BCA

You’re an expert who knows how to get the work done, generate results and  make a difference to your customers and your colleagues. Naturally you want to  share how you do it all. But wait–your audience may not be ready for the  ‘How’.

Successful persuasion taps into people’s emotions and inspires them to  imagine a better situation. This is true whether you’re marketing IT products,  professional services or a cultural shift within your company. To be a  persuasive speaker you’ll need to lead the audience to an image of  perfection–or at least, improvement. Until they feel it, they won’t be ready to  do it.

Focus on the “what” and the “why”

In any speaking setting that is not training or a workshop, your presentation  must focus on “what” and “why.” The “what” is the action(s) they should take to  reach their goal. The “why” makes it clear that the “what” will help them reach  their goal.

Let’s look at an example: You are responsible for leading a major change of  behavior in your company. You could just lay down the law and threaten  punishment for anyone who resists. That isn’t likely to generate a favorable  response. You could offer a carrot–do this and you’ll get a reward. That’s also  a short-term approach that could lead to offering ever-increasing carrots.

First describe the behavioral change

The best approach is to describe the behavioral change, which is the “what.”  Describe it in many dimensions-how it will affect their daily actions, and also  their feelings, expectations and interactions. Then talk about the “why”–why is  the new behavior valuable to them as individuals; you might eventually talk  about why the change is valuable to the company as a whole, but whatever you do,  don’t start with that! People always put their self-interest first and  foremost.

The “what” and the “why” are more than enough for a one hour speech or  presentation. Give your audience of employees or colleagues time to savor the  image you’ve helped them picture. Encourage them to keep thinking about it.  Encourage them to add details to the picture; to discuss their visions with  their peers; to move from today and tomorrow to 6 months or a year ahead.

Avoid topics such as “5 Ways to Do X” or “The 7 Factors of Success” or “Three  Steps to Learning Y.” Instead, speak about benefits to the audience: “Success  Comes to Those Who Envision Change” or “You’re the Leader, So Lead.” “Success”  or “Leadership” are the “what” and the rest of your speech is the “why.”

Persuade first on an emotional level

People aren’t ready to be instructed how to do new behaviors until they’ve  fully internalized and integrated the new vision. It’s no different than the way  you might approach a new sport–if you can’t imagine how much you’ll enjoy  playing golf, you won’t learn how to play golf no matter how effective the  instructor. Your “What and Why” speech or presentation is the warm-up that makes  them ready for the “How.”

Persuade first on an emotional level and instruct later on an intellectual  level.

Business speakers who confidently engage their audiences meet their business  and personal objectives. Promotion? More revenue? Elite clients? You increase  your likelihood of success with high-quality business presentation skills. Susan  Trivers consults with and coaches executives and managers to persuade their  audiences to take actions across the spectrum of business goals. Learn more  about how you can become a great speaker at http://www.susantrivers.com and http://www.greatspeakingcoach.com

• “Culture isn’t just one aspect of the game – it is the  game. In the end, an organization is nothing more than the collective  capacity of its people to create value.” Values such as outstanding customer  service, teamwork, excellence, integrity, and stakeholder value don’t translate  into the same kind of behavior in all companies, such as how people actually go  about their work, how they interact with one another, and what motivates them.  Employees’ actions and behaviors emanate from an organization’s culture, not  from agreed-upon values or written policies.

JFD Performance Solutions ( http://www.jfdperfsolutions.com  )
As a business coaching and consulting firm, we specialize in helping  individuals to reach more of their potential, companies to achieve greater  results, and teams to work better together. We help our clients implement  sustainable change and be more successful.

I had the pleasure of moderating a panel discussion of organization  development and change practitioners, whereby three seasoned consultants shared  their insights on culture change at a local professional meeting. Each of these  individuals were seasoned internal consultants for major corporations or  academic institutions, and each was responsible for initiating, facilitating,  and overseeing culture change programs in their organizations.

I was moved and  inspired by their wisdom and wish to share some of that wisdom with others  facing similar challenges.

Lesson 1.

Build the Infrastructure, Be the Bridge

One of the panelists shared that he saw his role as helping to build the  infrastructure for change. He described how culture change comes about with both  a shift in thinking and in behaviors. While he can not control others’  behaviors, he certainly can control his own.

