The Importance of Communication in Your Job Success

1.Importance of Communication in Success

2.Six Essential Tips for Effective Business Communication

3.Communicating Aggressively

4.Communicating With Boss Effectively

5.How to Communicate Effectively with Employees

6.Communicating Effectively at Work

7.Importance of Communication in Success

8.Preventing Work Related Stress

9.How to Avoid Procrastination at Work

10.Preventing a Brute Force or Dictionary Attack: How to Keep the Brutes

Away from Your Loot

The Importance of Communication in Your Job Success

There is a very important key to a person's success that is often overlooked. It's not a

special way they comb their hair or a special scent of perfume, but rather something

that they have been working on since birth. It is their ability to communicate clearly

and effectively. Strong language skills are absolutely required to survive and succeed

in today's business world. This skill is even more necessary for somebody who works in

a position that requires them to interact with the public or large amounts of their

coworkers. When they deal with customers or business partners they are representing

their employer. If they communicate effectively, they build a positive image for the

company and themselves, which can often lead to promotions or raises.

Even before someone starts a job, their communication skills are important. In a

typical interview the applicants are given a brief amount of time to show their ability to

speak, listen, and respond in a clear and concise manner. If they use the correct words

in the correct context they are much more likely to receive the job. The idea behind the

interview process is actually quite simple. The prospective employer has already seen

their resumes, checked their work history and references, and has often seen their

college transcripts. They already know what has been achieved by the applicant and

what they should be capable of. The whole purpose of the interview process is to speak

with them directly, and see how polished the applicant's verbal skills are.

Strong communication skills are also important on the job. This applies to both written

and verbal communication. In a retail sales position, the salesperson needs to be aware

of not only how to convey certain bits of information, but also how to word their dialog

positively. Having a strong command of the English language allows one to better

understand the connotations associated with different words. "Cheap" is a commonly

used word, but in a sales environment "inexpensive" would convey the same meaning

without the negative aspects associated with "cheap" items. Correct word selection is

also important when dealing with coworkers, superiors, and subordinates. If someone

were to tell their boss that their business plan was "wrong" due to lacking in certain

areas, it would likely be taken as more of a personal attack than a piece of constructive

criticism. If the word "unpolished" were used, it would imply that the whole of the plan

was still good, but it contains minor imperfections that can be smoothed out.A person's

command of words can also have a positive or negative impact on their personal lives.

When two people in a relationship are both effective communicators there is a much

higher likelihood of problems being resolved. Knowing the correct words and their

usage also allows one to more fully explain their feelings and opinions. The human

emotion system is vastly complex. The more words a person has command of, the more

likely they are to be able to convey the emotions they are feeling and the cause of

those emotions. Strong communication skills are also important when raising children.

Children have an especially hard time expressing their emotions in positive ways.

When they grow up learning ways to express themselves verbally by observing their

parents, it often makes the parent-child relationship much less stressed.

The fact that a strong vocabulary is important to success is actually no secret at all. In

fact, several popular magazines have features in every issue that list "power words"

and their definitions, along with suggested usages. People even pay large amounts of

money to receive audio tapes and computer programs to help them enhance their

vocabulary. An effective vocabulary is much easier and less expensive to acquire than

the marketers of those audio tapes would like people to think. The means lies in a book

common to almost every household. That book is, of course, the Dictionary. Its

companion, the Thesaurus, is equally important. They both hold the key to developing

word power.

Knowledge of words is only the first part of becoming a successful communicator. The

next step requires observation. Observe the uses of different words and their

connotations in different situations. Observe the positive and negative reactions to

certain words. The last part is probably the most complex. It is the ability to listen

effectively. When someone is speaking consider not only the specific words that they

use, but also the meanings and intentions behind each of the words. This can help you

to not only better understand what is being said, but also to perceive underlying

motives. Many times you may notice that someone is expressing displeasure, but doing

so in a way that less observant people with an inferior understanding of word usage

may never pick up on. This can lead to people seeing you as intuitive, and can have

innumerable positive effects on your personal and professional life.

Another part of effective communication is knowing the correct words to use in certain

settings. Certain words may not match certain social settings, and may result in the

user being considered "rude" or "snooty." By observing the conversational norms you

can better adapt your language to those around you. This can be a great skill in a

workplace that requires you to have contact with

a diverse customer base. Cultural differences also require observation. Some cultures

appreciate displeasure being voiced in an indirect, polite manner, while others view

this type of behavior as a sign that someone is dishonest and insincere. On the other

end of the spectrum, stately words would be quite appropriate in some occasions.

When in the company of scholars, diplomats, or other well-educated people, one may

be viewed as a simpleton for using casual language.

