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Month: May 2019

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Growth Leadership Personal Development

The 7 Cornerstones of Leadership

What does it take to lead effectively? “Leader” is such a broad term that encompasses so many traits—it’s difficult to answer with just one requirement. Then you have different meanings of leadership. Are we talking about political leaders, thought leaders, or band leaders?

For those of us who teach entrepreneurial culture and entrepreneurship, leadership means taking a business concept from idea to profit. In other words, it means to create a business and become a target for acquisition—setting a great example for your team along the way.

Here’s our short list of what it takes to be a good leader:

1. Be sensitive.

The ability to see opportunities before they come. The ability to see the effects of your actions beyond the present. And the ability to think up a solution to any problem, looking for answers. A leader recognizes the limits of their own skills and allows others to take charge and solve marketing and technical problems. They are humble enough to be open to others’ opinions who might have more experience in certain areas.

2. Be innovative.

The ability to examine a problem and come up with a solution. The willingness to try out your solution in the real world and start from scratch if necessary. A great leader knows that innovation doesn’t stop at the product—it continues to work through all challenges necessary to get the product to the market and keep it there.

3. Be tenacious.

The willingness to keep going even when the solution costs twice as much and takes twice as long. The wisdom to surround yourself with optimism, with people who believe in their solutions—giving them the encouragement to stick to it. A leader must also validate, recognize, and encourage their own people to keep going and improve. They must give clear direction and set standards for improvement. This way, everyone on their team thinks that progress is being made.

4. Be empathetic.

The ability to seek and understand what different people want in different relationships, whether it’s with customers, vendors, or employees. The ability to understand and satisfy each level of customer between them and their end-user. A good leader communicates others’ needs to their people in a way that they can relate to. Leaders focus on how satisfying their customers make sales happen.

5. Hustle!

The ability to quickly seize an opportunity. The willingness to seek and hire only those who hustle. A leader must have a sense of urgency to meet their customers’ deadlines as well as their own. They must have a sharp sense of priority in order to complete the tasks that must be finished first.

6. Be decisive.

The ability to not only make a decision but to also make a difficult decision. The ability to see that it’s more beneficial to make a decision on time with 50% of the data than to miss an important opportunity by waiting for 100%. With this skill comes the ability to admit making the wrong decision in order to learn from it. A good leader must give their people permission to make a mistake, as long as the mistake ends up improving the company’s policies and procedures—forever!

7. Share.

The willingness to share the wealth. The ability to find strategic allies who will profit from their success. And the desire to reach equity- and profit-sharing agreement with crucial teammates to secure their long-term buy-in, motivating them to make necessary sacrifices to find success. Leaders also share their obstacles with others, respecting their advice and encouraging them to participate in the problem-solving process.

There have been hundreds of books written on this, but from our real-world business experience and from working with other like-minded entrepreneurs, we’ve learned that these are the essentials!

Leaders lead. Everywhere. They lead their own people and they lead the market. Some people put leaders on a pedestal and glorify them. It isn’t easy being a leader. It comes with delayed gratification, anxiety, and just plain fatigue. Some of us may only remember those leaders who have succeeded. But every leader has failed in order to find success. They each have doubts and must bite the bullet. But thanks to all the leaders out there, we have a high standard of living, great jobs, and a certain level of security. Leaders can take a business from idea to profit. And they set an excellent example for anyone who follows them.

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

Categories
Growth Leadership Personal Development

Coaching People to Move through Discomfort

In a webinar that Anthony Amos gave for us at Tortal Training, he made a comment that we’ve been thinking about ever since . . .

“Good training coaches people to move through discomfort.”

The more we think about that comment, the more we realize how wise Anthony is.  After all, discomfort is one of the main reasons people silently resist training . . .

  • Sales trainees learn your company’s strategies and scripts for structured selling . . . but some never admit that they feel uncomfortable about “asking for the buy” and closing sales.
  • Some mature trainees who are returning to the workforce might be reluctant to admit that they feel insecure about using new technologies.
  • Executives in your leadership training programs take part in workshops that encourage them to work closely with other departments . . . but some of them secretly feel defensive about sharing too much information with the heads of other divisions.
  • Some of the phone representatives who you are training to make cold sales calls never admit they hate to pick up the phone and call people they don’t know.

