12 Key Skills for Success in Life and Work

Life Skills for Students™ is like the "secret to success in life and work". Twelve critical soft skills were carefully selected from a library of 59 skill learning modules based on our corporate consulting work and research into what makes a person highly succesful. What we know is that there are highly successful people across all behavioral styles and with very different personal drivers (motivators). We also have a great deal of data supporting the claim that these 12 skills are critical to that success. Why do we think that? Because in our corporate consulting division (The Nielson Group), we and a few hundred of our colleagues are measuring these and other soft skills among hundreds of companies and finding a consistency. What we are seeing is that these 12 skills are consistently scored high for those people who have been identified "high performers". And we are seeing a mix of low scores in some or all of these 12 skills in people who are not considered high performers. Is there a correlation? We think so.

Already registered? Click on the Keys to access the login page.

Why Should Students Develop These Skills Now?
Here are just a few ways we think students will benefit from developing these personal skills:

• Better grades
• Selected more often for increased responsibilities in the future
• Greater personal satisfaction
• Better relationships
• Greater clarity around people, tasks and systems
• Greater sense of control over their own destiny
• Ability to overcome obstacles
• Achieve personal goals easier

We've put together 12 modules (personal skill topics) based on research into what makes successful people successful. Each includes a downloadable MP3 file and printable workbook. We recommend the student work with a mentor (parent or youth counselor, etc.) to get the most out of each module.

Side Note: These online tutorials and the downloadable workbooks were designed for adults and are used to coach adults. Occasionally the lesson content refers to “manager” or “organization”. Substitute those words with “parents or teachers” and “family or school” respectively.

What's Included in Each Module?

• Online short presentation of the skill
• Downloadable MP3 audio recording
• Downloadable PDF workbook that concisely presents the skill module and simple exercises

1. Continuous Learning (try this one!)
2. Personal Accountability
3. Self Management
4. Decision Making (Conceptual Thinking, Theoretical Problem Solving, Role Confidence, Balanced Decision Making)
5. Goal Orientation
6. Proactive Thinking
7. Initiative
8. Project and Goal Focus
9. Planning and Organizing
10. Flexibility
11. Problem Solving
12. Persistence


Plus Self-Directed Bonus Modules
13. Creativity Innovation
14. Futuristic Thinking
15. Influencing Others (Conveying Role Value, Gaining Commitment, Understanding Motivational Needs)
16. Interpersonal Skills (Evaluating Others, Personal Relationships, Persuading Others)
17. Written Communication
18. Personal Drive

How it Works
The student receives an e-mail (parent or student email can be used for this) confirming their registration and access to the Life Skills for Students™ Library within 24 hours of purchase (one business day). The student will then receive 12 e-mails, one per week, initiating the skill to work on for that week. Once you've completed a skill module, you can return to it as often as you like. The first e-mail will arrive the same day as the confirmation and access e-mail.

Each module is simple to follow. The exercises are very manageable. Some exercises may continue beyond a one week period.