You are here: Home / Archives for sam palazzolo

Executive Coaching for Managing Expectations of the Leader

January 14, 2010 By

Are You Pushing Your People Hard Enough?  The Potential of Personnel Productivity from the Perspective of Einstein.

As executive coaches, we’re often asked about expectations from the leaders we coach.  Specifically, are the expectations that leader’s possess realistic, accurate, and relevant for today’s workplace and workforce?  Furthermore, what’s the best way to manage those expectations?  Consider the work of Einstein and several expectation solutions reveal themselves.

Einstein was arguably the greatest “thinker” of the twentieth century, and one could/should argue that he was the greatest of all time.  His work in physics has been the basis for much of the progress of mankind.  Even more impressive than the outputs from his thoughts is the process from which these outputs were generated.  The productivity of Einstein’s thoughts was truly amazing!  For example, from the fall of 1915 to the spring of 1917, he generalized relativity, found the field equations for gravity, found a physical explanation for light quanta, hinted as how the quanta involved probability rather than certainty, and came up with a concept for the structure of the universe as a whole.  All the while battling stomach ailments that had him bedridden at times, going through a difficult divorce, and being separated from his kids.  Dennis Overbye, noted science expert of the New York Times called this period “arguably the most prodigious effort of sustained brilliance on the part of one man in the history of physics.”

So often in our Executive Coaching we are presented with the leader’s challenges when it comes to expectations, a few of which are worth mentioning:

  • How to deal with difficult conversations (or the more popular “crucial conversations” and “crucial confrontations”)
  • Establishing the proper success measurement criteria
  • Having members of the staff take initiative, both at the leader and non-leader organization level
  • What to do when you realize the people that “got you here” won’t be able to “get you there”

It is in these moments of expectations, and the time period after, where as an executive coach we work with the leader to establish the potentials regarding what could be.  In other words, what is it that they really want and how will they go about getting it.  Far too often, a leader is limited in their thoughts of what can be accomplished by self-imposed barriers to progress.  The leader simply can not remove themselves from their current reality in order to effectively assess the future potential possibilities.

So how was Einstein able to complete such a range of activities, and what can you do as an executive to increase your expectations (as well as the productivity of your team)?  The following five expectation enhancers should be considered:

  1. Multiple Tasks Require Multiple Thoughts – Einstein was a master at being presented with several tasks, but deriving a single outcome.  While his thoughts might have been scattered, he had the ability to simultaneously focus on several items in order to produce solutions.  Executive Coach Question – Are you able to focus simultaneously with intensity on several tasks?
  2. Distraction Yourself – Einstein was known to escape from his current reality when he could not derive a solution by playing the violin.  He often said that the answers to his dilemmas would come to him while playing Mozart.  Executive Coach Question – What activity do you engage in when you need to have your best thoughts?
  3. Visualize the Elements – Thinking spaciously was the key to Einstein’s abilities to see what was possible.  He was able to break down the complex into simple “real world” analogies.  It was in this ability to visualize that he would then set out for solution.  For example, his theory of relativity was partially constructed when he was a boy by a vision he had of a speeding train and the actions of the participants on it.  Executive Coach Question – Can you see what is possible in your organization?
  4. Seek Support – Einstein, while a steadfast loner spending countless hours by himself while developing his theories, would in the end present them to family, friends and trusted colleagues for verification.  While you might not have the ability to contact a Nobel Peace Prize winner such as Madame Currie to help manage your expectations, there needs to be a “sounding board” to which you can get perspective from. This board should be external to your situation.  Executive Coach Question – Who will you verify your expectations with?
  5. Challenge the Norm – There are many lessons that can be learned from Einstein, but perhaps the greatest was his ability to not take what was known or thought of as a given.  He continued to almost rebel against the current norms of the time and push towards elevated accomplishments.  Often criticized, ridiculed and labeled, he was Teflon-like in that he did not let the thoughts of others regarding the accepted influence his thoughts of expectation.  Executive Coach Question – What are the norms in your environment that you will challenge?

