Attitude or IQ: Which is more important?

When you come across people with those wonderful brains, we often have the notion that the word 'success' is connected to them without any doubt. But this idea will change after you read the latest report by the researches conducted by the Stanford University and this might also change your attitude.

The studies was conducted under the leadership of Carol Dweck who is a psychologist at the University and she has dedicated her life to the study of the attitude and its effect on the performance level on the individual. And recently, she along with her dedicated team has proved that the role played by attitude in forming success stories is much greater than the role played the IQ level.

Dweck after her years of studies broadly classified attitudes prevalent among people into two divisions, fixed mindset attitude and growth mindset.

The people with a fixed mindset tend to believe that they do not grow beyond their capacity. They don't have a hope to change and stay as they are. Such people when faced with a challenge in life, fail to face it confidently as they believe that the solution is beyond their capacity. They tend to become desperate and devastated.

On the other hand, people who have been found to possess a growth mindset have a wider outlook into life and its challenges. They believe strongly that every step into life is a way to make yourself better with effort. When compared to those with a fixed mindset, these people perform much better when faced with challenges as they consider each difficulty that they face as a new way to improve oneself.

On a basic thought, we all like to believe that simple capabilities like a smart character can provoke ones confidence level. This factor remains true till the path is smooth enough. The real determining factor of a person's confidence level is the way he reacts when faced with a challenge or setback in life. It is in the nature of people with a growth mindset to accept life's challenges with a smile.

Carol Dweck states in her report that the proper measure of success comes when a person faced failure in his life. The outlook towards failures, by a person with a growth mindset has been described every effectively in her report. Such people see failures as a new set of information while others see it as a put down. Failures are worked upon by people with a growth mindset and try to come up with a new set of ways to face the failure.

But there is still hope for people who are of the fixed mindset. Changes to the outlook towards challenges and basic attitude can help in developing into a growth mindset. Here we have put down some simple points that will help you change your mind into the mindset of a growth oriented successful person.

Never be helpless: There are several occasions in life when we feel helpless. This feeling comes to every person, but your attitude will determine how you take care of the emotion. There are two options that you come across on such a situation. You can either let the helplessness crawl over you and put you down or you can face it boldly and learn from it to move up in life. Success stories of several people around you would tell you that they would have never made up to what they are now if they had let helplessness take over them. Walt Disney, one of the pioneers of animation industry was pushed out of the Kansas City Star with a label of being lacking in imagination and ideas. Henry Ford faced 2 major car company failures before marking his name in the automobile industry with Ford Motors. The renowned TV star Oprah Winfrey was fired from her TV host job and she later touched the pinnacles of success. You wouldn't believe that Steven Spielberg was rejected several times consequently by the USC's Cinematic Arts School. Taking these people into consideration, we can make an evaluation of what might have happened if they did not have a growth mindset. Of course, they would have felt helpless and lost all hopes. They would not have been what they are today. The anthem of people with growth mindset is to look back at failures and bounce up with all force back again.

Passion: We all have passions in life and people who are passionate about what they do put in all efforts to pursue it. Talent can be a determining factor as one person can be more talented than the other. But if you are low in your talent, your passion can fill up that space for you. People who are vested in their passion will keep on with their struggle to reach the excellence level. The 5/25 technique advised by Warren Buffett can help people recognize their passion. First you can begin by creating a list of 25 things that capture your interest. The last 20 are mere distractions and the top 5 are the most passionate things in your life.

Ready to Step into Action: People of a growth mindset realize the basic truth that acting scared and out of tension can knock out the person drastically. They are able to act above their fear as they are ready to take actions and not because they are brave. With a growth mindset, one develops an empowered attitude towards life and they realize that every moment is perfect and the action has to be taken at the right time and waiting for the perfect moment is stupidity. With the action taken, all worries can be dumped and if faced with a failure due to the action, then that failure is taken as a positive lesson learnt.

