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What is your emotional IQ?

For decades, a lot of emphasis has been put on certain aspects of intelligence such as logical reasoning, math skills, spatial skills, understanding analogies, verbal skills etc. Researchers were puzzled by the fact that while IQ could predict to a significant degree academic performance and, to some degree, professional and personal success, there was something missing in the equation. Some of those with fabulous IQ scores were doing poorly in life; one could say that they were wasting their potential by thinking, behaving and communicating in a way that hindered their chances to succeed.
One of the major missing parts in the success equation is emotional intelligence, a concept made popular by the groundbreaking book by Daniel Goleman, which is based on years of research by numerous scientists such as Peter Salovey, John Meyer, Howard Gardner, Robert Sternberg and Jack Block, just to name a few. For various reasons and thanks to a wide range of abilities, people with high emotional intelligence tend to be more successful in life than those with lower EIQ even if their classical IQ is average.

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19

07 2010


by Jeff Compton
posted in Uncategorized
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Super Employee vs Supervisor

“There are 10 skills that every manager should know. What got them to where they are, will not take them to where they need to be.”

Most people do not start out as managers or supervisors; they start their careers as employees just like everyone else. If you are a supervisor, I assume this is how you started your career as well. But along the way, something happened to you. It’s like something clicked in your mind. You said to yourself… “I am going to be good at my job!” You came to work on time, kept the right attitude and did what it took to become very adept at your job. Like any other perfectionist, you worked hard to master your position. You tackled every problem and figured out the best way to solve each situation. You became so good at solving problems that your co-workers began to come to you with their own conundrums. Managers and supervisors would sneak in and say… “I need your help.” And in your mind you would think… “You sure do!”

You were no longer just a mere employee, a transformation had taken place. You went from being an employee like everyone else, to what I like to call a SUPER employee!

No problem was too difficult. For every situation, you had a method for dealing with that particular problem. One day the powers-that-be came by and said to themselves… “WOW! A SUPER employee! Let’s make ‘em a SUPERvisor.” But they forgot to tell you the big secret…

When you were a SUPER employee, 100% of your time was devoted to doing your job. You handled every problem with he greatest of ease. One the other hand, when you became a SUPERvisor, 80% of your time was now devoted to dealing with people. And dealing with people means dealing with their problems.

Most employees have a life of their own, and they tend to make bad choices from time to time. They will bring their problems to work with them, too, because it’s a part of their life. You could put up a big neon sign at work that read… “Please DO NOT bring your problems to work!” but they will walk right by that sign and think that it doesn’t apply to them.

Whose job is it to handle these problems at work so that your employees stay productive? Welcome to the world of supervisors: You’re It.

Human nature tells us that when we are faced with a problem, we are more likely to lean on what we are good at to solve that problem. What are you good at? You are good at being a SUPER employee. So you tend to lean on your SUPER employee skills to solve your SUPERvisor problems, and that is why you hear managers make statements such as… “By the time I show them how to do it, I can do it myself!”

Unfortunately, when you use a SUPER employee technique to try and solve a SUPERvisor problem, it just makes the problem worse. You see, for every problem there is a “technique” to solve that problem. This has been going on since the dawning of time. Early man grew tired of raw food so they developed “techniques” to master fire. In your life “techniques” have been used countless times. We use “techniques” to make our lives easier or to put it on autopilot.

You learned a lot of your “techniques” from your parents growing up. Your parents used “techniques” on you all the time. Do you remember when you were a teenager and you would go and ask your parents for money? This presented a problem for your parents. They did not want to give you their hard-earned money to go and blow on something trivial. This is when they would pull out some of their techniques to try and solve this problem. See if you remember any of these…

“Mom and/or Dad, can I have some money?”

Technique #1: “Money doesn’t grow on trees!”

Technique #2: “Go get a job.”

I would bet you have used those “techniques” on your children, as well. In management, there are “techniques” designed to solve the problems you encounter with your people.

There are people out there who are experts in the field of management and human behavior. Their job is to design and develop “techniques” that build productivity and reduce problems. These “techniques” are what you, the manager, should know and use on a daily basis. You should be well versed in these “techniques”.

For every problem in management there is a “technique” to handle that problem. When you get to the place where you have a “technique” for every situation and you can dispel problems with the greatest of ease, that is called a “skill”. The more “skills” you have as a SUPERvisor the more valuable you become to your company.

In my audio series “Strategic Management: The REAL DEAL on How to Supervise People” I talk about the top ten skills that companies feel make you the most valuable to them. You must master these skills if you are going to be a true SUPERvisor. These skills are designed to build productivity and reduce problems, and they are a necessity to every manager. Unfortunately, most managers are just Super employees masquerading as SUPERvisors. Make a commitment to learn these supervisory skills today, and increase your employee’s morale, watch your accomplishments soar, and add more value to your work- and you.

The REAL DEAL
Jeff Compton

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15

06 2010


by Jeff Compton
posted in Leadership Development, Management, Supervising People, The REAL DEAL
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The Purpose of Wishful Thinking

I have always seen the glass “Half-Full”. I’ve gone farther in proclaiming that the glass is always full! Positive thoughts have been proven to bring positive results.  Just ask Rismond Exantus, he was the Haitian recently pulled from the rubble of a hotel destroyed by the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Rismond had been buried alive under 20 feet of wood and concrete for 11 days. Experts agree that after 72 hours the chances of survival begins to quickly diminish, yet Rismond Exantus told The Associated Press from his hospital bed soon after the rescue. “But every night I thought about the revelation that I would survive.”

