Day: April 3, 2018

How In-Depth Is Your Communication Planning?

Post author By C-Suite Network
Post date April 3, 2018
No Comments on How In-Depth Is Your Communication Planning?

“To communicate more effectively, do so based on the mindset of the recipient.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

Before communicating with someone, what factors do you consider? Too much information, or information not delivered in the manner expected, can go unconsumed. Too little information can meet the same fate; it can also lead the receiver to seek more insight. So, what should you do to enhance your communication efforts?

Determining the degree of information to bestow upon anyone is guided by many factors. Consider the following factors to enhance your communications.

1. Environment

Always consider your communication environment. One that’s too loud or too quiet might incite unintended distractions, which may impact the reception of your message. Depending on the message and your anticipated impact, assess the best environment to deliver it, based on the person to whom you’re delivering the message.

2. Character/Trust

Knowing the character of the person with whom you’re conversing will determine the depth of information you’ll be willing to share. If trust is not a factor, you’ll be more likely to disclose more insights.

If you know you’ll be in a future situation with someone whose trust has not been vetted, or someone whose trust you question, before giving them the ‘inside story’, give them tidbits of information and see what they do with it. You can accomplish this with multiple people by giving each a slightly different version of the same information, stated as a secret that they shouldn’t share; then, see what version comes back to you through other sources. The originator’s signature will be embedded in the version that comes back. Therein will lie an assessing barometer that indicates the degree of trust you can associate with that person.

3. Mood

A person’s mood can change at any moment. That change influences their perception of information.

To enhance your communications, deliver messages based on the mood of the recipient and how your message ties into that mood. If need be, alter their mood before making your delivery.

As an example, if you have to deliver bad news, avoid times when the receiver is in a depressed state. Do this, unless you’re offering insights that you want him to address that’ll enhance his state of mind. To the degree you control the delivery of information, you control the state of mind you’ll put someone into.

4. Objective

When it comes to parsing information, always consider your objective and outcome sought before doing so. If the mood, character of the person, or environment is not right for the delivery, abstain from doing so. Rushing forward at inopportune times can severely detract from the message and your objective of delivering it. In some cases, you may want to give a snippet of information as a ‘coming attraction’. That’s one way to set the stage for what’s to follow.

What does this have to do with negotiations?

In a negotiation, the factors that determine the impact of an offer/counteroffer are determined by the factors mentioned above. If the mood is one of hostility, there may not be the degree of acceptance to an offer then if the mood was more upbeat and open. If there’s trust in the character of the person you’re engaged with, you’ll extend more trust when such is the pivotal point upon which a negotiation may hinge.

In order to engage in more successful negotiations, you should tend to the factors above. They’ll enhance your negotiation efforts … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating.

What are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

To receive Greg’s free 5-minute video on reading body language or to sign up for the “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

#HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #Psychology #Perception #rejection #leadership #HowToImproveyourself #Communication

Growth Leadership Personal Development

12-Step Program to Detox Your Team

Post author By Jennifer Ledet
Post date April 3, 2018
No Comments on 12-Step Program to Detox Your Team

Does your workplace culture or your team environment resemble a daytime soap opera? Do new workplace dramas unfold among your team members each Monday morning? Are spats and tiffs between team leaders the norm? (Do you often hear music crescendo in the background and then cut to a commercial break?)

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives…

If so, then your workplace culture is ill, and I’m afraid it’s not a make-believe disease a` la General Hospital, nor can it be cured in a 30-minute episode. You may be suffering from “Toxic Team Syndrome!”

I’ve been hired to play doctor to cure these toxic work environments. It’s tough to diagnose your particular problem. I’m no doctor, and no – I don’t even play one on TV. But I’m willing to bet that these problems are merely symptoms of leadership failings and missteps, such as:

Lack of leadership vision
Poor leadership communication
Failure to develop team members
Leaders who are unconscious and unaware of their impact on others
Team members forced to compete against each other (and actually, that statement is an oxymoron)
“Leaders” function more like managers in that they focus only on managing processes, systems, things, and pay little attention to mentoring, engaging, or inspiring people
Bored team members
Leaders who use a one-size-fits-all approach
No emphasis/effort in creating a positive work culture

Thankfully, for you as the executive leader, it’s not a fatal disease – if you catch it early. The first step is to recognize that you have a problem. Don’t be in denial. The bottom line is that you can’t cure the disease if you don’t admit that you’re sick.

So many leaders are absolutely clueless to the work environment they’ve created.

Yep, I did say that you create the work environment. So if your work environment is like a soap opera drama, you can correct it over time. Here, I have listed my

12-step program for detoxifying your team:

Explain to each team member how his/her work contributes to the bigger picture.
Get to know team members and focus on drawing out the best that they have to give. Serve as a mentor, guide, and inspiration to team members.
Leadership is an inside job. Identify your own strengths, limitations, blind spots, etc. Lead from a place of self-assurance and confidence.
Clue people into the bigger picture – share your vision for the organization.
Treat each person as an individual but don’t play favorites.
Don’t participate in, nor tolerate malicious workplace gossip. Establish a professional atmosphere where all team members are treated in a respectful manner.
Reward, recognize and encourage teamwork and avoid creating situations that require team members to compete against one another.
Provide team members with a variety of development opportunities and cross-train team members where appropriate.
Err on the side of over-communication. Effective leaders know they can’t communicate too much with team members.
Ask for, and really listen to, feedback from team members, customers, and superiors. And then make changes where needed!
Work hard to build and maintain trust and loyalty. NEVER discuss one team member’s issues, problems, or situation with another team member.
Strike a balance between setting yourself above (and superior) to your team and being one of the “guys.” Somewhere in the middle is best.