This was one of the key insights he  had after attending institution-wide workshops and events regarding the new  culture they were trying to build to execute the new organizational strategy.

He  kept the various large group meetings and training events top of mind whenever  he was interacting with his clients. He would purposefully use language and  model new ways of behaving and interacting. When appropriate, he would ask  questions of his clients regarding the conclusions they had reached after being  exposed to the institution’s initiatives, and what they believed they could  control or direct within their span of influence.

He focused on synchronization  – between his local constituents and clients and the university as a whole – so  that the institution could begin operating in a more connected fashion. He  summed up his actions in building this infrastructure by saying that his role  was to be a bridge for his clients – between the clients’ local agenda and the  university’s goals – to connect today’s reality to tomorrow’s possibilities.

As change agents for our organizations, our role often is to be the bridge  between the old and the new. How we construct this bridge and the foundation  upon which it sets directly impacts our clients’ ability to traverse across it  and reach the destination. This panelist’s comments echo the sentiments of  Charlie and Edie Seashore’s work on self as an instrument and Edgar Schein’s  classic writings on process consultation.

At our best, we can be a powerful  medium to help our clients achieve the change they long for in their lives. At  our worst, we can inhibit, block, and even prevent that change from happening.  We have a great responsibility to uphold in this arena.

Lesson 2. Courageously Advocate for Alignment

The second panelist chose to share insights with the group on where he had  “screwed up” culture change initiatives in the past. His cautionary tale  included three potential traps for the change agent: 1) focusing on events,  meetings, or activities as opposed to the entire journey and process, 2) putting  HR in charge of a culture change program that ultimately needs to be driven and  managed within the business, and 3) allowing existing policies and procedures to  remain unchanged even in the face of misalignment to the new stated goals of the  initiative.

This panelist was extremely candid in his appraisal of his own past  performance, as he believed that earlier in his career he lacked the courage and  conviction to “push executives to change policies that were not in sync with the  new direction.” Unfortunately, this is a common experience.

Organizations on one  hand advocate a new strategy and direction for their people, but on the other  hand fail to set people up for success to achieve that strategy. One of the  easiest ways to destroy an initiative is to actually encourage people to do  things that undermine the new direction. Stephen Kerr’s classic article. On  the Folly of Rewarding A While Hoping for B, summarizes this phenomenon  well.

Essentially, it reminds us that people do those things for which they are  rewarded. Not getting the desired behavior from your employees? It is quite  possible that your policies, procedures, rewards, and consequences are out of  alignment with stated goals and objectives.

Lesson 3. Eat the Elephant Ear, Not the Entire Elephant

Just the mention of the phrase “culture change” can stop people in their  tracks. “What? You want to change how we do things around here? Good luck!” The  third panelist quite eloquently explained how approaching culture change in bite  sized pieces can be the fastest and most direct route to the goal. As part of a  large retail corporation, this executive focused on culture change in concert  with the launch of a rebranding strategy for one of its divisions.

The culture  change work was positioned as an enabler to allow the new strategy to take root  and flourish. Because it was connected to real business goals and measurable  results, it gained traction and attention. In addition, the rebranding was a  success and consequently, the activities undertaken to help accomplish it were  highly regarded.

Sometimes eating the elephant can be overwhelming, so focusing  on just the elephant ear at first – perhaps with a sprinkle of powdered sugar -  can be much more appetizing and digestible.

In a few short hours, I gleaned valuable insights from these three leaders  that would have taken me many years to acquire on my own. I hope their wisdom  aids others who are helping develop and instill new cultures in their  organizations.

Deb Peluso is the President/CEO of The Change Collaborative, LLC based in  Columbus, Ohio. Connect with us at http://www.thechangecollaborative.com or on Twitter via  @changecollab.

By Luciell Potestas Fernan

No matter how skilled and savvy you are in your career, no matter how  fascinating and cutting edge your work now is, it will someday happen: You will  roll out of bed, wonder what you’re doing with your life, and think about making  a change.

Few things are as certain as middle-aged angst, that dreaded feeling that  somehow life has passed you by or you’ve simply missed it somehow.

