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Category: Management

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Growth Management Personal Development

Using Language to Manipulate

If people were deceiving you right to your face would you want to know? That’s not such an unheard of idea. When people talk with each other today it’s common not to say what we mean.

Honey, do these jeans make me look fat?

No.

[It’s your butt that makes your jeans look fat but I can’t say that.]

Would you like to go out again?

Yes.

[He never heard from her again.]

He’s a really great worker.

[I’m glad he’s out of my department. He wasn’t a good employee.]

It’s easier to say what we think someone wants to hear instead of saying what we think. We hope to avoid hurting another person or the confrontation that might ensue. We answer by the painless way out. We want to get our way so we gloss over the truth. These are common practices in our communication and it’s considered acceptable. It’s delivering a message by using words that hide our true thoughts.

That is one way to use language for our benefit. Another way is by changing definitions of words in order to con others. It has been happening for years yet most people aren’t aware of it.

We learn language from our parents, from school, and from the world around us. As a word is introduced we learn what it means. From there we build sentences, which make it possible to get our message across to others. Communication occurs when a speaker conveys a message and a listener understands what the speaker is saying. It takes the speaker using the right words for his message and the listener understanding what those word mean. But what happens when the definitions of words are changing from what we learned them to mean and we aren’t aware that it’s happening?

Take the word crib. Standing alone we don’t know if the meaning of the word is a baby’s bed or a place to live. The word has changed meanings. The word reality means actual, truth; it’s real. Today we use the word reality as being real or the resemblance of being real. The word reality originally meant it had to be fact. Today it only has to appear to be real.

We’ve seen it on television shows. We used to have reality shows where people were shown as their real self. Later on we find out the reality stars had been coached so it creates better TV. From there we changed reality programs to actuality programs to show that actuality is the real thing. Right.

We even changed the word true. It originally meant fact, actual, genuine, real. Today the word true means conforming to reality. We just learned that today we define reality as resembling something real.

The word true went from fact to anything that looks like it could be fact.

When someone tells you that something is true we think it is fact. What they mean is it’s something that appears to be fact but might not be. If you take what the speaker says as real you are being fooled. Their intention is to deceive you so you will believe them. The speaker is using the change in definitions to manipulate you to their ideologies. You are being duped and you don’t even know it.

It may seem harmless but it is anything but that. When a person is exposed to something over a period of time they adapt to it. For instance, you see a dirty window at home and it bothers you but you don’t take the time to clean it. After a period of time it doesn’t bother you anymore. Your viewpoint has changed. You have been conditioned to accept what you really wouldn’t allow before. This is how the changing of definitions is moving the beliefs and actions of unsuspecting sheep.

No need to fret. An informed mind is an effective mind. We can put a stop to this takeover. Realizing there is a problem is the first step to repairing it. We won’t be fooled since we are aware of what is going on. Check out my website for more: https://www.danalynnpope.com

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Personal Development Women In Business

What a 5-Year-Old Can Teach Us About Listening

We’re told from a very young age to pay attention. From our parents. Teachers. Then bosses and gurus.  But I don’t think it means what we think it means. At least I don’t after a very smart lesson from my young friend Donovan.

I was sitting in the kitchen having coffee with my next-door neighbor Eileen, while her 5-year-old son Donovan, dressed courageously in his Superman costume was engaged in quite a heated debate about why he couldn’t wear his costume to school.

He kept inserting himself into our conversation. He was continually asking me questions:

“Neen do you like to play outside or in?”  OUTSIDE. “Neen, cats or dogs?” CATS! “Neen, Obi Wan or Yoda?” YODA of course!

Then he said, “Neen you’re not listening to me!” I replied, “YES, I AM, HONEY.” He assured me I was not, then jumped in my lap, grabbed my face in his tiny little hands, turned it towards him, and with great Superhero passion and intensity, he said the words I will never forget.

“‘NEEN, LISTEN WITH YOUR EYES!”

He was FIVE. It took a 5-year-old to remind me, that we don’t listen with our ears, we listen with our eyes, our hearts, and our souls — and I think that’s what it truly means to pay attention.

It’s a combination of all these things.

Too often, we pay attention to the to-do lists in our head.  Or we’re waiting to respond. Or trying to work out what to say in response to someone, instead of listening intently.