Dealing with Discomfort 

Before you can overcome discomfort, you have to find ways to uncover where it lies.  Here are some effective ways:

  • Start asking for “mood feedback” as soon as training begins. Asking a question like, “everybody good with that?” or, “anybody got a problem with that?” consistently through training can set up an atmosphere that encourages trainees to open up about any areas of discomfort. If you keep the mood lighthearted and fun, trainees will be more likely to say what is on their minds.
  • Anticipate and deal with possible “hot button” issues when designing your training. If you think about who your trainees are and what you would like them to learn, you can often identify areas of discomfort ahead of time and teach to them.

Effective Coaching Techniques for Areas of Discomfort 

  • Use simulations. If a trainee for a calling center job says that she fears having to deal with angry customers, let her handle two or three simulated calls from dissatisfied customers. (Other trainees can play the part of the callers.) Once she sees that she can handle those calls well, she will gain the confidence she needs.
  • Use videos in your training. If you can show employees dealing with situations or issues that you expect will cause trainees to feel discomfort on the job, you can proactively train employees to perform better.
  • Let trainees break into small sub-groups to discuss what they are learning. Trainees who are reluctant to air fears or concerns before a room full of other trainees are often willing to share their feelings in small groups of their peers. One good technique is to ask each group to appoint a leader to collect comments and then report them to the entire training class.
  • Consider using anonymous feedback. You can ask trainees to anonymously write down their areas of discomfort on index cards, or have them text the training leader. Once those comments are collected, your trainer can talk about them openly with the entire group.
  • Be respectful of trainees’ feelings. You want to keep the mood light but resist the temptation to poke fun at trainees’ fears. If a trainee opens up about something that is on his or her mind – something that is a concern – part of a trainer’s job is to discuss the issue respectfully and carefully.
Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

Are There More Powerful Hidden Secrets Concealed in You?

The more powerful you are, the more powerful you’ll be. To become more powerful quicker, unlock the powerful hidden secrets that reveal your power.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

The evening was turning ugly – It appeared an impasse was at hand. Then, Amie spoke – “since John said he was not trying to insult you and he apologized, how would you feel if what you perceived to be an insult hadn’t occurred? Would you feel better?” With that, Harry said, “I’d feel a lot better.” Then she said, “well, let’s continue from the point of you feeling a lot better.” Everyone smiled, became congenial, and continued with that demeanor for the rest of the evening. Amie’s friend turned to her and said, “I didn’t know you had hidden powers. Are there more powerful hidden secrets concealed in you?”

Tapping Into Your Powers:

Do you know what hidden secret abilities you have? Just because others can’t see your hidden powers doesn’t mean you have to keep them concealed from yourself. Do you know how to tap into them? Those questions were meant to make you think. Because, if you don’t know there are hidden secret abilities in you, you won’t know how to tap into them. To reveal them …

  • First, sense that there’s more power living inside of you. That’s the catalyst, the starting point, at which you’ll move it to a higher sense of self-awareness. To do that …
  • Note how you feel in different environments based on the people you’re with (e.g. their status, their skills, your relationship to them, how they perceive you, how you want them to perceive you).
  • Observe how you feel when others give you feedback through what they say, how they say it, and/or what they do when you’re in different environments. In some cases, you’ll become emboldened. At other times, you may shrink. Take note of why you experienced either. That will allow you to uncover more of your hidden powers.

Embracing Your Powers:

Everyone possesses hidden abilities. You have such secrets concealed in you too. Over time, you’ve accumulated coping strategies that have allowed you to become more powerful. In some cases, you’ve held some of that power back for fear of what might occur if you unleashed it. If you identify fear as a source that prevents you from being more powerful, ask yourself what are you fearful of. And what’s the worst possible outcome that could occur if you confronted that fear. Again, you’ll be tapping into the source of the hidden power within you. That’ll be the beginning process of releasing that power and giving it life.

As you get older, you become more emboldened – you castoff concerns about what others think of you. You state, take me for who and what I am. The point is, you don’t have to wait until you’re older. You can do that right now! Doing so will allow you to unleash more of the powerful hidden secrets concealed in you … and everything will be right with the world.

What does this have to do with negotiations?

Sometimes, when negotiators negotiate, they have a tendency to be overly adventuress or overwhelmed at the negotiation table. In either case, their power, or lack of, is the cause of that state. Therefore, you must be aware of what’s motivating you during your negotiations. Too much false bravado can sink you. Too little means you’re leaving too much on the table.