The leaders who can successfully manage their expectations and follow-through on them typically achieve much more than was prevsiously thought possible.  The five tips presented are not an exhaustive list of the many characteristics that made Einstein successful.  Instead, they are intended to offer a glimpse at the possibilities available for leaders to set expectations beyond where they normally otherwise would.  After all, the one sure method for accomplishing less than full potential is to establish expectations within a “comfort zone” or far below what is possible.

For more information on how the Executive Coaching and Organization Development techniques at Pathos Leadership Group and Sam Palazzolo CPLP, PCC can assist you and your organization, contact us at 877.455.3133 or info@pathosleadershipgroup.com.


Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Is Focus the Key to Business Success in 2010?

January 5, 2010 By

Executive Coaching sessions teach that If you stare at a business problem long enough… You’ll still have a problem!

Pathos Executive Focus

Most business leaders spent the majority of 2009 attempting to figure out how to overcome the economy. Some chose to slash expenses (Payroll, Advertising and Marketing amongst the favorites), while others chose to shut-down for extended periods of time.  Some brave leaders even chose to increase their spending!  The bottom line is that with the economy, all leaders soon realized just how much was out of their control. This “out of control” mentality lead many, nearly most, shunning their responsibilities and casting blame elsewhere.  So just what was in a leaders control in 2009?  In our executive coaching we identified the number one area was their ability to focus.

So just what should have been focused on, and perhaps more importantly what will be the focus for those achieving success in 2010?  We’ve identified the following seven (7) focal points for success:

  1. The Organization’s Vision – The vision should compel action, and should be repeated time and again by leadership to all that will listen.  If your people don’t know where you’re headed, don’t be surprised when you arrive someplace completely different!
  2. Think “Green” Clean – How would you describe the organizational climate where you lead?  Healthy or harmful! We can tell a lot about an organization just by walking around.  Imagine… no interviews, no assessments, no meetings or focus groups… just walking around and observing.  It’s biological to state that the successful crops receive the proper nutrition and climate.   Take a look around your facilities and take stock of what is growing.  If you don’t like what you see (and few do), you have the opportunity to change it.
  3. Actively Listen – When was the last time as a leader you went into a conversation without a script, an opinion, a perspective?  If you’re biased going in, everyone will be coming out of the conversation biased thanks to you!  Why not suspending your thoughts and actively listen.  Not just hearing alone listening, but actively engaging in asking questions, nodding your head up and down to reflect comprehension, and exhausting several possibilities before concluding on one of them?
  4. Converse Optimally – We have a preconceived notion as leaders to want to have the “perfect” conversation, or the “crucial conversation” as space and time would dictate.  Let’s face facts… there is no such thing as perfection and isn’t “crucial” really just one parties perspective?  Why not strive to hold your best conversation?  Conversations where you optimally extend and receive effort.  When you do so, you’ll receive better results.
  5. Pinky Swear! – Remember when you were a kid and something of great importance was at stake and you were asked to promise?  When the truth was on the line, and you weren’t crossing your fingers behind your back, you probably were asked to pinky swear!  Why not do the same when you’re asked, or asking, to do something important?  What could be more important than keeping your organization running successfully?  The answer lies in the power of the pinky…
  6. Innovate & Differentiate – If you do little else in 2010, you’d better figure out how to innovate and differentiate your products, your services, your people, your website, your everything!  If you don’t… your competitors will… and so will your customers!
  7. Invest – We see it all too often in our organization development efforts… Leader talks a great game about how his people are “his most important asset.”  When his people are interviewed we find that they don’t have exactly the same perspective, or feelings, or see the “walk” backing up the “talk” necessary!  Investing isn’t an expense… Investments look for returns while expenses look for expenses.  While capital improvements can bring about operational efficiencies, if you’re not investing in your people they’ll either do it themselves (wishful thinking on your part) or someone else to do it for them.

There are many aspects of leading a successful business, all of which require a focal pattern of a fly!  Perhaps the greatest example of control that we see in our executive coaching is the absence of control, or the delegation thereof —a leader who has cast-off their control and delegates responsibility often remains in better control!  So which aspect of control will be the right one for you and your organization?

