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accesscounselling · 11 months ago

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First Time Seeing a Dublin Therapist? What You Need to Know

In recent years, Ireland has witnessed a heartening shift towards open conversations about mental health. People are increasingly recognising the importance of emotional well-being and the value of seeking professional help. But let’s admit it – even if society has become more accepting of the idea of getting professional help for mental issues, seeing a Dublin therapist isn’t an easy endeavour, especially for first timers like you.

Going to your first counselling session can feel both invigorating and intimidating You may find yourself wrestling with a range of emotions from hope to hesitation. So, if you’re residing in Dublin and considering therapy, it’s crucial to step forward with a clear understanding of what to expect.

In this blog, we will try to answer your questions and calm your anxieties. We will talk about the counselling process, address common concerns, and empower you to take this positive step towards your mental health.

The Power of Talking to a Qualified Dublin Therapist

Imagine having a safe space where you can openly discuss your challenges, fears, and emotions. A place where a trained professional listens without judgment and guides you towards greater self-awareness and well-being. This is the power of talking to a qualified therapist in Dublin.

Therapy is a dynamic conversation tailored to your unique needs. Through structured discussions, a therapist in Dublin can help you:

Gain Emotional Insight: Explore your thoughts and feelings to understand how they impact your behaviours and overall well-being.

Reduce Symptoms: Address challenges like anxiety, depression, or relationship issues, leading to a better quality of life.

Develop Coping Strategies: Learn tools and techniques to manage stress, difficult emotions, and challenging situations.

Boost Self-Awareness: Gain a deeper understanding of yourself, your strengths, and areas for growth.

Each therapy session provides a confidential space where you can express yourself freely. A qualified therapist in Dublin becomes your partner in this journey, offering a supportive and non-judgmental environment for positive change. By openly exploring your inner world, you can unlock the potential for greater emotional well-being and a more fulfilling life.

How to Find the Right Therapist in Dublin

It is worth mentioning that, for therapy to truly help, you need to have the right therapist. Think of it like this: therapy is a journey of self-discovery, and your therapist is your guide.

In Dublin, with its abundance of qualified counsellors, finding the perfect fit is crucial. This connection, known as the therapeutic alliance, is more than just talking to a professional. It’s about building a safe and supportive space where you feel comfortable, understood, and empowered to explore your inner world.

While Dublin offers a wealth of qualified counsellors, not everyone will be the right fit for you.

Here’s a roadmap to guide you in your search:

1. Define Your Goals:

Start by considering what you seek to achieve through therapy. Are you looking for support with anxiety, depression, grief, or relationship challenges? Different therapists have varied areas of expertise, so identifying your goals can help narrow down your search.

2. Verify Qualifications:

Once you’ve defined your objectives, look for qualified professionals. Check that they are registered with recognised bodies such as the Psychological Society of Ireland or the Irish Council for Psychotherapy. These accreditations ensure that the therapist has met stringent training and ethical standards, which is crucial for your safety and the efficacy of the treatment.

3. Explore Online Resources:

Leveraging online platforms like the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy can also provide access to reviews and therapist profiles. This can give you further insights before making your choice.

4. Prioritise Comfort and Fit:

While qualifications are important, remember the therapeutic alliance is key. During initial consultations, consider whether you feel comfortable and heard by the therapist. This sense of connection and trust is essential for successful therapy. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and explore different therapists until you find someone who feels like the right fit for you.

What to Expect During Your First Session With Your Dublin Therapist

Your first therapy session is fundamentally about establishing a connection with your therapist. During this time, you’ll discuss your reasons for seeking therapy, and you’ll likely delve into your personal history and current issues. This initial conversation is not just about recounting difficulties but also setting the stage for future sessions.

It’s also an opportunity for you to assess how comfortable you feel with the therapist. Effective therapy requires a strong therapeutic alliance, so feeling understood and at ease with your therapist is essential. Don’t hesitate to ask questions about the therapy process, confidentiality rules, and anything else that might help you feel secure in this new relationship.

Here’s an overview of what may happen during your first therapy session:

Introductions and Icebreakers: The therapist will likely start by introducing themselves and explaining the general format of a session. They may ask you some light questions to break the ice and make you feel more comfortable.

Discussion of Your Concerns: This is your opportunity to openly discuss the challenges or issues that brought you to therapy. Be as specific as you feel comfortable and don’t hesitate to express your emotions.

Background and History: The therapist might ask questions about your personal history, family background, and any past experiences that may be relevant.

Goals and Expectations: Together, you’ll discuss your goals for therapy and what you hope to achieve through the process.

Treatment Plan: Based on your needs and goals, the therapist will outline a potential treatment plan. This may involve a specific therapy approach or techniques.

Asking Questions: Feel free to ask questions about the therapy process, confidentiality, fees, and anything else you might be unsure about. This is your chance to ensure you feel comfortable moving forward.

Setting Up Future Sessions: The therapist will most likely discuss scheduling future sessions and answer any logistical questions you might have.

Remember, by the end of your first therapy session, you should have a clearer idea of whether the therapist’s style aligns with your needs and how the ongoing conversations might unfold.

Preparing for Your First Therapy Session

Preparing mentally and logistically for therapy can significantly impact your experience. Approach each session with an open mind and readiness to explore your thoughts and emotions.

It’s helpful to maintain a journal of your reflections and feelings between sessions. This practice can enhance your self-awareness and provide more material to work with during your sessions.

Before attending your first session, it’s also beneficial to consider setting some personal goals for what you hope to achieve through therapy. These goals don’t need to be definitive or exhaustive, but having a sense of direction can offer a starting point for discussions with your therapist.

Prepare a list of questions or concerns you might have about the therapy process or your therapist’s approach. This list can range from inquiries about their experience with issues similar to yours, to understanding how they navigate situations when progress feels slow. Your therapist will welcome the chance to address these questions, fostering a mutual understanding and trust that’s essential to the therapeutic relationship.

Familiarise yourself with where therapy will take place to create a sense of comfort and control. If your sessions are virtual, ensure you set up in a quiet, private space where interruptions are minimized. Testing your technical setup beforehand—checking for proper lighting, a stable internet connection, and having any necessary software or apps installed—can significantly improve your session experience.

Additionally, ensure that you manage practicalities such as session timings, payments, and after-session commitments in a way that minimises stress. Therapy should be a prioritised space in your schedule, allowing you to focus completely on your mental health during these times.

Remember, it’s okay to feel nervous or unsure about starting therapy. Acknowledging these feelings and bringing them into your session can be a powerful first step. The journey of therapy is about growth and understanding, and every step, no matter how small, is progress.

Managing Therapy Expectations and Progress

Setting realistic expectations for therapy is crucial. Progress can be slow and sometimes nonlinear, particularly when dealing with complex issues. Patience and perseverance become your allies as you navigate through the ebbs and flows of your mental health journey.

To enhance the therapy experience, it’s important to embrace the exploratory nature of this journey, engaging actively in sessions and applying learned strategies in daily life. Life’s unpredictable events can influence one’s progress, so sharing these experiences in therapy can adjust expectations and goals.

Adopting self-care practices such as mindfulness and healthy living supports mental well-being and resilience. Documenting your journey and celebrating milestones, no matter their size, can offer a tangible sense of progress and motivate continued effort towards personal growth.

In conclusion, opting to engage in therapy is a commendable and life-enhancing decision. In Dublin, a city enriched with qualified professionals and diverse therapeutic approaches, finding the right support for your mental health needs is more accessible than ever. Equip yourself with knowledge, approach the process with openness, and embrace the journey towards better mental and emotional wellness.

Are you ready to take the first step towards emotional well-being with a skilled Dublin therapist? Reach out to us now at 015240708 or click here to embark on a path of self-discovery and healing tailored just for you. Our dedicated professionals provide a nurturing space and unwavering support, guiding you towards a brighter, healthier future.

#Dublin #therapist

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betshy · 1 year ago

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Psychological Profile of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard

L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, was a complex and controversial figure who left behind a legacy that continues to spark debate and intrigue. While much has been written about his life and accomplishments, his psychological profile remains a subject of speculation and fascination. One of the key aspects of Hubbard’s character was his charisma and ability to captivate others with his ideas and teachings. He was a charismatic leader who attracted a dedicated following of followers who believed in his vision of spiritual enlightenment and personal growth. Hubbard was known for his commanding presence and charismatic personality, which helped him build a worldwide organisation that continues to thrive to this day. However, Hubbard's psychological profile also revealed a darker side to his character. He was known to be manipulative and controlling, using his influence to maintain a tight grip on his followers and those close to him. Hubbard was also known to have a volatile temper and was quick to anger when things did not go his way. This combination of charm and manipulation made him a formidable leader who was able to maintain control over his followers and keep them loyal to him and his teachings. In addition to his charismatic persona, Hubbard also exhibited signs of narcissism and megalomania. He believed himself to be a unique and special individual with a unique insight into the human psyche and spiritual realm. This belief in his own superiority led him to create a doctrine that placed him at the centre of the Scientology movement, with followers believing that he was the sole source of spiritual wisdom and guidance. Hubbard's psychological profile also revealed a deep-seated need for validation and approval from others. He craved recognition and adoration from his followers and sought to build an empire that would cement his legacy and ensure his place in history. This drive for validation led Hubbard to push his followers to their limits and demand unwavering loyalty and devotion to his cause. Overall, L. Ron Hubbard’s psychological profile is a complex and multifaceted one that sheds light on the motivations and behaviours of a man who remains a divisive figure in the world of religion and spirituality. While his charisma and charm drew many followers to him, his manipulative and controlling nature also alienated others and raised questions about his true intentions and motives. Understanding Hubbard's psychological profile can help shed light on the enigmatic figure behind Scientology and the lasting impact of his teachings on the world today. Read the full article

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theiibms · 2 years ago

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Success Stories: How Marketing Management Certifications Transformed Careers

In the dynamic landscape of marketing, staying ahead of the curve is not just an advantage but a necessity. Marketing professionals around the world are realizing the transformative power of acquiring marketing management certifications. These certifications not only enhance skills and knowledge but also have the potential to reshape entire careers.

Certification in Marketing Management is a formal recognition of an individual's knowledge and proficiency in various aspects of marketing. Marketing, as a discipline, involves creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. A certification in marketing aims to equip individuals with the skills needed to understand consumer behaviour, develop effective strategies, and execute marketing campaigns across diverse channels.