The ability to communicate is a great skill that is often undeveloped. Having command

of a large vocabulary is usually the most noticeable aspect of communication skills, but

it is only one of the required skills. The words you use, along with their usage,

connotations, and implications, often form others' opinions of you and your character.

In the workplace these communication skills are especially important. In order to

achieve a managerial position, you must be able to not only effectively communicate to

your superiors why you deserve the position, but also be able to communicate

effectively with your subordinates in a manner that encourages teamwork and inspires

respect.

Importance of Communication in Success

Most of the times, we do not realize the importance of communication in our day-to-day

professional life and is mostly overlooked. It is important that we put across our views and

opinions effectively to the people in our organization so that everyone is on the same page

towards the goal. A goal-oriented group of individuals in a team or organization can reach

success in an easier way than others.

Communication is the medium or the process by which one can convey or express his

thoughts, views and feelings. Whatever be the mode of communication, the effectiveness of

the communication is very important for the success of an individual or a team.

Ineffective or bad communication is equivalent to not exhibiting your opinions. Hence the

key factor for success is communication, especially effective communication.

Communication can be of 5 types in nature.

Very popularly described as WOVEN, the five types include written, oral, verbal, electronic

and non-verbal communication. But why is effective communication important or rather how

does communication help in achieving success?

1. Communication will help strength relationships and will improve bonding

among the people in a team or organization. The more you communicate openly and

frankly, the listener will tend to build his levels of comfort and confidence in you. Once the

confidence level increases among the team members, the goal turns into a common one

and thus can be easily achieved.

2. Effective communication will prevent many misunderstandings in general.

Assumption is a major adversity as many people tend to think that others know what they

are thinking. But when opinions clash, it turns into misunderstandings and conflicts. Such

problems can be resolved by taking time to convey across thoughts and feelings in an

accurate manner. Thus communicating is important so as to make sure that everyone is in

synchronization to avoid misunderstanding and conflicts.

3. It is a must that important decisions and factors are documented for reference

in future. This kind of written communication can be held as a proof for future use. Also

such kind of documentation helps in keeping the team members in synchronization with the

goals and standards that were formulated even before they joined the team.

4. Communication is always not necessarily from the top management. It also needs

to be equipped by every member of the team to send their thoughts and views. When there

are cases of complaints or misunderstandings, team members need to communicate that to

their leaders following the right hierarchy so as to reduce the level of frustration and friction

within the team.

5. Decision making in an organization hugely depends on the thoughts and ideas

that are communicated from all the employees. Strategies like brainstorming and

other kind of decision making tools need thoughts and views of all the involved members as

the prime input. Such kind of methods require effective communication processes to make

the entire process a success.

6. In a huge team, it is mandatory that all the team members are on the same

levels in terms of information knowledge and messages conveyed. In these

scenarios, team meetings and discussions will help resolve misunderstandings and

communication gaps. So to ensure the success in a team effort, the information needs to be

effectively communicated to all the members. Oral communication followed by verbal

communication will ensure that the information passed to all the members is same and

accurate.

 7. Job delegation and responsibility assigning is a frequently encountered act in

organizations and teams. But if the job details are not effectively passed on, the work will

not be completed satisfactorily and would cause failure of the job. Thus communication

plays an important role again in this regard. Communicating the job details accurately is

important and necessary so as to get the job done as per requirements.

Thus based on the above factors and discussions, we can conclude that communication is

not just a necessary ingredient for success but is also needed for maintaining harmony and

a peaceful professional relationship within the organization

Six Essential Tips for Effective Business Communication

Be it personal or business, communication is a matter of human relationships and not just

transmitting facts. In a business, this relationship is intertwined with situation handling

strategies to achieve an effective communication process. Communication in business can

be a defining factor for your business. 

An effective communication can turn even a worst situation into an opportunity while

ineffective communication can cause loss of business productivity along with creating other

obstacles. Below you can find six essential tips that can help you achieve an effective

communication process.

Tip #1: Pay all your attention

When you communicate with someone, make sure that you pay your complete attention. Try

to take your business communications in an environment that is neither noisy nor busy.

Any kind of physical, emotional or mental discomforts or distractions can lead your attention

away from the communication. When you pay attention and focus, you create a comfort

level in the other person’s mind about the transaction. Such kind of undivided attention will

earn you respect and trust from your receiver.

In case you encounter genuine distractions during the course of your communication, make

sure that you acknowledge it with a greeting or apology.  For example, if you have to take

an emergency call during your company’s team meeting you can acknowledge it with

“Sorry, It was an emergency” note to the others in the room. Such kind of apologies or

greetings will make your audience feel that you are providing undivided attention and that

the message conveyed is of serious nature.

