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Category: Personal Development

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Best Practices Culture Economics Entrepreneurship Industries Leadership Marketing Personal Development Technology

To See the Future, Think Both/And

Whenever a new game-changing technology is introduced, our instinct is to assume that the current technology we are using will quickly become obsolete and will vanish from our use.

History has shown that the hottest new breakthrough technologies do not necessarily replace older ones. Instead, they often coexist side by side because the old technology has its own unique profile of functional strengths that the new technology never fully replaces.

How many times have you greeted a new innovation with an either/or assumption? Either you use the old or the new. But this is not an either/or world we live in; it’s a both/and world. It’s a world that is both paper and paperless, online and in-person, old media and new media.

Yes, No or Some of Both

In my latest book, The Anticipatory Organization: Turn Disruption and Change into Opportunity and Advantage, I teach readers how to gain a major competitive edge by learning to accurately anticipate the future. This is a skill that can be learned, and in this blog I’ll share one of the principles I have used for decades to accurately predict the future of technological change, one that you will be able to apply in countless ways: the Both/And Principle.

First, a bit of history. In the early 1980s, I developed the Both/And Principle and started applying it with great success. Here are some examples that will help you to see how to use it yourself.

Either/Or Assumption #1:

The introduction of digital documents meant that we would all be 100% paperless in a few years.

For example, in the late 1980s, when CD-ROMs were introduced, industry experts, the press and futurists predicted that by the mid-1990s, offices would be completely paperless. At the time I applied the Both/And Principle and predicted that we would have increasing amounts of both digital documents as well as paper documents in the future. It’s now 2018 and we are still managing both paper and digital documents.

Why is paper still around? Paper is inexpensive, portable and can be folded and tucked in a pocket or purse. It is an inexpensive display medium that does not need power. In addition, a handwritten paper note of gratitude to an employee is far better than sending a text or an email.  So instead of asking “How can I eliminate all paper?” a better question I had my clients ask was, “What is the best use for paper and the best use for digital?”

Either/Or Assumption #2:

E-commerce will render brick-and-mortar retail stores completely obsolete.

In the mid-1990s, around the time that Netscape, Yahoo!, eBay and many other Web-based businesses started rapidly growing, many futurists and the media predicted that bookstores, auto dealerships, shopping malls and retail stores in general would soon be obsolete.

The logic was that a physical store can only hold a few hundred or several thousand items while a virtual store gives you access to millions of items or titles 24/7.

So why do retail stores continue to survive and why are many even thriving? The answer is that physical shopping is experiential, not just transactional. Brick-and-mortar stores and malls that have continued to elevate the customer experience are social gathering places that create a sense of community, which technology can’t fully replace. In addition, many products are difficult to buy without physically seeing them and trying them out. Others require a knowledgeable person to help you make a decision. Why did Apple open an Apple Store? If you have been there, you know why. Why is Amazon opening brick-and-mortar bookstores? Now you know why.

Either/Or Assumption #3:

Smartphones will replace laptops.

Not that long ago, business publications were having a debate about the future of computing. They asked the question, “With our smartphones and tablets becoming our main personal computers, won’t this make laptops obsolete?” The answer is still “no.”

The reality is, we still have the equivalent of mainframe computers, we just use them differently than 20 – or even five – years ago. If they have a smartphone and/or tablet, the majority of business users are already using their laptop differently, and perhaps much less, but they are still using both.

Introducing Both/And Thinking

While others were predicting the end of laptop computers, printed paper and retail stores, I did not fall into the trap of those bad predictions because I had developed a series of research-based guiding principles that would help avoid such mistakes, and the Both/And Principle is a major one.

The premise is simple: Your technology works well for you, but you discover a new app, gadget or process that could significantly transform your business. You don’t want to part with what’s been working for you, but you also don’t want to be left behind.

The Both/And Principle allows you to keep bridging your legacy systems with the new technology or processes. Integrating them in a way that will create higher value than either has by itself provides a pathway forward.

It is a powerful corrective measure to either/or thinking, meaning that the future will only be either one way or the other. The Both/And Principle recognizes the folly of assuming that the “new” will totally supplant the old, and it recognizes that they can be integrated. Once you try it, you will see the Both/And Principle can accelerate your team’s performance because you haven’t settled for one or the other.