Key components typically covered in a Certification in marketing program:

Marketing fundamentals which includes marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion), market segmentation, and targeting.

Understanding consumer behaviour including psychological, social, and cultural aspects.

Market research which includes analysing data on market trends, customer preferences, and competitive landscapes.

Understanding the principles of building and managing strong brands, including brand positioning, identity, and equity.

Covering important aspects of online marketing, such as social media marketing, content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and email marketing.

Following are the benefits of pursuing certification in marketing management:

Skill Enhancement:

Certifications will enhance your skills in various aspects of marketing management, ranging from strategic planning to digital marketing tactics.

Credibility and Recognition:

Certification adds credibility to a professional's profile. It shows that you have met a certain standard of competence and expertise in marketing.

Career Advancement: Certified professionals often experience enhanced career opportunities, including promotions, salary increases, and access to more senior roles within the marketing field.

Increased Confidence:

Gaining certification boosts an individual's confidence in their skills and knowledge, enabling them to tackle complex marketing challenges with assurance.

Demonstrated Commitment to Professional Growth:

Employers value professionals who invest in their development. Obtaining a marketing management certification demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement and a proactive attitude towards staying relevant in the field.

After pursuing certification in marketing management, you unlock a variety of career opportunities and possibilities for professional growth.

Here are several avenues you can explore:

Marketing Manager:

As a certified marketing professional, you can qualify for roles such as marketing manager, overseeing and coordinating marketing strategies, campaigns, and teams within an organization.

Digital Marketing Specialist:

Specialize in digital marketing by leveraging your certification to pursue roles focused on online channels, including social media, search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, and email marketing.

Product Manager:

Apply your marketing knowledge to product management, where you can contribute to the development, launch, and promotion of products, ensuring they meet customer needs and align with market trends.

Brand Manager:

Focus on brand development and management, working to build and maintain a strong brand identity that resonates with the target audience.

Advertising Manager:

Dive into advertising by overseeing the planning and execution of advertising campaigns across various media platforms.

Sales Manager:

Combine marketing expertise with sales management, leading a sales team and developing strategies to drive product or service sales.

E-commerce Manager:

Navigate the online business landscape by overseeing the digital operations, marketing, and customer experience for e-commerce platforms.

Entrepreneurship:

Use your marketing skills to start and manage your own business, whether it's a marketing agency, consultancy, or product/service-oriented venture.

Social Media Manager:

Specialize in social media marketing, overseeing the development and execution of social media strategies to build brand awareness and engage with the target audience.

In summary, the stories of people whose careers got better after getting Marketing Management Certification show us how powerful these certifications can be. It's not just about getting a fancy title—it's about learning new things and being ready for the changes happening in the marketing world. These success stories are like roadmaps for anyone thinking about getting certified. They teach us that with the right skills and a commitment to keep learning, we can shape our own success stories in the exciting field of marketing management.

#certification in marketing management #marketing management course #online marketing course #marketing manager course #marketing management online course #certificate course in marketing management

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cacoetheswriting · 5 years ago

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angels like you

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!Reader Warnings: unrequited / unreciprocated love, breakup talk, mentions of heartbreak, very angsty Word Count: 1.6k Summary: still in love with you, the young doctor is forced to watch you move on.

A/N: i was heavily inspired by miley cyrus’ song of the same title, as well as precious by depeche mode. i really suggest listening to those songs while reading this fic to really feel the pain.

The annual office Christmas party was in full swing. Fairy lights and wreathes decorated the usually dull space. Platters of food were being passed around between the attendees, accompanied by an enormous amounts of champagne. And while everyone was enjoying themselves, a certain brunette doctor found himself feeling the exact opposite.

Spencer was sat at the edge of his desk. Next to him stood Penelope who was in the middle of outlining her holiday plans. Yet he couldn't concentrate. He felt terrible. Like a truly bad friend. But he couldn't help it. Every time he tried to focus on the words coming out of Penelope’s mouth, his mind instead wandered to you.

Breakups are hard. Spencer would know, he memorised all the statistics. Well, at least he thought he understood because as it turns out in practice they are even worse than in theory. Especially since he didn't really understand what went so terribly wrong.

You told him you didn't love him. But how could that be? You certainly acted in love, happy. Was it all a lie? No. It couldn’t have been because he would have been able to tell. He makes a living profiling behaviours therefore he would have been able to tell if you were pretending. Right?

It was a puzzle he couldn't solve. His mind was racing a million miles per hour. For exactly thirty days, seven hours, twenty-two minutes and one, two, three, four, five... Spencer shook his head. He focused his attention on Garcia who was no longer talking. Instead she was staring at him with quizzically.

“Are you okay?” A concerned look spread across her face. Spencer nodded in response although it was no use because she knew he was lying. “It’s okay to be sad-” She began but he cut her off. “I’m not sad. I’m confused.” Penelope placed her hand on his shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze.

“That’s okay too.”

She smiled at him reassuringly before offering to get him some eggnog: “It might not make you feel better, but it tastes so good.”. Before he got a chance to respond however she had already disappeared into the crowd leaving him alone with his thoughts.

He looked ahead wanting desperately, just this once, for his brain to stop. He didn't want to think anymore. He definitely didn't want to think about you, your relationship, your breakup.

In retrospect however, thinking about you would have been better than seeing you. Because in that moment, in between the bodies of his coworkers, Spencer spotted you. His heart stopped.

The sharp office lights, usually unflattering, hit your skin so elegantly that he couldn't believe how beautiful you looked. Your hair was perfectly placed around your face, it bounced gently with your every move. The red dress you were wearing was new, Spencer noted, although it complimented your figure greatly.

Spencer swallowed the lump in his throat. He nervously tugged at his tie, undoing it hastily.

He shouldn't have been surprised to see you here. After all you worked in the same building, only a few floors down from the BAU. He shouldn't have been surprised at all, but he was. He was because exactly thirty days, seven hours, twenty-five minutes ago you told him you didn't want to see him again. You told him it would be better if the two of you didn't interact - especially at work. So why were you here? Why were you breaking your own rules?

Spencer decided to investigate; bite the bullet, talk to you. He lifted his body weight off the desk and straightened his clothes. He was about to take the first step in your direction when a man appeared beside you and draped one arm around your shoulder.

The young doctor froze. What the hell?

He watched as the man handed you a drink before placing a kiss on the side of your head. He watched you smile, that warm kindhearted smile you had graced Spencer with only a few months ago. He watched the man whisper something in your ear, your cheeks flushing red. He watched and his heart ached.

“Hey Spence, where’s your head at?” JJ asked creeping up beside the young doctor. When Spencer didn't answer, the petite blonde followed his gaze. “Ahh, I see.”

“What do you think she sees in him?” Spencer asked, a hint of heartbreak in his voice.

“I wish I could answer that Spence, I really do.”

“According to research published in The Journal of Positive Psychology, it takes eleven weeks to feel better after a relationship ends.” Spencer stated. “We broke up thirty days ago, how could she be with someone new?”

JJ sighed.

“Love is messy. Each relationship is unique so different people grieve differently, and some may get over their feelings quicker than others.” She nudged Spencer’s arm. “Just because she’s here with someone new, doesn't mean she didn't care about you.” Spencer glanced up at JJ. “She told me she didn't love me.”

It was the first time he spoke those words aloud. Before when his team members asked what went wrong, he brushed the question off with a statistic on how sixty-four percent of Americans have gone through a breakup of a long-term relationship. It was oddly freeing to finally tell the truth.

“Spence, I’m so sorry.” JJ smiled sympathetically.

“She said that the more I gave, the less she needed. She said she knew I was wrong for her.” Spencer’s nose twitched as he tried to fight back tears. “She said that things get damaged, broken. That in the end she realised she didn't feel as strongly about me as I did about her. That she had so little left to give, and that it was unfair to me.”

Spencer’s gaze traveled to where you were stood once again. “She said that I deserve better but what if I never get over her? She’s perfect to me.”

JJ linked her arm with the young doctor. The two of them stood quietly as Spencer composed himself, his eyes still fixated on you. You and the mystery man.

Laughing at something the man said, you lifted your head upwards before tilting it to the side in Spencer’s direction. Your eyes locked with hid instantly and the air caught in your throat. A sheepish smile spread on your face, one that Spencer couldn't bring himself to reciprocate.

Turning your attention back to your date, you told him you needed to mingle and asked him to find you later. He kissed your cheek and turned to walk away, get another drink perhaps, as you ambled your way toward the brunette doctor.

“Hi JJ.” You greeted kindly, before looking at who you truly wanted to talk to. “Hi Spencer.”

“Hey Y/N. It’s good to see you again.” The petite blonde responded.

Spencer however remained quiet. There was so much he wanted to say to you, ask you. He had prepared speeches in his mind that he would use once the two of you were finally talking again. However, now that you stood in front of him he didn't know where to start.

So he did what any heartbroken person would do in his situation, and walked away. It was a little childish perhaps but it felt right. He manoeuvred his way between the partying people and headed for the elevator. Heart racing.

You managed to catch up with him as he waited for the machine to arrive.

“Spencer.”

He turned on his heel at the sound of his name. Now facing you, a broken look plastered across his face. “What do you want Y/N? I left you alone, and I didn't question why we broke up. I did everything you asked even if it didn't make much sense to me. What do you want?” There was a hint of dismay in his voice.

“I-I just wanted to see if you were o-okay.” You responded.

“Of course I’m not.” He jeered. “You broke up with me, told me you didn't love me, and then moved on within a matter of weeks as if our relationship meant nothing to you.”

“That’s not true Spencer. Our relationship meant everything to me, and I wanted nothing more than to feel the same way as you. I killed myself every day, hated myself because for whatever reason I couldn't fall in love you even though you are the best person I have ever met.” You breathed.

“I would have given anything to be able to love you Spencer Reid.”

The second his name escaped your lips, he charged at you. His mouth pressed against yours with so much force you stumped backwards. His hands cupped your cheeks, pulling you in closer with every second that passed. Eyes closed. Heat growing.

He parted his lips, his tongue trailed forcefully along the brim of your bottom lip demanding entry. Which in the heat of the moment you allowed. Your mouth parted and his tongue instantly latched onto yours, exploring and dancing together.

