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Unknown Facts About Leadership Revealed

Imagine a bed of oysters, carpeting the bottom of the clear blue ocean, waiting for some adventurous diver to scythe through the dappled waters and bring to the surface the secret pearls trapped inside.

OK it’s a bit fanciful, I admit, but in this article I’ll be highlighting a pearl of wisdom from the ivory towers of the academic world.

Now before you get too hung up on the concept of pearls of wisdom from ivory towers, ask the question: is academic research of any value at all?

My answer is, of course, yes. But as a business school professor teaching at business schools around the world, I would say that wouldn’t I?

Now the academic papers that are the most valuable are those that challenge our thinking. The ones that are sufficiently unexpected to make us think ‘THAT’S interesting!’

For now, I want to concentrate on something that’s interested me for a long time: the search for the charismatic CEO, and whether or not charismatic CEOs have any effect on business performance. Some researchers think they do - but some say they don’t.

So I looked back at my February 2006 edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Management, known as AMJ, with interest. ‘Does CEO charisma matter?’ it asked in large friendly letters on the cover.

Summarizing brutally, it appears that in times of uncertainty or crisis, charismatic CEOs appear to give some stability and a sense of direction to companies… But not always.

And this I think is what makes academic research so interesting. It challenges the commonsense view of the world. We assume that larger-than-life characters who run our businesses make a real difference. But actually when we come to look for that evidence it isn’t there.

I’ll say it again: There’s no link between the charisma of a CEO and business performance. This becomes important to us as practising managers if we choose to promote or select senior executives for roles just because they are charismatic. There’s no guarantee that the charismatic leader will deliver great performance.

You might be thinking: so what? Well, first of all, this is highly reassuring to those of us whose egos are not John Wayne-sized. And secondly, those of us who are involved in recruiting managers and leaders must not be seduced by charismatic individuals. We must assess every candidate for every role based on past performance and their plans for the future. Charisma does not guarantee performance. Caveat emptor. Buyer beware.

So next time you hear an angry report in a tabloid newspaper blasting away at the vast sums of money spent on academic research, think again before you say ‘That’s obvious’, or ‘That’s ridiculous’. Behind the headlines there might just be a pearl in a shell.

If you want the leadership success you deserve, get the leadership training you deserve. Download more free articles and leadership training videos from Steven Sonsino, an international business school professor and author of the Amazon bestseller “The Seven Failings of Really Useless Leaders”
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Two Questions to Help You Change Your Leadership Style

Do you want to change your leadership style? Perhaps you’ve discovered something in particular that you want to do, or do differently.

And this, of course, is the problem. You want to change something you do, but the folks in the office just aren’t expecting you to change anything. They don’t WANT you to change anything.

Also, some people around you may be suspicious or cynical. Not all of them, maybe, but enough to make it tricky to change.

So no matter how enthusiastic or motivated you might be to make a change, all of the ‘noise’ around you makes you reluctant, or resistant, to change. The pain of change seems worse than the gain of change.

So you stop even thinking about change. And soon you’re as cynical and suspicious as all the rest. And nothing ever changes.

If this sluggish feeling is familiar to you, then what you’re experiencing is the heavy inertia of ‘the way things work round here’. It’s the power of the status quo to weigh heavy on you and stop you from changing anything.

How can you start the change process? What you urgently need to do is find ways over or round the inertia. And the questions to ask are these:

1. When is it easier to change my leadership style?
2. What will help me to change my leadership style?

First, it’s easier to change your leadership style when you take a new job or a new role in another department. In a new role, you can set out your plans for the new team and you can change the way you manage or lead the team. This is, of course, because no one knows you from your previous role. They don’t know the old boss.

You can also change your leadership style at the start of every new project. Every beginning is an opportunity to restart or relaunch your leadership style.

Of course, you may still have tricky issues to deal with - people asking ‘why the sudden change?’ - so there is something else you need to do: create a Leadership Manifesto to overcome inertia

A Leadership Manifesto will make it easier for you to change your leadership style.
The Manifesto - like a manifesto for a political party - is an outline sketch of what you’re trying to do. And, importantly, it’s also a sketch of HOW you’re planning to do it.

Drafting and actually discussing a one-page leadership manifesto with your team is a great way of getting people moving anyway, and the idea of a manifesto helps people focus round what you’re trying to achieve.

Now your manifesto could address any of the issues you feel are important for the team to address. Here are just three suggestions:

1. Collaborative goal setting versus boss-centred goal setting. You may want to work with people to help them set goals or you may wish to give people targets based on your understanding of their skills and performance in the past.

2. Cross-business collaboration versus cross-business competition. You may want to explore why you believe you should be collaborating with other teams in the business or why you should be competing internally with them.

3. Day-to-day constructive feedback versus end-of-year appraisals. You may wish to create a more open atmosphere and attitude towards ‘live’ performance management. You might want to create an atmosphere where it is acceptable to give practical and constructive feedback. The alternative is waiting for the end-of-year appraisal which is way too late to be useful.

I find that the concept of a leadership manifesto is very flexible and you can use it anyway that suits you. For example, you could with your team develop a change manifesto. Get the team to create their own manifesto for the way things work round here. Invite them to think about, if they were in charge, what would they change?

And finally, make sure that part of your Leadership Manifesto is about making it easy for others to make changes in their role. Give your team permission to change, too. That’s part of your developmental role, which should also be in the Manifesto.

Having an open and understood Leadership Manifesto is all part of building your personal leadership brand. Your openness on what people can expect from you helps them to trust you more, so that when the going gets tough, they know they can rely on you to lead them well.

If you want the leadership success you deserve, get the leadership training you deserve. Download more free articles and leadership training videos from Steven Sonsino, an international business school professor and author of the Amazon bestseller “The Seven Failings of Really Useless Leaders”
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Be The Best Boss You Can Be

Being the person in charge can often be very exhilarating for someone experiencing such a feeling for the first time. Whether you are in charge of a project with a team of company employees that are reporting to you or a single employee that you might be responsible for. Either way we all get a rush from the power suddenly handed to us. But those feelings come while working for someone else. Now imagine the rush you will get when you are the ultimate authority over everyone employed by your company! It can be like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. All the important decisions are yours to make. The fates of your employees are up to you. The future of your company is in your hands. Everything relies on you!

Okay now are we over the rush? Has reality set in yet? I hope so because while it may sound like everything you have ever dreamed that you wanted. It’s not an easy thing to be the final authority on everything that happens to a business. It’s a lot of hard work. But you do get the chance to be the boss if that is what you really want. So what kind of boss will you be?

We’ve all had bosses we’ve hated at one time or another. And some people have also managed to have a supervisor or two that they liked. Of course no one is ever going to be the perfect boss but what would you prefer. Do you want to be the tyrant or a person that people like coming to work for? We know that it’s not a popularity contest and the needs of the business will always have to come first. But which is better, having employees that actually like to come to work for you each day and can then give their best while on the job or people that hate their work and will always be watching the clock just waiting to go home?

Remember the supervisors you’ve had at one time or another that were both good to you and that you hated. No one really wants to be the type of boss that everyone hates but sometimes it does turn out that way. You know in your heart that you can do better and you will. You just have to be willing to put forth the effort. All the good intentions in the world will get you nowhere if you are unwilling to act.

So what can you do to be a good supervisor? Many things can be done, in fact more than we can possibly cover but we can mention a few of the more important things that you can do. Be willing to listen. Your employees should always be allowed a voice. People like to know their opinions are valued. And be genuine about soliciting their opinions. Give employee evaluations. Not everyone is going to like what you may have to say about them but if you do it the right way they may come to appreciate the input. Evaluations are a great way to show that you are paying attention to them. Employees that appreciate their jobs will make your that much easier.

Treating your employees with respect each day will always help. Yelling at them and berating them for mistakes they might have made will get you nowhere with them. Acknowledge that a mistake was made and work with the employee to correct. Try to teach them about the mistake was made and how they can prevent such a mistake happening again. Then move on. Because dwelling on something that is over with will not help you either.

Let people know when they have done a good job. Praise is too often withheld or the benefits of acknowledging a good job are ignored. How would you feel if you put forth your best effort to make a project successful and don’t even receive a simple thank you for your efforts? Never forget that people are not machines and so they should not be treated as such. Treat your employees how you would want to be treated and you will not go wrong.

Cash Miller is an experienced entrepreneur and speaker who has spent over a decade as a small business owner. His years of experience in small business cover a variety of topics. If you are looking for more small business help please check out http://www.smallbusinessdelivered.com

Key Targets For Business Coaches

If you are passionate about helping business-owners profit from their maximum potential, you can consider becoming a business coach. Business coaches come from different backgrounds and lifestyles, but they need to have certain common characteristics such as a passion for the business, commitment and the willingness to make a difference.

Many times, business coaches miss the opportunity to grow professionally because they do not want to slow down. One way to break this cycle is to center your attention to the things that inspire you. Seek inspiration by considering the targets and goals specifically designed for business coaches. Each target should be able to move you and the business forward.

. Recommit yourself to professional excellence: You are considered a good coach if you are capable of maintaining high professional standards. Professional excellence does not mean a highbrow demeanor that means you are better than others because of your standards, but it means that your high standards are intended to benefit your clients, peers and you in a positive manner.

Your intentions and ethics are also included in the professional excellence of coaching. They need to be in the right place and you need both, to achieve a high level of excellence professionally. If you are not a member of any coaching organization, you can print a copy of the code of ethics of the International Coach Federation. Read the ethics and reflect on what they mean to you, as an individual and a coach.

. Embrace some big challenges: Stand tall in the face of challenges and make sure that the challenges inspire you.

