Posts Tagged ‘Corporate Leadership training’

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Three Lessons of Amazing Strength from Jonathan Antoine & Charlotte

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

I just watched a video that teaches you three powerful lessons and I want to share that gift with you.

If you haven’t had a chance go to YouTube and click on the video for Johnathan Antoine Audition-Britain’s Got Talent 2012.

I have included the link for you here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt3Utn4mjeg

What you will see are three amazing lessons all imparted in just under eight minutes.

1. Don’t judge; keep yourself open to the amazing things in each of us.  As Charlotte and Johnathan stand on stage you can’t help but notice his size, and more androgyneous look.  Charlotte on the other hand is poised, charming in her dialogue and appears to be the “gift.”  But the real gift comes when Johnathan opens his mouth to sing.  I swear it was Pavarotti on stage.

2. Don’t be afraid to mix things up. Charlotte sings more contemporary while Johnathan is opera and the mix of them is something sweet, poignant and goes straight to your hear.

3. Stay loyal to who brought you to the dance. Inevitably Simon always opens his mouth and typically some cruel gem drops out of it.  In this episode he advises Johnathan to drop Charlotte and go on as his own.  Now remember, Johnathan’s answer can determine whether the show allows the group to continue or not.  Johnathan says, “well we came as a duo and we are staying as a duo.”

I think all three of these lessons are ones we need to continually remind ourselves of on a daily basis.  Always look for the gift inside and you will be continually amazed at the power that is there.

Learn more about the Outcome Focus® Leadership Development Training by contacting Paul Cummings at 952-921-9421

 

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Posted in Executive Presentation Skills, Leadership Development Solutions, Leadership Development Training, Leadership Presentation, Presentation Skills, Presentation Skills Seminars, Presentation Skills Training | 1 Comment »

Busting Myths: What You Can Learn From MythBusters to Be More Strategic

Monday, April 9th, 2012

We sat with our eyes glued to the TV as we watched the MythBusters debunk how the shark in the movie Jaws was killed at the end of the movie.  They came to the conclusion that the gun would have never penetrated the canister and killed the shark. Oh, but it looked so good in the movie!

MythBusters has grown in popularity as the continue to find new ways to test “theories,” “urban legends” or just funny moments like could you really blow up multiple golf holes like in the movie Caddy Shack?  They also do historical reviews such as their one on taking Da Vinci’s blueprints and using only materials and tools from that time, creating the object and testing if it would have worked or not.

MythBusters works on several levels because of these factors:

1. Your brain is naturally defensive.  It is why we thrive on negative news more than positive news.  We are constantly thrilled to see if something can be “debunked.”

2. Plays with curiosity.  They take things that are theories and establishes them as fact or fiction.  Haven’t you ever wondered if an elevator was falling and you jumped in the air right before it crashed would you be okay? (The answer is no. You would be a flattened pancake).  What about all those Hollywood stunts- would falling off a building and landing on an awning save you?

3. Has fun.  The people on the show have fun while they do these wacky experiments.  This fun plays through in their banter and dialogue.

So how can you use MythBusters to be more strategic when you speak?

1. First and foremost just watching the show will give you some fun new openings to use when you speak.

2. As you watch an episode decided ahead of time whether you think the myth will be true and false and WRITE DOWN why you think that.

3.  Once the results come in look for patterns in your thinking that can be flaws.  Did you buy in to something being possible because you forgot to look at what was probable?  Did you miss some critical factor and if so, which one did you discount?  This will start to help you to quiet your mind so you listen better and so you weigh information to know what to throw out and what to pay attention to.

4. Look at how much skepticism keeps you from “hearing or seeing” all the information.  Skepticism can be healthy but too much can kill your ability to listen and think without judgement.

Take Action:  Watch MythBusters this week and see if you can utilize their episode in your next meeting or presentation.

For example, imagine you are presenting a new product your company is launching that is unproven in the market.  You could say, “500 years ago Leonardo Da Vinci created an underwater breathing apparatus.  It was designed way before anyone ever created an actual underwater breathing apparatus.  So MythBusters took his diagram and tested it to see if, using the materials from that time, would the breathing apparatus work?  It did!  So why wasn’t it created before?  Because it was so far out there at the time no one believed it could work.  Today we are about to launch our new product and become the next Da Vinci of creating something never done before.”