The outside sounds disappeared. There was no party, no people, no date. In this moment it was just you and Spencer. You and the man who’s heart you broke exactly thirty days, seven hours, thirty-three minutes ago. In this moment you could only hear his breath and soft moans that escaped from between your locked lips.

Your body melted into his. Your hands were now on his back, feeling his tensed muscles. You began to feel your passion rise as the he tangled his fingers in your hair.

The moment was short lived however because in the space of a heartbeat you used all of your strength to pull away, breaking the kiss. Both your eyes still closed, foreheads pressed against one another, breathing heavily.

“It's not your fault I ruin everything. And it's not your fault I can't be what you need.” You whispered while gently caressing the back of his head. Your fingers tangled in his soft curls one last time.

Before Spencer even opened his eyes, you were gone. Your last words ringing in his ears as overwhelming sadness overcame him once again.

Baby, angels like you can't fly down here with me.

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an-ambivalent · 6 years ago

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Uchiha Therapist: Part I

Synopsis: Yandere! Madara x Reader x Yandere! Sasuke

[Name] is a struggling post graduate psychology student who has more on her plate than she can handle. Between her practicums to gain work experience and writing reports, to trying to maintain a decent lifestyle and look after her own mental health, there is little to no time left to work an actual paying job. Yet, money is essential for survival. So, she does the next best thing that has been trending recently to assure a good paycheck; she becomes a sugar baby. The only thing is, [Name] is unaware that she’s become sugar baby of the Madara Uchiha, the notorious CEO of Uchiha Corporation. She is also unaware of the fact that she’s the therapist of his nephew Sasuke Uchiha, who has begun treading over the professional boundary of a patient, and has started developing an abnormal fixation for his therapist since she seems to be the only one who actually understands him.

Warning: Although this story will come to contain yandere themes that can be triggering or uncomfortable to read, there are no yandere themes present in this chapter. It does have mentions of negative and tiring thoughts that may be triggering. Read at your own risk. This work is purely fictional and any yandere or other toxic behaviours that may be present in the future, know that I do not condone such behaviour.

Word Count: 4K

Story start; A day in the life of [Name]

On the night that started it all, when [Name] was feeling particularly disheartened and dissatisfied with her life, she had vented her frustrations and sorrow to her good friend Ino Yamanaka. Although many things in her life were going right, and she was privileged enough to have the chance to pursue her wanted career, it came at a cost. Her entire life schedule was fixed around her post graduation studies, other little spared time was for cooking and doing chores, and the rest was for sleeping. [Name] lacked the time for earning money, and doing things that were higher on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs — dating to find someone to create a meaningful connection with, or working on her previous hobbies.

The two friends had been consuming enough booze to be a little more than tipsy but not enough to be drunk. Some words were slurred, the fine motor control had decreased a bit, and with their faces slightly flushed, Ino was convinced that she had the best idea to [Name]’s problems.

Giggling at her own idea, Ino had snatched [Name]’s laptop from in front of them, and tapped various keyboard keys for joogle to search up. Once she saw the results, she clicked on one of the many websites shown as a result, and after a few more minutes of more clicks and keyboard taps, she had turned the laptop towards [Name] to see, with a triumph grin on her face.

“A sugar daddy,” Ino claimed proudly.

[Name] raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“A sugar daddy — it’s the perfect solution for your troubles. Not only will you get to earn more than enough, it covers the dating aspect too! Someone to spend your time with, to sleep over with — just without getting too attached. You’ll have a social life once again that doesn’t consist of you drinking booze with me or our other friends and you can finally afford to look decent again,” Ino explained straightforwardly.

[Name]’s eye twitched. “What do you mean finally afford to look decent again?” she inquired in a low voice, and glared at Ino, who smiled sheepishly at her.

“Well you’ve been a fashion disaster for sometime now—“

“Sorry I don’t have rich parents like the rest of you to buy me extravagant brands,” [Name] retorted, and a tick mark of anger bulged on Ino’s head.

“Well Sakura is a commoner like you too and even when she was a starving student, she still had a fashion sense. You don’t need to buy something expensive like jucci to look decent!” Ino snapped, and [Name] scowled at her.

“Whatever. This discussion is pointless anyway since I’m not going to become a sugar baby,” [Name] responded, and went to grab a bottle to consume more alcohol. However, the uneasy and anxious expression that Ino wore made her halt amidst her movements. All of a sudden, a cold shiver ran down [Name]’s back, and she felt a sense of dread building up in her gut.

“Please tell me you didn’t,” [Name] pleaded and Ino winced inwardly, before she turned the laptop around to show [Name].

“I did… I already signed you up. You have a date with him this Friday night.”

“INO!”

That was the gist of how [Name] had become entangled in her predicament with Madara Uchiha, and what was meant to be nights for [Name] giving her daddy some casual sugar, turned into an diabetic sugar addiction.

It was baffling really, how as children, people can be better in following orders than they can be as adults. And for someone like [Name], who had been studying psychology for years now, and began to work with the theories, one would think that practicing what she preached would be easier; she was great at helping her clients, but not much at helping herself.

“Make sure you don’t go with strangers” — a lesson that had been engraved in children at school and from their parents for their own safety. It was one of the most basic rules of common sense to evade danger; however, it was the rule [Name] failed to follow. Instead of not going through with her fixed date with a sugar daddy, who was a complete stranger and who knows pose what danger, she had gone through with it. And she had not even taken any caution to have their first meeting in a public place, no. She had gone to his home, which was the only place he accepted for their meeting, because she was too anxious to say no or not go through with it.

She really wondered how she was able to help her clients so well when she could not even manage her own anxiety.

So, now, here she sat. Since by Ino’s definition, [Name] was a walking fashion disaster, the blonde had refused to let her go without her help. Their tastes differed, but even [Name] had to admit that Ino had done an incredible job in helping her choose an outfit that was suited to her tastes. Granted, it was skimpier than what she usually wore and more figure defining, but it did make her look really nice. She did not look like a savage mess with evident dark eyebags who appeared to have just gotten out of bed and went to work straightaway like she did on a daily basis. But she felt exposed and uncomfortable in the setting she was not accustomed to.

The penthouse she had been invited to was extravagantly luxurious; the small dining for the two of them (her and soon to be her sugar daddy) was right next to the giant window in the living room that showed a beautiful night view of the Konoha city. Lighting in the room was ambient and romantic, and there was a small pizza, that looked ridiculously expensive for what it's worth, and red wine settled before her. While she did not want to indulge in such luxury, feeling on the edge of the seat because of how her sugar daddy to be was scrutinizing her with calculating onyx eyes, and never being the one to refuse free food, she mindlessly ate it, refusing to meet his eyes.

“You know, usually you’re supposed to make conversation and sell yourself to try and convince me of why I should stick with you rather than someone else,” Madara spoke, and this was so abrupt and unanticipated on [Name]’s part that she froze half way through biting her food. Her cheeks felt hot in embarrassment, and she awkwardly coughed loudly before looking up at Madara. Although he found her antics to be somewhat adorable, he kept a straight face. After all, to gain the attention of a man of his status, there were many who did the strangest things to appease him. Madara was not a man to be tricked so foolishly.

“Why should I sell myself when you haven’t convinced me to why I should be your….uh, sugar b-baby rather than s-someone else’s?” [Name] responded. She had started off strongly, but near the end when it came to referring to herself as a sugar baby and realisation of the situation sunk in, she felt herself become more flustered.

Now, it was not odd for people to be intimidated by Madara. However, acting in confidence at the same time, and to question his authority, that was new. The corner of his lips twitched upwards in amusement. He leaned back in his chair and raised a fine black eyebrow at [Name].

“And why should I have to sell myself to you? I’m the one who, essentially, is paying for everything,” he challenged, and [Name] scoffed at him.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s really costing you,” she mumbled under her breath, before clearing her throat. “Someone else can pay me too.”

“You had no reviews on your profile, you’re lucky that I even chose to click on it. Usually, it’s hard to get started since no one bothers with anyone with no reviews.”

[Name] shrugged. “That was your own choice, don’t shift the situation onto me. And besides, how do you know it's only reviews that count online? I might know a lot of other sugar daddies I had in my past that desperately want me but it's lucky that I chose to give you, a stranger, the chance.”

Madara was amused by the fact that [Name] had used his own logic against him, and could not help but smirk. Even though it was more than obvious through her behaviour that she was an absolute newbie to this, he decided to humour her.

"Well, I am an Uchiha," Madara said simply, as if that sole reason explained everything.

[Name] blinked in confusion. "Uhhh, okay…? Well, I'm [Surname]. That explains why you should choose me.”

This time, her response really did leave Madara confused. His eyebrows were furrowed and there was clear confusion written on his face.

“You don’t know the Uchiha?” he asked incredulously. The urge to sigh in an exaggerated manner and snap at him was strong, but [Name] decided against it. With the way he spoke in that condescending tone, and expected [Name] to treat him as if he was of utmost importance, made it more than obvious to her that he was used to being treated as the highest authority. Perhaps he was of importance and not watching herself around him could lead her into a huge mess. But [Name] did not particularly care about his status or whatever he had going on that made him expect her to seemingly kiss the floor he walked on. If she cared about authorities and sucking up to people, then she would not be training to be a therapist in the first place. There were going to be times when she would have to fight authorities and regulations with her sweat and blood for the sake of her clients. And really, if [Name] did care, she would not have been here in the first place -- having dinner with a complete stranger.

“Uh I do?” she said, but it sounded more like a question. Madara opened his mouth to respond to her, but he shifted the focus of the conversation to another topic. He felt even more perplexed by [Name] now because how could she not know the Uchiha?

“Nevermind, it’s not of importance. Tell me, why are you in this line of business? You don’t seem,” fit for it, he wanted to say, but chose his words carefully. “The type to want to do this.”

In response, [Name] felt flustered. She wondered if it was really that obvious that she was not used to it and Madara was simply humouring her. She could very well tell him the truth that it was because Ino had tricked her into it. However, that would make her seem gullible. Now that she may be committing to this, she knew she needed to build a good reputation for herself. She decided to tell the half-truth.

“I need the money,” she answered in a murmur, before she brought the glass of wine to her lips, and took a huge drink from it.