Powerful Both/And Duos

Digital documents have powerful strengths; they are here to stay, but so is paper. Here is a short list of Both/And Principle examples:

  • Brick-and-mortar retailers and Internet retailers
  • Digital and analog
  • Paper mail and email
  • Nautical charts and GPS
  • Full service and self service
  • Wiring such as copper and  fiber-optics and wireless
  • Traditional media and digital media
  • Gasoline engines and electric motors
  • Digital music playlists and live concerts
  • Video conferencing and face-to-face meetings

A key success strategy is to integrate the old and the new based on the strengths of each. In fact, the hottest breakthrough technologies tend to coexist and integrate to create new value with their predecessors rather than completely co-opting them. Why? The old technology has its own unique profile of functional strengths.

Case Study: Amazon.com and Kohl’s

In August 2017, Kohl’s announced it would sell Amazon products in its retail stores. But that was just the beginning of this Both/And Principle business maneuver. Kohl’s department stores and Amazon.com have been piloting a retail model that even more perfectly demonstrates an integration of the old and new.

Since September 2017, the two have been running a pilot program in which Amazon.com purchasers who want to return an item can return it to a Kohl’s customer service desk. Customers who bought a product online can now skip the post office and instead return it to an ever-increasing number of Kohl’s stores.

Consumers enjoy the convenience, and according to a number of recent studies, total visits to Kohl’s stores with Amazon’s return program have outperformed other stores in sales by about 8.5%. In other words, customers returning items end up finding more to buy at Kohl’s. Kohl’s also reported an increase in new customers.

Both/And Thinking and You

What are some examples of Both/And thinking that could benefit you? Are there any new technologies that would give you amazing new capabilities that could become something you feel your business could not live without? What are some of the newest technologies that you believe will disrupt and transform your business? What would happen if you combined the old and the new in a way that creates higher value than either has on its own?

If you would like to learn more anticipatory skills so that you can turn disruptive change into your biggest advantage, read my latest book, The Anticipatory Organization: Turn Disruption and Change into Opportunity and Advantage

Click here for a special offer from Daniel Burrus

Categories
Growth Operations Personal Development

Do You Have a Customer Intel Team?

Customer service departments in a lot of large companies are for complaint resolution only. They’re typically seen as some kind of a call center, which pushes these departments to the very bottom of the corporate pyramid. These are the people who pick up the 800-number complaint calls, and who are expected to get on the customer’s level to help solve their problems.

In a typical “top-down” pyramid structure, marketing and production are higher up than customer service and even sales. Products and services are pushed from the top down to salespeople. And when complaints come back up? That’s right, they’re pushed down even further to customer service.

We’ve seen some companies rate the effectiveness of their customer service team by how few complaints make their way up to management. This view of customer service is limited, and we think it’s unprofitable, unfair, wasteful, and ultimately foolish.

This vision of customer service completely disregards the fact that your customer service team is the only team in your company that speaks to your customers on a daily basis, aside from your sales team. They know exactly what your customers want, like, and dislike when it comes to your products and your brand. And they hear all about the competition. On a daily basis, your customers give them suggestions about how to improve. Your customer service people have the power to turn your complainers into advocates.

We don’t even call it “customer service.” We prefer “customer intel.” A popular speech we present to big companies who want to foster entrepreneurial spirit is “The Two Division Company.” These two divisions are Sales (including customer service) and Sales Support (including everyone else—from the CEO to administration).

A customer can provide only two things: Their feedback and their money. Feedback is invaluable—it’s what you need to stay on top of your distribution system, keep your products and services relevant, and stay ahead of the competition. Simply put, you need it to stay in business!

Unlike those studies and focus groups that marketing people spend a fortune on, the information given to customer service is unbiased, relevant, and comes straight from the source—from those customers who care enough to pick up the phone and call. Many of these customers want to find resolution for one of their favorite brands, for the products they’ve convinced their friends to purchase. These are your brand advocates, and now your brand let them down. If their issues are resolved, they won’t spread the word about the problems they ran into. Instead, they’ll focus on the solutions your customer service team gave them, and will continue advocating for your brand.

Once their issues are solved, your customers can provide essential information: Where did they find this product? Was it fully stocked? How long have they been buying your brand? Were they satisfied up until now? How would they suggest improving your products, services, and marketing? Would they recommend your brand to their loved ones?

We strongly suggest establishing formal lines of communication between customer service and sales on the one hand, and production, marketing, and management on the other. When you directly focus on the customer and sales, instead of specialization, chains of command, and division of labor, you’ll notice that some suggestions and complaints will crawl up to where they belong, back into the company structure, to keep your brand relevant and your products competitive.

Why not start by referring to your customer service department as “customer intel” and learning more about your customers? Your customer intel team is capable of so much more than just resolving complaints.