Is positive thinking and wishful thinking the same? The answer is no. Positive thinking denotes an optimistic and healthy outlook on whatever life brings your way. This is good to have. Wishful thinking, on the other hand, is the process used by many, including myself; to gently pacify our minds as we wait for “someday” to come and give us our hopes and dreams. THIS IS NOT GOOD.

Wishful thinking robs us of our goals. I know this first hand. Many times I have implored the art of wishful thinking.  Using it like a heady drug to sooth my mind while I sit and do nothing to achieve my goals in life. As long as “someday” was coming, there was no need to do anything today. The regrets I have concerning my past always contained one common denominator, the element of wishful thinking.

Many of you have goals. There are things we all want to achieve in life. Motivational speakers are famous for saying that all you have to do is think positive thoughts and your goals will be achieved. They use the words positive thinking, but many of us have been caught in the trap of actually using wishful thinking instead. The fact is, no amount of positive or wishful thinking will achieve your goals. Achievement comes from action.

Action is the antithesis of wishful thinking. The act of writing down a goal and an action plan to achieve that goal is only the first step to success. The second step you take is the most important.  That is putting your plan into action! However, most skip the second step altogether, instead they rest on their laurels of having a good plan and goal, thus hoping the universe will deliver their dreams to them. This, by the way, is nothing more than wishful thinking. Action trumps wishful thinking! Taking massive action will give you massive results, but taking no action will give you NO RESULTS. It is one thing to be a dreamer, but an entirely different thing to be a daydreamer.

It is important to have positive thoughts but that alone will not achieve your goals. Rismond Exantus knew to think positive but he also took action. He said he survived initially by diving under a desk when the rubble started to fall around him. Trapped in such a small space, he had to lie on his back the entire time and survived by drinking cola, beer and cookies. “I would eat anything I found.”

The purpose of wishful thinking is to create regrets. The purpose of taking action is to create results. Next time you are sitting there cooing over your goals, ask yourself this question. “What have I done today to get me closer to achieving my goals?” If your answer is nothing… then that’s wishful thinking.

Jeff Compton, The REAL DEAL Speaker™

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24

01 2010


by Jeff Compton
posted in The REAL DEAL
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The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

The “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John Maxwell has become a leadership classic, found on every leaders bookshelf. John Maxwell is the founder and chairman of The INJOY and a world renown author of more than 30 books, with more than 7 million copies sold. Some of his best titles include:

Many of his titles have landed on the best seller list in publications such as the New York Times, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and CBA Marketplace. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership surpassed the 1,000,000 shipped/sold mark early in 2003.

Overview

  1. The Law of the Lid – Leadership ability determines a person’s level of effectiveness. Leadership ability is always the lib on personal and organizational effectiveness. Whatever you want to accomplish is restricted by your leadership ability.
  2. The Law of Influence – The true measure of leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less. If you don’t have influence you will never lead others. To change organizations you need influence. Leadership is not based upon holding position, leadership is about your ability to influence.
  3. The Law of Process – Leadership develops daily, not in a day.Leadership is learnt over time, it’s the capability to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from their followers. Successful leaders are learners.
  4. The Law of Navigation – Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course. Leaders have a vision for their destination, they understand what it will take to get there, they know who they’ll need on the team to be successful, and they recognise the obstacles long before they appear on the horizon.
  5. The Law of E.F. Hutton – When the real leader speaks, people listen. Don’t listen to the claims of the person professing to be the leader. Instead, watch the reactions of the people around him. The proof of leadership is found in the followers. “Being in power is like being a lady – if you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.” – Margaret Thatcher
  6. The Law of Solid Ground – Trust is the foundation of leadership. To build trust, a leader must exemplify these qualities: competence, connection, and character. Character makes trust possible. And trust makes leadership possible.
  7. The Law of Respect – People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves. People don’t follow other by accident. They follow individuals whose leadership they respect. Followers are attracted to people who are better leaders than themselves.
  8. The Law of Intuition – Leaders evaluate everything with a leadership bias. Leadership depends on more than just the facts. Leaders see trends, resources and problems, and can read people. The law of intuition is based on facts plus instinct and other intangible factors. A leader has to read the situation and know instinctively what play to call. Leadership is more art than science.
  9. The Law of Magnetism – Who you are is who you attract. Leaders are always on the look out for good people. In most situations you draw people to you who possess the same qualities you do. The better leader you are, the better leaders you will attract.
  10. The Law of Connection – Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand. Effective leaders know that you first have to touch people’s hearts before you ask them for a hand. The heart comes before the hand. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. To connect with people in a group relate to them as individuals. It’s the leader’s job to initiate connection with the people.
  11. The Law of the Inner Circle – A leader’s potential is determined by those closest to him. A leader’s potential is determined by those closest to him. All great leaders have surrounded themselves with a strong inner circle.
  12. The Law of Empowerment – Only secure leaders give power to others. The people’s capacity to achieve is determined by their leader’s ability to empower. “The best executive is the one who has the sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it” – Theodore Roosevelt.
  13. The Law of Reproduction – It takes a leader to raise up a leader. More than four out of every five of all leaders that you ever meet will have emerged as leaders because of the impact made on them by established leaders who mentored them. People cannot give to others what they themselves do no possess. The potential of an organisation depends on the growth of its leadership.
  14. The Law of Buy-In – People buy into the leader, then the vision. The leader finds the dream and then the people. The people find the leader, and then the dream. People don’t first follow worthy causes. They follow worthy leaders who promote worthwhile causes.
  15. The Law of Victory – Leaders find a way for the team to win. Leaders believe that anything less than success is unacceptable. And they have no Plan B. That keeps them fighting.
  16. The Law of the Big Mo – Momentum is a leader’s best friend. You can’t steer a ship that isn’t moving forward. It takes a leader to create momentum. Followers catch it. And managers are able to continue once it has began. But creating it requires someone who can motivate others, not who needs to be motivated. Getting started is a struggle, but once you’re moving forward, you can really start to do some amazing things.
  17. The Law of Priorities – Leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment. Apply the Pareto Principle, If you focus your attention on the activities that rank in the top 20 percent in terms of importance, you will have as 80 percent return on your effort. As a leader, you should spend most of your time working in your areas of greatest strength.
  18. The Law of Sacrifice – A leader must give up to go up. Sacrifice is a constant in leadership. “When you become a leader, you lose the right to think about yourself.” – Gerald Brooks
  19. The Law of Timing – When to lead is as important as what to do and where to go. Only the right action at the right time will bring success. If a leader repeatedly shows poor judgement, even in little things, people start to think that having him as the leader is the real mistake.
  20. The Law of Explosive Growth – To add growth, lead followers – to multiply, lead leaders. The key to growth is leadership. “It is my job to build the people who are going to build the company.” – John Schnatter. To go to the highest level, you have to develop leaders of leaders.
  21. The Law of Legacy – A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession. Just as in sports a coach needs a team of good players to win, an organisation needs a team of good leaders to succeed. A legacy is created only when a person puts his organisation into the position to do great things without him.

