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Day: December 19, 2019

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Growth Personal Development

Do You Have These 7 Powerful Success-Building Characteristics?

Many successful people have similar personality traits. If you don’t have these seven, start cultivating them now.

Successful people have many of the same characteristics in common. The following are seven characteristics that highly successful people have that are critical in both business and life.

The disrupter mindset Successful people passionately seek out opportunities for change or ways to disrupt their industry altogether. So, learn how to break the rules to stand out in your industry. Always look for the chance to profit from change and/or an innovative way to adjust how business is done so you can stand out and succeed. Don’t get me wrong — you need to start with a useful idea. But when you think you have one, don’t hold back. Take the core concept and turn up the disruption dial to the highest volume.

For example, Sean and Thora Dowdell are the owners and founders of Club Tattoo, a chain of tattoo studios in Arizona and Nevada. They turned the tattoo business model on its head by avoiding the unapproachable atmosphere of typical tattoo parlors. Instead, they took a high-end, modern, customer service-focused approach to the studios and retail stores, which brought the tattoo business into the mainstream and built a multimillion-dollar business for them in the process.

2. A vision for opportunity

Successful people seek out opportunities everywhere. But finding good business opportunities isn’t going to mean anything if you can’t recognize them. Recognizing good opportunities takes talent — you have to know what to look for and you need to be able to envision the future of that opportunity.

Understanding the type of opportunity you’re looking for and having a few goals in mind is crucial and will help determine which factors make it a good opportunity for you. The first step is to remain on high alert to spot opportunities while remaining ruthlessly disciplined about limiting the number of projects you pursue. Go after a tightly controlled portfolio of opportunities in different stages of business development. Link your strategy with your choice of projects rather than diluting your efforts in many areas. Make quick decisions instead of over-analyzing new ideas, and execute a plan of action.

3. Shared belief system

Successful people build a great support team. One characteristic of a strong supportive team is a shared belief in the same set of values, which helps create a bond so the team works and supports one another. Shared values serve to connect team members at a core level, and this, in turn, serves to validate and strengthen their support for you as their leader. Their support continues to level up your success.

Begin to engage the energies of everyone inside and outside your organization in the pursuit of good opportunities. Successful people create and sustain powerful networks and business relationships rather than go it alone. You know how to best leverage the wisdom of experts and other resources to help achieve your goals. Business associates and joint venture partnerships can help move you miles ahead of your competitors.

Common business sense Successful people have good common business sense and are always looking for ways to continue educating themselves. Developing good business sense is about continually seeking to understand the ever-changing business environment. It’s not a skill you can learn from a book. It’s something you acquire through hands-on experience and trial and error, but it can also be fostered through the wisdom of others. Brainstorming with seasoned business professionals can give you insight into how successful people with good business sense think and make decisions.

5. Motivation to learn

Successful people continue to learn throughout their lives with great enthusiasm and motivation. When you learn more about your business and successfully implement the strategies you discover, you become enthusiastic about learning even more.

Successful people become sponges to absorb anything that can help take their business to the next level. It’s almost as if they can’t get enough! Call them engaged, devoted, enthusiastic, or even obsessed — successful people believe in their mission so much that it’s contagious to everyone around them, who marvel at their commitment and dedication. This energy can fuel you to remain focused on your mission and help you persist through difficulties.

6. Ability to adapt

Successful people keep moving forward and adapt as needed. They’ve learned to change and reinvent their business often as the world and their industry change around them. If you fail to adapt, you’ll simply get left behind.

To keep growing, you must continuously think of ways to improve. Allow time in your busy schedule to learn new things and come up with new ideas. Successful people remain in constant motion by investing in learning because they’re eager to pursue knowledge. They understand the world is always changing, so they need to adapt to avoid getting stuck in a rut. Successful people keep moving forward and reinvent themselves when required.

7. Observant communicators

Successful people are observant communicators who pay close attention to how other people react. Communication is an activity, skill, and art that incorporates lessons across a wide spectrum of human knowledge.

One of the most likable characteristics of successful people is how observant they are. They give their full, undivided attention to others. Those who’ve mastered this are great communicators who go far in business. 

Successful people learn this skill by being more self-aware. Being observant requires practice to perfect.

These seven key characteristics will move you forward every day, keeping you in constant pursuit of a creative purpose that inspires you. You’re more likely to get three to 10 times more accomplished in a day than the average person because you’ll stay focused on what empowers you the most.

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Entrepreneurship Leadership Personal Development

5 No-Nonsense Action Steps to Help You Achieve Success

What you may have learned about success when you were growing up was probably wrong if it was taught by someone who had never actually achieved any real success of their own. The fact is, you often have to fail your way into learning to be successful.

Limiting beliefs around success can get in your way for far too long. It’s time to take 100 percent responsibility for your success and make a strong commitment to making things happen in a big way.

You can choose winning over losing. You can choose to succeed even when you fail by learning from the experience. You can choose to learn from your mistakes and move on. You can choose to win by grabbing hold of success from this day forward and never letting go. We should always be true to the best within ourselves!

