain
view. One useful technique is the Pomodoro method. This is a time management system that encourages
people to work effectively with the time they have. Using this method, you break your workday into 25-minute
chunks separated by 5-minute breaks. These intervals are referred to as pomodoros. Using timers can ensure
that you work in bursts of ‘deep work’. And remember to start the day with a clear set of objectives to plan
those bursts.

It might sound obvious, but project managers need to have excellent leadership skills. After all, they are
responsible for leading the project! If you didn’t consider yourself a leader before, it’s time to change that.
Even if you’re not a team lead, there will be times where you need to spearhead a project and inspire others
into action.
Basic leadership skills include:
The ability to listen to others, and take on board their concerns, without seeming rushed or distracted
by technology.
Decisiveness –to choose the best course of action, explain in clear and concise terms why that is
optimal, and then move ahead.
Honesty – the ability to be honest with yourself and others about failures as well as successes
Confidence in your best abilities inspires others to trust your judgment and decisions. When a project
manager exudes uncertainty and hesitation, this undermines the morale of the whole team.
Communication skills – this means being able to calmly talk in a concise and authoritative manner
about project management.
When you’re leading a project, you need to understand what the project is about! This involves developing
subject matter expertise. If you’re a marketer looking to build project management skills, you already have
deep subject matter expertise both in marketing and perhaps your specific industry. But, if you’re a project
manager by trade working with marketing teams, then you’ll need to brush up on your marketing skills.
Marketing and creative specialists won’t respond well to someone running their projects who doesn’t have a
basic understanding of the discipline. This can lead to difficulty fostering the respect and leadership previously
mentioned. Even if you’re not an expert, show a willingness to learn. The more you show respect for the
project, the more team members will respect you as a project manager.
These skills can all be regarded as the ‘soft skills’ needed to be a project manager. But what about the day-to-
day work? What practical competencies do you need in order to be an effective project manager in marketing?
Here are some competencies that you should develop.
The first is the ability to allocate resources. No project has unlimited resources, so it’s your job to optimally
allocate the resources you have. Any project will be subject to constraints on time, budget, or people to carry
out the work. So learn to work with what you’ve got. Make the most of what you have within your team and
find out how to source external specialists through agencies or your own research and recruitment.
You must be able to manage tasks, of course. Help your team members develop efficient workflows. And make
sure they understand what needs to be done at each step in the project.
Time management is crucial, so you need to be able to plan timelines. On any given project, you’ll likely have
multiple people working on different pieces of the bigger picture. Before work starts, you need to be able to
give everyone their own timelines for delivery, and manage the often-complicated web of interdependencies.
For example, the web developers might need approved designs for a website before they can start building it.
As well as planning timelines, you need to be able to set realistic deadlines. Your deadlines should stretch the
team without breaking them. If the deadlines are too generous, complacency can creep into the team. But if
the deadlines are too aggressive, this can lead to stress and burnout.

As well as simply setting deadlines, an experienced project manager will add in contingency time. Giving time
buffers ahead of crucial delivery dates allows for the unexpected happening. And let’s face it, the unexpected
usually does happen! Having buffer time will significantly raise your chances of shipping your project on time!
Finally, you need to be proficient in using project management tools. Indeed, much of your day as a project
manager will be spent working with software that aids your efforts. These tools act as a central information
repository for all the tasks, people, assets, deadlines, and so on. Today, most of these tools are online and
offer all team members their own accounts with varying levels of access. Keeping this software updated and
comprehensive, in terms of having as much project information in there as possible, can provide an invaluable
‘single source of truth’. It shows progress and reassures stakeholders that the project is well managed.
Examples of such tools include Asana, Trello, and Jira.
SEVEN-STEP FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGING PROJECTS
Let’s look at the lifecycle of a typical project in marketing. Here is a simple seven-step framework for managing
projects. You can use this even if you’re not a project manager and have never been called on to manage
projects before.
The first step is to identify the project or campaign.
This is the very beginning of the process. You’ve likely conducted some sort of brainstorming process or
otherwise determined loosely what the given project will be.
Whatever it is you’re working on, you need to make sure you’re crystal-clear on its purpose. Why are you
doing the project? And be clear on the intended outcomes. What exactly are you delivering?
Step 2 is to write a project brief.
Next, it’s time to buckle down and write a project brief. This is also known as a creative brief, but they’re
essentially the same thing. This is a simple outline of everything the project will entail, including:
A project summary – This is one or two sentences describing the project at a high level.
Some basic details –Who is the project for? Who is your audience? What problems will it solve? How
will it be measured and how soon do you expect to see results?
The goal – What is the desired aim for the project? It’s helpful if you can nail down some hard
numbers, but that can be determined later if necessary.
A process outline – This describes the process that’ll be implemented to execute the project. A high-
level summary of steps and handoffs between team members is sufficient for now.
The people involved – Which team members need to be on the project? Be careful only to include
necessary staff in order to make the best use of everyone’s time.
Required resources – Which tools and other assets will be needed to complete the project? These
would include brand assets, logos, fonts, content files, software, and so on.
Deliverables – What tangible assets will be created as a result of this project? These would include
websites, videos, infographics, blog posts, social posts, and so on.
A rough timeline – When would you like the project to actually ship?
The actual form this document takes doesn’t need to be overly complex. Indeed, there’s no right or wrong way
to lay it out. Generally, a text document or slide deck is all you need. Just make sure that it’s easy to read! Put
it in front of everyone on the project and keep it somewhere universally accessible. It will be a useful guiding
light throughout the project.

The third step is to develop goals and objectives.
A project should always have a goal. If goals and objectives are not laid out very specifically and clearly, you
run the risk of doing lots of activity, but for no defined result for the business. You’re just busy being busy!
It helps to have a repeatable process in place for setting goals too. Try following the SMART goals framework:
Specific – The goal is tied to a specific number or well-defined objective.

Measurable – Progress toward the goal can be quantified with data.
Actionable – It can be done by you and your team, and is realistic.
Relevant – The goal fits with your wider company objectives and initiatives.
Time-bound – It’ll be attained within a set period of time.
Every goal you set should meet these criteria.
Step 4 is to get input from the team.
Prior to meeting the team, gather information on people's overall availability and requirements. Then start
mapping out how much time everyone needs and begin to put together loose timelines.
Next, list all the deliverables the team will need to produce for this project. This means all the tangible assets
that will be created, such as blog posts, landing pages, videos, social content, emails, and so on.
Then, list which teams will need to be involved in the project. This means identifying which specific marketing
teams in your company, plus other departments – such as web development or accounting – need to be
involved.
Finally, describe the goal of the project. Keep it as concise as possible, but do include specific statistics and
numbers you’d like to achieve, if possible.
Schedule a date for a team meeting, and send a calendar invite letting everyone know about the meeting.
Once you kick off this meeting, run through the following:
Give a basic explanation of the project. Share your creative brief with everyone too.
Ask what steps each team member will need to take, especially if you aren’t sure.
Find out how much time they’ll need for each phase of the project, with likely contingency.
Then, you can complete a rough timeline as the meeting progresses, and leave with a good idea of what
everyone will need to make what you’re working on a success.
By the time you’ve talked the team through the project and gathered their answers and feedback, you’ll have
the raw information you need from the team to actually start mapping out the project in your project
management tool of choice.
This then brings us to the fifth step: map out timelines and tasks.
So now it’s time to get granular in planning out the individual tasks that will need to be completed throughout
the project. Ideally, your team members will be able to tell you which tasks they’ll need to tackle. All you need
to worry about are the deadlines for each team member’s phase in the project.
In your project management tool, start creating entries for each task and phase, with associated deadlines.

Sometimes, tasks need to be approved by another team member or manager, maybe even yourself. Ensure
this is logged too, as approvals can hold things up if someone is away or too busy to review work.
By the time you’re done, you’ll have all your deadlines for each phase, and all of the tasks everyone needs to
complete all planned out in one place.
Step 6 is to start the project.
Kick off your project and keep communication flowing as you do so. It will be your job to ensure that
everything is happening when it should, and to come up with solutions when deadlines get missed and a
knock-on effect is created. Monitor the project carefully and constantly.
You’ll also be expected to be the go-to source of information for anyone wanting to get an update on the
project. Ensure that you have a ready-to-hand overview or dashboard.
Remember, no project has ever gone perfectly! It is how you deal with things going wrong that defines you as
a project manager. Indeed, this defines any manager. Be prepared to shift the moving parts of your plan as it
progresses, to accommodate those unexpected bumps in the road.
Not surprisingly, the final step is to finish the project.
Once the project is completed, it’s your job to check that all the deliverables have in fact been shipped. And
you need to ensure that all requirements of the original brief have been satisfied – unless they changed along
with way, of course. Ask yourself: has the project been completed on time, on budget, and to the required
standard?
A vitally important step at this stage is to review the project. You’ll need to do this from a range of
perspectives. Was it successful for the business? Did it have a positive return on investment? In the case of an
agency, was it profitable? Was it as successful as originally planned in the brief? Did the team enjoy working on
it, and doing so through the processes you laid out? Did the tools, software, and techniques you used to
manage the project work for everybody involved?
A good way to gather this kind of feedback is with a ‘post-mortem’ meeting with the project team. This
attempts to answer these and other questions, and gain insights that you can use to improve future projects.

NOTES

LESSON 2: AGILE THINKING

INTRODUCTION TO AGILE THINKING
The concept of agile thinking has become popular across the business world. In this topic, we explore what is
meant by agile thinking, and how it originated.
Agile thinking is based on the agile methodology. It was drawn up by a group of software developers on a trip
to Utah in 2001. These developers formed the Agile Alliance in a bid to overhaul the process by which software
was created and deployed. It has become the dominant methodology for software development. But, although
it originated in the software arena, with the booming influence of the tech industry on wider business, it has
informed most other industries too.
But what exactly is agile thinking? Well, when we talk about ‘agile thinking’, we’re mostly referring to the idea
of responding to change over following a plan. In other words, we should respond to change as we progress
with a project, and not be rigidly fixed to a plan, regardless of what happens along the way. After all, being
agile means being flexible and quick to adapt to change. This agility enables organizations to respond
effectively to unexpected events.
The Agile Alliance developed a historic manifesto that outlines twelve principles for applying agile thinking.
Five of these principles are particularly relevant for marketers.
One principle states that you should break big work down into smaller tasks that can be completed quickly.
People struggle to stay motivated in long projects. This is because they generally need to feel a regular sense
of achievement and completion. These small milestones and achievements along the way keep the team
motivated. If something takes longer than a few days, it can feel like it drags on. Then people start to lose
focus because they are not getting a regular achievement boost. Additionally, there is a long-proven benefit to
focusing large resources on small problems one by one. Indeed, this goes all the way back to Sun Tzu’s 5th
century BC book The Art of War.
Another principle is that you need to recognize that the best work emerges from self-organized teams.
Increasingly today, people are becoming more generalist, and are developing hard-to-categorize sets of skills.
People don’t always fit neatly into skill set ‘pigeon holes’. And the individual is usually best placed to identify
how his or her skills can best be deployed. In any group of people, you’re going to have a rich range of skills.
When you challenge a group with a problem, or a project to be completed, they can best decide who does
what. This is because people will naturally gravitate to what they do best. This in turns gives team members a
sense of agency and empowerment, which, of course, raises motivation and morale. And the advantage for the
project is that this allows skills and problems to be best matched up.
A third principle relevant to marketers is that you should assemble the project team and business owners on a
daily basis throughout the project.
Nobody likes long, meandering meetings. But meetings can be short and snappy. Agile meetings deliver quick
wins. Now known in software and web development as daily ‘stand-ups’ or ‘huddles’, these quick-fire update
meetings allow everyone to stay in touch with the moving parts of a project. This also prevents issues festering
in the dark.
All project-based teams, regardless of discipline or industry, could benefit from this approach to team
communication. It clarifies what the day ahead requires of everyone, and empowers each team member to

raise important issues. It also gives everyone a sense of focus for the day. And it allows people to share daily
accomplishments and learnings.
No team is perfect, and a project is always a learning process. So another useful principle from agile thinking is
that you should have the team reflect at regular intervals on how to become more effective, and then tune
and adjust behavior accordingly.
Continuous improvement is the name of the game here. Probably the most well-known principle of agile, this
tactic of changing course as you progress through a project allows teams to respond to factors which might
affect the ultimate success of the finished product. If something clearly isn’t working, the team responds
quickly to come up with a better approach. This could apply to a specific piece of content, or even the
campaign as a whole.
One final agile thinking principle relevant to marketing is that you should harness change for a competitive
advantage.
Following on from the previous principle, an agile approach to delivering projects is far more than merely a
coping or mitigating mechanism. Your response to change can prove to be a competitive advantage in the
marketplace. It can lead to more relevant and effective marketing too. Responding to a changing environment
more quickly than your competitors do will enable you to better position yourself in the market.
USING THE 'TEST AND LEARN' APPROACH
In this topic, you will learn how agile is applied to marketing, in a broad sense, and how we must adapt to this
new environment of constant change and uncertainty. We will also explore how this lack of stability is in fact a
series of valuable opportunities.
Change and uncertainty are feared by most humans, indeed most animals. Uncertainty is the realm of the
unknown, and we often perceive this as a risk to our safety and our lives. It triggers our ‘fight or flight’
response, which in turn increases our stress levels. So we humans tend to fear change and avoid it whenever
possible.
However, the problem is that we now live in a world where the only constant is change! Not only can we not
avoid change, we need to embrace it. Nowhere is this change more obvious than in the world of digital
marketing. To succeed in this sector, you have to become comfortable with handling constant change.
Today’s digital landscape is moving faster than ever before, in fact faster than anyone can keep up with. This is
explained in Eddie Obeng’s famous 2012 TED talk. He highlights the fact that everything in business today is to
some extent new, and so there are no experts who can reliably predict anything anymore. Uncertainty is now
the norm.
It is this set of conditions which leaves us in a world in which we must embrace constant change and live with
uncertainty. And with uncertainty comes failure. Silicon Valley has recently completely changed it attitude to
failure. In fact, the edict that we must ‘fail fast, fail often’ is plastered on the office walls of the tech giants such
as Facebook and Google.
This ethos was popularized in the now-famous 2013 book of the same name by Ryan Babineaux and John
Krumboltz of Stanford University, who teach a course on the subject there. The idea is that fear of failure holds
people back. Put simply, in order to cope with change, people must be willing to make mistakes and learn from
them. Failure becomes a learning process and an opportunity for improvement.