Recommendation

What I liked most about this book is that the leadership insights are practical and can be used daily to improve our leadership ability. I feel that this book should be the required reading for all of us who are striving to become practicing leaders. I found the book to be easy to read and the examples provided were good. I strongly recommend this book be read by leaders at all levels. The book creates a great foundation from which to build your leadership knowledge and begin your personal leadership journey.

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19

08 2009


by Jeff Compton
posted in DRIV Strategies
1 Comment

Influence: How And Why People Agree To Things

  • One of the most illuminating books I have read in a long time! JC

Influence: How And Why People Agree To Things

by Robert Cialdini

Influence: How and Why People Agree To Things by Robert Cialdini teaches us the basics of how people are influenced. It breaks influence into six key factors:

  1. Reciprocation
  2. Consistency and Commitment
  3. Social Proof
  4. Authority
  5. Liking (the person who is trying to influence us)
  6. Scarcity

Each of the above points is detailed in a chapter. Academic studies and examples are given in a very engaging fashion. Some of the studies are for the birds. For example, mother turkeys, who are known to be caring parents (as far as birds go), tend to respond only to the “cheep-cheep” sound of their chicks.

Hearing the cheep-cheep, the mother turkey coddles and cares for the young turkey chick. It is a short-cut response that nature has given turkeys to know how to behave. It tends to work well in nature. But, tricky scientists recorded the cheep-cheep sound and placed the recording into a stuffed Polecat, the natural enemy of the turkey, and found that the mother turkeys adopted the stuffed polecat. Coddled it and cared for it.

That was quite amazing, as the usual response of a mother turkey to a stuffed Polecat without the cheep-cheep recording is an outright assault on the Polecat. This reflexive behavior tends to work most of the time, but sometimes is inappropriate. The mother turkey is responding in what Cialdini refers to as a “click, whir” method. Once some reactor sets off a signal (click), the mother turkey plays its own internal tape (whir) which signifies the appropriate response.

Only, sometimes, the response is not appropriate. And, some predators have learned the mimic strategy to trick their prey. Now, this may be useful if your goal is to be adopted by a turkey (or maybe its something that could protect you from a wild turkey attack!), you say, but how does this apply to me?

The answer is that people themselves have “click, whir” behavior. Because people wish to avoid the work of making decisions, they have internal tapes they run which tell them how to respond under various conditions. Most of the time our internal tapes are appropriate. But, sometimes, they are not. And some human predators have learned to exploit our “click, whir” behavior. Often, these predators come in the form of salespeople.

Cialdini discusses how to say “No” to each of these six influence factors by being aware of how influence works and reading your internal gut feeling.

This book is excellent reading for anyone who wants to learn how to influence others. Job hunters, managers, and marketers will benefit from reading this book. Although we do not suggest you try to use this knowledge in a devious way, knowing how to approach asking for a request is useful. Investors can benefit also.

For example, “social proof” states that we often look to others to determine what is correct behavior in a situation. We most look to others to deem what is correct in times of uncertainty. This can lead to “pluralistic ignorance.” Everyone is assuming that the other guy knows what he is doing and we follow. Manias and gross overvaluation of publicly-traded stocks come to mind.

In an attempt to avoid the hard work of thinking, we follow the herd off the cliff, blindly assuming where everyone else is going must be safe. As stated in Influence 95% of people are followers and only 5% of people are leaders.

Often, we are most likely to follow “experts.” This is the authority factor above. We tend to believe and follow anyone who we assume is an expert. However, following experts can also lead to problems.

Influence points out that about 10% of medication administered by hospitals may be in error. This is a serious problem and can obviously lead to death.

Why is it that hospitals have such a problem with errors in medication? Despite the training and knowledge of R.N.’s, they tend to unquestioningly follow the instructions of the doctors. Even if the instructions don’t make sense.

Cialdini tells the story of a man who complained of an earache. He had an ear infection and the doctor prescribed eardrops for him. On the prescription, the doctor wrote, “Place drops in R ear.” As the doctor was in a hurry, he abbreviated “Right” with R.

