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Category: Personal Development

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Women In Business

“Change” – Negotiation Insight

“Change is the arbiter of the future.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

I heard a knock and mindlessly asked, “who is it?” A mumble met my request. As I opened the door, I asked, “who are you?” The response was, change!

Change occurs every day of your life. Sometimes you observe its transitions, most of the times you don’t. Since change is so prevalent, why do some people find it difficult to deal with? Are you one of them?

Let’s examine why it can be difficult to embrace change at times. Our quest will be to obtain insights that allow you to become the beneficiary of change.

Fear:

What is fear? It’s what protects you from harm. It’s also what prevents you from advancing. Fear stems from not being sure of an outcome. Based on the similarity of the current situation and its propinquity to those you’ve had in the past, you mentally assess the current situation’s probability of success against past occurrences.

To be successful when contemplating change, identify the source of your fear, examine it, assess its viability. Question if it’s real. Don’t let fear dissuade you from grasping the change that moves you forward. If fear is preventing you from advancing, confront the greatest aspect of it. In so doing, your smaller fears will evaporate.

To advance in life, you must adopt a higher-level mindset. You can accomplish that by combating and overcoming the fears that restrain you. The change that will move you forward will be the unshackling of the fears that don’t.

Motivation:

What sense of motivation occurs when you recognize that change has summoned your attention? The answer lies in its degree. If you note how different degrees of change affect you, you’ll begin to note the degree of influence it has. To accept change, recognize its value and its source of motivation. Once done, you can apply it to more positive thoughts and actions. That will be the launchpad to greater success.

Positive Deviants:

To be more receptive to change, observe its positive deviants. As an example, if you work too much and discover that life appears better when you’re with friends, consider how you can utilize your friends’ insights to be productive while spending time with them. The positive deviant, in this case, would be the discovery of changing an environment that’s more beneficial to your well-being. Simply stated, the change lies in maximizing the value of work and friends. Use the model of positive deviants when assessing the value that change offers you.

When it comes to change, it’s constant. You can fight it, deny it, or ignore it. It will occur anyway. If you choose not to engage in change, you’re only divorcing yourself from reality. Everything changes, including you.

So, since you’re always adapting to change, why not control the process and use it to your advantage? You can do that by observing how you engage in change and controlling how it affects your life … and everything will be right with the world.

What does this have to do with negotiations?

Change is prevalent in every negotiation. From the moment of its conception to its conclusion, change is the component that shepherds the negotiation towards its end.

If you’ve planned appropriately and the negotiation is unfolding according to plans, don’t fret when occurrences become out of step. Instead, consider the meaning. The unsuspecting change may be a blessing, not a curse.

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/

#Change #Think #Success #Emotion #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #liars #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions

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Entrepreneurship Health and Wellness

National Entrepreneurs Day- Taking a Deeper Look into the Brain of an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs are the foundation of our country and society. Unfortunately for the first time in a while, there are fewer businesses starting than are dying. We want to help aspiring entrepreneurs succeed, so in honor of National Entrepreneurs Day on November 20th, we have decided to take a deeper look into the hard wiring of an entrepreneur’s brain.

A question many people wonder is “are entrepreneur’s brains wired differently than an average person’s brain?” Many people have referred to the concept of people using their left and right brain when they are trying to solve a problem. Some studies suggest that the entrepreneur’s brain uses the right side, which is considered the creative side, while others use the left side that is used more for logical thinking.

Why would an entrepreneur approach a situation differently? What makes them solve this problem differently? How did they know to make that connection? Dopamine is a chemical that provides the brain with creativity, and the interest in seeking out to discover and achieve new goals. Dopamine is released into the brain when you make a new connection that can enrich your future or create a new opportunity for you. The difference between an entrepreneur’s brain releasing dopamine and the average brain releasing it is recognition on when and why it was released.

They say an entrepreneur will look at the same type of information as an average person, but will see something very different which allows them to approach life with a completely different view. An entrepreneur has the ability to recognize new opportunities without the doubt; this is due to the recognition of their high active dopamine levels. Once the average brain begins to identify the activity levels of their dopamine systems, they will begin to see an increase in thinking, creating and achieving new things.

