GoHuman Blog

Small businesses need sales and revenues fast.  A grand strategy for brand development, followed by big, broad marketing campaigns, is a luxury most can’t afford.  Trying to tackle such meta-problems with limited time and resources means going out of business. 

In today’s society, technology is a necessary component of business yet many businesses are hesitant to take on the additional expense.  As technology progresses, older systems need updating. Implementing new technology within a business, offers many great opportunities for your company to develop a distinct advantage in a highly competitive market. Many businesses have recognized this potential and are integrating the latest technologies into the workplace with a strategic mindset.

To utilize technology to its fullest potential, upgrading can be viewed as an excellent chance to increase your competitive advantage. Several of the more traditional business models are changing with the integration of technology and your company can creatively make use of upgrades, to achieve success from the benefits digital innovation offers.

Advantages New Technology Offers:

Waste Reduction-leads to lower costs and higher profitability.

Reduced Workforce- fewer positions may be required, when previous tasks performed by personnel become automated. If the existing number of employees is minimal already, attrition may be the next step.

Increased Profitability-due to increased efficiencies, which reduces expenditures, new technology allows jobs to be completed quicker and more accurately, to allow a steady cash flow.

Increased Productivity-among team members coupled with the introduction and implementation of new technology, creates additional efficiencies and overall production.

Higher Income-the greater the business profits, the greater opportunities there are for employees to increase their income, via bonuses or raises.

Improved Communications-allows information to be sent, received and responded to instantaneously, whether through e-mail, computer networks and cell phone use. Long distance communication of documents and information can be passed along much more rapidly. Remote based employees have immediate access to staff from cell phones, web cams, video conferencing and laptop use.

Competitive Advantage-allows a business to reduce product/service costs, while increasing profit levels, without compromising customer service.

Disadvantages of New Technology:

Management’s Decision-to upgrade with new technology can be extremely difficult. Do you buy now or wait for the next technological advance? The decision to do so can and usually is an expensive one. What’s more, the integration of and training required among the workforce, is a whole other task in its self.

Regular Maintenance-of new technology will be required to keep efficiencies flowing. More importantly, questions that must be answered in advance are, if the machinery on a production line breaks down, will this cease all production? What alternatives are available that can be immediately implemented, if this occurs?

Costs-will be reduced if integrated properly and therefore, the decision is whether or not the extra capital is available to purchase the new technology.

Additional Time-will be required for training and if you have to reorganize the workplace to accommodate the new technology. This is an important decision that must be taken into consideration, if your business works within tight deadlines. Furthermore, any IT issues that occur will need to be resolved quickly, to ensure the transition is as seamless as possible.

Abuse-of the technology made available to employees on their job can be excessive and very costly to a company, i.e. constant instant messaging, personal use of social media, non-work related emailing, inappropriate use of information on the web.

The key to deciding whether or not to upgrade your business with new technology lies in your ability to fully understand the culture of your workplace. This is an important aspect of managing any workplace. The culture of your organization is critical in hiring and retaining effective employees. Culture involves how workers feel about the organization and how they feel about their jobs. Create an environment that’s aligned with the company’s overall objectives and mission. A culture where employees not only trust their leaders, but are willing to follow them, even when they’re uncertain about change.

One of the greatest challenges we as humans find ourselves continuously struggling with in life is our constant desire for something more or better than what we already have. Rather than focusing on how blessed we are to have the things we do or be grateful for the family and friends in our lives, we allow our thinking to gravitate towards the things we don’t have or feel is missing in our lives. With negative thinking like that, we’re quick to become frustrated and dissatisfied in every aspect of our lives. Paradoxically, these are the same things we once considered as having brought a great deal of joy and fulfillment into our lives.

The most valuable learning experience I’ve gained through coaching clients has been discovering that the things that frustrate us the most about someone else, are usually the very same things we need to work on in our own lives. With that being said, I decided to start paying more attention to my own ways of thinking. To no surprise, I discovered that I carry many of the same internal tendencies as my clients do and would find myself focusing more on what wasn’t working in my life, rather than what was working. How do we overcome this way of thinking? By living a life with purpose and intent. We need to consciously recognize and acknowledge that if we’re not getting the results we want in life or being the person we want to be, the only way to a getting a different outcome is by taking action and making a change. And that change starts and ends with a deliberate shift in our way of thinking.

