If you want to learn more about the Reframing Matrix check out the article at www.mindtools.com/reframing-matrix Have you ever been stuck on a problem and can't decide what to do next? Looking at it from a different perspective can help. The Reframing Matrix is a creative problem solving tool that you can use to "reframe" problems by shifting your perspective. For example, you might want to look at it using the 4Ps (Product, Planning, Potential, and People) approach. Or perhaps you could look at it from different people's perspective using the Professions approach. Both methods are covered in this video, which will also provides you with a three-step plan for applying the Reframing Matrix to problems that you encounter.

To learn more about how you can improve your powers of observation, check out our article at www.mindtools.com/powers-observation When you're observant, you engage your skills, your senses and your mind to analyze and evaluate the things that you experience. You'll more likely make connections, engage with people around you, and gather important information that is necessary for making good decisions. However, the busy pace of life nowadays, can mean that it's often all easy to "switch off" and get lost in our thoughts or work off autopilot. So it's important that we try and take some time to work on our observation skills. Doing this isn't difficult, but it does take time and practice. In this video we cover 8 easy things you can do to improve your observation skills: 1. Know your subject. 2. Slow down and look outwards. 3. Try something new. 4. Improve your concentration by cutting out distractions. 5. Challenge yourself to a mental workout. 6. Test your observation by playing a memory game. 7. Record and consider your observations. 8. Stay inquisitive!

To learn more about Porter's Generic Strategies take a look at the article at www.mindtools.com/porters-strategies Porter's Generic Strategies are so called because they can be useful to you no matter what industry you work in, what products or services you sell, or whether you are a small or large organization. According to Porter there are three main strategies that you can use to get an edge on your competition. These are: Cost Leadership, Differentiation and Focus. To learn more about each of these strategies and how you can apply them in your organization take a look at our video.

If you want to find out more about how you can turn your bad day into a good one, check out our article at www.mindtools.com/bad-day-better We've all had those days. Days when nothing seems to be going right, we're stressed and we don't know how to get ourselves out of the bad mood we're in. But help is at hand! There are a number of things you can do to help lift your mood and turn your day around: 1. Talk about it with a close friend or colleague. 2. Go for a walk, get some sunshine and fresh air. 3. Achieve a "small win." 4. Reflect on all the good things in your life. 5. Schedule an event that you and your team can look forward to. 6. Remember all that you've accomplished so far. 7. Do some exercise, meditate or just relax. 8. Do something nice for someone. 9. Find your silver lining. 10. Put things into perspective. Watch this video to discover more about the 10 ways you can make your day a good one!

To learn more about Planning for a Crisis, see the article at www.mindtools.com/crisis-planning Discover what types of events can turn into crises for your organization, how to judge which crises pose the biggest risks to you, and who to involve and what to cover in your emergency communications. You can even be ready for the aftermath, and plan for full recovery! Watch this video now, and share your comments with other Mind Tools users.

To learn more about the ORAPAPA decision-making checklist, see the article at www.mindtools.com/orapapa. If you've ever seen a bad decision play out negatively, you'll know how important it is to gather all the important factors of a potential decision first. With the ORAPAPA checklist, you'll be able to involve the right people and take the right actions to give you a deeper insight into how your potential decision will impact you and your organization. To find out more, watch this video.

To learn more about dealing with anxiety, see the article at www.mindtools.com/anxiety Anxiety affects us all in varying ways. For most people, everyday anxiety can include the mild unease we may feel when attending a gathering of acquaintances, or sweaty palms at a job interview. However for some people, anxiety is an overwhelming condition that presents them with huge hurdles to overcome to perform even the simplest of actions. If left untreated, this condition has the potential to affect every part of a person's life and can prevent him or her from achieving success. However, there are actions that you can take to reduce feelings of anxiety. To find out more, watch this video.

Find out how good your leadership skills are by taking the quiz at www.mindtools.com/leadership-skills-quiz What do you think makes a good leader? And are leadership skills innate or can they be learned? It's true to say that successful leaders tend to have certain traits. But you can develop these traits too. Watch this video to find out the five key traits that successful leaders possess and learn how you can develop the skills needed to become an effective, inspirational and positive leader.

Learn more about bad behavior in the workplace by reading the article at www.mindtools.com/bad-behavior How do you define bad behavior? After all your definition of what constitutes such behavior could be vastly different from other people's. In fact, it can sometimes be difficult to separate out bad behavior from behavior that is simply "quirky." That's why it's useful to assess bad behavior using an objective criteria that is based around the overall effect of a person's behavior on their team. If you want to find out more about this criteria and learn how to deal with bad behavior in the workplace effectively then watch this video!

To learn more about thought awareness, see the article at www.mindtools.com/thought-awareness It can be easy to feel stressed when we take on challenging tasks. This stress can be caused by a belief that you may not have the resources or the ability to meet the challenge adequately. This is where thought awareness can help you. When you use thought awareness, you are able to more clearly identify the negative thought patterns that cause you stress, and counter them positive and rational way. Free from negative thinking, you'll be better able to give your all to the task at hand and you realize your full potential. This video gives you the tools you need to use thought awareness to combat negative thoughts.