Tip #2: Listen attentively

In any kind of communication, it is important that you understand if your listener is with you.

A one-sided communication also does the job of sending across the facts and information

but the relationship we discussed about initially does not live in it. In an effective business

communication, it is not just important that you send across the facts but is also important

that you make sure your listener is grasping them.

In a communication process, try to convey your message with a mix of verbal and non

verbal efforts. You can seek the aid of your body language and facial expressions to put your

message across more effectively.

Just as how your body language is important, it is also important that you study your

listener’s body language. Understanding his body language will let you know whether he is

suspicious or confused or bored with your opinions and ideas. This will help you to alter your

pace or style to clarify his needs.

Tip #3: Smile when you talk

Though it is normally advisable that business communications are kept formal, it is a must

that you maintain a smile when you discuss your facts. This kind of a gentle smile will

ensure that you are relaxed and pleasant and will also improve the comfort of your listener.

Tip #4: Respect the other person

When you are trying to gain someone’s attention and confidence, it is a must that you make

them feel respected. A simple smile and a greeting at the start of the conversation will make

the other person feel important. It is also a must that you greet the other person with name

and due salutations so as to add a personal touch to your relationship. This kind of

addressing method will make increase comfort level and will make him feel respected.

Always keep your communications short and crisp. It is not only important that you respect

an individual but you also need to respect his time. Before you start your conversation,

confirm on his time availability and stick to it.

Tip #5: Receive Feedback

Receiving feedback can help you understand the effectiveness of your communication.

Asking questions can help in involving your listener also in the conversation. Asking

questions does not imply questioning their understanding ability but to gain involvement.

For example, questions like “what is your opinion will help them talk more” rather than

questions like “do you understand”

 Tip #6: List out the key points and the action

At the end of every business communication, ensure that you document all key points that

have been discussed. Also, make it a point to document the actions that were discussed to

be taken after the meeting and follow them up on a regular basis. These kind of documented

points can act as evidence and reference when required in future.

Communicating Aggressively

It is common that we find people who act in a superior way around us, but there are some

people who over do this. They involve in our decisions and make our choices. Any situation

that they participate in will have to be a winning situation for them. Such people are all

around us and they are known as the aggressive types. But did you know how to figure out

the good and bad of this kind of communication? Read on to understand more about

communication types and in detail about aggressive communication.

What is communication and how is it classified?

Communication is the ability of an individual to convey across a message to a listener or an

audience through verbal or non-verbal forms. Communication is basically classified into

various types depending on the method used for communication like oral, written, non-

verbal, etc. It can also be classified based on the characteristics exhibited by an individual’s

style of communication. On that note, it is differentiated into four types, passive, aggressive,

assertive and passive-aggressive.

What is Aggressive type of Communication?

Aggressive communication is a communication style where the individual expresses his or

her opinion and views in a bold manner dominating others ideas. They often express their

views in such a manner that it violates other’s rights and opinions. These individuals can

also be at times verbally or physically abusive.

Sometimes a bit of aggression is also mixed in the behaviour leading to passive-aggressive

types of behaviour. It is often experienced by people who have had a history of past

emotional abuse and wounds. Such kind of wounds and feels tend to lower a person’s self-

esteem thereby making them aggressive in nature.

How is this behavioural nature developed?

Like passive communication, aggressive form of communication can also result due to low

self esteem. This form of urge to satisfy one’s need may arise due to the suppressed

emotions for a long time or emotional wounds that have been tolerated for long.

Feelings of powerlessness that have been felt for long normally tend to bring out a

characteristic to safeguard an individual’s emotions. Such kind of feeling will develop

aggressiveness making the individual pursue his interest dominantly.

Self esteem is the individual’s formed opinion of his worth. Individuals who have issues of

low self-esteem tend to form a protective cover so as to protect their interest. This arises as

they assume that they are not worth being cared by others surrounding them. Thus their

own nature of not expressing, explodes and forms a shied thus making them aggressive in

nature.

Characteristic features of an aggressive communicator

Aggressive communicators are primarily characterized by a nature to dominate others. They

interfere in other’s decisions and views and try to safeguard their interest as the main aim.

When in any conflict, these kinds of individuals resort to humiliation as the tool to control the

opponent. They frequently blame, criticize or attack people around them. The normally talk

in a loud and demanding voice and are also very impulsive.

In any group, an aggressive person tends to interfere frequently and also does not listen

attentively. They are also very strong in the body language they exhibit with piercing kind of

eye contacts and a posture that is overbearing in nature.