Sure enough, the trained nurse obediently followed the instructions and placed the required number of drops in the patient’s anus. Neither the patient nor the nurse questioned the instructions, as they came from an authority.

Read Cialdini’s Influence: How And Why People Agree To Things. Even if you never feel the need to be adopted by a mother turkey, maybe it will keep eardrops out of your anus, help keep you from buying things you later regret, and help you understand how influence works. We highly recommend this book.

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09

08 2009


by Jeff Compton
posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment

7 Tips for Effective Listening

7 tips for effective listening: productive listening does not occur naturally. It requires hard work and practice – Back To Basics – effective listening is a crucial skill for internal auditors

by Tom D. Lewis & Gerald Graham

I know this article is for auditors but the 7 tips can be used by anyone in business. If  you want to be successful. The you better learn how to listen.

TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT THEIR job, internal auditors must be able to write, speak, and listen effectively. Of these three skills, effective listening may be the most crucial because auditors are required to do it so often. Unfortunately, listening also may be the most difficult skill to master.

Effective listening is challenging, in part, because people often are more focused on what they’re saying than on what they’re hearing in return. According to a recent study by the Harvard Business Review, people think the voice mail they send is more important than the voice mail they receive. Generally, senders think that their message is more helpful and urgent than do the people who receive it.

Additionally, listening is difficult because people don’t work as hard at it as they should. Listening seems to occur so naturally that putting a lot of effort into it doesn’t seem necessary. However, hard work and effort is exactly what effective listening requires.

Internal auditors must listen to explanations, rationales, and defenses of financial practices and procedures. They are constantly communicating with fellow employees whose backgrounds range from accounting to finance to marketing to information systems. In addition, explanations by fellow employees of any “unusual” practices often pose a significant challenge to an internal auditor’s listening skills. Auditors can use the following techniques to improve these skills.

1. CONCENTRATE ON WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING. When listening to someone, do you often find yourself thinking about a job or task that is nearing deadline or an important family matter? In the middle of a conversation, do you sometimes realize that you haven’t heard a word the other person has said? Most individuals speak at the rate of 175 to 200 words per minute. However, research suggests that we are very capable of listening and processing words at the rate of 600 to 1,000 words per minute. An internal auditor’s job today is very fast and complex, and because the brain does not use all of its capacity when listening, an auditor’s mind may drift to thinking of further questions or explanations rather than listening to the message at hand. This unused brainpower can be a barrier to effective listening, causing the auditor to miss or misinterpret what others are saying. It is important for internal auditors to actively concentrate on what others are saying so that effective communication can occur.

2. SEND THE NONVERBAL MESSAGE THAT YOU ARE LISTENING. When someone is talking to you, do you maintain eye contact with that person? Do you show the speaker you are listening by nodding your head? Does your body language transmit the message that you are listening? Are you leaning forward and not using your hands to play with things? Most communication experts agree that nonverbal messages can be three times as powerful as verbal messages. Effective communication becomes difficult anytime you send a nonverbal message that you’re not really listening.

3. AVOID EARLY EVALUATIONS. When listening, do you often make immediate judgments about what the speaker is saying? Do you assume or guess what the speaker is going to say next? Do you sometimes discover later that you failed to interpret correctly what the speaker was telling you? Because a listener can listen at a faster rate than most speakers talk, there is a tendency to evaluate too quickly. That tendency is perhaps the greatest barrier to effective listening. It is especially important to avoid early evaluations when listening to a person with whom you disagree. When listeners begin to disagree with a sender’s message, they tend to misinterpret the remaining information and distort its intended meaning so that it is consistent with their own beliefs.

4. AVOID GETTING DEFENSIVE. Do you ever take what another person says personally when what her or she is saying is not meant to be personal? Do you ever become angry at what another person says? Careful listening does not mean that you will always agree with the other party’s point of view, but it does mean that you will try to listen to what the other person is saying without becoming overly defensive. Too much time spent explaining, elaborating, and defending your decision or position is a sure sign that you are not listening. This is because your role has changed from one of listening to a role of convincing others they are wrong. After listening to a position or suggestion with which you disagree, simply respond with something like, “I understand your point. We just disagree on this one.” Effective listeners can listen calmly to another person even when that person is offering unjust criticism.

5. PRACTICE PARAPHRASING. Paraphrasing is the art of putting into your own words what you thought you heard and saying it back to the sender. For example, a subordinate might say: “You have been unfair to rate me so low on my performance appraisal. You have rated me lower than Jim. I can do the job better than him, and I’ve been here longer.” A paraphrased response might be: “I can see that you are upset about your rating. You think it was unfair for me to rate you as I did.” Paraphrasing is a great technique for improving your listening and problem-solving skills. First, you have to listen very carefully if you are going to accurately paraphrase what you heard. Second, the paraphrasing response will clarify for the sender that his or her message was correctly received and encourage the sender to expand on what he or she is trying to communicate.

6. LISTEN (AND OBSERVE) FOR FEELINGS. When listening, do you concentrate just on the words that are being said, or do you also concentrate on the way they are being said? The way a speaker is standing, the tone of voice and inflection he or she is using, and what the speaker is doing with his or her hands are all part of the message that is being sent. A person who raises his or her voice is probably either angry or frustrated. A person looking down while speaking is probably either embarrassed or shy. Interruptions may suggest fear or lack of confidence. Persons who make eye contact and lean forward are likely exhibiting confidence. Arguments may reflect worry. Inappropriate silence may be a sign of aggression and be intended as punishment.