You question your choices, bemoan your current circumstances, and agonize  over the future. You start thinking about hair plugs and working out more. You  have a sudden urge to trade in the old car for a racy new model or the old wife  for a racy new supermodel.

When you are closer to the end of your career than the beginning

But more often than not, your agonizing centers around your job. You’ve  always hated it, or you once loved it but there’s no challenge anymore. You’ve  plateaued, you’re bored, you hate the boss or the wunderkind who just zipped by  you on the organizational chart. You want to dump that vice presidency to run a  bar in Mazatlan.

After all, life is short and getting shorter by the day, and  you realize you are closer to the end of your career than the beginning.

Here’s where some of the career advisers out there go a little hay-wire,  pushing people into radical career shifts, urging them to find their “bliss.” I  remember watching as the leader of a group career guidance session, sponsored by  a service that shall go unnamed, cajoled one attendee-a man who seemed quite  happy working as a manager for a computer retailing company and who, in fact,  seemed justifiably proud of the coveted promotion he had just earned-to scrap it  all because she saw his face light up when he talked about playing the guitar as  a kid.

Whoa, Nelly. For all she knew, the guy may have been a lousy guitarist.  And not every fanciful dream of youth is worth pursuing, despite the malarkey  pushed by TV movies of the week. For a thirtyish guy with a family, the  suggestion was, in my mind, outrageous.

You’ve spent your whole life building up skills and expertise

The idea of a radical career shift holds a powerful appeal to those in the  throes of a middle-aged crisis, and certainly these seismic shifts do work for  some. But let’s face it: You’ve spent your whole life building up skills and  expertise; that’s your career currency, and it’s usually far more valuable in  the industry you’re already in.

Now, I recognize that some gung-ho Boy Scouts out there are shaking their  heads, certain they won’t fall prey to this dire condition. They’re too  enthusiastic, and their work is too vital. If they even smell some angst in the

For the other 99 percent of  us, here are some tales from the midst of the morass to help shake us from our  doldrums and get us moving again.

What to do after residing so long at one address?

For twenty-seven years, Richard Dahlberg toiled for Massachusetts Financial  Services. Then, when the company wouldn’t assign him more staff so that he could  aggressively push for growth in the mutual funds he managed, he decided he  needed a change of scenery.

But what to do after residing so long at one address? Mr. Dahlberg decided to  stay within his sphere of knowledge, the financial services industry. After  looking at posts in two banks and a mutual fund, Mr. Dahlberg got an offer to be  chief investment officer in the equity asset management group at Salomon Bros.  It wasn’t a sure bet.

Equity management had always been a poor stepchild at  Salomon, representing at that time just $1 billion of the firm’s $13 billion  under management. Mr. Dahlberg wondered how committed Salomon would be to the  relatively new business. He also worried about the fact that Salomon was just  coming off a run of trading scandals and financial setbacks.

And at fifty-five  years of age, he would be giving up a secure position where he had been quite  successful. In the previous ten years, he had built Massachusetts Financial’s  balanced fund assets to $4.5 billion from $215 million. “I could have stayed  where I was for another ten years and enjoyed the annuity,” he says.

You don’t always know where you are going to end up

Don Crosbie, by contrast, simply walked away from his job as chief financial  officer of Dallas-based InterVoice, because he needed a rest after ten intense  years of helping to build the telecommunications start-up. “I did some  consulting, some sailing, tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life,”  he says.

He spent a year flirting with investing in some companies and going on a few  job interviews before he decided to form Com Vest Partners, an investment  research boutique. The idle time didn’t worry him, he insists. He has an  explorer’s mentality, requiring new and exhilarating experiences. “You don’t  always know where you’re going to end up,” he says. “There’s always some  uncertainty, but in my mind, if you have the confidence, a door will open for  you.”

In contrast with Mr. Dahlberg, he believes that trying to forge a new career  while immersed in the old one usually doesn’t work. “You end up getting  trapped,” he says.

Take your time and evaluate a number of situations

While Mr. Crosbie would appear to have made a radical break, closer scrutiny  reveals that his new job trades on his well-developed financial analysis skills.  “It wasn’t as if I were going to be an astronaut,” he says.