But, let’s face it! Failure is very hard to acknowledge. We don’t like admitting it to ourselves, to those whom
we report to, and even to those whom we manage. It’s not easy to stand in front of your team and declare,
“We are going to try something new, and I honestly have no idea what’s going to happen.” But that willingness
to ‘try something new’ is exactly the sort of courage you need to succeed in today’s digital landscape. Think
about it. Whatever your next digital campaign is, you are going to be, to some extent, unsure about what will
happen. This is because digital marketing is susceptible to countless factors that traditional advertising never
was. Digital technology is changing all the time and we have to change with it.
The Agile Alliance stresses the fact that this change is actually a potential opportunity for success. Rather than
being avoided, change should be eagerly grasped. Sure, you might make mistakes along the way, but at least
you’ll learn something from the experience. Don’t spend days weeping about your failures. Find out as quickly
as possible why you failed, and then learn from that and move on.
In software companies, as mentioned previously, this approach is often called ‘fail fast, fail often’. In digital
marketing, this often gets referred to as a ‘test and learn’ approach. First, we test. We try something new that
we think will work. And then we learn. We use the data fed back to us by our CRM, web, and social platforms
in a real-time and constant fashion to adapt our campaign message or creative assets on the fly to respond to
this feedback. The key phrase here is ‘on the fly’. Being agile means responding to new data as soon as you
receive it.
Where this is happening at the greatest scale currently is in social media advertising. A digital marketer such as
myself no longer has to be tied to one or a small number of creative routes, targeting one desired audience
and hoping for the best.
We can deploy hundreds and even thousands of variants of the same campaign. They can be messaged in all
the subtly different ways our marketing team can imagine, with every variation mixed with every other
variation to create an exponential number of different creatives. Each one will resonate with human minds
and emotions in very slightly different ways. And then this resonance will again be different for each segment
of an audience or population as it interacts with their unique psychographic make-up.
Effective marketing actually involves a mass, population-wide experiment. It relies on real-time data which we
now have access to through easy-to-use dashboards in advertising products such as Facebook Ads, LinkedIn
Ads, and so on. As soon as the first cents are being spent, we can make decisions on what’s working, for
whom, and what conversions or results are being driven.
Note how agile this approach is. The data arrives in real time. It presents an immediate snapshot of an evolving
situation. And with effective dashboards, you can interpret this data as quickly as possible. You always know
what’s happening, and you can respond as necessary.
This ‘test and learn’ approach obviously results in a higher return on investment for marketers. However, over
time, it also improves marketers’ instincts for good creative and how their audience respond to various
messages and propositions. If their instincts were wrong the first time, their instincts will be better the next
time. Failure has become a learning experience again!
APPLYING THE AGILE CONCEPT OF MVP
Agile thinking has become popular in marketing because it can result in more customer-centric marketing.
You’re better positioned to respond to customer feedback and changing market demands. This is crucial in
today’s digital landscape, as content is increasingly about serving the informational and entertainment needs
of the reader, listener, or viewer. It is not about simply blasting promotional messages all over the internet.

This is what is broadly known as content marketing, which put simply involves developing different content
that will appeal to different customers. It has boomed in popularity in recent years due to its effectiveness in
appealing to customers on a deeper level, in ways that traditional marketing never did.
The original idea behind the agile framework was to create a more customer-centric process for delivering
software products. In fact, the customer practically became part of the development team. This was largely
achieved by creating products with lots of feedback along the way, as the product was still being developed.
This is clearly much more effective than simply deploying the finished article and inviting feedback at the end
of the journey.
Likewise, in marketing, we can be far more effective if we gather feedback as we create campaigns, and as we
run them. The traditional approach has been to sign off a campaign, following a client review, and then deploy
it. The problem was that performance data would be gathered only after the campaign has ended.
An important and useful concept to come out of agile thinking is that of the ‘MVP’ or ‘minimum viable
product’. It is used to this day in web and software production, with almost every tech product you use having
started life as an MVP.
The concept is simply that whatever the idea for something is, it is stripped down repeatedly and ruthlessly
until only its essence remains. Only when you have reached the point where any further removing of
functionality would fundamentally change the idea or remove its core value to the user do you have a true
MVP.
That’s great in software development! But how does this apply to marketing? Well, consider this scenario.
Once upon a time, a marketing creative team had an idea for a series of brand films to bring to life the story of
a brand’s heritage for consumers. The team was very excited because this would be a high-production and
expensive affair. It would showcase the team’s creativity in bright, vibrant colors! However, no one gave too
much thought to its likely effectiveness as a piece of content marketing on the web. The team was excited, but
would the customers be excited too? A traditionally minded marketer might argue, “Well, that’s just the
nature of marketing! It’s unpredictable and we have to trust our creative instinct. That’s why we’re the
creative team, after all.”
But just consider for a moment how much expense, time, and effort would be involved in making this video. Is
there a way to test the public appetite for the idea and its themes before investing so heavily?
Enter the agile marketers! They would strip back the idea of the brand’s heritage and look at its most essential
constituent parts. Suppose they decided to focus on key milestones in their brand journey. Then the team
would consider which content formats would allow them to communicate those ideas with the lowest time
and financial cost. It doesn’t have to be an expensive, flashy video. It could simply be a series of curious
factoids on Twitter. For example, “Did you know our company began life when a flight to Atlanta was delayed
during a thunderstorm?” Or they could use short animated pieces created with an online video tool, such as
Biteable, for Instagram. What about a Facebook Live stream? They could have an interesting or entertaining
person in the company showing users behind the scenes and explaining how the company is to this day still
driven by its heritage. Each of these approaches could be considered as MVP, which could then later be further
developed into a more ambitious project.
If the audience is still small for the MVPs, all of this content can be promoted to specific niche audiences to see
how they respond. And all the data from these MVP content pieces can be gathered to inform further
investment. This doesn’t yet have to be the full-blown big idea. But it could be something a little more involved
than the MVP as a further round of content tests to confirm the team’s thinking. In this way, the marketing
team is getting ongoing customer feedback during the creative process!

BENEFITS OF AGILE THINKING
Now you know what agile thinking is and how it can be deployed in the marketing sector. But what exactly are
the benefits of agile thinking in marketing? There are, in fact, many!
The first benefit is that agile thinking increases efficiency.
One of the key advantages of agile thinking is that it brings potential problems to the surface quickly. This
helps reduce any wasted effort later in the process. Eliminating unnecessary steps and red tape means teams
work faster. And this gives them a quicker sense of accomplishment, which is invaluable for team morale.
And consider the advantages for the business. Because your team is more efficient, it is able to deliver more
projects. And this means the organization is able to bring in customers. Instead of spending time on things that
don’t deliver value, you can focus all of your efforts on the most important tasks at hand. Because you’re
getting ongoing customer feedback, you can be more confident that you’re working on projects that will
ultimately lead to market success.
The second benefit that that agile thinking increases innovation.
Agile thinking leads to a rapid testing process. So marketing teams that use agile thinking are getting a steady
stream of feedback during development. This enables them to discover all kinds of insights much more quickly.
That means your marketing efforts can be driven by actual data from ongoing customer feedback. You can
then better provide customers the messaging they’re actually looking for, rather than making guesses.
Plus, by moving more quickly, acting on data, and embracing a fail-fast mindset, you can more easily produce
innovative ideas that actually get implemented and drive results.
A third benefit is that agile thinking delivers more return on investment at less cost.
The old, traditional way of doing marketing was often slow, and measurement was sometimes difficult to
quantify. Now, agile processes empower teams to run multiple campaigns at once without reducing
effectiveness. With the increasing comprehensiveness of modern analytics, it’s easier than ever to
demonstrate more measurable return on investment at less cost.
A fourth benefit is that agile thinking drives growth.
Processes that can’t scale are processes that can’t move you forward. Fortunately, agile is designed with
growth in mind. It can help teams maintain efficiency as they expand over time, and as the size of campaigns
grows with bigger, more ambitious projects.
Finally, agile thinking keeps you focused on your customers.
Remember, agile thinking is a customer-centric philosophy. This approach to marketing keeps teams focused
on delivering what customers and audiences actually want without getting bogged down in unnecessary
documentation and meetings.

NOTES

LESSON 3: ENHANCING YOUR
CREATIVITY

GENERATING NEW IDEAS
The ability to be creative, and to think creatively, is an invaluable skill in today’s workplace. It can lead to the
development of new products and services, and optimizing business processes. It can lead to marketing
campaigns that stand out and really catch the customer’s attention. And, down the line, it can lead to business
growth and increased revenues.
Anyone can be creative. However, it’s important to remember that creative thinking doesn’t happen by
accident, and it doesn’t occur in a vacuum. It’s a skill that needs to be consciously applied, honed, and
practiced. When practiced successfully, it can reveal effective and innovative solutions to various types of
problems, from marketing communications to operational roadblocks, and it can generate new ideas.
The good news is, you can use a five-stage creative process to enhance your creative thinking skills.
The first stage is ‘Prepare’. In this stage, you research whatever problem you are faced with. Say, for example,
you are tasked with promoting a new product line, but aren’t sure what direction to take. Researching this
problem might involve doing a factory tour, and reading as much as you can about the product, audience,
market, and competitors.
Further your research by reviewing solutions to similar problems. These could be case studies, advertising tag
lines, or campaigns. Try to learn and understand as much as you can about the audience, the product, or the
problem you are trying to solve. Observe how and why a product is used or might be used. Ask, who are the
people who might use it, what are their motivations for using it, why is it useful to them? Find out as much as
you can. Immerse yourself in the details.
Now you can move to the second stage, which is ‘Incubate’. In this stage, you incubate the findings of your
research and let them simmer. Start by taking some time to write down exactly what you are trying to achieve
and everything you discovered from your research. Read it, then leave it for a while. When you go back, try
writing it another way. Then let go again, and let your mind wander: take a walk, take a bath, read, daydream.
In short, do something else.
The next stage is ‘Illuminate’. This is the ‘eureka’ stage when all the elements you’ve been mulling over in the
previous stage connect together in your subconscious, and an idea forms in your conscious mind. Write your
idea down. Remember the mantra, 'write it straight, then write it great'. Just concentrate on getting the idea
down on paper so you don’t forget it. Once you’ve safely written it down, leave it alone.
Now you move on to the fourth stage, ‘Verify’. At this stage, go back to your idea and sense check it against
the original problem and verify that it is the correct approach. Critically assess whether it satisfies all elements
of the problem you are solving. Ask, will it solve the problem in such a way to give me the result I need? For
example, will this slogan drive awareness of my brand? Is the tone right for the audience or market? Will team
operations work more efficiently if this solution is introduced? Ask, what are the various outcomes we could
expect if we went ahead with this idea? How might the audience engage with the campaign or how would the
team adopt this new process?
If, after asking yourself these types of questions, you find that your idea doesn’t solve the original problem,
put it aside. Holding on to it could take you down the wrong path and stop you from finding other, possibly
better, ideas. It’s better to work on your next idea instead.
Once you’ve settled on an idea, consider: you’ve written it straight, now it’s time to write it great. So take
some time to craft and refine the idea, so it can be effectively understood and internalized by your
stakeholders – or whoever has the final say on your idea.

