The workplace can be a perilous and thorny scene for disagreements. Being loud and clear leaves no room for misinterpretation. But it can also leave no room for anyone else’s ideas. Staying silent doesn’t air dissenting opinion. So that’s no good, either.
How to find more neutral ground? Becky Gaylord shares 12 ways to register your disagreement without clobbering coworkers with the know-it-all club.
Any business person aiming high is going to be stressed at times. But surprisingly few have learnt smart ways to reduce their stress. Forbes.com contributor Siimon Reynolds shares 6 highly effective ways to keep your stress under control, no matter what is happening in your business and personal life.
Is Social Nurturing just for prospecting or sales? No.
At InsideSales.com they have been testing the use of LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ , Blogging, Klout, and many more social media platforms in a model they call ACQUIRE. Forbes contributor and entrepreneur Ken Krogue explains how to actually use the ACQUIRE model to make influential contacts using social media.
The best leaders build credibility with stories. 
There are five stories you should be able to deliver that will build your credibility as a leader. Learn how in Jan McKenzie’s White Paper “The Five Stories Credible Leaders Tell.”
Jan is an Executive Coach with Speechworks, Inc. where she teaches leaders how to create and deliver speeches that inspire confidence and move audiences to action. As a communications expert with Speechworks, Jan has taught and coached in companies such as Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Novelis, Morgan Stanley, Georgia Tech and more. In her previous role as Director of The Weather Channel Companies award-winning Learning and Development Department, Jan spent over 19 years developing leadership at every level in corporate America. She has coached executive and leadership teams, created and implemented company wide change initiatives, and partnered with executives to develop high performing sales leaders. An experienced public speaker and published author of inspirational books, Jan has been endorsed by leadership experts and NY Times Bestselling authors Stephen M.R. Covey and Dr. Ken Blanchard. Her books are available on Amazon.com.
The FAB statement is one of the most effective tools in the salesperson’s set. However, this tool is often misused because salespeople fail to consider the perspective and needs of the customer, focusing instead on the product or service being sold. Baker Communications President and CEO James A. Baker explains why FAB is a useful framework for getting the customer’s attention, building value, and gaining agreement on a solution.
What is a FAB?
FABs have three parts:
Feature: What it is.
Advantage: What it does.
Benefit: What it means for the customer.
How can using the FAB tool most benefit your sales process?
Neil Shorney wrote a compelling article for Salesgravy.com on “5 Tips to Make Sales Communications More Engaging“. Neil shares an epiphany he had during a meeting with a client of 5 years that was profoundly deaf. What if we approached all of our conversations as if the other party can’t hear you? The communication styles you might use in this circumstance provide some great tips on increasing the effectiveness of your communications. Check out the full article.
The world moves fast and if you can’t keep up, your company is doomed. Here are five skills that every leader must have to run a company in today’s culture.
A few years ago, I saw a video by a Harvard professor on competences for adapting to a changing world. Frankly, it was embarrassing. It was the biggest load of pseudo-intellectual garbage I’d ever heard.
Still, the world is changing. It’s becoming a more complex place. I guess that’s always been the case, but the rate of change appears to be accelerating. Given that’s the case, then what are the real capabilities will people need to distinguish themselves–to become the leaders, the innovators, the success stories of a new age?
Fortunately, as a veteran of the high-tech industry, I’ve known and worked with some of the most capable and accomplished folks around. Here are five competences that not only set them apart, but are becoming more and more important all the time. No, they’re not new-age business school jargon. Some aren’t even new. But what’s important is that they work.
1. Drown out the noise.
We live and work in a world that’s so overloaded with information, communication, and gadgets that fighting that irresistible and constant tug to text, tweet, and check our email is becoming harder and harder all the time. That trend is not likely to change anytime soon.
Ability to focus and prioritize has always been critical to success in just about any field, but these days, managing distraction and not succumbing to its addictive qualities has become remarkably challenging for even the most disciplined among us.
Make no mistake. If you can’t focus, you can’t get things done. And if you can’t get things done, somebody else will.
2. Recognize the bullsh*t.
When you question assumptions, claims, and viewpoints instead of just accepting them as gospel, as in “I saw it on the internet so it must be true,” that’s called critical thinking. It’s fundamental for smart decision-making. And that, in turn, is key to being successful at just about anything.