Many midlifers, fearful that opportunities will dwindle with age, grab the  first job that seems to offer change. Take your time and “evaluate a number of  situations,” Mr. Dahlberg advises. “You have to find the right fit for you.”

If you want a more dramatic change, you have to do something drastic.

“I didn’t want to wake up at fifty one morning with someone in Seattle deciding our unit made no sense”

After sixteen years in the building materials business, Hoyt Gier was uneasy.  The senior sales executive was paid well, enjoyed his job, and figured he had a  reasonable shot at the CEO post. But, “I went to work for a Canadian firm, which  was bought by Belgians, which was bought by Germans,” he says. “I didn’t want to  wake up at fifty with someone in Brussels or Heidelberg or Seattle deciding our  unit made no sense; that petrified me.”

But he wondered how marketable he would be. “I worked for different  companies, but to someone outside the industry, it would look as if I’d been  doing the same thing my whole career,” he explains. So, at age forty, he quit  his six-figure job in Seattle and schlepped his wife and three young children to  Hanover, New Hampshire, and Dart-mouth’s Amos Tuck School of Business for an  MBA. It cost him about $250,000 in tuition and lost income, which he paid for by  selling his Redmond, Washington, home. The move puzzled his bosses, he says.  Even his parents questioned his judgment.

Is an MBA a panacea for middle-aged managers floundering in a sea of uncertainty?

In industries such as investment banking and consulting, the MBA is  practically a required entry card for those with management ambitions  -especially for those coming from completely different backgrounds. As Mr. Gier  notes, “You simply can’t get from where I started to where I am going without  coming through here.” Or someplace like it. He adds: “To break into something  completely different, you have to do something to catch someone’s  attention.”

Is an MBA a panacea for middle-aged managers floundering in a sea of  uncertainty? Is this the way for them to overcome the reluctance of companies to  invest in managers with gray hair who command six-figure incomes?

Of course not.

Some lack the inclination to return to an intense school program at such an  advanced age. In some industries, also, the degree would provide only a marginal  benefit. Before making such a precipitous and expensive leap, study the  backgrounds of the people who are successful in your company or industry of  choice. Are they MBA holders? What gaps exist between their experiences and  skills and yours, and are there simpler and less expensive ways to fill those  gaps?

MBA’s mean exposure to a wider range of possibilities and a widely accepted credential

Still, for managers seeking a midcourse correction, MBAs mean exposure to a  wider range of possibilities and a widely accepted credential. With high demand  for MBA holders, companies start recruiting early. In his second week of  classes, Mr. Gier recalls presentations by Ford, Microsoft, Dell, and Morgan  Stanley. He soon discovered the world of private client services.

It was just the kind of relationship-driven business he wanted. Following a  summer internship with Goldman, Sachs, he accepted the firm’s offer of full-time  employment after graduation. He couldn’t be happier about it. “Tuck exposed me  to many business possibilities new to me or previously thought to be out of  reach,” he says. “The business world looks a lot bigger to me now than it did  just a couple of years ago.”

Throughout his transition, Mr. Gier’s age wasn’t as much of an issue as he  feared. Interviewers never mentioned it directly, choosing instead to ask how he  would feel working with or reporting to a twenty-seven-year-old. “My response  was, ‘If I didn’t think I could run with these people in the workforce, I  wouldn’t have come here,’” Mr. Gier says.

“MBA’s from a top school opens doors, others do not”

Still, he acknowledges that his path isn’t for everybody. The tough,  competitive environment of the school-he worked late most nights on group  projects-is exhausting. And if you can’t land in one of the better schools, he  advises, forget it. “An MBA from a top school opens doors other MBAs do not,” he  says.

Further, he says, don’t go if you’re satisfied with your job, your career  path, your company’s prospects, and your opportunities to advance and find  challenging assignments. Don’t go if you’re convinced other companies, inside  your industry and out, will gladly pay for your skills and experience. Finally,  he says, don’t go if you don’t have the total support of your spouse. This kind  of change isn’t for the risk averse.

