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Category: Management

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Growth Human Resources Management Personal Development

Energize Millennial Workers

Do you want to get much more from the millennial employees you hire . . . and do you hope that they will continue to work for you for the long, not the short, term? If those are your hopes, it is essential to bear in mind that millennial employees’ attitudes and beliefs about working differ dramatically from those held by baby boomers and members of other age groups.

Consider these findings from How Millennials Want to Work and Live, a recent study from Gallup:

    • Millennials value learning – 60% of them say that the opportunity to learn and grow on the job is extremely important. The study found that only 40% of baby boomers feel the same way.
    • Millennials view many jobs as stepping stones  21% of them have changed jobs within the last year. Only 50% plan to remain in their jobs for at least the next year, compared to 60% of members of all other groups.
    • Millennials expect to advance in their jobs 50% of them say advancement is extremely important, vs. 40% of boomers.

Learning and Training Retain Millennials and Maximize their Productivity

In the companies that I have led, I have seen the realities that underlie statistics like those. I have also seen first-hand that training is the key to reducing millennial turnover and increasing their productivity.

And here are some of the reasons why:

    • Millennials like to feel capable and confident in their jobs. When I was their age, I was happy to learn the skills I needed on the fly. Millennials do not feel that way. They want to look good and feel confident from the first day they arrive on the job. Training is what makes that happen.
    • Millennials welcome training. They like to apply the learning skills they built while they were in school. To them, learning feels as natural as eating three meals a day. As the Gallup study finds, they are eager to learn. In contrast, many baby boomers tend to view training as a burden that they have to endure.
    • Modern training technologies speaks to millennials. Most of them love to be trained on their mobile phones and tablets, which are the most powerful training options available to many companies today. The result is better knowledge transfer, even to groups of employees who work in multiple locations.
    • Millennials welcome mentoring relationships with their managers. The Gallup study found that 60% of millennials feel that the quality of the people who manage them is extremely important. Your training is an ideal place to set up expectations that millennials will enjoy close, collaborative relationships with their supervisors. With that in mind, your training for new employees can establish mentoring, not reporting, relationships.
    • Millennials love independence, but they love teams too. This is a contradiction, but millennials think of themselves as both rugged individuals and eager team players. So letting millennials get to know their teammates during training, and fostering a sense of team/group identity, helps convince them that they have joined an organization where they belong.
    • Millennials are career-oriented. Do they love to hop from job to job? Yes, they do. But only if they sense that their opportunities to advance are blocked. That is why I believe in creating a personalized career development plan for each new employee. (The exception being seasonal or other short-term employees who will probably not remain in your employ for long.) One example? Enroll new employees in management training programs from their first days on the job. Millennials like to know their next steps as they advance in your organization, and training is the best place to explain them.

In summary . . .

I firmly believe that millennials are the most energized, skilled and capable generation ever to enter the workforce. How do you unlock their potential and make sure they remain in your employ for the long term? You do it with great training.

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Skills Women In Business

Know When to STOP Talking

Know When to STOP Talking

Usually I work with people to find the best way for them to talk to their audience and get to “Yes.” Today I want to focus on the exact opposite skill set: knowing when and how to stop talking.

If you’re like me, at some point or other you’ve had the “out-of-body experience” where you catch yourself rambling on, and your brain starts screaming, “for heaven’s sake, just stop talking already!” But you’re on a roll and can’t seem to stop the momentum.

Part of the reason this happens is because Americans are notoriously uncomfortable with silence, which quickly slides becomes “awkward silence,” is something to be avoided. That’s why there’s often a compulsion to fill silence at all costs.

In most of these occurrences, self-doubt is a major factor. Even if you were confident up to that point, something triggers a sudden insecurity, which you telegraph through your rambling.

With that in mind, let’s look at three contexts in which this situation is likely to emerge, why, and how to get yourself back under control.

Waiting for a response

The most common scenario is when you’ve asked a question or made a comment, and the other person doesn’t respond right away. You subconsciously fear that they didn’t understand what you’ve said, or didn’t like it and don’t want to answer it. So you rephrase, or qualify, or suggest possible answers to your own question, until someone finally jumps in.

In reality, sometimes people just need a moment to digest what you’ve said, especially if it is technical or an important decision. Be generous in allowing them time to think, uninterrupted, before they respond.

Over-explaining

The second context is when you think you need to keep explaining something. Maybe your topic is complicated and you are speaking to non-experts or you might be speaking to people who are experts, which can be intimidating, so you feel compelled to share more to demonstrate your expertise. Or you might interpret their silence as disapproval, at which point you keep talking in attempt to qualify or justify your argument and persuade them to agree with you.

Ironically, however, in these situations, the more you ramble, the more it will likely dissuade your audience because you sound nervous rather than confident. In these cases, make your point, then just hold your ground – and your tongue. This indicates that you’re okay with waiting for them to break the silence. If necessary, you can always ask them if they are confused by something, or would like clarification. Knowing when to stop demonstrates confidence.

Scrambling for answers

Finally, rambling often occurs when you need to answer a question or offer a response, and don’t feel like you have time to think it through before you are expected to speak. The pressure is on, and the silence seems interminable as all eyes are on you. But rather than thinking aloud you as you try to figure out what you really want to say, try starting with something like, “That’s a great question; let me think about the best way to answer it concisely.” Who would deny that request, especially if the alternative is a rambling mess?

Here’s a final tip: Write a note to remind yourself to avoid these pitfalls, and look at it before you go into the next high stakes meeting. If you wait until you catch yourself rambling, it’s too late. Priming yourself with these reminders before you start is one of the best ways to project persuasive confidence and leadership.

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Do you have questions or comments about the issues in today’s post? If so, contact me at laura@vocalimpactproductions.com or click here to schedule a 20-minute focus call to discuss them with me personally!

 

 

Categories
Growth Management Personal Development

Effective Strategies for Hiring Top Millennial Employees

“Our research — which provides an in-depth look at what defines Millennials as employees, people, and consumers — both confirms and casts aside some of the myths about this particular generation . . . on the job-hopping question, we found that 21% of Millennial workers had left their job in the last year to do something else, a number that is more than three times higher than that of non-Millennials who report doing the same.”  Source: “What Millennials Want from a New Job,” Brandon Rigoni and Amy Adkins, Harvard Business Review, May 11, 2016

Generalizations tend to be . . . well, general. But the fact remains that most millennials don’t want to work for just any company – and if they land a job in a company that they don’t like, they won’t stay around long.

One reason is that they hope to contribute their efforts and hours to a company that stands for something beyond making sales and making money. They want to share in the vision of a company and if they join yours, they expect that working for you will be in some way important.

As a result, the hiring paradigms have changed. In the old way of hiring, job applicants sold themselves to companies. Today, the company is being interviewed too, and needs to sell itself. When recruiting millennials, hiring companies need to bear in mind that there are certain important attributes that millennials are looking for – an exciting environment, a clear and understandable path to advancement, a chance to exercise personal autonomy while still being part of a stimulating team, and more.

How can your organization recruit and hire top millennial employees, and then make sure they keep working for you for the long term? I would like to recommend these strategies which I have used successfully.

Create a Personal Career Plan for Every Millennial Applicant and New Hire

In the past, baby boomers have been comfortable with the idea that they could discover the of how to build careers after they were hired. I have observed that millennials want to know the game plan and the rules before they come on board.

I have succeeded in recruiting strong millennials by creating personalized career plans for them, which should be discussed during the interviewing and hiring phase. The focus should be on questions of what your company expects from successful workers and what positions lie ahead. Individual career development plans are big differentiators in convincing millennials to take your job.

Please note that this advice does not pertain to everyone you’re hiring, only to employees who want and advance and remain with your company for the long term. You needn’t create a personalized development plan for short-term summer employees, for example, or for elder employees who are only looking for part-time jobs during their retirement years.

Stress Autonomy, Creativity and Entrepreneurship

In general, millennials like to express themselves through their jobs – not to be “cogs in a machine.” They like to make decisions, create and implement plans, and make personal, recognizable contributions to the companies where they work. Stressing that creativity is part of the job can go a long way toward differentiating your company from others that are hiring.

Reduce the Unknowns

Millennials like to have specifics spelled out. Even though they have earned a reputation for being “loosey-goosey” and casual, most of them are not. The more specific and concrete you get in setting out expectations, the more they will want to come on board. If they will have regular weekly check-ins with their supervisors instead of quarterly reviews, for example, talk about that. Talk about benefits, about required travel, about reporting lines – and all the details that apply. The more you explain and reveal, the more honest and desirable your company becomes.

Introduce Job Applicants to Future Supervisors and Team Members

It is again a generalization, but being part of an energized team is often more important to millennials than it is to Boomers or members of other age groups. For many millennials, teamwork really counts – even though they want to be strong, recognized individuals. The operative strategy is to have your company interviewers introduce desirable applicants to their potential managers and team members – preferably in the actual location where the applicant will work. The more millennials feel that your job is an invitation to join a stimulating team, the more likely they will be to take your job offer above others.

Test and Screen for the Right Abilities, Aptitudes and Attitudes

Why is it especially important to consider job fit when hiring millennials? One obvious reason is that good fit helps assure that the millennials will perform well in their new jobs. That’s a given. But there’s a subtler reason too, which is that millennials are generally less likely to stay in jobs that they find frustrating, overly difficult to perform, or repetitive and dull. With greater speed than Boomers, millennials will quit and move quickly to other jobs.

That is not because millennials lack company loyalty or are “job hoppers.” It is because they want to enjoy a sense of progress and accomplishment in their work. And remember that if they leave you, you incur the costs of recruiting and training new workers.

Offer Excellent Training

For boomers who are considering job offers, the promise of excellent training can be a big determining factor that convinces them to choose your company. It is a generalization again, but many millennials like the idea that they will be able to perform their jobs capably from day one instead of learning by trial and error.

 

About Evan Hackel

Evan Hackel, the creator of the concept of Ingaged Leadership, is a recognized business and franchise expert and consultant. Evan is also a professional speaker and author.  Evan is Principal and Founder of Ingage Consulting, a consulting firm headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts. A leader in the field of training as well, Evan serves as CEO of Tortal Training, a Charlotte North Carolina-based firm that specializes in developing and implementing interactive training solutions for companies in all sectors. To learn more about Inage Consulting and Evan’s book Ingaging Leadership, visit Ingage.net

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Growth Human Resources Management Personal Development

Why Bullying and Employee Engagement Don’t Mix

Bullying and Employee Engagement

Bullying and employee engagement don’t mix.  Bullying is one person intimidating or threatening another in a disrespectful, dominating, or cruel manner.   Bullies tend to put performance results ahead of all other considerations including respect and trust.  Bullies think about themselves and not about others.  Aggressiveness is action without regard to others.  It’s an “I win and you lose” strategy.   Assertiveness is action with a “win-win” strategy.  Employee engagement can only grow in a culture that discourages and prevents bullying while encouraging collaboration, respect, and effective relationships with win-win communications.

According to The Workplace Bullying Institute, 27% of American workers have suffered abusive conduct at work; another 21% witnessed bullying; and 72% are aware that workplace bullying happens.  It also tells us that less than 20% of employers act to stop bullying. (Gary Namie, 2014)

Bullying is a symptom.   Causes of bullying are a complex set of factors.  The first set of factors relate to the psychological needs and flaws of the bully.  According to author Susan Coloraso bullies tend to have specific attitudes and behaviors including blaming others for situations.  They lack the willingness to take responsibility for their actions or their miserable situations.  They lack emotional intelligence traits such as the ability to sincerely understand how others might feel and the ability to express empathy.  They tend to be narcissistic focusing all their concern about themselves and not about others.

Bullies also believe competition is an important strategy for success.  They have difficulty with collaboration because they feel superior and others are seen in an inferior position.  For them, aggression is the way to success.

Women and men can both be bullies, although men have a higher tendency toward physical abuse and women use more psychological abuse such as passive aggressive manipulations.

The second set of factors causing bullying is the lack of an effective response from the workplace system.  Dr. W. Edwards Deming said 94% of all results come from the system.  Bullies are mostly allowed to continue without feedback and/or consequences for their poor behaviors.  Although the root causes of bullying stems from the experiences, and probably the parenting, of the bully, it’s the responses (or lack of) of the system that keeps the behaviors alive.

Organizations that are unprepared and/or unwilling to create consequences for bullying behaviors will be victimized. Unfortunately some leaders give “lip service” to a set of organizational values that discourage bullying behaviors.  Instead of confronting the poor behaviors immediately and consistently, leaders can instead ignore (or downplay) the behaviors and place more value on the results bullies are able to achieve.  The results outweigh the desired motivation and willingness of the leaders to have a confrontation.

We teach what we allow.  Bullies learn their behaviors.  They are not born as bullies.  They were probably allowed by their parents, or even encouraged with subtle messages, to continue their tactics. The only way to change is to stop the subtle messages and confront the poor behaviors directly and respectfully with consequences important to the bully.

Besides respectful confrontation organizations should also evaluate the hiring process to ensure bullies are not allowed to slip through the “hiring cracks.”

A system of effective Fearless Feedback will go a long way toward reducing the probability of bullying.  This must start with the senior leadership. Senior leaders must make it clear that results with bullying are unacceptable even if the results are financially profitable.  Leaders must take a stand.  Financial results achieved with bullying tactics must be evaluated in the context of the cost to employee engagement.  The costs associated with low employee engagement levels are much more difficult (if not impossible) to measure than financial results.  The bullying will either stop or be significantly reduced if the system is set up to provide respectful and immediate feedback to bullies and if they are given the choice to either change their behaviors or move on.

Bullying and employee engagement don’t mix.  Senior leaders must decide if results from employee engagement are more valuable than short-term results with bullying.  If senior leaders pay lip service to respect and win-win solutions but then avoid respectful consequences for bullying, things won’t change and employee engagement will suffer.

Wally Hauck, PhD has a cure for the “deadly disease” known as the typical performance appraisal.  Wally holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from Warren National University, a Master of Business Administration in finance from Iona College, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.   Wally is a Certified Speaking Professional or CSP.  Wally has a passion for helping leaders let go of the old and embrace new thinking to improve leadership skills, employee engagement, and performance.

Fearless Feedback

 

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Growth Management Personal Development

Disrupting the Status Quo – Part 2

In the first article in this series I outlined what the status quo is in general and three steps for disrupting it. If you have not read Part 1 yet you might want to start there

I also asked you to put down on paper some of the status quo’s for your organization that need disruption. So take out your list and follow along.

Remember from the last article that disrupting the status quo is essentially creating change and that change can be hard. Because change is hard for individuals, especially when we are talking about behavior change, the first step to disruption is to focus on one change at a time.

So how do you decide what needs to be disrupted first or what change is most needed?

You look at the list and decide which is one that will have the biggest impact overall. In other words is there one change that when implemented will cause change in other areas?

There are typically some issues that will get resolved by focusing on changes in other areas. Here is a simplified example – can customer satisfaction be improved if you focus on product delivery? Can product delivery be improved if you focus on team dynamics or safety? If these are true then focusing on team dynamics (let’s say that’s what you said could create the change to improving product delivery) would not only affect your product delivery, but would ultimately affect and improve your customer satisfaction.

The question you need to ask and get very clear on is what is the high level change you want? From there you can look at what the low level changes are that will push the high level change into being. And from that list you can find the one that will have the biggest impact and affect the most change.

Here is where many leaders get this wrong, the get together in a room with other executives and peers and try to figure out what the problem is they are trying to solve and all the low level changes needed. They don’t go to the source, where the information is best; they don’t go to their employees.

For solutions to have the greatest chance of solving the actual problem, you must turn to those closest to the problem, those who deal with it every day and most likely understand the root cause. If it’s an assembly problem the line worker who deals with that problem must be part of the solution, if it’s a software problem the developer who worked on the code must be part of the solution, and if it’s a customer service issue the call center representative or sales clerks must be part of the solution. You cannot solve problems you don’t know the root cause to and if you are not the one working in the area of the problem you really don’t know the root cause.

This means working with everyone in your organization (department or team) to really understand the problems, the ones that have the biggest impact and the ones where if solved the change will also affect the greatest number of people and have the greatest impact to the bottom line.

Once you have that clear picture on what needs your focus first you go to those closest to the problem and solicit their ideas. There are a ton of resources out there for you, consultants, specialists, coaches, books, articles, courses, etc. that address problem solving and decision making strategy and approaches. What I want you to take away from this is in order to start disrupting the status quo you need to have a clear picture of the problem you are trying to solve, you must work with those throughout your organization to identify what that is, you then must work with those closest to the problem on the solution, and most importantly you focus on one change at a time; the change that will have the biggest impact on your organization.

Stay tuned for the next article in this series and feel free to reach out with questions or comments to sharon@c-suiteresults.com or visit www.c-suiteresults.com for more resources. For a weekly podcast on success listen to C-Suite Success Radio available on iTunes or at http://csuitesuccessradio.libsyn.com/

 

 

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Personal Development Women In Business

Do You Hold Yourself Back From Success?

Do you hold yourself back from success?

“Whenever I’m in a meeting and I think of a question or comment, I end up debating with myself about whether or not to say it… then a few minutes later someone else says what I’m thinking, and it leads to a great discussion. I could kick myself when that happens!”

This is a challenge described by many of my clients, both men and women alike, and it stems from a lack of confidence on a variety of levels. But regardless of the origin, the outcome is the same: you hold yourself back from being recognized for your insights, expertise and overall value to the team.

So what causes this behavior, and what can you do about it?

The late, great sales guru, Zig Ziglar, had a powerful expression that has stuck with me from the first time I heard it many years ago. He said that you have to ask yourself, “Is your fear of failure greater than your desire to succeed?”

The short answer is that, for people who typically hold back as described above, their default answer, often subconsciously, is a resounding “YES.” That’s why they hold back.

What is most powerful to me is the thought process you inevitably go through if you actually ask yourself that question when you find yourself holding back That’s because it actually leads to three deeper and more concrete questions that will help you regain confidence and hopefully compel you to take action:

The first is, how would you define “failure” in that situation, and what’s the worst thing that could happen if you did “fail”? Maybe it means you could make a mistake, share wrong information or demonstrate ignorance. And what would be the repercussions of one of those situations? I highly doubt that you could lose your job, take a major hit to your reputation, or die of embarrassment. The worst that would happen is that you might get corrected in public. You’ve heard others make contributions that were not received with open arms; what happened to them? Most likely, nothing

The second key question is, how would you define “success” in that context? Success could be simply a matter of knowing you made a valuable contribution to the discussion. Maybe your idea provides a critical piece that will help the group to problem-solve more efficiently. One way or another, you will show yourself to be a valuable, proactive member of a team, and it might put you on someone’s radar, for all the right reasons.

A third question that gets overlooked is, “What is the effect of silence on my part?” Remember, holding back judiciously from time to time is probably appreciated by most people. But when your reputation in those meetings becomes one of someone who is non-participatory, playing it “safe” and hiding in self-defense mode unless forced to speak, does that really project leadership?

And just in case you were thinking about playing the “introvert” card, stop right there. That excuse won’t work. Introversion is not about fear of public speaking, confidence or general shyness. It’s about how you get energized, and what takes energy from you. Don’t mistake being an introvert with being hesitant to ask a question or offer a comment in a team meeting.

So the next time you recognize that you are holding back, do two things: First, decide what you want your leadership reputation to be. Then ask yourself: “Is my fear of failure greater than my desire to succeed?”

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Do you have questions or comments about the issues in today’s post? If so, contact me at laura@vocalimpactproductions.com or click here to schedule a 20-minute focus call to discuss them with me personally!

 

 

 

Categories
Growth Human Resources Management Skills Women In Business

Deliberate Practice: 4 Steps to Enhancing Your Influence

Click here to watch Deliberate Practice: 4 Steps to Enhancing Your Influence

Being influential requires deliberate practice, discipline and hard work.  The good news, we communicate 24/7 every day.  Therefore, we have unlimited opportunities to enhance our level of influence every day.  This video will share with you four practical and immediate ways you can begin practicing today to grow your influence.

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Growth Human Resources Management Personal Development

The 5 Don’ts of Frequent Feedback

The 5 Don’ts of Frequent Feedback

The transformation of the typical performance review process often includes the phrase, “make feedback more frequent”.  That sounds like a good idea. It is if certain conditions are in place.  There are five conditions which will either make or break the efficacy of frequent feedback.

I was out of town for a weekend and decided to play golf at a local course. Because I was alone the starter connected me with a threesome.  One of the men frequently spoke. He spoke during everyone’s shots. He was whispered when someone was about to hit their shot yet you could still hear him.

He would not, or could not, stop himself. His frequent babbling was annoying enough but he made it worse by talking only about himself.  He babbled about how he had played this and that hole.  He added unnecessary details about the unfair bounce that prevented a par etc. etc.  It was not helpful and it was annoying. The same annoyance and lack of value can occur with frequent feedback about work performance unless these five conditions are met.

The Five Don’ts

The first of the five conditions important for adding value during frequent feedback is to have a clear standard of behavior that everyone agrees will add value. In other words, don’t forget to create a clear standard of specific and observable behaviors.  With a clear standard, managers and employees can provide helpful feedback based on that standard.  They can avoid expressing opinions.

This leads us to the second condition. Don’t forget to use data during feedback and avoid unsolicited criticism.  When a clear standard exists, everyone and anyone can ask if the behavior matches the standard.  Criticism or opinions are unnecessary.  A manager expressing an opinion about the performance of an employee can create fear in that employee.

Often the feedback will lead to emotions.  This is especially true when there are challenging performance issues which have not been addressed in a timely manner.  When there is emotion empathy is needed.  Don’t forget to provide empathy.  Empathy is the sincere expression that you understand the emotions someone is experiencing.  Feedback without empathy is worthless.  Empathy allows the person receiving the feedback to absorb it and use it.  If there is an emotion and there is no empathy the feedback is rejected.  The entire interaction becomes a waste of time.

This next condition don’t will seem out of order. Don’t forget to ask permission.  Get the person’s consent.  Ask permission to provide feedback. Even better, ask everyone in your organization to ask permission before they provide feedback.   Make it a rule or part of the standard.  Allow the person who is to receive the feedback to say, “no, I am not ready”.  Give them the opportunity to wait for a better time.

Our Declaration of Independence states, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”  Feedback is delivered between men and women with the consent of those receiving the feedback.  Give them the choice. Allow them to consent.

The most important condition is last.  This condition is also the biggest change in how the typical manager thinks about feedback.  Don’t make the feedback about the person.  Make the feedback about process or method.  Two of the earlier conditions were “don’t forget to use data during feedback (avoid unsolicited criticism)” and “don’t forget to create a clear standard.”  If these are handled then the only thing left to discuss is either the process within which the employee is working or the method the employee is using to perform.

Feedback doesn’t have to be about the person. Give them feedback about their methods and how those methods can change.  This will eliminate fear of change.

Frequent feedback is not enough to create optimum value and optimum improvement.  Be sure you create the right environment by implementing these conditions.  It will make the feedback easier and more effective.

Wally Hauck, PhD has a cure for the “deadly disease” known as the typical performance appraisal.  Wally holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from Warren National University, a Master of Business Administration in finance from Iona College, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.   Wally is a Certified Speaking Professional or CSP.  Wally has a passion for helping leaders let go of the old and embrace new thinking to improve leadership skills, employee engagement, and performance.

Fearless Feedback

 

 

 

Categories
Management Marketing Skills

Life’s Choices and The Roads to Which They Lead

“Sunday Negotiation Insight”

“The decisions you make in life will determine the roads you’ll travel. Manage your decisions better and you can travel better on life’s roads.” –Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

“Life’s Choices And The Roads To Which They Lead” 

Most people are very much aware that the choices they make in life determine what they’ll experience in life. That’s to say, some are aware of such at an intellectual level but are not mindful of such in their everyday practice. Such a lack of attentiveness to the choices we make and the impact they have on our life lead some people down a road upon which they had not planned to travel. Worse, such inattentiveness can lead to unintended consequences.

As you engage in your daily activities, be mindful of what you’re doing and the decisions you make. The impact they have on your future can be long-term. In lending your attentiveness to making such decisions consider:

  1. Is this the best decision I can make at this time?
  2. Do I have enough input/insight to make an intelligent decision?
  3. Where might such a decision lead and is that where I’d like to be?
  4. What cost or gain might I incur by not making a decision at this time?
  5. If I make the wrong decision, what procedure might I put in place to inform me of such? Then, how long might it take and at what cost to correct the decision?

The more you’re aware of the impact today’s decision may have on the long-term aspects of your life, the more you’ll be mindful of controlling such decisions. Doing so will relieve you of the potential angst that you might have otherwise experienced … and everything will be right with the world.

What does this have to do with negotiations?

When negotiating, one has to be highly aware of where a decision might lead. To haphazardly engage in a negotiation with a ‘go with the flow’ mindset is to engage in folly; you leave the outcome to chance and chance favors the person that’s more prepared and thoughtful.

To thwart folly, have a well thought out negotiation plan. Consider the possibilities of where one decision might lead versus another and what impact such might have on the negotiation outcome.

Negotiations are like a game of chess. The more thoughtful you are about your decisions and the more you can think of the moves you’ll make down the line, the better you’ll be able to control the flow and outcome of the negotiation. That’s how good negotiators win more negotiations. The question you should now consider is, how good do you wish to be in any of your negotiations? To enhance your negotiation win rate, make better decisions by considering the impact of those decisions.

 Remember, you’re always negotiating.

 

 

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Entrepreneurship Management Operations Personal Development

Lessons From Love-Focused

Love has always been good business. No, I’m not talking about the world’s oldest profession. That’s not love. I’m talking about the kind of love that leads to wedding bells – businesses that cater to people who want to find true love or who have found it and want to celebrate it.

But what can those types of love-focused businesses teach us about how we can use love as a principle that shapes any business? Plenty.

Janis Spindel, the president of Serious Matchmaking, believes the type of trust and confidence you need when looking for personal love are also vital to leadership in any business.

“A loving relationship is about being committed,” Spindel said. “Business leadership requires the same commitment and intuitiveness.”

When people love others, Spindel said, they communicate more clearly and support each other more proactively, which makes for healthy relationships in business as well as in life.

Lindsey Sachs, whose company Collective/by Sachs plans weddings in Colorado and Minnesota, believes love is an essential lens through which to view business decisions.

“Considering love in the context of business helps to make companies human, authentic, relatable and better yet, more than a transaction,” Sachs said. “As professionals and consumers, we all understand the overwhelming feeling love plays in our emotions and decisions. A company that infuses love is more likely to stand out.”

Love, she said, creates empathy and purpose in her work.

“With love present, we can more clearly relate to our clients and staff, find common goals to lead to more powerful solutions, products, and services,” she said. “And keeping love at the forefront encourages us to see our work through a different lens of appreciation. … Reminding ourselves that our work stems from a love of something much greater, our overall context, attitude and ultimately productivity will adapt for the good.”

Businesses that promote love and celebrate love still need profits to keep their doors open, but they understand the powerful connection between loving what you do in the service of people who love what you do. It builds strong relationships, trust, loyalty, and the commitment that allows a business to not only make money but make a difference.