These kinds of individuals often have very low tolerance levels and explode even at the

lightest of frustration. These kind of people also point or blame others a lot with very

frequent usage of “you” statements.

How does such behaviour affect individuals?

Individuals who are aggressive in their communicational behaviour tend to be scared of

other people around them. An insecure feel of their opinions and interests being offended

always keeps them cautious and hence causes a fear on others. This fear for a prolonged

duration naturally becomes hatred towards co-workers and colleagues.

Aggressive communicators tend to move away from people and keep to themselves. In

short, they alienate others from them and tend to alienate themselves from other people.

They are also always involved in the blame game and are on constant lookout for error in

others. This kind of nature thus creates an immature impression of them on others.

Before you think whether such behaviour is good or bad, understand that no specific pattern

of communicational behaviour is perfect. A mix of the patterns with a maturity to use the

right kind at the right place is a must. So next time, you find an individual who says, “It’s all

your fault” or “I’ll get my way no matter what”, you know whom you are dealing with.

Communicating With Boss Effectively

A workplace is not a forgiving type of environment for employees. No matter how old you

are, what your experience is and your education, you are still pressured to be productive

according to the companies expectations. A slip up could easily backfire and may cause

termination.

A fresh graduate could easily feel this pressure as soon as they are hired for the job. Sure, a

company orientation on the first day on the job should help you feel good about the

company but when it gets serious, the fresh graduate is expected to be as productive like

the oldest member of the group.

And the situation could get worst since, the boss will eventually ask for more data from the

fresh graduate. This data could come in the form of presentation or a simple one-on-one

meeting. Either way, this situation should be handled like a professional but the pressure

could easily shake the fresh graduate’s confidence.

Knowing the “Enemy” In war and in competitions, a good way to ensure victory is to know the capabilities of your

enemy. Although the boss is not literally an enemy, he could be if the presentation does not

go well. The boss has expectations that should be met or else it will only spell trouble.

A fresh graduate or anyone not familiar with the boss should extend research on the boss’

personality. He or she could be demanding; asks a lot of questions or could be subtle but will

ultimately be unimpressed if you don’t provide a good presentation. By knowing how they

react to certain information, you will be able to prepare rebuttals in case of questions and

objections.

Focus on a Goal The best way for your information to be totally understood is to provide a goal while creating

a road map on achieving that goal. This is usually the challenge faced by those goes into

presentation the first time. There are too many information to be considered and too many

factors that could affect the goal. But thinking about those things could easily jeopardize

your presentation.

To ensure you focus on a goal, the factors that you need to add should be the ones that will

have a great effect on the goal. By sticking to these factors, you can provide the challenges

in achieving that goal and what you can do about it. Expect your boss to ask questions

regarding other factors and be prepared for a rebuttal on why those factors will not have a

significant role in affecting the goal.

Many fresh graduates often end up frustrated with their careers because they are unable to

go through these scenarios. But think of pressure packed presentation only as a test. These

presentations are not death chambers wherein you will die if you do not have a good

presentation. If your first presentation does not go well, pick yourself up and try harder the

next time. As long as they do not terminate you from work, you will still have a chance to

improve

How to Communicate Effectively with Employees

Employee communication is an important part of organizational communication. It is the

prime job of the manager to make sure that the employees are kept informed of the

organizational happenings.

Employee communication is the most basic part of business communication that many

people often do not realize it as a part of their communicational process. But failure to

communicate with your employees can de-motivate them and finally cause loss of valuable

resources.  It is hence mandatory to understand how to communicate effectively and to

make sure that your employees remain satisfied.

This article is a detailed description of the many aspects that need to be maintained when

communicating with your employees

 Prepare beforehand

Though the audience is your employee, you still need to be prepared before you make any

communication with them. Such preparation will ensure that you cover all points to be

discussed while it also creates seriousness in your employees about the communication.

Provide complete information

Provide accurate and complete information to your employees. It is not necessary that you

reveal crucial organization data but it is also important that you give them all the required

information.

Do not use sentences that will make them feel that you are holding back crucial data. Such

statements will act against you and will make them lose confidence on you.

Gaining confidence is important but be careful as not to reveal data more than that is

required for the gathered audience.

Plan a regular meeting

It is necessary to plan a meeting on a regular basis to keep the employees updated on

organizational policies and goals. Such meetings will also help to enhance the manager –

employee relationship levels. But when you plan your meetings, be careful not to plan them

too frequent as the session might not be of much value. Frequent meetings will decrease the

importance provided to such meetings. So a planned duration meeting on a planned interval

will help you to maintain frequent communication plans.