Madara watched her with analytical eyes as she downed her alcohol, taking no moment to savour the taste. He had also noticed how she was on her third plate of their dinner and wondered if she had any decency and how she was capable of eating so much.

“Your job doesn’t pay you enough?” he asked in a genuinely concerned tone, before he followed [Name]’s example and downed his remaining wine in one go too. He had never done that before, and after finishing it, he had to admit there was an odd sense of satisfaction of not savouring its every taste and drinking it all together at once.

Madara was staring at her with anticipation and worry embedded deep in his ebony coloured irides. Frankly speaking, [Name] had not have someone look at her with such concern in a long time. Generally, on the rare occasions she did speak freely about her worries, whoever she shared her problems with would give her their own input rather than simply listening to her and asking her the right questions that would help her discuss or figure out her own problem. The sight of it made her heart beat faster, and she unknowingly found herself talking before she even what she was doing.

“It’s not that… Well, actually I don’t even work. I barely have time to breath, working is my last priority right now,” she murmured, nervously fiddling with her fingers, as she observed Madara from the corner of her eye.

“While I cannot relate to your financial struggles, I understand the situation you’re in. Becoming so busy because of a goal you once had, that you question whether it’s even worth pursuing it anymore. You lose sight of who used to be and the things that brought you pleasure. There’s always something to do that you can’t even remember the last time you truly felt alive,” Madara said thoughtfully, and his words caused [Name]’s eyes to widen.

“And no matter how much you want to try and change things, it just feels like you’ve been stuck in the same cycle and it keeps repeating over and over and over again,” [Name] murmured, sighing dejectedly. “I really hate the world.”

Madara chuckled at her declaration as he lifted another bottle of wine that was on their table.

“Me too. Why don’t we discuss more things we hate about the world and learn about what we in common over more wine?” he suggested. The edge of suspicion and tenseness he held before was no longer present. Instead, he was now feeling much more relaxed than he had in awhile, and felt intrigued about [Name]. The twinkle in his eyes in hopes to talk to her more caused her lips to stretch into a cute flustered smile.

“Sure.”

____________________

It was the week which was like the last and there was no change but stress levels felt higher. Even after a decent ten hours sleep, [Name] felt exhaustion crawling like bugs underneath the epidermis layer of her skin. Dark bags were swelled prominently underneath her eyes. Her hair was tied carelessly in a messy bun that fell to one side; it wasn’t pretty like the one’s beauty gurus showed. It was loose but the knot was tight enough to make the weight of the hair feel too evident with each passing moment. Taking a quick sip from her steaming mocha, she greeted the administrators on the front desk that were the first point of contact between clients and the therapists who worked further back in the office. This office was where [Name] was presently working to gain practice experience in her second practicum. Generally, students in training were simply meant to observe and learn. If permission given by their supervisor, they could step in. But in [Name]’s case, for the sake of the story’s plot, the office she had chosen this time were understaffed. And since she already had finished one practicum and had quite a lot of other experiences from volunteering under her belt, she was trusted to work independently with whatever clients may be assigned to her.

“Good morning Moegi and Konohamaru,” [Name] greeted, and the two looked up from their screens. When they noticed it was [Name], they beamed at her and returned her greeting in response.

“How was your weekend [Name]?” Konohamaru asked, as he handed her the appointment schedule of everyone she would seeing today.

[Name] was ready to give her autopilot response of it being "okay" and then quickly shooting a "how about you" like she usually did. However, before those words left her mouth she paused to ponder: truly, how had her weekend been?

It was okay. Actually, it had been more than okay.

It had surprisingly been a lot of fun. When she had went through with her sugar daddy date, she had somewhat expected that she may end up having sex with a rich man she would not have been attracted to and receive compensation for sleeping with him. But that had not been the case. Madara was quite attractive, and although the dinner date had begun with a few subtle jeers thrown at each other, she had ended up having a good time with him. The fact that she felt safe enough to be vulnerable with him in the way she didn't even feel that level of comfort with her friends, and shared things she hadn't even known she was bottling up - - it was such a profound experience. To go from discussing their hatred for many things, to confessing secrets and feelings they weren't judged for, but rather, listened to, to getting so drunk that they sang cheesy songs and ended the date with their own unplanned karaoke night, it left an odd feeling of satisfaction and joy in [Name]'s chest that she had not felt in a while. The knowledge of knowing that she would be seeing Madara again soon left her feeling embarrassed.

"It was," she began, and she covered her face with one hand to hide her embarrassment. "Really nice and fun. I had a good time," she murmured somewhat quietly. Then, right away, she scurried off towards her office before they could question her further or talk about their own weekends.

[Name] had left Moegi and Konohamaru surprised with her response, and the two turned to each other wondering if they had heard right.

It was after lunch when [Name] was indulging in some [favourite fruit] iced tea, hoping some sugar would help her stay awake when she had an appointment with a client she would be seeing for the first time. She had settled her drink on the table beside her, walked through the hallway, and into the main office with reception and waiting area for clients.

It was there she saw a young man not much older than herself. He had warm ivory skin and black hair bangs that framed his face. The back of his head looked like a duck’s butt. He must have heard her footsteps because before she even called out his name, he had looked up. When her eyes met his, she took a sharp intake of breath because he looked oddly similar to Madara. The way his obsidian eyes scrutinised her made her feel uneasy. Nonetheless, she gave him, what she hoped appeared to be a welcoming and reassuring smile.

“You are Sasuke?” she assumed, and he stood up.

“Hn,” Sasuke responded simply, and at the lack of any greeting or even a facial expression caused [Name] to sweatdrop. But nonetheless, she carried on like she did with all of her patients.

“Before we start your session, did you want anything? A hot chocolate, coffee, water?”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this before he replied nonchalantly. “A black coffee.”

[Name] nodded and just before she could speak once more, a head of messy black curls invaded her vision and she was greeted with a smile that was almost too falsely cheerie for her taste.

“Hello! I’m Shisui, Sasuke’s cousin. And stoic face over there is Itachi, Sasuke’s brother. You forgot about us Miss. Therapist,” Shisui greeted brightly. At his exuberant persona, Sasuke glared at him. The one who he had introduced as Itachi, sighed, and [Name] looked at them apologetically.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t notice you. Can I get anything for you as well? If you’ve been with Sasuke until this point, I can assume you’ll be staying with him.”

Itachi nodded and stepped up front and held out his hand for [Name] to shake, which she obliged to almost instantly.

“Yes. We are here to oversee my little brother’s recovery at my Father’s orders and make sure there is progress,” he explained simply. His words were harsh. It was evident in the way Shisui had become tight lipped, and how Sasuke had now averted his glare onto Itachi. [Name]’s eyes shifted to observe their reaction and then returned to Itachi who was looking at her stoically. It wasn’t too obvious. However, she noticed with the way Itachi’s jaw was clenched more tightly than it had been before. This change in his body language clearly indicated that he had not wanted to say what he did and he did not want to be here. And from the intense glare Sasuke regarded him with, [Name] safely assumed that whatever was going on with Sasuke, Itachi seemed to be a part of it. Underneath Itachi’s pretty eyes, she noticed a sense of tiredness that was all — physical, mental, emotional and more. She saw that same sense of exhaustion on her own face each day.

The session had not even started and this was already turning out to become so complicated. [Name] hoped she would still have her sanity by the time she graduated and came to do this full-time. There were some of her colleagues who never bothered with rules or following basic procedures to assure their clients comfort and wellbeing. Lucky for her clients, she did. And when she needed to, she would bend over backwards and willingly go beyond her capabilities for them.

She knew from the way they all held themselves, and particularly with how Itachi had spoken that they were of important status. Their ‘father asked [them] to be here’ was a subtle way of implying that she could get in huge trouble if she did not comply with them. But [Name] just didn’t care.

She turned to Sasuke with a stern look on her face and motioned towards Shisui and Itachi.

“Do you want them there to support you or would you feel more comfortable with just you? Either way is fine. It’s your decision,” [Name] said smiling at him.

The three raven-haired males that had been introducing themselves moments ago stilled and their eyes widened in shock. Shisui was the first one to snap out of it.

“Uh, Miss. Therapist, I don’t think you know—“

“I know what I’m doing. Please refrain from implying such things and let my client decide for himself,” she retorted, narrowing her eyes. Shisui went to warn once more, but he was stopped by Itachi, who shook his head.

Itachi’s gaze went to Sasuke, and then back to [Name] as he spoke.

“I’m sure she knows what she is doing. We all wish for Sasuke’s wellbeing. We won’t intrude if he doesn’t want us to,” he proclaimed. That was his way of hinting for Shisui to drop the subject, and reassuring both Sasuke and [Name] that he was on their side, particularly with Sasuke, letting him know that he would not let their father find this out.

“Aniki,” Sasuke murmured in disbelief, staring at his brother for a few moments. Then, he looked back at [Name] to see she was still giving him the same sweet and gentle smile she had greeted him with.

Maybe, perhaps, this time, signing up for therapy would be worth it. Maybe he could allow himself to talk to her and not fear judgement and consequences like he had with his previous therapists.

“I’d like it to be by myself,” he murmured, looking away from her with slight pink cheeks. As his eyes had drifted away from hers and met Shisui’s, who gave him a warning look, his shoulders tensed and his eyes snapped back to [Name] right away. “P-Please and t-thank you.”

He did not need to glance at Shisui again to know the oldest male was now grinning at him.

Seemingly, his politeness seemed to be unexpected and Sasuke wanted to scoff at how [Name]’s eyes had lit up in pride. It almost annoyed him because did they really think he was that dimwitted?

“You’re welcome. Now, follow me please. Shisui and Itachi, our session will be around an hour so you can come to pick him up in that time,” [Name] said. The two of them nodded and waved the two goodbye as Sasuke followed after [Name] to her office.

-------

A/N: (tbh, uhhh, I plan for this to be a yandere story [whispers: eventually] but this chapter is fluffy. I honestly don’t know where I’m going with this or if I’ll add more Uchihas as love interests and turn into a reverse harem for [Name], I’m gonna make shit up as I go along and hope it turns into something decent lol gang gang. I just need to write a story I can write without worries and just enjoy the process of it rather than caring about where it leads. So yeet. I hope you join me on this journey <3)

#yandere x reader #yandere sasuke #yandere naruto #yandere madara #naruto #madara x reader #sasuke x reader #naruto x reader #uchiha x reader #akatsuki x reader #naruto imagines #naruto headcanons #possessive #sasuke uchiha #madara uchiha #ambivalent writes #uchiha therapist part 1

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truemindcapital · 5 years ago

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How to prepare your portfolio for the uncertain future?