Success Is Easy Affirmation (say it, believe it, and own it): “Success comes easy to me because I have a new reality around success to believe in from this day forward.”

Now take these five steps to start wrapping your mind around the idea of success:

Study the strengths and habits of other highly successful peo­ple, and learn how to create a success-driven, ambitious mind­set. Successful people are simply those who have successful habits. Whether we like it or not, a big part of what we do in life is governed by habits. They can lead us to think and feel in certain patterns; they can also make us feel ambitious and motivated to succeed. Successful people know nothing can take the place of persistence and determination, so they make a habit of never quitting until they get results. The world’s greatest achievers are those who have the willpower to stay focused on their goals and consistent in their efforts.

Learn how to create a new reality — that success is easy for you to achieve. A dream without action is a world of make-believe. Success can be easy unless you choose to make it hard. Don’t believe the myth that success comes from hard work alone. After all, without motivation, you can’t get anything done. And even if you have all the motivation in the world, you need the ambition to achieve a worthy goal.

Repeat the word “success” frequently with complete faith and conviction; believe it to be true. What you learned about success growing up probably wasn’t true if it was taught by someone who never actually achieved it. Limiting beliefs and words around success can get in our way for far too long. It’s time to take 100 percent responsibility for your success and make a strong commitment to making things happen in a big way!

Pay close attention to the words you speak every day, and choose empowering words from this day forward. Not only do your words affect your success opportunities, but they impact how others perceive and relate to you as well. Instead of framing your words into limiting “can-nots,” turn them into non-limiting words to empower more success.

Get off your ASS and really go for it! You can choose winning over losing. You can choose to succeed even when you fail. You can choose to learn from your mistakes and move on. You can choose to win by grabbing hold of success from this day forward and never letting go. You should always be true to the best within yourself. Don’t ever give up on the shameless pursuit of success. Period!

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Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

“Powerful Persuasion How To Boost And Increase Negotiations” – Negotiation Tip of the Week

“To increase your negotiation outcomes, increase your skills of persuasion.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert.

 

“Powerful Persuasion How To Boost And Increase Negotiations”

 

No matter her persuasion efforts, nothing seemed to increase her negotiation position. And the negotiations had extended over numerous sessions. She thought, if we don’t close this deal, we could be out of business. The negotiation was that dire! It had to bear fruit.

When was the last time you found yourself in a dire negotiation – one where everything was on the line? If you’re past your teenage years, more than likely, you’ve had such experiences. During such times, did you consider the impact that persuasion had on the negotiation and its outcome? Did you even think of the persuasion techniques you’d use before, during, and after your exchange of positions with others? You should have – because doing that would have altered the course and outcome of the negotiation.

The following are better ways to use persuasive techniques and how to implement them to enhance your negotiation efforts.

 

Shape The Mind – Mold The Perception:

Most people are persuaded to conformity by group thinking, acting, and adherence to what they listen to, and by those that they view as authority figures. Thus, to shape the mind of those that you wish to become your followers, you must mold their perception. The stimulation of that source may occur from figures seen on TV, heard on the radio or podcasts. They may even arise from those whose writing they observe in magazines and articles that they deem as possessing relevant content about insights that interest them. And that’s where your opportunity to mold their perception lies. You must be seen and heard in the mediums through which your targets have their perspectives molded.

The point is, to increase your chances of influencing the thoughts and actions of others, they must perceive you as someone with authority. They must view you as a person that possesses respected dominance in a domain that’s relevant to them. That perception will allow the recipient of your actions to become swayed by your suggestions, demands, or edicts.

So, what steps should you consider to shape the mind and mold the perception of those you wish to persuade?

  1. Casting Friend/Foe – Before your initial encounter with your target, determine if they should fear or like you. The cliché that comes to mind is, “It’s better to be feared than loved.” And that’s true in some cases.
  2. Once you’ve determined the demeanor to cast, assess the leaders in your target’s spectrum that will be most influenced by it, and gear your efforts at controlling those leaders. The linking of your persona to those already known as influencers by your target will eventually convey a sense of, they’re on board, and I’m just like them – so I should be too.
  3. Project and play your role in the venues in which your actions influence others. The goal is to allow them to ingrain in their minds who you are and what you’re willing to do to acquire the outcome you seek.

 

Reward – Congruency:

Consistency is the glue that holds your persona together. Thus, you must be mindful of projecting a consistent character, no matter the environment. If you’re generally amenable in some situations on some days and more demure during others, you’ll be sending an incongruent message. Even if you extend an agreeable attitude to those that accept your influence and chastise those that don’t, you’ll emit the signal of rewarding those that adhere to your wishes and punishing those that dismiss it.

The point is, you should reward those that accept your leadership and seek ways to disfavor those that challenge it. The amount of discord you allow is something you’ll have to address based on the degree of tolerance you have for non-conformity. And, the overarching message is, you’ll become rewarded by being consistent. So, be consistent in how you present yourself.