The concept dates back thousands of years to Socrates and Buddha’s teachings. If you question conventional wisdom, challenge the status quo, and avoid collectivism and groupthink, you’re in good company. They’re all facets of the same concept.
Here’s the thing. There’s so much garbage out there in the cloud, in social media, in blogs, on TV, in self-help books — you name it — that your ability to question what’s real and what isn’t, to reason logically and not generalize from a single data point, is more critical today than ever before.
And, in time, the world is only going to become more and more complex and, that’s right, full of stuff.
3. Be more than an avatar.
It’s ironic that, with all the hoopla over personal branding, self-expression, and the “Me” generation, I find that people are becoming more and more like internet avatars every day. In other words, there’s a tendency to hide behind our own social media creations. To become sound bites personified.
More than ever, we need a sense of humility and self-awareness to remind us that we’re flesh and blood humans. That we’re not always the insanely great business leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, partners, parents, whatever, that we hold ourselves out to be.
Not only that, but the sheer volume of noise and time we waste on mindless distraction makes it that much harder to stay in touch with ourselves, to be quiet and reflect on what’s going on inside, to understand what our emotions are trying to tell us.
And don’t even get me started on political correctness, that insidious worldwide trend that dumbs us all down to the lowest common denominator so no single individual is ever left out or made to feel uncomfortable or, God forbid, offended.
In a world of indistinguishable lemmings, where everyone tries to be different and, in so doing, ends up behaving exactly like everyone else, those who are genuine and self-aware will have a big advantage.
4. Truly connect with people.
Communication has always been the means by which great leaders achieve great things. But these days, communication occurs in sound bites, status updates, text messages, and tweets of 140 characters or less. More and more, communication is one-to-many, not one-to-one.
The problem with that is it’s mostly superficial and nobody’s got time to pay attention to even a tiny fraction of all the gigabytes being blasted at them every day.
As for all the online social networking we do, none of it’s even fractionally effective when compared with a simple real-time discussion or meeting.
Sure, the ability to write and speak effectively is perhaps more important today than ever before. But if you have that unique ability to listen and really hear what people are saying, to empathize, to really relate and truly connect with folks, then chances are you’ll be writing tomorrow’s success stories.
5. Get things done.
The idea that successful executives, entrepreneurs, and business leaders are typically driven by high aspirations is nothing but a popular myth. Most of those people didn’t get to where they are by walking around with their heads in the clouds. They got there by putting one foot in front of the other and getting stuff done.
If they’re not motivated by grandiose dreams, then what does drive successful people? It’s usually one of three things: their job and a strong sense of personal responsibility, out of necessity to put food on the table and a roof over their family’s heads, or to bring a product to market they think is cool and that people might actually want or need.
Regardless of the reason, they get people working toward a common goal. They deliver the goods. They get the job done. They satisfy the needs of their customers. And in so doing, they take care of their families and stakeholders. That’s how things work in the real world.
These days we have more rhetoric, debate, analysis, studies, theories and research than ever before. We have more grandiose ideals than ever before. We have more rules and regulations than ever before. The challenge to get things done has never been greater and the need for leaders with that capability has never been more imperative.
That’s what I think you and your children will need to adapt to a changing world. Now, what do you think?
Want to do something different for the holidays this year? Send some holiday greetings to friends, neighbors, coworkers and family members in a different language!
Even though ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Season’s Greetings’ are much more common outside of the U.S. than ‘Happy Holidays’ (especially in Western Europe), you can still greet the rest of the world in true American style with some simple translations.
Whether you’re heading off on a round of Christmas caroling or writing up holiday cards for friends and family, share your global holiday spirit by saying ‘Happy Holidays’ in any of the following languages:
Say Happy Holidays! In French: Joyeuses Fêtes!
Say Happy Holidays! In Spanish: Felices Fiestas!
Say Happy Holidays! In Swedish: Trevlig Helg!
Say Happy Holidays! In Portuguese: Boas Festas!
Say Happy Holidays! In Turkish: Mutlu Bayramlar!
Say Happy Holidays! In Romanian: Sarbatori Fericite!
Say Happy Holidays! In Mandarin: Jie Ri Yu Kuai
Say Happy Holidays! In Catalan: Bones Festes!
Say Happy Holidays! In Japanese: Tanoshii kurisumasu wo! (Have a happy Christmas)
Say Happy Holidays! In Italian: Buone Feste!