Now it’s time for the final stage, ‘Practice’, where you practice generating ideas using the five-stage process.
The more ideas you generate using this process, the faster you get at coming up with better solutions. This, in
turn, can help you discount poor ideas early on and reduce the amount of time that’s wasted in following
paths of enquiry that lead to dead ends, or are likely to drive fewer effective ideas. Practice also helps to focus
the way you approach problems. As the process gets more familiar, it can help to naturalize creativity in your
thinking.
REMOVING BARRIERS TO CREATIVITY
Successful creative thinking requires you to be aware of the barriers which may weaken your creativity, and
prevent you from coming up with innovative ideas and finding great new solutions to problems. One of the
most common barriers to creativity is fear of failure. This barrier might stop you putting ideas out there, in
case someone laughs at them or even ridicules you for coming up with such crazy thoughts.
Another common barrier to creativity is relying too much on old ideas and established ways of thinking. This
might be due to simple laziness on your part, or it could be that you are operating in an environment that puts
too much emphasis on maintaining the status quo. To overcome these kinds of barriers, it is essential that you
begin to ‘think outside the box’, travel down roads you are not used to, move out of your comfort zone, and
abandon familiar practices. Luckily, there are tactics you can use to help you eliminate the typical barriers to
creativity you may encounter.
One tactic you can consider using is to challenge your biases and preconceptions. A bias is an inclination
towards one way of thinking. Having a bias means you lean in a certain direction from the outset. You tend to
believe what you want to believe, and are reluctant to take other people’s opinions into consideration. This
can obviously have a negative impact on your creative thinking.
To overcome this barrier, it is important to examine any problems you are faced with from many angles. To
begin, assume your understanding of the problem is correct. Now, assume your understanding is incorrect –
what does this mean? Then, view the problem from the perspective of a third party; how would someone else
view the problem? When you do this, you may find that the nature of the problem you are trying to solve has
changed – opening up the possibility of many different solutions.
Another tactic you can consider is to use different thought processes to generate ideas and solutions – and
avoid over-using the same old thought process you have always used. A thought process is the way ideas
suggest other ideas to you in a sequence. First, get familiar with the thought process you typically use yourself.
It may be that you are a highly analytical thinker, or perhaps you are more instinctual or intuitive.
When you have figured out how you naturally tend to think, start to observe how other people think. Choose a
suitable third party whose thinking you are familiar with, and apply their thought process to your task or
problem. Ask how would that person tackle this problem or what would they do in this situation? This frees
you up to think like someone else, which can help you explore new lines of enquiry on a particular problem
and come up with innovative solutions. Using this approach, you can also develop scenarios for how your idea
might be received by different stakeholders down the line, and prepare responses that drive towards a
suitable solution.
A third tactic you can use is to try to avoid what’s called ‘Functional Fixity’. ‘Functional Fixity’ is the inability to
look beyond how an object works or is designed to function. With this way of thinking, spoons can only be
used to stir or drink liquids – but never to spread butter; or paperclips can only be used to fix sheets of paper
together – but not to collect magnets or open locks. By being aware of ‘Functional Fixity’, and the danger this
approach holds for creative thinkers, it can open your mind to new ways of looking at, and using, objects. This

can have a positive impact on your creative mind, and can drive you further in your quest for creative
solutions.
Another tactic you can use is to change your daily routine. Doing the same thing every day, over and over
again, can have a detrimental effect on your creativity. The changes you make don’t have to be dramatic, as
even small changes can shake things up and lead to a burst of creativity. For example, try changing where you
work a couple of times each week. This might mean working in a conference room instead of at your desk, or
in a coffee shop around the corner. Even if you are doing the same work, doing it in new surroundings can help
you discover things you may have overlooked, or see problems in a different light.
You could also try changing the order in which you tackle your work every day. So if you usually leave your
most important tasks until the afternoon, try doing them in the morning instead. Alternatively, try working at a
different time of day, if that’s possible, or even changing the agenda or format of regular meetings. Once you
have tried out a few new routines, maintain the ones that are working for you. But remember to change things
up again when your creativity next takes a dip.
A final tactic that is worth considering is to take creative risks. It takes courage to be the first person to think of
an idea or a new solution. You can’t be sure if it will work, or be accepted, or even if people will find it
ridiculous. Nevertheless, the ability to take risks goes hand in hand with innovation and problem solving. So be
brave, put your ideas out there, and keep looking at new ways of doing things and of overcoming barriers to
creativity.
PERSEVERING WHEN YOUR IDEAS FAIL
Sometimes an idea just isn't as good as you think it is. It may fail when you put it into practice, or it might be
rejected before you have even finished presenting it. If your idea is rejected by your boss or by other
stakeholders, it can be embarrassing. However, it is important not to get disheartened or to give up. Instead,
you need to be resilient, persevere, and bounce right back. You can do this by shifting your focus and coming
up with another solution that is acceptable to all involved and minimizes the risk of straining relationships.
Remember, rejection is never easy. So when an idea is rejected, the first thing you should do is stop and pause.
Don’t react rashly or quickly. Don’t run from the room. And don’t sigh audibly. Instead, compose yourself by
lightly exhaling. Take a drink of water to help reduce stress and defensiveness. Above all, remain calm.
As well as giving you time to compose yourself, pausing in this way also gives space to the person who rejected
your idea to offer more information or explain why they don’t want to proceed with your idea. As the focus
now moves away from you and towards the rejector, they may feel obliged to justify their skepticism. This can
help you refocus your thinking and come up with alternative solutions.
Try to see the objections as requests for clarity or for more information. So, for example, if someone says, “I
don’t like that advertising tag line you’ve come up with”, you could reframe this objection as, “Can you help
me see how our audience might connect with this phrase?” By reframing the objection in this way, you may
find that you are able to offer additional information and clarifications that satisfy the concerns raised.
It is also a good idea to try to empathize with the person who rejected your idea. Try saying something like, “I
understand why you might feel that way.” This allows you to put yourself in the rejector’s place and see your
idea as they do. This approach also has the added benefit of helping to ease any strain that the rejection may
have wrought on your relationship with that person. Moreover, you can then adapt your idea to their
viewpoint, if the viewpoint is valid.

Listen to any objection that is raised and verify the objector's expertise on the subject by inquiring about their
assumptions. When you respond to the objection, use facts and hard data, but don’t rely on emotion. Avoid
using unfounded opinions to verify your position. As Jim Barksdale, CEO of Netscape once said, "If we have
data, let’s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine.”
If you feel the expertise of the objector is questionable, or that they are not seeing the full picture, explain
your reasoning using the word ‘because’. For example, you could say, “I believe this campaign will engage our
audience and drive sales because…” or, “Team efficiency and job satisfaction will improve with these changes
because…” By providing valid reasons and sound arguments for your approach, you may find that you are able
to win the objector over to your way of thinking.
Finally, be sure to wrap up the discussion with a motivated response to find a solution. Try asking a question
like, “How do you think this idea could be improved?” Or say, “Thanks for your time and the feedback. I’ll see
what else I can come up with”. In this way, you are ending the discussion on a positive note, and are in the
right frame of mind to refine your original idea or come up with a new solution that is acceptable to all
stakeholders.
When an idea is rejected, you may find that you just need to make a couple of small tweaks to your original
solution to get back on track; or it might mean going back to the drawing board and starting over. Either way,
by using all your powers of creative thinking, it should be possible to find a great solution that solves your
original problem and is acceptable to everyone – and to come out of the whole process with your working
relationships still intact.

NOTES

LESSON 4: PROBLEM-
SOLVING AND STRATEGIC
THINKING

APPROACHING PROBLEMS IN THE WORKPLACE
Many different types of problems can arise in the workplace. It's extremely useful to have strong problem-
solving skills so that you are prepared to solve them in the most efficient way possible when they arise, saving
you time and money.
It’s important to be able to identify the full extent and cause of a problem before you begin to think about
implementing a solution strategy. Workplace problems arise for various reasons. For example, interpersonal
conflict, not having enough time to complete tasks, lack of self-belief, a shortage of tools or resources, poor
communications, undue competitiveness within the workplace, conflicting job priorities, malicious gossip,
culture clash, lack of opportunity, poor incentives, disconnection from company culture, lack of training, and
so on.
Taking a problem-solving approach means viewing the issue at hand from different viewpoints – that is,
objectively and subjectively – to allow you to implement the most suitable solutions.
Describing a problem objectively involves outlining it in a fact-based way that is observable, counted,
quantifiable, provable, and impossible to deny. It presents complete truth, and is free from individual
influences, so it proves helpful in rational decision-making.
If there is a lack of facts, then the problem becomes subjective, as you are describing the problem from a
biased point of view or expression of opinion. Your point of view is based on your experiences, assumptions,
beliefs, and opinions; and is influenced by emotions and personal feelings. The difference between viewing a
problem objectively or subjectively depends on whether the evidence available is fact or opinion.
When considering a problem, subjective information is influenced by the personability of the person providing
it. It is an interpretation or analysis of the facts based on personal beliefs, opinions, perspectives, feelings, and
so on. In comparison, objective information produces the complete truth, as it presents a story from all angles
in a systematic way. It describes the facts, which can be proven to be true.
The following methods for viewing and describing problems in the workplace can help you to improve your
approach to problem solving:
First, consider your approach to the problem. Is it objective or subjective? Since an objective approach is best
for allowing problem-solving, what do you need to do to gather facts? Be sure you have gathered all of the
information available to you before making a decision.
Next, make sure you are as well informed as you can be about the problem. Consider what it is that you do not
know about a specific subject, issue, area, or skill. Then consider how to equip yourself to attain this shortfall
in knowledge.
And finally, take a moment to pause and reflect on the reasons why the problem arose in the first place. A
little introspection is useful to help you to recognize if you have deviated from the plan and whether or not
you need to re-align your focus.
Consider this scenario:
You drop a jar of pickles onto the floor and it smashes. Obviously, action needs to be taken. So, you pause for a
moment and consider what your immediate responses should be, and in what order you are going to carry
them out.

Your responses could include: Cordoning off the area, telling everyone not to step in the mess, grabbing a
dust-pan and brush, grabbing a floor-mop and a bucket of soapy warm water, and reminding people that the
floor is now wet.
Or, instead of taking any of those actions, you might view the situation objectively, and decide to investigate
what caused you to drop the jar in the first place. You may realize that the jar is simply covered in something
oily and this caused you to lose your grip. Or you might suspect you were affected by a gas leak in your kitchen
and decide to investigate and fix this potentially dangerous leak first, and then attend to the mess on the floor
later.
When in the workplace, consider your held knowledge and ability to subjectively and objectively view an
arising problem, before considering how you should go about solving it.
THE STAGES OF PROBLEM SOLVING
A methodical approach should be taken to solving problems. Here is a six-step method you can use:
Identify the problem

Analyze the problem
Look for solutions
Make a decision
Implement the solution
Get feedback
In order to identify the problem, you need to ask: “Is the problem arising from a person, team, department,
company, system, process, or malicious act?”, or, “Is the cause known yet?”
Once you have identified the problem, it’s time to analyze it. Where is your information coming from? Are the
facts on which you are basing your decision coming from an objective or subjective viewpoint? And are you
able to accurately base your decision on facts vs. opinion?
Next, you’ll need to look for solutions.
A problem-solving solutions strategy can help you to come up with workable solutions for your problems.
Solution strategies include:
Trial and Error