From the wheel to the commercial jet, and the taco to the microchip, radical inventions by brilliant minds have shaped the way we live today, along with our future. Since its inauguration in 2010, National Entrepreneur’s Day is an annual event that honors those men and women who have built an empire from absolutely nothing, most of them becoming rather wealthy in the process as well. Supporters of National Entrepreneurs’ Day started a campaign for the holiday official through legislation. It is informally celebrated every year on the third Tuesday in Nov.

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Best Practices Personal Development Sales

Cold Calling and the Apathy Loop

What a day I had taking cold calls.

Monday, I cancelled a real estate listing.  Yesterday morning, my cancelled listing record was transmitted by some data/leads provider to dozens of realtors who use cancellation lists to prospect for listings.

The calls started at 7:30, and by 10:30, I’d received 20 calls.  It’s now almost 40.

  • About 80% of the callers used the exact same script, word-for-word, pause-for-pause, identical pace and enunciation…it was creepy.  When I told one guy, “You’re using the exact script everyone else uses, and you read it perfectly”, he said “Thank you”.
  • After each caller’s opening script was done, I asked every one the same question: “what can you tell me about my property, and what should I know about you?”  90% of callers told me some version of “I’m a top seller in the valley/state/southwest, and none had looked at my property (although some had it in front of them when they called, and were able to quickly comment about something obvious, but not particularly insightful).
  • Three calls were from one realtor calling from different numbers claiming “the call must have been dropped” after I’d said “no thank you, good luck finding another listing”.  Not sure what that guy was thinking.  Definite used car vibe.

What does this tell us about prospecting/cold calling?

Any reader of sales blogs, articles, ebooks, books, videos, etc. has read that either “cold calling is dead”, or that “cold calling has never been easier and more productive”.  Once you get past each catchy title, they concur is that prospecting now requires sellers to add value within fifteen seconds or so.  Doing this prevents a common failure mode:  a cycle of apathy described in buyer research (from CSO Insights, ask me for a copy of the research if you’re curious). The apathy loop exists throughout the customer’s buying process, but a prospect’s first contact with the customer — especially if it’s a prospecting call — is a major decision point for a customer:

  1. Are you the kind of seller who enters, then orbits on the loop, or..
  2. Are you the kind of seller who avoids it?

The diagram above is a summary of the apathy loop, a death spiral that every one of my incoming callers fell into.   

CSO Insights, in their most recent survey of buyer behavior, found that, starting at the top bubble:

1. Sellers merely meet basic expectations, but don’t exceed them. They’re on time, speak clearly, show competence, submit bids on time, etc.  Because they do “satisfactory” work, salespeople aren’t excluded from consideration, but..

2. Sellers don’t elevate their status to “trusted resource” either. Buyers aren’t impressed enough to believe that sellers can add any value to their buying process, so…

3. Buyers only engage sellers after self-identifying needs, and narrowing down solution options on their own, using resources other than sellers.  After self-informing, they finally engage sellers who seem to fit their self-identified needs and options.  At this “beauty contest” phase…

4. Sellers for the different potential vendors don’t offer differentiated solutions. Buyers experience the same old mantra: “I see three different logos on their business cards, but I can’t tell their offers apart”.  When all is said and done…

(back to #1)…Sellers merely meet basic (low) expectations.

The cycle, simplified as a clever word play:  Because sellers haven’t added value, they aren’t in a position to add value.  CSO Insights labeled their version of this dynamic “the apathy loop”, and it fits.

How Did My Cold-Callers All Shove Themselves Onto the Apathy Loop?

First point: I’d love to be paid so-much-for-so-little as the person selling the exact same script to every realtor in my state.

Second point: Even with all that money-for-nothing, I’d never be able to look at myself in the mirror.  This script is sales coaching malpractice.

The one thing that every cold-caller thought I should be impressed by was “how many homes I/we’ve sold this year”…everyone’s “differentiator” was the same as everyone else’s. Zero of them claimed anything unique (look that up on the apathy loop diagram). I often do an exercise with my clients having them write down their unique differentiators on a list…then spend a few minutes crossing off differentiators that their competitors also claim.  It’s a sobering experience that illustrates step four in the apathy loop.