Say Happy Holidays! In South African (Xhose): Ii holide eximnandi
Say Happy Holidays! In German: Forhe Feiertage
Say Happy Holidays! In Dutch: Prettige feestdagen
Say Happy Holidays! In Hawaiian: Hau’oli Lanui (pronounced how-oh-lay la-new-ee)
Say Happy Holidays! In Gaelic: Beannachtaí na Féile
Say Happy Holidays! In Slovenian: Vesele Praznike
Say Happy Holidays! In Indonesian: Selamat Hari Raya!
Say Happy Holidays! In Croatian: Sretni praznici!
Saying Happy Holidays in different languages isn’t always easy because the English word ‘holiday’ has a literal translation of a vacation or day off in most parts of the world. It’s also important to note that many countries celebrate the holidays right on through Epiphany on January 6, so you can get away with saying or sending holiday greetings for a few days after the calendar New Year.
If you’re traveling abroad, greeting someone with the literal translation of a holiday may get you some puzzled looks, and in some cases, it’s safe enough to say Happy New Year or Merry Christmas to honor the season. However, you can still learn how other cultures talk about parties or religious events, you’ll be much closer to the actual translation of the ‘holiday season’ when greeting your friends, neighbors and family members this year.
Spread some holiday cheer and surprise a few people on your holiday gift card list or party by greeting them in any of the languages above!
Great bosses do these things. The rest don’t–because these simple gestures would never occur to them.
Where employees are concerned, great leaders don’t take. Great leadersgive–especially these seven things:
They give a glimpse of vulnerability.
To employees, you’re often not a person. You’re a boss. (Kind of like when you were in school and you saw a teacher at the grocery store; it was jarring and uncomfortable because teachers weren’t people. They wereteachers.)
That’s why showing vulnerability is a humanizing way to break down the artificial barrier that typically separates bosses from employees. One easy way to break down that barrier is to ask for help.
But don’t ask the wrong way. Don’t puff out your chest, assume the power-position, and in your deepest voice intone, “Listen, John, I need your help.” John knows you don’t really need his help. You want him to do something.
Instead ask the right way. Imagine you’ve traveled to an unfamiliar place, you only know a few words of the language, and you’re both lost and a little scared.
How would you ask for help? You would be humble. You would be real. You’d cringe a little and dip your head slightly and say, “Can you help me?” Asked that way, John would know you truly needed help. You’ve lowered your guard. You’re vulnerable. And you’re not afraid to show it.
By showing vulnerability, you lift the other person. You implicitly recognize her skills while extending trust.
And you set a great example: Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness.
It’s a sign of strength.
They give a nudge.
From the employee’s point of view the best ideas are never your ideas. The best ideas are their ideas, and rightly so. So don’t spell out what you want done. Leave room for initiative. Leave room for ownership.
When you describe what you want to be done, paint with a broad brush. Give employees room to take your ideas and make them their own.
They’ll do more than you imagined possible–and they’ll feel a sense of satisfaction and gratification that simply following instructions can never provide.
They give unexpected attention.
Everyone loves attention. Unfortunately you don’t have unlimited time to devote to each employee.
So make the most of the time you do have. Don’t just comment on the big stuff, the stuff you’re supposed to focus on.
Notice a small detail. Praise a particular phrase she used to smooth the transition from customer conflict to problem resolution. Praise how he swung by another employee’s desk to grab paperwork he could deliver on his way to another office. Pick something small, something positive, something helpful–something unexpected–to show you really pay attention.
Pick out details and employees know you’re watching–in a good way–and not only will they work harder, more importantly they will feel better about themselves.
They give employees a break.
He messed up. Badly. Not only are you a little pissed, this is a teachable moment. You feel compelled to talk about it, possibly at length.
Don’t. For a good employee, the lesson is already learned. Catch his eye, nod, let it go, and help him fix the problem.
Once in a while employees can all use a break. When they get one they never forget it. And they try really hard to show they deserved that break–and to make sure they never need another one.
They give a peek inside.
My boss was nearly yelling at a supplier who hadn’t met a key timeline. It wasn’t ugly but it was close. In the middle of their “discussion,” when the supplier glanced away, he turned and winked at me.
My boss was signaling that his emotional display was partly for effect, that he had a plan in mind and that I was in on things. I was an insider. We were partners.
We were in it together.
It’s easy, as an employee, not to feel like you and your boss are in it together. Make sure your employees do. Give them occasional peeks inside.
