When you consider words like power, selling, advocating and negotiating, they all really speak about one’s ability to influence.  The Webster Dictionary defines influence as “the capacity of persons or things to produce affects on others by intangible or indirect means”.  The interesting and somewhat surprising aspect of this definition is the mention of “intangible or indirect means” for achieving a result.  It almost implies that there is something subtle or covert going on.

In truth, what this essentially is pointing to is the fact that most of us are not moved to do things Read more »

Dan Pink in his latest uniquely literary style, “To Sell Is Human” challenges us to accept the fact that although you may not be in “Sales”, we are in fact selling most of the time. The Webster dictionary defines selling as “to give up to another for something of value”. Implicit in this definition is the idea that some form of mutual exchange is actually taking place. We normally consider this relative to a product or service in exchange for money Read more »

With so many non profit organizations vying for limited financial resources, what separates all of these very worthy causes into those who flourish and those who flounder? In addition, with so many volunteers being involved, what are the fundamental requirements to ensuring these organizations sustain and succeed?  There are four.

Within a volunteer body, if there is not a strong leadership presence the whole thing falls apart rapidly. However the style and approach is critically important. The best analogy is a conductor of an orchestra. Alone, there is no music but with appropriate direction towards the Read more »

When something goes wrong, human nature is such that we immediately ask, “Who is to blame?” Whether it is political, legal, at home or at work the natural tendency is to look at the people component and attribute responsibility.

In his book The New Agreements in the Workplace, David Dibble builds on the original Four Agreements by his mentor Don Miguel Ruiz. Dibble speaks about “Shifting your Systems” and by this he is alluding to the fact that we should first look at our processes before attributing blame on people because, more often than not, it plays a much Read more »

David Rock of the NeuroLeadership Institute appeared recently on CNN  to help better understand why various groups either get along while others don’t. The interview topic was prompted by how the working of the brain can influence the differences between Congress and the Presidential Office and more specifically how it relates to the discussions over the ‘fiscal cliff”.

Research by Rock and others in this field has shown that there is a very natural logic behind this type of bipartisan behavior that goes way beyond any political or moral ideology. Since the beginning of time we have functioned Read more »

In the book Talk Inc. : How Trusted Leaders Use Conversation to Power Their Organization it was interesting to note how the authors essentially synthesized this subject down to four keys attributes or requirements namely, intimacy, interactivity, inclusion and intentionality.

These don’t quite sound like the vernacular of leadership but when you consider in within the context of relationship it makes perfect sense. The reality is that business is simply a series of relationships that fuels the mission of the organization. Whether shareholders, leadership, employees, Read more »

When somebody is promoted, the merits of this decision are typically results based and presented as a reward for superior performance. In other words their future responsibility is predicated on past successes. This sounds logical but in reality it very often creates a major disconnect that can leave organizations reeling and, inevitably, regretting their decision.

The best way to illustrate this is the classic example of what happens to successful, high achieving salespeople. Though they may operate as part of a team they very Read more »

Many organizations are embracing the skills and tools of coaching with a view to creating a ‘Coaching” culture. Intuitively and practically, the benefits seem obvious. But what does this really mean and how do you even begin to make it become a reality? Coaching typically show up in 4 different ways.

For senior personnel it makes sense, for reasons of confidentiality and objectivity, that a suitably qualified external resource be employed for the purposes of supporting the development of a particular executive. This is Read more »

Motivation can take on many forms from physical rewards and incentives (Extrinsic) to the more subtleties of recognition, fulfillment and general emotional satisfaction (Intrinsic). As human beings we don’t function or perform solely on motivation; we also need energy. But what do we mean by energy and how does it manifest itself in the workplace?

In this context energy is primarily sourced from our thoughts, beliefs and behaviors; essentially how we, as human beings, show up. Bruce Schneider of iPEC Coaching has done quite considerable research into this arena and he points to two major types of energy that Read more »

With so much global expansion it has become commonplace for people to have interactions with fellow employees from other countries. Obviously this presents challenges such as with language or cultural differences, but there is another deeper rooted dynamic also at work that can be quite problematic.

However before we get into defining what this is and potential fixes, let’s explore a particular scenario to better understand the problem under review. Company X based in the US, highly successful for 10 years and it is acquired by Company Y from Germany. Notwithstanding the aforementioned language and cultural challenges the Read more »