[6 TUAN DAU TIEN CUA BRAND MANAGER] - Week 2 - P1 - Understand Consumer ...

How to Be Like James Bond

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   Exude charm. Bond is so likable because he is charming. To be charming, you need to interact with people effectively by knowing what makes them tick. This requires showing an interest in others, listening carefully and reflecting back that you've heard them, all the while observing their body language and demeanor. A good listener is a flatterer and charm is all about flattery.

   • Improve your people skills if they're not already top notch by learning the art of conversation, the intricacies of small talk and the skill of active listening. Improve your ability to read body language. And learn to read between the lines, to understand that the things that people aren't saying are just as important as what they actually say. You can learn and master every single one of these skills if you're determined.
   • Improve your wit. 007 can always turn a bad situation into a funny one. Wit is a game of skill, so if you haven't got it yet, practice Bond's lines and branch out with your own when you feel comfortable. The internet has many examples of witticisms you can "borrow" until it feels more natural.
   • Learn how to speak some of the basics of the more popular languages; knowing other languages will open more doors around the world and keep you culturally attuned. If nothing else, be able to say "Hello" and "How are you?" in the world's most prominent languages: Mandarin, Arabic, Spanish, French, Russian and German.
   • Tell good stories. Bond is a storyteller, in the tradition of all charismatic persons. Storytelling is a skill, just as good conversational skills are; it's about taking the listener to a place or situation filled with interest, intrigue, dynamism and excitement. Use strong verbs, descriptive language and leave out the boring details that hold the story back.
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   Dress impeccably. Bond is rarely disheveled, for he takes pride in the appearance that he presents. Whether it's formal or casual, his clothing is of good quality, well pressed and tailored to fit. If you can't afford tailoring, don't despair — it's about trying clothing on for fit and ignoring the sizing — brands vary so much by sizes but the test of truth is in trying the outfits on and going by feel and look. If the item sits well on you, then it's something that will bring confidence and comfort for you; if it's baggy, too tight or looks like something your grandfather might have worn, don't even think about it. Good grooming includes paying attention to the following:

   • Iron your clothes before wearing. Pressed clothing always gives the impression of a man who cares about his appearance.
   • Polish your shoes. If they're the type of shoe that requires polishing, keep them polished regularly. Shoes that can't be polished should be clean, neat and regularly maintained.
   • If you wear a tie, don't make a statement with it — avoid loud colors, childish or frantic patterns, and unusual widths. Keep it understated and matching with your outfit: cool, calm, and collected.
   • If you wear accessories, such as a watch or a shirt pocket handkerchief, ensure that they're of top quality. People notice these things immediately because they stand out. You want to be judged by others as tasteful and time-tested.
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   Be daring. As a spy, Bond has ample opportunities to be daring. You may not be a spy, but you will have opportunities in life to show courage and to take reasonable risks. Life is a balance of risk and caution. Know when it's reasonable to risk it, and when it's reasonable to withdraw back to safety. Step outside of your comfort zone now and then, and try new adventures regularly to stay engaged with all life has to offer.

   • Talk to a lady with exuberant confidence and deadpan delivery. Does Bond worry about rejection? You can bet your tail he doesn't. Don't go into the conversation expecting anything. If she's interested, your boldness will have been rewarded. If she's not, your ego needs nothing more than a smoky, peaty scotch to soothe its temporary bruise.
   • Consider asking for a raise. 007 knows how much he's worth. Do you? If you've been working at your company for more than a year without even a nominal raise, think about having a chat with your boss. Understand what you are doing before you try to negotiate a raise; you might not get what you want. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. Right Mr. Bond?
   • Flirt with disaster (in a safe way). Have you ever been skydiving or bungee jumping? How about race car driving? Consider doing any of the above with an experienced professional. When put between a rock and a hard place, Bond merely shoots out of the tangle at incredibly fast speeds. You might, too.
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   Stay uncomplicated. Bond doesn't do complicated. Whether it's his work, his relationships or his life in general, he aims to sort things out so that they're simple enough without being too simple. If you don't want long-term relationships, be open about this from the beginning — it's unkind to leave people dangling and it's going to complicate things too much for you if you're not clear. As for your work life, avoid entangling yourself with office politics as much as possible because it makes matters unnecessarily messy, distracting you from getting on with what really matters.

