Unlock The Potential of Your Team

Before we can unlock human potential, we need to know what it is. Human potentialis defined as an unexposed ability and hidden power. For a rock
seated on a cliff, it has a dormant ability, a reserved power, but for you and I, it simply means unused success, hidden talents and capped capability.

To unlock human potential is to do what you can do but have yet to do it. We must also operate within the laws of human potential:

1. Every great thing starts potentially with an idea.

There is so much you can draw from our human brains, but yet we are told, the majority of us use only 3% of the brain power. What do you see when you are given an apple seed? One apple tree or an orchard of apple trees!

"Instant gratification is a close friend of laziness."

2. Nothing potentially great is ever instant.

With the advance in technology, most of us have become so used to the idea of instant gratification. We want things done yesterday, that’s how impatient we have become. One apple seed can take years before turning into an apple orchard. Likewise, unlocking human potential takes time too. Have you been realistic about the time you can reach your goals?

3. Your potential is released by hard work.

Instant gratification is a close friend of laziness. When you meet someone who seeks after instant gratification, you are most likely looking at a lazy person as well. Too many people have a misguided idea of the difference between working smarter and working harder. The best policy to adopt, in order to unlock the human potential in you, is to work hard smartly.

4. To maximize your potential, you need to use your talent and ability to its full capacity.

If you are in a new relationship or new business and if you have yet to experience disappointment, discouragement, tiredness, sense of wanting to give up, you are probably not using your talent and ability to its full capacity!

5. Constant comparison with others can harm your human potential.

Your biggest competition hides within you. Your business competitors can pose no threat to you if you have already conquered yourself. Take stock of what you have already achieved. Give an honest assessment of yourself or ask a close business associate or your spouse to do that.

6. Past experiences can harm your human potential.

Are you carrying too much emotional baggage in your life? Any ordinary human can look at their past and see failures, but it takes an extraordinary human to look at them and see valuable lessons. What you see about your past can determine how much potential you can unlock.

7. Potential is maximized when you invest in others

Are you sharing your potential? The highest form of learning happens when you learn to teach. I know I am most alert and committed when I am accountable to others. The greatest ROI in life is not achieved with stocks and shares but with the people whom you have invested time with to share your potential.

Avoiding the Alice Syndrome

Over the years much has been said about the importance of planning goals in terms of sales, job performance, employee development, and revenue and yes profitability.
My observation is however, few individuals evaluate these terms in context of their career plan. I’m not talking about the short term here. Rather, 5+ years out. Over the last 3 years, I consistently ask prospective employees what they want to be doing 5 years from now. Consistent responses are:

• I want to be working for a good company that provides opportunities
  
• I have not really thought about this so I’m not sure
  
• I want to have a good job in a stable company
  
• I can’t think that far into the future
  

To be sure, these are desires worth having. However, they do not address what I believe is a major failing on the part of employees and in large part managers and supervisors. Namely, in conjunction with the employee developing a Career Development Plan inclusive of a “employee development” component. At this point, you may be asking yourself what’s the difference? This is a fair question and often times one that can be confusing. The employee development component of the career plan should focus on the development of skills for the current job; career development should focus on the development of skills for future jobs.

I like to take this concept a step farther and with prospective employees ask them to focus on the “end game”. Specifically, what do they want to do with the rest of their life and how are they going to get there. You see, I happen to think to effectively develop a career plan; you have to start at the end and work backwards.

In order to do the type of career planning I’m talking about one has to do a great deal of introspection, ask the difficult “so what” question at every decision point. Maybe that’s why so few individuals actually get this done.

It’s at this point I usually remind them of the story of Alice and Wonderland and the Cheshire cat “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to walk from here? Asked Alice. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” responded the cat. “I don’t much care where,” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t much matter which way you walk,” replied the cat. This one simple statement says it all. If one is unsure of where one is going, (does not have a plan) take the next road for any path will do.

ASA Research: Staffing Jobs to Signal Recession End

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from a news release being sent today to business and labor reporters in the top 100 markets across the nation.

A sustained upturn in staffing industry employment would signal the end of the current recession and suggest that overall nonfarm employment would begin to grow about three months later, according to research released today by the American Staffing Association.

Staffing industry employment has long been considered a popular indicator of current economic conditions and a precursor of overall employment trends. Recent ASA research confirmed this conventional wisdom, but added important nuance.

Staffing industry employment is a strong coincident economic indicator when the economy is emerging from a recession.
Staffing industry employment is a leading indicator for nonfarm employment—by about three months when the economy is emerging from a recession.
"This is the first time that an upswing in staffing jobs has been so closely linked with economic recovery," says ASA vice president Steve Berchem, CSP. A paper describing the research is available on the ASA Web site, americanstaffing.net.

The ASA Staffing Index provides the only near-real time measure of weekly changes in staffing jobs. The index has been improved so that, beginning June 23, there will be only a nine-day lag between the close of a payroll week and the reporting of the index results.

The Secret to Finding a Great Job During a Recession

Bob was recently laid off from his job of 10 years. Hitting the panic button, he called a friend who told him that he should check out a staffing company. Bob immediately blurted, “I don't want to be a temp! I have skills and experience!” This common misperception of staffing as filling warm bodies in chairs to answer phones or file all day is a thing of the past. Working with PrideStaff may be the best (and easiest) thing you can do to make it through a layoff or search for a job during tough economic times.

WHY SHOULD YOU WORK WITH PRIDESTAFF?

1. IT'S FREE!

2. GET ACCESS TO MORE JOBS.
Staffing and recruiting firms are often responsible for hiring for job opportunities that may not be advertised to the general public.

3. GET YOUR FOOT IN THE DOOR.
When companies are not hiring full-time employees, they may still be hiring temporary and contract workers. If you get hired as a temporary employee, you'll get your foot in the door with a company that may decide to keep you on full-time.

4. GET EXPERT JOB SEARCH ADVICE.
When you work with a recruiter or staffing company, such as PrideStaff, you get practical advice on the best ways to find employment. Your staffing partner can help you put together your resume, brush up on interviewing skills, and even help you negotiate your salary once you've been offered a job. Best of all, your staffing representative can really help shorten your job search by proactively marketing your skills to the right employers.

5. MAKE YOURSELF MORE MARKETABLE.
Staffing gives you a great opportunity to enhance your skills. Through temporary work, you can gain on-the-job experience and improve your resume. Also, many staffing firms offer free training on popular computer software applications.

6. SHORTEN YOUR JOB SEARCH.
Right now, employers are getting flooded with resumes. A staffing company can help you get your resume to the top of the pile. And as an added bonus, your staffing representative can directly contact many hiring managers, so you'll get faster feedback.



With all the challenges of the current economy, you need every advantage you can get. Working with the right staffing partner will help you build your skills, present yourself in the best possible manner, and find a great job in less time. All staffing firms believe in one common goal--to help you and employers find a match in long-term employment. Consider PrideStaff as a partner through these challenging economic times.