You owe it to yourself – and your career – to break out of the death spiral.

CSO Insights research also showed that for big/unique/unaccustomed decisions, buyers would welcome a value-added seller into their circle of trust.  We want help, but only from somebody who demonstrates that they add value to the pursuit.

At random (OK, whenever I felt like breaking from my other work), I went into “coach mode” and invested extra time with seven of my incoming cold callers.  I suggested they pre-plan for 10-60 seconds by looking at the cancelled listing info sheet and to find some nugget likely to spawn an insightful conversation. Here’s the feedback:

  • One said “I have a system and it works.  Have a nice day”.
  • Four said “Thanks for the feedback, I’ll take it to heart” (polite refusals?)
  • One said “Let me try to do this again.  What if I’d said_____?”.  It was pretty good.
  • One called back 40 minutes later, thanked me for my interest in her professional development, told me she’d been wrestling with it, and asked me to coach her through a re-do.  She struggled for a few minutes then started demonstrating some great insight.

Which one(s) live the principle that “the best always want to get better”?  Which ones realize that what used to work might not anymore?  You see, buyers have changed.  We now have resources to self-inform, and either want a sales professional to give us something beyond what we can already find…or go away until we need a couple of order clerks to duke it out on price.

How are you going to change your selling approach when prospecting?

The apathy loop applies to the entire arc of the sales process, but prospecting is one critical point at which you either start a death spiral (OK, “death spiral” is a bit dramatic.  The commoditization spiral?…on second thought, commoditization is death), or you take the path of the trusted advisor.

Add value at every interaction.  This isn’t a suggestion.  It’s the new imperative.

To your success!

Categories
Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development

Create a Dynamic Strategic Plan that Engages the Enterprise

Having a strategic plan is a vital aspect of any successful organization. Unfortunately, most organizations have strategic plans that are really financial plans in disguise.

Profits are only one element of a strategic plan. You need a plan that outlines what you’re going to do to differentiate yourself from your competitors and one that details your innovation strategies. Those key elements are often missing in a financially focused strategic plan.

Thorough strategic planning also looks at how you gain new competitive advantages and other broader concepts that accelerate growth beyond a financially focused plan. Therefore, your strategic planning needs to be a mix of financial planning, strategy-focused planning, long-range planning using research to determine future positions, and tactical planning to determine your execution strategies.

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” That saying is true for companies today, which is why having a strategic plan is essential. It’s important to build change into the plan and have the ability to adapt it in real time.

Dynamic versus Static Planning

These days, a traditional static plan is less desirable and less effective than a dynamic plan. The difference is a static plan is a document that is published, shared with key employees, and then filed away. A dynamic plan goes beyond one-way informing and communicates the plan in a two-way, ongoing dialogue to everyone in the enterprise. It’s a living, breathing, and evolving entity engaging everyone. In short:

  • A dynamic strategic plan is a two-way dialogue that communicates with the company leaders and the employees.
  • A dynamic strategic plan reaches beyond the company walls and goes out to strategic partners.
  • A dynamic strategic plan is continually refined and improved by eliciting dialogue and input from others.

These three points are crucial; with a typical static strategic plan, people may not have time to read it or agree with it, so they may not take action. If they find major flaws in the plan, there is no means to provide risk-free feedback.

A dynamic strategic plan allows communication with people and encourages feedback. You’re not telling people the plan; you’re showing them the plan and asking for their help with identifying foreseeable challenges, solving problems before they occur.

Here are some hallmarks of a dynamic strategic plan:

  • Break it down. Long lists are rarely completed. It’s important to highlight and break down the plan into its basic elemental strategic imperatives so everyone identifies with them. If these go unknown, they won’t be accomplished. Allow the plan to stay top of mind. When it’s top of mind every day, people will know what the strategic imperatives are and are more likely to attain them.
  • Tell stories. Bring the words of your company’s strategic plan to life by making it visual. If you’ve never seen the visual of what E=mc2 means, then you still don’t understand Einstein’s theory of relativity. However, those who see it in a visual format understand it. A strategic plan can be complex and just as hard to understand, so some companies create an infographic that depicts the plan, printing it on a banner and hanging it in a main gathering area as a visual reminder of the plan.
  • Go multimedia. While your dynamic strategic plan could be a document, it could also be a video that people watch or an interactive game they play. Some people prefer to watch a video, while others prefer to play an interactive game. The people who prefer to watch the video wonder why anyone would play a game, and those who prefer to play a game wonder why anyone would sit through a video. Since we all learn in different ways, it only makes sense to put the strategic plan in various formats.
  • Get social. Social media is an ideal way to make a strategic plan dynamic. The key word to remember is “social.” It’s about creating engagement and involvement. For example, as employees execute the plan, you can create Instagram stories using pictures of success, accomplishments, and roadblocks in an effort to gain feedback and ideas. Additionally, you can be using internal online collaborative tools to work with the different groups executing the plan so help can be provided if need be. A dynamic strategic plan breaks down barriers and gets everyone headed in the same direction.

Gain Engagement

Today, truly successful and innovative companies have a dynamic strategic plan in motion. They have a document that can be added to and refined with graphics, video, and interactive media. They have something that’s moving.

Leaders need to engage people with their plans rather than inform them of their plans.

With the rapid pace of change, the traditional static planning system is a dinosaur. Now is the time to redefine what a strategic plan is supposed to be—dynamic.

Do You Have a Copy of my Latest Bestselling Book?

The Anticipatory Organization offers a comprehensive way to identify game-changing opportunities. Using the principles of this proven model, you will learn how to elevate planning, accelerate innovation, and transform results by pinpointing and acting upon enormous opportunities waiting to be discovered.

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Women In Business

Negotiator Safety Perspective is a Strong Matter of Perception

“Look to the perspective of safety for greater insight into the perception of its meaning.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

As a negotiator, what’s your perspective of safety when negotiating? It’s a question you should consider because your perspective influences your thoughts and actions. If you’re not aware of that, you could find yourself engaged in irrational thinking and behavior, which would not support your negotiation efforts. Consider the following thoughts in your future negotiations.

Sensations:

Do you feel it? When negotiating, can you feel the change as it’s occurring? As you’re negotiating, attune yourself to your sensations. In some cases, you’ll sense subliminal signals; they may not fully register at your level of consciousness. If you’re aware of such sensations, you’ll be alert to signs that signal the need to alter your strategy. Note when you have a sense of foreboding. That may be your first warning signal that something may be amiss in the negotiation.

Assess Emotional Wellbeing:

Do you note your EQ (Emotional Quotient) when negotiating? Your EQ is your ability to read and adjust to signals in your environment based on the person that emits those signals. Thus, the better you are at deciphering signals and adjusting to them appropriately, the better you’ll be as a negotiator. Therefore, always maintain control of your EQ.

Environmental Impact:  

What credence do you give to your negotiation environment? The environment shapes your perspective. If not controlled, it’ll shape you!

Consider this, you’re a salesperson at a Mercedes dealership. A Woman drives up in a Chevrolet. She comes in and begins looking at vehicles on the showroom; she’s looking at the high-end Mercedes, not those in the lower price range. What are your thoughts about her and how you might service her needs? What approach would you take to do so? Would your approach be the same if she arrived in a Mercedes? Do you consider the clothes and jewelry she’s wearing? You’ll probably consider those questions and many others before approaching her. Note what was omitted – her need to feel safe in dealing with you, the vehicle she might purchase related to how safe it is, how you’ll deal with her later. Unless you take that into consideration, you may be losing the opportunity to uncover her real desire to purchase the vehicle. Those omissions will also impact the negotiation.

In every negotiation, safety is a silent variable that tags along for the ride. If the exchange between you and the other negotiator becomes tense, the need for safety is usually the harbinger that signals foreboding. It’s also the creator of anxiety, which can lead to stress.

Conclusion:

As you negotiate, be aware of safety’s role. Do so from the perspective of everyone that’s involved in the negotiation. There will be times when you and the other negotiator are worried. You’ll miss that anxiousness as to why that worry exist if you lack focus.