Everyone thinks that due to the recent events caused by Coronavirus we are in uncertain times. I believe we are always in uncertain times. The emergence of any event has multiple co-dependent factors and nothing gets created out of a vacuum. Since we cannot know and control all the factors that lead to the manifestation of any situation; we cannot be 100% certain about any event. Thus, we are always in uncertain times, only the degree varies in our mind based on how we perceive the latest set of information which has known ‘knowns & unknowns’ and still missing out on unknown ‘knowns & unknowns’.

The best investors I know are those who believe that the future is always uncertain and they plan and account for such a situation in their investment management framework. The investors who do poorly are those who are always very sure of the future events. In this blog, I am going to give you insights on the important aspects of investment management employed by the best investors and how we can use them to maximize our portfolio returns besides minimizing the risk.

1. Be Cautiously Optimistic

We all know that to be able to be successful in life, we must be optimistic about our future. However, along with that optimism, caution should also be attached due to unknown ‘knowns & unknowns’ in the future. The best investors are cautiously optimistic about the future. In fact, Warren Buffet who is the 4th richest man in the world has two rules for investing:

Rule No 1: Never lose money

Rule No 2: Never forget rule no. 1

The above statement doesn’t mean that one will never have investment losses but following the above two rules will make you think in a direction to build strategies and approaches that minimize your losses.

Did you know many of the world’s best investors were already prepared for the crash? Warren Buffet is sitting on more than USD 120 billion of cash from many months, Howard Marks has been talking about being defensive since the last two years and so was Seth Klarman. It’s not that they knew the time of the market crash, but their investment strategies ensured that their portfolios were prepared for any such eventualities.

They understand that stock markets go through a cycle and the valuable lessons from history taught them to read signs and stay cautiously optimistic. They don’t fight the forces, they use them.

2. Use tactical allocation to make your portfolio future-ready

Smart investors are very careful about market valuations (prices) and investor behaviour. They know that human behaviour leads to extreme prices in the stock market – both on the upside and downside, and they are prepared to take advantage of such follies. The chart below illustrates that the smart money enters when valuations are low and the majority of the investors aren’t looking at that asset class or security.

How are they prepared for that? They use the principle of margin of safety. It means they buy any business or stock when its trading price is lower than their self-assessed fair value (also known as intrinsic value) of that business. Lower the trading price than fair value, lower is the downside risk and higher is the margin of safety and upside potential. Similarly, the smart investors stop making new investments and sold the one they were holding when they realize that market valuations are too expensive which results in higher downside risk, low margin of safety, and lower return potential. This provides them enough liquidity to invest again at cheaper prices when the tide goes out.

For common investors, arriving at a fair value of any stock could be very tricky. Hence, they can use a simple valuation parameter of 10-15 years average price per earning (PE) ratio. For example, the 15 years average twelve months trailing (TTM) PE ratio of benchmark Sensex is 18-19x. In previous market cycles, the TTM PE of Sensex has touched 28-30x at the market peak and 10-12x at the marker trough. So a mutual fund investor focused on large caps should gradually start reducing equity allocation from the portfolio as it keeps rising above 21x PE. On the contrary, one should gradually add up equity allocation as the Sensex PE keeps falling below 18x PE ratio. A sample tactical allocation plan for an investor with a moderate risk profile could be like this:

Please note, we have simplified the above case for understanding purposes. In reality, fair valuation of the Sensex depends on many factors and it keeps on changing but taking long term average (of at least 10-15 years) is a good way to start. The important takeaway is that there should be an allocation plan prepared for asset class volatility and it shouldn’t be just an ad-hoc emotional buying or selling. One can prepare a customized plan depending upon their investment liking and understanding of different asset classes, sub-categories, and their own risk profile. Having a sense of market/asset class cycles and at which stage we could be in that cycle helps tremendously.

Now let’s see how tactical asset allocation can make a huge difference in your portfolio performance. Consider an investor with a high-risk profile who chooses to take equity exposure in her portfolio by investing in an index fund tracking Sensex and the remaining amount in a debt mutual fund. She had a plan to reduce equity exposure to 40% of the portfolio when the Sensex TTM PE reaches 26x and increase it back to 100% when the Sensex TTM PE reaches 13x. If she had executed her plan with perfection in two years period from Oct 2007 to Oct 2009, her portfolio returns would have been positive 31% (46% more than Sensex returns) over the next two years compared to negative 15% returns if she had continued to stay 100% invested in equity.

Pardon me for using a perfect case scenario case for a short period of two years to drive across my point for the sake of calculation simplicity. In reality, the best strategy is to gradually increase equity allocation as the market continues to slide down since you never know if the market will really bottom at 13x or 14x or any other PE ratio. You would have still ended up making 20-25% higher returns over the Sensex returns in two years by making staggered investments during the down cycle. Series of such successful tactical asset allocation calls results in long term compounding returns and outperformance over the benchmark returns by 5-15% per annum which is just amazing!

There are various studies which explain that asset allocation accounts for 80-85% of portfolio returns while scheme selection contributes to only 15-20%. Despite that, many investors end up spending a majority of their time and energy in finding the best scheme and rarely on finding the best asset allocation.

However, having a plan is not the sure shot way to investment success if you do not have the right temperament and courage to execute the same. This brings us to the last but the most important quality of successful investors.

3. Patience, Courage, and Conviction

Since patience and courage are rare traits, so is the rare club of successful investors. I have seen many disciplined and experienced investors who resisted investing in equity for a long time due to expensive valuations but finally gave in to the psychological pressure of seeing their peers make money. They ran out of patience and ended up investing at the market peak. They find some reasons to justify the excessive valuation by assuming that the factors that are driving the market to excesses will continue to stay perpetually. By the way, bears turning bulls is also a strong signal of market reaching to its peak.

Having conviction to follow a strategy and patience to stick to a plan (usually by going against the herd) for as long as it requires, needs a great strength of courage and tranquil temperament. One can develop and strengthen these qualities by meditation and practicing mindfulness.

Downside of following a disciplined value investing approach is that you may end up being too early sometimes. But it is always better to be early than late. Being early can cost you some missed-upside but being late is very dangerous to your portfolio health.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Following the above three qualities of successful investors, we at Truemind Capital Services have been able to deliver decent results. As mentioned in our previous blog, we were underweight on equity before the market correction due to overvaluation and had taken decent exposure to Gold a year ago. We increased some of our equity exposure in the month of March when markets corrected significantly from its peak. This helped us generate positive return of 3%-8% on our portfolios under management in the last one year compared to -17% YoY decline in the Sensex value. This indicates an outperformance of 20-25% over the benchmark Sensex. However, we continue to stay cautiously optimistic.

We hope this piece helps in understanding on how to formulate an investment strategy for your portfolio. You must work on a plan immediately even if your portfolio has losses. Failing to plan would lay ground for future disappointments. If you are having difficulty in setting up a strategic investment plan that suits your unique requirements, feel free to discuss with us.

You can write to us at [email protected] or call us on 9999505324.

#investmentmanagement #wealthmanagement #investing #investors #investments #portfolio #mutualfunds #fundmanagement #wealthplanning #financialadvisor #financialplanner #SEBIRIA #truemindcapital

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ratishpandey · 2 years ago

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Using DISC for Team Building

What is the DISC Behavioral Assessment? Is building a high-performing team important?

Yes, it is! It has been recognized as the driving force behind the success of companies, not today but for years. For instance, investors in startups prioritize the team’s quality and the synergy among its members over the business idea itself.

Research shows that the management team’s quality is the most critical nonfinancial factor in evaluating an IPO, with 1.9 times increased likelihood of achieving above-median financial performance when the top team works collaboratively towards a shared vision. This further highlights the vital role of a superior team in achieving success.

Building a high-performing team is challenging, despite its value. Hiring the best-fit results in a diverse group of energetic, ambitious, and capable individuals who need to work together effectively.

It requires understanding each employee’s mental makeup and triggers to help optimize their performance and set up team dynamics.

One helpful approach is to use behavioural assessment tools, such as DISC Profiles, grounded in behavioural psychology. Using DISC for Team Building helps in understanding team dynamics and building a high-performing team.

Team profiling is a powerful tool for building a high-performing team. It offers a detailed understanding of each member’s unique attributes and how they mesh to form a cohesive unit. It identifies the team’s strengths, areas of effectiveness, and potential growth points. By bringing to light individual differences, it enhances team dynamics and helps make informed managerial decisions.

Visit Us to learn more about what is the DISC Behavioral Assessment and why DISC Profiling is the Key to Building a High-Performing Team!

#disc #teambuilding #team profile #behavioral assessment #high performing team #profiles #assessment tool

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aimindset-blog · 7 years ago

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How to protect yourself against mindset and world-views manipulation online

Social-networks have become a great tool to hijack the attention of the masses, conducting manipulation on our mindset and world-views. Political interest groups, commercial organizations, and foreign governments use those platforms to influence the way we view the world with a surprising ease.

The combination of user personal data and AI is a fertile ground for crowd manipulation, which is essentially “mind hacking”, and should be treated just like illegal computer hacking.

For more on this please read “21 Lessons for the 21st Century” by Yuval Noah Harari.

There are potential solutions to this issue, among which is the concept of using Ai to protect ourselves from mindset and world-views manipulation online.

why-fake-news-isnt-the-problem-social-ai-is

From the Perspective Guard Blog

Why we should blame Facebook, instead of Fake News

Basically, social-networks are a good thing

Services like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram and Reddit have become a cornerstone in our everyday lives, from keeping in touch with friends, reading news, discovering great vacation destinations, or enjoying original content, the social media revolution was mostly beneficial for the user.

When Zuckerberg started Facebook back in 2004, it was a great solution for a need in the world - connecting everybody and making communication and sharing better.

Many predicted that the social revolution will allow individuals spread ideas and worldviews, reach like-minded people, and basically democratize the information ecosystem, which back then was controlled by several media outlets and news companies.