The Law of Attraction says what we consistently focus on is what we attract into our lives. If we continue focusing on the aspects of our lives that dissatisfy us, then in all likely-hood, we’re certain to attract more dissatisfaction within our lives. The key to changing this thought pattern is to notice that whenever our mind begins attaching itself to a particular, unsettling topic, we train ourselves to shift the focus on the positive aspects of that topic, rather than the negative ones. This requires us to make a deliberate and conscious choice in that moment, to look for what’s right (and not wrong) in any situation. When you find yourself thinking about something negative, stop, then look for a way to see matters in a more positive light. In doing so, you’ll shift your way of thinking towards gratitude and away from discontentment.

Habits that aren’t serving us or our situation can be broken instantaneously, by replacing them with something positive- that is serving. Make no mistake, your mind will find any and every opportunity to lure you back into the old, negative thought patterns and through repetition and retraining your brain to think more positively, you’ll find yourself becoming more appreciative for what you do have, which will inherently, create more positive things into your life.

“Once you replace the negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.”

~Willie Nelson

The 8 Week Wellness program I’ve been participating is officially over…..or is it? Actually, it’s not over, but rather an evolving process to a new way of living.

My weight loss goal was 25lbs. My total loss was 10lbs. To many people, this may seem hardly like an accomplishment. For me, it’s nothing short of a victory or pure success! The mindset I adapted going into the program and the commitment I had to trying something different was key. My intent was never to focus on the outcome goal, but rather to focus my energies on the activities, changes and new habits I could incorporate into my daily routine that would lead me towards getting a “different result-” that would get me closer to the overall objective. What’s more, I’m still losing weight and in fact, have lost another 2lbs. this week.

The initial problem isn’t getting people to set goals, it’s getting them to set the right kind of goals; ones that provide direction and enhance motivation. As many of us learn from past New Year’s resolutions, it’s much easier to set a goal than to actually follow through with it. Very seldom are weight loss goals set realistically in terms of commitment, difficulty, evaluation of progress to achieve the goals. We need instruction on setting effective goals and creating a program that allows us to works towards them.

Effectively, my initial goal entering into this program was 25lbs. which would be considered the “outcome goal” I wanted to achieve. More important was determining how I was going to get there. What new activities could I implement each day, aka- “process goals,” that would allow me to work towards the end result, aka- “outcome goal.” Setting process goals serve as a roadmap to meet the outcome goal. Process goals tell you what you need to do or skills you need to develop along the way to achieve the outcome goal.

Focusing On The Process

When setting goals, many people only set outcome goals and then are easily discouraged a week into the process, when they don’t begin seeing immediate results occur. Eventually, they become so fixated on the outcome goal and how distant and unrealistic it seems, they give up, shortly after having just started. But the most critical part to the entire process is to first establish process goals. Process goals relate to how you prepare for your performance. For example, with an outcome goal of running a 10k under 40 minutes, a process goal could be in practice to achieve a negative split. Process goals are important because they help you stay focused on the process of your performance. In addition, process goals are more within your control than outcome goals. With a process goal, you can focus on incorporating correct techniques and new habits into your daily routine, similar to focusing on a fluid back swinging golf, rather than hitting par. By setting appropriate process goals, you put yourself in alignment and on the path to achieving your desired outcome goal.

The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, learn about them or even seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them ~Denis Waitley

Habits aren’t broken. They’re replaced.  My whole purpose for participating in an 8 Week Wellness Program wasn’t to just break the habit of eating unhealthy foods; I wanted to create a new system that I liked better and would give me the results I wanted. Otherwise what have I replaced?

Always look for something better to replace your habit with. Subconsciously your habit is a survival mechanism.  At some level you think the habit is serving you. In order to let go of the subconscious clinging to the habit, you want to show your subconscious mind that the new system you’ve introduced into your life is even better! Then you can let go.

That’s the law of creation.  Create a replacement for the habit you don’t like.  Don’t react to the habit by fighting it off.  The law of creation is a law that can kick in at any stage when you’re ready to shift your mind. From breaking to replacing.

A mind shift is a shift in your thinking and allowing new ideas to be entertained. Most of us are limited by our current status or resources and therefore, we tend to limit our thoughts, in terms of our results, as well as the beliefs we have about ourselves. When we allow ourselves to shift into a new paradigm, we begin seeing and creating new things in our lives.

“When you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.”

~Jim Rohn

Allow the power of MIND SHIFT move you to the next level of your life!

Most people wonder what the easiest way is to do just about everything we do in life. We agonize on how to best start something new because we don’t want to fail. Diets are no exception.

To a beginner, it may seem as though the Paleo diet severely restricts your food choice, which it does. What’s more, when you think of it as restricting the processed and nutrient deprived foods that are around us every day, it comes down to the approach and choices we make.