Learn more about the Outcome Focus® Leadership Development Training by contacting Paul Cummings at 952-921-9421

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Posted in Executive Presentation Skills, Leadership Development Solutions, Leadership Development Training, Negotiation Skills Training, Presentation Skills, Presentation Skills Seminars, Presentation Skills Training, Sales Training Programs | No Comments »

Presentation Skills: How To Get Timing of a Talk Right

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

If you want people to act on what you say, an important element is knowing WHEN to say your piece and when to hold your peace.

I have seen many conversations fail, not because the words weren’t right but because the timing was so poor that the words couldn’t even be heard.

So here are some guidelines to help you facilitate change by managing the receptivity factor:

1. Approach at a time when emotions aren’t high.  Your natural tendency will be to approach the other person while it is still “fresh” on your mind.  This leads you to dump on the other person while they are still in a fragile stage because they have just completed the tasks.  Their brain will immediately try to defend and see you as the obstacle.

2. Pick a quiet peaceful time generally about 24 hours AFTER the event.

3. Time it to coincide with their own goals.  So instead of pointing out “you lost your audience yesterday when you asked them to…” you tie it to their own goals- “as a valuable leader people look to you to direct them on context, therefore, yesterday when you asked them to… without setting context you cause them to feel lost.  This lost feeling will cause them to pull away from you.”  Notice that I have aligned with the person’s goal of being a valuable leader.  This moves it from a “mistake” to being an “opportunity” for improvement.  Small difference but huge to a person’s brain.

4. Give them digestive time.  People need time to take in what you say and process it.  So waiting 24 hours and then telling the person right before they head in to a big meeting is counterproductive as their brain will be angry that they have to stuff what you just told them in order to move to their next meeting.  So make sure there is adequate time to “hear” the information, digest it and then process it.

If you follow these four you should be able to have robust conversations.  I also find that the 24 hour rule of waiting to approach the person allows ME time to digest and see if MY perspective is right.  Nine times out of 10 I find that I am reacting to something and blowing it out of proportion so this allows me to pull the perspective in so I gain a wider viewpoint.

Register to watch the Strategic Presentation Video Series, it’s free…

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Strategic Presentation Skills: How to Appear Wise

Monday, March 26th, 2012

In the Descendents, George Clooney’s character, when dialoguing about how much money he wanted his kids to have, he said ” I want them to have enough to do something but not enough to do nothing.”  

That is one of those lines that stops you because it is insightful, profound and easy to wrap your brain around.  When you are able to speak in a way that you get people to stop and THINK that is when you become seen by others as being wise.

It is little twists that can make a big difference in how someone sees and responds to what you are saying.  I find I am constantly jotting down quotes from movies because they spark thought.  I think use these quotes, giving the correct attribution, when I speak.

Here are some other favorites of mine:

“You must think like a man of action and act like a man of thought.” from the movie, the International.

“We had one of those good solid man moments where everything gets said but nobody’s talking.”  from the TV Series, Cougartown

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”  Stephen Covey

You may have noticed something in the above quotes- they play off of the same word or phrase but flip it around to give it a different meaning.  There is a power in the duality that comes out as words flip spots to change meanings or as in the International movie quote, they are broken in to smaller parts to align in a new way.  In the case of the Cougartown quote it speaks volumes about the difference between men and women by defining a man moment as one where the talking happens without speaking.

John Maxwell is really good at creating pithy phrases that play around in your head.  I recommend you get his books and study how he can change the way you see something by simply changing the order of the words.

Now I am not saying this comes easy.  It takes practice and it starts with raising your awareness of words and phrases around you.  Listen with, not only your ears, but with your heart.  What hits you and sticks?  Why does it stick?

As Einstein said,  ”Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.”  So keep open to seeing things in a new way and playing with words and phrases to see how they feel to you.

So here is the kicker- because you are working your brain and getting it so see things in a new way, you actually do become wiser.  You become more aware of your surroundings, more insightful as a listener, and more careful with your speech.

Lastly, remember that it takes time.  Einstein wrote a lengthy letter to his cousin and at the end he wrote “I am sorry this is so long. If I had more time I could have made it brief.”

Register to watch the Strategic Presentation Video Series, it’s free…

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Negotiation Skills: How to Get A Great Outcome When Negotiating

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

John Hopkins Carey Business School in Baltimore just did a study that showed that people with a trusting nature tend to come out with the best outcomes when negotiating.

Why?

Because their trusting nature leads them to think and assume the best of others.  Thus their body language, word choices and ways of thinking focus on the opportunities rather than on counterproductive behaviors that have both sides doing a protective dance rather than a collaborative dance.