Negotiations occur in every aspect of your daily life. Thus, the better you negotiate in any environment, the greater the outcomes you’ll have. If you’d like to have those greater outcomes occur more frequently, learn to tap into more of the powerful secrets concealed in you.

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

 Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

#Secrets #Concealed #Hidden #HiddenSecrets #Negotiate #Process #Power #Powerful #Emotion #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions

Categories
Best Practices Growth Leadership Personal Development

The Power of Perspective

Why Perspective Matters

Today’s business environment, markets, and industries are nothing if not complex and multi-faceted. Apple owning Amazon $30million a month despite competing across multiple verticles attests to the complexities of the relationships that business leaders face daily. However, with every new relationship, with every new facet that we see in business and organizations, the complexity is only compounded by the fact that every one of us views these differently. This matters in working on customer and employee experience, product design and customization, marketing and sales outreach, financial and investor relations, every single aspect of business that involves people. Moreover, that is every part of our companies.

Putting Different Viewpoints Together

Being able to see other’s viewpoints, and putting yourself in someone else’s shoes can become one of the most challenging pieces in creating better relationships. After all, we all know our customers and what they want, but have we taken the time to truly understand what the customer goes through when interacting with our business.

One of my favorite stories is from Expereince Enterprises is how they had a call center manager call into his system and the (almost predictable) results that came about.

Taking the time, asking genuine—open-ended—questions, and reminding ourselves that our businesses are not one-sided, makes a difference in how we can grow and differentiate our organizations.

Omnipotence and Adaptability

None of us knows everything, and fewer of us can see the complex picture of today’s business ecosystems. Every strategic framework that I have seen and used presents an intriguing structure, but most leave more questions than answers.
Filling the gaps in our knowledge is essential, but to truly grasp, interpret, and act on this information we need people. We need different viewpoints, experiences, ideas, and motivations to become successful.

Moreover, this allows for increased adaptability and resilience in our organizations. The ability to critically think around problems, solve issues by using old ideas in new ways provides for far-reaching implications in our practices. It is not about re-inventing the wheel when anything goes awry but finding ways to reimplement and adapt old knowledge in new ways. Being mindful of the various perspectives, ideas, and abilities within an organization allow for this to happen. The greatest mistake in business is often saying, “We have always done it that way” and allowing no further room for additional input.

Ed Brzychcy is former U.S. Army Infantry Staff-Sergeant with service across three combat deployments to Iraq. After his time in the military, he received his MBA from Babson College and now coaches organizational leadership and growth through his consultancy, Blue Cord Management.

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

His Body Language Screamed “Alert: Gullible Liar!”

“Reading body language is like seeing someone’s thoughts. Reading body language accurately gives you the ability to know what those thoughts are.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

Something about his body language caught my attention. It screamed, liar!

A man entered my car on the train and announced to everyone that he needed $15 for a train ticket to get to his 13-year old daughter. He said she was at a location where the train ended. He went on to say that someone had already given him $2.

One person gave the requester $5. From there, the requester walked through the rest of our car seeking more contributions. One gentleman said to him, ‘sit beside me – I’ll buy you a ticket.’ The requester said, okay, I’ll be right back and kept walking – he made his way out of our car and into the next one on the train. The gentleman that offered to buy the ticket and I looked at one another and smiled. We knew the requester would not be returning, and he didn’t return.

 

What body language gestures do you think the requester might have displayed? The man that gave our train friend $5 was taken in by his story. On the other hand, the man that offered to purchase a ticket suspected the requester’s story was illegitimate.

When reading body language, be observant of your intuition and a person’s gestures. Your intuition is very attuned to detecting lies.

Intuition:

Intuition is a nonverbal silent signal that secretly conveys information. If the signal was audible, you’d liken it to a knock at the door, the ringing of the phone, or a loud noise. In all cases, it attempts to attract your attention – it seeks your higher sense of awareness.

When you have an emotional sensation whose source you can’t identify, don’t discard it. Instead, raise your sense of awareness to become more attuned to the message that’s seeking your attention.

Body Language:

For a perspective of someone’s intent, observe their eyes, head, hands, feet movements.