While on my own wellness journey, through the Paleo diet, I’ve learned a couple key points that have been instrumental in the success I’ve experienced, thus far. The first is to pre-plan and know ahead of time, what you’re going to eat, “before” getting hungry. Once the hunger sets in, we seem to lose all sense of rationalization and want to eat the first thing that crosses our path. The second point I’ve adopted into my new eating routine is to always over-prepare. Make plenty of food so there are leftovers for the next couple of days. This makes absolute sense and a whole lot less work in the kitchen, especially during the week.

If you’re considering a new diet to attempt and not one to just lose a few quick pounds, I highly encourage you to do the Paleo diet. What’s unique about this diet is although the weight loss IS a gradual, work in progress, so is the transition and adjustment from bad eating habits to adopting good and healthy ones into our lives. Furthermore, as with most things we do in life, the objective is to seek and achieve long-term results that will allow us to live a longer, happier and healthier life and not a short term, quick fix that most often backfires, leaving us unhealthier and less fit than before we started the diet.

I wanted to share with you a few of the recognizable changes I’ve experienced since having started the Paleo diet:

• Effortless weight loss
• Better digestion
• More stamina
• General well-being
• Way more energy
• Less needed sleep (although you should sleep all you can)
• Less or no more allergic reactions to environmental triggers (yayJ!)
• More physical endurance
• Less or no cravings for sugary foods (big “yay,” again!)

Check it out for yourself: http://drchadedwards.com/176/exactly-what-is-the-paleo-diet/

”Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

~Maria Robinson

1. Decide the role your website will play in supporting your sales and marketing process. Do you want the site to be used by prospects just to learn more about your product or service or do you want the site to generate leads and even process sales?
2. Map out the pages you need and any “functionality”, such as forms you want visitors to fill out, “contact us” email forms, video or audio elements.
3. Write your content for each page, include a page name, page title and a brief description of the page for SEO (search engine optimization). When you are writing your copy for each page think of how you can incorporate keywords or phrases that people might be searching for related to the page topic and your company. This will help you increase the ranking and visibility of your site.
4. Decide who will host your site. You can use www.redspotdomains.com to set up a basic hosting package and register your site. Or you may want to use a service that has complete content management built in so you can make changes and get analytics from your site.
5. Register your domain name. Choose one that is as simple and obviously connected to your company or product as possible. In order to get your website online you need a domain name and hosting. 
These are two separate items but it makes things easier if you register your domain and hosting at the same place.
6. Always make sure you register and pay for your domain name yourself. DO NOT allow a web designer or marketing company to register it for you.  If they do, they legally own the domain name. Register your domain for as long as you can (you can choose annual or multi-year registrations).  Search engines look upon long term registrants favorably. Register as many extensions (.com, .net, .uk, etc.) as you feel you may need for the long term as well. You may want to expand your company and may need to own these domains, so no one else registers them.
7. Hire a web designer or developer or marketing company to help you build the site. Web design is a field where you can pay as little as $20 per hour or $100s per hour. You need to match your budget with your design needs. Depending on your business, product or service, and the type of business or consumer you are selling to, design is often not as important as content (the information and options for response) that you have on your site.
8. We advise clients to work first, and hardest, on the content of your site, rather than spend thousands on expensive design. Ask the designer you select what they will charge you to make updates to the site. Also consider a simple Content Management System so you or your marketing team can make basic updates and add pages yourself.
9. Have your site built and have a demo site put online for you to test. Go through and make sure all your links and forms are functioning correctly before you “go live”.
10. Once your site is live, make sure all your staff, suppliers, partners and clients are aware of it. Do a promotion and send them links to instantly get connected. Start working on how to generate more traffic, so you will be moved up in the rankings on search engines (Google®, Yahoo®, etc).

Four weeks down, and a lifetime to go! I just need to put it out there how great I’m feeling since having changed my eating habits. Once I entered adulthood, I never paid much attention to nutritional value. Make no mistake, when I was growing up, we were allowed McDonald’s once a week and that was pretty much it. Otherwise, my mom cooked homemade meals every night of the week. With that being said, I didn’t like vegetables then and I have yet to acquire much of a taste for them, now.

The greatest transition I’ve gone through over these past four weeks is the change in my physical well being. I wake up in the morning with more energy. I no longer feel lethargic during the day. And after eating a meal, I don’t feel like immediately going to take a nap. I’ve also noticed my mind is clearer, which allows me to focus better throughout the days. What’s more, this is usually peak season for my allergies to get completely out of control and (knock on wood) I’ve yet to experience some of the  usual symptoms that typically occur for me, this time of year.