7. ASK QUESTIONS. Do you usually ask questions when listening to a message? Do you try to clarify what a person has said to you? Effective listeners make certain they have correctly heard the message that is being sent. Ask questions to clarify points or to obtain additional information. Open-ended questions are the best. They require the speaker to convey more information. Form your questions in a way that makes it clear you have not yet drawn any conclusions. This will assure the message sender that you are only interested in obtaining more and better information. And the more information that you as a listener have, the better you can respond to the sender’s communication.

LISTEN ACTIVELY

Not everyone has to possess the same style of listening, but internal auditors who use “active” listening will likely become much better listeners. Active listening demands that the receiver of a message put aside the belief that listening is easy and that it happens naturally and realize that effective listening is hard work. The result of active listening is more efficient and effective communication.

The Listening Quiz

Are you an effective listener? Ask a peer that you communicate with regularly and who you know will answer honestly to respond “yes” or “no” to these 10 questions. Do not answer the questions yourself. We often view ourselves as great listeners when, in fact, others know that we are not.

1. During the past two weeks, can you recall an incident where you thought I was not listening to you?

2. When you are talking to me, do you feel relaxed at least 90 percent of the time?

3. When you are talking to me, do I maintain eye contact with you most of the time?

4. Do I get defensive when you tell me things with which I disagree?

5. When talking to me, do I often ask questions to clarify what you are saying?

6. In a conversation, do I sometimes overreact to information?

7. Do I ever jump in and finish what you are saying?

8. Do I often change my opinion after talking something over with you?

9. When you are trying to communicate something to me, do I often do too much of the talking?

10. When you are talking to me, do I often play with a pen, pencil, my keys, or something else on my desk?

Use your peer’s answers to grade your listening skills. If you received nine or 10 correct answers, you are an excellent listener; seven or eight correct answers indicates a good listener; five or six correct answers means you possess average listening skills; and less than five correct answers is reflective of a poor listener.]

The answers most often given for effective listeners are: 1. no, 2. yes, 3. yes, 4. no, 5. yes, 6. no, 7. no, 8. yes, 9. no, 10. no.

TOM D. LEWIS, PHD, is an associate professor of accounting in the College of Business at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.

GERALD GRAHAM, PHD, is the Clinton Distinguished Professor of Management in the Barton School of Business at Wichita State University in Witchita, Kan.

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18

07 2009


by Jeff Compton
posted in DRIV Strategies
No Comments

Business Motivation by Nancy Wurtzel

Here’s a great article by Nancy, enjoy…

Business Motivation

Motivation. It’s a complicated subject that is studied by many and understood by few. Virtually every aspect of human life — from the mundane to the life-changing — is guided, swayed and altered by motivating factors.

For instance, what to have for dinner may be motivated by a desire to lose or gain weight. Whether or not to attend a business seminar may be motivated by the speakers, location and cost. When and where to buy new clothing may be motivated by a long list of personal preferences as well as the changing seasons and weather conditions.

Even reading this article is a motivated behavior. Do you like the style of writing? Are you curious about the subject matter? Do you have a desire to learn new information? Do you have enough time to finish reading? If the answers are no, you probably won’t continue reading!

But since you have continued, you are obviously motivated. You want to learn more about how to get and stay motivated, and how this motivation can help you become a better business owner.

THE BUSINESS OF MOTIVATION
Motivation is one of the most powerful driving forces in the workplace. It can mean the difference between tremendous success and failure.

Motivation stems from two sources. The first part of motivation is external or extrinsic (outside the person) sources. Other motivating factors come from internal forces, which are mainly your thoughts, patterns and collective experiences.

However, humans are unique, so what motivates Jack will not necessarily motivate Jill. You — and only you — will be able to determine what works.

Take the time to examine what internal and external factors are motivating you as a business owner. What can you do to enhance and refine your motivation to make yourself more productive and more fulfilled?

Here are seven keys to motivation that may prove helpful.

1. INSPIRATION
Inspiration is critical to getting and staying motivated. If you are not interested in your business, your motivation level will never be high and you won’t be able to sustain interest for very long.

On the flip side, if you are energized and excited about the work you are doing, you will have more persistence, energy and intensity.

Take an honest look at your inspiration level. Are you excited about going to work or is it an obligation? You would be surprised at the number of people who choose a business that looks good on paper, but in reality does not interest them in the least. These individuals will grow weary and uninterested pretty quickly because they have no inspiration or passion to sustain them during the difficult times they will encounter as a small business owner.

If you don’t really enjoy your work, then think how you can re-focus your small business to better match your needs. Or consider making a change entirely. That’s pretty drastic advice, but inspiration is that important.

2. SETTING GOALS
Short and long-term goal setting is vital for any business owner. If you didn’t set goals, you would be adrift with nothing to strive for and no charted course to follow.

How could you possibly be motivated if you were unsure about the direction of your company?

Take the time to put your goals in writing. A business plan may sound daunting, but it is really nothing more than goals, strategies, implementation and a budget. Write your own business plan and update it at least annually. Include “mini-goals” that can be accomplished in a matter of hours, days or weeks as well as the more ambitious “grand-goals” that may take years to complete. Refer to this plan throughout the year.

But can a business plan really help motivate you? Yes! Written goals will make you feel more professional and certainly more connected to your business. It will also free you from having to reinvent your business goals every single day.

3. NETWORKING
Another key factor in getting and staying motivated is networking with other small business owners. One person can’t move huge mountains. However, when a number of people begin working together the mountains are suddenly only small hills — simply challenges waiting to be surmounted.