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

 

 

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Best Practices Marketing Personal Development

Use Adverbs with Caution

I could have written “cautiously,” but I didn’t want to be guilty of using an adverb before I’d even begun the body of the article.

I say “guilty” because adverb overuse is one of the cardinal errors of writing.

What Is An Adverb?

Adverbs provide additional description to verbs, adjectives, another adverb, phrases, sentences, or clauses. Often, but not always, they end with “ly.”

They ran quickly.

She was very beautiful.

She so hoped that she would the prize.

What’s Wrong With Adverbs?

The above examples look harmless. This is why they’re not.

“They ran quickly” is awkward and doesn’t provide a strong visual image.

Try

  • “They raced.”
  • “They dashed.”
  • “They hurried.”

Each of these changes implies speed and urgency much more effectively than the original.

“She was very beautiful” is equally awkward, in part because “beautiful” might seem like an absolute. If someone is more than beautiful, try “gorgeous,” “stunning,” or “breathtaking.”

In “She so hoped that she would win the prize,” “so” is meaningless. It doesn’t suggest how much she hoped. Was she eager, desperate, anxious? We have no idea.

An Indictment of Adverbs

“I  believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs.” —Stephen King in On Writing.

King gets to the heart of why adverbs don’t add much to writing. He says in using them, writers signal that they haven’t expressed themselves clearly. The adverb gets tacked on for additional emphasis.

And they have a tacked-on feeling. That’s why “ran quickly” and “very beautiful” sound so awkward. They’ve been added without a feeling for elegant writing. When I say “elegant,” I don’t necessarily mean great literature. I mean something you can read without getting jolted by literary potholes.

Show, Don’t Tell

One of the biggest problems adverbs present is that they tell, rather than show.

Consider the following examples.

  • “He spoke angrily.”
  • “He growled.”
  • “He roared.”

Examples 2 and 3 give the reader a sensory impression. You can hear and feel a roar or a growl.

Whenever possible, replace a verb and an adverb with a stronger verb.

Don’t Throw Out Adverbs Altogether

Occasionally, adverbs have their purposes. The general opinion about their recommended usage is about once in every 300 words.

If you want to measure your adverb use, do a word count on something you’ve written and then read it and count the adverbs. If the count is within the 1 to 300 ratio, you’re fine for frequency, but also look at how you’ve used the adverbs. If you can find a way to replace them with stronger verbs, do so.

Your readers will thank you.

Pat Iyer is a ghostwriter and editor. People hire Pat who want to write a book without writing a word. Reach her through her website at www.editingmybook.com. She is one of the original 100 C Suite Network Advisors.

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Growth Human Resources Investing Leadership Personal Development

Are You Sure You’re Training the Right Things?

Not long ago a training consultant got a call from a sales manager who said, “We need sales training!”

The consultant answered, “Are you sure?”

The caller explained that some of their customer service reps were doing four times the volume of others. It had to be because they were better salespeople … right? So, they needed sales training!

The consultant agreed to help, but insisted on observing the company’s top performers to get a better understanding of what sales techniques they were using.

As it turned out, the top producers weren’t better salespeople at all, but rather had developed a more effective method for processing customer transactions. Once the consultant recognized that, it was easy to document their techniques and build short training interactions around them. The result was an almost instant uptick in sales across their entire customer service rep population.

The message? To get the results you want, you need to understand the reality of your situation. Here are some non-obvious, commonsense steps to help you do that and avoid wasting time and resources.

Step One: Get Real Information from the Right People

A modified version of DACUM (which stands for Developing a Curriculum) can be effectively used in situations like that one. DACUM, which was created by educators to design courses, analyzes what people really do and what they need to learn.

In stark contrast to getting only the leadership team or training department heads in a room, training designers should invite the “boots on the ground.” These are the top performers, the gurus, and the go-to people everyone in the organization knows and relies on. A facilitator leverages a process by which they can extrapolate all that delicious institutional or “tribal” knowledge that exists only in their heads.

Diversity of perspective is key here, so don’t be afraid to have a mix of people. Here’s a sample group:

The new person who really gets it! – That person on your team who’s been in a role for six months to a year and really seems to get it. He or she provides a fresh perspective.

The go-to person who has been there forever! – He or she can be described as having forgotten more about the job than most people will ever learn. They provide historical knowledge about how the role has changed over the years.

An adjacent collaborator role – Don’t be afraid to bring in someone who is not in the role, but “close” to it. This individual can provide an outsider’s perspective and bring knowledge and experience to a different role.

