An interesting study conducted by Michael Norton from Harvard Business School proposed one possible solution. His hypothesis was that money can in fact buy happiness. However the caveat to this very much surrounds what you actually do with the money. Over the course of his research, they gave $50 to a variety of different people and one group were told to buy something for themselves and the other had to be spend it on somebody else. Post this activity through a variety of questions used to assess a relative degree of happiness, an interesting finding emerged. On a consistent basis those who spent money helping people they knew or even total strangers derived a far greater sense of happiness from this versus spending it on themselves.

This has also been validated in research on lottery winners who very often through their self indulgence with their winnings lose all their friends and family and very often end up miserable, broke or worse still, in debt.

So what can we extrapolate from this that might be pertinent to the world of work and business. Money is one way we can give of ourselves but there are also many other ways such as supporting colleagues, praising others, helping out with challenging situations, volunteering your time. It is the actual process of giving that is so gratifying.

In fact there is also a positive knock on or reciprocal effect to all of this; one that builds positive relationships, teamwork, alignment and the pursuit of a common goal. So rather than think how you might achieve success, how about unconditionally giving first, realizing the happiness it gives you and then seeing where it leads you?

©2012 New England Coaching. All Rights Reserved.

So what happens when you translate this to leadership and more specifically the behaviors of leaders? In the book Good to Great Jim Collins alludes to Level 5 leaders possessing personal humility (as well as professional resolve). The Webster dictionary defines humility as “modest opinion of one’s own importance and rank”. Another way of viewing this is that it’s less about you and perhaps more about others.

History suggests that many great conflicts have been resolved by people meeting half way, somebody taking the first step and ultimately seeking compromise and doing what’s right. Despite what some might think, this is not suggesting weakness; on the contrary many would argue it to be a brave undertaken. Yes there might be some vulnerability associated with it but, as with most things in life, the end justifies the means.

Some examples of this are:

• The senior VP who felt he always had to prove himself and therefore dominated conversations much to the chagrin of his peers. Then he realized that a behavior focused on asking questions of others and really listening positively enhanced this same peer’s perception. He made the conversation more about them and meetings became far more productive. He who asks the (good) questions very often controls the conversation.
  • Old: This is what I think we should do………
  • New: What are some other ways we can address this problem?

• The Leader who directed orders all the time in terms of what she wanted using language such as I want, I need and I expect. The message was been delivered very clearly but received very poorly because of fear. Then she realized the power of “we” and of questioning the ability or likelihood of a desired outcome.
  • Old: I want that report of my desk by Friday
  • New: When will you have your report ready to submit (Note: very often you will get an answer that is better than what you might have demanded)

This not suggesting that the “Old” way is bad, but if this is your dominant means of behaving, then there might a problem. Positive behavior engages people, builds involvement and ownership, inspires and ultimately gets Positive Results.

©2012 New England Coaching. All Rights Reserved.

Clearly when a new person is hired some fundamentals need to be put in place to attain an acceptable standard quickly. Let’s call this standard “functional” and once this is achieved the following basics are typically in place:

• Skills, experience and knowledge are the main contributors
• Directive Leadership is more prevalent
• Rewards more likely impact motivation
• Commitment is driven primarily from compliance
• Perfecting the process is the focus
• Performance is typically to minimum expectations.

However for those organizations who strive to be the most successful, they are in pursuit of best in class and let’s call this “optimal”. When one moves through “functional” to “optimal” then the following transformation takes place:

• Behaviors and relationships become main drivers through expanded emotional capacity
• Leadership is driven by a coach approach where teaching and supporting are the norm
• Motivation is more about recognition for what is being achieved
• Commitment is driven by a sense of engagement and belonging
• The focus reverses and people become the drivers of the process
• Consequently performance exceeds expectations because of all of the above.

This can be summarized as follows:

However, operating from an “optimal” level requires that you initially go through many of the “functional” elements first. The appropriate combination of these two provides an initial base and from this comes the professional growth that can support sustainable success.

©2012 New England Coaching. All Rights Reserved.

However the bulk of their training is more skills based. What are the tasks associated with the work they have been assigned to? What are the expectations associated with that? Whether this is classroom based or on the job they become familiar with the tasks because that is what will drive their performance. This is correct, but only up to a point. This will allow them to achieve a level of performance that is described as functional. This could be classified as minimum expectations, staying below the radar, executed safely and nobody is complaining. Pay me a fair wage and I’ll do my job.