Eyes – The requester on the train searched people with his eyes to detect easy marks. He was looking for those that smiled and made eye contact. People that lie will go to the extreme of displaying too much or too little eye contact. They may display too much because they’ve heard that people who lie avoid eye contact. In the latter case, they’re not aware of that. So, since they know they’re lying, they attempt to avoid eye contact to conceal it.

Head – When the requester thought someone was empathetic to his plight, he locked onto that suspect and nodded his head in that direction. The head nodding was a subliminal message stating, you and I understand one another.

Hands – Always watch someone’s hands when they’re talking. In the case of the requester, I noted that his hands moved away from him when he professed the desire to get to his daughter. And they stayed there. Had he gestured in the distance where she was supposed to be and then drew his hands back to his heart or chest as he professed his desire to get to her, he would have been more believable. As it was, his gestures said, there is no daughter at the end of the line. He just wants everyone to think there is.

Feet – When it came to the requester’s plea, once he detected that those close to him would not assist, he made quick movements to get away from that area. When someone is lying, they’ll display feet movements that attempt to put distance between themselves and the lying environment they’re in.

Being able to read body language gives you an advantage in any environment – that’s especially true when negotiating. If you’d like to have x-ray type vision that allows you to see inside of someone’s mind, enhance your ability to read body language … 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

 Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

#BodyLanguage #Liar #Beware #Negotiate #Process #Power #Powerful #Emotion #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #BodyLanguageSecrets

Categories
Marketing Personal Development

Here’s Why Stock Photography Can Hurt Your Brand

Fan of stock photos? Here are my two cents on it…

Why spend money on stale, stock photos when you could spend money on juicy, branded lifestyle portraits?

I’ve come across a TON of speakers who use stock photography for not only their social posts but their websites, digital ads, and printed materials.

WHY?

Actually, the better words to use here is STOP THAT NONSENSE RIGHT NOW!

How come?

Because stock photography is not you. It’s not who you are, who you serve, and why you do what you do.

And everyone who sees them recognizes that they are not uniquely you.

It’s sending a generic message through generic photos that are available to everyone who is willing to pay for them.

You Are Not Generic

You have a personality and illustrate emotions through your facial expressions and body language in a unique way, which are all visual cues to those who view these images.

They paint a broad and vivid picture of how you operate.

NYC Branded Lifestyle Portraits SPeaker Coach Pia Silva podcasting NYC Branded Lifestyle Portraits SPeaker Coach Jez Cartwright on computer NYC Branded Lifestyle Portraits Speaker Coach Author Michael OBrien playing with yoyo NYC Branded Lifestyle Portraits Speaker Coach Tricia Brouk brainstorming

If you are in the business of transformation, the last thing you want to do is leverage stock images as the visual punctuations to the sentiments of the insightful and inspiring stories ABOUT YOU that REPRESENT YOU to your audience.

Your Expertise is Special

you have a gift in some shape or form. Don’t water it down with visual imagery that was created without you specifically in mind.

Give yourself the best opportunity to present yourself powerfully and purposefully by creating an image content library of photos that are unique and special to your life and business.

Unlike stock photos, these types of images break the fourth wall between you and those you serve because they illustrate aspects of your process, how you brainstorm, work with clients, and spend your free time.

They create rapport and connection, and give the audience an opportunity to visualize how it would be to work with you. And, if they can envision working with you, that’s one step closer to converting them into a paying client.  

Remember one important point – you are in the business of building relationships, so every touchpoint – social post, blog article, website, etc. – counts. Make them count more with images that clearly have you, your brand and business front and center.

Does that mean you need to post lifestyle portraits of yourself every single day?

Absolutely not.

There is other image content that you can incorporate into your portfolio. Add in a wide variety of image content that has personal and special meaning to you.

Start with the way you work – what does that look like? Branded photos of your desk space, the technology you leverage and the way in which you work throughout the day will help you become more relatable to those you serve.

But, that’s all a warmup.

You can also create image content with books, mementos, photos of your family, kids, hobbies, and other fun activities that help serve you in your quest to show up in the world the way you want, especially when it comes to how you serve your clients.

Own your expertise.

Own your business.

Own your brand by sharing visual imagery that is uniquely aligned to you and those you serve. This will create a much more impactful relationship between you and them.