   • Be sophisticated while remaining uncomplicated. Choose the best and discard the rest — you don't need those dollar store or sale table bargains. One coat will do instead of a whole wardrobe filled with sales knock-offs. One French champagne is better than a dozen sparkling wines from the specials bin.
   • Familiarize yourself with the top-shelf. You don't have to be bleeding cash to taste a little bit of the good life. Treat yourself every once in a while to the very best, the crème de la crème, of life. Save and skimp for a while so you know what it's like to taste Johnny Walker Blue Label, or what it's like to wear a Patek Philippe watch.
   • If you can afford expensive cars and gadgets, keep these uncomplicated too. One beautiful car to lavish your attention on is sufficient — a garage full of them is just boastful and time-sapping. Ditto the gadgets — just how many can you play with in a day? Keep it real.
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   Vacation in beautiful places. You might not be able to jet off to Monte Carlo or live it up in Rio during the carnival, but you can avail yourself of beautiful places near you. Choose places that are naturally beautiful, such as beaches, local forests, or mountains near your locale; spend time relaxing in nature with your loved ones. Whether you're camping or staying in a five star resort, you can make the most of the world's beauty by appreciating it and making it the backdrop for your vacation activities, just as Bond would do.
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   Learn self-defense. Self-defense is the the art of getting out of fights as much as possible and engaging when there's no other choice. In the case of actual engagement, good self-defense skills will enable you to disarm an opponent, not simply through force, but also through anticipation and focus. A Martial art is highly recommended because you'll learn the skills of reading people, staying aware, avoiding combat and engaging artfully when the need arises. Martial arts also help to increase confidence and maintain flexibility of both body and mind.

   • Stay fit. Your primary defense is fitness, an ability to move agilely, to run fast, to react quickly, etc. Bond is always in good shape through daily exercise and workouts, a healthy habit to adopt in your life too.
   • Improve your street smarts. Be more alert and aware of your surroundings — look around and think ahead to see the things that others don't. Always be thinking one or more steps ahead of others around you, asking yourself "if this happens, then…". Notice things that are out of context or out of character and be alert for what this may mean. Again, noticing more about the people and world around you is a skill you can hone.
   • Swim. Bond is a brilliant swimmer, both distance and underwater. Swimming is great all-round fitness and who knows when you might need to swim for any length of time to escape your foes?
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   Treat women with respect. Bond knows that women are his equal and can hold their own in any situation. Treat women with respect wherever you go; this mantra is important both for forming solid and loyal relationships, but also maintaining healthy self-esteem. A man with good self-esteem doesn't need to put down women to feel better.

   • Be a gentleman through and through. Hold the door open for her when she's nearby. Avoid barbaric displays of swearing or hooliganism. Be warm and inviting to her mother — you'll be happy you did.
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   Move with the times. Bond upgrades as often as possible, keeping abreast of all the new developments. He isn't threatened by change but embraces it willingly, often with gusto. You will find the world a less threatening place when you're prepared to acknowledge that life keeps changing and when you're willing to give new things a go and bring them into your own life.

   • Read the newspaper every day. Aim for a newspaper with an international feel, so that you can learn about developments around the world. Special interest and lifestyle should take a necessary back seat to politics and world news.
   • Make friends in high places. Not only will friends in high places benefit your career and your social life, they might make you privy to certain information that won't appear in newspapers and news sources. And while you're probably not going to need the information for spying or selling government secrets, they domake great cocktail stories.
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   Practice good taste in food and drinks. Bond thrives on quality food — fast food outlets are not his style. Healthy, unprocessed food is a source of good energy, brain power and longevity. As for drinks, be a connoisseur of alcoholic drinks, not a guzzler. Bond enjoys a refreshing drink here and there (in particular, the famous shaken-not-stirred vodka martini). Yet, he doesn't over-indulge as a rule. Staying alert and healthy requires taking a sensible approach to alcohol.