Since then Facebook and Twitter played a major role in many political events on a global scale, such as sparking social movements, helping organize protests, overthrowing totalitarian regimes, and overall making more voices heard.

The negative aspects came into play when the ads business model was introduced, which is all about stickiness and drawing more eyeballs, increasing conversion, and maximizing revenue, pushing the users interests aside, and changing the incentives and moral compass of those companies.

Adding AI into the mix

The merger of AI and ads is only natural, and proven to be effective in service the right ad, in the right time, to the right person based on multiparameter prediction.

Ads service AI’s are constantly monitoring our interests and behaviour, and keeping a detailed record about our personality profile.

Today’s profiling AI is arguably understanding us better than we understand ourselves. A proof of that can be found in the phenomena of users complaining about Facebook showing surprisingly specific ads, followed by a claim that Facebook is recording their voice without consent (https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-listening-listen-does-is-microphone-app-phone-mark-zuckerberg-a8299281.html).

The reality is probably simpler, and can be explained by a combination of great amount of personal data gathered legally, external data sources, and extremely accurate AI suggestions.

Nevertheless, those incidents highlight the issues that rise when AI meets users and content delivery.

Google, Facebook and Twitter pouring billions into research and development of their data and AI infrastructure, employing hundreds of Phd’s, so it’s easy to see how they’re getting surprisingly strong results.

Fake news is not the real problem

Since the 2016 US election, we’ve been exposed to everything from political controversy, to foreign governments weaponizing social networks and conducting direct crowd manipulation.

One can claim that the conditions were right for the symptoms to appear - the futile ground of AI-powered social media and abundance of personal data made it easy for adversaries to take advantage of the opportunity.

Fake news and Tweet farms are being used at scale to inject carefully engineered content, that reach the right people at the right time, and had the desired effect.

These methods aren’t different from the targeted advertising methods we’re exposed to on a daily basis.

The real problem is our digital realm is the sheer amount of personal data and AI technology that Google and Facebook own, which being mainly use to make more ads money.

Fighting fake news is a shellow and symptomatic approach, that blames the immediate suspect, and tries to fix the and most obvious issue, pulling the spotlight from the deep questions we should ask Facebook, Google and Twitter.

It’s easy to imagine how even without fake news and tweet-bots that spread inflammatory content, the sophisticated adversaries can find a way to use real news, highlight real tweets, and spread divisive and contentious messages, that ones again will reach the right people in the right moment, and will have the desired effect of targeted social engineering.

Your mind is hackable

Our brain is a decision making machine, processing sensory inputs from the world and trying to build an accurate mental model to act upon.

Once our informational intake includes Google, Facebook and Twitter, our input can be biased, and so are our worldviews, beliefs, mindset and behaviour.

Human-hacking or brain-hacking is a term coined by Dr. Yuval Noah Harari, when describing a world where AI can understand the internal workings of the human psyche in high detail, and use it for its own purposes.

(For a full interview: https://www.wired.com/story/artificial-intelligence-yuval-noah-harari-tristan-harris/).

When discussing the concept of hacking the human mind, we’re not talking about a hypnosis-like state mind-control as portrayed in sci-fi novels and Hollywood films.

The real danger is subtle, and subconscious exposure to carefully engineered messages, that can affect our worldviews, attitude towards products, topics, and groups of people.

For example, a recent Harward publication claims that our purchasing desicions are 95% subconsious (https://www.inc.com/logan-chierotti/harvard-professor-says-95-of-purchasing-decisions-are-subconscious.html).

Back in 2016, Facebook was caught conducting psychological experiments on it’s users (Facebook Tinkers With Users’ Emotions in News Feed Experiment, Stirring Outcry), which is showing the level to which those companies invest in understanding human psychology, willingness to temper with it, and the ease at which users can be manipulated unconsciously.

What can be done?

Critical thinking and fact-checking are extremely important to validate our beliefs, but as history and research indicate, people are far more susceptible to social engineering and emotional manipulation than we tend to think. We tend to and even the most logical of us can hold irrational, contradictory, and sometimes harmful worldviews.

Protecting our mind is hard, simply because we know less than our adversaries about the inner workings of our own brains and psychology.

A more practical approach is to use new kind of AI on the users side, to contra the AI that’s being used by social networks and search engines.

While the incentive of the companies AI is to increase ad revenue by any means, the user-side AI can monitor feed posts, suggestions and search results presented to the users, and take action when there’s a manipulation attempt on the user.

The Perspective Guard Project

Several months ago, after understanding what was happening in social media, Cambridge Analytica social engineering, new trends in AI, and how the future could evolve according to Yuval Noah Harari, Sam Harris and others, me and a couple of friends started to think about ways to create tools to protect ourselves and others from potential world views manipulation online, and so we started working on a side-project we called Perspective Guard.

We’ve spent some time researching theories of personality involved in Cambridge Analytica (especially 5 personality traits model: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits), and the practical ways sociaty is getting more polerized and hostile towards oposing groups, focusing mainly on phenomena like the outrage culture, tribalism, hatespeech, fake news, and other threats.

What we came up with is an AI solution that runs inside the browser, analyzing posts, tweets, subreddits and other textual content that users are exposed to. The AI is tracking the nature of the content, making sure you’re not exposed to suspiciously high levels of content with negative influence on the mindset and world views.

For more information about the project, and if you’d like to get involved please visit https://perspectiveguard.com or email us at [email protected]

#Artificial intelligence #A.I.

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marketingkiabizleadsintel · 4 years ago

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WHY IS CUSTOMER PROFILING IMPORTANT?

In order to make your sales and marketing more effective, the very FIRST STEP IS TO UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMER.

And how do you that? With Effective Customer Profiling!!!

WHAT IS CUSTOMER PROFILING?

A customer profile, or a consumer profile, is a detailed description of your current customers.

A customer profile covers the following:

· Demographic Data

· Purchasing Behaviours

· Pain Points

· Psychographic Data

CUSTOMER PROFILING –GIVING DIRECTION TO YOUR SALES & MARKETING EFF0RTS

Customer profiling lays the foundation for your sales & marketing efforts. Without customer profiling, you may end up executing your sales & marketing campaigns to the wrong audience who does not need your product or has the buying intent.

Keep in mind, customer profiles are created for your customers. Thus, these are tried, tested and highly reliable, unlike any imaginary attributes that you would like your customers to have. This will give you a better idea of who is more likely to buy your product.

WHY IS CUSTOMER PROFILING IMPORTANT?

Customer Profiling helps in:

· Designing a Better Product/Service

· Giving Right Direction to Sales &Marketing

HOW CUSTOMER PROFILING HELPS IN DESIGNING A BETTER PRODUCT?

To design a great product, you have to first understand what are the pain points of your customers.

How can you do that? You can always survey your current customers, understand what problems they are facing and design a product that solves these products accordingly. It is likely that your current product does not address the issues your customers are facing. Besides. You can also improve your product using this data. You can even add a new feature to your existing product.

HOWCUSTOMER PROFILING GIVES DIRECTION TO SALES & MARKETING?

When it comes to defining your marketing strategies and giving directions to your sales team, it is essential to have a description of current customers. Understanding who has bought from you. Will make it easier to understand WHO WILL BUY FROM YOU IN THE FUTURE.

Customer profiling helps you define the ONE CUSTOMER who will in fact buy your product rather than randomly targeting g anyone and everyone. Rather than targeting an ocean of customers, it is always wiser to target a small pool of customers who are more likely to buy your product. This ensures better utilisation of your time and resources.

HOW CUSTOMER PROFILING REDUCE CUSTOMER ACQUISITION COTS?

Customer profiling gives a clear idea about who is your buyer and based on that data, who will more likely be a buyer. When you focus your marketing campaigns on these prospects, the marketing budget is utilised better and the customer accusation cost goes down.

HOW CUSTOMER PROFILING HELPS IN REDUCING CUSTOMER CHURN?

Customer churn is the loss of customers over time. Since customer profiling helps in designing a better product or service and helps in maintaining excellent relationships with current customers, customer retention becomes very high customer churn rate reduces drastically.

TYPES OF CUSTOMER PROFILING

Customer Profiling helps in improving your product/service/solution, finding prospects with a higher likelihood of buying your product, building a better relationship with your current customers and achieving higher revenue.

Customers can be divided into different ‘SEGMENTS’ based on certain similar characters. Following are their four types:

· Demographic

· Geographic

· Psychographic

· Behavioural

Let us understand these segments in detail.

DEMOGRAPHIC

In B2B Marketing, demographics include the following characters:

· Age

· Sex

· Job Title

· Income

· Company size

· Industry

GEOGRAPHIC

Geographic factors play a very important role in a customer’s interaction and behaviour with a product. Geographic segments are divided based on :

· City

· Region

· Country

PSYCHOGRAPHIC

Psychographic segmentation includes the following characteristics:

· Lifestyle

· Pains

· Habits

· Interests

These characteristics mainly help in understanding the psychology of the customer and his buying journey. It can also help in understanding the consumer’s journey once he has bought your product.

BEHAVIOURAL

Behavioural segmentation is carried out based on the customer’s actions and behaviour. The following characters are considered when it comes to behavioural; segmentation:

· Readiness to Buy

· Buying History

· Product Usage

· Satisfaction

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF DOIG CUSTOMER PROFILING?

· Better Quality Product/Service

· Highly Targeted Marketing

· Better Utilisation of Marketing Budget

· Reduces Customer Acquisition Cost

· Better Direction to Sales Team

· Effective Utilisation of Resources

So, it is clear that Customer profiling has so many advantages and it is essential to do customer profiling so that your sales and marketing always move in the right direction to yield the best results.

Email Us: [email protected]

#CUSTOMER PROFILING

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golderstar · 5 years ago

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Top 10 book that changed your lifeon

10 Books That Will Change Your Life Forever

By omnarkhede

Are you looking for books that will change your life? Are you wanting to get leverage on yourself, and make real changes, but you’d love a guide to assist you?

These 10 books absolutely fit that criteria. Read them, but more importantly, do what they tell you. It is your acting not just your reading that will get you the best results. These books however will give you the framework that you need to take action:

1. The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield

The most important book I’ve ever read, and the book that has helped me most to build successful businesses, write a book and create an authentic and fulfilling career. It has allowed me to break through my inner resistance and create my authentic life, and live my authentic self. Critical if you are an entrepreneur, writer, artist, or any form of “creator”.