Using an algorithm
Applying a heuristic technique
The old adage, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’ describes the trial and error strategy. For example, if
your printer is broken, you could try checking the ink levels, and if that doesn’t work, you could check to make
sure the paper tray isn’t jammed. Or perhaps the printer isn’t actually connected to your laptop – check your
connecting cables and power outlets. When using the trial and error strategy, you would continue to try
different solutions until you have figured out an appropriate solution to your problem. Although trial and error
is not typically one of the most time-efficient strategies, it is a commonly used one, and very effective.
An algorithm is a problem-solving formula that provides you with step-by-step instructions to help you achieve
a desired outcome. You can think of an algorithm as a recipe with highly detailed instructions that produce the
same result every time they are performed. Algorithms are used frequently in our everyday lives, offline as
well as online. When you run a search on the Internet, search engines like Google use algorithms to decide

which entries will appear first in your list of results. Facebook uses algorithms to decide which posts to display
on your newsfeed. You can design your own algorithm as a solution to a problem and repeat the process as
necessary.
A heuristic is another type of problem-solving strategy. While an algorithm must be followed exactly to
produce a correct result, a heuristic is a general problem-solving framework. You can think of heuristics as
mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems. A ‘rule of thumb’ is an example of a heuristic. Such a rule
saves the person time and energy when making a decision, but despite its time-saving characteristics, it is not
always the best method for making a rational decision. Working backwards is a useful heuristic in which you
begin solving the problem by focusing on the end result. Another useful heuristic is the practice of
accomplishing a large goal or task by breaking it into a series of smaller steps.
Once you have found a solution, the next step is to make a decision. These days it is relatively easy to make an
informed decision with the amount of information freely available on the internet. Take the appropriate time
to research the problem and potential solutions so that you have all of the information you need to make a
decision and find the best solution to your problem.
Research has found that most people fall into four decision-making styles: Directive, Conceptual, Consultative,
or Consensus.
Directive is an autocratic model where the decision-maker uses their own knowledge and experience to select
the best course of action. The decision-maker that uses a directive style practices rationality and displays a low
tolerance for ambiguity.
Conceptual decision-makers approach problems in a more relaxed way. They are not averse to high-risk
decisions and are comfortable without a full knowledge of all of the facts. They thrive on considering and
analyzing different alternatives without singling out any one particular idea.
Consultative decision-making allows for input from others, while you are still in charge of the final outcome of
the decision-making process. While you don’t bargain agreement within the group, you seek the knowledge
and expertise of others and everyone is aware that the final decision rests with you.
Consensus decision-making is where there is no single person responsible for the decision-making. The
problem is challenged, debated, and concluded together. Everyone who is present can voice their opinion and
have input into the course of action they believe will work. Personal views need to be set aside to support and
action a team decision.
Once you have made a decision, you can then implement it. To implement the decision, action needs to be
taken. It's important to keep on track throughout the process and to review your performance. Use the 3 As to
do this: Action, Affirmation, and Assessment. Act on the decision you have made, affirm that it is the correct
action to take, and then assess the effect it has had – that is, did it solve the problem?
When your solution has been implemented, it’s important to ask for feedback to ensure that it has been
successful. Encourage a culture of open and honest opinions, and make sure that all of your team members
are aware that their feedback will be considered carefully - this is an important part of motivation and
confidence-building for future problem-solving tasks. When requesting feedback, be specific. The more specific
your feedback request is in terms of context and detail, the more specific the answer you receive will be.
Honestly and openly recognizing shortfalls in your own knowledge will help bring different opinions to the
table. The encouragement of team discussion ensures that everyone’s voice is heard and understood. And
finally, remember to offer thanks to your team for their input and commitment and where possible, show

them the positive impact their feedback has had. This will in turn empower them to look for solutions more
proactively, and for future involvement in the decision-making process.
A useful and simple tip for problem-solving is to use a pen and paper when brainstorming solutions for your
problem. Using pen and paper, rather than an app or online tool, to map out your potential problem-solving
solutions can enable you to draw out the blockers from your subconscious and to gain a more objective
overview. Now, different methods will suit different people but the main goal is to find a method that works
best for you and allows you to gather and organize your thoughts in the easiest way possible. Once you have
clearly identified the potential solutions, it is easier to compare them and choose the most effective solution.
SKILLS FOR EFFECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING
An effective problem-solver uses many skills to devise and implement solutions including:
Creative skills
Research skills
Team-working skills
Decision-making skills
Risk-taking skills
Creative skills allow big and boundless thinking. They involve the consideration and analysis of ideas, concepts,
and solutions that no one else has considered before. Thinking creatively requires you to set aside any biases
or assumptions that you may hold and to take a different look at things. By approaching a problem with an
open mind, you allow yourself the chance to think creatively. Often, a problem may seem to be
insurmountable and it is only by practicing creativity and innovation that a workable solution can be found.
Considering a problem from different viewpoints and being open to a change in perspective is key.
For example, the US Air Force Research Laboratory required an update for their supercomputer but the cost
was well over their budget. So, by thinking creatively and looking for alternative solutions, they realized that
they could purchase 300 PlayStation 3s that would fulfil their computing needs instead. To quote their creative
decision: “The processors in the Sony PlayStation 3 are the only brand on the market that utilizes the specific
cell processor characteristics needed for this program at an acceptable cost.”
Another example of creative problem-solving is from the inventor and founder of Dyson® vacuum cleaners,
James Dyson. While his competitors were focused on how to design a better filter for the paper bags in their
vacuum cleaners, he came to the realization that he had to approach the problem from a more creative
direction. The result was that he created a ‘cyclone’ vacuum cleaner which could separate dust from air, and
brought the world's first bagless vacuum cleaner to the market.
Another important set of skills for problem solving are research skills. How can you find out what you don’t
know? By doing research.
Being able to demonstrate the following competencies is key to ensuring your research is effective:
Attention to detail
Critical thinking
Planning and scheduling
Technical skills
Statistical and graphical analysis of data
Interviewing

Because data is so easily accessible these days, it is important to check that the data you are relying on has
come from a trusted source.
Team-working skills are also very useful when it comes to problem solving. If you lead a team, you can help
your team or colleagues to solve problems in many ways.
Create easy wins to begin with. Pick the ‘low-hanging fruit’ for the team to practice upon, that is, the tasks that
are easiest to achieve, or the problems that are easiest to solve. Resist the temptation to offer a solution to
hurry the process along; act as a facilitator instead and guide your team toward the answers. The greatest
impact can come from giving the accountability of owning both the solution and the implementation of the
solution, to the team. By delegating the problem, you reinforce your confidence and trust in the work of the
team.
You can also use the 'framing effect'. The ‘framing effect’ is a cognitive bias, whereby people decide on options
based on whether the options are presented with positive or negative connotations; for example, as a loss or
as a gain. Show your team or colleagues how to practice the skill of framing an issue from differing
perspectives, for example, positive, negative, or neutral, and how to devise specific solutions for each frame.
Another method is to remove yourself from the team problem-solving equation. Consider the unintentional
influence you may have that might lead to potential biasing of the group with your views. In addition, be
understanding and willing to support the team by working across the organization to acquire resources and
budgets.
Avoid getting angry at a failure by the team as this is almost always destructive. Instead, instruct the team to
take a step back and pause to consider the situation and analyze what did and did not work. Give them time to
consider how to respond, learn, and move on.
Be sure to avoid group-think by drawing in individuals with areas of expertise and knowledge not currently
held by the team. A common pitfall of group-think is that the team narrowly focuses on their own held-
knowledge and plays down any outside or differing viewpoints, limiting the possibility of the most effective
solution as an outcome.
Decision-making skills are another key component of problem solving. According to the economist Evan Davis,
“If you are not making mistakes, you are not trying hard.” This is true of many people, because due to their
lack of experience, confidence, or authority, they resist the taking and making of decisions. The more decisions
you make, the stronger your decision-making skills become. As long as you learn from your decisions and
mistakes, then the more mistakes you make, the better it is for your decision-making ability!
Having the ability to take risks is an important skill for effective problem solving. It is usually better to take
determined risks rather than undetermined risks. Being able to distinguish between the two takes experience,
skill, and knowledge.
An undetermined risk is a risk that is taken without performing due diligence or accounting for possible
negative outcomes; that is, you may have found a positive solution, but you don’t know what the final cost will
be or what the ‘knock-on’ effects are.
A determined risk requires detailed research, and while you may not actually achieve success, you know that
enough research has been carried out to ensure that there is a high likelihood of success.
Many people become risk-averse from building pros and cons into every single decision they make. We tend to
avoid taking risks for the following reasons:

A fear of failure
A fear of the inflated consequences of failure
A fear of handling the consequences of risk
However, a certain amount of risk-taking is necessary for every new solution, particularly in the beginning.
Aiming to take calculated and well-informed risks only is a healthy and effective approach to problem solving.
UNDERSTANDING STRATEGIC THINKING
Let’s begin with an obvious question. What exactly is strategic thinking? Well, strategic thinking is a process
you can use to view, weigh up and create the future for yourself and others. It is an extremely effective and
valuable skill. When used correctly, it can help you make good decisions related to work or to your personal
life.
In order to understand strategic thinking, you first need to understand strategy. Now, there are many ways to
define strategy, so let’s settle on just one! Consider how you can bridge the gap between policy and tactics.
What tactics can you use to implement the policy? This is your strategy. You can also think of strategy in terms
of means and ends. You have an end in mind. What means can you use to reach that end? This again is the
realm of strategy. We have resources available to us to get us to our end. Then how we deploy or arrange
those resources is our strategy, and how we actually execute the actions are our tactics.
The classic 1987 Harvard Business Review article, “Crafting Strategy” by Henry Mintzberg, presents the idea of
‘emergent strategy’. An emergent strategy is one that was not initially planned. Instead, it was formed through
consistent actions that formed a pattern over time or through solving an unexpected issue that emerged.
Rather than being planned for, it emerged naturally.
Consider this example from my own experience. An in-house printing department printed a monthly sales list
for the company’s freight shipping agency. This was printed on the company’s standard letter-headed paper.
The company was successful, and its list of containers for hire was growing. This made it necessary to print on
both sides of the paper. The headed paper was tearing in the printing machines when it was turned over.
The print department supervisor, using strategic thinking, proposed turning the sales list into a simple, folded
page printed on plain paper with illustrations in one color on the front. The use of color in this context was
unheard of. The trial run of the first leaflet produced a sensation in the London Baltic Exchange, multiplying
the company’s sales, as well as solving the printing problem. The result was, because of the publicity, the
company won the largest container agency contract in the world at that time. Every other company was still
printing its list on standard headed paper.
BENEFITS OF STRATEGIC THINKING
Now that you know what strategic thinking is, consider the benefits!
First, with strategic thinking, you become proactive rather than reactive. You take the initiative and look
actively for possible ways to improve. You don’t just wait around hoping that something turns up, or that
someone else will force you to change.
Strategic thinking can also give you a better sense of direction. When you see, or indeed create, opportunity to
achieve a change, this spurs you to move towards it.
Better operational efficiency is another benefit. You begin to notice opportunities for better ways of organizing
or doing work. Seizing them tends to lead to efficiencies and savings in time and resources.

Did you know that strategic thinking can help to increase market share and profitability? This is because
deliberately applying future thinking to building vision contributes directly to this.
In addition, you can make your business more durable. Each of the benefits already mentioned creates a
foundation for durability.
Also, efficient strategic thinkers tend to notice windfall opportunities and take advantage of them. When
something fails, they don’t throw their hands up in despair. No, they notice some new opportunity or idea that
arises from the failure. They don’t think in terms of solving problems. They think in terms of seeking solutions.
This creates a more positive mindset.
Intrinsically, strategic thinking feeds and enhances a company's vision to achieve its goals. Here’s an example
of how it can be applied to creating vision in the first place.
A group of radiography superintendents in a hospital specializing in the treatment of cancer had heavy
workloads treating patients themselves. They reported being unable to find time to supervise their team
members. Each of six superintendents reported treating ten patients per day on average. When asked how
many patients each of their five or six team colleagues were treating each day, they did not have that
information.
Someone suggested they give one of their own patients to each member of their team. This meant that they
would have five or six fewer patients each day. And this, in turn, would leave them time to ensure their
colleagues had their support and direct help at extra busy times. The new strategy increased productivity, and
also improved working relationships and enabled better supervision.
CHARACTERISTICS OF STRATEGIC THINKING
Natural strategic thinkers tend to be big-picture oriented and direction-setters. These skills come naturally to
some. And even if you don’t already have these skills, they can be learned.
What are some of the main characteristics of strategic thinking? It is conceptual, systems-oriented, directed
toward the future, and opportunistic in nature.
At its core, strategic thinking involves planning for the future. This means preparing strategies and conjuring
ideas that will both cope with changing environments and consider the various challenges that lie ahead. This
is strategic thinking in its forecasting or predictive form.
But there is another form of strategic thinking. A more powerful form of strategic thinking involves designing
the desired future, and planning to make it happen. In other words, instead of just planning for the future, you
aim to create the future!
Consider this example. A group of six outdoor education centers served the education system’s inner-city
schools in a major UK city. They were concerned that, with budget cuts, they were vulnerable to withdrawal of
funds and to closure. In fact, three other centers had already been closed in the previous three years.
A Senior Education Officer persuaded them that, although they had always been competitors, the centers
would be stronger if they joined forces, shared resources, and supported one another. This was a new
strategy!

One way to do this was to create a shared vision of how successful they could be. Guided through the visioning
process, they developed the skills to think strategically about many of their systems, procedures, and
operating plans.
FUTURE-BASING®
Rather than trying to predict the future, you can create it instead. One specific method you can use is one that
I invented myself called Future-basing®. It’s a powerful process that involves four stages: creating a vision,
deciding clearly how to achieve it, building operational plans, and generating a motivation to act. It encourages
creative thinking and the sharing of ideas. This in turn builds a strong sense of common purpose between
people who work on it together.
Future-basing® was learned by a commercial team in a military aircraft manufacturing and servicing
organization. It was part of a project team formation process, and they used this technique to design their
vision for a successful signing of an order on time and within budget. Because they were skilled at project
management, they quickly recognized how they could develop their strategy, including the steps they could
take and the deployment of their resources. The visioning process itself helped them to create a genuine sense
of common purpose. The contract was signed in time and within budget!
Future-basing® can be used to develop and focus team objectives, create new systems and procedures, and
resolve conflicts by thinking beyond them. It can help you build an organization-wide vision and cascade it
through and across the business. And then you can design, plan, and evaluate projects in order to make that
vision a reality.
So how can you use Future-basing® in practice? First, you stimulate imagination by ‘reviewing the future’. In
other words, you actually base yourself in the future when building your vision. A good way to do this is to
describe your future vision as if it is already real. The first step is to fix a date and time as the basis for your
vision, no matter how far ahead your goals lie.
You then create a frame for success. Think about what you are successful at. A helpful tip here is to generate a
series of short headings describing important success areas, based on how your team or organization analyzes
its operating environment. This enables you to focus attention on streams of achievement. Since you will
naturally choose success areas that are important to you and the organization, your values are automatically
built-in.
Third, develop the vision. Under each success heading, list specific achievements. These are things that have
been achieved in the imagined future. Phrase the achievements in the present tense and use positive terms. In
groups, members are invited to write their own desired achievements, and to personalize their descriptions
with ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘my’, ‘our’, and so on.
Did you realize that strategic thinking involves more than just the logical part of the brain? You need to pay
attention to your feelings too. So the fourth step is to note the evidence from your feelings. Now your
achievements have been realized in this ideal future, how good does it feel? Are you pleased, amazed,
excited, happy, relaxed, or energized?
Now that you know where you want to reach, the fifth step is to map out how we got to this ideal future.
Remaining in the imaginary future, people ‘remember’ that, for each achievement to be true, there must have
been at least one critical action or event which led them to here. Indeed, there may have been more than one
event. As they are ‘remembered’, these actions or events are mapped out onto a progress chart to create a
critical path plan or analysis.