   • Have a go-to cocktail that you can call your own. You don't need to guzzle martinis like it's Prohibition, but you should know what you like to drink and which drinks like you. That way, you can fire off a request to the bartender tout suite and start scoping the scene for villains or vixens.
   • If you don't know how to cook, start learning. It's yet another skill that is easy to learn when you put your mind to it. Cooking frees you from relying on others to produce your meal, as well. Best of all, cooking will keep you healthy and fed wherever you may find yourself.
   • Eat with etiquette. Know how to hold the cutlery, chopsticks, etc. and know how to deal with fiddly or sloppy food so that you don't make a mess. Chew with your mouth closed and avoid making eating noises. And keep your elbows off the table.
   • Be hospitable. Always be ready to pop the bubbly and throw an event to entertain your friends. Whether you're rich or not-so-rich, there is always time for sharing food and good conversation with friends.
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    Have a Plan B. Bond always has a Plan B, whether it's a spy mission, aconfrontation with the boss or a date. There's no need to vocalize your changed intentions––Bond doesn't do that, he just gets on with things as needed, to sort out a bad situation and make it good again. And apply common sense to all that you do, just as Bond would.
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    Gain a better memory. A good memory makes the world your oyster, just as Bond proves. It enables you to remember all the small details about people, the conversations you've had and the experiences you've lived through in intimate detail. Knowledge is power and memory is the way to retain that knowledge and keep hold of that power. A good memory is something Bond treasures, as it enables him to speak different languages, keep tabs on the people he meets again throughout his life, and harness the processing power to crack tricky puzzles.

    • Play memory games when you can. Use mnemonic devices to assist in your quest to strengthen your memory: Limericks, acrostics, and acronyms are all helpful in making you a memory savant.
    • Sleep enough, eat healthy, and keep stress levels low. Sleep helps you boost your memory, as can certain omega-3 foods and antioxidants.^[1] Stress destroys brain cells and negatively affects the hippocampus, an area in the brain involved in memory formation and retrieval. Get good sleep when you aren't saving the world; treat yourself to a hearty salmon fillet with spinach at your finest establishment; and don't stress too much about the Russian oligarchs trying to disrupt the balance of world power.
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    Value what matters. Even though Bond may seem free and loose with his loving ways, he is capable of nurturing love, which the case of Vesper Lynd makes clear. Treasure the people you love and care about. Realize that these people are the ones who make life what it really is — all the fast cars, sleek gadgets and chic lifestyles cannot replace the love and friendship of those who trust you and are always there for you.v

Ten Traits That Will Help You Be An Alpha male

The name’s Bond, James Bond. Now here is something that just about every guy has said in his life. Why? Because, this iconic movie character portrays all the characteristics and traits that make up an alpha male. This line might not look like much on paper, but when heard from the man himself, it just oozes confidence and swag.

Just so we are clear, an alpha male is NOT a buff, overly dominant, aggressive one-upper that obnoxiously puts others down to make himself appear to be superior. These men are simply just jerks and or douchebags. He is instead someone who can communicate his dominance more subtly, and in the process, make others feel as if it were a gift to be in his presence.

So just how exactly does one go about learning how to be a man that his peers admire and the women flock to? Easy, you just have to adopt these characteristics and apply them to your every day life.

So let’s take a look at them.

1. Confidence

Now we all knew this was going to be on the list and quite frankly, it deserves an article all to its self. To keep things plain and simple, alpha males exude confidence in just about everything they do because they are self-assured. They believe in their own abilities and know that there is no such thing as failure, as long as they gave it their best effort. Confidence is really just an attitude that one has toward life. It builds upon itself through practice and experience. One of the easiest ways to develop self confidence, is to fake it til you make it. In other words, mimic the language, mannerisms, and behaviors of a confident person, and you will soon start to see just how easy it is.

