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Month: April 2018

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Best Practices Culture Entrepreneurship Health and Wellness Human Resources Management Skills Women In Business

Overcoming Adversity

Have you ever felt ready throw up your hands in frustration, and give up? It’s so easy to be convinced that the odds are against you and feel like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. If this sounds familiar and need a new perspective on things, my client Pete’s story will help you persevere and encourage you to discover untapped strength you didn’t even know you had.

Pete’s story is a double-whammy of seemingly impossible situations:

First, the 28-year-old Kenyan designer was framed for murder, denied legal rights, wrongfully convicted and – because it was required by law in Kenya – sentenced to the death penalty. For 18 years he awaited the date when his name would be called, with no projected time frame ever given. The “tunnel” was as long and dark as it could possibly be, and he wondered how he could find the strength to get through each day.

But in the process, he was provided an opportunity. He was given the chance through a non-profit organization called the African Prisons Project to study law via a correspondence program – and I mean old fashioned paper correspondence; no internet in prison! – at a British university. He completed his degree and used that opportunity to fight and clear his name, ultimately emerging as a free man with a presidential pardon. Now that’s perseverance through adversity!

The second challenge – which pales in comparison but would make anyone else freeze in their tracks – happened in the fall of 2017. Pete was at the TED Global (not TEDx) conference in Tanzania, and was unexpectedly offered the opportunity to share his story on the main TED stage in a five-minute TED talk – with TWO DAYS NOTICE!

That’s when he reached out to me. From seven time zones away, Pete and I worked together to hone his message and craft his story, and ensure he could deliver it all with the impact that he wanted, all in two days. What was his message, you ask? No matter how dark things may seem, every day, take one step forward.

If you’re thinking to yourself, “I don’t have that kind of perseverance,” or “I could never do that,” I’m pretty sure Pete would have said the same thing about himself, until it happened to him.

Need some inspiration to help you get over the next hurdle? Listen to Pete.

No matter how big your challenges are, just remind yourself: if he can get through that, I can get through this. Dig deep: you are stronger and more resilient than you think.

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Are you planning to give an important talk or presentation, and want some help to ensure that your message lands correctly and your delivery seals the deal? Email laura@vocalimpactproductions.com or click here to set up a 20-minute focus call to discuss it with me, personally.

Categories
Best Practices Body Language Entrepreneurship Human Resources Investing Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

How To Make Powerful Heart Gestures In A Negotiation

“When it comes to matters of the heart, nothing will matter unless you control the emotions that creep from your heart.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

“… and he had the audacity to touch his heart with the back of his hand.”

Where body language is concerned in a negotiation, heart gestures are powerful moves because they’re supposed to connote sincerity. When done correctly, they suggest that the purveyor is being honest and forthright. Here’s the rub. Good negotiators are aware of the potency of this gesture. Some use it to feign sincerity when nothing could be further from the truth.

This article contrasts some of the differences between heart gestures in a negotiation. It also highlights how you can make powerful heart gesture moves when you’re negotiating. If you want to increase your negotiation abilities, take note.

  1. Suspect Heart Gestures:

a. Quick hand movement (hands move towards the heart and then quickly moves away – possibly denoting a quick feeling of emotion/sincerity) Note the point that action occurs to discern the degree of sincerity. If done excessively, an attempt to feign sincerity could be afoot.

b. Non-synchronized hand movement – (hand moves towards heart but not at the pace of speech – denotes lack of sincerity) Speech and body movement are synchronized. A lack of synchronization indicates a lack of forthrightness.

c. Backhanded movement – (more than likely a feigning attempt to nefariously engage you emotionally) This is an unnatural move. The more it’s done, the greater the probability that this trickster negotiator is using this move to solicit your emotions for his dastardly deeds.

  1. Powerful Heart Gestures:

a. Quick hand movement (hands move towards the heart and maintains position for several moments – used to convey surprise or hurt feelings) To add emphasis, lean towards the other negotiator when projecting this action.

b. Synchronized hand movement – (hand moves towards heart at the pace of speech – denotes sincerity) This movement, while capable of being feigned, is more likely a reflection of true emotions being displayed.

c. Hand(s) cupped near the heart – (Attempting to keep one’s emotions in check) Observe the length of time this gesture is maintained. To embolden this move, allow your eyes to become glazed or uncircumspective. This will add to the validity of this gesture.

When engaged in a negotiation, take note of when a negotiator touches his heart and the number of times that he does so. Use this to establish your baseline of how and when, and under what circumstances, you’ll employ this gesture. The purpose of doing so is to become mentally reflective of the other negotiator’s actions. Once you enact your gestures using the intervals that he displayed, your gestures will appear to be more genuine to him.

The heart has been romanticized as the stimuli of our emotional being. To convey your emotional sincerity, let your emotions flow freely when it serves you to do so. If you’re negotiating with someone of like-mindedness, your heart gestures will be heartfelt. They’ll be noted subliminally on the subconsciousness of the other negotiator, if not on a conscious level. That will tend to endear you to her, which will make the negotiation flow less obstructively … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

After reading this article, 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/

#HeartGestures #NegotiatingWithABully #Bullying #Bully #negotiations #Negotiator #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #psychology #PowerNegotiation

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Body Language Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Personal Development Women In Business

Focus Outward Rather Than Inward … 4 Steps to Adapting to Your Listeners Why

Watch Focus Outward Rather Than Inward … 4 Steps to Adapting to Your Listeners Why

Another strong distinction between a good and influence communicator is your ability to adapt on the fly without ever skipping a beat.