Sam Palazzolo, CPLP, PCC

Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Executive Coach Provides Tips on New Year’s Resolutions

January 4, 2010 By

Will 2010 be your best year ever?  It should be!

Now that the Holiday Season is behind us, it’s time to focus on the year ahead.* If you’re as excited as I am about the year ahead, I’ve put together the following six (6) tips which I believe will allow you to not only establish clear/concise New Year’s resolutions, but actually be able to implement them in order to achieve success.  These tips came about as a result of an executive coaching conversation that I held during the Holidays with a client.  Here are the basics from that coaching conversation:

Client: “I’ve got so many things that I want to work on in 2010… I’m just a little concerned that I won’t be able to get to all of them.”

Sam: “Tell me about the ‘things’ that you want to work on.  Let’s just list them out first in no particular order.”

Client: ”Sales, the organization leaders, organization development, products, our customer retention, team building, performance reviews, marketing, overcoming the economy (again!), succession planning, the company website, recruiting, terminations…”

If you had similar thoughts, or even if you haven’t, use the following six (6) New Year’s Resolution implementation tips for success:

  1. Consistency – Be consistent in your approach to setting, as well as solving, your resolutions.  Consistency from my coaching perspective primarily surrounds the principles of establishing goals that are realistic for you within the timeframe you identify.  While most executives that I coach are “hard chargers” who achieve what others think/forget about, you’ll get more done if you establish a plan of action that is consistent.  Studies have shown that your productivity will come in “waves” during the month (“Employee Engagement: What It Is and Why You Need It” BusinessWeek Online 5/11/09).  The key is to capitalize on those moments through consistent action.
  2. Enjoyment – Do you enjoy the resolution that you’ve come up with for yourself?  Our studies show that if you do, you are 97% more likely to accomplish it.  So if you don’t enjoy what you’ve resoluted, then you’ll really need to focus on the outcomes that it will provide you with.  Here’s an example, one of our coaching clients wanted to focus on time management for the year ahead.  Unfortunately, while he is very productive, he is extremely insensitive to time.  It’s not that he doesn’t care about time, he’s just more comfortable working in his own “time zone”.  When he identified time management as a resolution, we drove towards the outcomes that he would receive when he would master time.  The benefits (primarily get even more accomplished, make even more money, become even more successful) were of great importance to our executive.  It’s this level of importance coupled with his desires that are our primary focal points.
  3. Get Assistance – The amount of information that is available to each of us is staggering.  For example, a single issue of the New York Times contains more literature content that your grandfather encountered during his entire life!  So with information everywhere, which way should you turn?  While it’s simple to say that you need to “decide, commit and succeed” the reality is that it is often much more difficult in the real world.  We recommend researching your resolution for the current best practice that has stood a time-test (Keep in mind that what was successful ten years ago may, or may not be, successful today… Technology played a key role in the extinction of many great productivity tools!  As a result, one must locate strategies that have proven successful for others, as well as ones that can be implemented into your needs.  Finally, you’ll want to establish an accountability program (If you’d like to establish a formal accountability program that will ensure that you achieve your resolutions, contact us at 877-455-3133 or info@pathosleadershipgroup.com).
  4. Be Social – I know that you have good ideas that you want to make great… However, determine if the resolutions that you’ve established are so far flung (advanced) that you couldn’t get there in 2010 with an eleven foot ladder!  All too often I find leaders during our coaching sessions that want to drive towards the “advanced” playing stages without ensuring that they have mastered the foundational “basics”.  Here’s a good tip, take a look around you and determine who in your industry/organization/space already has the resolution that you want to drive towards.  After you identify this individual, reach out to them and ask them for some help.  This will take a certain level of “swallowing” of one’s pride, but it will allow you to (1) engage with an individual who is operating successfully on the resolution you identified and (2) interview them to identify not only how they achieved such success, but formulate your own action plan.  Looking “advanced” is great, but getting “advanced” advice from someone who’s already there will save you considerable time.
  5. Get Scarce – Most of the leaders who approach us here at Pathos Leadership Group like the idea of having an executive coaching relationship, but aren’t certain how they’ll be able to make the time available.  If you look deep enough at what you want to accomplish, and more importantly how you’re spending your time, you’ll find that you probably have a decision to make.  There are unproductive portions of your day.  The key is in identifying those portions of the day/week/month that drive the least productivity for you and cut them out!  One of the executives we coached last year was on several very high profile boards of directors.  While the prestige he received was good for his ego, it was bad for his productivity and pocketbook.  If you’d like to receive our Pathos Leadership Group “Influential Time Management” productivity tool, email info@pathosleadershipgroup.com and we’ll forward one to you.  Please include your contact information (First + Last Name, Company Name and Direct Phone Number) in your request.
  6. Reciprocate – Success is both a journey as well as a destination.  You’ve got to give it back, even when it appears you have nothing to give!  You probably know of a few people that have prepared their own resolutions for the coming year… Why not offer to help them accomplish them?  Here are a couple of recommendations… (1) Ask if you can help without being asked, (2) put yourself in situations where you can be asked to assist, (3) give recommendations after you determine what it is that your being asked to recommend and (4) forward on the link to this article so that you can begin assisting!