Key stakeholders – This group is essential because they need the results. They are often your champions who need to understand the process and often support your budget.

Step Two: Create an Occupational Definition – Prime their Minds!

Get everyone in the room focused on the role and get discussions about leadership, work ethic and good communication out of the way. You can use a simple quadrant matrix to document:

  • Reporting lines – Who does the role report to up, down and laterally.
  • Critical knowledge and skills – What specific skills are essential to doing the job well?
  • “Nice to have” abilities and traits – What type of person tends to perform well?
  • Learned but wasn’t taught – What were those “a-ha moments” your group had on the job?

Step Three: Define the Body of Knowledge for Peak Performance – The Meat and Potatoes!

A Duty/Task Matrix can be used to define the body of knowledge necessary to perform in the role. You only need some big post-it notes and sharpies. Get the information on the wall so everyone can see it. Put duties down the left, and tasks going across left to right. Here are the definitions and some examples:

  • Duties – This is a something that is top-of-mind for the role. It doesn’t have a beginning or an end. It is ever-present while on the job and usually ends in –ing. Some examples:

Restaurant Manager. Duty: Maintaining food safety

Automotive Maintenance Manager. Duty: Selling products and services

  • Tasks – These are processes or procedures that have a beginning and end. They usually can have a metric associated with them. These roles fulfill duties by repeatedly completing a series of tasks, usually four or more. A defined task requires an object, verb and qualifier. Some examples:

Restaurant Manager. Task: Wash hands properly

Automotive Maintenance Manager. Task: Write a customer-facing estimate

When you identify all the duties and the tasks required to fulfill a role, you’ve documented the entire body of knowledge used by your experts in the room. You’ve also just blown your LT away, because they had “no idea!” your people did all this stuff!

Step Four: Understand the Gaps and Criticality

Your Duty/Task Matrix stands before you and now you need to know where the information is and what tasks have the highest impact on performance. Here are steps to follow:

Draft a Gap Analysis – Go task by task. Where is it documented how to perform this task? In HR? Marketing? Sales? Ops? Or is it in one of your expert’s head? Has it been passed down over time? If it’s the latter, it’s a gap!

Consider criticality – Everything in your Duty/Task Matrix is important … but what’s most critical? Use a simple rubric and define the impact to the business, performance, individual or team upon failure. Ask the question: If the worker fails to perform this task, does anyone notice? Does it create some rework—possibly a lot? Will you lose a customer? Will someone get hurt?

Step Five: Build Your Plan

You now have all the information you need to build your plan. You know what the role looks like, contained in your Occupational Definition. You know the body of knowledge that needs to be learned, as described in your Duty/Task Matrix. You know what exists and what doesn’t, laid out in your Gap Analysis. And you know what information is critical to performance, as summarized in your Criticality Analysis.

You can build your Learning Maps for the role, from beginner to expert. You can start to design and develop training around the gaps that really impacts performance. You can map these duties and tasks to competencies and leverage them in cross-team training interactions, and make decisions on the right method for delivery

Now you are armed, much like a marketing department, with an analysis of your customer base and potential for results based on empirical data and not simply feelings. Now you can go to your LT with a plan that justifies a budget and will deliver results. Oh, and you’ve done it all in two days. Good luck!

Categories
Growth Management Personal Development

Great Leaders Leverage Great Attitudes for Great Results

So, we’ve all been there. We have something important to tell our supervisor, it can’t wait. As we get closer to her office, we see the look on her face. We can see her mood and we quickly decide, “It can wait.”

Attitude is everything. And to a leader it is a tool that can completely change the environment of a team. Colin Powell has been famously quoted as saying, “Perpetual Optimism is a Force Multiplier.” We all know that person who is always up, always optimistic. They always have something positive to say. When they hear bad news, they just smile, laugh, and move on. Nothing seems to bother them. They have an amazing impact on us. Just their smile can have an impact on us.

In a Swedish study by Marianne Sonnby–Borgström, subjects were shown pictures of people displaying various emotions. When the subject was shown a picture of someone smiling, they were asked to frown. Amazingly, they found that instead of a frown, the facial expressions went directly to reproducing what they saw. It actually took conscious effort for the subjects to frown. The power of smile or a good attitude is far more powerful than most are aware.

Unfortunately, we also know negative people. The people who never have anything positive to say. The ones who feel it’s their job to “bring everyone back to reality” when things are going too well. The ones who shoot down every idea. The one’s whose favorite phrases are, “Here’s why that won’t work,” and “I’m just playing devil’s advocate.”