An influential communicator has the ability to pay close attention to what is happening between them and their listener and adapt to that person’s style, expectations and their WHY.

Avoid getting caught up in your own dialogue missing the opportunity to adapt to your listener’s WHY.  Learn the 4 immediate steps you can Take Action on Today!

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Personal Development Women In Business

Protect Your Schedule, Time and Attention

Are you constantly competing with others over your schedule? Do you feel inundated by a barrage of interruptions and distractions each day that leaves you feeling as if you worked like a crazy person all day and accomplished nothing as a result?

In my new book, Attention Pays, I outline strategies for busy professionals to protect their time and attention from being fritted away by anyone and anything asking for it.

Here are seven strategies you can being implementing today to take control of your schedule and permit you the time necessary to leverage your attention to accomplish more each day.

Create a personal daily strategic 15-minute appointment – Take this time to determine your top three non-negotiable activities you must complete before you sleep tonight. Several years ago, I challenged an executive leadership team at Comcast to invest 15 minutes of their attention every day in a strategic appointment. They say awesome results, become the highest performing team in their region. Their shared increased focus allowed them to prioritize completion of strategic objectives and invest in their people’s development instead of being distracted by everyday busyness.

Schedule your morning routine – We outlined this routine in Chapter 3 of my new book, Attention Pays. It’s critical that you get this on your calendar so that phone calls or meetings don’t encroach on this important time.

Assign certain activities to specific days of the week – This system has you group regular activities together to maximize productivity and minimize distractions. Will it work seamlessly with every week in the same way? no, but with a system, your team or assistant can schedule meetings on designated days. We worked with a financial services executive to design her ideal week. here is what hers looked like. Yours, of course, will be different:

  • Monday: Meet with team members, senior leadership, and her boss in the office.
  • Tuesday to Thursday: Industry and vendor networking events, client appointments, presentation preparation, and travel. These days were spent outside the office and included a work-from-home day.
  • Friday: As she enjoyed being home for weekends, any meetings were local and never scheduled to finish later than 5pm. If no meetings were scheduled, she focused on strategizing for the upcoming week and catching up on administrative work.

Schedule no talk days – My best friend manages multiple companies, raises my two beautiful God-daughters, volunteers in her community, and enjoys working with her clients. She discovered that on days she doesn’t talk to anyone, she’s massively productive. So, she started scheduling no-talk days – days with no appointments, which are dedicated to strategy and achieving goals. As an extrovert, I found this strategy especially helpful. Could you do this once a quarter to make more progress toward your bigger goals?

Schedule service days – I allocate one day a month on my calendar for pro bono assistance to people in my industry who need help. could you add a service day to your calendar?

Time block – Schedule space in your calendar for strategy, email review, meetings, social media engagement, and personal time.

Create visual recognition systems – Use color-coding to simplify your life. My calendar uses a variety of colors to show speaking, travel, consulting, personal appointments, and administration and business development.

Block out personal time in advance and honor the appointment with yourself as you would a client or employee.

Pick up a copy of Attention Pays to learn more about creating an extraordinary life by ‘unplugging’ from the constant barrage of disruptions and ‘plugging in’ to the tools, strategies, and mindsets that allows you to harness your attention to reach your highest potential.

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Investing Management Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

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

Categories
Growth Personal Development

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/

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Management Skills

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.

Categories
Growth Leadership Personal Development

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:

  1. Lack of leadership vision
  2. Poor leadership communication
  3. Failure to develop team members
  4. Leaders who are unconscious and unaware of their impact on others
  5. Team members forced to compete against each other (and actually, that statement is an oxymoron)
  6. “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
  7. Bored team members
  8. Leaders who use a one-size-fits-all approach
  9. 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:

  1. Explain to each team member how his/her work contributes to the bigger picture.
  2. 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.
  3. Leadership is an inside job. Identify your own strengths, limitations, blind spots, etc. Lead from a place of self-assurance and confidence.
  4. Clue people into the bigger picture – share your vision for the organization.
  5. Treat each person as an individual but don’t play favorites.
  6. Don’t participate in, nor tolerate malicious workplace gossip. Establish a professional atmosphere where all team members are treated in a respectful manner.
  7. Reward, recognize and encourage teamwork and avoid creating situations that require team members to compete against one another.
  8. Provide team members with a variety of development opportunities and cross-train team members where appropriate.
  9. Err on the side of over-communication. Effective leaders know they can’t communicate too much with team members.
  10. Ask for, and really listen to, feedback from team members, customers, and superiors. And then make changes where needed!
  11. Work hard to build and maintain trust and loyalty. NEVER discuss one team member’s issues, problems, or situation with another team member.
  12. 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.

You might also like:

Leadership Team Accelerated Results Program

12 Powerful Questions to Stash in Your Leadership Toolbox

Leadership Lessons to Push Past Homeostasis

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems

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