2010 should be your best year!  By adhering to the above six tips towards solving your New Year’s Resolutions you may just be in position to establish new “New Year’s Resolutions” prior to the beginning of next year.  Remember… a real leader makes their own luck!

Sam Palazzolo, CPLP, PCC

*While it’s never too late to begin preparing, we recommend a more proactive timing for forecasting.  For example, we assisted most of our clients here at Pathos to begin their forecasting process in Q3 or Q4 of 2009.

Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Sales Coach: Customer Retention at DirecTV

October 21, 2009 By

DirectTV Sucks!

We do a lot of sales coaching surrounding the topic of Customer Retention.  Our clients realized long ago that plain-old Customer Service was too short-termed to lead to significant success.  A study we performed for one client showed that while customer satisfaction could be upwards of 84%, a customer’s willingness to return was significantly lower (28%).  So what was the reason?  From our focus groups performed we realized that there were enough operational processes going “right” that would lead to customer satisfaction, however in the “big picture” there were few that often lead to customer retention.  In other words, regardless of how pleasant a sales consultant was, this couldn’t make up for not having sufficient inventory!

We often end up implementing a Customer Retention strategy that involves the following:

  • Make certain that the foundation for Customer Retention is in place (Customer Service has taken place)
  • Make it convenient/easy for customers to repeat their purchase experience
  • Reward those customers who share their experience with others through referrals making purchases.

So all of this begs the simple question… What happens when a customer cancels their service and potentially may never return?  We had just such an experience involving DirecTV.  One of our staff members was a long time DirecTV subscriber (8 years).  However, Verizon FIOS just moved into their neighborhood and was offering some incredible deals for new subscribers.  As such, our loyal DirecTV subscriber jumped ship and headed to the red check-mark of Verizon!  That’s when it started to get ugly…

It turns out that most who call in to DirecTV to cancel their subscription are harassed to not only keep their service, but often at a lower price than they’ve previously been paying.  This opportunity to receive the same service for far less money infuriated our loyal customer.  Remember, they had been with DirecTV for eight years, and as they recalled their relationship each year the price seemed to go up!  However, our ship-jumper decided to move on to Verizon, so regardless of the begging or deal-making that was being offered it appeared as though DirecTV was losing yet another customer.

And then the final bill came… It reflected that the loyal DirecTV customer had apparently not been billed for two pay-per-view movies.  However, upon further review, the two movies were watched six months prior to them canceling the DirecTV service! Their records indicated that the movies were indeed watched six months earlier, and paid five months earlier as a result.

And this is where sales people get a bad name… Our now loyal Verizon FIOS customer called in to DirecTV to see what was going on?  The first person they spoke with tried to get them to reactivate their account.  The second person reviewed their records and said that because they were such a loyal customer they qualified for upgraded equipment.  The third person asked is there anything we can do to get you back?  The fourth person verified that there was no way they were coming back, and then said that the $8.48 bill would be “written off” because of the inconvenience!