Suffice it to say, to be more successful in your negotiations, first focus on the fears you and the other negotiator have about the outcome. In making those assessments, consider how you and she can use the perception of safety to enhance your perspective. By engaging in this process, you’ll eliminate potential pitfalls that might befall the negotiation, while developing a clearer path to where victory lies for both of you … 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 #Safety #Perspective #Matter #Perception #Power #secrets #Mistakes #Management #SmallBusiness #Money #Negotiating #combat #negotiatingwithabully #bully #bullies #bullying #Negotiations #PersonalDevelopment #HandlingObjections #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #psychology #NegotiationPsychology

Categories
Best Practices Growth Personal Development

Play The “No” Game

There are few things worse than being told “No.” We’ve heard it a million times. It might be the least fun part of any business! How do you fight the “no”s while keeping spirits up until you find a “yes”?

We wound up making a game out of it—It’s easy! The object of this game, the “no” game, is to count how many times you were told “no” before you finally heard a “yes”. Keeping track is part of the fun!

Using this game, you can find the average number of “no”s your team gets before they find a “yes”. Then, you can aim to come in under that number, using different strategies, skills, and tactics that you learn along the way.

Everyone on your team can play this game. After all, you all have the same goals, and you’re likely met with more than one “no” on a daily basis.

Here are the rules:

Find the Average Number of “No”s. Encourage everyone to compare their results and notes. Over the next month, keep track of how many times they heard “no” before they heard “yes”. Take the average for both each teammate and the whole team. In Barefoot’s case, the average number was seven!

 Then, when anyone complained about a “no”, we asked them how many times they’ve tried so far. If that number was four or five, we’d say, “You’ve just begun! You haven’t even hit the average yet!” And if that number was 10 or 15, we’d say, “Great! You must be very close—keep trying; you’re overdue for a yes!” We’d all have a laugh. Just thinking about this adversity as a game was enough to raise our spirits and keep us determined in our quest for a “yes”.

Ask on Another Day. This seems ridiculous, but sometimes our team asked the same person the same exact question on another day—and got a yes! Maybe their mood changed. Maybe they forgot they even said no in the first place. Or maybe they had time to mull it over and finally realized “yes” is the better option.

Ask Another Person. Maybe there’s suddenly a new decision-maker who wants to hear more about your proposition! Or maybe you’ll get another person who sees it differently. It happened often where we were stopped (or, rather, “delayed”) by assistants who wanted us to think they had the power to say “yes” when they really didn’t. Eventually, we understood their restricted decision-making abilities. We’d get the opportunity to speak to a higher-up (since the assistant was sick that day) who would say, “Yes! We definitely need this!”

Ask in Another Way. Have you been asking the wrong question? Or putting it the wrong way? Consider your request. Think about how the decision-maker would benefit from your proposition. Then ask how you can help solve their problem. Think about what will get you a “yes” and move on from there. Who knows—they might just need to hear something different.

Share What Works. When you finally hear the “yes” you’ve been waiting for, share with your team how you got there, so they can apply the same strategy. Make sure to include how many “no”s you heard before you heard one “yes”. How does it compare to the average? You can make this fun and educational. And most importantly, it can encourage the entire team.

Keep in mind—there isn’t really a “yes” or “no” in the business world. People can say no and later say yes. People can say yes and then avoid signing a physical contract! The real answers are “now” and “later”. You say no when you stop asking, so play the “no” game until they say “yes”—now or later!

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

Categories
Growth Management Personal Development

What Executive Leaders Should Do During TOUGH Times

Many people are dealing with what can seem like insurmountable challenges right now – maybe you’re dealing with the aftermath of floods/wildfires/hurricanes/tornadoes/(insert your natural disaster here), economic woes, layoffs, or extreme budget cuts. Your team may just flat out not be getting along or working together productively.

While I wouldn’t say that being an effective executive leader is ever easy, I think we’d agree that serving as the top dog during prosperous times is a whole lot more fun than leading during tough times. Being a true senior leader is all about being able to rise to the occasion during those challenging times.

Don’t forget that in uncertain times, you are not the only one who’s stressed. Your team members likely have a tremendous amount of anxiety and as those negative emotions run high, they may vent their frustrations at a co-worker or colleague. As the stress continues, often fatigue and hopelessness set in.