. Recommit yourself to personal excellence: This goal may seem to be deceptively simple, but it is not. For a business coach, personal excellence means living with integrity and then making sure that you meet all your requirements. In addition, you need to work towards achieving your own personal goals. Integrity is very important in coaching and it involves keeping the promises we make to ourselves. This is easier said than done because human beings are masters at deceiving themselves. Some additional steps for improving personal excellence include handling your wants and needs effectively. Needs keep us nurtured and motivate everyone. Needs are known to be simple and complex, hence you need to identify them and work towards fulfilling them.

. Expand your reach: Every business coach needs to achieve this target. You need to consistently seek to expand your network everyday. Many coaches do not spend much time making them visible. You can even be a great coach with very little business.

. Improve your key relationships: Pick 1 or 2 relationships in your life and work towards making them perfect. Nurture and support them and try to give unconditionally, even if it is difficult. Remember that your intention is to improve the relationship. Take the responsibility for the actions, but do not limit yourself to the result.

Make sure that you remember these key targets, to excel in the booming industry of business coaching. Remain updated with the latest techniques, tools and initiatives in the world of coaching.

Business Coaching Innovators is why smart successful business owners hire us. Did you know that using a Business Coach can result in tripling your revenue. Discover our Business Coaching services here http://www.businesscoach.com

Dream vs. Vision: A Mind-Shift For Visionary Leaders

What is the difference between a dream and a vision?

The dreams you see while asleep at night are a metaphor for the kind of thinking that happens when you fantasize while awake. We often call this “day dreaming” or creative imagination.

The vision you see when you are awake and looking at reality with your eyes is a metaphor for the kind of thinking that happens when you look to your future with your mind’s eye. The inner world (past, present and future) you see is built from your own assumptions or metaphorical constructs. With this kind of vision, you can “look” down different paths, and “see” what would happen.

When we speak of dreams and vision in this article, we’re referring to the dreams and vision you see inside your mind while awake. We all have such dreams and vision; and both are an integral function of human consciousness.

For visionaries, vision is a major source of power and conscious guidance - and it’s something they consciously control. For others, vision is a major source of fear and default guidance - and it’s something to which they unconsciously react.

To be a visionary, and thus have a higher level of inner power to change and create the world around you, one must learn to live at the level of vision.

ORIENTATION:

Dream - What you see when you are imagining a hypothetical scenario.

Vision - What you see when you look to the future without hypothesizing, wishing or imagining.

EXAMPLE #1:

Imagine that you’re on vacation at the Grand Canyon, and you’re standing on the edge of the cliff with your binoculars, looking far off into the distance. Suddenly, on the other side of the Grand Canyon, you see what looks like a jet, and a man in a suit standing by the jet. Then all of a sudden, the man’s hair just kind of flips sideways up into the air. And you think to yourself “Wait a minute, is that Donald Trump?”

Just then you remember he’s doing a new reality TV show called “Who Wants My Money,” where he goes to an obscure public location and holds up a sign that says, “Who wants my money?” and then gives one million dollars to the first person to reach him. “No, can’t be The Donald,” you’re telling yourself, when it happens - the sign goes up - it’s him!

In that instant, you realize “I could win the money!” and you turn to bolt for your car just in time to see everyone else heading for their cars. In that moment, you remember you came on the bus. You turn back and look over at Donald there with his sign, and you dream about winning that money. It’s an exciting dream, but it’s not very real. You won’t win the money.

Then you hear it. That sound… behind you… it’s… your helicopter. You turn around and see your pilot, who will take you anywhere you want to go. Then, in that instant, you turn back around with a smile, you look at Donald Trump and you know that money is yours. You’re already spending it in your mind.

So, there’s a big difference between a dream and a vision. A vision has a power that a dream doesn’t have.

EXAMPLE #2:

Let’s say you have a personal dream of being a public speaker one day. Every time you get the opportunity to speak in public, whether it’s among friends, in classrooms or at events, you feel a little too nervous to speak. It doesn’t seem like you’re ready yet, and you turn away. After several months of this, you look to your future and what do you see? You don’t really see yourself speaking powerfully in the world. You can dream about it all you want, but you can’t really see it happening.

Now let’s say you come to a point, where you realize your dream is dying and it becomes very painful. You become very clear how much the dream means to you, and you take a hard look at the fears and the challenges of becoming a public speaker. You realize that there are values worth standing for to face those fears and walk that path. You take a stand for the lives of the people you want to reach with your speaking. The next time you are presented with an opportunity to speak, you are terrified, but you stand up and you speak. And the next time, you are scared once more, but you stand and you speak. Soon, you look to your future and you see it–you’re speaking around the world. It’s not a dream anymore, it’s your future. A public speaker is who you are.

So a vision has a totally different quality than a dream. A dream is hypothetical, like “Wouldn’t it be nice?” A vision is just what you see. So consider that all of us have a vision of some kind for our life or for our future. It”s simply what we fully expect as we look to tomorrow, to next week, to next year, to our future.

A KEY POINT:

Consider that the “inner” vision we see guides us as much as, if not more than, the “outer vision,” or what we see with our eyes. What we see internally gives us our interpretation of the world out there. Whether we walk down one path in life or another is often determined by what we “see” when we “look” down those different paths–and what we then “feel” as a result.

Based on what we see and feel, our logical, we then makes our choices–supported with seemingly rational justifications. What we often fail to realize is how the context for our choices are already given to us by our vision.

To the extent that we can take control of our vision - or live at the level of vision - we can have much more power to lead our lives and create what we want in life and with others - as visionaries.

VISIONARY ADVANTAGE:

A skilled visionary, the kind of person who thrives in an ever-changing environment, operates fluidly and openly with the world around her. She doesn’t cling to any static or prepackaged view of reality, because she operates on the level of vision. She is a leader, who leads from the power of her own vision.

VISIONARY DYNAMICS:

The more you understand the dynamics of vision, the more you can consciously choose to function at the level of vision–beyond positions, beyond reactions, beyond fear.

The more you practice visionary thinking, the more you naturally operate at the level of vision.

VISIONARY CHALLANGE:

Honestly reflect on your life to see in which areas you are not living powerfully and passionately from a bold vision. In such areas, dramatic positive change seems impossible, impractical or not worth the effort. With a vision, dramatic positive change occurs not only as possible, practical and worth incredible effort–but as “all there is to do.” A powerful vision calls you naturally into heroic action.

As founder of the Vision Force Academy, Michael Skye works with a new breed of impassioned change agents around the world, who are giving their lives to stand for all of humanity. Michael is best known for his transformational leadership trainings, based on his proprietary iStand technology. He authored the the Visionary Mind Shifts for VisionForce.com.

What Bus Are You On?

“The problems we have now in communities and societies are going to be resolved only when we are brought together by a common sense that each of us is a visionary. Each of us must come to the realization that we can function and live at the level of vision rather than following some great leader’s vision. Instead of looking for a great leader, we are in an era where each of us needs to find the great leader in ourselves.” -Werner Erhard

In the twentieth century, it might have been good enough to operate from a position where you knew The truth, you knew what is Right, and you knew The answer/solution. It was easy enough to learn what was true, what was right and what to do. The person in power would tell you All you had to do to succeed or at least survive in his world was follow and obey.

At work this looked like being a good employee, a company man. Fit in, follow, obey. At school this looked like being a good student. Fit in, follow, obey. In your country this looked like be a good citizen. Fit in, follow, obey. Etc., etc. Life was top-down. The masses were controlled by the people at the top. And it worked… on some level. There was order in the workplace, order at school, order in the streets.

A person’s main choice in life was which bus to ride. Ride the same bus my parents are riding, or ride a bus of my own choosing? Then get on the bus, sit down and trust that the driver knows where he’s going. Stay in your seat, and obey the rules for passengers.

When consciousness calls to you and says, hey face reality and look where the driver is taking us, make an excuse to ignore it. When consciousness calls to you and says, hey take a stand and speak up, make an excuse and ignore it.

Quickly, the excuses pile up:

The driver knows everything. The driver is right. I should stay on the bus at all times, because the driver said so. Getting off the bus is wrong. Thinking about getting off the bus is wrong. I am just a passenger, not a driver. Who am I to try to drive?

The excuses form an easy reference guidebook for you as a passenger that you can defer to instead of thinking for yourself. You don’t need to face reality or take a stand for your values, all you need to do is follow the guidebook of excuses.

The guidebook is your Position. It is what guides you.

Many buses come with ready-made guidebooks, or positions, to help make it easy for passengers to stay quietly in the passenger seats when consciousness calls.

Maybe you got on the rebel bus? Your excuses for staying on the bus were plentiful and passionate.

Drivers know nothing. Drivers are wrong. You can’t drive me! I’m my own driver. Passengers are stupid. I am not a passenger.

It’s just another position.

Maybe you got on the red bus.

Reds rule. I am good because I am red. The blue bus is evil. Blue passengers are evil, and should be killed.

The world we live in today is one of Positionaries guided by positions, not visionaries guided by vision. We choose a position and guide ourselves by it. In fact we identify with it. It’s as if our position is who “I” is. Once that happens, there is little chance for us to create a world that works for everyone.

Michael Skye, founder and CEO of VisionForce.com, works with a new breed of impassioned change agents around the world, who are giving their lives to stand for all of humanity. The Visionary Mind Shifts are available free at http://www.VisionForce.com/course.

FAITH vs. VISION

Some people operate from faith, some from vision. Both are invaluable for tomorrow’s leaders and creators. Learn the distinction between faith and vision, and how you can leverage each.

INTRODUCTION:

Before exploring the distinctions between these two concepts, consider that what is meant by any word is determined largely by the context in which it is used. So, rather than assuming you know what is meant here by faith and vision, look closely to understand the context in which we’re using them.