The best part about this wellness program is the gradual process of changing old, bad eating habits and replacing them with new, good ones. This is equally true for the weight loss I’m experiencing. At this stage of the game, many people might be discouraged about how slow it’s taking for the weight to drop. However, just the other day, I suddenly realized I was using the fourth notch of my belt-loop, as opposed to the usual second.

During each weekly consultation with the dr., she gives me a new recipe to try out, which usually contains a few added ingredients that are more in alignment with the kinds of foods I enjoy.

What’s next? Dr. Angela is prepping me for “life after the wellness program.” Part of last week’s assignment was to provide her with a list of all the foods I’ve enjoyed in the past, i.e. tacos, fries, burgers, pizza, chocolate, etc. With that in mind, she’s going to show me how I can still have the best of both worlds, while still maintaining a healthy diet. What more could a person ask for? There actually is a way to have your cake and eat it too, without all the guilt ridden feelings that usually come afterwards. Literally!

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.

~John Quincy Adams

In week 3 of my 8 Week Wellness Journey, the biggest difference in how my body is responding to eating healthier and more frequently is my loss of appetite. That, frequent bouts of lightheadedness and some difficulty sleeping. But my energy level has definitely improved, big time! No sluggishness when waking up or after eating. No feeling of exhaustion.

I described these symptoms to my Dr. last week, who wasn’t surprised.  She explained that most likely my body was going through a detoxification process. When poisoning substances are drawn out of the body, detoxification symptoms accompany with the flush of toxins. It’s a healthy part of the process, but it is important to learn how to manage them.

I read about how to handle the detox process and one management technique is to consume healthy whole foods with a high fat content, i.e. nuts, avocados, seeds, etc. It’s also important to get a good night’s sleep, since the body is working harder than usual to cleanse itself and therefore, more rest is required. Daily water consumption of 2 liters is also recommended, to give the body a vehicle for flushing out the toxins.

You may wonder if this is really all worth it; and for some people, perhaps not. For me, it was absolutely necessary! A body needs fuel to run properly and more importantly, the right kind of fuel, just as a car requires the correct type of octane fuel. Good nutritional habits and a balanced diet aren’t developed in one day, nor destroyed by one unbalanced meal. Healthy eating means a lifestyle of making choices, decisions, planning and knowing how to make quick and smart choices when you haven’t planned.

My motivation comes from thinking about the person I am becoming, as toxic obstructions are removed from within. When health and energy are flowing around our system, we’re able to become the best person we can be. New ideas, plans and talents that were previously unknown, will reveal themselves, as the journey continues.

FYI- I asked to NOT be weighed this past week for no other reason than I didn’t want to be encouraged or discouraged if I had lost more/less than what I anticipated. My focus is on the actions I take today, that will lead me to the results I want.

As I blog about the start of week 2 of 8 eight of my wellness journey, I finish the last slice of a bowl of oranges.  I can’t recall a single breakfast of “cut up oranges”, but I am actually full after eating them! Who would have thought something so great tasting and good for you would also satisfy those morning hunger pains?

Let’s back up to last Friday’s first week progress visit.  Dr. Angela asked numerous questions and in particular wanted to know if I noticed any significant changes in energy level. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel much different, but my mindset was a completely different story. I let her know that every morning I’d wake up in a completely happy mood ! Why? Because for the first time in several years, the first thoughts to run through my head weren’t “Why did I eat all that junk food yesterday and then a snack at 10pm?” To not have those lingering, daunting feelings or thoughts be the first thing I think of when waking up, is quite empowering.

Next, was the weigh-in. Stepping onto the scale, I specifically told the Dr.  I’d intended on closing my eyes and didn’t want to know the results, because I wanted to give the diet one more week, to ensure I wouldn’t get discouraged, if I hadn’t lost anything yet.  As I stepped off and was putting my shoes back on, the Dr. had a huge smile on her face (my guess is she doesn’t play poker) and could barely contain herself. She asked if I wanted her to tell me the results and before I even had a chance to respond, she said, “You lost 5lbs.!” Maybe not a big deal to most people; however, for me, she might as well have told me I lost 30lbs. What that meant to me was that I had finally found a different system to follow that WAS giving me the results I had wanted for so very long, but had failed to accomplish in the past.

What’s on the agenda for week two? Changing up my fitness routine to consist of more high intense/low impact workouts and muscle building, to strengthen resistance and expanding my eating habits and cooking skills. For those of you who know or don’t know my cooking skills, this in and of itself, is a huge taking on for me. To put it mildly, the only appliance I’m familiar with in the kitchen, is the microwave. But I’m up for the challenge!

A George Patton quote sums it all up, “Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.”