Archive for July, 2010

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Think it Through: Light Riddle

Friday, July 30th, 2010
Think it Through

Anne Warfield, CEO

So I must admit that yesterday’s riddle was a harder one to solve.  Why? Because the brain likes to block out things it finds to be painful, negative or depressing. 

The answer to yesterday’s riddle is… a coffin. 

To get to the answer you had to let your brain free associate and dive into topics that may seem negative such as death.  I know, for me, my brain resisted the answer because I like to look at the good more than the bad.  It tells me that there is a blocker there for me in my thinking that will inhibit ideas unless I learn to reframe it for myself.

So let’s try another one:

I can not exist without light, but when light lands on me, I take flight. What am I?

This one should be easier for you!  By the way, take these and use them with your team right before you go into a brainstorming session.  You will open their brains up to making new connections and break out of your corporation and industry mind traps!

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Posted in Corporate Sales Training, Leadership Development, Presentation Skills | 8 Comments »

How to Increase Your Thinking Power By Managing Your Emotions

Friday, July 30th, 2010

The first part of our brain to respond to a situation is our emotional center.  Think of it like a 4 year old in control of your response.  Now this emotional part of your brain is extremely important especially when it is regulated so it gives you intelligent responses rather than “me-oriented” responses.

So how do you start to train your brain to be better at decisions?

1. Accept responsibility for your emotions and what has upset you. This means you first look at what YOU can do to change the situation rather than what the other person has to do. Once you begin to manage your emotions you will begin to manage all areas of your life.

Brian Tracey said it best when he said, “Why you get upset, that’s when you must accept responsibility. The starting point for controlling your life is controlling your emotions.”

2. Buy think time.  The easiest way to do this at first is to take 5 deep breaths (all the way to your toes) and exhale each one so you slow your heartbeat and chemical reaction down.

When you are first trying to manage your emotions you need to buy think time so you can step back from your emotions.  In 5 minutes of reacting emotional to a situation will actually flood your body chemically and stay with you for over 8 hours!  So the better you get at managing it upfront so you don’t even react with strong emotions, the better you will become at Critical Thinking.

3. Write down what you reacted to and why.  Spend your time unwinding the “why” as that is the part you can start to control.

TAKE ACTION: In this next week try to see how you can stop and change your emotional responses to events that happen.

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Posted in Presentation Skills Solutions | 4 Comments »

Think it Through: Stretching Your Memory Box

Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Think it Through

Anne Warfield, CEO

The following riddles are designed to help you stretch your Memory box and develop better Ccritical Thinking.  The best part is they are fun!

What you want to do is learn to think THROUGH the problem rather than just think about it.  Email us with your answers and when/how they came to you.  Tomorrow we will post the correct answer.

What is the Object if the person who makes it doesn’t want it, the person who buys it doesn’t need it, and the person who’s in it doesn’t know he’s in it?

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Posted in Presentation Skills Solutions | 15 Comments »

Are You Missing Shots at Success? Learn Magic Johnson’s Secret

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

When Magic Johnson was little his favorite thing was to hit the court and play one-on-one basketball with his Dad.  You can imagine the sweet game of playing with your Dad and hearing, “Good shot” or “Wow, you really got by me with that one” as his Dad encouraged him and complimented.

Well, think again.  Magic said his Dad played tough and NOT ALWAYS FAIR! Can you imagine that?  Aren’t we suppose to let our children win?

Remember what I said about the brain- you learn best from mistakes and Earvin (Magic’s Dad) was going to make sure his son learned how to continually improve.  In Magic’s words, “But that was the point (in not playing fair). Dad was teaching me that I wouldn’t always get the calls, that I had to play above the contact. He taught me to win AGAINST ALL ODDS, and NEVER TO QUIT.”

Now those are lessons worth learning.  What lessons are you teaching your kids?  your employees?  Do you push them to reach their highest levels or do you let them get by performing at a lower standard?

By the way, Magic Johnson is one of the few successful sports figures to make it in the business world.  His outside businesses produce over $700 million in revenue a year.  That’s some lessons absorbed and acted on!