I point this out because how you THINK is imperative to how you ACT.  The one superceeds the other.  Outcome Thinking is all about how to change the way you think so that you see opportunities where others see barriers and your energy is always on making things happen.

Next time you go into a negotiation start with the assumption that the other party wants a fair and equitable solution.  Then watch how your brain shifts to thinking about how to make that happen rather than focusing on how to STOP them from stripping power from you.  Turn your negotiations around so they are building blocks, not stumbling blocks.

Learn to eliminate 70% of what you negotiate today.

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Posted in Corporate Leadership training, Executive Presentation Skills, Leadership Development Training, Negotiation Skills Training, Presentation Skills, Presentation Skills Seminars, Presentation Skills Training, Sales Training Programs, Strategic Presentation Skills | No Comments »

Leadership Development: How To Make Your Clients Crave YOU

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

I have an app on my iPad that I absolutely love.

Notesplus makes my life so easy because I can flip from writing to typing to drawing all within the same page.  I can convert my writing over to typing just by circling it and clicking on “convert to text”. I opens with one click and flips between the web and my “notebooks” I create.  I can PDF my notes to clients from meetings immediately.

I crave this app because it makes my life easier.  It is easy to use and ready when I need it.

So how valuable are you for your clients?  Do you make their life easier or do you have complications once they start working with you?

Here are some simple things you can do to make sure your clients find you invaluable:

1. Focus on how you can make things easier for them.  Ask them what you can do to become a 15 on a scale of 1-10.  This will get them talking about the little things they would like that would get you big results with them.

2. Make it easy.  Make sure you simplify your processes so they are intuitive for the client to use, not for your team to use.  So often I see complicated procedures put in to place because a company stops focusing on the customer and instead focuses on what would be best internally.

3. Under promise and over deliver.  People don’t want to prompt you for things once they have bought. So let them know what is happening so they feel good about their purchase with you.  Matter-0f-fact it is best to touch base with your customer in some way within 24 hours of them making their decision to purchase as that is when their self doubt starts to creep in and they feel buyers remorse.

4. Believe head, heart and soul that you are there, not to sell product, but to make your client’s live easier.  That feeling and energy will come in to the room with you and they will sincerely feel you are more invested in them then you are in your solution.

So Take Action and go out and start a craving for you today!

Register to watch the Strategic Presentation Video Series, it’s free…

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Posted in Executive Presentation Skills, Leadership Development Training, Negotiation Skills Training, Presentation Skills, Presentation Skills Seminars, Presentation Skills Training, Sales Training Programs, Strategic Presentation Skills | No Comments »

Leadership Development: How to Gain Time

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

Leadership Development

As a leader one of the hardest things is to find enough time in the day. I find most of the executives we work with complain about how to grow their teams so they can be less involved.  On average leaders will tell us they spend less that 15% of their time in strategic creativity.  Now that is scary.

So what can you do to gain time as a leader?

1. First look at how well you are with developing your leaders.  The more you have them owning and leading projects the more horsepower you will have on the team.  In order to do this you need to make sure you clearly and succinctly communicate the WHY and WHAT of a project and allow them to manage the HOW.

2. Schedule two hour blocks of time a day for strategic work. This one thing alone get you out of crisis mode.  I find so many leaders are going from meeting to meeting that they rarely get time to prioritize, plan and think strategically about upcoming projects.  This then leads them to dealing with things as they pop up.  Not fun for you and definitely not fun for your team.  If you don’t think you can do two hours a day start with two days a week with two hours on each day blocked off.  Within short order you will be at five days a week.

3. Teach thinking not doing.  When your direct reports come to you with a problem your brain’s first reaction is to naturally find a solution. Curb your desire to do that and instead teach them a process for thinking through the problem that they can duplicate over and over.  In Outcome Leadership we spend a lot of time on this because the key to scalability is creating systems.  Matter-of-fact, Les McKeown in his book Predictable Success says that one of the big predictors of success is an organizations ability to have a clear decision making process.

So now that you have extra time, make sure you use it to think forward rather than fall back on old habits.  As your team grows so will your ability to influence great change in your company.

Learn more about the Outcome Focus® Leadership Development Training by contacting Paul Cummings at 952-921-9421

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Posted in Executive Presentation Skills, Leadership Development Training, Negotiation Skills Training, Presentation Skills, Presentation Skills Seminars, Presentation Skills Training, Sales Training seminars, Strategic Presentation Skills | 1 Comment »

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