 

Conformity – Using Social Pressure:

Social pressure influences people. The factor that you should consider is, what form of social pressure you’ll use to control those that you wish to curry favor with, and what elements you’ll use to dissuade those that oppose you. You might:

  1. Praise those that seek recognition in forums that would allow your target to experience the highest degree of pride.
  2. Demean and denigrate those that oppose you in mediums that will have the most effect. To enhance this process, seek some from their clan to use as examples. If admonished forcefully, it’ll set a precedent that others will not want to incur.
  3. Leave an open path that dissenters can use to move towards you. And create a pit of hell for those that would continuously defy you. The more you can control the impact that others experience from social pressure, the more control you’ll have over them.
  4. Use your target influencers as your unwitting allies. Do that by exploiting their weaknesses as leverage points to entice or dissuade your target from adopting positions based on those that they see their influencers taking.

 

Nurture Continuing Compliance:

Once your target acquiesces to your demands, concessions, and desires, inspire them to continue their allegiance. You can accomplish that by doling out favors or granting requests that are slightly outside of what’s normal (do this with allies to display the extension of your generosity for those that follow your edicts). The fact is, once you’ve sought and acquired someone’s adherence to your demands, seduce them to promote their continued loyalty. It’s easier for them to meet your future requests – the more they meet your current ones. Because psychologically speaking, people naturally seek consistency. And that’s the reason you must encourage continuing compliance with your requests.

 

Reflection:

In all of your negotiations, there’s a power factor that sways the entities involved to move in one direction versus another. To be more powerful, you must increase your abilities of persuasion. Consider implementing the thoughts mentioned, how you’ll apply them, along with when you’ll achieve them. That will give you an increase in your advantage. And everything will be right with the world.

 

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

 

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

 

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

 

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

 

 

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Best Practices Culture Entrepreneurship Industries Management Personal Development Technology

Combat Unpredictable Change with Anticipation

It is often assumed that people don’t like change, when in reality humans are born to instinctively love change. It’s why we take vacations and crave travel, because we want and need change. We must get out of our usual surroundings and witness something new in order to regain focus and refresh our perspectives. In this case, change is a choice, so we like it.

But there is also a negative side to change: when the change affects you personally, unpleasantly, and unknowingly. However, most of the changes that come “out of nowhere” are actually very visible months or even years before they officially hit. For example, people get burglar alarms usually after being robbed. We all tend to react to change and put out fires more than we anticipate what will happen based on the direction in which change is heading.

It’s time to become more anticipatory so you can see change coming and pre-solve problems associated with it before they occur. Only after becoming anticipatory will you be able to use change as an opportunity for growth rather than a crisis to be managed.

How to Be Anticipatory

There are two types of change that you can use to see the future accurately: cyclical change and linear change.

You’re in the midst of cyclical change every day: weather cycles, biological cycles, and even business cycles. In the United States, you know exactly when the next presidential election will be, when the next full moon will be, plus many other key things that cycle with time. You know that if the stock market goes up, it will eventually go down. Cycles are everywhere, and to be aware of them is to be anticipatory.

The second is linear change, and once this type of change hits, things will never go back to the way they once were. For example, once you get a smartphone, you’re never going back to a flip phone. Once the people in China park their bicycles and get a car, they will not go back to the bicycle as their primary form of transportation. Linear change is a one-way street with many predictable consequences.

When you look around and determine what cycles you experience in your business as well as what linear changes have been happening, you can turn the predictable changes into an advantage, which is the key to becoming anticipatory, turning much of today’s uncertainty into certainty.

These certainties fall into two methodologies I’ve discussed at length in the past: Hard Trends and Soft Trends. A Hard Trend is a projection based on measurable, tangible, and fully predictable facts. A Soft Trend is a trend that “might” happen, meaning that you can change or influence a Soft Trend.

The fact that Baby Boomers will age is a Hard Trend: it will happen, and is a future fact. However, the fact that over the past ten years fewer people have been becoming doctors, resulting in a shortage of doctors to treat aging Baby Boomers, is a Soft Trend: it’s something we can choose to address or ignore. It’s a future maybe. The ability to differentiate between the two will enable your organization to transform its culture into one that profits from change, uncertainty, and burgeoning trends.

Change the View

To get your employees at all levels to embrace change, you have to give them the confidence that certainty brings by having them identify the Hard Trends that will happen. Start by encouraging them to do the following:

  • Make a list of all the Hard Trends that are taking place in your industry, so you know what you can be certain about.
  • Make a list of all the Soft Trends taking place in your industry, so you can see what you can change or influence.
  • Have them answer this question: What do I know will happen in the next few weeks, months, and years, and how can I innovate to take advantage of what I now know for certain about the future?

Also, let your employees know this certainty: their roles will change over the next five years. Tell them, “You can either allow yourself to become less relevant or even obsolete, or you can see where your career is going and get the training and tools you need to become increasingly relevant and thrive.”

Finally, realize that how you view the future shapes how you act today, and how you act today shapes your future. Anticipation based on the Hard Trends and the certainties that are before you is key to seeing the predictable future and pre-solving problems before they ever occur. This allows your employees to embrace the changes before them. Remember, the good old days are not behind us. They’re ahead of us, and it’s up to you to make them happen.