Start your career at http://www.jobsciti.com

By Grant Webb

With our economy performing so poorly, it is of paramount importance that  every business cut costs and ultimately improve their bottom line. Just about  every business has cash flow to gain by becoming more economical in their  spending and utilization of funds. Recently, Six Sigma Certification training  has emerged as the best methodology to implement company wide regardless of your  business type or sector.

This approach has been proven effective by just about  every entity that has implemented this type of strategy.

The end goal of applying the methods of Six Sigma practices is to reduce  waste along with service breaks or failures during any company’s business  processes. These methods include a data driven approach to monitoring,  controlling, and enhancing business performance. By virtually eliminating  product and service defects, a company can further streamline their product or  service delivery and client satisfaction.

To take this a bit further, what does it mean to implement these methods  company wide? Initially, it means you as a business have to first admit that as  a whole, your processes can improve and processes improve as employee skills  improve.

Which areas can be improved upon depends on the different processes  that are required to maintain functional flow. Obviously the larger your  business is the more processes there are in place. By at least paying for  managerial employees to obtain the various certifications offered by Six Sigma,  they can then implement product and process related improvements via their  inferior staff members.

Your ROI will be greater than your out of pocket expense

The end goal is to reduce unnecessary costs, improve  upon product or service delivery, and to turn your business into the optimally  functioning business it deserves to be. Though the costs per employee to obtain  this certification is relatively high, the return on your investment stands to  be much greater than your out of pocket expense. This is the reasoning behind  businesses paying for their employee’s to become certified in this  methodology.

While this certification is ultimately geared towards improving any  businesses functionality, it is not aimed at any one type of business. It’s  applications are vast and include but are not limited to the healthcare  industry, financial services, and information technology. When applied to  healthcare, this proven methodology eliminates steps that are not valuable,  reduces defects and variation in patient outcomes, resulting in more efficient  processes and a more consistent patient outcome.

You will learn how to implement core competencies of Six Sigma

And for financial  professionals, you will benefit by learning how to implement core competencies  of Six Sigma which will prompt you to make more informed business decisions and  guide projects that end with improved bottom-line results.

Currently the most effective method of improving business function is for  company employees to obtain their Six Sigma Certification. If you are interested in making  yourself more marketable and more profitable for any given company, you should  read up on the vast benefits of Six Sigma Training now!

By Tinker Barnett

In 2005, nearly 60% of human resource professionals in large companies  reported conflict between younger and older workers. This has  not changed much today. Some business owners and managers in my community are so  frustrated with young workers that they have decided not to hire them ever  again.

I am always sorry to hear this because not hiring young people is not a  solution. Rather, it is a lose-lose situation for companies that want to remain  successful in the long-term and for Generation Y (Gen Y) who are increasingly  unemployed and lack work experience.

There is a better way.

If you are a business owner or manager age 45 to 70, it is possible that Gen  Y will not begin to think and act the way you do at work, not soon enough  anyway. Openness and willingness to look at new ways of getting-work-done is a  faster, longer-lasting way out of frustration at work.

At first, it may feel like you are giving-in to your least-experienced  workers and as though you’ve relinquished power and control. It is important to  know that frustration with employees is less about Generation Y and more about  the “waves of change” they ride. Change causes all of us to feel a lack of  confidence until we accept it and take responsibility to work with it.

Gen Yers to set the norm in the future

Recent research projects that Gen Yers will set the new norm for the  workplace in 2014 when they become 50% of the workforce. They will be put into  key leadership positions faster and have less time to get ready than Boomers  did. If this is true, it is good to start listening now to how Generation Y  employees intend to make the workplace better. Maybe you will want to get a head  start on them.

Here are 4 Clues for how Generation Y will change the workplace once they are  in charge:

Clue #1. Meetings will be productive and most will last only 30 minutes.  Everyone will come prepared and know exactly what the team is doing. Gen Y hates  to waste time and this is causing some of the greatest conflict among  generations.

Clue #2. Gen Y will promote people who are clear about who are competent,  trustworthy, and relate to employees in ways that inspire them to be their best,  not because they are senior and have “put in more time”.

Clue #3. Gen Y will find mentors to get their careers jump-started, throwing  out the “sink-or-swim” style of management. They will be terrific mentors  themselves, bringing “mentoring-up” to the workplace and teaching values of  collaboration, innovation, and social connection to the next generation of  workers.

