Motivational Speaker | Dean Lindsay

Posts Tagged ‘Uniqueness’

 A Thoughtful Person is a Remembered Person.

Look for something to acknowledge people for.  Genuinely complimenting someone costs you nothing, but to the recipient, a heartfelt compliment and the feelings it generates cannot be bought at any price. Recognition, encouraging words, and pats on the back are all excellent ways of making positive impressions, especially if done in front of others.

Mother Teresa

Avoid general compliments as they may just seem like flattery, “sucking up.” Much more powerful is a comment about something positive that person has done: compliment on behavior or achievements.

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” — Mother Teresa

A thoughtful person is a remembered person. Be generous of spirit. You will get back much more than what you put out. The end result of acknowledging and praising others is that you have given people reasons to speak well of you to others. Such word-of-mouth character endorsements are far more powerful than anything you could ever say about yourself.

It does not matter how successful a person is, or how good that person feels inside: it is always nice to know that others appreciate one’s personality, talent, uniqueness, attitude, or accomplishments. You can compliment someone about any one of hundreds of things. Just keep it real and don’t go overboard. Insincerity can be sensed.

You can’t achieve your best in these challenging business times without learning the all-important art of connecting. As William Allman, the author of Stone Age Present, states, “The key to our species’ success is our great skill in making close alliances with others.” True enough. There are many benefits to harnessing the power of building priceless business relationships and Cracking the Networking CODE. These benefits become even more priceless in times of economic uncertainty. Here are the Top Ten benefits of sales training that addresses the power of business networking:

The Top Ten Benefits of Business Networking

1. Friendships and support

2. Advice and access to different points of view

3. New career paths, employment, and business opportunities

4. Referrals and introductions to professionals and quality prospects

5. Important information
(Market/organizational shifts, upcoming events, etc.)

6. Promotions or lateral moves within your organization

7. Unique sales ideas from sales professionals in other fields

8. Introductions to quality vendors and resources

9. Advocates within related organizations and industries

10. More sales

“You have to accept that no matter where you work, you are not an employee; you are in a business with one employee – yourself.”  – Andrew S. Grove

I am honored to share that my book, Cracking the Networking CODE: Steps to Priceless Business Relationships is Recommended Reading by the United Professional Sales Association, Networking Times and Profit magazine.

Even cooler that it has been endorsed Ken Blanchard – author of The One Minute Manager and Brian Tracy along with many others. Jay Conrad Levinson – the author of Guerrilla Marketing, thought so much of the CODE that he wrote the book’s foreword.

Please contact me to discuss our customized sales training programs and our business networking training programs.

Let’s Connect:

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Dean-Lindsay/1018367929?sid=0

Twitter Link:  http://twitter.com/deanlindsay
LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/deanlindsay
Video clips of me in action at YouTube:   http://www.youtube.com/user/TheProgressAgent (more videos posting shortly)

Be Progress.

Get DISC Assessments | Info on DISC Training

DISC is a powerful model of human behavior that helps people understand “why they do what they do.” We each have our own style, our own way we like to communicate with others (different strokes for different folks). This is a basic human fact. Each interaction with other people requires you to assess the situation from a fresh perspective.

Unfortunately, a tremendous amount of human energy is used unproductively in talking past or “at” each other. We often fail to make a real connection with someone because we have a set of behavioral preferences that do not mesh with those of the person on the other side of our bifocals.

Progress agents can utilize a keen awareness of individual behavioral differences and, without being chameleons, modify their own preferences to make favorable impressions .

Even though we are all unique, most people do fit into a certain style or predictable pattern of behavior. People with similar styles tend to exhibit specific types of behavior common to that style. Such patterns of behavior influence how people prefer to communicate and interact.

“Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

We need to strive to understand and embrace these different behavioral styles. This makes us better able to interact with other folks, even those who appear to be very different and sometimes hard to understand. When we identify the behavioral differences in ourselves and others, we can adapt our style to create a comfortable environment for the person we are speaking with.

A solid understanding of the DISC behavioral model is useful. DISC assessments measures observable behavior and emotions. The development of the DISC model is based on the work of American psychologist Dr. William Marston, an expert in behavioral styles.

In 1926, Marston published The Emotions of Normal People, in which he grouped people along two lines: either active or passive tendencies relative to their favorable or unfavorable view of the environment and their relationship to that environment.

Say what? Here is a view the DISC Behavioral Model from 30,000 feet:

Some people are Reserved and some are Outgoing. One type is not better than the other.

Some people are People-Oriented and some are Task-Oriented. One type is not better than the other.

Each of us is a unique blend of: Reserved or Outgoing, mixed with the quality of being People-Focused or Task-Focused.