To truly pay attention — or as Donovan says, listening with our eyes, — is being intentional. It’s holding our own agenda at bay. It’s looking someone in the eye. It’s being fully and absolutely present.

In that precious moment, Donovan helped me realize why it’s so important that we pay attention, and why our parents and our teachers and everyone, kept reminding us of this valuable life lesson. Intentional attention is a gift. One you give the people in your world, and one you give yourself.

It’s a game-changer in your relationships. From your friends and family to the people you work with, to the teams you lead, to the customers you support. Make the shift to be more INTENTIONALLY attentive. And watch as your business and life become much more AH-MAZING. Thanks Donovan!

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Investing Management Marketing Personal Development Technology

Crypto Currency Explained by Currency Expert

As part of my nationally syndicated radio show, Take the Lead, I interview top leaders and successful individuals who share their success stories. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency expert and CEO of FIREapps Wolfgang Koester, sat down for a live interview with me.  He was named as one of the “100 Most Influential People in Finance” and is regularly included in Global Finance’s annual “Who’s Who in Foreign Exchange”. To hear the entire interview, you can go to:  http://drdianehamilton.com/episodes and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMm8R6WJObU&t=1105s.

The following are highlights of what he discussed in our interview:

  • What is crypto currency and Bitcoin
  • The security and traceability of crypto currency
  • Block chain technology or ledger technology and digital mining
  • Supply and demand of Bitcoin and why the price changes
  • 130 cryptocurrencies out there – creating a market for currency
  • How many crypto currencies there should or will be
  • Countries like Russia and others going with crypto currency soon
  • Chinese raise to beat others to become dominant currency and displace the dollar
  • Millennials interest in crypto currency
  • Criminal activity hiding transactions
  • Winklevoss Bitcoin marketers will never spend their money
  • How much is in circulation
  • Difficulty getting out of digital currency
  • Rules getting made up as we go and scamming
Categories
Economics Management Marketing News and Politics Personal Development Technology

Dr. Diane Hamilton Interviews Steve Forbes

As part of my nationally syndicated radio show, Take the Lead, I interview top leaders and successful individuals who share their success stories.  Steve Forbes, the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media, was a recent guest on my show.  He and I worked together when I was the MBA Program Chair at the Forbes School of Business and Technology.  To hear the entire interview, you can go to:  http://drdianehamilton.com/episodes. The following are highlights of what he discussed in our interview.

  • Whether leaders are born or made
  • Taking Forbes digital
  • His favorite people he has interviewed
  • Why he ran for the presidency
  • The biggest changes he has seen in politics during his life
  • Predictions for future markets and innovation
  • The three big reforms we need to address
  • The flat tax and whether we will ever see it
  • The Fed and what changes will we see
  • What to look for in employees
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Best Practices Human Resources Management Marketing Skills Women In Business

Embracing Generational Differences in the Workplace

To reduce conflict and improve productivity, it is important to understand generational issues, culture, emotional intelligence, and engagement.  Leaders are often frustrated by some of the conflict that stems from generational differences in the workplace.  For real progress, we must learn to share the things that we have in common and appreciate the things that we do not. Once we understand people’s preferences and perspectives, we can embrace multiple generations in the workplace.  To watch a recent speech I gave to a large group in Phoenix, regarding these important issues, please go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh7WLNJ1O4o&feature=youtu.be. 

During that speech, I discussed:

  • Avoiding generational stereotyping
  • Embracing each generation as unique and important
  • Improving soft skills
  • Developing emotional intelligence
  • Improving engagement
  • Improving productivity and turnover
  • Embracing diversity
  • Reducing conflict
Categories
Growth Management Personal Development Women In Business

Are You Ready to Grow? If So, Just Don’t Grow Broke!

Leaders talk about growing revenue in almost every Team meeting. Pressure is often high for the sales manager and his or her team to perform and always be closing to bring home the bacon. Are they focusing on the right conversation?

Here’s a secret you may have wished somebody told you – if you grow too fast, without having the cash resources, you’re going to need money from someone or somewhere. You’ll spend your time as a leader chasing funding rather than focusing on running your business, building your infrastructure, executing on your strategy and most importantly aligning your Team.