In fact, the isolation of working alone is of one the most difficult parts of being an entrepreneur. Mutual support is motivating. So, make it easier on yourself by connecting with others either in your community or online. Even when businesses are not related, you will often find common ground and ways to work together.

Many successful entrepreneurs report that finding the right networking group was a turning point in the growth of the business. Working together, a networking group can help its members generate more qualified sales leads and solve problems faster and more efficiently. Sharing ideas, expertise and experience is also an invaluable aspect of networking groups. And, don’t forget about sharing costs, possibly by buying in bulk or with joint marketing projects.

Your own personal team of business owners will help re-energize you when the burdens of running your own business seem too much. With your networking team to rely on, you can accomplish more in less time and probably have more fun in the process. Certainly, you will feel less alone.

4. REWARD YOURSELF
Small business owners will always have to work hard, but all work and no play is a huge mistake. Your motivation will soon begin to fall if you never take any time away from the demands of running the business.

So, plan frequent rewards for yourself. No, it doesn’t need to be a trip to Hawaii (although this is a great idea). Your reward can be as simple as a lunch out with an old friend, a matinee with your significant other, an afternoon of shopping or a relaxing massage.

If your budget and time will allow, take a few days off for a short trip or simply schedule a vacation from work for a few days. Make it a real vacation — even if you don’t leave town — so no checking email, voice mail or the fax machine. You need to get away, unwind and renew yourself. This “down” time to regenerate will help improve your attitude and perspective. It sounds corny, but you will come back to your business with a new sense of motivation.

5. EXERCISE
While it isn’t always immediately apparent, there is a powerful connection between the mind and the body. It is vital for every small business owner to take breaks and exercise — everyday. If your body isn’t healthy, your motivation will certainly suffer.

These exercise breaks don’t have to be huge blocks of time, and you needn’t spend money joining a gym or hiring a personal trainer. Start by walking briskly for 30 minutes before, during or after work. After you have incorporated a walk each day, then try doubling the time or doing two walks each day.

Whatever works for you is best, but the important thing is to start. You will begin to feel better.

After the walking is part of your routine, add some basic light weights. Buy a tape or go online to find out how to properly use the weights so you won’t injure yourself.

You can keep the weights under your desk, and use them for just a few minutes at a time. Buy a timer the next time you are at the grocery store. Set the timer for for three minutes to start and then add a minute or two until you’re up to 10 or 15 minutes each day.

Some small business owners have a television at work and they schedule a CNN break along with their weights. This way, they are catching up with world and local news while simultaneously getting some moderate exercise.

8. ORGANIZE
Organization is critical to motivation. How can you feel good about your work, when you can’t find important papers or you are constantly late returning messages? Your business will falter and your motivation will suffer.

Some people just can’t get organized. If you are one of them, then consider bringing in someone — a business friend, family member or professional — to help you get the clutter and mess cleaned up. You will be amazed at how this one important step will help you get back on the organizational track. Don’t stop there. Now really get organized by creating business systems that will help you streamline your operations.

The real challenge will be keeping yourself on track by maintaining these systems. For many, it is a daily challenge, but if you use your organizational systems you’ll be free to think about other important issues.

7. MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKERS AND AUTHORS
As small business owners, it seems we are bombarded with motivational ideas and materials– tapes, books, CD’s, seminars, workbooks, videos and more. Why are there so many different motivational products, authors and speakers? Because people are buying these materials. Used effectively, they are effective and therefore they sell!

However, there are so many different motivational gurus that it is often difficult to see through the clutter to find someone that makes sense for you — someone who can get you “fired up” about working and improving your business.

Try talking to your mentor or networking group members to see who they might recommend. Start being aware of the motivational industry and how it might help you become more enthused and positive about your business. Do some light research of your own to find some authors and speakers that interest you.

Before you invest in motivational materials, you can probably find some inexpensive ways to obtain the materials. Check out your local library, tune into your local PBS station, buy materials with a networking friend, visit used bookstores or buy used materials online. Don’t make a huge investment, because you will probably want to sample many different viewpoints.

But do these materials really work? Yes, but only if you make the effort. Just like exercise, you have to work the muscles — in this case your mind muscles.

It is up to you to take that information and apply it to your own life and business. Really use the motivational ideas over a period of time and you will begin to see results.

KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING
Motivation is what moves us forward in our daily and business lives. Take the time to examine your motivating factors and use some of these keys to improve your focus and renew your enthusiasm. If you keep on track, the motivation momentum can’t help but carry you forward.

Nancy Wurtzel is the founder and owner of All About Baby, an online store located at www.allbaby.com. All About Baby offers more than 300 personalized and memorable baby gifts for young children. The site also features interesting and helpful child-related content. Ms. Wurtzel has over 25 years of marketing and communications experience. She consults with small businesses seeking to enter the marketplace or grow their existing e-commerce business.

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15

07 2009


by Jeff Compton
posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment

A Wonderful Life | Michael J. Fox

Here’s another great story from the web…
Article SuccessMagazine.com

A Wonderful Life
Michael J. Fox, the incurable optimist

Lisa Ocker June 29, 2009

Michael J. Fox seems at peace, even grateful for lessons learned from Parkinson’s disease. He’s inspiring millions with a new book and hit TV special. But his journey has not been easy.

Michael J. Fox’s rock bottom came in the summer of 1992. Passed out on the sofa in his Manhattan apartment, a Coors tallboy toppled onto the rug next to him, he awoke as his 3-year-old climbed on top of him, prodding him to get up. Squinting through his hangover, he could see his wife standing in front of him. He slowly raised his gaze to meet hers.

“Is this what you want? This is what you want to be?” she asked.