Exceed Your Level: Strong people do not give up even on their very bad days. They remain forever inspired to go up a level or two everyday. There is small instance from the life of Bruce Lee. One of his pupils used to run 3 miles with him everyday. Being a striver, he wanted to run two miles more on a day. The person was tired and reverted by saying that he might die if he runs two more. Bruce urged him to do it and the pupil finished the 5 miles all tired and angry. When asked about his action, the reply given by Bruce Lee was inspiring.

Pulling out from something is near to death. There are never limits to your capacity and putting down limits will affect your whole life gradually. The flat lands are not the limits and one has to go beyond it to see success in life. Even if the strive to cross the level kills you there should be no limits set.

Every day, the strive should be to make oneself better and not worse.

Await the results of the efforts: With a constantly working mind, the people of a growth mindset are always ready to face failures, but the never fail to look forward at the results of the actions. When one looks forward to the results it works like a push factor increasing the motivation and keeping the person charged.

Adjust to Situations: Misfortunes and hardships are a common scenario and to change your attitude to that of a growth mindset, it is necessary to see such situations as a chance to improve rather than a drawback. When an empowered person is faced with an adversity, he effectively adjusts himself to the situation till positive results are obtained.

Stop Complaining: People with a growth mindset do not complain about situations and they work their way out of any kind of disadvantageous state. It is in the character of the fixed mindset person to complain.

Conclusion

The above list can help you change to a growth mindset by keeping note of all the small things that correspond to the above listed points and thus you can keep yourself on the right track to success.

Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas on the comments section as we all learn from each other.

Procurement Negotiator and Negotiation Skills Required

The process of negotiation involves several psychological aspects and through the last 30 years, scholars have tried to increase the knowledge about the underlying processes. The subjective emotions under play in a negotiation is mainly cognitive skills, sentiments, motivation, confidence, the power to influence and communicate directly. It can be described primarily as a skillful cooperation in an atmosphere of different ideas and interests coming into a different situation. The parties taking part in a negotiation will have different ideas, claims, and talents and they come together in a management scenario. The underlying reason for a talk is a matter of dispute between the parties involved, and they come together to reach a compromise on the issue of concern. The process if based on the notion that both the parties are ready to talk over the matter and come up with offers and return-offers. And eventually, the dispute is solved only when the parties agree over the proposals put forth.

The researches over the scholarly basis of negotiations can be dated back to 1947 when Von Neumann and Morgenstern conducted studies over how games affect the economic characteristics of humans. This was the origination work and from then on several descriptions and viewpoints were presented for the psychology of negotiations.

In spite of these descriptions, a negotiation involves some key elements, and there are at least two or even more than two opposing parties involved, their ideas form the base of the argument, and they present the alternatives towards the negotiation process and thus produces the final outcome.

“Negotiation is a necessity, a process, and an art.” - Gates, 2015

Several aspects make a business a success and the role of a right deal at the right time is inevitable for the same. In a corporate business, there arise issues between sections of the same grounds and with a good negotiator, he/she will be able to handle it tactically and take the business to great success. With a proper negotiation procedure, it is not just the solution that it evaluated, but the push factor to carry on the agreement details are also included. The profit level of the agreement will include several intermediate concerns like payment processing, terms and conditions, the quantity of work and the delivery of completed goods. So, to clearly define a negotiation as a successful one, it is required to plan efficiently. When there is a negotiation taking place over an acquisition procedure, the basic need is to get maximum profit, and this defines the specific values and numbers involved.

There are even cases where the negotiations over the product prices will take place before considering the quotations. This is true especially when there is a hike in prices. What is negotiated in a procurement process? The price is the primary matter of negotiation, and there are also other elements like discounts in bulk purchase, considerations over packaging charges, shipping reduction, and other applicable discounts. The idea that is conveyed through a negotiation process is not just to reduce the prices but to get the best value for the money spent. Only a talented and skillful person will be able to become a reputed acquisition manager and should be knowledgeable about the cost of the products and the profits to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the negotiators. So, basically, negotiation is a process that leads to a decision and involves various steps of organization, analysis, and evaluation.