However for many progressive organizations this is not enough.In fact they would argue that the above situation over time breeds complacency, shortcuts, unsafe practices, etc and ultimately a deterioration in performance. Rather they are looking to ways of “pushing the envelope” and continuously striving to be better, more innovative, more competitive and demonstrate greater financial performance. In order to achieve this, employees need to be performing at an optimal level where they willing and want to go the extra mile.

At this level people are much more collaborative, innovative, continuous improvement is the norm and ironically people are much happier. The main characteristic of this type of environment is that the workforce is engaged. In fact, relative to industry benchmarks, if 60% of the workforce is engaged, it is enough to create a positive impact on the rest of the organization and drive this type of performance. So it’s not that everybody has to be fully engaged; rather a critical mass can have an overriding influence to positively impact the entire organization. This is realistic and achievable.

Engagement is something that has to be seen, felt and experienced over time. It is a behavior rather than a skill. It reflects the atmosphere, the way people interact and how people are motivated beyond pay and benefits. When employees “feel good” about their organization, they take the initiative, they praise their company, they persist when things get tough and ultimately they perform over and above what is expected of them.

©2012 New England Coaching. All Rights Reserved.

Business Lesson 1: Work at something you are good at and love doing (why not?).

There was one point in the tournament where the eventual runner up Louis Oosthuizen putt to within, what was described as, “a dimble from the hole”. Each golf ball has approx 400 dimples per ball and when you consider the size of a ball it will give you some appreciation for how near the ball was to dropping. He still had to putt it into the hole and it counted for one stroke. In contrast Bubba Watson who went on to win, hits one of the longest drives on the PGA tour averaging 313 yards per drive and they also count for one stroke. Watson had the elation of success and Oosthuizen had to settle for second place and bitter disappointment; if only for that dimple.

Business Lesson 2: Celebrate your wins; success and failure is a very fine line and move on quickly from disappointments.

Drives and putts also need to be considered, not in isolation, but in the context of a round. The average social golfer hits 14 drives per round but approx 50 putts. Putting seems a lot easier than driving but it is where the most errors occur. Yet if you go to your local driving range you will see everybody whacking drives until their arms fall off. Ask a professional and they consistently say work on the short game (chipping and putting).

Business Lesson 3: Focus on what will have the greatest immediate impact on your business (the low hanging fruit).

Golf is hugely competitive but so too is the game of business. Irrespective of what you do there are other people out there doing the exact same, so why will you succeed over them? There’s a very fine line between success and failure and golf certainly testifies to that at every tournament where 80 – 100 players tee off at the beginning and literally anyone of them is capable of winning. Your business is no different.

©2012 New England Coaching. All Rights Reserved.

Some of the characteristics that emanate from this sense of community are commitment, trust, motivation, teamwork, being valued and the list goes on. This sounds very familiar with the aspirations of many workplace organizations but to describe them as communities and refer to it as love and belonging might seem a strange vernacular.

One of the fundamental differences between the types of communities mentioned initially and the workplace is that in the latter people are financially “compensated”. The word compensation is described in the Webster Dictionary as “something given or received as an equivalent for services, debt, loss, injury”. So implicit in this is that you are sacrificing something, perhaps your time, skills, talent, etc in exchange for money or some tangible reward. But this doesn’t build community in the workplace; it’s just the price of entry.

So here comes the rub. Going back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, compensation is part of the basic fundamental physiological need; it’s what allows us to survive: it helps to provide shelter as well as feed and cloth our families. However, much more can be achieved by also addressing the next level need – creating a highly engaged environment aka, a community. That’s what Zappos and Google do; they have transformed their organizations into their own unique communities where employees feel a sense of love and belonging, even though these words are perhaps not used. As a result turnover is low, productivity is high, innovation is outstanding, customer service is king and profits continue to soar.

©2012 New England Coaching. All Rights Reserved.

Simon Sinek in his Ted Talk in 2010 challenged people that when positioning your product or service don’t lead with what you do but rather WHY you do it. So let’s extend this even further and challenge us as to another variation of the 5 Whys as it might pertain to a business. The following are the five critical “why” related questions, the answer to which should help uncover your true business proposition.

1. Why do you do it?

People are drawn to what the Leader’s underlying motive is and whether there is absolute belief in what you offer. According to Sinek this is at the core.

2. Why should I choose you?

Customers buy on emotion and justify based on fact. So as much as we espouse the features and benefits of what you sell, what is the true emotional carrot that influences customers to buy from you?

3. Why do people work for you?

Is your Staff engaged and happy in what they do? The benefits in terms of efficiency, turnover, innovation, etc, are huge. Remember sustainable success is a function of happiness.