Fox’s rock bottom wasn’t close to the tabloid Hollywood versions that end in a broken marriage, a car wrapped around a tree, an embarrassing YouTube video or worse.

Sure, he liked to tie one on with friends, especially before he got married. And with such a quick rise to superstardom—starring in the hit TV show Family Ties just three years after dropping out of high school, followed by the blockbuster Back to the Future trilogy—he had gotten a little lost in what he later described as the Hollywood fun house.

But by Hollywood standards, Fox remained a nice guy, a regular guy who was mindful of his working-class Canadian roots, a star who signed autographs. When he married actress Tracy Pollan, he cut back on his partying. He was a family man who loved his wife and young son more than life itself.

Fox’s drinking habits changed, though, after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991. Unlike his partying bachelor days, there was no pretense of celebration and camaraderie. “Joyless and secretive, I drank to disassociate; drinking was now about isolation and self-medication,” he writes in his 2002 memoir, Lucky Man.

His final binge came after shooting for the movie For Love or Money wrapped earlier than expected one evening. Even though he and his wife had seen little of each other that summer—while he was filming the movie, Tracy was appearing on Broadway—Fox was not inclined to go home. Instead, he figured there was more time for drinking before Tracy expected him. So he and some crew members spent the rest of the night downing margaritas, vodka shots and beer.

For Fox, rock bottom was having disappointed the people he loved most— particularly Tracy.

This is what you want to be? Tracy’s words were painful enough, but Fox writes that what really frightened him were the resignation and disappointment he saw in her face.

On that day, Fox made the choice to give up drinking. It was the first step in a long and difficult road toward taking control of his life. Giving up alcohol was the first instance among many for which he would be grateful to Parkinson’s disease, he later wrote.

In his best-selling memoir, Lucky Man, and the new release, Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, both published by Hyperion, Fox chronicles his journey to the place of gratitude and joy he occupies today. He also shared his insights and explored the nature of positive thinking in an ABC special, Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, watched by 10.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Fox’s story is poignant, funny. His fame, ironically, makes him more relatable—less the big superstar than someone we really care about, someone we watched grow up as Alex Keaton on Family Ties. But his down-to-earth qualities and his flaws—not the epic Hollywood variety, but the Everyman flaws—make his story and its lessons hit home.

With wit and great insight, Fox shows how easy it is—for all of us—to neglect what’s most precious. Little by little, the Parkinson’s disease that threatened to take everything away became the “gift” that ultimately made him aware of what he stood to lose.

After giving up drinking, there were other challenges, not the least of which was his relationship with Parkinson’s disease. Despite the doctors’ diagnoses and his increasingly violent tremors, Fox was in deep denial. “Bad enough I had allowed P.D. to own me, but by my silence—cutting my wife and family off from the experience—I had made them slaves to it as well,” he writes. It would be early 1994 before he made another appointment with a neurologist and started to take ownership of his disease.

He also had to grapple with his workaholic tendencies. For as long as he could remember, he writes that he possessed a “keep-your-head-down-and-keep-moving mentality.” Even after his early successes brought financial security, he remained obsessed with work and box-office success. Although Tracy encouraged him to be choosy and to take only the roles he really wanted, he rationalized that having a family necessitated his continued work, even if that meant lengthy periods away from home.

“It is one of the great ironies of my life that only when it became virtually impossible for me to keep my body from moving would I find the peace, security and spiritual strength to stand in one place,” Fox writes. “I couldn’t be still until I could—literally—no longer keep still.”

One of the first neurosurgeons he had seen—and rejected— had predicted Fox had a good 10 years left for acting. That was in 1991. By 1996, Fox was settling into the kind of job he had long envisioned—living and working in New York on the hit TV series Spin City. The situation was nearly perfect, he says, but, still, it had its stresses, especially as his disease progressed.

On New Year’s Eve 1999, the Fox family, which by then included twin daughters Schuyler and Aquinnah, was vacationing at St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Snorkeling in the crystalline waters, they spotted a sea turtle. As it glided effortlessly, grazing on sea grasses, Fox continued to swim a respectful distance behind it. He noticed a chunk missing from a flipper and wondered what kind of ordeals the turtle had survived.

When he got out of the water, he had a revelation that he still doesn’t completely understand. He told Tracy he would retire from his hit TV series Spin City. Just like that. Good, she said, and hugged him.

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30

06 2009


by Jeff Compton
posted in Uncategorized
No Comments

What Drives You?

Here’s a great article I picked up off the web…

What Drives You to Success?
By: Harriet RubinTue Dec 18, 2007 at 11:56 PM for Fast Company

Ten reasons people are driven to succeed.

“There’s no success like failure,” wrote Bob Dylan, “and . . . failure’s no success at all.” Here are 10 of the most compelling “drivers” that account for the correlation between success and excess.

1. You need to make money – and to make meaning.

“Today’s generation of businesspeople is the first to face a double goal: profit and a meaningful life,” says Caroline Myss, a psychologist and author of the best-selling book Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing (Harmony Books, 1996). “Never before were leaders allowed to have a heart or to ask, ‘Who am I?’ Nobody is immune to this crisis of spiritual seeking. Business has always been the solid foundation of life. But now this rock-hard level of society is finally experiencing its own spiritual cataclysm.”

2. Welcome to the United States of Anxiety.

Today there are more than 3.5 million households in the United States with a net worth of $1 million or more. Between 1983 and 1992, the number of millionaire families doubled. The stock market is skyrocketing to all-time highs; the IPO market offers the promise of instant wealth. But how long will this trend continue? Will you get yours before it all comes down?