What are the necessary skill requirements of a procurement negotiator? The requirement is to know the negotiation techniques. He should be to able to work out any issue, get feedback from labor associations, know the power of the opposite party, be able to talk mutually on home grounds, have a clear idea about the concessions and should be able to use the apt diversions when it is required to solve an issue. While closing agreement, the condition should be a mutual benefit for both the parties so that there is no compromise made over the quality or attention towards detail. Such an agreement will cause more harm than good. The need is to come to a win-win negotiation. Several purchase staffs take care of the quality of the final product, and it is the responsibility of the procurement officer to create a good rapt with these staff and inform them about the aims of the purchasing system so that they keep a close check on the delivery.

It is a rather difficult task for a business to look for an efficient procurement negotiator as the person should be qualified to take up the intricate responsibility of making all the deals which will be the foundation of the business enterprise. It is only the experience acquired over time that will improve the characteristic skills and traits of the procurement negotiator. A trait which is a common one found in all great negotiators is the ability to respond well and understand. When you look at all the great negotiators of all time, you can see that empathy has been the most prominent and base skills required for proper communication. This understanding helps the officer to understand the key factors and to focus on it to maintain the business identity. It will give the capability to understand the traits, aims, and morals of the opposite party and display patience to the agreement talks. This empathy shown by the negotiator will be considered back with utmost respect.

Honesty and integrity are other characteristics of a good acquisition negotiator so that the others believe in him while making agreements over the matter of concern. To bring in his integrity, the officer will have to follow the rules strictly, be truthful and stick to the agreement clauses without any external reminders. The final agreement reached should be fair, and the officer should take care that all dealings are handled fairly being beneficial for all people involved. When it comes to negotiations, it is a difficult factor to be fair but essential too so that the positive and responsible outlook of the negotiator are expressed and realized. A strong negotiator is the one who displays the level of dependency that people have vested upon him and accepts it proudly and takes the liability of his actions on himself. This trait of responsibility should be improved upon each step by accepting all challenges, big or small. The negotiator should be able to stand up to the goals put before him without backing off or acquiring any help whatsoever.

It is not necessary that all deals are successful or becomes a successful one. The power to hold on and move on gets the negotiator moving forward with challenges. A good negotiator will not shudder with a failure and will see it as an opportunity to improve oneself to come back with a bang with new offers and to put away the setbacks. The way to success is to keep striving without giving up.

Gikey and Green described that an excellent negotiator is one who has a remarkable personality and carries forward a better communication to come to a good agreement.

But any person with these personality traits cannot become a good procurement negotiator. The post of a purchase negotiator is open only to uniquely skilled individuals who stay above the others by developing their traits and present it in a refined manner. The inexperienced and unpolished features of a procurement officer can lead him to get tangled in talks with a better negotiator on the opposite side and thus fail in completing a successful deal. The trick is to be well prepared by acquiring all the information about the negotiator of the opposing party before the negotiation process starts so that they is no risk of getting caught off guard. A small talk can let an experienced person get a good lot of information about the style and traits of the other person. The major mistake is to make wrong presumptions when dealing with an agreement. Therefore it is necessary to improve the logical analysis and evaluate the other related factors so that the idea can be imparted to the client or the supplier.

By getting a proper logical plan, the negotiator will be able to have the presiding power over the meeting taking up all the communications in the path that he desires. Such a supervising position gives him the control over the meeting and lets him decide when the meeting should stop and even make a reschedule optimally if he wants to make a recheck over the notes of the agreement. Sometimes, a procurement negotiator works with a team and spreads out the roles among the team members to produce the best results.

The proper timing is another essential trait, and it is not the ability of the individual to know what to say, but to realize the best time to say it. There are several cases of negotiations gone berserk over the wrong timing of presentation, pushing the business into loss of huge sums of money. The worst timing is to negotiate after the agreement is reached or before the proposal as it creates a bad image about the company as a whole by not succumbing to the settlements. Unless you are keen on details, an experienced negotiator will easily get your weaker sections and utilize it against you. When you seem in doubt, the other negotiator will quickly pick up the discussion in his favor.