Marston’s DISC research showed how behavioral characteristics may be grouped into four fundamental styles (D.I.S.C.):
Dominance
Influence
Steadiness
Conscientiousness

D – Dominance

These are the Task-Oriented, Outgoing Types.

These folks are direct, demanding, determined, and decisive. They are confident, competitive, take-action doers.
They will likely ask WHAT questions more than HOW questions.

Some famous dominant behavior types are:
Donald Trump, Margaret Thatcher, Henry Ford, General Patton, Mark Cuban, Barbara Walters, Vince Lombardi.

To deliver a solid first impression to D-types:
Be concise and direct. These people need prestige, authority, and control.

I – Influence

These are the People-Oriented, Outgoing Types.

These folks are interactive, inspirational, impressive, and interested in people. They are friendly, outgoing, emotional “talkers.”
They will likely ask WHO questions more than WHY questions.

Some famous influential behavior types are:
Oprah Winfrey, Will Farrell, Bill Cosby, Sally Field (You like me. You really like me!), George Lopez, Bill Clinton, Wayne Brady.

To deliver a solid first impression to I-types:
Skip the details, socialize, and show excitement.
These people need recognition, acceptance, and to be heard.

S – Steadiness

These are the Reserved, People-Oriented Types.
These folks are stable, sensitive, and supportive. They are loyal, dependable, and good listeners. They will likely ask HOW questions more than WHAT questions.

Some famous steady behavior types are:
Mister Rogers, Mother Teresa, Albert Schweitzer, Florence Nightingale, Mahatma Gandhi, Tonto (The Lone Ranger’s faithful Indian companion).

To deliver a solid first impression to S-types:
Be reassuring and take it slow. These people need security, appreciation , and time to decide if there should be a relationship.

C – Conscientiousness

These are the Reserved, Task-Oriented Types.

These folks are competent, careful, calculating, contemplative, and cautious. They are analytical, detailed, and do not show emotions readily. They will likely ask WHY questions more than WHO questions.

Some famous conscientious behavior types are:
Emily Post, Tom Landry, Isaac Newton, Columbo (OK, not a real dude, but you get the point), Johann Sebastian Bach, Michelangelo, Sherlock Holmes (again, not a real guy).

To deliver a solid first impression to C-types:
Be prepared and structured. These people need facts and are committed to quality.
Of course, all typologies are approximations. People display varying amounts of these four dimensions rather than just one. However, understanding the four different behavioral styles makes us better able to make positive impressions, even with those who we see as “different” or hard to understand. Being sensitive to these differences creates a relaxed environment where people want to move the relationship forward and offer their best.

Recognize and respect individual nuances, make adjustments, use good judgment, and adapt. Learning and incorporating the DISC model of behavior is valuable for increasing trust and keeping communication open.

In my work with individuals and within organizations, I have had the opportunity to research and utilize several useful educational tools based on the DISC behavioral model. Feel free to contact me for further information.

A few interesting side notes:
Much later in his life, Dr. Marston created “Wonder Woman” while serving as an educational consultant for DC Comics. Authoring the Wonder Woman comic, Marston used a pen name: Charles Moulton.

The desire to understand the reasons for our diverse behavior has been an age-old preoccupation. The explanations of the ancients were interesting:

Empedocles (444 B.C.), the founder of a school of medicine in Sicily, believed that everything is made of earth, air, fire, and water. These external elements combine in an infinite number of ways, thus explaining the diversity of behavior.

In 400 B.C. the Greek physician Hippocrates came to the conclusion that it is not external factors that shape behavior. He disagreed with many of his day who believed human behavior was determined by being born under a certain astrological configuration of planets. Hippocrates theorized that it was something that takes place “inside” the individual.

Hippocrates believed that if people had a fast, hot fluid running inside their body, they would be direct, decisive, and a leadership-type person. If one had a fluid that was warm and slow, that person would be family- and relationship-oriented.

Even though Hippocrates’ ‘blood theory’ didn’t hold much water, it was the first substantial method for identifying and grouping types of human behavior.

Businesses need all the help they can get in making sense out of today’s economic climate. Wisely managing diverse human assets is vital to succeeding in a rapidly changing global marketplace. When I work with project and sales teams in our training programs, I stress the financial benefits of embracing their team’s diversity. Every professional needs to be reminded of the massive economic benefits of unleashing every team member’s potential by respecting their unique strengths and insights. It’s not a “special” task assigned to certain team members or managers. Also, embracing diversity is not a single action; it is a process. It is not something you can put on your action plan in March and concluded it in June, and then forget about it. It is the key to greater effectiveness and high productivity.