4. Why are you better?

What is the one characteristic about your business that sets you apart from Competitors? Is it a unique technology, marketing strategy, charismatic leader or something else? What is your key differentiator?

5. Why would I invest in you?

Shareholders would be very interested in the answer to the first 4 Whys. What is it about your product, customer base, team or something else that would inspire somebody take the risk and invest in your venture?

Try it out – the honest answers you come up with will either be confirming, or perhaps a sign of an area that needs more work.

©2012 New England Coaching. All Rights Reserved.

When we think about questioning in the context of business or leadership there is often much skepticism as to what’s really going on. There are also many different ways that questions can be asked that feeds this skepticism. Let’s consider a few different ways leadership abilities can be enhanced by the simple yet very effective use of appropriate questioning. There are three different levels.

Level 1 – Closed Ended

This is the question that does not solicit much discussion and often can be met with some defensiveness due to its sometimes judgmental interpretation. It is typically a yes / no answer, which although sometimes perhaps necessary, can be limiting in terms of information and understanding.

Example: Will you meet the month end deadline?

Level 2 – Open Ended

This is much more effective than Level 1, engages the person, gets them talking and with appropriate listening can very effectively help people move to where they need to go. It also provides context for an answer, helps create a better understanding of what the challenges are. However it has a tendency to be problem focused.

Example: How are you coming along for the month end deadline?

Level 3 – Empowering

These are questions that are asked in an open ended fashion but are set in the context of helping the individual evaluate and identify the opportunities, be motivating and focused on the solution. This is the optimum level where the focus is on supporting and enabling the person being questioned to achieve a desired outcome.

Example: What are your priorities for ensuring you meet the month end deadline?

From a leadership perspective, many forget that the person asking the empowering questions actually controls the conversation. This is a somewhat ironic by-product of their serving a greater need (helping the one being questioned). In fact very often in groups or teams they establish credibility because their questions benefit everybody present and that is their sincere motivation.

©2012 New England Coaching. All Rights Reserved.

1. Product idea and development

2. Financing – personal, friends, bank, angels or VC

3. Exit – sale or replacement by competent CEO

This is quite normal perhaps for a high tech start up but there is much more to your typical entrepreneurial endeavor. The first two points are valid but thereafter it can take on many variations with the “Exit” obviously being just one. What appears to be missing is Quality of Life. Many people also start new enterprises to create a career, to build some wealth over a period of time, to create a legacy for their family and very often to be in control. Some would argue that it is all about being the King (in control) or Rich or, is there more to it?

Where does happiness fit into all this? Many would argue that the “Pursuit of Happiness” is a function of success; when I make enough money or land that great job, then I will be happy. But it never quite works out like that. According to Harvard psychologist, Sean Achor he challenges this traditional paradigm and claims that success is actually a function of happiness. Remember only 10% of entrepreneurial endeavors actually succeed? Perhaps if more people sought happiness first – doing what they love, staying in control equity wise, building their own team, being in it for the long haul then maybe this disturbing statistic might change for the better. But undoubtedly the debate will linger as to which is the cart and which is the horse.

So if you are an entrepreneur, here are some questions for you:

1. Why are you doing it?

2. Do you want to be Rich or King?

3. Are you Happy?

The answers to these questions might begin to provide some interesting insights and allow you to figure out what true entrepreneurship is all about.

©2012 New England Coaching. All Rights Reserved.

Knowledge

This is the foundational piece that all must have in terms of product presentation, value proposition articulation, coaching skills and confident communications. For any sales person these are the foundational skills that you must have. This KNOWLEDGE provides information to prospective clients and establishes credibility, but it’s not the only reason people will buy from you.

Personality

Every one of us is shaped by our unique characteristics, mannerisms and traits that define our personality. Knowing and understanding what these are help align strengths and particular styles. In a sales situation, this might help distinguish whether somebody is a hunter or farmer, better at selling commodity versus technical, or more suited to a particular product line within their organization. Helping sales professionals, through understanding their PERSONALITY, align with where, what and how they sell sets them up for success.

Emotional Intelligence

As part of any selling (or buying) process, emotions play a very significant role. These can manifest either knowingly or unknowingly and can make or break a deal. You might have the best product at the lowest price but if any negative perceptions abound this can kill the deal. Perceptions are formed on the basis of observed behaviors and these behaviors are triggered by emotions. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE helps sales professionals to be highly aware of both themselves and their potential clients in order to ensure a positive perception. This in turn feeds the generally accepted fact that we justify logically but decisions are largely influenced by emotions.

©2012 New England Coaching. All Rights Reserved.