They give an undeserved compliment.
Compliments don’t always have to be earned. Sometimes a compliment can be like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When you see something in employees that they don’t see–at least not yet–they often try hard to fulfill the belief you have in them.
That happened to me. I went out for wrestling in ninth grade and was nervous, scared, intimidated–pick any fearful adjective. It fit. A week or so into practices I heard the coach talking to one of the seniors. “That kid there,” he said, referring to me, “will be a state champion by the time he’s a senior.”
He was wrong. It turned out I wasn’t. But I immediately felt more confident, more self-assured, and incredibly motivated. Those feelings lasted for a long time.
He believed in me.
And I started to believe in myself.
They give a hat rack.
Employees who need something–whether it’s a day off, a favor, a break, a chance–often come to you with hat in hand.
They’re vulnerable because they need.
Take their hat and hang it up for them. You may not be able to provide what they want, but you can work through their issue with compassion and generosity and grace.
Never let an employee stand with hat in hand. It’s one of the worst feelings possible–and one you can make instantly disappear.
Jeff Haden learned much of what he knows about business and technology as he worked his way up in the manufacturing industry. Everything else he picks up fromghostwriting books for some of the smartest leaders he knows in business. @jeff_haden
By: Ann Handley of Entrepreneur.com
Sometimes in life, you kick over a rock and find a thriving colony of activity. So, too, in business. With so many tools, niches, sites, apps and platforms to look for and nurture customers, it’s easy to overlook less obvious opportunities. Here are some to try.
1. SlideShare
SlideShare.net offers the ability to upload and share presentations, e-books, PDFs and webinars. It isn’t exactly a backwater, but it’s a bit of an undervalued spot. With 60 million visitors per month and 130 million page views, it’s the world’s largest professional content-sharing community and one of the top 200 sites on the web.
SlideShare is also one of the only high-traffic platforms that integrates organic and near-seamless lead generation. The network’s LeadShare service requires viewers to fill out a contact form in exchange for downloading a presentation or PDF, and it encourages viewers to contact the business for additional information at various points throughout a presentation. Of course, this feature comes at a price: To enable lead-capture, you’ll have to spring for a Pro SlideShare membership, which can cost $19 to $249 per month.
2. Product videos
Well-produced product videos are a slam-dunk for increasing sales. Visitors to housewares retailer StacksAndStacks.com were 144 percent more likely to make a purchase after seeing a product video, according to analytics technology company Kissmetrics.
Keep product videos brief–less than 30 seconds is optimal–and consider embedding calls to action in a way that’s helpful and not irritating. Online catalog aggregator FlipSeek does this effectively; for example, it can make the cute shoes a model is wearing clickable, providing a direct link to the corresponding product page.
3. E-mail signatures
Including a brief, text-based call to action in your e-mail signature may not be the sexiest idea, but considering the volume of e-mail you are likely sending, it’s a tactic worth trying. Consider integrating your blog’s URL, a new e-book or some other relevant download into your e-mail signature as a way to nurture relationships with prospects. Technology like WiseStamp allows you to add dynamic content like your latest blog post to any outgoing message.
4. LinkedIn Answers
Browse the questions asked on LinkedIn and use your expertise to solve problems for others, looking for opportunities to link to your relevant product or service. But, as with most things in life, moderation is key: Don’t shill your own stuff unless it truly offers a relevant solution.
5. Error pages
Turn the most boring pages of your site (even a 404 error page!) into lead-gen opportunities.Mint.com’s playful error page shows a nerdy-looking developer saying, “Page not available. But Justin is.” It goes on: “Justin is a Mint developer who likes slow cars, sharp crayons, reheated pizza and awkward silence.” The page gives links to other Mint.com pages “if you’re more interested in personal finance.”
6. Pinterest
This new kid on the social media block is worth checking out as a traffic-generating lead-gen referral tool. Visits to the invitation-only online bulletin board skyrocketed in the second half of 2011 to 11 million. Brands with compelling boards drive traffic to their own sites.
What’s “pinnable” for a business looking to generate leads? Consider moving beyond product shots to include other images, infographics, videos or articles. My company’s page, features vintage marketing ads as well as marketing fails, charts and stats and a board reserved for business “inspiration.”
Ann Handley is a veteran of creating and managing digital content to build relationships for organizations and individuals. Ann is the co-author of the best-selling Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business (Wiley, 2011).