Growth for growth’s sake can be a death knoll for some companies. What is your profitability? Why waste time and energy seeking big numbers to have a miniscule profit margin? Make the right decisions – review your business model, look at your cash conversion cycle and stay on top of your metrics. Too many CEOs think that a financial report is the way to appease their banker. No! It’s the way to manage your company. The numbers reveal your cash flow story.

So what’s the alternative to pursuing revenue? Create a killer strategy and trigger points to know what action to take at those inflection points. These actions might focus on adding “A” level talent to your executive or management team or buying new equipment. This is deliberate, and intentional. There is no need to fly by the seat of your pants. Focus on making the right decisions at the right time.

Categories
Growth Management Operations Personal Development

Customer Loyalty Test: Will Your Customer Evangelize Your Business?

The term “loyalty” usually brings to mind a long period of time … in other words, a lifetime customer. However, when I teach the concept of loyalty, I like to change the focus a bit. Don’t worry about a customer’s actions years in the future, focus on now. Or, more specifically, the next time. Customer loyalty is about ensuring a customer will come back to your business the next time, every time. Consider the following, what I call The Loyalty Question:

Is what I’m doing right now going to get the customer to come back the next time he or she needs whatever it is that I sell? 

If you concentrate your efforts on the here and now – and the next time – the future will take care of itself. If you consistently perform in a way that will keep customers coming back, you will ultimately end up with loyal, lifetime customers.

In these modern times, however, with technology and social media, customer service strategies are constantly changing and evolving, and this one is no exception. In light of today’s technology-driven social world, we can now put a new spin on this question.  I refer to it as The Evangelist Question:

Is what I’m doing right now going to make the customer want to leave a good review on social media sites? 

In the past when we talked about customers as evangelists for business, it was mainly in reference to the recommendations they would offer in face-to-face interactions. Today, customers can voice their opinions – good or bad – about a business in an instant on social media for the whole world to see. An important tool in business today is evangelism via the Internet – positive reviews on social media channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and websites like Angie’s List, Urbanspoon and Yelp.

And, a positive review gives you the answers you hope for to both the Loyalty Question and the Evangelist Question. The customer is willing to return, and he or she is pleased enough to freely offer positive reviews.

You might be tempted to think that this concept is limited to retail businesses selling directly to the consumer. However, B2B must not write off the concept as there are avenues in which industry magazines and conferences, as well as bloggers, will effectively “review” your company.

Social media has evolved rapidly and become a part of most people’s daily routine. As people “talk” on these channels, they share experiences with those in their circle of friends and beyond. It would be foolish for a business to overlook the importance of using social media to its advantage, so how can you ensure your company is portrayed in a positive light? Most importantly, do a good job! Create a customer experience that is so good it makes your customers want to share it with others, online and by word of mouth. This will not only evangelize for your business, but also create loyal customers who continue to grow in number.

Categories
Growth Health and Wellness Management Technology Women In Business

7 Attention Saving Strategies to Manage Email Distractions

Could you accelerate daily productivity with tips to manage email distractions? According to a report by McKinsey, 28% of a person’s workday is spent checking email.  Sound familiar? That’s over one quarter of your entire business day is allocated just to manage emails. It’s a wonder any of us get anything done. Studies show that 26% of employees admit email is their number one distraction, and I believe that.

Here’s what I’d like you to remember – emails are requests from other people who want YOUR time and ATTENTION to accomplish THEIR objectives. While it is, of course, a necessary form of communication – YOU get to set the terms of how it is used, putting YOU in control of your time. Your time is far too valuable to let others determine how you spend it. So, what’s a person to do?

Here are seven of my favorite strategies to manage email distraction:

  1. Invest 15 minutes.This is something I’m passionate about. I love breaking things down into manageable bits. Manage email in 15-minute increments. Set the timer on your iPhone, play a game and answer as many as you can. Then move onto a more strategic activity.
  2. Put a limit on it.According to a University of British Columbia study, to manage email distractions means limiting your reading of email to three times per day reduces stress and distractions by 47%, boosting productivity and focus. That’s huge!
  3. Unplug from the unwanted. Millions of people use me, which is a fabulous tool that allows you to unsubscribe from email subscriptions that are filling up your inbox. If you’re not reading them, skip that distraction, save yourself valuable time and just unsubscribe.
  4. Block it out. Freedomis a cool distraction management tool that I use on my Mac and iPhone to block social media sites and email. It’s kind of the internet version of a do not disturb sign and it’s ideal for creating focused, uninterrupted time when you’re looking to increase productivity. More than 450,000 people use this app across multiple electronics.
  5. Create short cuts. Text Expander is one of my fave apps on my Mac. It is so simple. By allowing you to load short cuts for regularly used responses, words, and templates, it can save an ah-mazing amount of time. If you find that you respond to emails with similar information on a regular basis, this app might be one of your new faves as well!
  6. Bounce them back.If you use Gmail, this one might be the answer you’ve looked for. Boomerang for Gmail is a great service to manage emails by allowing you to bounce emails back to you when you want to answer them and write emails and schedule delivery for another time. Helps to keep that inbox overwhelm at bay.
  7. To-Do list it.I haven’t tried it yet, but for fans of to-do lists, the Taskforce app sounds like a solution. It lets you transform your emails into tasks and comes with an automatic filtering feature.

Being a leader in today’s world means challenging the way you work, communicate, interact, and manage your time and talent. When you recognize how very valuable your hours are, you start to get protective of them. Fortunately, there are brilliant people out there creating new dynamic tools every day that can help us effectively streamline our workdays, so that we reclaim that mismanaged time and invest it making memorable moments by paying ATTENTION to the important people in our lives.  When you do? You will have more impact and influence at work, at home, and in your community. That’s a win-win-win for everyone!

If your emails have merely become a means in which to communicate to others, it’s time to make them a way you can genuinely connect. When your emails are elevated to be more personal, personable, connected and sincere, others will not only want to read them, they’ll enjoy doing so.

Categories
Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development Technology

Collaboration for the Cybersecurity Team

When you think about collaboration what comes to mind? Have you ever given much thought to the importance of collaboration for your cybersecurity team, or how collaboration creates high performance teams? If you haven’t given much thought to the topic of collaboration that’s OK you are going to explore the importance of collaboration today.

Collaboration is the fourth pillar in the EPICC model for high performance teams and is incredibly important for your security team. If you have tuned in to the entire series on EPICC High Performance Teams you are on pillar four. If you are just joining us now you can catch up on the series and read about Engagement, Productivity, and Integrity; the first three pillars for a high performance team.

Since no single person on a security team can stay current on all the technologies, know all the current vulnerabilities, be versed on all the most recent hacks, or know all the possible solutions; collaboration is key to your security teams ultimate success. Collaboration is where engagement, productivity, and integrity come together and your security team spends time working together to come up with innovative new ideas.

Ideas build upon ideas when a group gets together to collaborate. New ideas, solutions, and innovation that no single person can come up with alone are born during collaboration

One of the biggest and often missing pieces of collaboration is discussing progress, what’s working and what’s not working? When a team knows where the project is they can collaborate on ideas to move it forward or maybe even change direction. This is how you remove the number of fires that need to be put out at the last minute and you reduce stress and cost. When something is not working, it quickly becomes the topic of conversation, but what about discussing what is working? That is often a missed, but critical conversation.

When things are running smoothly most people don’t stop to discuss why, but it is essential to recognize why things are working so you can do more of it. Plus, what is working for one person may not be obvious to their peers, so this is an opportunity to teach each other and refine their skills.

Of course I’m not saying you ignore the conversation on what’s not working, that is critical to course correction and you can’t always prevent or find all roadblocks ahead of time. But as soon as something starts to go south the conversation must include what’s not working. But remember, it can’t be about laying blame or pointing fingers, it’s about discussion, collaboration, and then cooperation and integrity to change things around.

The more your team collaborates the more they can identify the possible roadblocks ahead of time. This means you don’t have a group of firefighters running around always trying to put out the fire, you have a group of park rangers who are able to stop the fire before it ever ignites because only you can prevent forest fires.

The great part is collaboration can happen with or without you, the leader, as long as you set the tone, the expectations, and the example. If someone comes to you with a problem you can ask, “Did you work with the team to find a solution yet?” That could be the first step before involving you unless it is critical and needs escalation.