Leaders who are negative are not innovators nor do they lead innovative teams. They miss out on opportunities to be innovative. When opportunity comes, they don’t believe it. They shoot it down because they always have a reason why things either can’t work or can’t be done. Over time, their direct reports figure it out. They know that whatever they bring will be shot down. Who wants to go through that? Who knowingly wants to subject themselves to rejection? And who wants to do it over and over again? My dad would call that type of person a glutton for punishment.

So eventually people stop bringing ideas. They keep them to themselves. They see problems before they appear and opportunities to be gained, but they don’t present them. They keep their innovation in the closet where it’s nice and safe and the entire team suffers because of it.

The problem is not only that negative leaders miss out on innovation, they impact the people around them with their negativity. What leaders don’t realize is that their negativity is contagious. As a friend used to say, “These people are blackholes who suck the light out of everyone around them.” Or as Sigal Barsade, a Wharton management professor who studies the influence of emotions on the workplace, says, “Emotions travel from person to person like a virus.”

Years ago, I was given a team to lead, it was one of my first leadership experiences. My mentor said something I’ll never forget. He said, “Tony, you just lost the luxury of having a bad day.” I had never thought of it that way. I never considered having a bad day a luxury, but he was right. Having a bad moment is one thing, but allowing it to linger and letting yourself wallow in it is a completely different thing. You may be able to pull that off when you’re by yourself, although I wouldn’t recommend it.

But when you know that you affect a group of people and that your actions and your emotions act as a radio signal looking for someone to tune into your frequency, it’s no longer an option. Most people underestimate the control they have over their emotions. It’s easy to forget that when there’s nothing at stake, but as a leader, your effectiveness and reputation are on the line. Your emotions are a tool. They serve you, you don’t serve them.

The bottom line is emotions matter and as a leader, you have a dramatic effect on those around you. A Gallup study by researcher James K. Harter found that business unit sales and profits could be predicted by employees’ emotions. People’s emotions impact their performance, and if they’re healthy and happy, they perform better.

 

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Women In Business

Be Aware of the Straw Man

“Always attempt to control those that attempt to control you. By doing so, you’ll have greater control.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

Are you aware when others invoke a straw man to maneuver you? Be alert to such actions. Those actions may leave you instilled in fear. Worse, they may leave you confused about why you engaged in an action.

Straw man has several meanings. It can refute a response that veers from the initial point while giving the appearance of addressing it. As an example, a supervisor might say to his boss, “The team worked a lot of overtime to get the project in on time. I think we should give them a 2% bonus.” The boss’ response, “That’s horrible thinking! If we gave a bonus every time they did their job, there would be no incentive for them to do anything.” The boss’ rebuttal, while appearing to respond to the supervisor, ignored the overtime the employees worked to get the project in on time. It ignored that they went above their normal duties.

A straw man can also refer to a person lacking in integrity or substance. An example of this might be, “As he felt backed into a corner, he said, you can do to me as you like, but my followers will make you pay for your deeds.” The reference to, ‘my followers’, was an attempt to conjure up a straw man that would seek retribution.

Suffice it to say, always attempt to control those that are attempting to control you. In so doing, you’ll be in a better position to maintain control of yourself … and everything will be right with the world.

What does this have to do with negotiations? 

Who uses a straw man?

During a negotiation, a straw man can be invoked to foster a position to embolden its user. It might be employed to inject fear, reward, happiness, or retribution into the negotiation process. If stealthily employed, it can give the appearance of its user’s fingerprints not even being on the suggested deed (e.g. one negotiator to the other – they may harm both of us if we adopt that position). Thus, it can be one way to insulate one’s activities from any blowback. In this case, think of the straw man as being the image that one wants to cast that’s greater than the image of the one doing the casting.

Why are straw men used?

a straw man is yet another tactic used in a negotiation by savvy negotiators. Some stumble into its usage, not realizing the effect it can have on a negotiation.

When used deftly, this tactic can alter the course of a negotiation by distracting from the point at hand, altering the flow of the negotiation, and casting doubt in the mind of the negotiator that adopts a position.

In your future negotiations, take note when a straw man is attempted to be used against you. Also, consider when it might be beneficial to invoke your own straw man. Doing so will take your negotiation abilities to higher heights.

Remember, you’re always negotiating! 

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

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

#Strawman, #Aware, #Success #Emotion #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #liars #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions

Categories
Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development

Want Team Engagement? Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude

Thanksgiving is a celebration of gratitude. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in honor of the harvest, giving thanks for the fruits of our labor and to Mother Earth. These days, many people take the opportunity to express their gratitude in different areas of their lives. The expression of gratitude during the holidays gives this time a year a festive feeling. But should gratitude only be celebrated during the holiday season?