The final step is to generate buy-in. One way to achieve buy-in is to have in the room as many stakeholders as
possible when the vision is being generated. You can also cascade Future-basing® across the organization. This
can be done by creating the central vision, and then training people in various divisions or departments to
create their own appropriate parts of the vision and action.
Finding metaphorical or symbolic ways to capture the vision and share it in story form is a way that leaders
inspire their people to become involved and make things happen.

NOTES

LESSON 5: MANAGING YOUR
TIME EFFECTIVELY

INTRODUCTION TO TIME MANAGEMENT
We all have the same amount of time each day. But how we use those twenty-four hours is up to us! Using
your time to best effect takes a bit of planning - and you need to be realistic about your own personal abilities
and capabilities.
Your time-management ability with your peers, and with internal and external customers, will have a direct
impact on people’s opinion about your credibility. Why is this? Well, for example, if you say ‘yes’ to everything,
then people will initially like you for your ‘can-do attitude’ and willingness to assist. But what if you actually
can’t do everything that you promise? Over time, people will come to the conclusion that you can do nothing
effectively at all, as you are always overwhelmed.
The first and most important thing to remember about effective time management is that you have to defend
your time. Otherwise, others will waste it for you!
To ensure you can use your time effectively, you should be realistic about a number of things before you
commit to completing any task. First of all, think about what you can and cannot achieve within a normal day.
And also consider your own skills and knowledge. Are they sufficient for you to complete the tasks?
What is your personal commitment to the timeframe? Don’t forget to include the time required for planning,
resourcing, completion, and review. And remember to take into account your own need to commute, eat,
sleep, and have family time.
When thinking about the time needed to complete a task, you also need to consider the other people on your
team. Are they equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge? Will they work faster or slower than you?
Do you have to check their work? Do they have to check your work?
And consider the wider work environment. Think about the hidden agendas in the workplace. What’s high
priority to you might be low priority to others!
One of the biggest time management challenges you face is effectively dealing with people who make requests
on your time. You can use a few useful guidelines to help you respond to these requests. First of all, don’t
apologize for saying ‘no’. And face-to-face, always use a slow, calm voice when replying to people. If you’re
replying via email, use as few words as possible.
Before you reply, make sure you understand what you’re being asked. Listen, paraphrase, and empathize with
any request. Get to the root of the perceived problem as soon as possible.
However you decide to respond, always explain yourself clearly and simply. Repeat your answer several times
if necessary, using the same language. And use depersonalized language like 'The situation is...' rather than 'I
think...' Avoid turning the situation into a potential personal conflict.
Remember, even if you've already said ‘yes’, you can change your mind and then say ‘no’ if your situation
changes.
When it comes to time management, people often say “I don’t have the time" or "I can’t find the time.” Now,
you could argue that people need to ‘make the time’ for important tasks. However, you have to do more than
that. You should instead re-imagine the task in question, and ask yourself, "How important is it for me to
complete this task?"

This is where priorities come into play. You may find that you cannot make the time to complete a work task,
but you can find the time to go online and spend time checking out hotels and flights for your next vacation.
What this shows is that you are not prioritizing the available time in your life. If you need the time, you will
find the time. But, to do this, you need to prioritize the task that you need to complete.
BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT
You probably instinctively know that it makes sense to manage your time. But what are the actual benefits of
effective time management?
Well, think about it. How do you feel when you think you don’t have enough time? Stressed out, or even
panicked! But knowing what has to be done, when, and by whom, allows you to experience calmness. You feel
in control of your time and your tasks. In addition, you open yourself up to new ideas and challenges in work.
When you’re in control of your time, you’re better able to defend your time against those who would
knowingly waste if for you. In fact, you begin to get a reputation as the person who gets stuff done. People
admire how you manage your time and succeed with your tasks. This, in turn, means you are better positioned
to seek promotion.
This positive reputation has other benefits too. For example, peers like to work with you, because you are
successful in the workplace.
And think about the personal benefits. Because you are calmer, you sleep better and are easier to be around.
You have high energy, and your personal and workplace relationships improve.
With good time management, you get more done in less time. This, in turn, gives you more free time, and
helps you focus on what is important, and not just on what seems to be urgent. You can then put your freed-
up time to good use, such as further training and learning, or other steps to develop your career. All these
benefits also improve your overall well-being.
PRIORITIZING TASKS AND SETTING GOALS
Managing time effectively involves prioritizing tasks and setting goals. In order to do this, you first need to be
able to distinguish between what is important and what is urgent.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the former general and president of the United States, devised the ‘Eisenhower
Decision Matrix’. It was later refined and popularized by Stephen Covey in his book The 7 Habits of Highly
Effective People.
Eisenhower said, “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”
We react to ‘urgent’ tasks and ‘important’ tasks in different ways. We face urgent tasks in a reactive mode.
This mode tends to make us negative, hurried, and most of all defensive. If something is urgent, we feel we
need to do it now.
We face important tasks, on the other hand, in a responsive mode. This mode makes us rational, composed,
and open to new opportunities. Our important tasks are what contribute to our long-term values, goals, and
mission.
There is a difference between what is urgent and what is important. However, most people fall into the trap of
believing that all urgent activities are also important.

In our modern ‘always-on’ world, we can get overwhelmed by the sense that everything is urgent and must be
done immediately. As the media theorist Douglas Rushkoff claims, we are currently experiencing 'present
shock'. In other words, “we live in a continuous, always-on ‘now’” and lose our sense of long-term narrative
and direction.
This causes us to fall into silos of stress, fatigue, and breakdown. Over time, we are unable to accurately see
and assess our priorities.
Covey refined Eisenhower’s Decision Matrix into four quadrants.
Quadrant 1 consists of tasks that are urgent and important. These include crises, deadlines, and urgent
problems.
Quadrant 2 consists of tasks that are important, but not urgent. These include relationships, planning, and
recreation.
In Quadrant 3, we find tasks that are urgent, but not important. These might include interruptions and
meetings, and simple but urgent activities.
And finally, Quadrant 4 consists of tasks that are neither urgent nor important. These include time wasters,
pleasant activities, and trivia.
As you can imagine, you should be focusing on Quadrant 1, the realm of urgent and important tasks. These
tasks require our immediate attention and go towards our long-term goals.

Let’s dive into each quadrant a bit more. Examples of items in Quadrant 1 include feeling obliged to respond
within 24 hours to an email received or tasks not completed due to issues outside your control. Paying your
rent or mortgage if you have missed the payment date would be a Quadrant 1 task.
With careful planning, you can reduce the sense of urgency. For example, you could work on your Annual
Report for a short maximum time period every day, instead of leaving it until the week before publication to
begin. This helps you move some Quadrant 1 tasks into Quadrant 2.
According to Covey, the ideal is to be able to spend most of your time on important tasks without that stressful
sense of urgency. This is Quadrant 2. These are tasks without a deadline that help you achieve your goals.
These tasks center around relationship building (in work and at home), planning for the future (medium to
long term), and personal recreation (such as hobbies or studying). To operate effectively in Quadrant 2, you
need to accept that there is never a ‘right time’ to do something. You can’t wait around for the ‘right time’,
you must live and plan your life to succeed.
Next is Quadrant 3, where we find tasks that are urgent, but not important. These are the tasks that do require
action now, but that are not actually critical to the achievement of our goals. Often, tasks end up in your
Quadrant 3 because of the actions of others. They are prioritizing their work over yours.
Examples of Quadrant 3 tasks include making and taking phone calls, responding to social media, and dealing
with colleagues approaching your desk. Emails can also fall into this quadrant, if you find it hard to distinguish
between the urgent and the important.
According to Covey, people spend most of their time focused on Quadrant 3 tasks, while thinking they are
actually working in Quadrant 1. In other words, they are working on tasks that are not really as important as
they think they are.
In Quadrant 3, while you may be responding the needs of others, you feel good about your involvement in
these tasks. But this does not mean that you are getting stuff done. You may be feeling good marking items off
your list, but you also realize that you are not making any progress in your own long-term goals. Quadrant 3
can be personally frustrating.
Finally, we come to Quadrant 4, where we find tasks that are neither urgent nor important. These tasks do not
help you achieve your short- or long-term goals. Example include surfing the web or browsing TV and social
media. Obviously, your professional career and work-life-balance would suffer if you spent all of your time,
energy, and focus in Quadrant 4. However, this quadrant is of some value, as it allows you work on tasks that
help you relax and decompress.
So how does all this talk of quadrants help you more effectively manage your time? You need to understand
the distinction between urgency and importance. Start to objectively filter and prioritize what is important
over what is merely urgent. Deciding which tasks are actioned in which quadrant requires constant vigilance,
discipline, and honesty.
Consider this example. Every month you have a system in place to pay a major bill, such as your rent or
mortgage. Then this becomes a Quadrant 2 task, because it is important, but not urgent. You’ve put in place a
plan whereby your salary is paid into your bank account, and from there the lender draws down an agreed
amount at the same time each month.
What happens if this system fails because you did not have enough funds in your account to cover the
payment? Then this important task suddenly becomes urgent too! If urgent and immediate action is not taken,

there may be extreme consequences. It is much better to plan to have a systemized payment in place within
Quadrant 2.
Once you have filtered and prioritized your tasks, you can set goals to help you achieve them. Regardless of
where you work, goals give you direction and purpose to steer your daily activities to success.
Here’s another example. Suppose you decide you are going to drive to Martina’s house. But you don’t know
where Martina lives. Your plan is to drive around until you recognize her house. This sounds like a workable
strategy. However, it could take decades to find Martina’s house, and even then you would have to be very,
very lucky to find it.
Believe it or not, this style of thinking is commonly found in many companies. Although they might not leave
success at the mercy of pure chance, many companies have a similar lack of clarity about their destination and
how long it will take to get there.
Consider this statement: “We're going to be the biggest provider of widgets in Europe.” That’s a worthy goal,
of course. But what do you actually have to do to become the biggest? Like driving to Martina’s house, such
statements of intent are going to be impossible to achieve unless an appropriate roadmap is created.
To help you achieve your goals, follow these best practices. First, write down your goals. Talking them out
won’t work. By using pen and paper, rather than an electronic device, it takes longer – and this is a good thing,
as the slower pace allows you to clearly visualize your goals and lodge them in your subconscious mind as the
first step.
Second, dig into each goal, and list and specify the details. This includes the when, who, how many, cost,
colors, and so on. The more specific you can be, the more information your mind has to work with to achieve
your goals.
Third, tick off the individual specifics as you achieve them. This will give you a more accurate picture of your
journey to date, and of what comes next.
Fourth, make sure your goals are realistic. Can you really do this? Do you need assistance? What will it cost?
How long will it take? Imagine that your goal is to become a millionaire within a year. That’s great! But if you
currently earn 50,000 dollars per year, your goal isn’t realistic, is it?
And finally, begin with the end in mind. Start with your destination, and work backwards from there to define
the steps of your roadmap.
SAVING AND CREATING TIME
What strategies can you use to save - and thereby create extra - time?
One useful strategy is to set time limits and use the Pareto Principle. This was named after the Italian
economist Vilfredo Pareto in 1895. Pareto noticed that 80% of Italy’s wealth belonged to only 20% of the
population. He discovered that nearly all economic activity was subject to his principle. In business today,
Pareto’s 80/20 rule can be applied to learn how to prioritize your tasks: by days, weeks, and months.
This principle suggests that only two out of ten items on a to-do list will be worth more than the other eight
items grouped together. In other words, 20% of their tasks are as valuable as the other 80% combined.
Ironically, people tend to procrastinate on the 10% to 20% of tasks which are valuable to their success, and
instead focus on the remaining 80%, which have very little bearing on their success.