2. Indifference

Have you ever noticed how nonchalant or unconcerned an alpha male appears to be? On the surface they may seem careless but in reality, they are careFREE. This is one of the main reasons why they have beautiful women surrounding them. Women of high caliber are used to being put on pedestals and treated like goddesses. But an alpha male on the other hand, doesn’t treat them any differently because of their looks. He is completely indifferent toward them in general and demonstrates how he is just fine with or without them. This indifference is what draws not only women, but people in general toward an alpha male. We are constantly trying to get people to like us and will try even harder when we feel we are failing. So be the one being chased instead of the chaser.

3. Valuable

The ideal man knows his worth and doesn’t seek validation from others to feel it. He knows he is valuable and wears that price tag everywhere he goes. These days, men only feel accomplished after a major success or after they score with a woman. The other 80% of the time, they are looking for reasons to prove their value to everyone. An alpha male doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone and stores his worth intrinsically. He’s the man that shows up to a job interview not afraid to ask for a higher salary, because he knows that he can and will deliver something that no other man can.

 4. Humorous

Being an alpha male doesn’t mean you have to walk around like a tough guy with a straight face all the time. It’s actually quite the opposite. A man who knows how to work a room and deliver a well timed joke is usually seeing as not only attractive, but as a leader. See, telling a joke takes some guts. There is the chance that your joke will bomb and you will have run the risk of lowering your social value. An alpha male understands this and uses it to his advantage. That is why he takes the time to understand the intricacies of humor so that the next time he is at a social gathering, people will remember who had them laughing the whole night.

5. Fitness/Coordination

As previously mentioned, being super ripped is not a qualification for being an alpha male. In fact, there are plenty of guys who aren’t at all physically fit who would still be considered as alpha males. However, there is a certain degree of fitness and coordination that should still be met. James Bond wasn’t seen entering a room knocking over tables and people’s drinks was he? No. He was in control of his every move. He moved with purpose and efficiency. When things got dangerous, he was either able to run like hell, or defend himself. The point is that his body was in one way or another a tool that he could count on at any point in time.

6. Ability to build sexual tension

Another reason why alpha males are so good with women is because they know how to build sexual tension. They do this by taking a normal interaction and creating a sense of romance or sensuality out of it. Their confidence and charisma is unrelenting and captures the imagination of the woman they are talking to. These men know how to push a woman’s buttons in just the right way. An alpha male is unapologetic for his sexual presence and offers the opportunity for a woman to be swept off her feet.

7. Courageous

Being courageous doesn’t mean that you don’t feel fear. It means exercising the ability to push that fear aside and rise above whatever obstacle you are facing. Alpha males push themselves to break out of their comfort zone and face fears on a daily basis. This makes them comfortable with the uncomfortable. Once they desensitize themselves to the feeling of fear, it becomes increasingly easy for them to perform courageous acts.

8. Bold

Sometimes certain things need to be said. Nobody wants to step up to the plate, so in comes the alpha male. They are the ones who are willing to tell people how they really feel. They will tell it like it is in an unduly and forward fashion. Beating around the bush and pussyfooting is for the average joe. It is this brazen attitude that seperates the alpha male. In many cases though, this approach to life isn’t just desired but necessary.

9. Poised

An alpha male is a graceful creature. He has an elegant bearing and navigates through life with precision and fluidity. His undoubted belief in himself isn’t flaunted but instead harnessed. This makes him somewhat elusive. It is almost like he has something up his sleeve that he is waiting to pull out. It’s for this reason that he should never be underestimated. This total lack of anxiousness and nerve is what makes an alpha male a smooth operator.

10. Mysterious

The alpha male always keeps people guessing. When someone has unanswered questions, what do they do? They inquire about that particular subject. They go around asking their friends and peers in order to gather more information. A man who doesn’t reveal himself all at once, leaves the opportunity for people to do just that. He puts on a spectacle and then just like that, he vanishes. Then there is nothing left but a grand image of that man and all the wonders of the people who witnessed him.