One of the greatest sources of misunderstandings and disagreements is from making the mistake of assuming that because two people are using the same word, they are actually referring to the same thing. Sally can talk about love, for example, and be referring to an entirely different kind of love than the person who is listening to Sally. They think they are disagreeing about the same thing, when they are really referring to two different things.

Faith can be a tricky concept to talk about, because, like love, it is used in so many different ways. The same goes for vision.

For the visionary in training - or anyone truly wanting and willing to be a force for positive change - grasping this distinction at a deep level can swing open the gates to new pastures of inner freedom and inner power.

ORIENTATION:

The term faith is used very broadly. It is worth distinguishing faith from vision and faith from blind faith. Today, we’ll focus on the former, while the latter will be discussed in a future session.

Reason - What you think.*

Vision - What you see (More specifically, what your mind sees when you “look” to the future.)*

Hope - The quality of focusing on the possibility of a desired future outcome that you lack confidence in due to reason and vision.

Trust - 1. The quality of having or placing confidence in a person or an outcome due to reason, vision or past experience. 2. The quality of choosing to have faith in a person.

Faith - The quality of placing confidence in a desired future outcome without regard for reason (what you think) or vision (what your mind “sees” when you “look” to the future).**

Blind Faith - 1. The quality of having confidence in a desired future outcome while consciously rejecting reason and vision. 2. The quality of placing confidence in someone or something outside of one’s self, while refusing to question or think for one’s self (and placing zero confidence in one’s own consciousness).

*Reason is often held to be the set of natural functions of a human mind - it’s thinking, in a very broad sense. Vision is one of these natural functions.

**Human beings derive confidence naturally from reason and vision. To choose to have confidence in something without reason or vision to back you up is faith.

EXAMPLE:

Craig was a visionary entrepreneur with such a grand vision that people around him typically deferred to him. He seemed to be able to see so clearly what many people could not. And, indeed, he did see what they could not.

To those who could not see what he saw, he appeared daring and bold, often venturing into new and seemingly dangerous territory without hesitation. Some people attributed it to faith, assuming he must have greater faith that they had. Those who joined him on projects usually followed his lead, and often without question. When frightened, they simply hoped things would work out and often admonished each other to “have faith.”

Craig couldn’t understand why they couldn’t see what he could see, even when he tried to show them. Soon, he found himself telling people who couldn’t see what he saw to just have faith in him.

His visionary projects grew in size, and without vision, many people working with him often lost sight of the vision. They’d experience setbacks and failure and start to lose confidence. This increased tensions between Craig and many of the people he counted on. Soon, he began asserting more of an authoritarian demeanor, using fear to motivate people when they lacked confidence in him.

Over the months and years, Craig learned to cut people off, at the first sign that they did not trust him. His story became one of him against the world. He grew increasingly bitter, tired, frustrated and angry. As he formed more conclusions about people and the world, his vision grew less and less powerful. He could not see himself working powerfully with teams of people or accomplishing anything great that required a team effort.

Once a great young visionary, Craig devolved into more and more of a hardened positionary. After many lonely years, Craig found religion, and did his best to surrender his position and just trust in God. He became a man of faith. Using this strategy, he once again became a man who people trusted, a leader people were inspired to follow.

KEY POINTS:

1 - Many people collapse vision with faith. When people see vision and thus feel confident, they often say they have faith. However, there is a distinction between having confidence in the face of the unknown with vision and choosing to have confidence in the face of the unknown without vision.

2 - Both vision and faith are powerful and useful. Whereas many people without vision can only resort to faith when confronted with the unknown, a skilled visionary can intentionally manifest a powerful vision. The man in the example did not have this skill.

3 - Vision can be a force multiplier for anyone’s faith. As a leader it is advantageous to be able to share your vision with others in a way that has them see it, so you need not rely on asking people to blindly trust you or have faith.

VISIONARY ADVANTAGE:

A skilled visionary heads boldly into the unknown and can easily inspire others to join him. Such a person can, even after failing time after time, inspire others to keep going forward. His vision and theirs only grows stronger over time.

VISIONARY DYNAMIC:

The more you operate at the level of vision, the greater your faith becomes AND the less you need to rely on “having faith.”

VISIONARY CHALLANGE:

Look to areas of your life where you have come to think you just need more faith in yourselves, others, humanity, etc. Consider that if you had a powerful vision in these areas, it would only multiply your confidence and your faith. Then do the work it takes to build that vision. (You’re not taught very powerful methods for doing this at home, at school, at church or even through most self-development programs. Such methods are, however, taught inside Vision Force programs such as our boot camp).

Michael Skye, founder and CEO of VisionForce.com, works with a new breed of impassioned change agents around the world, who are giving their lives to stand for all of humanity. The Visionary Mind Shifts are available free at http://www.VisionForce.com/course.

How To Interview Sales Executives

For some executive hiring authorities who do not have any background in Sales, it can be a challenge to really know if they are making a good hiring decision when interviewing prospective Executive Sales Leaders, Managers, or quota carrying individual contributors.

Why? Because any halfway accomplished sales professional is capable of putting forward a sophisticated smoke & mirrors presentation in an attempt to close a deal.

The sales process and strategic complex selling can be somewhat mystifying for some executive hiring authorities.

The whole interview/screening process gets even worse if an executive recruiter is in the mix who lacks any direct background in sales and is incapable of properly screening/interviewing candidates in depth as a result. This can lead to disastrous hiring decisions given most businesses will suffer dramatically if the individuals who own producing a company’s revenue fail to meet their objectives.

A number of executive hiring authorities have asked me for example questions/areas of focus that I concentrate on when interviewing Sales Executives with respect to a candidate’s ‘battlefield’ acumen. The actual flow of interview information is what really dictates how and in what order the questions are asked.

1.0 Tell me about the politically complex sales you’ve directly executed/contributed on as a Sales Rep, a Manager/Executive, a coaching Manager/Executive.

1.1 Describe your approach to sales strategy, planning and execution (including any “solution selling” methodologies you’ve consistently employed) within the targeted accounts described in 1.0.

1.2 Describe how you “mapped” out the various “players” in the accounts and your specific approach/strategy with each member you called on within the targeted accounts described in 1.0.

1.3 Describe your approach to building/creating an opportunity within the targeted accounts described in 1.0.

1.4 Describe your method of approaching/building business relationships up/down/across the targeted account’s organizations described in 1.0.

1.5 Describe your approach to building and positioning a customer specific compelling value proposition at each of the levels you target within the accounts described in 1.0.

2.0 Describe an opportunity where there was no specific funding/budget originally identified/earmarked for acquiring your products/solutions. Specifically describe 1.1 - 1.5, including how you dealt with competitive product solutions or competitive projects competing for the same funding pool.

3.0 Describe your approach to coaching sales reps specifically in the context of how you’ve coached/influenced a sales rep’s behavior within the applicable accounts described in 1.0 while specifically focusing on the coaching areas described in 1.1 - 2.0 above.

4.0 How many of your reps have been over quota? This is an important area.

A sales manager can ride the success of a couple of people that “blow out” their sales quota while others consistently under perform and waste precious resources. You want a sales manager that can get a large majority of his/her people exceeding quota.

The object of 4.0 is to drill down (with the questions above) on how the manager worked with and developed the “under-performers”, and if they knew when to draw the line and coach someone out of their company.

Most people directly involved in politically complex selling, versus simply flying a desk and coaching from the sidelines, can answer these questions with a lot of detail.

The nature of the detail exposes if someone is just a gunslinger flying by the seat of their pants and/or lucky enough to be selling a product “that sells itself”, or if they are deliberate in their approach to a sales process associated with consultative solutions selling methodologies in politically complex, multi-functional, hierarchical client situations (e.g., selling into matrix organizational structures within the Mil/Aero industry, or large international corporations).

Drilling down on all the above in the context of someone being a coaching Manager/Executive will tell you how well they are able to influence the results their sales team delivers versus simply being a choke point for information and data consolidation (i.e., manage sales funnel data).

A Manager/Executive that is a good sales coach can add an unbelievable amount of value in the context of ensuring that the “right” deals are ultimately won (i.e., not all deals are good deals). A Manager/Executive that is a good sales coach can build a fantastic sales team that is welded together and that will walk through fire for their Manager/Executive/Company.

All of the above questions should also be put into context with the size of the candidate’s prior employers and the market/brand recognition associated with what they were selling. Someone whose successful selling experience only consists of selling name brand industry leading products/services for an acknowledged category leader could fall on their face walking into a never heard of them before start-up coming out of stealth mode attempting to close the company’s first sales.

Most of the above questions attempt to draw out a candidate’s method for producing a result/outcome. It is critical to make sure to drill into specifically - how - a candidate drove the results they are claiming. Focusing more one how someone produced a given result or outcome versus simply focusing on what results they produced will blow away a lot of the sophisticated smoke & mirrors any halfway accomplished sales professional is capable of putting forward.

Obtaining solid clear answers to the above questions/areas of focus will take an executive hiring authority unfamiliar with sales process and strategic complex selling a long way down the road to making a solid hiring decision.

Ron Bates is an expert in mission critical retained executive search. As recognized expert in building an on-line personal Internet presence, Ron has been referred to as “the most connected man on Earth” with +27,000 direct contacts on on-line professional networking platforms. Find Ron’s blog “Internet Presence - Do you exist?” at http://www.search-advantage.com

Business Coaching; Learning to Change with the Market and Times

Business coaching is necessary for surpassing the current levels of performance and productivity. The challenges faced by todays organizations in terms of reinvention, reengineering, reorganizing and right sizing has forced them to utilize business coaching in order to compete in the current market environment. For the proper growth of any organization, it is necessary to have executives who are up-to-date with the recent trends and have beliefs, values, attitudes, motivation and thoughts that will drive them to excel. Business coaching provides the perfect platform for developing personal skills and behaviors that are necessary for implementing organizational changes and initiating the learning process.