Take a pass on the stock stuff – your community will appreciate you for it, 🙂

 

John DeMato is a NYC branded lifestyle portrait photographer and content creation expert who serves speakers, authors, coaches and high-level entrepreneurs across the country. His 50+ e-book, S.H.A.R.E. M.A.G.I.C.A.L. I.D.E.A.S., lays out the how, what and why behind creating a memorable and referable online presence – sign up to get your FREE copy today.

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Industries Skills Technology

Smart Construction: How AI and Machine Learning Will Change the Construction Industry

These days, seemingly everyone is applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning. I have written about disruptions in the manufacturing industry, such as Industry 4.0, while illustrating the Hard Trends that indicate where improvements will be made in the future.

The construction industry, which makes up 7% of the global workforce, should already have applied these technologies to improve productivity and revolutionize the industry. However, it has actually progressed quite slowly.

Growth in the construction industry has only been 1% over a few decades while manufacturing is growing at a rate of 3.6%. With the total worker output in construction at a standstill, it is no surprise that the areas where machine learning and AI could improve such statistics were minimal. Yet, those technologies are finally starting to emerge in the industry.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is when a computer mimics specific attributes of human cognitive function, while machine learning gives the computer the ability to learn from data, as opposed to being specifically programmed by a human. Here are ten ways that AI and machine learning will transform the construction and engineering industries into what we’ll call “smart construction.”

  1. Cost Overrun Prevention and Improvement

Even efficient construction teams are plagued by cost overruns on larger-scale projects. AI can utilize machine learning to better schedule realistic timelines from the start, learning from data such as project or contract type, and implement elements of real-time training in order to enhance skills and improve team leadership.

  1. Generative Design for Better Design

When a building is constructed, the sequence of architectural, engineering, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing tasks must be accounted for in order to prevent these specific teams from stepping out of sequence or clashing. Generative design is accomplished through a process called “building information modeling.” Construction companies can utilize generative design to plot out alternative designs and processes, preventing rework.

  1. Risk Mitigation

The construction process involves risk, including quality and safety risks. AI machine learning programs process large amounts of data, including the size of the project, to identify the size of each risk and help the project team pay closer attention to bigger risk factors.

  1. More Productive Project Planning

A recent startup utilized 3D scanning, AI and neural networks to scan a project site and determine the progress of specific sub-projects in order to prevent late and over-budget work. This approach allowed management to jump in and solve problems before they got out of control. Similarly, “reinforcement learning” (machine learning based on trial and error) can help to collate small issues and improve the preparation phase of project planning.

  1. More Productive Job Sites

Professionals often fear machines will replace them. While intelligent machines will take over first repetitive and eventually more cognitively complex positions, this does not mean a lack of jobs for people. Instead, workers will transition to new, more fulfilling and highly productive roles to save time and stay on budget, and AI will monitor human productivity on job sites to provide real-time guidance on improving each operation.

  1. Safety First

Manual labor not only has the potential to be taxing on the body, but also to be incredibly dangerous. Presently, a general contractor is developing an algorithm that analyzes safety hazards seen in imagery taken from a job site, making it possible to hold safety briefings to eliminate elevated danger and improve overall safety on construction sites.

  1. Addressing Job Shortages

AI and machine learning have the capacity to plot out accurate distribution of labor and machinery across different job sites, again preventing budget overruns. One evaluation might reveal where a construction site has adequate coverage while another reveals where it is short staffed, thereby allowing for an efficient and cost-effective repositioning of workers.

  1. Remote Construction

When structures can be partially assembled off-site and then completed on-site, construction goes faster. The concept of using advanced robots and AI to accomplish this remote assembly is new. Assembly line production of something like a wall can be completed while the human workforce focuses on the finish work.

  1. Construction Sites as Data Sources

The data gathered from construction sites and the digital lessons learned by AI and advanced machines are all tools for improving the productivity of the next project. In this way, each construction site can contribute to a virtual textbook of information helpful to the entire industry.

  1. The Finishing Touches

Structures are always settling and shifting slightly. It would be beneficial to be able to dive back into data collated by a computer to track in real time the changes and potential problems faced by a structure — and AI and machine learning make this possible.

Given the inevitable changes on the horizon, and the potential for costs to drop up to 20% or more with increased productivity, professionals in the construction industry must pay attention to Hard Trends, become more anticipatory, and ultimately learn to turn disruption and change into opportunity and advantage.

Know What’s Next

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