Sorry to be such a “Betty Buzzkill,” but I do offer some remedies.  If you’re on the struggle bus, here are a few tips for dealing with the aforementioned adversity – and/or for anytime you want to be a better leader or just a decent human being.

1. Lighten up. Go see a funny movie or watch a sitcom, serve pizza or po’boys at lunch. Make sure that you take time for yourself to have fun, relax, and recharge your batteries. See my last blog on this one.

2. Be kind and compassionate. Obviously. Everyone is fighting battles that we know nothing about. Use empathy and put yourself in her shoes.

3. Communicate early and often. Now is not the time to hunker down in your office/bunker. Share information, be accessible to your people, and listen to the concerns of your team members.

4. Show interest and concern for each team member. Ask how his family is doing, what challenges he’s facing, and what specific help he needs. Everyone wants to feel empowered and in control. Focus on what action he can take and help him to identify appropriate ways of dealing with the challenges.

5. Be as transparent as possible. If you don’t know the answer to a question, admit that you don’t know. When you have less than positive news/developments to share, do so directly and with respect for how it will impact members of your team.

6. Get scrappy. This is the time to search for more innovative solutions. Get your team involved and tap into their creativity. Get them talking and brainstorming. This is a great way to get and keep them engaged, too. See my previous blog post, Make Your Meetings Meaningful.

7. Exercise. To burn off stress – and all those beignets you ate because you were stressed out. The endorphins will do you a world of good. Encourage your team members to do the same. Why not have a walking meeting?

8. Get enough sleep. Easier said than done, I know. But hopefully, all that exercise will make you tired so you’ll sleep like a baby. Nobody wants to deal with a cranky, sleep-deprived leader during tough times.

9. Spend time with family and friends – but not if they’re the ones causing you stress! Make it a point to be around people who lift you up and make you feel good about yourself. Rather than join the “ain’t it awful club,” surround yourself with positive people who are prone to taking action rather than sitting around whining about the situation.

10. Appreciate and thank others for their efforts. Make a commitment to thank or recognize someone (or three or five someones) each day before your head hits the pillow. I know you’ve heard about the research that indicates that gratitude is a powerful antidote to feeling “meh.” So do it.

Of course there are mornings that you wish you were Don Draper from Madmen so you could pour yourself a drink at 9:00 AM, but sadly, my friend, that would likely only make matters worse. Hopefully, these tips will help you to see these tough times as an opportunity to become a stronger, more effective leader.

Remember that as a leader, you are being watched! You are the role model, the example that others will follow. If you are determined and focused on the positive, likely your team will follow your lead.

CHIME IN:

  • How do you keep your team engaged during tough times?
  • What actions would you add to this list?
  • Post a comment below and share your experiences with our community.

For more resources on leadership and employee engagement, be sure to sign up for our monthly Ezine and you will receive our report: “7 of Your Biggest People Problems…Solved.”

You might also like:

For Leadership Success – Give Your Power Away

How to Redirect the Company Culture Ship

How Leaders Can Patiently and Gently Keep Their Team on Track

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems.

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Categories
Best Practices Growth Leadership Personal Development

Shift Your Focus to the Positive

“The negativity around here is wearing me down.”

If you have ever said those words to a colleague, I have some tough-but-loving advise to offer you today . . .

If the negativity is getting to you, it is up to you to do something about it. You… and no one else.

You don’t have the time, you say? You are not negative other people are, you say? Well that could be true. But unless you do something to turn the problem around, you are part of the roadblock.

Here are two simple, time-efficient steps you can do today to transform your organization into a much more positive place to work.

Use the Power of Five-to-One

I recommend telling people five positive things for every comment that could possibly be interpreted as negative – so in effect, you are operating on a ratio of 5 to 1 in positive versus ambiguous or less-than-positive communications. This practice will transform your leadership on the job, and it will produce surprising transformations in the way you interact with your family members, friends – in fact, everyone around you.

Why? Because too many of us don’t spend enough time giving positive feedback. Some of us say nothing at all until they need to comment or correct something that we think someone is doing wrong. Over time, this negative pattern causes others to feel unappreciated and so defensive that when you approach them, they know that you are unhappy with them. Is that good leadership? Is it a good way to interact with the people you love?