2. Turning Pro, by Steven Pressfield

The follow up to the War of Art. In the War of Art Pressfield identifies the enemy to living an authentic life – resistance. In Turning Pro, Pressfield teaches you how to defeat it.

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3. Flow: The Psychology Of Optimal Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

What are the optimal experiences in our life? The vacations? Laying on the beach? No. World renowned psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his landmark book proves that optimal experience is actually the moments in our life when we are giving our very best in pursuit of self-directed meaningful goals. Through this book learn how to channel flow, and your life will forever change.

4. As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen

Thoughts are things. We are what we repeatedly think about. Learn to first create in your mind the life that you want, then manifest its reality through your hard work and actions. A classic – short simple

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5. Mastery, by Robert Greene

Mastery teaches you to take the long run, and seek a higher form of success, one that very few people every achieve – the level of mastery. Learn from case studies of some of the worlds’s greatest masters and absorb practical advice on how you can apply it.P

6. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

An easy to read, highly descriptive, story that teaches a powerful metaphor – how to pursue your dreams. Learn the obstacles that will arise, and learn how to channel your courage on the path of what you value most.

7. Awaken The Giant, by Tony Robbins

8. The Game, by Neil StraussADVERTISING

Last Updated on November 24, 2019

10 Books That Will Change Your Life Forever

Lifehack Reads

Lifehack Reads is the curated collection of our favorite books, carefully categorized and sorted by our Editorial Team. Read full profile

10 Books That Will Change Your Life Forever

Are you looking for books that will change your life? Are you wanting to get leverage on yourself, and make real changes, but you’d love a guide to assist you?

1. The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield

Last Updated on November 24, 2019

10 Books That Will Change Your Life Forever

Lifehack Reads

Lifehack Reads is the curated collection of our favorite books, carefully categorized and sorted by our Editorial Team. Read full profile

10 Books That Will Change Your Life Forever

Are you looking for books that will change your life? Are you wanting to get leverage on yourself, and make real changes, but you’d love a guide to assist you?

1. The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield

. Turning Pro, by Steven Pressfield

The follow up to the War of Art. In the War of Art Pressfield identifies the enemy to living an authentic life – resistance. In Turning Pro, Pressfield teaches you how to defeat it.

3. Flow: The Psychology Of Optimal Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

4. As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen

⌄ Scroll down to continue reading article ⌄

Are You Living Life to the Fullest Yet?

Take our Full Life Assessment for FREE and find out what's holding you back from living the fullest life

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⌄ Scroll down to continue reading article ⌄

Print | eBook | Audiobook

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5. Mastery, by Robert Greene

Print | eBook | Audiobook

6. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

Print | eBook | Audiobook

7. Awaken The Giant, by Tony Robbins

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Don’t let the TV infomercials fool you – this book has high quality strategies that are immediately applicable to get control of your emotional self. When you can control the inner, then the outer follows. Get leverage on yourself by reading this book and applying the strategies you learn.

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⌄ Scroll down to continue reading article ⌄

Get That Goal You've Always Wanted

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8. The Game, by Neil Strauss

A fascinating read – my advice – read it from a cultural psychology perspective. You will see that there are certain patterns of behaviour and influence what work with people. Learn how people think and what attracts them, and what repels them. You will need to be a master of influence in order to achieve any dream that involves other people.

Print | eBook | Audiobook

9. The Way Of The Superior Man, by David Deida

This book is more applicable for men, but worth reading by anyone. Get leverage over yourself. This book helps you to understand various emotional challenges that many men experience and how to gain mastery over one of the most difficult opponents: yourself.

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Print | eBook | Audiobook

10. 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey

A practical masterpiece with easy to follow instructions and guides. Useful for both businesses and individuals. Learn to “put first things first” and “begin with the end in mind”. This book is a classic in management and leadership literature, and should be mandatory reading for anyone who is in a position of influence.

Print | eBook | Audiobook

More Inspiring Books That Will Change Your Life

20 All-Time Best Motivational Books to Inspire You

25 Best Self Improvement Books to Read No Matter How Old You Are

30 Best Productivity Books You Should Read To Boost Your Productivity

Feeling Lost and Out of Control?

If you aren't taking any action to turn your life now, chances are you will live the same routine for the rest of your time.

Maybe life is uncertain for you now but you're capable to take back control of your life.

Grab this FREE guide and find out what you can do to get back on track and be the master of your own life.

ter, artist, or any form of “creator”.

Print | eBook | Audiobook

2. Turning Pro, by Steven Pressfield

The follow up to the War of Art. In the War of Art Pressfield identifies the enemy to living an authentic life – resistance. In Turning Pro, Pressfield teaches you how to defeat it.

ADVERTISING

Print | eBook

3. Flow: The Psychology Of Optimal Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Print | eBook | Audiobook

4. As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen

Are You Living Life to the Fullest Yet?

Take our Full Life Assessment for FREE and find out what's holding you back from living the fullest life

ADVERTISING

5. Mastery, by Robert Greene

6. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

7. Awaken The Giant, by Tony Robbins

Get That Goal You've Always Wanted

Grab a FREE Lifehack Guide to start getting what you want!

Reach My Goal!

⌄ Scroll down to continue reading article ⌄

8. The Game, by Neil Strauss

9. The Way Of The Superior Man, by David Deida

10. 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey

Print | eBook | Audiobook

More Inspiring Books That Will Change Your Life

20 All-Time Best Motivational Books to Inspire You

25 Best Self Improvement Books to Read No Matter How Old You Are

30 Best Productivity Books You Should Read To Boost Your Productivity

Feeling Lost and Out of Control?

If you aren't taking any action to turn your life now, chances are you will live the same routine for the rest of your time.

Maybe life is uncertain for you now but you're capable to take back control of your life.

Grab this FREE guide and find out what you can do to get back on track and be the master of your own life.

9. The Way Of The Superior Man, by David Deida

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10. 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey

Omnarkhede

Feeling Lost and Out of Control?

If you aren't taking any action to turn your life now, chances are you will live the same routine for the rest of your time.

Maybe life is uncertain for you now but you're capable to take back control of your life.

Grab this FREE guide and find out what you can do to get back on track and be the master of your own life.

Motivation

Before Barack Obama became the first African-American President of the United States, when he was little known outside the grassroots activist community in Chicago, he was given a national platform as the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. He acknowledged what everyone was likely thinking how surprising it was for him to be addressing the audience at the convention. But he started by stating his roots, which were not dissimilar from other Americans, who constitute, after all, a nation of immigrants. He infused the audience, nation and even the world with a sense of hope for the future. After this speech, he continued to connect with people and motivate them to elect him four years later to the highest office in the land. Related: How to Manage Better with Transformational Leadership Jim Carrey, Commencement Address, Maharishi University, 2014 From the sublime to the ridiculous, even comic actors like Jim Carrey can find inspirational words to motivate. At

How you can improve yourself

The Beginner’s Guide to Continuous Self-Improvement What is Self-Improvement? Let's define self-improvement. The definition of self-improvement is pretty self-explanatory: Self-improvement is the improvement of one's knowledge, status, or character by one's own efforts. It's the quest to make ourselves better in any and every facet of life. Best Self-Improvement Articles to Start With Self-improvement almost always starts with self-awareness and the ability to transform your habits. If you're serious about transforming your life and improving yourself, you should start with these two articles Self-Improvement: How Better to Improve You 904 Words 4 Pages “No matter who you are, no matter what you did, no matter where you’ve come from, you can always change, become a better version of yourself.” - Madonna. When you read this quote, you think of one word, “Self-improvement.” Just with this one topic, you may ponder and ask yourself, “Who needs Self-improvement

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riichardwilson · 5 years ago

Text

How would an SEO agency be built today? Part 1: Consumers and trends

The pandemic put everything to a halt. Then, it forced people and businesses alike in the beginner’s mind. The Zen concept hints at a seeming paradox: as you know more and more about a subject, you tend to dismiss other possibilities.

What follows is a quest of shaping choices for the near future in a three-part piece that highlights a core question — How would you build an SEO Company agency in 2020?

We’ll explore the complexity of the topic, mapping key touchpoints that create the agency landscape, from assessing current trends on consumer behaviour, to how key partners of an SEO Company agency have changed:

Consumer and business trends that are emerging and transforming the way people interact. (part one)

The current SEO Company agency business model and its in-depth analysis. (part two)

The possibilities ingrained in thinking about what a reshaped SEO Company agency of 2020 and beyond looks like. (part three)

We’ve designed this series as a business exercise for SEO Company agency leaders and their current struggles because we’re committed to supporting agencies push through uncertainty.

You can use the learnings, tools, and insights that follow, together with your team, and optimize your strategy in the actual context. From Gartner’s Hype Cycle and Business Model Canvas, to an interactive section that lets you build a new type of SEO Company agency from the ground up, you’ll go through various frameworks, some more familiar than others.

Let’s begin!

How customers look in the current context

Since March 2020, we continued to see consumer behaviour changes, new online practices, and a global outlook that is still concerning. With anxiety factors about health and finances fueling uncertainty and high unemployment rates sweeping the world, we need to keep a close eye on the way people shop, live and consume now.

Tracking demand and looking at year over year search trends, with Google Ads data as source, remains an accurate way to understand what changed for good, and what is just a fleeting trend depending on the short-term pandemic impact.

After all, if we put the consumer psychology lens in place, we mustn’t forget that people are more prone to evaluate essential and non-essential goods and services for daily use right now, showing more risk-aversion than usual.

Worry drives demand, as financial issues are far from being resolved. Look at top searches in the US as of July 2020:

Following this thread, pragmatism is the driving force, as many consumers will not get back to “normal” anytime soon — a study by the Cambridge Group even coins new profiles whose core is based on immediate COVID-19 response such as Panicked Millennials (focused on household finances) or Pragmatists (focused on reducing non-essential spending).

Yet, a look at search data shows the insights in-between: more discretionary or non-essential goods are starting to bounce back in segments such as “athleisure” clothing or home entertainment, although the industries remain affected.