Keep your meetings short and brief

While it is importance that you provide all necessary information to your employees, do not

indulge in too long a conversation. Remember that your employee’s useful productive time

is being used up during your meetings. This time that is consumed needs to be minimised so

as to make maximum utilization of the available time. Frequent long meetings will also tend

to reduce motivation of the employees. It is a must that you make sure you do not include

complex communication methodologies.

Assign responsibilities and form proper teams

When you delegate job to your employees, it is advisable to assign responsibilities to certain

efficient employees and get the communication streamlined rather than communicating in a

non-oriented manner. Such an organized manner of communication will also ensure that all

grievances are addressed by someone even if you are not able to handle them.

Create trust in your employee

A trusted staff relationship will help improve motivation and ownership among your

employees. It is important that you become a trusted communicator to get the maximum

productivity and efficiency from your employees. Also display a share of trust from your side

which will help to create trust in your employees.

Listen to your Employees

It is not only important that you communicate effectively but you also need to listen

attentively. Listening to your employees is a part of an effective communication process.

Unless you understand and sort out the grievances in the mind of your employees, you will

not be able to instil confidence in them.

Express your expectations

It is must that as a supervisor you express what you expect from your employees. It is better

to talk to them about short term and long term goals rather than encourage rising

expectations. It is wise to sit and discuss on goals to avoid future disappointments. Thus

expressing expectations also form a part of employee communication.

To effectively complete all these, it is must that you decide best strategies and

methodologies for communication. Communicating with your employees effectively is an

important part of organizational success. Such an effective communication not only

improves employee productivity but will also create a confidence and comfort level for

longer trustworthy relationships.

Communicating Effectively at WorkWork place communication is an important aspect for a successful career. Whether you are

communicating with your junior level employees or with your seniors, it is a must that you

follow effective communication guidelines to make sure that the information is passed on

accurately. Effective communication will help you get your job done in the required manner

and will also make sure that you communicate your needs properly to your boss. Thus to

attain a successful career, it is a must that you master the skills related to communication.

Communication is a two way process, especially when you need to convey the right

message. There are many kinds of communication - written, oral, verbal, electronic and non-

verbal forms. Though all these forms can be used at workplace it is must that you use the

right one at the right place in an effective manner.

Preparation is the key to an effective communication process. Whether you are

communicating to your boss or to your team, it is a must that you prepare beforehand what

is to be conveyed.

A preparation-less communication will tend to make you miss out important points and

salient topics. Sometimes you might also tend to forget points and lose your confidence

level in between the communication session.  Hence be prepared for your session and

accompany it with all kinds of documentary evidence required. It is required that you are

prepared to answer all questions and answers regarding the message conveyed.

In case you are not sure of the answer for any of the question, inform them that you would

get back and do not forget to keep up your word.

Plan your communication session in advance and book your time beforehand to avoid last

minute hassles. If you are communicating with your boss, choose a time when he is in a

pleasant mood and in a relaxed state.

If you are communicating with your team, find a time when the entire team is available for a

session. Normally productivity is low in the afternoons and thus communicating at those

time will ensure that work is not affected to a serious extend. Make sure that you plan your

meeting in advance so as to avoid last minute absentees.

Learn to display a firm body language and clear facial expressions. A hunchbacked posture

or a serious look can provide a lack of confidence look. Also the posture of your hands tells

the listener a lot about your intention with regards to the communicated message. Hands

folded near the front may look like you lack openness and the listener might find it difficult

to create confidence on you.

Also hands that are busy fiddling with pen or watch might distract the listener and will

reduce efficiency of the communicated message. Your body language is a strong resource

and make sure that you use it to enhance your communication skills . Try to keep your

hands along the sides of your body or you can involve them in noting down points during the

meeting. Try to maintain a firm eye contact but do not stare at the listener which might

make them uncomfortable.

It is mandatory that you listen to the reaction of your audience and modulate your

communication skills based on it. Based on the body language exhibited, you can figure out

if the session is boring or not. You also need to make sure that the listener is involved in the

discussion.

Thus a two way communication is often very helpful in sending across the message

effectively. Use your skills to frame your communication in open ended questions. Open

ended questions like, “how do you think we can help” or “What is your opinion on this”, will

help the listener to open up and involve in the conversation.

Taking feedback is also an important method of part of effective communication. Make sure

that you are open to comments and opinions from your audience. Such a kind of open

communication will ensure that your listener grasps the main crux of your whole

communication.

Express your expectations in the right manner beforehand instead of waiting till the year

end to convey it. Whether you are a team leader or a team member, talk to your team and

your boss on your short term and long term goals and expectations. This will help resolve

disappointments in future.