Gratitude is defined as “A feeling or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive”. While gratitude is an inner feeling, thankfulness is the response and the outer expression of that feeling.

How does gratitude affect us?

I remember as a child growing up overseas, the surprised looks I got from some of my friends for thanking the bus driver when he took my money for the bus ticket, apparently, they were not used to hearing someone saying a thank you to a driver. All I knew at the time was that the driver was happy and so was I. Gratitude’s reach carries far beyond the simple act of saying “Thank You”. It can have physical emotional and social effects.

How many of you were raised to be polite and say thank you when someone makes a nice gesture towards you?  Saying thank you is a common social practice that acknowledges acts of kindness, at times it might even put an unexpected smile on one’s face. How can gratitude magnify your leadership and enhance your business?

If you are looking to build a High-Performance team that is dedicated to the company, use gratitude and appreciation in your business and watch your team members respond. Expressing gratitude make the recipient feel valued, appreciated and validated as a result, the brain releases Oxytocin, a happy Hormone. People tend to repeat the same behavior to continue to get acknowledged and the cycle of feeling good. Gratitude therefore ultimately motivates human performance.

Are you ready to implement?

Here are some simple ways to express gratitude in your company:

Deskside Acknowledgement

Engage the management in showing appreciation to the team members on a regular basis through MBWA- Management by Walking Around. Depending on the size of the company and the team have your leadership-managers/supervisors/team leads walk around and make connections yet, without hovering or micromanaging. You can do this on a daily or weekly basis. Instead of looking for issues or problems have them notice even the little things that seem simple to them. When someone is showing they are making efforts, don’t wait to let them know their efforts are appreciated. Be timely, be specific and reinforce the good work so they know what they’ve done right. Immediate acknowledgment will go a long way and will increase your value as an attentive leader.

Hold an offsite Team Appreciation Day

While many companies have Appreciation Day, some are tied to their leadership or company development days. Think of something unexpected that you can offer that shows you value the team and their work.  Here are a few unique ideas that I have seen companies. One company had taken their entire team to Disneyland, all expenses paid. (of course, it all depends on the size of the company.  Another company offered a SPA Day to everyone. A third company sent the team members and their spouses to dinner and a concert. Aside from an annual event, you can host monthly lunches in between.

Such activities will increase morale and enhance team motivation.

Creating an Ongoing Gratitude program:

1. Survey the team members and find out what they need. While some people are comfortable being acknowledged in public, others might prefer staying out of the spotlight. Make sure you know how to individualized the appreciation

2. Develop different methods of showing appreciation using the following modalities: Verbal acknowledgments such as praise in person or at a meeting. Written acknowledgments such as an email, handwritten note or certificate. Gifts such as store gift cards or actual gifts. In addition things like a designated parking spot for a star employee, coffee/breakfast with the boss, etc.

3. Be sure to also take into account that different generations have different values and appreciate different rewards. From flex time and cash bonuses to professional development and PTO. Match what you offer to their needs, not yours.

Giving thanks for even the little things in life will magnify the good feelings, make your team members feel more alive and connected. Furthermore, living in gratitude can improve the quality of their lives and yours, it supports the immune system as well as improves the quality of our sleep.  Constant gratitude will reduce the incidence of depression and elevate our mood naturally. It will lower blood pressure and reduces aches and pain.

Let’s see, you acknowledge your team, express your gratitude, they, as a result, they are more engaged, they are happier, healthier they perform better. Now your company is more productive which in turn would make you happy and all the more grateful!

Any downside??

I say Let’s Adopt the Attitude of Gratitude, Today!

Dr. Karen Jacobson, a High-Performance Strategist and Speaker; is a former Israeli military commander and competitive ballroom dancer. She is the creator of the High-Performance Triad and author of Power Conversations.  Thru the use of Neuroscience and Emotional Intelligence Dr. Jacobson with leaders on how to develop High-Performance teams in a Multigenerational workforce. For information on speaking and consulting check www.drkarenjacobson.com

Categories
Growth Personal Development

What is a Psychological Evaluation?

Psychological evaluation is defined as a way of assessing an individual’s behavior, personality, cognitive abilities, and several other domains. The purpose behind many modern psychological evaluations is to try to pinpoint what is happening in someone’s psychological life that may be inhibiting their ability to behave or feel in more appropriate or constructive ways; it is the mental equivalent of a physical examination. Other psychological evaluations seek to better understand the individual’s unique characteristics or personality to predict things like workplace performance or customer relationship management.