Business coaching is required both at the executive and the managerial level for understanding the organizations current position and to decide its future growth patterns. Apart from effecting educational development and experience, coaching also provides objective feedbacks and acts as a critical tool for successfully engineering organizational change. For adapting to the rapidly shifting marketplace, organizations need to change their approach. However, this is often difficult to implement as people and organizations are naturally resistant to change. Business coaching has become a very effective tool for initiating productive changes in individuals, teams, and systems by enabling leaders, managers, and employees to uncover potential that might otherwise go untapped.

With the growing realization that profits, productivity, and customer satisfaction are the outcomes of performance rather than the cause, business coaching courses have started focusing more on leadership issues, cultural factors and the learning and development practices that drive performance. The goal of business coaching is not to be an alternative vehicle of managerial control, but rather it concentrates on empowering and delegating to create a culture of responsibility and self-generated, commitment-based actions. Coaching is certainly more than just a technique as it involves viewing the organization in a different perspective and working through relationships, dialogue and feedback for harnessing future potential and growth. It provides organizations with the capability of altering or shifting current work methods, internal and external communications and the framework within which employees normally operate. Business coaching has thus become very critical for modifying or creating an effective work environment that is more adaptable to change and growth.

Business coaching allows managers to play the role of professional business coaches for meeting organizational challenges and motivating others in their work environment. It creates the awareness among managers that by acting as coaches they can transform or create an organizational culture that is more receptive to change and open to new possibilities. Managers as coaches learn to increase self-awareness decide when and how to take action, find creative solutions, consider opinions and feedback from fellow employees, set targets, make appropriate requests, decrease hostility, and reduce stress and negative emotions in the workplace.

Coaching managers provide many direct benefits to the organization as managers get a clear idea about their commitments as well as those of the organization. They learn how to generate and maintain effective relationships, which in turn increases the levels of trust and accountability in the organization. Their understanding of organizational and interpersonal dynamics is increased considerably, allowing them to empower themselves and others to achieve organizational objectives. They learn how to take calculated risks for producing results aligned with organizational vision. They also learn to develop the right kind of unity and team spirit that will powerful work relationships that help achieve extraordinary results.

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Is Leadership Worth the Investment?

Leaders are people who achieve results. Leaders are those whose attitudes and actions lead to positive results. Sending your staff to leadership training may not deliver the goods you’re looking for! It helps them build a foundation for achieving the objectives,
if they get to implement the knowledge. Big IF, some never get the opportunity.

As a company we have spent time with several organizations who send people to fancy schools and programs. When I say fancy, I mean high end fancy, like creepers on walls fancy. Does that mean it will make your team into leaders. Maybe. No guarantees. Executive programs are designed to make schools successful, not your company, or your staff.

Leadership programs show up everywhere and what value are they adding to your organization? Who Knows. Many leadership programs are nothing more than sales training programs rehashed for management. Some are based on various assessment tools and personality profiles that look to improve some or other weakness in individuals and the team interaction. Some are based on team building and motivation.

Individuals may be better at producing results by focusing on their strengths and making sure their weaknesses do not hold them back. Spending undue energy and time trying to resolve weaknesses may have no value to you or your team members. Team building and motivation talks get people fired up for a few hours. Without a process to deliver results they dont really know what to do or what is expected of them. So the shuffle more paper and surf the web to look busy!

Leaders and potential leaders need to be challenged to produce results. They need goals or objectives to achieve. They need to show their staff and team members they have what it takes. They dont have to actually do everything to achieve the results but they need to put a plan into action and see it thorough to completion.

Leaders produce results!! Thats it.

Remember how Audey Murphy took the machine gun nest, the rest was history?
Yeah? He produced results.
His attitude and actions made him successful. Yes he had good training along the way. But his attitude and actions lead him to achieve positive results. Those that realized he had what it takes followed him. He always had a team around him that would assist in making things happen.

Business leadership is exactly the same. You need to set people up to succeed. Developing a process where by team members can set goals and objectives that meet the organizations overall strategic plan. Potential leaders that were successful in one area are often not successful in their new promotion. Well, they have not really defined their own strategy for execution of both corporate and their own personal goals. Until they do they will flop around like a fish out of water.

So what do you do?

Leadership teams need to analyze their past performance and learn from their results.
Set guidelines for their ongoing success.
Develop a positive attitude to their success. Rid themselves of incorrect assumptions. Thins that never worked before may have been implemented badly initially. Look at everything with new eyes. Change comes from the edge. What is out on the fringe that is what is working?
Figure out what areas they will need to be most effective.
Then plan their actions for the year for each area
Develop a plan to implement each item in the most efficient manner - select the top 10 only. More than that and youre bound to fail.

Now comes the hard part. Working the plan.
Each aspect needs to be planned as a campaign. Plan each weeks actions and determine the results you would like to have accomplished by the month end. Ensure you have metrics in place so that you now if you are achieving the desired results. Have the results visible for everyone to see what it is you are trying to achieve. Get their help by showing the way!
At the end of the month make adjustments to ensure your ongoing success. Are there structural issues that are stopping you and your team from achieving the results you know you should be achieving? Can you fix them? Can they be raised as a problem to someone who can resolve them? If not you are in trouble and you will probably never achieve the results for the organization.
Dont let minor setbacks hold you back. It may take a while before the results start to kick in. Ensure that you are on the right path by checking with your team, clients, customers, vendors and even the competition. Ask questions, check actions and activities.

Enjoy the success

Those that make it work are the leaders to be respected.

Graeme Nichol Arcturus Advisors (http://www.arcturusadvisors.com)works with business leaders and their teams to close the gap between great strategies and mediocre results. (Newsletter arcturusadvisor@aweber.com)

Leadership Development is a Matter of Perspective

My friend John has cancer. Has for a couple years now.

I hadn’t talked to him in several weeks. So I called him at home and his wife picked up the phone.

I heard her say; ‘John and his two sons and his dad are in South Dakota hunting. It will be his last pheasant hunting trip.’

Ugh. My heart sank. I feared the worst. John’s condition must have taken a bad turn and he’s doing something he loves while he still can.

‘I see,’ I choked out, ‘how’s he feeling?’

‘Good. He went to his specialist in Houston and the cancer is not getting bigger. It’s not getting smaller, either.’

OK, I thought, that sounds pretty good. But I was ready for the hammer to drop with her next sentence.

‘And his new medication is working well and has no real side effects,’ she continued.

‘Great,’ I said, feeling still heavy but getting lighter.

Then I took the courageous step that was needed: ‘Then why is it his last hunting trip?’

‘Oh,’ she said, ‘it’s not HIS last trip, it’s his dad’s. John’s dad is really sick.’

It was one of the few times I’ve been happy to hear about someone being sick. John’s dad is about 90 and has lived a phenomenal life. At some point we all run out of time.

John still has time (at least with his cancer — he of course could be dead as I write this from some other cause).

I had been so locked in on John’s health that I didn’t really hear what his wife said. When I played it back in my mind sure enough she’d said it was his dad’s last trip, but I didn’t hear it that way.

I was locked in a paradigm; a particular perspective. So focused on John, worried that he might be doing worse, I mis-heard what his wife actually said.

This is not uncommon for me.

This is not uncommon for you.

The problem is we don’t know it’s happening. If we knew we were missing something because we were stuck in a certain perspective we wouldn’t be stuck in that perspective!

In our book, Who Will Do What by When?, (a leadership development fable in the style of “5 Dysfunctions of a Team”) a new leader, Jake, is stuck in a perspective on his staff that is dis-empowering. He thinks they are no good — and guess what? They are!

Through leadership training and coaching, Jake sets out to change his mind.

One of the most common errors we make as humans is to think our opinions and judgments are the Truth.

They aren’t.

Information comes into our brains and we process it and form our judgments and opinions.

Major breakthroughs in performances don’t come from incrementally gaining new skills, but in breaking through our limiting perspectives.

More poetically (Marcel Proust):

‘The true journey of discovery does not consist of searching for new territories but in having new eyes.’
There are many ways to develop “new eyes.”

For this article, I’ll simply remind you that you, like me, are stuck in a perspective. And as a leader, that’s dangerous.

Your takeaway homework — write down a list of each of your direct reports. Then write down what you think of each person. What’s your bottom line assessment of “how they are” as people and performers. Then challenge your perspectives — are they really the Truth?

Tom Hanson, Ph.D. is author of “Who Will Do What by When? How to Improve Performance, Accountability and Trust with Integrity.” Tom gives away more information than he should on how to get the best results from business teams at http://www.HeadsUpPerformance.com

The Discipline of Innovation

In the hyper competition for breakthrough solutions, managers worry too much about characteristics and personality: Am I smart enough? Do I have the right temperament? The do not worry enough about the process. A commitment to the systematic search for imaginative and useful ideas is what successful entrepreneurs share, not some special genius or trait. What is more, entrepreneurship can occur in a business of any size or age because, at heart, it has to do with a certain kind of activity: innovation, the disciplined effort to improve business potential.

Most innovations result from a conscious, purposeful search for opportunities within the company and the industry as well as the larger social and intellectual environment. A successful innovation may come from pulling together different strands of knowledge, recognizing an underlying theme in public perception, or extracting new insights from failure. The key is to know where to look.

Successful entrepreneurs do not wait for innovative ideas to strike like a lightning bolt. They go out looking for innovation opportunities in seven key areas:

1. Unexpected occurrences. These often include failures. Few people know, for instance, that the failure of the Edsel led Ford to realize that the auto market was now segmented by lifestyle instead of by income group. Fords response was the Mustang, and an auto legend was born.