Preventing Work Related Stress

Stress at work can get you off-guarded which will decrease productivity and lower your

morale. It's a common condition in the office that causes people to "crack" or "lose it"

making them unstable and unreliable at work.

 Companies do everything they can to avoid this situation but a business environment is not

just a walk in the park. People will always demand something in an instant and it can really

stress out an employee.

The common solution to stress related problem is to be reactive to the situation. This can

help employees deal with stress but more often than not, the solution is too late. When

stress happens, the body will react and it will take a lot of time before stress can be

addressed. The cycle of stress should never be tolerated as this can easily lead to frustration

and lack of productivity. For this reason, it's highly recommended that employees prevent

stress instead of reacting to the situation.

Organization is the Key

A good way method to prevent stressful situation is organization. That means your desk,

your schedule and workload is properly organized. This will help you deal with the

unexpected since everything you need to do the task is can be easily found. The unexpected

work will even have an expected time frame because of your proper scheduling.

When you are consistent in your organization, there is a big chance that the company you

recognize this trait and respect your workload. This can also help you reach out to other

tasks which can boost your reputation and chances of promotion.

Think before Reacting

A tactful person is always a person that can easily deal with stress. When an unexpected

work comes out, think before you say anything. The work might be very challenging and you

don't have the time but it's a lot better to tell the boss that you can't do it in a calmer

mood. Thinking clearly about the assignment will also help you formulate an action plan.

Remember that it's another challenge that will prove your ability to deal with pressure.

Being Calm - All the Time

There will always be situation at work that can get anyone in a panic mood. But don't let

pure emotion affect you. Stay focused and calm in order to do the task asked of you.

Panicking will never do you any good as this can only lead to more trouble. You don't want

to be another person that will drag the company further down. Being calm will also help you

establish your leadership skills. You virtually become the "go to guy" when the going gets

tough because you are calm in this situation.

Keeping in Touch with the Right Persons

The trouble with work related stress is that they are often unexpected. Avoid this trouble by

actively looking for work. If you have finished your work before the expected date and time,

ask your boss or other contacts if there's anything else that needs to be done. This is

another feather to your cap when you are able to provide assistance to others who can't

deal with their responsibilities.

How to Avoid Procrastination at Work

Companies always want their employees to do their best at work. When an employee works

as expected, the company is assured of success for a very long time. That's why companies

are very selective in hiring individuals for sensitive positions. They want to hire the best and

would use many tools to carefully choose the best.

But aside from a careful selection process, companies are usually very rewarding for those

who do their best at work. Companies would offer financial rewards for excellent work on

certain projects. Promotion and bonuses is also a common practice of companies to highly

productive individuals.

Unfortunately, there are still individuals who opted to procrastinate. These individuals can't

seem to will themselves to work even though there are promotions and bonuses by merely

doing your job well. Some opted to be mediocre in their work as they don't take time to

dedicate their efforts on a specific task.

This behavior in some employees is very costly for a business. If the employees do not work

well, not only will the immediate goals of the company not realized but the long term

improvement as well. When companies are never be able to reach their goals, they can

close down for good which means mass termination.

Procrastination at work is not just a habit that destroys companies. It's also a habit that can

destroy personal development. By procrastinating, things that can be done with high quality

are ignored. Avoiding to practice high quality output can never help the person improve.

There is also a long term effect for those who opted to procrastinate. Their reputation in

their previous company will never go unnoticed. Through background checking, employees

who practice procrastination will never be able to gain positive reviews from their previous

clients.

If you feel you're constantly procrastinating at work, be warned since there are serious long

term consequences of this behavior. To avoid getting your life ruined with procrastination,

here are some tips:

• Write down objectives of the day - one of the many reasons why a person can't do a

single task in a day is because of the avalanche of assignments. Deal with this problem by

writing down the tasks that needs to be done that day.

• Take it slow - you don't need to become instantly highly productive at work. Take it slow

so that you'll grow accustomed to the idea of quality which should be constantly practiced.

• Reward yourself - every time you complete a task, give yourself a small reward. You

don't have to tell everyone that you've done something productive. A small reward that can

give you the encouragement to do more should be more than enough.

 • Commitment to small steps - being overwhelmed with a large task can be very

discouraging. Deal with this problem by breaking down the big goal into small and reachable

goals. You should be able to realize the actions needed to reach a small goal that can help

you achieve the bigger objective.