Even the way people look at entertainment keeps shifting, choosing to spend leisure time close to home or in a safe manner:

On the other hand, because some people still work or spend most of their time in their houses, together with family and close friends, the home improvement segment continues to grow:

While commute and travel budgets have been put on halt for most information workers, remote work seems to be here to stay. It’s what constant demand for building a home office points towards, anyway:

And a constant, rising demand for car rentals and safe, private mobility in general:

Consumer intent reveals an acceleration of shifting channel preferences with a focus on online operations, although macro studies show anxiety levels regarding brick and mortar easing a bit. For instance, the Deloitte State of the Consumer Tracker confirms an increasing tendency in trust levels to shop in stores (49%), go to restaurants (32%) or stay in a hotel (34%) at a global level. Of course, the numbers remain low.

That’s why a prolific avenue is to challenge the macro-level studies with search data — it’s where the relevant insights dwell, helping you discern between lasting trends, spurs of the moment, and important shifts in consumer interest that influence business operations as well.

What trends are emerging that might impact SEO agencies?

Having looked at the state of consumers today, which can prove a certain degree of familiarity for your SEO Company team, it’s important to take this next step — look at the state of businesses and how consumer shifts generate new trends that impact the whole chain.

To pick the most relevant ones for an SEO Company agency, we’ll employ a different lens: Gartner’s Hype Cycle. In short, the framework proposed by Gartner enables you to critically assess the promise of emerging technology through these phases:

Innovation trigger: although there’s no commercial viability yet, there’s a lot of interest in the potential of a new technology. Take AI for example, everybody’s talking about it.

Peak of inflated expectations: More publicity and a few success stories, but mostly struggles and failure. The promise of AI to change the world as we know it, right?

Trough of Disillusionment: Interest decreases and investors drop, as the technology fails to deliver the initial promise. Only a few developers insist.

Slope of Enlightenment: Second- and third-generation products appear as the technology begins to stabilize and show other use cases that prove to be viable. Machine learning and deep learning have strong usability segments, far from the initial scifi scenarios.

Plateau of Productivity: The technology is applied across sectors and markets, and assessment criteria for viability are clearer now. Machine learning adoption rates continue to steadily grow.

What emerging trends can impact the current agency landscape, beyond the trough of disillusionment?

Remote working as a viable company set-up

Even before the pandemic hit, the rise of remote working was visible. If the trend seemed to be somewhere between experimenting and a productive framework, with its acceleration due to COVID-19, remote work is becoming a big part of the new normal.

Recently, we’ve seen geographical constraints move to timezone ones, especially for synchronous companies that do most of the work together. The challenge remains to innovate both at the level of technology and business processes to transform workflows, while also maintaining a strong organizational culture. In addition, that means a different way of doing recruitment, supporting career growth, or enabling social connections in a team. That’s what Remote: office not required explores, presenting how Basecamp designed a remote-first company with all the advantages and struggles.

It’s clear that the trend is here to stay, reshaping such things as telecommuting, client relationships or individual and team productivity.

No-code is filling the gaps of “Software as a process”

Software companies, in their bid to acquire more users, have started developing highly personalized solutions, influencing a business process from start to finish. That’s why, we’re seeing a shift in thinking about software — not just a tool, but a string of actions that dictate a certain business framework and a specific market segment. For instance, tools like Zapier or Integromat allow for a high level of business flow customization, while Jupiter is a CRM dedicated to the beauty industry.

If we consider this business need for fast implementation and high customization, one particular trend stands out. No-code, a movement where people without programming expertise build websites and flows, like connecting two systems, using drag and drop interfaces, is growing past the early days of inflated expectations.

Transforming the traditional software development flow from “business specifications” to “software implementation”, no-code essentially implies less time and money spent on coding, and more resources for optimizing business processes (marketing agency, sales etc.) and discovery.

Think about helping, let’s say, an AC installation supplier set up a customer management system personalized with an automation solution for qualifying leads and scheduling visits, without human intervention at every step. Or building a custom feature on top of Hubspot, to satisfy your agency specialized flows. And with no focus on the technical resources, but the process design.

Businesses (SMBs and Fortune 500) are willing to experiment more in the digital environment

Talking about discovery and experimentation, the pandemic forced both small businesses and large corporate companies to look for alternatives, as digital became a primary channel for the whole funnel. If a marketing agency or sales backlog was available, the pandemic months were the time to review it.

It’s no wonder that the search for “Shopify” exploded since April-May, as more businesses needed to sell online:

Digital-first frameworks have accelerated, or as a McKinsey report puts it, “we have vaulted five years forward in consumer and business digital adoption in a matter of around eight weeks”. This creates a window of opportunity for creativity and innovation, as more and more business processes move in digital environmens: from optimizing digital infrastructure to pivoting client management and communications, rehashing customer journeys, and even identifying new segments, niches or markets that are no longer out of reach.

That also means a plethora of data needs and a way for SEO Company agencies to leverage their know-how.

Search and discovery fragmentation

In the US, more than half of the consumers start their buying journey on Amazon, instead of Google Search, statistics that you’re probably familiar with. Google is also aware of this trend, which makes them continue to develop vertical aggregators like Jobs or News. And that is only one part of the search equation that goes beyond a “box and the 10 blue links”, being now more dependent on behaviours than anything else.

With the fast digitization of businesses after COVID, the trend of search and discovery fragmentation is accelerating at a higher rate, challenging businesses to respond to these channel shifts while thinking more about touchpoints and a buyer quest than a seamless, singular journey. Can this be the birth of a new innovation trigger?

Business networking is not what it used to be

The pandemic drastically impacted business networking, as events are not possible in person, a trend that will probably last longer than expected. The first wave of responses was to move to online events, virtual summits and a variety of webinars, but there’s also the question of informal talks and sales meetings that need to be rethought in order to maintain the quality of interaction.

As with remote work, the geographical boundaries are not a concern anymore for finding vendors or connecting with peers, which leaves a lot of room for creativity in designing new networking processes. What will the pitch look like in another few months? Or the sales meeting? Or the agency community meetup? Probably another innovation trigger is shaping here.

Summary

From a critical assessment of consumer macro-trends against search data, to the way business trends have accelerated in the current context, we’re starting to paint a picture of the new agency landscape. Which are here for good and which are just a trigger in the Hype Cycle? That’s an open question for you and us both.

Here’s a summary of what we’ve seen so far in terms of Consumers and Trends:

How customers look now:

Unemployment rates and health concerns remain high, causing anxiety and making people reassess what is essential and what is non-essential for daily living.

Many consumers will not “get back to normal” as pragmatism is still the driving force for buying something new. Yet, some discretionary or non-essential goods are starting to bounce back, as caution levels waver.

New consumer profiles are emerging, as they also shift channels of consumption. Online-first pragmatists and panicked millennials are concerned with health and finances, while there is a shy recovery of “brick and mortar” consumption.

Entertainment continues to grow in the home-related areas or in the safe outdoors.

What trends are emerging that might impact SEO Company agencies?

Remote working is a viable company set-up that challenges business operations and organizational cultures.

No-code is filling the gaps of “Software as a process”, enabling businesses to explore tech solutions fast, with lower costs, while optimizing their processes.

Businesses (SMBs and Fortune 500) are willing to experiment more in the digital environment, as consumers dictate new sales and marketing agency funnels.

Search and discovery fragmentation continues to accelerate, posing the challenge for businesses to rethink buyer journeys.

Networking is not about events anymore and can be the next big innovation ground.

We’ll continue this series, based on researching our SEO Company agencies community with a thorough analysis of their business models now and what the shifts in 2020 can inspire for reshaping the next-level agency. You can sign up here and be the first to receive the following articles in the series, once they’re live.

At SEOmonitor, we’re committed to helping SEO Company agencies navigate uncertainty, so we adapt our solutions to the current context. Search Trends, the Client Health Tracker or the Reporting board are just a part of our specialized tools and resources.

We’ll get through this together!

Discover an SEO Company platform designed just for SEO Company agencies:

Learn about our solutions

About The Author

SEO Companymonitor’s mission is to help digital marketers overcome the challenges by developing innovative technologies that can make the most out of the available data and deliver insightful and reliable reports. SEO Companymonitor is committed to empowering those who want to move the SEO Company industry forward. Acquire, manage and retain more customers for your SEO Company agency with daily rank tracking, SEO Company forecasting and a unique solution for (not provided).

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/how-would-an-seo-agency-be-built-today-part-1-consumers-and-trends/ source https://scpie.tumblr.com/post/628412705957691392

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scpie · 5 years ago

Text

How would an SEO agency be built today? Part 1: Consumers and trends

What follows is a quest of shaping choices for the near future in a three-part piece that highlights a core question — How would you build an SEO Company agency in 2020?

Consumer and business trends that are emerging and transforming the way people interact. (part one)

The current SEO Company agency business model and its in-depth analysis. (part two)

The possibilities ingrained in thinking about what a reshaped SEO Company agency of 2020 and beyond looks like. (part three)

We’ve designed this series as a business exercise for SEO Company agency leaders and their current struggles because we’re committed to supporting agencies push through uncertainty.

Let’s begin!

How customers look in the current context

Worry drives demand, as financial issues are far from being resolved. Look at top searches in the US as of July 2020:

Even the way people look at entertainment keeps shifting, choosing to spend leisure time close to home or in a safe manner:

On the other hand, because some people still work or spend most of their time in their houses, together with family and close friends, the home improvement segment continues to grow:

And a constant, rising demand for car rentals and safe, private mobility in general:

What trends are emerging that might impact SEO agencies?

Innovation trigger: although there’s no commercial viability yet, there’s a lot of interest in the potential of a new technology. Take AI for example, everybody’s talking about it.

Peak of inflated expectations: More publicity and a few success stories, but mostly struggles and failure. The promise of AI to change the world as we know it, right?

Trough of Disillusionment: Interest decreases and investors drop, as the technology fails to deliver the initial promise. Only a few developers insist.

Plateau of Productivity: The technology is applied across sectors and markets, and assessment criteria for viability are clearer now. Machine learning adoption rates continue to steadily grow.

What emerging trends can impact the current agency landscape, beyond the trough of disillusionment?

Remote working as a viable company set-up

It’s clear that the trend is here to stay, reshaping such things as telecommuting, client relationships or individual and team productivity.

No-code is filling the gaps of “Software as a process”

Businesses (SMBs and Fortune 500) are willing to experiment more in the digital environment

It’s no wonder that the search for “Shopify” exploded since April-May, as more businesses needed to sell online: