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Category: Best Practices

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Best Practices Growth Personal Development Women In Business

What Makes a Personal Brand

What Makes a Personal Brand… Be Desired, Envied and BuzzWorthy

 

There are a lot of things that can define a person’s businesses and personal brand. It could be a picture, someone’s face, a logo, their reputation, or even an emotion. A brand is something that defines who you are personally and professionally. More importantly, it’s what pops into the public’s mind when the thought of you, or your business comes up. A good brand should be able to stand out, so it can be well known and recognized. You also want your brand to represent you. The way you portray your personal brand will be how people become familiar with you. For example, if you represent your brand to be fun loving and laid back. That’s what people will know you for, an easy going, and fun type of company or business. If you portray your business to be professional and strict, people will come to know your brand to be a “no nonsense” type of business, etc. Although there are a lot of things that can affect how your brand is portrayed, there are also a lot of things that can determine your brands sustainability.

 

One quality that everyone wants in their brand is sustainability. It’s great to have a business that sticks in a person’s head for the moment, but the trick is to sustain that. One of the most important things to remember when building your own brand is how you, your business, or your company behaves will directly affects your brands image and sustainability. For example, a media personality is judged by how they present themselves both through the media and their own personal life. So if they are portraying themselves to be one thing, but the public witnesses those people acting another way, it will greatly affect the way the public eye sees them as a genuine media personality.

 

As the leader of Girl Scouts, I would have to remind my staff that although they’re off the clock on weekends pole dancing is not acceptable. You are always representing the organization and your personal brand.

 

It’s the same way with personal branding. If you portray your brand to be a picture of happiness and structure, but when someone walks into your office it’s cluttered and unorganized, that will reflect badly on your brands image. It will also affect sustainability. Your brand will not last if you or your business does not come off as genuine. You have to maintain the image you are looking to portray within your brand. A lot of people will always stick with a certain brand because the brand is genuine, authentic, or even because it seems like a family brand, which takes emotion into consideration. My grandmother would say, “If your name was on the front-page news… the media was buzzing, what do you want them to say about you?”  

 

When building your own personal brand, think about what your business or company is about, think about what the main focus of your business or company is. Do you want your brand to portray an understanding, people friendly sort of environment?  Emotional engagement is a big part of learning to create a brand that is long lasting, and memorable. People choose brands based on a certain emotion that prompted them to choose one, over another. Learning how to use emotional engagement to connect with consumers or clients will build a brand that is personal, trusting, and understanding. It will build a brand that people will trust over any other for years to come, regardless of what another brand may be offering. Unfortunately, there is no guaranteed perfect formula for creating a brand that will last and become successful. However, there are certain tips and tricks that can help you to understand what it will take for your specific brand to be successful, and long lasting. This takes creating a strong action plan.

 

If you’re in the process of building your own personal brand and have hit a few bumps in the road, you may want to implement a little change management and organizational happiness to help improve the success rate of your brand. Learn more about emotional engagement and incorporate that into the building process of your brand. Remember that how the people and the business operate behind closed doors will define how people look at your personal brand. Be organized… be transparent! Personal happiness is something every brand should portray. No matter how much you use change management to improve the path of your personal brand, if you don’t have an organized plan or idea just like in business, it will be quite hard to do things in a way that look professional. And there always has to be a certain level of professionalism, at least a perception of professionalism. The most important thing is to figure out what will work best for your specific situation, and always practice being your authentic self. Be desired, envied by others, and buzz worthy in a good way.

 

Be Unstoppable

 

 

Our program can help you do just that. We offer the tools and strategies so you too can Be Unstoppable Together.   

 

Do you have questions or comments about the issues in today’s post; want to know how to apply them, or how to help others with them? If so, contact me at connie@pheiffgroup.com or CLICK HERE to schedule a 20-minute discovery call to discuss with you personally.

 

By Connie Pheiff, Unstoppable DIVA

Pheiffgroup.com * unstoppablespeaker.la

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Best Practices Human Resources Marketing Personal Development Women In Business

Love Endures Storms

Did you wake up this morning not wanting to face the day? Just to put 2 feet on the ground, rise up and face your obstacle, your fear, your pain takes courage. No matter what storm is circling in your life, it cannot last.

Absolutely, it is shaking you up, making you feel uncomfortable.  That feeling, the one that is stirring your soul is called LOVE, inner LOVE. When everything around you is dark, look to inner LOVE, to find the strength to endure the storm.

 

Are you facing an obstacle at the office or at home? 

We all go through storms of life to move us, put us on a new path, a

 different path or perhaps a “wake up call” for change. When you are in the midst of your storm, rise up, find that strength, the inner love and pay very close attention to the message. The storm is stirring you up like a big roar but quietly whispering a message, a gentle push toward your new awakening. Pay close attention ….Don’t Miss It!

 

Love, especially self love is the #1 Motivator in the world.  It compels you to rise to your greatness.  How you react to your storms of challenge and circumstance come from your Love Placement System (LPS) which is a belief system inside yourself that has been developed over the years. 

 

If you are faced with a challenge at the office, how you want to react is triggering you to grow and rise to your greatness.  When you feel the storm, it’s calling out to you to rise to become better.  What can you do to be a better leader in your company, or perhaps a better husband or wife at home?  It’s simple – STORMS are lightening bolts shining brightly on what needs to change.  How you quiet your storm is based on your ability to see it as a lesson and a gift.   If you practice healthy self love, you will not hit the easy button.  You will sit with your storm and receive the lesson and RISE to your greatest potential.

Don’t React!  That doesn’t calm the storm.

And, in your storm, Be gentle with yourself. You are exactly in the midst of the uncomfortable for a reason.  Give yourself 1000 reasons to hold on to your inner LOVE. The strength to endure is in YOU!  The ability to grow and evolve into your best self will only make you a better leader in your professional life and a better person for all the relationships in your life.

 

If you notice that you keep facing the same storm, then you keep missing the messages, the lessons and the gift

 It doesn’t fade ~ Not until you learn how to Love yourself enough to seek growth to become the greatest version of yourself.  GO RISE!

 

 

Spread the Love,

Debbie Forth

Love Architect, Love Coach, Speaker

C-Suite Network Advisor & Contributing Editor

Debbie@DebbieForth.com

DebbieForth.com

“Architecting Healthy Relationships from the Inside Out”

 

Since 2012, I’ve helped my clients break through the obstacles that seem to be holding them back in creating the love-life of their dreams. Life’s too short to be unhappy, unsure, or unfulfilled by one’s self — so what are you waiting for? Let me help you learn and develop better ways to handle the issues that are standing in the way of your goals. Are you ready to be held accountable to making the choices and changes to transform by falling in love with self and being ready to give/receive love to others?

“It’s with in our own stories that unlock the doors of healing for self and others.”

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Industries Management Marketing Skills Women In Business

Power Speaking Skills:  Strategies to Increase Harmony in Conversation, Part 1: Tone of Voice:

In this video, Maria tells you how to increase harmony in challenging business conversations by monitoring and modifying your tone of voice.

The Successful Speaker, Inc. video series provides speaking strategies that will help you enhance your credibility and leadership presence during meetings, sales presentations, conversations with senior management, networking events, and even by phone.

The video series addresses every aspect of successful speaking, including how to sound authoritative, speak with credibility, master active listening, and engage your listeners. The videos also provide speaking strategies rooted in theatrical performance, providing tips on how to build belief and captivate your business listeners.

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Personal Development

Think Your Voice Sounds Weird? Here’s Why.

If you’re like most people, when you hear yourself on a recording, your first thought is, “Oh my gosh, that’s not really what I sound like, is it?” The short answer is: yup, that’s you! Here’s a bit of insight as to why, and a few tips to make sure you sound your best, no matter what kind of voice you have.

When you are listening to someone else, the “input” goes in your ear, hits the ear drum, and sends vibrations through the inner ear canal, which the auditory nerve takes up to the brain for interpretation. This is also how it works when you’re listening to yourself on a recording, which is like listening to another person.

On the flip side, when you speak, of course your own words come out your mouth and the sound goes into your ear for the same process we just discussed, but that’s only half of the input.

The other half is that when you speak, air comes up from your lungs through your throat and vibrates through your vocal cords, the “source” of your voice. But then those vibrations also ricochet off the muscles in your throat and mouth, in your nasal cavity, and create residual vibrations that hit the bones in your neck and head as well, sending their own pulses to the brain.

In essence, when you listen to someone else or a recording of yourself, you’re listening in “mono-sound,” or single track. But when you listen to yourself while you’re speaking, you’re listening in “stereo” or “surround-sound,” with a much fuller, richer sound.

So how can you ensure that everyone hears your best, most melodic voice? Here’s three quick tips that will help them hear your ideal sound.

First, hydrate. Make sure you drink enough water, because a dry throat, dry mouth and tired throat muscles don’t allow sound to flow easily. The “fine print” to this is that it also means you should limit caffeine (*gasp!*) prior to an important speaking opportunity, because caffeine is a diuretic that makes the problem worse.

Second, limit dairy. Dairy produces mucous, and mucous gives you that sensation of perpetually needing to clear your throat as well, which is an annoying habit to hear time and again in any speech, presentation or conversation.

Lastly, breathe! The way you breathe will directly affect the quality of your voice. Start with your posture. If you’re slouched in your chair, you limit the amount of air you can take in, which is the fuel for your voice. And as you run out of air, it “fries out,” with a frog-like, croaky sound. Some people also ramble on and on without taking a breath for fear that if they do, someone will jump in during that split second and cut them off. Once the air is mostly gone, if you keep on talking, that same vocal “fry” will creep in again.

Why does this matter? Because not only is it unpleasant and even annoying to listen to, but it sounds insecure, timid, and hesitant, which is a combo that connotes anything but leadership.

So remember: Drink water, limit caffeine and dairy before speaking, and remember to take enough breaths while you’re speaking. This allows you to maximize the fullness of your tone, so the voice you hear in your head more accurately reflects the voice that everyone else hears when they listen to you… and that’s a voice the projects confidence, control, poise and power.

Who doesn’t like the sound of that?

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

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Skills Women In Business

Executive Story Telling Lessons from Pixar

When I’m working with clients on their public speaking and presentation skills, one of the more common questions I get is, “I keep hearing that I’m supposed to tell stories, but where do you get your stories? I’m not a storyteller. How do you find them, and how do you know when to use them?”

There are lots of places where a well-timed, well-honed anecdote will be far more compelling than a dry, technical explanation. But what story should you use? That’s often the sticking question for many people. If only it was as easy as taking ideas from movies, but we can’t do that… or can we?
Pixar – the movie giant of Toy Story fame – has teamed up with Kahn Academy to create a program called “Pixar in a Box,” offering a range of different creative virtual training programs, and the newest series is “The Art of Storytelling.” While their short, interactive videos, transcripts, lesson plan and activity sequences are typically aiming for those in more entertainment-oriented industries, the exercises are great mind-openers to concepts and strategies that are very applicable in the corporate world. The concept of using storytelling in presentations and the like is not new, although it certainly has become more popular in recent years. Pixar’s take on it gives it a new spin, along with a step-by-step tutorial on how to build a story that has impact. While you may not be looking to create a 90-minute animated comedy feature film like Inside Out, figuring out how to use these strategies to weave compelling and persuasive anecdotes into your presentations, discussions, and other exchanges is a true skill worth developing. The key is about bringing information to life. It’s about painting pictures for the listener in a way that helps them personally relate to the topic at hand, where they can visualize what you describe, imagine smells and textures, and empathetically feel the emotions you want to evoke. If you’ve ever watched a Pixar film, you know they are the masters at this. (And if you have never seen a Pixar movie, that’s your first homework assignment this weekend! Try Finding Nemo or Monsters, Inc.) Do you need to go through all of the lessons like how to do storyboarding? Maybe not, but you never know! Maybe it will give you ideas for how to direct your IT department or graphics department on what kind of visuals you want in your slide deck. Or maybe it will get your creative juices flowing to help get you unstuck by doing different kinds of pencil sketches for 30 seconds instead of trying to compose in a linear format when you don’t know where to start and the blinking cursor is just staring at you on the screen. The nice part is that you can skip any pieces you don’t feel like exploring and jump around to the parts that peak your interest. The series is currently under construction but the first couple of lessons are already available. So go ahead, at your next lunch break, take a peek, watch one of their videos (each one is just a couple of minutes long) and play with an exercise or two just to see what it stimulates in your mind and on the paper. You may just find you’re a natural storyteller after all!

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Do you have questions or comments about the issues in today’s post, want to know how to apply them, or how to help others with them? 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
Best Practices Growth Human Resources Leadership Personal Development

3 Steps to Build Solid Relationships Over the long Haul

I am often asked how I grew such a powerful and large network of people and how I get the speakers I do for my networking dinners. Why do major public figures and corporate giants say YES to me?

The question: “What’s your formula, Jeanne?”

The answer: “I seek relationships, not outcomes.”

Our outcome seeking culture may tell you this is a bad formula because it doesn’t always yield immediate results. From my own experiences, the promise of immediate results doesn’t last over the long haul.

It is the long haul I am interested in.

I train my clients to utilize the principles of comedy improv as the foundation for relationship building, in every space they enter. For example, the audience watching an improv show feels engaged as soon as they understand the relationship of the characters. “Who are these people?” – is the ultimate question that needs to be answered, just as we need to answer this in interactions with others. We are made to go deeper like characters in an improv show. We strive to feel more satisfaction with the relationships we have. When we have known and interacted with someone over time, we remember.

Relationships are key to your success and they take time to cultivate. I never stop connecting and re-connecting. The most solid forces in my work and personal life are also relentless connectors. We understand and nurture this powerful group.

Everyone reading this can get real results when making someone feel good. People will remember how you made them feel which will pay out over time.

1.) Practice Pro-Active Communication

If you see an article or hear a story that reminds you of someone you know and want to get to know them better, e-mail then, private message them, share it with them via Twitter or LinkedIN and QUOTE them when possible. When I do this, I’m thanked for my thoughtfulness.

2.) Be Patient with people when you don’t hear back

If someone is not responding via e-mail and/or call and your instinct told you you’ve got a solid connection with that person, trust your instinct and NEVER giving up on reaching out to them. Give a few weeks or months and reach out again with positivity. Pick up where you left off when you last connected. I cannot tell you how many people I have done this with who have thanked me for my persistence and patience.

3.) Give without measure or announcement

If you take one tip away from these, let it be this one. Remember giving is giving and when we give well, we do so without seeking something in return. This idea smacks in the face of most outcome seekers because it is thought we must receive something in return. I have learned when I give without measure or announcement what I receive is better and richer than what I would have imagined as an outcome.

If you are reading this you are a C-Suite Executive likely doing what you love and chances are, most of the people you meet are moved by that and want to get to know you better. Focus on relationship building over the long haul and enjoy the unexpected gifts to come.

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Best Practices Growth Health and Wellness Management

Friendly Rivalry

On June 1st the Cleveland Cavaliers will face off against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year. This is the first time the same two opponents have met three straight times in the championship series in the over 70 year history of the league.

 

While the recent success of these two clubs has pitted each team against one another for the championship title, many sports fans, analysts and historians wouldn’t consider Cleveland-Golden State a heated rivalry — certainly not on the same tier as other sports rivalries like the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, or even the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. In fact, a recent news article described the upcoming series as a ‘friendly rivalry’.

 

I was recently at a conference attended by many of my “competitors”. And while one could think that a conference filled with so many competitors could have created an environment that is hostile, guarded, secretive, and filled with an “unwillingness to share” attitude — it was exactly the opposite.

 

The whole event was overflowing with best practices, helpful and creative ideas and a focus of everyone wanting to help one another be EVEN better.

 

I’d argue that those I considered my closest competitors have become trusted advisors and, even, some of my closest confidants.

 

A little competition is healthy, and having friendly rivals can actually make you stronger and wiser.

 

As for the Cavs and Warriors, while they’ll be battling it out over the next few weeks and be fierce competitors, their underlying respect and appreciation of one another will raise their game to a higher level.

 

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Lou Diamond is the Founder & CEO of Thrive – a leading consulting and coaching company helping the best people and companies become even more amazing. He is also the author of the newly released international best-selling book “Master the Art of Connecting“ and podcast host of “Thrive LOUD with Lou Diamond”

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Personal Development Women In Business

Networking with Confidence and Purpose (i.e. Why Networking Doesn’t Have to Suck)

I am constantly surprised by how often I’m working with clients and the issue of networking comes up. In all the coaching – and group training – I’ve done around this issue, I’ve noticed that, broadly, there are two kinds of people in the world: those who generally enjoy networking and those who loathe it. But there is one thing both groups have in common: most people don’t feel like they get true much out of the experience beyond a glass of wine or beer and a handful of business cards from people they’ll probably never see again.

One of the key reasons for this frustration is that most people fail to bring one thing into the networking event: a purpose.

When you attend a networking event, why do you go? Maybe you enjoy the social interaction, or you’re just following the conference schedule, or maybe a colleague dragged you along as a “wingman.” Ultimately, none of these approaches have an underlying purpose that would make networking valuable. So how can you make networking a useful and positive experience with actual ROI… and do it with comfort and confidence?

Networking with Purpose

A purpose should be specific, but can also be simple. For example, I might know that an HR exec I want to meet will be there, so my goal is to have two minutes of face time with her to be able to introduce myself in person, and get her to agree to setting up a follow-up conversation a few days later. Once I’ve accomplished that mission, everything else is gravy and I’ve networked with purpose.

If you don’t have something that laser-focused as your reason for going, here’s a simple rule of thumb: Networking is simply planting the seeds for a new relationship. It doesn’t have to result in an immediate financial transaction, but the purpose is to meet someone that you can then build a relationship with.

Ultimately, whether or not you become each other’s client is not the issue. The key is that you never know when there will be a reason for you to contact them – or for them to contact you. Maybe you’ll read an article that you think they’ll appreciate and you send them a link. Maybe you’ll look through their contact list on LinkedIn and see someone you’d like them to introduce you to. Or maybe they are chatting with someone else at another networking event a month later who just so happens to need your services, and they can make the introduction.

There’s a terrific book called The Go-Giver that epitomizes this perspective. It’s an easy read in parable form that you can skim in a weekend, and will clarify both how to do it and why.

Networking with Confidence

Interestingly enough, one of the biggest stumbling blocks people face is not why they should talk to someone, but simply the mechanics of how to start the conversation, much less how to sustain it.

First, it’s important to distinguish the difference between networking and small talk.
“Small talk” is simply a communication tool used to break the ice, and initiate conversation with someone new. It can be something as mundane as the weather or how slow the elevator is to a more organic offering like a compliment or asking a question about what you’re looking at on the buffet.

I’ve struck up great conversations with other women by saying, “Just wanted to tell you – I love your shoes!” With guys, tech is always an easy in-road: if he’s looking at his smartphone, try, “Hey, is that the new iPhone? What do you think, worth the upgrade?” Or, while in line at the bar, it’s an easy cause to talk about what someone drinking. “Arrogant Bastard Ale (or Cupcake Chardonnay)… that’s an interesting name! Any good?” Then it’s easy to segue with, “By the way, I’m Laura.”

Natural next-steps for the conversation include asking if it’s someone’s first time at a particular event or what prompted them to come, what they thought of the keynote speaker, what organization they’re with and what kind of work they do. It doesn’t have to be rocket science, so don’t over think it. It’s about finding common ground, and/or showing a genuine interest in knowing more about the person, and the above topics are easy and “safe” for any networking event.

Simply put, enter any networking event with purpose and the mindset of discovering some interesting new people who have the potential to create a mutually valuable relationship – of any sort. When you take this perspective, you’ll realize how valuable and easy networking can be, and you might even learn to enjoy yourself in the process!

Categories
Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development

Why We Must Make Hand-Offs Excellent

I recently had a pair of shoes re-soled. I always take my shoes to this one little repair shop in the west side of town. The gentleman there is detail oriented, very friendly, and prides himself in providing high quality services, excellent explanations, and exceptional customer service. I picked up the shoes and they looked so good (almost new) that I immediately packed them for a trip the very next day.

While making a presentation at a client I noticed a weird feeling of being off balance. The heal of my left shoe was missing. The client noticed me looking for it and exclaimed, “it’s under your table,” pointing to this black object. I was embarrassed. I tried to fix the heal but it just would not stay. I needed to buy a new pair of shoes that evening to avoid further embarrassment and possible injury walking on uneven shoes.

The shoe maker had no knowledge of my problems. With the best of intentions, he did his work and it was not nearly up to the usual standard of care I had been used to seeing from him. His poor-quality workmanship (or mistake) cost me embarrassment, inconvenience, and money. Poor hand-offs cause problems for customers in ways that we often never come to know.

One story of tragedy involving poor hand-offs concerns the Titanic. We all know the story of the great ship which hit the iceberg. Although the lookouts that evening saw the iceberg, the size of the ship, it’s lack of maneuverability, and its speed all contributed to the inability of the crew to turn the ship in time to avoid the disaster. The lookouts were without binoculars that evening.

The person responsible for the binoculars had forgotten to leave the keys to the cabinet where the binoculars were locked up. The crew could not access the binoculars and so the lookouts were told to do their important job without them. The hand-off of the keys to their proper place might have played a key factor in the demise of the ship that night. If the lookouts had seen the iceberg sooner, could the great ship been turned in time? We will never know.

As leaders, one of our responsibilities must be to consistently communicate the importance of delivering hand-offs exactly how the customer (internal and external) needs them, exactly when needed, and with the proper quantity and quality. Furthermore, leaders must create the environment that optimizes the probability all employees can and will manage their hand-offs with these results.

Toyota provides a notable example of an organization that does this well. One of their tools is the “Four Rules”. (Bowen, 1999) The rules provide one of the practical applications of Toyota’s philosophy which can be described in one sentence: “The right process will produce the right results”. (Glauser, 2005) The theory is that processes deliver results where as many leaders still focus on how individuals deliver results (80-90% of organizations have pay-for-performance policies which reward top performers). Toyota (and Dr. W. Edwards Deming) recognizes that processes, along with cooperation to improve processes, deliver results.

Thus, the Four Rules help everyone manage the quality of their individual hand-offs. The Rules are:

  1. All work shall be highly specified as to content, sequence, timing, and outcome.
  2. Every customer-supplier connection must be direct, and there must be an unambiguous yes-or-no way to send requests and receive responses.
  3. The pathway for every product and service must be simple and direct.
  4. Any improvement must be made in accordance with the scientific method, under the guidance of a teacher, at the lowest possible level in the organization. (Bowen, 1999)

These rules enable any organization to empower all employees to be responsible for the continuous improvement of their hand-offs. Setting this up requires optimum leadership. It requires a shift in thinking to results by process not results by individuals. It requires leaders to remove barriers instead of evaluating individual performance. It requires a creation of an environment with trust and a reduction of fear.
Focusing on improving hand-offs can avoid everything from embarrassment to hitting an iceberg.

Dr. Wally Hauck, CSP helps leaders boost profit by unleashing the genius of every employee. By showing leaders how to get the best from their teams, with proven methods and by avoiding morale-busting mistakes, leaders can achieve their strategic goals more quickly and with less waste.

For more than 20 years Wally has worked with nearly 200 organizations, hundreds of leaders, and thousands of employees to optimize engagement and customer experience. Many have achieved significant transformational improvements.

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. As a professor of Organizational Change and Development at the University of New Haven in Connecticut Wally received the highest ratings of all professors in 2012.

Wally is a proud member of the C-Suite Advisors Network

Bowen, S. S. (1999). Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System. Harvard Business Review.

Glauser, E. C. (2005, April 1). The Toyota Phenomenon. Retrieved from The Swiss Deming Institute: http://deming.org