2. Incongruities. By the 1960s, cataract removal had become high-tech, except for cutting a ligament, an old fashioned step that was uncomfortable for eye surgeons. Alcon Laboratories responded by modifying an enzyme that dissolved the ligament. Surgeons immediately accepted the new product, giving Alcon a monopoly.

3. Process needs. Two process innovations developed around 1890 created the media as we know it today: linotype made it possible to produce newspapers quickly, and advertising made it possible to distribute news practically free of charge.

4. Industry and market changes. The brokerage firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette achieved fabulous success because its founders recognized that the emerging market for institutional investors would one day predominate in the industry.

5. Demographic changes. Why are the Japanese ahead in robotics? Around 1970, everyone knew that there was both a baby bust and an education explosion, such that the number of blue-collar manufacturing workers would decline. Everyone knew about it, but only the Japanese took action.

6. Changes in perception. Such changes do not alter the facts, but can dramatically change their meaning. Americans health has never been better and yet we are obsessed with preventing disease and staying fit. Innovators who understand our perception of health have launched magazines, introduced health foods, and started exercise classes.

7. New knowledge. Knowledge-based innovations require long lead times and the convergence of different kinds of knowledge. The computer required knowledge that was available by 1918, but the first operational digital computer did not appear until 1946.

Purposeful innovation begins with looking, asking, and listening. Talent and expert knowledge help, but do not be deluded by all the stories about flashes of insight. The key task is to work out analytically what the innovation has to be in order to satisfy a particular opportunity.

Pj Germain
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Live An Enthusiastical Life!

Live life enthusiastically! Dale Carnegie often called this principle the little-known secret of success. Without enthusiasm, all the skills and techniques you learn will not be as effective as they could be. On the other hand, if someone is enthusiastic, it is an energy builder. They can sell their ideas and ultimately accomplish more than sheer intellect.

History is ripe with stories of people who overcame adversity and achieved great success simply because they were enthusiastic about their job, the project or even just enthusiastic about living another day to its fullest. Remember Frank Bettger, a turn of the century professional baseball player who often wrote about how he turned himself from a failure to a success in the game. He never had a great deal of talent, but he always loved what he was doing and put his entire heart and mind into it every minute. He later was able to use that same strategy to become one of the highest paid life insurance salesmen of his day.

It is not always easy to be enthusiastic. Perhaps you do not want to make the move across country with your family to stat a new job. Personal problems can become overwhelming. Sometimes life becomes unbalanced and work or family literally drains your energy. However, it is possible to create enthusiasm.

Try the following strategies to create enthusiasm:
1. Act happy. Too many people condition themselves to be negative. They are afraid they will be seen as too gung-ho. Some say they are just being realistic by not getting their hopes up. Others say they know that a project or strategy will not work because it never has before. Why should they get enthusiastic about a sure failure? Yet one can find that if they simply act enthusiastic, it eventually becomes real. Others will pick up on their enthusiasm, become excited themselves and then feed their enthusiasm back to the originator. It becomes a beautiful circle of energy.

2. Create a mission and vision. Experience shows that people get much more excited when they see the big picture. For example, a friend once toured a defense plant and asked the people what they were making. They gave him a very technical answer but the bottom line was that they really do not know what they were doing to help keep the world safe. In fact, they were manufacturing a part for a missile system that was used in the Gulf War. He could not help but think that they would have been more enthusiastic about achieving quality and high productivity if they had known the importance of their work in the grand scheme.

The same is true in any department. Often we ignore the work of clerical workers, for example. The most mundane jobs, when done well, can actually help transform an organization.

3. Give people the opportunity to be enthusiastic. Ask staff members to come up with projects that cut costs or save money. Often this is the first time they have been asked to use their insights to help the company. Following are some examples:

The facilities maintenance manager at a hospital had only a sixth-grade education, yet he saves the hospital $15,000 by inventing a new way to open the operating room doors. He never knew the hospital cared about his ideas until this training.

A lumber mill had a process that involved picking up the lumber and moving it an extra time. Management knew it cost $150,000 in labor every year but they could not find a solution. During some internal training, a worker offered a solution. He had come up with the idea a long time ago but did not offer it because no one had asked him.

4. Do not criticize, condemn or complain - and do not put up with people who do. Just walk out of the room and say you refuse to let anothers negativity affect your enthusiasm. Consciously decide to generate positive enthusiasm.

5. Keep perspective. Life is too short to just put up with negativity. Have some fun with life. Grab the gusto. See the excitement in every situation. Be enthusiastic about the chance to make a difference with even your smallest actions: smile; hold the elevator door; allow another driver into traffic . . . even these simple actions can make a difference in others lives. Now this is something to be enthusiastic about!

Pj Germain
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Empowerment at Work

The word “empower” has potency and strength. It’s used frequently these, some say “overused.” It’s also misused. Similar to the concept of “motivation,” the most common misuse of the idea of empowerment is that one person can empower another. Empowerment, as I use the word, is an inner-to-outer dynamic, most usefulwhen preceded by silence and awareness of inner guidance. Empowerment is not simply another way to “get” something, it’s a condition that supports you in living life fully.

Empowered Persons

Empowered persons are balanced, confident, aware, vital, caring, and ready. Those who are empowered are not depressed, confused, aggressive, divisive, or wishy washy. Of course, even empowered persons have days or moments of confusion or frustration or doubt, but the predominant expression is one of confidence and strength and consideration of themselves and others. Also, empowerment can be situational, that is to say, you may feel and be empowered in one situation but not another.

Most people, though certainly not all, like to be in the presence of those who are truly empowered because the energy in and around them is contagious and healing. Empowered persons are eager to laugh and experience the moment in a way that helps others to find their own power. When empowered persons shine their light, others can more easily find their own light. The behavior of empowered persons is often imitated, but empowerment is not just a set of actions and behavior. Actions aligned with inner knowingness and strength are necessary for true empowerment. Enlightened consciousness is the source of empowered actions rather than the other way around. Since empowered persons are powered from the inside, they carry their power with them.

As I’ve mentioned above in a positive way, let me be clear here what empowered persons don’t do: empowered persons don’t get their power from other persons. Empowered persons don’t hit or overpower or trample on others’ rights, make malicious remarks, put others down, use derogatory humor, dominate meetings, or suppress others. Empowered persons don’t give their power away to others, nor do they let others take their power (which is simply a variation on “giving away power).

To be empowered, you must release outdated beliefs, dense vibrations, repressed fears and resentments. To be empowered, you must replace disempowering beliefs with those that are empowering. To be empowered, you must be conscious of the focus of your attention, your thoughts, and your feelings. To be empowered, consider your own desires and beliefs and feelings as well as others’ desires and beliefs and feelings. To be empowered, start where you are right now without feeling wrong or believing you need to be “fixed.”

Empowered Organizations

Empowered organizations are composed of empowered persons, although it’s not necessarily true that a group of empowered persons automatically creates an empowered organization. Organizations that are truly empowered have moved out of the old paradigm of negative competition and beliefs in limitation and scarcity. Many persons, including me, like to consider the empowered organization is one that is moving or has moved into a “new paradigm.”

Empowered organizations in the new paradigm have transformed themselves so that they’re able to demonstrate such characteristics as: clear and honest communications, collaboration within and between work units (usually called teams), shared responsibility in all aspects of task and process, and delivery of high quality products and services driven by customer/client needs.

Persons in empowered organizations are likely to talk about the “joy” of work and feeling “love” for their team mates, although such words may not be expressed nor are the expression of such such words proof of empowerment.

Moving from There to Here

Most individuals agree with the desirability of concepts like “open communications,” “collaboration,” and “customer-driven” goals. However, established norms often prevent embodying the actions that bring these concepts into fruition. Distrust still prevails in many organizations, especially those faced with downsizing efforts that have been or are being carried out with brutal methods. Belief that an organization is in business for the sole purpose of earning money keeps organizations stuck in dysfunctional patterns.

It’s important to respect where an individual or organization is right now. Simply pushing a new paradigm on an old one doesn’t work. Lasting change happens from the inside out. The organizational structure of the old paradigm is linear and vertical: top-down and bottom-up. Ignoring the chain of command is an offense in many traditional organizations, reinforcing this linear approach.

As organizations downsize or otherwise change their structure, the linear and vertical movement tends to change to horizontal and circular. The old approach of looking to see what the one at the top of the organization wants shifts to looking inside to discern what serves the highest good with the help of intuition. Some of the popular names for the new organizations that are in alignment with this horizontal-circular-inward formation are: “team,” “cluster,” “learning organization,” “circles,” and “networks.”

With my window of looking at energy fields and working with energetic principles, I find the “flattening” of organizations to be exciting and forward-moving. The flattening (eliminating layers of management and other realignments) may not feel very positive when it’s happening, but the end results can be extremely positive. Out of the chaos grow the new forms and patterns of working and being together to do business. Chaos theory that has emerged over the last few years can help you to understand this act of discovery and creation of all kinds of systems.

Chaos theory also helps you to understand paradigms: old, new, and emerging. A new form or pattern or paradigm emerges when the old one no longer works. For those of you who find my definition of paradigms too simplistic, I encourage you to read one or more of the following books.

Chaos: Making a New Science by James Gleick

Future Edge: Discovering New Paradigms of Success by Joel Barker

The Fifth Discipline: The Learning Organization by Peter Senge

Managing as a Performing Art by Peter Vaill

Leadership and the New Science by Margaret J. Wheatley

Who is empowered?

You are empowered because of who you are,
not because of your relationship to others.

Empowerment comes from inside, not outside.
Guided by high intention, this power is used for the good of all.

Competition leads you to believe that resources are limited. When you turn within, you recognize that creativity is unlimited,

leading you to unlimited resources.

You compete with a belief in limited power.
You are empowered by unlimited power.

Today, help someone else to be empowered.
Such an act might help you find your own power.