My motto is “Fail early and fail often so you learn how to rebound, renew and re-energize yourself.”

TAKE ACTION: Look at what lessons you are teaching that are hurting you and your team.  Make a decision today to reverse just one and see the impact it has!

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Posted in Corporate Leadership training, Presentation Skills Solutions | 29 Comments »

Think it Through: Answer to “E” Riddle

Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Think it Through

Anne Warfield, CEO

It was fun to see what people emailed us with answers to the riddle.  Many of you guessed the word “eye” or “ewe.  And then there were those of you who said, “It just came to me when I was..”  Usually you listed something like jogging, showering or driving.  It was usually after you let it go and then the answer came to you.

The riddle was, “What starts with e, ends with e and usually contains one letter?”

The answer is… Envelope. Once you let your brain stop thinking ABOUT it being an alphabet letter you were suddenly able to drop more things in to your memory box and free associate until your brain said, “Wait, a letter can be something other than an alphabet letter.”

Use Free Association to gain the most access to your unconscious brain.  Watch later today for another riddle to help you improve your Working Memory and Critical Thinking.  Do these daily and you will find your brain improvement in the ability to solve complex problems increase at a rapid rate.

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Posted in Presentation Skills Solutions | 5 Comments »

Think it Through, Not Just About

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
Think it Through

Anne Warfield, CEO

Most of us spend hours thinking about a problem so we get stuck on the details as we see them.  This means assumptions we make block us from coming to the real solution.

I want to invite you instead to start thinking THROUGH problems rather than just thinking ABOUT them.  To help you do that, I am going to leave you with a riddle.  Tomorrow I will give you the answer but see how long it takes for the answer to POP into your head when you least expect it.  Tell me when it came to you, how it came to you and tomorrow I will share why that happened.

Here is the riddle:

What starts with e, ends with e, and usually contains one letter?

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Posted in Corporate Leadership training, Corporate Sales Training, Presentation Skills | 3 Comments »

How to be Ever Present, Ever Ready – Leadership Development & Tips

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

We all like to be part of an inclusive and exclusive club. We like to get deals.  We like to be remembered.

I am continually amazed how clients answer this questions when we pose it to them, “How are you keeping in touch with your clients?”  Most do the “deal” and then they forget about the client until it is time for contract renewal.  If you are the customer, does that make you feel special? Or do you feel like a coin machine and they want more money from you?

Consider starting a special grouping for clients.  We mail a gift, article or some “touch” piece every 6-8 weeks to our clients.  These are NEVER solicitations for business or to try to sell them new products or services.

The sole purpose of these mailings is to let our clients know that we care about them, remember them and want to continue to add support to their business whether they are actively doing business with us right now or not.  We send out things that will be relevant to them, not us.  For example, we sent out the book Chasing Daylight to all the executives because it was a good reminder of the legacy you are leaving.  We knew how many were under great stress with the economy and how easy it is to lose sight of the life legacy you are trying to leave.  So it reminded them to take a breath, relax and put things in perspective. 

The funny thing is that in you remembering them, they remember you.  They call to just chat, to share what is happening with their team and often to suggest a way we can work together again.

So don’t forget your customers.  They aren’t a name on a contract but rather a person. Remember and honor that person at all times and the old saying, “What goes around, comes around” will come true for you!

TAKE ACTION:  Start your own client touch list and send out gifts to them.  Make sure they are relevant to the client and in no way, shape or form do they ask them to do business with you.  The purpose of this is just to let them know you remember them and that you are there to add value to them.

Corporate Leadership Development & Tips

Corporate Leadership Development & Tips

Develop Your Leaders for a Collaborative, Innovative & Accountable Culture! 

To learn more go to  http://www.impressionmanagement.com/solutions/develop-your-leaders 

or call IMP Today! Phone 952-921-9421; Toll Free 888-IMP-9421.or call IMP today!

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Posted in Corporate Leadership training | 5 Comments »

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