YOUR TURN! What will you:

start doing,
stop doing, or
continue doing or do differently

to “detoxify” your team and your team’s work environment? Share your action plan with us in the comment box below!

To receive solutions to your people problems in your inbox every month, and to receive our report: “7 of Your Biggest People Problems…Solved,” click here.

Back on the Horse

I had writers block during the month of March. I typically write about cybersecurity or about leadership, both passions of mine and areas I work in but I was not sure what to write about that would be useful, educational, and interesting.

The reason I’m writing about not writing is to talk a about goals and getting back on the horse when things don’t go as planned. One of my goals or intentions for Q1 this year was to write and publish 12 articles. I was on track up through the first week of March; however, I hit the wall and by the end of the quarter I had written nine instead of 12 articles. Missed the goal by three, which may not sound like much, but for someone who is not great at completing what they start, it was a big blow for me.

When I sit down and set goals I tend to start off with a bang, but over time, when the rubber meets the road things often fall apart or I lose steam before I ever cross the finish line.

Why am I telling you this dirty little secret of mine, why would someone who helps others reach goals tell you that they have difficulty in reaching their own goals? Because I want you to know that if this is an area of challenge for you, that you are not alone. Whether they are work goals, organizational goals, family goals, or personal goals it can be isolating and we feel alone in our “failures.” I put the word failure in quotes because we often say to ourselves that we have failed when we have missed the goal, but we only fail when we let missing the goal get the better of us, when we don’t get back on the horse.

If this sounds familiar let me tell you that you’re normal and you are not actually alone. For me I really think it’s about focus, which turns out to be my word for the year. I’m trying not to have as many squirrel moments and stay focused on the task at hand, trying to overcome the shiny object syndrome that I have.

That is why I was excited when my friend Susan Trivers recently invited me to her workshop about singular focus. She talks about 3x3x3. You pick one outcome to focus on for the next three weeks and then you set an appointment with yourself three times a week for three hours at one time to only focus on that outcome. Over three weeks that is 18 hours of dedicated focus. The thing I liked about it was that the outcome can be anything, even a question that needs to be answered. My first 3x3x3 is my podcast, C-Suite Success Radio and getting all my shows moved over to the C-Suite Radio platform. Check back in three weeks to see if I have accomplished this mini-goal.

When things don’t go as planned as they often don’t, a short-lived pity party may be in order, but that can’t last long if you are serious about accomplishing new things. To quote my favorite line from The Big Bang Theory “Buck Up Sissy Pants” and get back on the horse.

If you have goals you are trying to reach and need someone to give you a kick in the pants or help you work through the plan reach out to sharon@c-suiteresults.com.

Tags Goals

Growth Personal Development

Product and Brand: What’s the Difference?

Post author By MIchael and Bonnie Harvey
Post date April 3, 2018
No Comments on Product and Brand: What’s the Difference?

The words “product” and “brand” are sometimes used interchangeably. But we think there’s a great difference between the two. A product is simply the item for sale. A brand is the combination of the label, image, logo, promise, positioning, and overall reputation. A product without a brand is generic, and typically sold in bulk. Once that product has a brand, however, the product itself and its provided customer experience affect the brand promise, brand image, and reputation.

This goes double for brands with physical products. The brand is judged by the branded product. It isn’t the only factor, but it can make or break customers’ experience. Their experience with the packaging, logo, label, price, position, and accessibility directly influence the brand’s image, reputation, and promise. For example, if the branded physical product is out of stock when a loyal customer wants it, the brand’s image is tarnished. The brand is no longer dependable. This happens even if the situation is the retailer’s or distributor’s fault.

Likewise, when your consumer thinks the price is too high, your brand image is hurt. Your customer thinks, “This is supposed to be the same quality product for the same price I paid last time, but now they want more!” They might feel required to warn friends or colleagues to whom they had previously suggested your brand. But the price increase may have been a desire on the retailer’s behalf to make more off of your product. Or maybe the retailer wants to sell their store brand, thus returning more profit, and drive traffic away from your product. Still, in the consumer’s eyes, it’s your brand’s fault.

There are many ways the brand producer can harm their brand: removing quality markers in the name of cost reduction, productivity, or conforming to corporate formats, which your customer sees as devaluing the brand’s image; making drastic changes to the logo or label for “change’s sake” which confuses the customer; diminishing the product’s quality to “increase profit margins,” which hurts the brand’s value perception and quality. The producer can also cut their own sales by doing things that hurt the environment, labor, or the community—this all reflects poorly on the brand’s image.

So, in the branded product arena, the product and how it’s perceived are still the main features of brand building. Keeping your distribution channel open and moving are essential to the brand’s feel of dependability. The product’s pricing, shape, packaging, size, labeling, contents, and availability represent what the consumer thinks of the brand.

This is why we highly emphasize retail merchandising and distribution of physical product brands. So what if your website looks great, or if your persuasive slogan and logo are matched on your baseball hats, envelopes, and stationery—It doesn’t matter if you let the consumer down.

Real brand building takes true responsibility for your branded product once it leaves your hands. Active support, observance, and care at every point in the distribution channel are all essential to building your brand. Your brand’s image is only as good as your customer’s experience and your physical product. If it’s good, they applaud your brand. But if it’s bad, they blame your brand!

For more, read on: http://c-suitenetworkadvisors.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

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