3. If you thought climbing the career ladder was tough, try climbing without one.

The end of hierarchy has left people liberated – but also confused. “Up until the 1960s,” says Myss, “the longer you were with an organization, the more respect you gained. Now experience doesn’t count. To get to the next level of success, you need to make a quantum leap, which requires a burst of energy that many people just don’t have.”

4. The “Brand Called You” has a dark side.

Brand management is a tricky proposition. Look at what happens to brands in the marketplace: They achieve prominence and success, but they also receive criticism and suffer from mismanagement. Nike goes from being brand-management darling to being a brand problem child. How would you like that to happen to the brand called you?

5. Work is (still) alienating.

In the early 1900s, factory work was said to alienate dislocated farmers from the source – and the satisfaction – of production. Work today is perhaps no less alienating. “We have no role as workers anymore,” says media consultant John B. Evans. “To be divorced from doing meaningful work, such as raising a family or participating in your community, makes you feel like an imposter.”

6. Mortality has become the new morality.

After age 30, you achieve new levels of professional success and business power. After age 30, you confront your own mortality. Feelings of high accomplishment arrive simultaneously with feelings of great loss. You control your company, you control your department, you control your territory – but ultimately, you control nothing. You confront the biggest fear in your life: the fear of your death.

7. Leadership has become dangerous to your health.

Leaders today feel trapped in a role from which they cannot escape. “People start projecting on you,” says addiction-compulsion specialist Mary Bell. “Sometimes, when you go to a dinner party, the people around you are enthralled by all that you do and say. Everybody’s seducible. Other times, you feel like you’re invisible.” Followers and leaders fall into patterns of helplessness and powerfulness – and wage a civil war through sabotage and mutual distrust.

8. Chaos – if it’s out there, it’s in here.

The world is changing so rapidly and so unpredictably that a product that’s hot one moment will be cold 10 seconds later. At the birth of the Information Age, Marshall McLuhan made a point that’s more true now than ever: If it works, it’s obsolete. Fleeting success is a prescription for insecurity.

9. Your life is one extended report card.

“At the halfway point in your life, a qualified success is subjectively not much better than a gross failure,” says Daniel Levinson, author of The Seasons in a Man’s Life (Alfred A. Knopf, 1978). Either you’ve made it big or you haven’t. You no longer fit into the category called “Shows promise.”

10. You believe that you’ve sold out.

“Whether in the Harvard establishment or at the heights of American business, people feel that they’ve embraced authority and sold out a fundamental aspect of their own soul,” says Jungian analyst Nathan Schwartz-Salant. “They feel they might have been a different person, a better person, if they had gone another route.” You feel the need to justify the choices you’ve made – so you end up wanting to destroy not who you are but who you never became.
From Issue 18 | September 1998

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27

06 2009


by Jeff Compton
posted in Uncategorized
No Comments

Gratitude and Giving Will Lead to Your Success

Here is another article that has made an impact!

Gratitude and Giving Will Lead to Your Success

By David J. Pollay

Positive Psychology News Daily, NY (David J. Pollay) – June 2, 2007, 12:01 am
Think of some of your life’s achievements.  It’s okay.  No one’s watching.  Go ahead.  What accomplishments make you proud of yourself?

Now think about how many of these life accomplishments did you achieve completely on your own?  Let me answer that question for you.  The answer is, “none.”  Our successes always come with help.

The real question is, “Can you name the people who were a part of each of your successes?”  Who are they and what did they do?  Write down their names.  Think about these people.

Now, I’ll bet you’re feeling a bit or even a burst of gratitude.  You have just reminded yourself how important others have been to you in your life.  You have not traveled alone.

Most of us feel some amount of stress when we think about what it will take to achieve our dreams.  We think, “How in the world are we going to get from here to where we hope to be?”  Luckily, the answer is, “not alone.”  Other people will help us.

So what’s the best way to achieve your life goals?  Here’s the first answer.  Look to the people who have already helped you.  Thank each one personally and privately.  Tell them why they are important to you and how they helped you succeed in the past.  Let these people know how valuable they are to you.  If you feel that you’ve thanked someone before, consider doing it again in an even more meaningful way.  Keep these people in your corner.  University of Michigan psychologist Christopher Peterson wrote in his book, A Primer in Positive Psychology, “In our experience with many dozens of gratitude letters…they ‘work’ 100% of the time in the sense that the recipient is moved, often to tears, and the sender is gratified as well.”

Gratitude researcher Robert Emmons recently reviewed the growing evidence that feelings of gratitude improve the quality of our lives.  In one study he found that people who “wrote up to five things for which they were grateful or thankful” on a weekly basis “exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week.”  Positive Psychology co-founder Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania, and his colleagues also discovered that when people took a few minutes each evening to write down “three good things” that happened to them during the day, their happiness increased and their depressive symptoms decreased.

Emmons found in another study that people who feel gratitude are more likely to help others.  Emmons wrote, “Gratitude leads not only to feeling good, but also to doing good.”

So what’s the best way to achieve your life goals?  Here’s the second answer.  Think about who else could help you.  Through a lens of gratitude, think about how you could repay them in advance for their support.  What could you do for them now?  How could you help them in some way?  Your commitment to helping them will demonstrate two things:  You care about what they care about, and you appreciate the role they could play in your life.

You will stand out as a giver, and leave the takers of the world standing in line.  Your new contacts will be grateful to you.  And we know what happens when people feel gratitude.

Gratitude and giving will lead to your success.

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15

04 2009


by Jeff Compton
posted in DRIV Strategies
1 Comment

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