According to time management guru, Brian Tracey: “The rule for this is: resist the temptation to clear up small
things first.” If you start your day working on low-value tasks, you will soon develop the habit of always
starting and working on low-value tasks. It’s better to complete the hardest, most important, task of your day
first. Schedule your recurring tasks within the day.
Another useful strategy is to create a task list. This will enable you to become motivated about the task, get
organized, delegate, and set milestones. Begin by listing your tasks and sub-tasks. Aim to break up the larger
tasks into sub-tasks, so that the individual or even the team is not suddenly overwhelmed with work.
When creating tasks, be detailed, involve the entire team, and keep the timeline very much to the fore.
Remember which people and processes worked together in the past and those that did not. Sort your tasks
into priority, and allocate responsibility accordingly.
Using colors will help you to quickly scan your task list: for example, red for ‘must do’ tasks; yellow for tasks
that you should do if you have the time; and green for low-priority tasks that you can postpone or delegate.
Finally, tick off tasks as you complete them. This will help to motivate you and give you a sense of progress.
A third strategy is to plan ahead, strategically and realistically. Enlist the strategic thinking of others.
A fourth strategy is delegation. This is an important tool for using others’ actions to help you complete your
tasks. Before delegating, ask yourself the question: Is this task suitable for delegation, or would it be better to
carry it out yourself?
So how can you delegate successfully? First, select the individual or team. You should delegate and ask a team
to make its own decisions, bearing in mind that team’s abilities. You can use a rising scale of levels of
delegated freedom when working with your team.
Second, assess ability. When delegating a task, consider your instructions to the other person. Do they have
the necessary skills and experience to get the job done? Do they need task-specific training?
Third, make it clear why you are delegating the task. Imagine if I were to approach you and state that there
was a very important task that I wanted you to complete. I might say that there was no-one else with your
skill-set who could do it, and that most importantly I trust you to complete this task for me. Doesn’t that
become an extremely powerful motivation for you?
Fourth, in advance, confer and agree on what the person requires to complete the delegated task. Discuss and
agree what is required to get the job done. Consider resources, people available to assist, equipment,
additional assistance, and so on.
Fifth, state required results. Clarify understanding by getting feedback from the other person. How will you
jointly measure this task to completion?
Sixth, confirm deadlines. Ensure the person being delegated to understands what you want done, by when,
and to what level. Also, if they have any issues or are unsure, ask the person to approach you. Make sure you
are both in agreement at the beginning as to what is expected.
Seventh, frequently communicate. It is up to you to inform this person's peers of the task they have been
delegated, especially if there are internal politics to be considered. In the early stages of the delegation,
arrange frequent check-ins, which can diminish in frequency as the project progresses. Just prior to
completion, arrange a further series of check-ins.

And finally, feedback on results. After the task has been completed, all stakeholders must be briefed on
performance and if results were achieved. Also, all issues arising must be addressed. Accept the failures, thank
the person, and ensure they receive positive credit for their effort.
So that’s delegation. What other techniques can you use to manage your time? A fifth strategy is to batch your
tasks. Despite what you might think, there’s nothing more unproductive than multitasking! Trying to do many
different things at the same time – and getting none of them fully completed – is not a good habit. According
to time management guru Brian Tracey in his book Eat That Frog!: “It’s estimated that the tendency to start
and stop a task – to pick it up, put it down, and come back to it – can increase the time necessary to complete
that task by as much as 500 percent.”
To avoid this negative ‘pick it up, put it down’ behavior, try to batch your tasks. By batching all of your tasks
together, you enable your brain to reach peak proficiency and focus on only one task at a time. For example,
write all of your emails as a batch or make all of your phone calls as a batch. By batching, you improve your
workflow.
A final strategy is to avoid procrastinating. Often, the main reason for procrastinating about important tasks is
that they appear so large and difficult when you first approach them.
Have you heard of the Salami Method? This is where you can ‘slice’ the task down to size. And then, by
completing one slice at a time, you are steadily eating away at the whole project. How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time!
ELIMINATING PERSONAL TIME STEALERS
Let's now identify some personal time stealers - and how you can eliminate them!
One common time stealer is poor internal communication. You can combat this by setting up out-of-office
replies on email accounts and setting up call forwarding.
Are you guilty of excessive viewing of email? A good tip is to set specific times for viewing email. This could be
first thing in the morning, just before lunch, just after lunch, and just before you go home in the evening.
Interruptions from personal and electronic sources can steal a lot of time. To eliminate electronic
interruptions, turn off all non-essential notifications on your desktop and mobile handset. And to deal with
personal interruptions, close your office door. If you stand up when people approach you, it sends out a clear
signal that you’re keen to get back to work.
Arguably one of the most common time stealers is meetings. How can you deal with them? Do not attend a
meeting if you are not going to contribute or be asked a question. Ensure there is an agenda and a time limit.
Procrastination occurs when you get stuck at the start of a task. If starting a task is a problem, don’t start at
the beginning, just start anywhere! Once you start working, you develop a sense of forward momentum and a
feeling of accomplishment.
Distractions can steal a lot of your time. So keep your office environment and desk free from clutter.
Perfectionism can also lead to lost time. Learn to do tasks faster. Learn to speed-read.
Lack of planning is another problem. Make a realistic plan for your day. Ensure your objectives, priorities, and
goals are clear. Automate your diary.

Do you regard traveling as wasted time? Try to complete small tasks while travelling.
You may be your own worst enemy. For example, do you suffer from lack of self-discipline? Get yourself to
take action regardless of your emotional state.
Stress and fatigue can sap away your time. So ensure you have adequate rest. Take a vacation to re-charge,
and work on achieving a work-life balance.
Do you find yourself constantly fighting fires at work? Try to pre-empt potential problems. Build time into
schedules to cater for unforeseen events.
Indecision can waste a lot of your time, and other people’s too. Learn to make clear and well-informed
decisions.
Finally, delegate tasks where you can to suitably qualified personnel.
Once you are aware of your worst time stealers, you can take steps to tackle them!

NOTES

LESSON 6: THE ART OF
COMMUNICATION AND
PERSUASION

WHY GOOD COMMUNICATION MATTERS
Have you ever realized that we operate on communication autopilot each and every day? Think about it! You
cannot not communicate. Even when you’re silent, everything you do with your body sends a message. When
you think you are doing nothing, you are still sending signals.
So obviously, we communicate with other people every day. However, to become a really good communicator,
like with any skill, you have to practice it. Being seen, being heard, and being understood are not givens. You
have to work hard to ensure that you are sending the correct message, and that it is understood.
Communication serves five major functions. We use it to express feelings. We use it to inform and to influence.
Sometimes we communicate simply to meet social expectations. In other words, people expect us to talk! And
we sometimes communicate in order to imagine, whether for ourselves or to inspire greater creativity in
others. And to do any of these things effectively, it follows that we need to communicate effectively.
Effective communication is particularly important in the workplace. It can bring real benefits, such as reducing
unnecessary competition within departments. It also helps employees work together more harmoniously. This
in turn results in more productive teams. And that leads to an enhanced service for customers.
In the workplace, you are often judged on how effectively you communicate with others and how you project
yourself to the people around you. This involves a lot more than simply being careful with the words you
speak.
As well as watching your words, you need to pay attention to your nonverbal cues and gestures. These can
make or break relationships and may have a significant impact on your success. So, to enhance your
effectiveness as a communicator, ensure you pay particular attention to a number of key nonverbal cues.
First of all, check your posture. A poor or slouching posture exudes indifference or carelessness. It tells the
other person that you’re really not very interested in what they’re saying. And if you speak with a poor
posture, you can undermine what you’re trying to say. At worst, your posture will distract the listener. To be
perceived as confident, you must stand tall. It gives the outward appearance of credibility, strength, and
vitality.
Second, try to be in sync with the person you’re communicating with. This doesn’t mean that you have to
imitate them! However, remember that, when we like someone, we naturally match and mirror their voice,
tone, tempo, body posture, and movements. This helps to establish a good rapport with the other person. And
if you don’t ‘move in sync’ with your teammates, it can make you look like you're not interested in them, are
not a team player, or, in extreme cases, that you are lying. You are marking yourself out as being different
from them.
Third, use your face and body to maximum effect. Have you ever communicated with someone who stood
rigid with a poker face while they were talking? Even if they are telling you how enthusiastic they are about
their project, their body gives off the message that they don’t really care, even if this isn’t the case. So when
someone is talking to you, be sure to give them physical as well as verbal feedback. If you don’t give feedback
physically, people think you don’t care, that you’re stuck up, or a host of other negative attributes.
The fourth cue is related to that. Have you ever had a situation where a person’s words say one thing, but their
body says something else entirely? Perhaps they’re trying to tell you how calm and in control they are, while
they fidget and twitch and nervously glance around them. You get confused by the mixed messages.

So make sure you match your verbal and nonverbal messages. Don’t say, “Yeah, that sounds great” in a
monotone voice, while you cross your arms and roll your eyes. Speak enthusiastically and lean forward to
show how engaged you are with the idea.
The final cue is your smile. Now, you don’t have to walk around all day with a great, big grin on your face. But,
at the same time, don’t under-estimate the power of a smile! Smiling demonstrates confidence, openness,
warmth, and energy. It also sets off the mirror neurons in your listener, instructing them to smile back.
However, don’t be accused of being a ‘perm-a-grinner’. If you smile too often, you might be perceived as
insincere and misleading. Find a suitable balance.
Even if you do manage to control your nonverbal cues, there will be situations when communication is
difficult. For example, when you’re communicating with a client or your boss, or when making an important
speech or presentation, it's natural to sometimes feel uncomfortable, awkward, or nervous.
The most common negative physical reactions are ‘butterflies’ in your stomach, trembling or shaking, and a
warbling voice. Although they can feel unpleasant, these are actually natural physical reactions to stressful
situations. But bear in mind that they are merely short-term physical feelings. They are only temporary and
last from a number of seconds to no more than a few minutes – maximum.
Don't view them as negative. This is not your body going into lock-down because you are anxious or nervous.
Instead, your body is simply gearing up to work at peak performance. So although you may be pumped full of
adrenalin, have the shakes, and feel sick in your stomach, view all of these as signs that your body is ready to
give you the very best performance it possibly can for you to deliver a knock-out presentation, win over that
client, or whatever.
So get out there and practice your communication skills. Smile at and talk to strangers. Practice making a
presentation. Lead a team in a project. Coach or mentor a colleague. All these activities, with practice, can
enhance your skills and make you a better communicator!
DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
Perhaps the most obvious way that you communicate is by speaking. However, you also communicate by the
signals you send and receive each day through a multitude of nuances, gestures, and expressions. While these
actions are voluntary, they are not always conscious. Indeed, we occasionally send and receive communication
signals without even being aware that we are doing so. This can lead to disconnects or misleading messages.
However, this problem is also an opportunity because addressing these signals is the key to effective
communication. In other words, if we can train ourselves to be aware of the signals we are constantly sending,
then we can align our messages to what it is that we really want to say. And then our communication is no
longer accidental and vague, but purposeful.
There are five types of communication to consider in the modern workplace: listening, visual communication,
verbal communication, non-verbal communication, and written communication. Understanding these different
communication styles and paying attention to which styles our teammates and our boss gravitate toward can
improve our interpersonal skills, build trust, and help us get more done with less frustration.
Let’s consider listening first. When we think of communication, we often forget that all communication begins
with listening! We listen to what is being said and what is not being said. Listening effectively involves active
listening. This is a vital component of the communication model because if we cannot listen to the colleague or

client sitting across from us, we cannot actively and effectively engage with them. Learn to listen as the basis
of all good communication.
The second type is visual communication. This conveys ideas and information in forms that can be seen. As you
can imagine, this includes a broad spectrum of methods. Common methods include signs, drawings, graphic
design, advertising, animations, and electronic resources. Have you ever considered why visual communication
is so very effective? It’s because the human mind processes information in images. So it’s worth remembering
that most people respond more quickly to visual images than to text.
The next type of communication is verbal communication. This is probably what most people think of when
they think about communication. Verbal communication occurs face to face, over the telephone, or in a social
media context via Skype or Zoom, and so on. Remember, however, that it is not just about the words used. It is
also about the complexity of those words and how we thread them together to create an all-encompassing
message. Pay particular attention to the intonation – including the pitch, tone, and cadence – used while
speaking.
Here are some tips for effective verbal communication. First, silence is good if it’s a natural contemplative
pause in communication. Comfortable silences can enhance a conversation or diffuse tension. Also, use
confident language, speak slowly and clearly, and aim to avoid filler words such as ‘um’, ‘uh.’ Ask questions to
clarify and show interest. And seek common ground, even in conflict. Try to identify a shared interest with
your conversation partner. Be sure to be prepared by doing research and knowing your subject. Think of the
worst question you can be asked and know the answer.
Also, when necessary, use a verbal bridge to change subject. For example, bring up another topic to subtly
shift the focus. You might say, “The important thing to remember is…” Be self-aware during an important or
stressful conversation, by relaxing and acting normally – though remaining professional. And remember that,
while words are important, when speaking face-to-face they cannot be separated from non-verbal
communication.
And this brings us nicely to the fourth type of communication: non-verbal communication. The physical
message that we project through our body while we speak often says more than the actual words we use!
Non-verbal communication includes facial expressions, body gestures, posture, eye contact, hand movements,
and touch.
For example, if you’re engaged in a conversation with a decision maker about your cost-saving idea, pay
attention to both their words and their non-verbal communication. They might say that they agree with your
idea. However, their non-verbal cues – such as avoiding eye contact, rapid blinking, or feet direction – may
indicate the exact opposite! So, when it comes to body language, pay attention, observe, and trust your
intuition.
The fifth type of communication is written communication. Pay attention to this because poor writing skills
often lead to confusion and embarrassment or even potential legal involvement. A golden rule in written
communications in our digital age is to remember that your message will always be there and will be stored
forever. So take care with your words!
In all written workplace communications, remember that poorly written messages and a sloppy or lazy style
reflect badly on you and your organization. Ask yourself, “Is this message one that I am comfortable being
connected with forever?”

STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Every day, you interact with your colleagues and clients. But how could you make these interactions more
effective? Consider using these tried-and-tested strategies to improve your own communication skills.
First, pause for effect. Pausing is especially useful if a conflict situation arises from what you have said. A pause
allows things to cool. And the silence means you don’t say anything that may inflame the situation.
Long pauses happen in tense negotiations when the first person to speak is usually judged as being the ‘loser.’
The second strategy is to use silence to regain control. If you are speaking at a meeting and people are
becoming distracted from listening to you and your message, try this very subtle trick. When you are speaking,
look directly at the person who is now on their mobile phone or in conversation with another person. And
then suddenly stop speaking. The person otherwise engaged is now aware that a change has occurred, and
where there was noise, now there is silence. So they turn their head to face the silence. You can then meet
their face with a smile or a verbal request to put their phone away and tune back into the meeting.
However, don’t do this too often, as there is a risk that you could appear passive-aggressive!
The third strategy is to learn to listen. By truly listening to another person and viewing them with interest and
curiosity, you will substantially increase the impact of your shared communication rapport.
Active listening is a four-step process. First, truly listen to the person and be seen to physically listen. Cues
include eye contact, face and torso in alignment, nodding your head and the occasional non-verbal ‘uh-huh’.
Second, feed-back the content and feeling and your understanding of the person’s words. And then confirm
you heard the person correctly. And finally, ask a relevant follow-up question to further clarify your
understanding of their situation.
The fourth strategy is to observe body language. Do we observe enough of the signals we are being sent by
other people? Probably not! When communicating with others, it is helpful to observe the other person –
really observe the other person. Break down their bodies into specific areas requiring your constant focus.
Study their eyes. If they are glancing upwards, it means they are thinking. Are they smiling? Is it spontaneous
or forced? Real or not? And gaze at the face. Can they maintain a ‘face’ gaze without nervously turning away?
Also watch for hand signals. For example, hidden hands, such as in pockets, is regarded as deceitful. If they are
touching their mouth, it can indicate uncertainty. What about their blinking rate? It increases if stressed. And
touching the mouth while blinking is regarded as a strong indication of telling lies.
Check their proximity. Are they too close or not close enough? Are their arms folded? Folded arms with a smile
signals a confident and relaxed attitude. But without a smile, folded arms can seem hostile.
Observe the head movement. A slow nod shows interest, but a fast nod displays disinterest. And also observe
the feet. If a person is talking to you while their feet are pointing away, it indicates a desire to leave.
Let’s consider the fifth strategy now. This is to ask questions. If you are having a difficult conversation, or are in
a conflict situation, asking a short yet impactful question can be particularly effective.

For example, if someone mentions AI, you could ask, “When you say ‘AI’ in this context, what exactly do you
mean?” Using the word 'context' acts as a brake on the conversation, as the recipient of your conversation
pauses to consider the context – the situation, perspective, or circumstance – in which they are referring to AI.
If the conflict is particularly serious, ask your question but without mentioning the particular subject of
contention.
Asking a specific question will get you a specific answer. However, being intentionally vague followed by a
pause, and then waiting, will allow you to gain much more information. Make your question ‘open-ended’ but
with a pause and wait. For example, “Can you help me to understand why you feel that way?” Or “Help me
understand why you think I am not doing my job properly.” Or “Can you explain to me why you talked across
me at the last meeting?” After asking questions like these, pause and wait.
The sixth strategy is to be prepared – especially for unpredictable behavior. With normal everyday behavior,
we can predict a great deal. We say 'hello' and we expect a response. Unpredictable behavior calls for more
'defensive behavior', akin to the driving behavior known as 'defensive driving'.
Anticipation is your key tool in 'defensive driving'. For example, you need to react quickly when a car changes
lanes without warning. Anticipation is also your key tool in managing unpredictable behavior. Prepare a set of
proven responses to a series of unpredictable behaviors. Rehearse your reactions. Trust your intuition because
it is usually right. Indeed, it may be the only warning you'll get that something is not quite as it should be.
The next strategy is to use action words and verbs. When you use action words, you sound assertive and
confident. You spur others to action. They are instant in their impact and are of themselves an immediate call
to action. Use verbs that have a clear meaning, such as ‘evaluate’, ‘manage’, and ‘advise’. These immediately
make clear what action is taking place.
The eighth strategy is to match another’s perspective. This enables you to accurately understand their mindset
and the environmental conditions that led them there. Your aim is to acquire a perspective and not just stick
to your own certain perspective.
Another strategy is to avoid making others feel manipulated or pressured. Be aware of the signals you are
sending – and any negative signals that you are receiving. To be successful at effective and influential
communications, you need to understand the four human behaviors: aggressive, passive, passive-aggressive,
and assertive.
Let’s begin with aggressive people. They aim to satisfy their own needs first, rather than other people’s needs.
Passive people, on the other hand, put other people’s needs before their own. Passive-aggressive people find
it difficult to assert themselves directly, and may often feel powerless or build up resentment against others.
Assertive people, however, feel good about themselves and help others to feel good too.
Good communicators are assertive. They practice and hone their communication skills by approaching each
task and having the courage and self-confidence to discuss, argue, and negotiate about anything. They are not
afraid to express their opinion and advocate for it. However, they do not manipulate or pressurize people.
They are simply being assertive.
A tenth strategy is to use negative assertion or negative enquiry. While communicating, being negative is
considered to be a bad thing. However, there are two very powerful types of verbal negativity that can be
applied to very positive effect in your communications. These are negative assertion and negative enquiry.

Let’s look at negative assertion first. This skill enables you to state something negative about yourself, and own
your weaknesses and mistakes assertively.
Suppose someone makes a fair criticism of you, or perhaps your company. For example, “Your product is too
expensive.” You could agree with them and say, “Yes, it is indeed expensive.” You are being honest and could
benefit from this criticism. The critic in turn knows that you have listened and are considering what they have
said.
However, you can take this further. You could agree with the statement and then turn it into a positive. For
example, you might say, “Yes, it is expensive. However, it is a best-in-class product and has been proven to last
longer than competitor products.” This is very powerful and, as often as not, your critic will be temporarily
disarmed by this response.
Next, what is negative enquiry? This skill allows you to invite criticism, so that you can find out precisely why
someone is angry, displeased, or critical of something you have said or done. It is called negative enquiry
because you ask specific questions which could result in you hearing something negative about yourself.
For example, you might ask, “How can I improve my performance at meetings?” or “What do you not like
about my work?” The good news is that with this approach, you will soon be in a position where you have
more knowledge and can respond more accurately to the given situation.
Both of these types of verbal negativity are useful tools to have in your communication toolkit when honing
your communication skills.
BASIC PERSUASION SKILLS
Being persuasive is a valuable asset. You may have heard the phrase "People buy people". You might think it
sounds like a cliché, but it is also very accurate. After all, if people like and trust you, they will listen to you,
follow your advice, and accept your explanations.
You can enhance your persuasive skills by understanding and harnessing your own personal power and skill
set. Remember, for example, you have accumulated a great amount of knowledge of your role and sector. You
hold opinions gained through your experience. Do not put yourself down by forgetting this!
When trying to persuade people, remember that, basically, there are three human behaviors: aggressive,
passive, and assertive. Let’s consider each one in turn.
Aggressive people aim to satisfy their own needs, never those of others. Passive people, on the other hand,
meet other people's needs, but rarely their own. And finally, assertive people feel good about themselves and
help others to feel good too.
We can dig into these a bit more by thinking about examples of these behaviors in action. Let’s look at passive
people first. Passive people are usually afraid to speak up and, instead, agree with others, despite their own
feelings. They often speak softly, slouch, and withdraw. They might even isolate themselves from groups.
What about aggressive people? They tend to interrupt and 'talk over' others, speaking loudly. They usually
stand rigidly, crossing their arms and invading others' personal space. They often try to control groups. Also,
they consider their own feelings ahead of other people’s feelings.

Finally, let’s look at assertive people. They usually speak openly and use a conversational tone. They tend to
relax and adopt an open posture and expressions. They like to participate in groups and keep to the point.
They are good at seeing the other person’s point of view.
Generally, we prefer to deal with assertive people. The assertive personality is the best one for persuasion. By
practicing assertiveness skills, you can learn how to discuss, argue, and negotiate. You will then find that your
persuasion skills are vastly improved too!
So, how can you actually be persuasive in your day-to-day interactions? First, be assertive from the outset.
Clearly define and state your needs or expectations, by using ‘I’ statements instead of ‘you’ statements. When
you have to, say ‘no’ respectfully and always give a reason for doing so.
Next, consider the actual language you use. For example, you could say “This might be a good way of
proceeding, let me explain why” instead of “You should do this.” Don’t forget non-verbal language too. Ensure
your facial expressions and body language match your message. Otherwise, people will question your honesty!
Speaking of honesty, be honest about potential barriers to you persuading someone. Your recipients may have
differences in perception or just poor listening skills. They may have a tendency to jump to conclusions or use
stereotypes. Also consider their level of knowledge, possible lack of interest, lack of confidence, or difficulties
with self-expression.
Make sure you take into account the whole situation. Are emotions running high? Are powerful personalities
clashing? Perhaps there are time constraints, or language and cultural differences.
If you want to succeed at effective persuasion, keep all parties well-informed and be truthful, even when the
news is bad.
A simple persuasion tool in getting faster buy-in is not to ask people what it is that they should be doing.
Asking this can lead to varying answers at varying levels of understanding, and also possible confusion.
It is better to pose your own specific questions, so as to gain your own specific answers. Ideally, propose a
selection of ideas yourself and then have people or stakeholders choose from your selection.
Let’s consider some examples. Suppose you notice another person and compliment them on their clothing,
ability, skill, or something else. You are making the effort and it is usually well received. That’s all good!
But have you considered how you should react when you receive a compliment? Actually, most people get this
wrong. When complimented, most recipients tend to refute the compliment. For example, someone might say
to you, “I love your coat! It is a lovely color and it really suits you.” And you might reply, “Oh, this old thing? I
found it at the back of the wardrobe. And it’s not really that nice of a color.”
Now, what’s gone wrong here? When someone offers you a compliment, they are sharing a personal belief
with you. They are telling you what they think. And if you brush off the compliment, you ruin the sentiment, by
telling them that they are wrong. This response can cause a communications disconnect. It makes the
exchange uncomfortable, and could even be seen as being rude. It is far better to say a simple ‘thank you’ and
accept the compliment.
Consider Oscar recipients. They never say, “Thank you, but you shouldn’t have.” Instead they say, “Thank you
for believing in me and my work with this award.” This assertive response persuades the 7,000 members of
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to feel happy that they made the correct decision!