Remember you never know where the best idea will come from. You want to make sure that everyone on the team has a voice and that they know they can share ideas regardless of how crazy it may sound. That is because you built the team community around integrity, everyone should know that there are no bad ideas and that no one is ever ridiculed or judged.

For your next team meeting start a new conversation on the topic of collaboration, why it’s important, what it should look like, and how to accomplish it. Empower your team to work together, communicate openly, and share ideas. Build on the ideas of community and watch your team thrive.

If you have questions or comments about this article or the series you can reach out to me at sharon@c-suiteresults.com to discuss this topic, security teams, or security strategy. If you enjoy podcasts you can listen to C-Suite Success Radio to tap into the wisdom of other successful business people who know the path you’re traveling.

Categories
Best Practices Human Resources Management Marketing Skills Women In Business

Research Shows: Leadership = Warmth + Competence

When I think about building my image as a trustworthy leader, I tend to think about strengthening qualities and providing services that will proactively draw people in. That’s why I was particularly surprised by a recent study that took a markedly different approach.

At its core was the need to demonstrate two specific qualities that indirectly indicate that you simply won’t hurt others. While that may seem obvious, it was actually much more subtle: the idea was that at the heart of all relationships, both professional and personal, are two factors: whether you are “competent,” and whether you are “warm”. “Warmth” is important because it implies a lack of intentional threat. And “competence” balances warmth because it indicates that you won’t accidentally cause someone harm either. The combination of both allows people to trust in someone’s potential as a leader. It’s an interestingly defense-oriented approach to the perception of leadership.

But it’s more than whether or not you are warm and competent: the other half of the equation is whether other people believe that you have both of these qualities. This is where the ability to speak like a leader comes in.

What does warmth sound like? What about competence? We tend to think of warmth in terms of feelings and behaviors, and competence in terms of skills, but based on the above explanation of what warmth and competence represent, the way you communicate your intentions and executions will drastically influence your credibility on both fronts.

Let’s look at a few factors to consider for each of these areas, to ensure that your communication style allows your warmth and competence to shine through.

Word choice

Of course your message needs to be factually accurate and true, but it goes beyond that. When you explain something, do you give more jargon-laden detail than the listener wants, needs or can understand? Does it seem like you are avoiding answering certain questions or omitting other details? These habits can undermine the perception of warmth because it seems like you don’t really understand or trust me, and if you don’t trust me, why would I trust you? Alternatively, if you use lots of fillers like um, you know, I mean, or sort of, it seems like you lack confidence in what you’re saying, which erodes the perception of competence.

Using relatable anecdotes and clear organization, on the other hand, make it much easier for the listener to understand your meaning. This transparency allows them to let down their guard, and see you as a more trustworthy leader.

Articulation

Once you know what you want to say, the way the words roll – or stumble – off the tongue, will either help propel the listener along with you, or make them hit the brakes. Do you speak at a volume that is easy for everyone to hear, and at a speed that is easy to follow? Does your inflection highlight important words, indicating your personal interest in the topic and adding vocal interest for the listener? If so, all of these practices will reinforce your image of warmth and competence because it shows you are considering and prioritizing the needs of the audience. Mumbling, rushing, and monotonous, run-on sentences will all have the opposite effect.

Facial expressions

Tying it all up, your physical communication is, ironically, the strongest of the three communication modes when it comes to your appearance of competence, warmth and overall credibility. No matter how much expertise you demonstrate in your content, and how strong or clear your voice is, facial expressions such as occasional eye-rolling, unintentional frowning when concentrating, eye contact (or lack thereof), or chewing on your lip can signal your deeper, underlying negative feelings about what you are saying, from arrogance and contempt to insecurity. Remember to smile when appropriate, make eye contact with everyone without staring them down, and keep a neutral listening face in order to reassure the audience of the sincerity of your intentions.

Regardless of the seniority of your position, bearing these points in mind will help you reinforce the impression of being both warm and competent, and come across as a natural leader worth following.

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Do you have other questions or feedback about effective leadership communication? If so, contact me at laura@vocalimpactproductions.com or click here to schedule a 20-minute focus call to discuss it with me personally!