Copyright 2006 Marshall House, http://www.mhmail.com. Jeanie Marshall, Empowerment Consultant and Coach with Marshall House writes extensively on subjects related to personal development and empowerment. Discover her guided meditations at the Voice of Jeanie Marshall, http://www.jmvoice.com

What Makes a Great Leader in Business?

When you’re asked about a leader in the context of a workplace, who springs to mind? Maybe your current or a former boss, a head of department, or maybe even the company Chief Executive Officer.

Leadership is a complex subject. We should all consider ourselves leaders, particularly those of us looking to progress our careers beyond the current nine to five days we love (or endure). Whatever our occupation, admin staff to managers, refuse collectors to chefs, we have a duty to behave in a professional manner and take pride in our work - after all, we chose our path. Part of our day to day role is almost certainly likely to be influencing others around us, whether we are aware of that fact or not.

Simply by passing by our colleagues, we will no doubt influence them. They will judge us, and form opinions of our ability, our social interaction with them, and whether or not they enjoy our company on both a professional and personal level. This influence is a very powerful tool, it can motivate and demotivate those around us, and if used positively can make our own lives easier.

This motivation we silently pass on is a form of leadership, and if you observe most great leaders you will more than likely be able to see this quality very regularly. Team members tend to show a great deal of respect for their leader - and rightly so, they are all working to the same goals.

Naturally, if a colleague has ambition, he will most likely be keen to support and impress his leader - logically recommendations of promotions will tend towards the more helpful members of a leaders team.

Influence and motivation are not however enough to make a good leader great, the commonly discussed listening and interpretation skills are paramount to a teams success, communication is only truly achieved if both parties understand a message to have the same meaning.

Leadership, simply, is not just about getting the job done. It is about getting the job done effectively, efficiently and most importantly with the support and growing respect of the people you lead. Generally speaking it is not possible to achieve effective and efficient performance without these supporting and respectful team members, so those attributes can be considered the building blocks to your success.

Why not stop from time to time, and consider your role, who you are leading, and whether you have done your best to not only support your leader, but also those influenced around you?

From the Front discusses leadership, primarily in the workplace. Find out more about getting the best at work at http://www.fromthefront.com

A Personal Time Choice

Our personal experiences with time often force us to draw sets of conclusions which seem to contradict each other. They set up a paradox in which it is difficult to see how both conclusions can be true. Yet, on closer examination, the conclusions often are both correct. For example, no one has enough time, yet everyone has all there is.

Often, one of the statements in a paradox is based on conventional wisdom, while the other statement challenges that wisdom by pointing out a deeper truth. No one has enough time is the conventional observation, while Everyone has all there is points out a deeper truth. Understanding this paradox is an important first step in the challenge of learning to manage our time and ourselves.

Take a moment and consider the following paradoxes of time and explain the effect each one has on your life.

1. Time cannot be managed. We can only manage ourselves. Is time the problem, or are we?

2. Those who do not take the time to do something right must make the time to do it over. Should we do it right the first time?

3. Doing a job right is efficient. Doing the right job right is effective. If a task is the wrong one, it does not matter whether it is done right or wrong. If it is the right task, it matters a great deal.

4. The more hours that people work, the more time they assume they have to finish. The more hours people work, the more fatigued they become - so they slow down. Long hours feed on themselves, making everything take longer.

It has been established that controlling our lives means controlling our time, and that controlling our time means controlling the events in our lives. Why, then, do most of us have so much trouble accomplishing the things that mean the most to us in the long term? Why do we never seem to get around to those things that really matter? There are several possible answers. One is that we have unwittingly bought into two fallacies about time that prevent us from dealing effectively with the events in our lives.

The first fallacy is that we think we are going to have more time at some unspecified future date than we do now. Well, I will do that next week, or next month, or next year, or when the children are grown, or when I retire. Then I will have more time. The second fallacy is that we think we can somehow save time. The fact is, each of us have all the time there is. We all are given exactly 24 hours every day - 86,400 seconds each day. No more, no less, and none of us can save any of them to use at a later date.

Each of us has exactly as much time as the most successful people in the world. If we want to achieve the same high levels of success as these winners, we must treat our own time as a precious resource to invest for maximum return.

Time is valuable capital. If we squander it, we will not develop our abilities, take advantage of opportunities, or carry out our commitments. What is more, we certainly will not make the most of our life. An astonishing number of people, who carefully manage all of their other resources, are frustrated because time continues to slip through their fingers. What is really slipping away are their lives.

What each of us chooses to do with our time makes our life. When we make the commitment to choose what we do with our time, we take control of our life. Effective people do not just do things differently - they do different things! Their actions reflect a fundamental shift in thinking - that sometimes doing less result in more of the right things getting done. They deliberately manage their choices! As Stephen Covey has so eloquently said:

“Rather than focusing on things and time,
focus on preserving and enhancing relationships
and on accomplishing results.”

Pj Germain
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Achieve Positive Attitude Through Self-Discipline

Attitude is defined as the way you dedicate yourself to the way you think. Think negative or think positive is a choice and a process. Negative is (unfortunately) an instinctive process. Positive is a learned self-discipline that must be studied and practiced every day.

To achieve a positive attitude, you must take physical, verbal and mental actions. Here are a few short chunks of attitude - awareness and actions - that will help put you (or keep you) on the positive path:

1. Admit it is the fault of no one but your own. The more you blame others, the less chance you have to think positive thoughts, see a positive solution, or take positive action toward solution. The opposite of blame is responsibility. Your first responsibility is to control your inner thoughts and thought direction.

2. Understand you always have (had) a choice. Attitude is a choice and most people select from the negative column. Reason? It is more natural to blame and defend than it is to admit and take responsibility.

3. If you think it is OK, it is; if you think it is not OK, than it is not. Your thoughts direct your attitude to a path. If you think: this is crappy, why does this always happen to me, then you have chosen a path. If you think, wow, this may not be the greatest, but look what I am learning, than you learn what not to do again.

4. Invest time, do not spend it. Ignore the local junk news. Find a project, or make a plan to sell something or meet with someone who buys or teaches instead. You will become a world-class expert in five years. The only question is: at what? Spend (invest) an hour a day in anything and in five years you will be a world-class expert.

5. Study the thoughts and writings of positive people. Read Napoleon Hills Think & Grow Rich.

6. Listen to tapes and CDs by positive thinkers of the world: Zig Ziglar, Denis Waitley, Wayne Dyer and as many others as you can find.

7. Attend seminars and take courses. Enroll in a Dale Carnegie program.

8. Check your language gauge. Do you say half full or half empty, partly cloudy or partly sunny? They are just words, but they are a reflection of how your mind sees things and an indication of how you process thoughts. Avoid confrontational and negative words. The worst ones are: why, ca not, will not and should.

9. Say why you LIKE things and people, not why you do not I like my job because I love my family. Say things from the positive side enough and it becomes a habit you will revel in for life.

10. Help others without expectation or measuring. If you give it away freely, you do not every have to worry about the measurement. The world will reward you 10 times over.

11. Think about your winning and losing words. Lose with: They do not pay me enough to. That is not my job. IF you say: Why should I when he… then really, who loses? Think learn, lessons, experience and solutions before you make a statement.

12. Think about your mood and your mood swings. How long do you stay in a bad mood? If it is more than five minutes, something is wrong. And your attitude (and relationships, results and success) will suffer.

13. Are you the head of the complaint department and the chief complainer? Many people slip into cynicism day by day. They become bitter because of jealousy or envy of other people or their own misfortune. Big mistake.

List the lessons you can learn from those you have bitterness for and the results will turn your thinking toward your own success and away from theirs.

1. Celebrate victory and defeat. Winning and losing are part of life and apart from attitude. Visit a childrens hospital. Get comfortable with the plight of others and feel good about the minuteness your problems compared to theirs.

2. Count your blessings every day. Start with health if you are fortunate enough to have it. Add the love of children and family. From there it is easy to build the list. Want an instant lesson? Go out and buy a copy of The Little Engine That Could. It is a philosophy for a lifetime!

Pj Germain
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Generating Quantum Leaps By Doing the Right Things

Our strengths often become weaknesses because we rely on them too heavily, habitually doing what we do best instead of seeking the best things to do. Someone said: If your only tool is a hammer, you approach every problem as if it were a nail.

Put down your old, familiar tools for now, or else find a different way to use them. Doing the right things, even very imperfectly, can bring about a quantum leap. Doing the wrong things, even if you do them to perfection, will never deliver your dreams.
What is important is to think beyond what common sense would allow.

Webster describes common sense as: Ordinary good sense or sound practical judgment. Ordinary, according to the dictionary, means customary, usual, regular, normal; familiar, unexceptional, common; relatively poor or inferior. Webster also describes common sense as sound practical judgment. The meaning of practical is obtained through practice or action. In other words, common sense is judgment based on past experience. When you boil it all down, common sense is just what it sounds like - it is what people today commonly believe. And common sense is full of dumb, limiting ideas. It has always been that way.

Common sense used to say the world is flat, people can not fly, bleed people if you want to heal them. The idea of a man on the moon was once pure science fiction, so was television and the idea of a heart transplant. Common sense lies to you. It focuses on the obstacles, reviews what you have done in the past, studies the normal achievement patterns of people in general, and tells you what you can commonly expect to achieve. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Rely too much on common sense, and you can expect to see common results.

Quantum leaps require that you start thinking
about what you want, instead of what common sense
says is the reasonable thing for you to expect.
What would common sense say you can accomplish? What would be a sensible goal?

Uncommon sense says that you can accomplish astounding things. What would be a goal well beyond the boundary of improbable… far beyond the obvious next logical step? What would you go for if you knew your success was guaranteed? What would you do, how would you proceed, in terms of specific action steps?