PERSUADING AN AUDIENCE
Suppose you are putting a proposal of some kind to an audience. It could be a sales pitch to customers or a
project-briefing to peers. How can you persuade the audience to accept your proposal? Here are some
effective techniques!
First, grab their attention from the off! You might think it’s good to begin by introducing your pitch or proposal
with your own name, title, and that of your company. And this is all perfectly proper and polite, of course. But
it’s not effective at persuading an audience to listen to you! Grab the attention of your audience from the
outset. Open with a surprising statistic or a thought-provoking anecdote, for example.
Equally important is the closing out of your pitch or proposal. Remember, the last thing you do or say is the
first thing they will remember. So make it memorable! Link your closing ‘grab’ back to your opening ‘grab’. You
could do this by reminding the audience of the same sentence, or near enough, that you used at the beginning
and close out with it. In this way, you link the start and finish neatly for your audience. Or you could close by
reiterating the significance of your opening statistic or anecdote.
A second useful technique is to remember that if people think you are trustworthy, you can be assertive and
persuasive with them. And, conversely, if you are assertive and persuasive, you can become trustworthy.
So how do you achieve this? You can begin by actively listening to the audience members when they speak to
you. View them with interest and curiosity. This will substantially increase the impact of your shared
communications.
Active listening is a four-step process. First, you must truly listen to the person speaking. You need to be
physically seen to listen. You can do this using eye contact, for example, or keeping your face and torso in
alignment, nodding your head, and using the occasional non-verbal ‘uh-huh’.
Second, feed back the content, feeling, and your understanding of the person’s words. This helps confirm to
them that you have received and understood their message.
And speaking of confirming things, the third step is to confirm you heard the person correctly. And the fourth,
and final, step is to ask a relevant follow-up question to further clarify your understanding of their situation.
Another effective technique is using pauses. Of course, you can use a logical or emotional approach,
depending on your audience. But the action that will have the maximum impact is having the courage to
pause.
Pause to give yourself the appearance of thinking about the answer to a question. Even if you already know
the answer, pause for a few seconds to give your answer more weight. Also, you can pause after making an
important point, and make eye contact with your audience while doing so.
How long should a pause be? Well, no shorter than two seconds and no longer than ten seconds, that’s a good
rule of thumb.
The fourth technique is to remember to be sincere and honest in all your communications. Bear in mind that
the audience will almost certainly be aware of any deceit on your part, especially if they begin a question and
answer session with you.
But how will they know you’re being insincere? How does this work in practice? There’s a very simple ‘tell’ that
gives you away. Did you know that adult humans tend to glance to their right when creating a feeling or

reassembling facts or thinking about something about which they are unsure? So, if you are unsure, you will do
this involuntarily, and the more tuned-in members of your audience will be aware that there is something
untoward or untruthful in your question responses! This, in turn, will obviously make you less persuasive.
MAXIMIZING THE IMPACT OF A PROPOSAL
How can you increase the impact of your proposals and pitches, and make it easier to win your audience over
to your way of thinking? There are three very effective techniques: triplication; copying VAK words and
phrases; and looking out for potential disconnects.
Let’s focus on triplication first. You can think of triplication as a way of linking the three corresponding parts of
any pitch or proposal. These three parts are, of course, the beginning, middle, and end.
So let’s first assume that every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. And let’s assume that the audience
needs to know at all times whereabouts you are in the triplication of learning. Which one of the three parts are
they in? It is up to you to guide them clearly and effectively at all times during your pitch or proposal.
You can help your audience remember what you say by using repetition. In other words, tell them, tell them
what you told them, and then tell them again.
The second technique is copying VAK words and phrases. Now, I know that your first question is going to be,
what does VAK mean? It stands for visual, auditory, or kinesthetic, and it refers to the words and phrases that
people use. Noticing these words and phrases, you can learn to notice how someone is thinking.
Let’s look at visual phrases first. Think of these as ‘see’ sensory phrases. Examples of these phrases are
‘appears to me’; ‘beyond a shadow of a doubt’; ‘clear cut’; ‘paint a picture’; and ‘see to it’. Notice how all these
phrases involve the use of sight?
Next, auditory. These are ‘hear' sensory phrases. Examples of these include ‘manner of speaking’; ‘clear as a
bell’; ‘call on’; ‘describe in detail’; and ‘to tell the truth’. In this case, all the phrases revolve around how
something sounds.
And finally, kinesthetic. There are ‘feel' sensory phrases. Examples of these include ‘boils down to’; ‘come to
grips with’; ‘firm foundations’; ‘lay cards on the table’; and ‘pull some strings’. In this case, notice how the
dominant sense is touch.
So how does all this help you to persuade someone? Well, if you pay close attention to someone using VAK
words or phrases, then you can copy their sensory phrases in your own speech. This will really ramp up the
rapport between you. Note that you are not making them like you or agree with you. You are simply increasing
the rapport between you. This should help to intensify your message, get your point across, and persuade
them.
The third effective technique is to look out for potential disconnects. It is not enough to simply listen to your
audience. You also need to pay attention to the signals you are receiving from their body language. You could
pay attention to the amount of eye contact you are (or are not) receiving, and the positions of your audience
at rest. However, what you really need to be focusing your powers of observation on are potential
disconnects.
A disconnect may occur when you are attempting to persuade an audience. It can take a number of forms. It
can occur whenever there is resistance, disagreement, or even conflict about what you are saying. These
reactions manifest themselves in a disconnect between you and your audience.

Consider what a disconnect might look like in practice. Suppose you are making a pitch to an audience. Up to
now in your pitch, you believe that this audience has been fairly receptive to what it is you are attempting to
persuade them to accept, buy, or consider. Everything seems to be going great!
At this stage, your audience is in something like a mini-trance, because they are comfortable and relaxed.
However, outside of their immediate conscious attention, all of their senses are on a kind of hyper-alert. This is
known as the ‘Unconscious Radar Scan Effect.’
Their senses are scanning their surroundings, testing for safety, and ready for a perceived threat. If you deliver
words of disconnect to your audience, your words will trigger in them the part of their brains called the
amygdala. It instantly responds to a perceived threat with the instinctive ‘fight or flight’ response. This could
result in a physical flinch or jump. It is this sudden physical movement that you should train yourself to take
notice off.
If you are lucky, the physical reaction will be obvious. The person in the audience - or the entire audience -
might throw up their arms and audibly blow air out of their cheeks. They might even stamp their feet loudly.
But, let’s face it, such an obvious reaction is highly unlikely!
Any physical reaction you notice will probably be much less obvious. For example, a slight movement in a chair
as people sit more upright, or make themselves more comfortable, or push their chairs away from the table,
are subtle reactions to look out for. Other signs include putting down a pen or, if standing, taking a small step
backwards. You might simply notice someone raising an eyebrow. Or you might even hear a non-verbal sound,
such as tutting, or a grunt.
The list is actually endless. The kind of reactions you will encounter all depend on the ingrained responses that
are hard-wired into each person. You need to get tuned-in to different responses and to be aware of the mere
suggestion of a physical movement among your audience.
And if you do spot a disconnect? Well, this is a chance to really impress your audience with your powers of
perception! So halt your pitch and go back to the point of disconnect. Then ask your audience some clarifying
questions and do your best to reassure them. This should help you to come across as both credible and
persuasive.
OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS
When pitching a proposal, you may encounter two types of objections. The first type are excuses not to go
ahead. And the second type are real objections or areas of mismatch. In fact, mismatch is often a better
description because the objection may simply be a misunderstanding, or a request for more information.
Both types of objection can be met and addressed by a technique called 'pre-handling', or handling the
objection before it is even raised. Early in the pitch, you should pre-handle any objections you are likely to
meet later on. Think of it as a pre-emptive strike. Suppose you pre-handle an excuse. The audience cannot
then use that excuse at the end of your pitch. If it is a real objection, and you discover it early on, you know
where you stand and what problem you have to solve.
A word of caution. Only pre-handle the obvious issues. Otherwise you are making things unnecessarily more
difficult.
Here are some examples of pre-handling. When discussing a delivery date for a project, you could ask, “When
do you want it delivered?" This pre-handles the excuse, "I won't need it for a few months yet, so let’s put it on
hold."

Suppose you are discussing a new product spec. You might say, “What exactly are you looking for?" This pre-
handles the objection: "It's not quite what I'm looking for."
You might be worried about how the board of directors will react. So you could say, “Will you be making this
decision alone?" This neatly pre-handles the objection, "I must put it before the board."
Perhaps the most difficult objections relate to price. Remember, people buy what they value. So, try to pre-
handle objections about price by building up the audience's judgment of value. The higher you can build their
opinion of the value and importance of their requirements early in the proposal, the easier it is for them to
accept your cost, timeline, and so on later on. Perhaps the biggest mistake people make is trying to match
price instead of selling superiority.
Handling and overcoming objections can be difficult. But remember that knowledge is power. Only if you have
the necessary knowledge can you take and make decisions, and overcome objections.
Add value if you can – but do not give anything away that may cost you. Give away a service over a product if
that is cost effective, or vice-versa.
Also, try to find common ground. Consider this example. I was coaching a senior manager in one of the ‘big
four’ professional services companies in Canary Wharf, in London. A potential client had been consulting all
four of these companies seeking assistance to implement a new piece of robotic software. Three of those he
approached told him it was an easy implementation, and that there would be a low-cost and a short
timeframe.
However, the professional services company I was working for had told him it would be a difficult
implementation due to technical issues that were solvable, but were going to be expensive and take twice the
time-estimates that the other three companies predicted.
I was meeting my coaching client in the reception of her building when we bumped into the potential client as
we walked onto the street. The potential client went straight away into the promises of low cost, no technical
issues arising, and short timeframes that the other companies had been promising. My coaching client
responded with the three elements of her original pitch: tech issues, costs, and timeframe.
She then paused and said, “My team and I will be with you every step of the way, even if we have to be in your
building until 2:00 am!” The response she received was somewhat bemused, as the potential client was
delighted at her assertive approach and her honest assessment of his situation.
And then she sealed the deal by saying, “And if it is 2:00 am, then we will buy the pizza!”
So I watched them both shake hands on a highly lucrative deal, because of finding common ground through
the promise to buy a late-night pizza.

NOTES


CDMP-10 - M7 - Professional Skills - STUDY NOTES

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PROFESSIONAL SKILLS FOR

SEO (SEARCH ENGINE

Professional Skills for Digital Marketers Copyright © 2023 digitalmarketinginstitute.com 1

INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................... 5

ROLE OF THE PROJECT MANAGER...................................................................................................................... 5

SEVEN-STEP FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGING PROJECTS ..................................................................................... 8

LESSON 2: AGILE THINKING ..................................................................................................... 12

INTRODUCTION TO AGILE THINKING ............................................................................................................... 13

USING THE 'TEST AND LEARN' APPROACH ....................................................................................................... 14

APPLYING THE AGILE CONCEPT OF MVP .......................................................................................................... 15

BENEFITS OF AGILE THINKING .......................................................................................................................... 17

LESSON 3: ENHANCING YOUR CREATIVITY .............................................................................. 19

GENERATING NEW IDEAS ................................................................................................................................. 20

REMOVING BARRIERS TO CREATIVITY .............................................................................................................. 21

PERSEVERING WHEN YOUR IDEAS FAIL ............................................................................................................ 22

LESSON 4: PROBLEM-SOLVING AND STRATEGIC THINKING .................................................... 25

APPROACHING PROBLEMS IN THE WORKPLACE .............................................................................................. 26

THE STAGES OF PROBLEM SOLVING ................................................................................................................ 27

SKILLS FOR EFFECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING ...................................................................................................... 29

UNDERSTANDING STRATEGIC THINKING ......................................................................................................... 31

BENEFITS OF STRATEGIC THINKING ................................................................................................................. 31

CHARACTERISTICS OF STRATEGIC THINKING ................................................................................................... 32

LESSON 5: MANAGING YOUR TIME EFFECTIVELY .................................................................... 36

INTRODUCTION TO TIME MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................ 37

BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT................................................................................................. 38

PRIORITIZING TASKS AND SETTING GOALS ...................................................................................................... 38

Professional Skills for Digital Marketers Copyright © 2023 digitalmarketinginstitute.com 2

ELIMINATING PERSONAL TIME STEALERS ........................................................................................................ 43

LESSON 6: THE ART OF COMMUNICATION AND PERSUASION ............................................... 46

WHY GOOD COMMUNICATION MATTERS ....................................................................................................... 47

DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMUNICATION ......................................................................................................... 48

STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION .............................................................................................. 50

BASIC PERSUASION SKILLS................................................................................................................................ 52

PERSUADING AN AUDIENCE ............................................................................................................................. 54

MAXIMIZING THE IMPACT OF A PROPOSAL ..................................................................................................... 55

OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS ............................................................................................................................. 56

Professional Skills for Digital Marketers Copyright © 2023 digitalmarketinginstitute.com 3

Professional Skills for Digital Marketers Copyright © 2023 digitalmarketinginstitute.com 4

Meet the brief with high quality output

So, to begin, what exactly is a project?

Fluid communication between stakeholders, marketers, clients, external suppliers, and so on

ROLE OF THE PROJECT MANAGER

Well, a project manager’s role involves carrying out a number of tasks.

Professional Skills for Digital Marketers Copyright © 2023 digitalmarketinginstitute.com 5

Professional Skills for Digital Marketers Copyright © 2023 digitalmarketinginstitute.com 6

Basic leadership skills include:

Here are some competencies that you should develop.

Professional Skills for Digital Marketers Copyright © 2023 digitalmarketinginstitute.com 7

SEVEN-STEP FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGING PROJECTS

The first step is to identify the project or campaign.

Step 2 is to write a project brief.

Professional Skills for Digital Marketers Copyright © 2023 digitalmarketinginstitute.com 8

Specific – The goal is tied to a specific number or well-defined objective.

Every goal you set should meet these criteria.

Step 4 is to get input from the team.

Professional Skills for Digital Marketers Copyright © 2023 digitalmarketinginstitute.com 9

Step 6 is to start the project.

Not surprisingly, the final step is to finish the project.

Professional Skills for Digital Marketers Copyright © 2023 digitalmarketinginstitute.com 10