In contrast, be on the lookout for good things and call attention to them in positive ways. Concentrate not on perfection, but on the progress and hard work that you see in other people. If you apply this philosophy consistently, everyone around you will be happier, more motivated and less distracted by worry. Please try it and again, let me know how it has helped you.

Express Appreciation Every Day

Expressing appreciation seems like a small thing to do. But just like using the Three Things philosophy, it exerts a surprisingly profound force on everyone around you. You can express appreciation to members of your family, to people who work for the same charities and organizations that you do – and to people you meet everywhere and anywhere as you go about your life.

If the babysitter you hired to watch your kids one night did an especially caring and capable job of it, mention how much you appreciate that. And then go on to do the same, by expressing appreciation for the gas station attendant who washes your windshield, to the waitperson who did an exceptional job attending to your family at a restaurant, to the woman who holds the door of the ATM to make life a little more pleasant for you instead of letting it close in your face.

Every time you express appreciation, you are creating a more positive world, both for you and for everyone around you.

Embrace the Fact that Other People Often Have Ideas that Are As Good As Yours . . . and Possibly Better

Learn to suspend judgment in interactions with other people, by letting go and allowing them to surprise you by doing things the way they want to. We have already explored this leadership book in this book. I am here to tell you, it can produce transformational results in your family and personal life.

Here is a small experiment for you to try. If you have a child, for example, try to see everything you say and do through his or her eyes. You son just came to you with a suggestion for a summer program he would like to participate in, for example, or your daughter wants to go on vacation with her best friend’s family. If you were your son or daughter and expressed desires like those, how would you feel if your idea gets summarily shot down by Mom or Dad?

Accept the idea that the people around you are just as smart as you are, and sometimes smarter. You are not the person who gives final permission for everything. Do bear in mind, of course, that part of being an effective parent sometimes means failing to give permission. Does you daughter want to go swimming with sharks, for example, or travel to a dangerous part of the world. Or does you son suddenly announce that he wants to drop out of college a few months before he is due to graduate? Remember that you don’t have to approve everything. As you do in your professional life, it is a matter of exercising positive leadership. But before you deny permission, take a little time to ask “why?” so you can determine what the real issues are. Then facilitate decision making in a positive and Ingaged way.

About Evan Hackel

Evan Hackel is a 35-year franchising veteran as both a franchisor and franchisee. He is CEO of Tortal Training, a leading training development company, and principal of Ingage Consulting. He is a speaker, hosts “Training Unleashed,” a podcast covering training for business, and author of Ingaging Leadership. To hire Evan as a speaker, visit evanspeaksfranchising.com. Follow @ehackel or call 704-452-7368. Why not have Evan Hackel address your group about franchising success?

 

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

You’re Better Than You Think

“Your perception becomes your reality. Control your perception to control your reality.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

When receiving feedback indicating that you’re not good enough, how do you handle it? When others deny you entry into their group, what emotions does that conjure up in your mind? What’s your predominant thought?

No matter the outcome, when negativity befalls you, never let that outcome become the ultimate belief that defines who you are. Challenge yourself. Think that you’re better than you’re thinking!

Limiting Beliefs:

Once you accept beliefs, they become your reality. They shape the way you view, assess, and determine the validity of information that aligns with your beliefs. Therefore, your beliefs become the trigger that determines your acceptance or rejection of information.

Knowing you control what you believe, allows you to exercise control over your beliefs. The mitigating factor that you consider subliminally is how others view you based on your acceptance or denial of information. Be aware of that factor. Reckoning with it allows you to be more subjective. You successfully proffer your reality if you shape its meaning to support the vision you have of yourself.

It’s your life we’re talking about. You can’t give control to others such that you allow them to completely control you. If you allow their thoughts of you to be the overwhelming factor by which you make decisions, you won’t be your own person, you’ll be theirs.

Triggers:

Know what triggers your limiting beliefs. Test their validity. With the passage of time, new beliefs become prevalent; you accept them as being valid. Are your beliefs valid?

The more you control the triggers that shape your thinking, the greater your ability will be to control your thoughts. That will allow you to control your thoughts to your advantage.