Most people have the wiring in their brains messed up. They have decided to doubt the wrong things, such as their potential, the availability of breakthrough opportunities, and their chances for making a quantum leap. For now, if you must doubt something, doubt your limits. While it is true that you cannot make yourself believe in your ability to make the quantum leap, you definitely can act like you believe.

You can go ahead and do what you would do if you had complete faith. You always get to choose how you are going to act anyway. You decide how you are going to behave. You do not have to eliminate doubt to disregard it for the time being. Let it lie there, without influence, while you produce a remarkable set of results by acting as if your success is for certain. Instead of letting doubt decide what you will do, decide what you are going to do with your doubt.

Focus on ends rather than means. Develop a razor-sharp picture of where you want to land at the end of your quantum leap. Make your goal specific. Pay careful attention to the details. Focus on this goal constantly in your thoughts and imagination. Carry in your mind a picture of you achieving the objective.

Adults rarely make quantum leaps, but small children make them all of the time. Little ones focus on ends, rather than means. Kids have no hang-up about technique. Being so young and inexperienced, they are often practically devoid of methodology. But they are open-minded, goal-focused, and true believers in experimentation. They lock in mentally on their objective, and seem quite willing to let the goal determine the methodology. In fact, they proceed such that the goal often creates the methodology. The child does something for the first time ever, it works, and inherent potential is discovered. The necessary technique, the means, just sort of evolves in the process.

Grownups get it all backwards. Adults cannot seem to choose a goal without simultaneously evaluating their resources and personal repertoire of skills to see if they have what it takes to reach the objective. The adults command of technique methodology or resources then becomes the screening device used to select the appropriate goal. The choice of goals (the ends) depends too heavily on what the individual perceives as his or her obvious, available methodologies (the means).

Start by working on defining your goal, not by worrying about everything that will be involved in getting from here to there. The technique or methodology of the process you will need to follow will come to you. Just make sure your aim is good, open yourself to the unexpected, and proceed. You do not have to know how you are going to get there, but you must know where you want to go.

Think of problems, mistakes, and failure as growing pains. When you stop running into problems that is when you truly have a real problem. Somewhere in the process of growing up, we got the idea that it is best to avoid problems. Parents encourage kids to keep trouble at a minimum and eliminate mistakes as much as possible. Teachers give out As for getting everything right, and nails a student with a low grade for making errors. Eventually, failure gets a bad reputation.

In the world at large, however, failure can be a friend. There is a certain magic in mistakes. Problems, foul-ups, and breakdowns push you back on track, educate you, leaving you better equipped to navigate accurately toward your goal.

Unless you are willing to stretch yourself beyond the point where you know you can perform basically error-free, you will never find out how good you really are. If you are unwilling to taste failure, there is no way on earth you can taste the sweet fruits of your true potential.

Remember that progress often masquerades as trouble.
Mistakes and failures typically carry clues for breakthrough performance.

Pj Germain
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Keeping A Positive Attitude

People see things differently. While some concentrate on negative possibilities and see their glasses half empty instead of half full, others consistently look on the bright side. But being positive does not mean being unrealistic. So an important question to ask yourself when evaluating one’s demeanor: Is your glass half empty or half full?

While life can bring challenging times, having a positive attitude often can have real mind and body benefits. People who are less burdened by pessimistic thinking do not suffer the health risks associated with stress. They feel more empowered to change their lives for the better. If your perspective seems focused on negative thoughts, try these tips:

1. Eliminate negative self-talk.

When we constantly tell ourselves what we ought to do, should have done, and can not accomplish, we are filling ourselves with negative self-talk. This can make us feel unable to make positive changes. Turn negative self-talk into positive self-coaching. For example, instead of focusing on what you think you can not do, brainstorm about your strengths.

2. Stay flexible.

Change can be difficult. Often, we do not have control over the changes in our lives. Instead of concentrating on the way things were, focus on how you can make the best of the way things are. For example, if changes at work mean new challenges in your job, try to excel at your new duties instead of dwelling on the past.

3. Get involved.

Activities that provide a sense of accomplishment — such as volunteering at a nursing home or homeless shelter — can make a big difference in both your life and the lives of others. You will feel good about the work you do and help someone else in the process.

4. Speak up.

Learning to assert yourself at work and home is important in cultivating a positive attitude. When you express your ideas tactfully, you feel better about yourself and earn respect from others. Keeping things to yourself can lead to stress and frustration.

5. Be adventurous.

Encourage yourself to try new things — take a class, begin an exercise program, try for that promotion. Challenge yourself to break out of your rut, and you will be rewarded by feeling better.

6. Avoid unhealthy responses to stress.

When times get tough, it is easy to let a negative outlook lead to destructive behavior. Smoking, drinking and substance abuse are typical methods people may use to distract themselves from difficult situations. These destructive habits can only make you feel worse.

7. Live for today.

Today’s little pleasures and accomplishments are the events that make up our lives. Instead of reminiscing about the past or living life in anticipation of tomorrow, take time to enjoy and savor the special moments today brings.

Pj Germain
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Give me a break! 6 key Difficulties for New Managers

Managers often deal with great deal of paperwork and people. Although paperwork is usually the most tedious, it’s often the most predictable.

People aren’t predictable. They have moods, illnesses, career expectations, crises in their family lives, etc. The supervisor’s technical expertise is often useless when it comes to supervising people.

Sometimes Intimidated by Wide Range of Policies and Procedures the new supervisor is suddenly faced with a wide range of rules and regulations — each of which the supervisor is responsible to enforce.

The supervisor is responsible for signing time cards, authorizing overtime, granting compensation time, dealing with performance problems, developing job descriptions, following hiring procedures, dealing with grievances, conforming to a complicated pay system, and the list goes on.

It can be quite difficult to conform to today’s wide range of employee laws, rules and regulations — and at the same time, produce a product or service.

New Managers Rarely Have Enough Time
No matter how many courses or degrees a new supervisor has completed, they’re often surprised that management activities are so hectic and demanding. No matter how thorough the planning, managers rarely get to spend much time on any one activity.

The role of most managers, whether new supervisors or executives, is interspersed with frequent interruptions. Any surprise in the work or lives of employees is a sudden demand on supervisors.

New supervisors often expect to have complete knowledge of everything that goes on in their group. They don’t want to encounter any surprises. So they spend more time reading, thinking, planning, communicating with employees — new supervisors often spend 60 hours a week on the job. Still, they don’t feel they have enough time to do the job right.

New Managers Often Feel Very Alone
Each manager has a unique role in the organization. Each organization is unique. Usually there are no clear procedures for dealing with the numerous challenges that suddenly face management. Ultimately, it’s up to each manager to get through the day. Faced with a great deal of pressure, little time and continuing demands from other people, the new supervisor can feel quite alone.

The supervisor is responsible to be an advocate for the organization and an advocate for the employee. For example, if the organization implements an unpopular new policy, the supervisor is often responsible to communicate and justify that new policy to the employee.

In this case, management expects the supervisor to present and support the new policy, and the employee vents his or her frustration to the supervisor.

However, if the supervisor wants to promote the employee or present some other reward, he or she is now representing the employee’s case to the rest of management. The supervisor is often alone, stuck in the middle.

The new manager wants to come across as having deserved their promotion, as being in control of the situation. It’s difficult to seek help from others in the organization. Even when there is someone there to talk to, it is difficult to fully explain the situation — the new supervisor sometimes doesn’t know how things got so hectic and confusing.

New Managers Often Feel Overwhelmed, Stressed Out
The new manager is responsible, often for the first time, for the activities of another employee. The supervisor must ensure the employee knows his or her job, has the resources to do the job and does the job as effectively as possible.

Until a new manager develops a -feeling for the territory, they often deal with the stresses of supervision by working harder, rather than smarter. They miss the comfort and predictability of their previous job.
The stress and loneliness in the role of new manager can bring out the worst in a person. If they deal with stress by retreating, they will retreat to their offices and close the door. If they deal with frustration, they will become angry and unreasonable with their employees.

If they are used to getting strong praise and high grades, they’ll work harder and harder until their jobs become their lives.

Support and Development Are Critical for New Managers
Courses in supervision, delegation, time management, stress management, etc., are not enough. New managers need ongoing coaching and support. They need someone whom they can confide in. Ideally, they have a mentor in the organization who remembers what it’s like to be a first-time manager/supervisor, someone who makes themselves available.

If the experience of first-time management is successful — it’s challenging, but fulfilling — the manager goes on to become a progressive, supportive manager.

Marcia Granger MCC Leadership Coach helps those in Leadership positions create the perfect working conditions. Visit us at http://www.1stleadershipcourse.com

The Art of Encouragement

Recently, I found myself in an interesting discussion with my good friend and walking buddy. We first met years ago when both of us were starting our careers at IBM. As we reminisced about the “good old days”, we remembered some of our early mentors who showed us the ropes, provided us with knowledge and insights. Perhaps one of their greatest gifts to us was the Art of Encouragement. As we reflected on “then” and “now” what hit us between the eyes is how seldom people take time to encourage others today. It seems communication has become more efficient, but is it really effective?

In our virtual world of email, conference calls, blackberries and the plethora of other high tech tools, we have had to learn to juggle so many priorities at once. Who has time to spend encouraging a co-worker? And yet, how many of us are where we are today because of those who made the time to encourage us and mentor us along the way.

So, why does encouragement matter? What are the benefits of encouragement? I gave it some thought, and have listed here some of the key benefits for everyone involved.