The department of procurement performs different functions for different company definitions. Depending on the precise definition, there are traits which will finally decide the success of the business. These features include several factors like moral values, honesty, awareness, management, observation, understanding, etc.

The responsibilities and skill sets do not come to closure without the mention of the risk management skills. The risks managed can be classified as legal, operational and commercial. Mutual agreements carry fewer risks and deals that end in a loss, or unreasonable ones can be riskier. Proper usage of risk management, time management, and the right decision can help avoid any risks. With a wrong decision, it affects all the people down the line who are waiting to finish their tasks.

The next duty of the procurement negotiator comes in after the successful realization of the agreement. The contract had to be managed properly and analyzed clause-by-clause, point-by-point. The negotiator should be well acquainted with the advancements in technology to gain a firm hold. This can be attained by attending conferences and keeping up to date with the advancements.

In the career of a negotiator, he will have to deal with several different kinds of deals, and they can be handled in a variety of ways. There no such specific set of traits that can make a negotiator perfect in all senses. In simple words, a good negotiator is one who puts on his best approach and provides the best solution at the proper timing.

Need Help Buying A Condo?

It is a dream of every other individual to move from a rental house to their own home, the easiest way to step in that direction is to buy a condo. But, there are several concerns over the purchase of a condominium as it is collectively owned. Buying a condo is not like the purchase of a house and there are several things that one must know before buying a condo.

Arranging a Loan

Loan lending organizations have different terms and conditions for condo buyers. Condos are considered different than single houses, and this is an issue for condo buyers. The Federal Housing Administration strictly implements these regulations before approving loans for condominiums.  FHA approved loans have a lower cost when compared to private lenders, and it is not very reasonable. To attain a loan backed by FHA for your condo purchase, it is required that the single proprietor own a minimum of 80 percent of the condos. Most of the condos are owned by several investors and getting an FHA-backed loan would be impossible. FHA also has a list of approved condos for loan dispersal, and you should confine your choice to those condos to avail the loan even if you have a perfect condo in consideration which does not come under the FHA list. With private lenders, they are not backed by the government and, above the high rates they also require down payments.

Know the Rules of the Condo

With several people staying in a condo, there are rules put into action to ensure proper functioning so that all people can live in harmony. Some condos have restrictions on owning pets. You should also check if you can independently rent out your condo in future if the need arises. There are quiet hours, rules over using the amenities and common spaces. Before you buy one, check all the rules and make sure that you are comfortable with it.

Condo Functioning Charges

The condominium common areas are managed by the condo association which includes the residents and owners. There are several common expenses like repairs which are levied from the people living in the community. You should try to know what are the charges and also understand the use of this money. The charges are levied on a monthly basis and most condos set aside one-third of the amount collected for emergency requirements. Knowing this is necessary because it is required for the association to have backup funds so that when there is structural damage, the association should be able to use this amount. The association will have a clear presentation of income and expenses, and you can ideally ask for this and also check if it is running on debts or is broken.

Check the Meeting Minutes

Condo associations conduct meetings, and they will have a minutes record. You can ask to see it before making the final decision to own the apartment. The minutes will have all information regarding any legal proceedings, issues with tenants, basic culture of the community, know about a particular problem maker and many other details. If you notice any concerns, you can ideally rethink about purchasing. You can also be aware of the atmosphere inside the building before moving in.

Building Maintenance

A condo as mentioned before has common areas, and it is required by the association to hire staff to keep the common areas clean. In case the condo you are planning to buy does not have a proper maintenance system, it is very likely to have a reduced value in the real estate market in future. Without proper maintenance, it can also be irritating to live in such a community.

Some condos consider only the maintenance of the common areas. Any issues that take place inside your house will have to be handled by the owner. Check the level of maintenance support provided for internal issues like a pipe breakage.