The real purpose of a psychological evaluation is an attempt to answer a question. In business, two of the most common usages of psychological evaluations are to determine (1) what is wrong with one of my employees and (2) predicting employee candidate’s future behavior. 

When there is something wrong with an employee, the employee may have a decompensation in his/her performance or are engaging in unusual behavior. Both instances could have a psychological basis. Employers often request for a psychological evaluation, called a fitness-for-duty evaluation, on incumbent employees to answer questions such as:

  • Does the employee have a diagnosable condition?
  • Is the employee suffering from a condition which is impairing judgement and reliability?
  • Is the employee likely to cause harm to self or others?

These evaluations are valuable in helping to determine if there is something wrong with the employee. They are also valuable in terms of liability prevention. In the event that an employee does engage in harmful behavior, or needs to eventually be terminate, the employer can say that efforts were made to mitigate the employee’s behavior.

Psychological evaluations can also be used to predict human behavior. No… psychologists do not posses a crystal ball or use therapy couches to have information travel by way of osmosis. However, psychologists use a compilation of learning about past behavior which is the greatest predictor of future behavior as well as administering psychological tests. The goal is to evaluate an individual’s past and present in order to predict the future about things which include judgement, reliability, and ability to succeed. A common way that non-psychologists try to do this is through the college admission procedure. Universities take a student’s standard tests, high school grades, and use this to determine if the student will be successful at the university.

However, some other situations may require more in-depth analysis that need to be done by a psychologist. For example, before one becomes a law enforcement officer, one often needs to go through a series of tests and an interview to determine if one has the judgement and reliability to perform in a weapon carrying capacity. Many other high stakes positions can use psychological evalutations for similar reasons.

 

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How to Prevent Cyberbullying from Hurting Your Business

“The best way to avoid from being cyberbullied is to avoid being a target.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

In today’s interconnected world, #cyberbullying can greatly affect businesses. The types of cyberbullying that can occur, such as fictitious reviews, false claims and trolling/harassment can arise for reasons of retribution or corporate positioning for a negotiation. This article addresses why cyberbullying occurs, how to prevent it, and how to address such attacks when they happen. The information applies to businesses, but it can also apply to individuals.

Cyberbullying – Why?

Bullies tend to target those they sense as being vulnerable and weaker than themselves. In business, corporations of any size may target another organization for numerous reasons. They may do so to affect that business’ revenues, its employee morale, or to diminish the company’s reputation.

When negotiating (you’re always negotiating), cyberbullying can be a tactic employed to soften an entity prior to a negotiation. This can occur by anonymously placing false stories about that entity in social media outlets, or having allies serve as its proxy. In either case, such actions can give the appearance of a corporation under siege from multiple points and sources.

Companies remain vigilant about social media activities because they’re aware of the impact that negative postings can have on their business. A corporation can even be susceptible to cyber blackmail. That’s another form of cyberbullying that leaves corporations in a precarious position.

Cyberbullying Example and Handling:

A business associate that owns a diner recalled a time when several male professionals walked into his eatery. They were inebriated, boisterous and disrespectful to other customers and my associate’s employees; my associate did not want to confront his rowdy patrons by calling the police because he didn’t want to lose control of the situation. So, he informed the disorderly customers that his in-store security camera was filming their actions and if they didn’t adopt a mannerable demeanor he’d have to release the video on social media. While he wasn’t threatening them with cyberbullying, he was implying that he’d use cyberspace to ‘out them’ if they didn’t correct their behavior. The men apologized to everyone in the establishment and no further actions were required. The threat of using social media was enough to back them down.

Cyberbullying Prevention, Combating, Overcoming:

As a business owner, to combat cyberbullying:

1. Be proactive on social media platforms and garner as many positive comments as possible. Then, if another organization attempts to bully your business, they’ll stand out as an outlier compared to the glowing comments you’ve already received.

2. Have business allies and customers at the ready to post rebuttal comments to support your organization against a bully. In extreme cases, have your allies note the efforts that a cyberbully has engaged in, in other environments. Respond in a strong and swift manner to let the bully know that there’s a high cost for him to incur for targeting your business. Remember, bullies tend to pick on easy targets. To combat a bully successfully, insulate your business; don’t make it an easy target.

3. In brick-and-mortar businesses, have camera systems installed that captures, in real-time, the actions that a bully might perpetrate in your establishment. Their in-person actions could be the prelude to cyberbullying. Being proactive with a video account of their in-person actions will allow others to see your side of the story more clearly.