Preventing a Brute Force or Dictionary Attack: How to Keep the

Brutes Away from Your Loot

To understand and then combat a brute force attack, also known as a dictionary attack, we

must start by understanding why it might be an appealing tool for a hacker. To a hacker,

anything that must be kept under lock and key is probably worth stealing. If (or a portion of

it) requires a user to login and be authenticated, then the odds are good that a hacker has

tried to break into it. In terms of processing power, it is expensive for a Web site to require

authentication, so it is usually only required when the site stores valuable private

information. Corporate intranet sites can contain confidential data such as project plans and

customer lists. E-commerce sites often store users' email addresses and credit card

numbers. Bypassing or evading authentication in order to steal this data is clearly high on a

hacker's priority list, and today's hackers have a large library of authentication evasion

techniques at their disposal.

Session hijacking attacks such as Cross-site Scripting can steal a user's authentication token

and transmit it to a malicious third party, who can then use it to impersonate the legitimate

user. SQL injection attacks can also be very effective at bypassing authentication. By

sending a specially-formatted username and password combination containing SQL code to

the login form, an attacker can often trick the server into granting him unauthorized access.

These types of attacks get a lot of attention since they are creative, elegant, and effective.

However, there is another type of attack that can be just as effective, if not as elegant or

creative. A brute force attack (or dictionary attack) can still be a dangerous threat to your

Web site unless proper precautions are taken.

The brute force attack is about as uncomplicated and low-tech as Web application hacking

gets. The attacker simply guesses username and password combinations until he finds one

that works. It may seem like a brute force or dictionary attack is unlikely to ever succeed.

After all, what are the odds of someone randomly guessing a valid username and password

combination? Surprisingly, the odds for a brute force attack can be quite good if the site is

not properly configured. There are several factors that work to the hacker's advantage, the

most important of which is human laziness.

Don't Be Lazy - Choose a Password Carefully!

Generally, people do not remember complicated passwords very well. If users are allowed to

create their own passwords, they will often create very simple ones like "password", "1234",

their spouse's name, or their favorite sports team. Passwords like these are easy for the user

to remember, but unfortunately they are also easy for someone else to guess. Furthermore,

any serious hacker who attempts a brute force attack will not be sitting at a Web browser,

guessing at authentication credentials and typing them in. He will be using an automated

tool for the brute force attack that can make thousands of requests per minute with

credentials generated from a large list of possible values. Often this list is an actual

dictionary, hence the term "dictionary attack." If a user chooses a common password, such

as a dictionary word, the automated tool will eventually guess it, and the user's account will

be compromised.

Sidestepping a Dictionary Attack with Username Selection

Of course, a password is only half of the required login credential. A username is also

required. While it is less likely that a dictionary word would be used as a username, there

are still some common usernames that hackers are certain to try with a brute force attack.

First among these are "admin" and "administrator". These names are especially dangerous

since they are not only easily guessed, but the accounts they represent are usually highly

privileged administrative accounts. If the hacker's dictionary attack could gain access to an

administrative account, he could probably do much more damage to the system than he

could if he gained access to a regular user's account.

Administrative accounts are not the only problem: many Web applications and Web

application frameworks create default users during installation. If the site administrator does

not remove these default users or at least change their passwords, these accounts will be

easy targets for a dictionary attack. Finally, when users are allowed to choose their own

usernames, they often choose their email address, since it is easy to remember. Once again,

the user's laziness is a benefit to a hacker using a brute force attack. Armed with a list of

email addresses (perhaps obtained from a spammer) and a dictionary of passwords (easily

obtained anywhere), an attacker has an excellent chance of breaking into at least one user's

account.

Countering a Brute Force Attack with a Strong Password Policy

The primary defense against a brute force attack must be enforcement of a strong password

policy. As mentioned earlier, dictionary words make poor passwords. Password size is also

important: the longer the password, the more difficult it will be to force. While there is no

strict definition of a strong password that will be harder to determine via a dictionary attack,

some good guidelines would be:

--Minimum length of at least seven characters

--Must include both upper and lower case characters

--Must include numeric characters

--Must include punctuation

These guidelines may seem overly strict, but there is little chance that a password created

with these restrictions will be found with a brute force attack. There are almost 70 trillion

combinations of characters that can be seven digits long and can include upper case

characters, lower case characters, numbers, and punctuation. Even a dictionary attack tool

that could make one hundred requests per second would still take over 11,000 years before

it would be statistically likely to guess the password.

Obviously, most Web sites will want to block a dictionary attack much sooner than 11,000

years into the attack. Many organizations use an intrusion detection system (IDS) to detect

an abnormally high number of requests coming from a single user. This is a good idea, but it

is not sufficient to prevent the brute force attack. A clever hacker will simply reduce the

bandwidth used by his automated tool until it falls under the alert threshold of the IDS.