BENEFITS TO THE “ENCOURAGEE”

* Builds self-confidence
* Creates an ally
* Provides feedback on what they are doing well
* Circumvents mistakes, wasted time

BENEFITS TO THE ENCOURAGER

* Strengthens the relationship
* Provides opportunity to “teach” others
* Creates an ally
* Expands one’s expertise by teaching/modeling for someone else

BENEFITS TO THE ORGANIZATION

* Strengthens succession planning
* Creates bench strength in emerging leaders
* Passes on “tribal knowledge” within organization
* Solidifies/deepens corporate culture

What benefits would you add to this list? Think of a person in your life who has encouraged you along the way. What kind of a difference have they made in your life? Have you taken the time to thank them? If not now, when? Send them a card, give them a call, or offer to take them to lunch. Let them know how much their encouragement has meant to you. I can guarantee it will make their day.

So, how do you go about encouraging someone else? Here are some keys to encouragement.

KEYS TO ENCOURAGEMENT

* Look for opportunities to encourage
* Give encouragement freely
* Be sincere and specific
* Find ways to make it easy
* Make it a habit
* Take the time
* Watch what happens!

Remember that you had many encouragers along your journey. Take time to do the same for others. Practice the Art of Encouragement.

Paula K. Switzer is a nationally recognized speaker, trainer and contributing author on the subjects of leadership, team building and communication. Free audio mini-course. Other articles.

Greatness vs. Goodness: A “Mind-Shift” for Visionary Leaders

Today’s visionary leaders who are making this shift in thinking, from “goodness” to “greatness” are inspiring themselves, their team and even their adversaries to greatness. These visionaries have the power to create a world that works for all of us, and they are who the world needs now.

Sadly many well-intentioned leaders, teachers and parents fail to grasp this distinction, and that failure costs them more than they know. Slowly they lose their power to effect real, lasting change in themselves, in others and in the world around them.

First grasping this distinction between goodness and greatness, and then making “the shift in one’s thoughts, words and actions elevates and expands one’s consciousness to a visionary level; thus giving one the power to effect lasting change.

ORIENTATION

So what’s the difference between goodness and greatness? First let’s make suggest some differences, and then we’ll look at an example.

Approach To Resolving Conflict With Others

- Goodness: The quality of compromising your highest inner guidance, especially when it conflicts with the prevailing moral standards or societal norms.
- Greatness: The quality of acting on your highest inner guidance, even when it conflicts with the prevailing moral standards or societal norms.

Approach To Resolving Conflict With Self

- Goodness: Compromising. The quality of compromising one’s higher values in the face of fear.
- Greatness: Standing. The quality of standing for one’s higher values in the face of fear.

Guidance Orientation

- Goodness: External. Value the esteem of others OVER esteem of self.
- Greatness: Internal. Value the esteem of self OVER esteem of others.

Inner Guidance Model

- Goodness: Position-based. Self = position = me.
- Greatness: Stand-based. Self = stand = i.

I-Orientation

- Goodness: Protect me (self as position) and risk i (self as stand) in reaction to fear.
- Greatness: Stand for i (self as stand) and risk me (self as position) in the face of any fear.

EXAMPLE:

Jon and Steve have just been hired as executives of ACME Co. They quickly learn that in their new company being a good executive means following the dictates of the CEO. Both Jon and Steve are hard workers who diligently carry out the orders of the boss. Jon, however is a graduate of an elite institution that included extensive character training. He’s been taught what it means to be a good leader and a good follower.

Both soon hear a vague rumor that their new boss and others are likely cooking the books and stealing from the shareholders. Neither one knows for sure, but they start to sense that it might very well be true. Jon thinks about prying, but would rather not know. If he doesn’t know, how can he possibly get in trouble? And questioning could get him fired. So Jon continues to work as usual, never asking too many questions, and dutifully carrying out his responsibilities.

When the CEO gets busted four months later, loyal Jon adamantly defends the character of his boss, confidently telling everyone that he never knew of any improprieties. He was right, and felt justified. He had stayed within the limits of the law, and within the limits of reasonable business ethics. On top of that, he knew inside that he was a good person and a good executive.

Steve, on the other hand, upon hearing the rumors, inquired into the rumor. Upon obtaining some more facts, he thought there was a good chance that his boss might be doing something unethical and illegal. He thought about confronting his boss, and saw that it might very well lead to his getting fired, or at least being ostracized and passed over for promotion. He felt fear, a lot of fear. He took a stand and faced his fear the next morning, as he confronted his boss. In their meeting it would have been easy for Steve to turn away after his boss eloquently explained his actions, but Steve persisted. He kept facing his fear, and asking the questions that needed to be asked. He was fired the next week for “poor performance.”

A KEY POINT:

There’s a huge yet subtle difference between goodness and greatness. We’re going to dive deep into discovering the power, the skill and the subtleties of greatness inside this course.

VISIONARY ADVANTAGE:

On paper, Jon looks like a good executive. Over the years he has kept his jobs longer and has proven to be a “good,” loyal team player. Yet with every choice to compromise his conscience in order to avoid fear and take the easy path to “success,” he loses power. He loses his power to trust himself, he loses the ability to hear the warnings of conscience and while he may win friends, he loses their trust in his leadership.

But it goes deeper than this. It doesn’t matter how much Jon tries to be a good executive, or become “successful.” The less he faces his fear, the less he can see the kind of vision that calls himself and others to greatness.

Steve on the other hand, builds his power with every choice to face his fear. With every choice, his vision, self trust and grip of reality strengthens. He is quickly becoming the kind of leader any team trusts implicitly. Steve lives “greatness.”

VISIONARY DYNAMIC:

The more you stand and face your fear, the more powerful your vision grows.

VISIONARY CHALLENGE:

What can you face in your life today that you’ve been avoiding? What feelings would you have to face to confront this issue or person head on? What would be worth standing for?

Journal about this until you are inspired to take that stand. Then take it, and journal about your experience. The more you see yourself taking stands like this, the more you see what?

VISIONARY TRAINING:

Anyone can muster the courage to face a tough situation now and again. It’s another thing to have facing be a way of life. What would it be like to not just live courageously, but to always be facing, always standing?

How can you take a stand such that you feel called from deep within? Where can you go to get conditioning in facing and standing–not from a place of sheer guts–but from a deep inner feeling of being called to be “the one?”

As founder of the Vision Force Academy, Michael Skye works with a new breed of impassioned change agents around the world, who are giving their lives to stand for all of humanity. Michael is best known for his transformational leadership trainings, based on his proprietary iStand technology. He authored the the Visionary Mind Shifts for VisionForce.com.

Position vs Stand: A “Mind Shift” for Visionary Leaders

Today’s visionary leaders who are making this shift in thinking, from a “position” to a “stand” are inspiring themselves, their team and even their adversaries to greatness. These visionaries have the power to create a world that works for all of us.

Most of the brightest leaders, entrepreneurs and change agents still fail to grasp this distinction. Many try to stand for a better world while operating from a righteous or egotistical position, and thus are quite powerless to effect lasting change. Real power comes from a stand, not a position.

First grasping this distinction and then making “the shift” elevates and expands one’s thinking or consciousness to a visionary level.

So what’s the difference between a position and a stand?

Generally, a position is a place to defend or attack from, an external fight against; whereas a stand is a foundation to build on or create from, an internal fight for.

On a psychological level, a position is a defensive reaction to protect oneself from negative judgment (it usually occurs after a compromise of one’s values).

A stand, on the other hand, is an action of honoring one’s values in the face of inner opposition (fear, doubt, etc.).

AN EXAMPLE:

Tim is an entrepreneur who has a dispute with Sam, General Manager of another company. Tim thinks he should receive a credit, because Sam’s company did not deliver the kind of service they had promised.

Picking up the phone to make a phone call to the GM was a scary proposition for Tim. Sam had already denied his first request for a discount, and reacted as if Tim was being cheap and unfair.

Tim wanted to stand for what he thought was right, and he didn’t want the conversation to turn ugly, but he was scared… and so he prepared for the confrontation, as most anyone would do by solidifying his position.

Tim solidified his position by forming his conclusions, judgments and solutions.

Conclusion: Sam’s service was not delivered as expected; therefore Tim does not owe the amount in the contract.

Judgment: It was unfair of Sam to not talk this through amicably with Tim. Sam is unethical, unfair and greedy.

Solution: Sam should credit Tim’s company $1,000. Anything less is unfair.

Armed with his position, Tim picked up the phone and called Sam. Although Tim was trying to sound nice and businesslike, Sam instantly picked up the defensive/aggressive tone in his voice.

Sam’s mind immediately formed its own position. He thought of all he’d done for Tim over the years. How could he be so ungrateful and cheap? You can bend over backward for a guy only so much. No more discounts or credits.

“Well you can call my lawyer then, Sam, because I’m not paying another dime until you credit me $1,000.”

“If that’s the way you want it, Tim. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.” Click. Sam had hung up the phone.

“At least I didn’t let that guy overcharge us again,” Tim explained to his secretary. A guy’s got to take a stand once in a while. Otherwise people will walk all over you.

Thousands of dollars in lawyer bills later, Sam and Tim finally settled out of court for a $500 credit. To this day, their friendship is dead, they are both resentful, and their positions are stronger than ever.

Every time they reflect honestly on how they resolved the conflict, they feel guilt… and then their mind turns back to its position, and they feel a little more comfortable.

A KEY POINT:

We live in a Position world. It’s how we think, how we operate, how we resolve conflict. And it works miserably. Our next evolution as human beings is to learn to live from a stand.

VISIONARY ADVANTAGE:

A visionary operates in such a way that she inspires herself, her team and even her adversaries to greatness. She calls people to rise above their positions and align on shared values.

She can see through nearly any conflict, and has the confidence of a brazen, unstoppable entrepreneur. Hers is not a foolish arrogance or the brute force of will, but vision. The kind of vision that is uncommon to most of us.

She lives from a stand, and is called forward by the resulting vision to keep standing. She inspires not only herself, but the world around her t