Conclusion:

If you’re someone that engages in cyberbullying, be mindful of who you attack. What you do to others can come back to harm you. It might do so at the most inopportune time.

As a business owner, be proactive to bullying attempts. Follow the suggestions above and ward off potential attacks before they occur … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

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

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

#Negotiator #Business #Management #SmallBusiness #Money #Negotiating #combat #negotiatingwithabully #bully #bullies #bullying #Negotiations #PersonalDevelopment #HandlingObjections #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #psychology #NegotiationPsychology

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Tesla is Redefining the Customer Experience

One of the harsh realities of this fast-paced digital world is that almost everything we buy is out of date by the time we get it home. To obtain the most value of any purchase, especially if it is an expensive one, we need to adopt a future mind-set to help us avoid picking up legacy products.

Driving has long been considered a symbol of personal freedom — an open road going forward, with almost limitless possibilities and opportunities on the horizon. For this reason alone, car manufacturers like to add new features that make us feel like we are purchasing a car that is equipped to transport us into the future.

I recently found myself wanting to replace my hybrid SUV. I have been very happy with my Lexus, but before buying, I wanted to see what the other major brands — including BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and Cadillac, to name a few — had to offer, to see which was most suited to me and my lifestyle. As you might guess, since I have been forecasting semi-autonomous as well as fully autonomous car features for decades now, I was interested to see what they had to offer at this point in time.

As you would expect, all of the high-end vehicles had great features, including automatic braking and various systems to alert you if you are about to change lanes and hit another car that is in your blind spot. However, it was when I drove the Tesla Model X that I felt like I was driving in the future. After that test drive, my view of the other brands was changed. All the others instantly felt like the past.

From a customer experience perspective, that’s a powerful shift. Any time you can make the competition seem like they are offering yesterday’s features and functions, and you are offering tomorrow’s, you can accelerate growth well into the future.

Buying a car has always been both a left-brain and a right-brain experience. On one hand, we would love to buy that just-out-of-reach dream car, the one that our emotional, creative side would love to have. On the other hand, our rational, logical, sensible mind wants the car to be safe, economical and not too expensive. Tesla has found a way to do both.

The realization that the Tesla is already offering a wealth of future-oriented features — features that can save lives, features you know we will all have someday — has the power to change how potential customers think.

Tesla, like Amazon, is what I call an Anticipatory Organization, one that identifies the Hard Trends that will happen and then uses that knowledge to turn disruption and change into its biggest advantage.

With all of this in mind, where would the greatest young engineering talent want to work? Ford, General Motors or Tesla? I suspect that Tesla would attract the talent because it is showcasing the future, today.

Rather than sitting around waiting to be disrupted, maybe it’s time to jump on board and disrupt both yourself and your industry, to become the disrupter. We often talk about legacy software and hardware holding businesses back, but the reality is that legacy thinking is far more damaging.

If your company wants to attract the most talented employees as well as the imaginations of future customers, you need to follow Hard Trends and learn to become anticipatory rather than getting better at reacting.

When I returned to the showroom a few weeks ago, it quickly became apparent that Tesla is a prime example of an Anticipatory Organization. The majority of competitors within the automotive industry are still taking incremental steps rather than exponential leaps. The majority have embraced the idea of agility as the best way to turn rapid change into an advantage. The problem they are finding is that all organizations are becoming agile organizations, which greatly decreases the advantage of agility and, more importantly, the main advantage of agility is that you can be far better than your slower competitors. Being agile is very important and we all should get better at it, but it is no longer enough.

It’s true that there is more uncertainty today than ever before. On the flipside of this coin is the science of certainty, learning to separate the Hard Trends that will happen from the Soft Trends that might happen. As the exponential pace of technological change continues, having the ability to foresee growing problems, disruptions, customer demands and new opportunities has never been more important.

Technology now surrounds us. The rapid rise of the internet of things (IoT) in our cities, businesses, infrastructure and even our homes will also raise the bar of both our expectations and demands. As our world continues to evolve, why would the automotive industry remain the same? Why would a dealership stay the same as it always has been? Why would I want to buy a new car that has only a few more new features than the car I’m driving now?

Having a business strategy based on certainty has low risk. Leaders now have a choice to anticipate today, before their competitors do, or find themselves left behind in the slow lane. What are you going to do?

Why deploy customer surveys when technology allows you to collect real-time user experiences? Learn to how an Anticipatory Organization saves money in R&D, marketing and other steps along the way.

Order Daniel Burrus’ book today!