For example: A tremendous amount of human energy is used unproductively in conflict. Many employee disputes have to do with people talking past each other. Employees are failing to value each other because they are coming with a set of expectations, a set of behavioral preferences, that do not mesh with those of the person on the other side of the dispute. There is a failure to communicate because the understandings and expectations that people bring to the job are different. Effective communication strategies are paramount. Failing to establish these strategies will result in an ongoing and expensive recruitment program that is not supported by a successful retention program.

One proven communication strategy is understanding and embracing the different behavioral styles with in a workforce. Doing so makes one better able to act with respect toward other persons, even those who are different and sometimes hard to understand. Learning the DiSC® model of behavior is a valuable tool that hundreds of businesses at every size level have used to help increase individual levels of understanding of behavioral tendencies and increase trust levels and keep communications open.

DiSC represents four dimensions of preferred behavior: (D) Dominance, (i) influence, (S) Steadiness and (C) Conscientiousness. When employees understand how to respect behavioral differences in themselves and others, they put more energy into helping the organization. They get past judging how someone does their work and instead focus on the goals and organizational objectives. By the use of DiSC, teams have been able to explore their differences more openly from a behavioral approach rather than ethnicity, gender or lifestyle.

Companies desiring to make the most of their diverse workforce need to ask themselves enlightening questions, such as: Does the company have effective leadership that is committed to embracing a diverse workforce? How has the company impressed upon its managers and team leaders the benefits that come from understanding behavioral differences and embracing diversity appropriately? What communication enhancement programs are in place to offer team members tools that can be used in understanding diverse behavioral strengths?

By beginning to answer these powerful questions, team differences are harnessed for the good of the company rather than being used as wedges to drive employees apart. By creating inclusive communication programs that focus on team members’ unique behavioral strengths, companies are maximizing every possible opportunity to discover how to utilize each person’s unique strengths. And that makes a whole lot of Cents.

“Our answer must consist not in talk and medication, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answers to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”
- Viktor Frankl

Exchange the word “Life” with “Business” in this opening quote and you have a powerful truism for business.
Viktor Frankel (1905-1997) really knew what he was talking about. He had this ‘being human thing’ figured out. He was one of the greatest European philosophers and psychiatrists of the Twentieth Century. The U.S. Library of Congress named, Dr. Frankel’s enlightening book, Man’s Search for Meaning as one of the 10 books that “made the most difference in people’s lives.”

Frankel lectured in over 40 countries and even fulfilled a visiting professorship at Southern Methodist University. He developed his philosophy known as Logotherapy in the 1930s (Logos is “meaning” in Greek). I recently had the privilege of participating in the thirteenth World Congress of Viktor Frankel’s Logotherapy. In this challenging time for businesses, we can benefit greatly from a look into his teachings. Here is some wisdom from Dr. Frankel and how it relates to business.

We have the Freedom of Choice. Dr. Frankel’s pregnant wife, his parents and brother were all killed during their incarceration in Nazi prison camps. It was in these camps that Dr. Frankel validated his theories. He lost everything, he said, that could be taken from a prisoner, except one thing; “the last of the human freedoms, to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” As the markets continue to fluctuate and business challenges mount, you have the freedom to choose your reaction. A resourceful attitude towards a challenge is paramount if the challenge is to be met.

Our Responses Count. According to Frankel, it is not what happens to you that matters. It is how you respond to what happens that is significant. Same with business. You can not control all the elements of business. Trucks breakdown. Greenspan sleeps. Things happen. How will you respond to unforeseen events? What will you DO? The only things you can control are your responses, your decisions, your actions.

We Must Fight. Standing up to adversity ( i.e. business challenges, the slowing economy) is something Dr. Frankel believed in . Frankel was an ACTION man. In the face of inescapable uncertainty, you must have unwavering determination to overcome the challenges that face you daily in the business world.

Focus on Fulfilling Unique Potential. We not only have a right, but a responsibility, to fulfill our individual potential, according to Frankel. He stressed the using of one’s inner resources to achieve personal goals and find personal truth. The same truth applies to every corporation or business. Each employee, no matter the position or responsibility, has unique strengths, that when utilized, prove to be vital in creating the future of the organization.

Behavior is Driven by Internal Purpose. Great managers know this. It is imperative to understand what the employee is about. Why are they working for the organization? What drives them? Gaining insight into a person’s reasons for working goes a long way in helping the employee reach their full potential.
Responsible-ness -is the center of Frankel’s work. Each of us must take responsibility for where we are in our relationships, financial situation, job situation and businesses because of our decisions that put us there.

Being Responsible, Finding and Making the Most of Individual Strengths, Overcoming Adversity, the Freedom and Power of Choice, ACTION – Frankel would have been the ultimate sales manager or at least a world class CEO.