Whether you have a large or small goal you wish to accomplish, if you make it a point to do five things every day geared toward that goal, you’ll find yourself reaching the finish line faster than you could’ve imagined.

So what turns a merely pleasant road trip into a super road trip? Planning!

Sure – it’s nice to come upon the unexpected. But when you take the time to do a little research – looking up restaurants, roadside curiosities and museums on the internet or in books – your experience will be that much more rewarding. Now you won’t miss the must-sees, the best burgers, the most awe-inspiring views. And the anticipation involved in the planning is nearly as much fun as the trip itself!

This type of planning – while perhaps not quite as much fun – can help make your workday a lot more pleasant and productive. By taking the time to plan out your day – making lists and prioritizing projects – you’ll be much less likely to miss those important tasks or run out of the time to accomplish them.

Brian Tracy offers a number of excellent time management courses on TTN’s LMS, which go into detail about effective ways to plan your day, whether it’s a workday, a weekend day, or a day for hitting the road!

For an organization that is either new to training, or hasn’t offered it in years there is a simple and successful marketing tool I suggest.

Offer free food, and they will come.

“Lunch and learns” are a great way to jump start your training culture. With many of my clients, setting aside one day a month to provide pizza and a training topic have changed the way their employees view training, and the way their company offers it.

And the ROI is impressive as well. In a recent Lunch and Earn with a sales staff team, productivity within the group increased 180% in the first day! That’s an impressive amount, for a few well spent dollars.

Branding.  This seems to be the new buzzword.  There are many blogs, forums, websites, and articles etc. that are focusing their campaign on helping you brand yourself and/or your company. It is a marketing strategy.  The focus isn’t to get your target market to choose you over your competitors, but to have your target market think that you are the ONLY solution to their needs.  About.com posted an article, by Laura Lake, stating the objectives that a good brand will achieve are:

• Delivering the message clearly
• Confirming your credibility
• Connecting emotionally with your target market
• Motivate your buyer
• User loyalty

Wow!  That is exactly what Steve Jobs does time after time.  If we think outside the box of “having to be in the marketing department to do this”, you can apply these points to just about anything.  Your job, your social life, your role as a parent and the list goes on.  Think about how you, or your leaders, are branding the training or learning within your company.  Is there a clear message about the expectations of training?  Is there follow through with the training to confirm credibility?  Does your company provide training that the learners can connect with emotionally?  Is there motivation to learn?  Are the learners loyal?  You may find that all 5 items are covered, but if not, how can you help?