Other Defensive Strategies - And Why They Don't Work

Another common defense strategy against a dictionary attack is to automatically disable an

account after a certain number of failed login attempts. For example, if the server detects

that the user "bobsmith" has provided an incorrect password three times since his last login,

the server might decide that the "bobsmith" account is the subject of a brute force attack

and will disable it. The account may automatically reactivate after 30 minutes, or the user

might have to contact the site administrator to have the account reactivated. In either case,

automatically disabling user accounts is a poor security mechanism to fight a dictionary

attack. In the first place, by disabling accounts the system has traded an authentication

evasion vulnerability for a denial of service vulnerability. If an attacker can disable an

account by incorrectly guessing its password three times every 30 minutes, he can

effectively prevent that user from ever accessing the system. Imagine how damaging a

dictionary attack could be if it were used against an administrative account.

In the second place, locking out accounts is ineffective against a brute force attack because

this technique assumes that the attacker is keeping the username constant and varying the

password. What if the attacker instead kept the password constant and varied the

username? We already know that a large percentage of users use common passwords like

"password". A hacker using a dictionary attack could try "password" for each of the users in

his username list, which would not only have a high chance of success, but would also evade

the account lockout logic. An attacker could make thousands of login attempts, and even if

every one of them failed, the system will only register one incorrect login per account.

A Better Defense: Incremental Delay

A better strategy for blocking any brute force attack is to incrementally delay the page

response after failed login attempts. After the first failed login attempt, for example, the

response would be delayed by one second. After the second failed attempt, the response

would be delayed by two seconds, and so on. A one-, two-, or even six-second delay is

probably not going to bother a human user too seriously. Certainly he will find it less

irritating than having to wait 30 minutes for his account to reactivate because he

accidentally left his caps lock key on. On the other hand, an incrementing delay can

completely defeat an automated tool being used for a brute force attack. Assuming the tool

could normally make ten requests per second, the time it would take to make one thousand

requests would jump from two minutes to five days. This pretty much renders the brute

force attack tool useless. An incrementing delay also solves the problem of the attacker

holding the password constant and varying the username. Since the system tracks failed

login attempts on a user session basis and not an authentication credential basis, the delay

logic cannot be bypassed this way.

There is one serious shortcoming to the incrementing delay approach: state must be kept in

order to record the number of failed login attempts by the current user. The dictionary

attack tool can be set up to begin a new session on every request by never sending a

session identification token to the server. In this situation, the server will not be able to track

the number of failed logins, and the delay will not be properly applied. It is possible to track

a user from his IP address instead of his session token, but this technique has problems as

well. Sometimes multiple users share a single IP address, and sometimes a single user can

change IP addresses between requests. While the incrementing delay technique is not

perfect, in many cases it is a better solution to fighting a dictionary attack than the widely

used practice of locking out accounts after failed login attempts.

Carefully Word Your Error Messages

Finally, it is important to create appropriate error messages in response to failed login

attempts. Many Web sites inadvertently aid hackers by providing overly helpful error

messages. Consider the difference between the messages "User ID not found" and "Incorrect

password." These messages give a lot of information to a potential attacker. "User ID not

found" tells the hacker that the user he is trying to determine via brute force attack does not

exist in the system. There is no point in continuing to try different passwords for this

username. He can continue on to the next username in the list, saving himself thousands of

useless requests and hours of time. On the other hand, "Incorrect password" tells him that

the username he has tried with his dictionary attack does exist, but that the password is

wrong. Now he knows that he has a potential victim and can focus his efforts on breaking

that user's password. It is much safer for the application to respond with an ambiguous

message like "Incorrect username or password" when a login attempt fails. There is no way

to tell from this error which part of the credential was invalid. Therefore, there are no clues

that a hacker can obtain from this error that can help him reduce his workload and break the

system faster.

Conclusion

In conclusion, sometimes old, boring attacks can work just as well as the new, exciting ones.

Low-tech as it might be, a brute force attack can be very effective at compromising your

Web application unless proper defenses are used. The first and foremost method of

defeating a brute force attack is to require all users to choose a strong password. Passwords

should be required to contain at least seven characters, with mixed upper- and lower-case

letters, numbers, and punctuation. Also, consider implementing an incrementing response

delay routine in your application in place of an automatic account lockout. Finally, be sure to

display nondescript, ambiguous login failure messages such as "Invalid username or

password." Messages like this provide no extra information about the system that a hacker

using a dictionary attack can take advantage of to lighten his workload. Following these

guidelines will help you protect your application and your users from the brutes of the world.