When you feel besieged by doubt, when you think you’ve reached the summit of your possibilities, shun such thoughts. First, cast them aside and then cast them out; they’re limiting. Doing so will allow a new spectrum of possibilities to become exposed … and everything will be right with the world

What does this have to do with negotiations?

Doubt is a silent partner that rides the mind of every negotiator. “If I do this, what will she do? If I don’t accept the offer, will I lose the deal? She’s a much better negotiator than I am. I better give her what she wants.”

If you allow such thoughts to cloud your decisions, you will disadvantage yourself in the negotiation. Instead of focusing on your potential losses, consider what she might have to lose; better yet, focus on how you’ll maximize your gains. In her mind, her position may be more tenuous than yours. You’ll never realize that advantage if you’re stuck on your limited belief thinking. You’re better than that.

So, in your next negotiation, consider all the accomplishments you’ve achieved in the past. You may not have received everything you sought, but you should have received something that allowed you to feel good. Feeling good about some aspect of the outcome will enhance your beliefs about your abilities. From there, continue to build upon the positive perspective you have. That will continuously enhance the belief that you’re better than that.

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/

#Better #Think #Success #Emotion #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #liars #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions

Categories
Best Practices Growth Skills

How to Edit Your Own Work

You’ve written a report, speech, newsletter, or other document. You’ve put a lot of time and thought into it. You have an investment in it. Now you need to edit it.

You can find lots of practical advice about how to edit your work. However, none of these suggestions will work for you until you address issues that have plagued the best writers who ever lived.

You’ve Worked Hard on This and You’ve Lost Perspective

This happens to every writer. It means that you’ve immersed yourself in your subject matter. Even when you haven’t been writing, you may have been thinking about the piece and getting great ideas about what would improve that troublesome middle section.

When you mentally write “The End,” you have to mean it—for a while. Put some distance between yourself and what you’ve written. Your involvement and identification with what you’ve written has to loosen before you edit it. Otherwise, you’ll feel as if you’re amputating pieces of yourself when you pick up a pen to make changes.

Repeat “This Is Not Me.”

Even when you do allow a period of time—which will vary, according to your time constraints—to pass before the editing phase, you may feel attached to what you’ve written. This will especially be true if you’re new to writing.

As you gain experience in writing, this feeling will dissipate. It’s normal to feel attached to the first big report or speech you’ve ever written. Once you’ve written dozens, the attachment fades.

You can speed up the process of detachment by telling yourself that this paper isn’t your child or pet. It isn’t your car. It’s a vehicle for you to express facts, ideas, and principles. Do it to do this accurately and in a way that communicates with other people.

It’s a tool for doing that.

Be Ruthless

With the concept of “tool” in mind, approach the editing process as if you’re not the writer but the reader. Many writers find it helpful to read their work out loud. You must do this if you’ve written a speech.

Be honest. Make notes wherever you think your phrasing is awkward. Flag anything that’s unclear. Notice if you repeat words or if your language is too formal.

Being ruthless means boldly making changes that will make your work shine. Consider these style elements.

Make your writing to the point.

If you want to explain why you were drawn to the area of finance, don’t describe all the careers you hated before you discovered the one you loved. It’s like a road trip; detours make the journey longer, and you forget where you were going.

Make paragraphs short.

Limit a paragraph to one idea. This gives the reader the opportunity to pause to absorb one concept before reading another. I recommend a maximum of four sentences per paragraph. Don’t exceed ten lines of text. Your reader needs a brief place to pause before moving on.

Go easy on the adverbs and adjectives.

This is a subject in itself. To give you an idea of this rule’s power, compare the effect of “spoke loudly” versus “shouted” or “very attractive” as opposed to “beautiful.”

Strong verbs and nouns also give authority to your writing. When you have a point to make, you need that authority. If, for example, you’re presenting industry statistics, you don’t write, “These figures suggest.” You write, “These figures confirm.” Be definite.

Walk Away From Your Work. Repeat “This Is Not Me.” Be Ruthless.

These principles will help you hone your writing. Practice will sharpen it into a  powerful tool to serve you.

Pat Iyer is a ghostwriter, editor, and online course creator. She serves the C Suite through the C Suite Network Advisors group. Contact her through her website Editingmybook.com