Clue #4. Gen Y will re-invent retirement as many retreats – not one, spread  out over time. The economy is too uncertain and they will live too long to  regularly sacrifice family and fun in hopes of an extended period for doing what  they really want to do (like their parents expected). For Gen Y, living is for  today, not to be put-off.

And, if you can take time to get to know Gen Y employees, they will want to  learn from you and you will have less frustration at work.

Workplace frustration can be minimized

Bottom line, workplace frustration can be minimized when people of different  generations are understood and validated for characteristics they are pretty  much stuck with.

Want to know more? I invite you to claim your free instant access to my white  paper, “Workplace Frustration: How to Reduce It and Manage Generation Y For An  Increase in Company Profits”. For a limited time you’ll find it at my slide-up  when you visit http://GenerationalDivideCoaching.com.

From Tinker Barnett, Bridges LLC

“Connecting Generations in the Workplace”

Keep Your Business Alive

The business world is a highly competitive and rapidly changing domain. The  way to survive is to reshape according to the needs of circumstances. In  leadership, you have to accept the fact of change.

Resisting change leads  nowhere but a dead end. You and your organization are going to be stalled, if  not completely shut down.

Gaining and keeping customers keep a business alive. Your customers want  excellent service and more. If you cannot provide these to customers, your  competitors will. That´s why your organization needs to reshape itself quickly  to change so it can offer what customers need.

Top leadership in the  organization realizes the significance of preserving their resources. They  cannot just throw away money at every problem. Executive leaders also know the  importance of having highly committed and flexible workers. As a leader, you  need to be able to implement action that allows the organization to quickly and  smoothly adapt to change.

4 Different Changes Of An Organization

Throughout its growth, an organization normally goes through 4 different  changes:

• Formative period. The organization is just getting started. The  founding vision or purpose of the organization has no formal definitions yet.  This is a stage of a lot of experimentation and innovation. Changes of  creativity and discovery enable the organization to beat obstacles and achieve  breakthroughs.
• Rapid growth period. The organization implements direction and  organization so that it can sustain its growth and solidify gains. The purpose  of the organization and on the mainstream business is being clarified and  defined.
• Mature period. The organization develops a strong growth curve that  levels off to the general velocity of the economy. Change and modifications are  needed so that the organization can maintain established markets and achieve  maximum gains.
• Declining period. This is a rough ride for the organization. It  often means reorganization and downsizing. Tough objectives are developed,  although there is compassionate implementation. To survive, the organization  needs to get out of the old and cross the threshold towards something new. There  is starting again of the four periods, beginning a new process that determines  success.

Depending on the pace, some organizations may go through with the 4-period  change process rapidly, while others undergo these growth stages for decades. If  there is no follow- through with the needed changes in any of the 4 growth  periods, an organization would falter and eventually die.

“Continual Improvement

In Japanese, there is the concept of “kaizen” which means “continual  improvement”. The quest to do better is never-ending. Changing is doing better.  Standing still makes the competition get ahead. Congregate your resources and  solidify your strength so you can revitalize, move on, catch up with the pace  and get to the top.

By the way, do you want to learn more about leadership in your company? If  so, download your FREE eBook here: Guide to Elegant Courage Leadership

Jodi and Mike specialize in executive coaching with individuals and teams. http://lighthouse-leadership.com

By Steve Clements

The entire world is mourning the death of Steve Jobs. It is as though we knew  him personally. Yes, his products are beloved internationally. But it was his  ability as an innovator and a speaker that will keep his name alive forever.

As an innovator, Jobs did things his way-a revolutionary who rejected  accepted life routes to create, develop and market not only Apple but Pixar,  keeping his name alive forever.

Using visuals as opening a curtain of surprise

As a speaker, he was a maverick. To announce a new product, he completely  rejected the now-tiresome corporate concept of reading every word from  PowerPoint. Instead, he used his visuals as though he were opening a curtain of  surprise, stimulating delight and awe. Take a look at his announcement of any of  the new Apple products he was excited to introduce.

Personality Counts

Jobs brought his unique personality to his presentations. He combined a  child’s pride in what he had to introduce, a professional speaker’s drama about  the story he was unveiling, and a salesman’s ability to create a desire to  buy-ASAP!

His was not a standard corporate announcement. It was a relationship  he created with all of us. We wanted to share in his wondrous world. Isn’t that  what communications is all about?

How can you bring your own unique personality to your presentations? Consider  advocating to minimize the use of PowerPoint. Instead, discover what works best  for a particular presentation.

You Count!

- Is it simply graphics that support what you’re saying?

- Or, and this may be blasphemy, perhaps all that is needed is you!

If there is power in what you’re saying, whether it is informative,  persuasive or motivational, you should have the strength of delivery and  charisma to have both eyes focused on you. If your reaction is “Oh, I can’t do  that. I’m scared and would rather read the PowerPoint from the corner,” you’re  doing yourself and your company a disservice.

Work on it! Find that unique “you”  that can hold an audience in its grip with every line.

It will certainly be difficult to replace Jobs as a leader. It will be even  more difficult to replace him as the face, voice and personality of Apple.

Needed: A spokesman who stimulates our imagination

Apple, like every company, like your company, now has to search for a  spokesperson who stimulates our imagination and desire to buy. It won’t be easy  but the right spokesperson obviously makes the difference. Improve your  communications skills and you could become the “Jobs” in your job.

Steve Clements translates 40 plus years as executive trainer, Hollywood TV  producer/writer and academia (Professor Emeritus from Augusta State University  in TV/Cinema) into customized oral communications and media training programs  for Executive Speak/Write, Inc. (http://www.executivespeakwrite.com). This producer of over  3,000 national TV broadcasts now trains business professionals on how to be a  better “you” when speaking to audiences.

Are you scratching your head yet wondering what I am talking about? You’d  really think top salespeople would make the best sales managers, would you not?  I can hear you all now, “Come on Rich I want my best guys running the whole  squad.” They understand the sales personality; they understand the sales job  requirements; and if they come to the position of sales manager by promotion  they understand the company they work for.

So why don’t they make great sales  managers?

 A salesperson has to be on the hunt constantly

Well this is certainly not an absolute. Some sales people have made great  sales managers, but by and large the best sales managers are not the best sales  people and vice-versa. The reason for this can be found in the shark. Sharks  have to swim to live.

They must keep moving constantly just to be alive.

A great  sales person is the same in many ways: they must prospect and develop business  and be on the hunt constantly; and their competitive spirit and drive to  constantly win must fuel them every minute on the job.

A sales manager has to think like a chess player

A great sales manager on the other hand must have a steady hand on the  tiller. They have to think like a chess player, always many moves ahead. They  don’t get to experience the hunt, let alone the thrill of the kill (if you  will….too much right?).

In other words they have to possess a much more even  keeled personality, less like a shark and more like a tiger, effective at steady  leadership and able to handle any situation from a customer turn-over, to a team  member’s personal troubles.

Yes they understand the sales personality, but typically only their own. And  usually top sales people have trouble with empathy, a necessary trait in any  good sales manager. Yes they understand the job requirements but every  salesperson is different and they may not understand what motivates someone  other than themselves, or how to get the best from someone struggling to get to  the middle of the pack.

Finally that point about understanding the company,  aside form understanding the market in which they compete, it’s much more  important for a quality sales manager to understand the dynamics of his or her  team. What makes them tick? What keeps those sharks swimming?

Look at the personality and character make-up first

To sum up, if you’re hiring a sales manager look at personality and character  make-up first and sales results second…you’ll thank yourself later.

Richard Garvey is the owner of Sales Results Fast, a Minneapolis, MN based  sales training and consulting firm. He has been featured in articles of the  Minneapolis/St Paul Business Journal and works with companies from a hundred  thousand dollars to a hundred million dollars in annual revenue. Sales Results  Fast offer engaging and interactive classroom training, sales team consulting  and building, and individual coaching.

Set more appointments, close more sales and make more money. You can start  today with our classroom training. Read what our raving fans have to say about  us at http://www.salesresultsfast.com/raves or for information on  classes and event schedules please visit us at:
http://www.SalesResultsFast.com