So we started thinking, in what ways are you attempting to keep your defecting customers?  Our conclusion was that this DirecTV deceptive practice of Customer Retention should not be implemented.  Besides the ethical dilemma it poses, sending out a bill from services rendered and paid for is never a good sales course to follow!

Sam Palazzolo

Pathos Leadership Group

Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Sales Coach: Lessons from Kanye West and Taylor Swift

September 16, 2009 By
'Jackass' Kanye West in action at the MTV-VMAs. Photograph: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

By now you’ve probably seen/heard/read all about the Kanye West interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV-VMA Award show… Even President Barack Obama when asked to comment on the situation called Kanye West a “jackass”!  Regardless of where you weigh in on the situation, there are some great Sales Coaching lessons to be learned from the incident.

Here are the Top 5 Sales Coaching lessons from the incident:

  1. See Your Opportunity – How many times during the day, week, month, and so on do you have the opportunity present itself right in front of your eyes, only to do NOTHING?  While Kanye’s actions might be termed “implausible” and without manners, you’ve got to give him credit for seizing the moment when he saw the opportunity present itself.  The sales coaching lesson here is to recognize those opportunities where the opportunity door has opened and for you to move in.
  2. Get to the Point – Remember the “good old days” when Derek Jeter broke Lou Gehrig’s hit record last week?  There was a game prior to that when Derek Jeter tied the record, and afterward said that he was almost embarrassed to celebrate during the game for two reasons.  First, the New York Yankees were losing the game.  Second, he didn’t want to show the other team up!  Perhaps if Taylor Swift had been as gracious as Derek Jeter and accepted the award with a quick “Thank You” instead of the diarrhea recognition speeches that most award recipients regurgitate Kanye wouldn’t have had the time to jump in.  The sales coaching lesson here is get to the point with your prospects, don’t dilly-dally.
  3. Have a Point – I guess if you are to “Get to the Point” as mentioned above, it’s important to know what your point is.  Taylor Swift did have a “cheat sheet” set of notes that she was going to refer to for her acceptance speech.  The sales coaching lesson here is to know what you are going to say when the opportunity door opens itself to you.
  4. Bring Passion – Is there any doubt in anyone’s mind that Kanye West thought that Beyonce should have won the award instead of Taylor Swift?  Even my eight year old exclaimed “Damn… What’s with that guy?” after seeing Kanye’s rant!  The sales coaching lesson here is you’ve got to believe first and foremost in your product/service.  If you don’t, you won’t be able to fake it and your prospects will see it.  They won’t buy from you as a result.  One of our clients loves to say “Love Thy Product” and you should do the same.
  5. Don’t Apologize to Oprah – Time for a confession… I love Oprah Winfrey.  I’ve loved Oprah since she was on TV in Nashville way back when and I love her today.  However, I don’t know why Kanye apologized to her and the rest of America before he did so to Taylor Swift.  Sales coaching lesson is to own up to your mistakes to the people they directly effect.  Let’s face it; you’re going to have an issue every now and then delivering your product/service to a customer.  When it happens, and it will, call them up and apologize.  Also set a proactive course for “next time” both for them, and for you!  You’ll go further in your relationships as a result.

So there you have the Pathos Coaching “slant” on the Kanye West versus Taylor Swift saga.

Sam Palazzolo

Pathos Leadership Group

Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sales Coach: What Do You Do When They Don’t Buy From You?

August 12, 2009 By

You work hard to sell your product or service, right?  Nothing is handed to you… Sometimes your sales cycle is short, other times it’s long.  Regardless, as a sales professional you are out there pounding the pavement (or email system “virtually” pounding the internet superhighway) every day.  Just when you think you’ve got the sale, the prospect puts the brakes on and calls a halt to the sales action.  You hit the “pause” button as well and move on to another prospect.  When you ultimately do buckle-back with the prospect, you find out that they’ve bought your product or service, just not from you! What went wrong?  What will you do now?  The following “Seven Tips to Offset Lost Sales” are for you if this scenario happens to you far too often (In our sales coaching practice, our clients learn that once is often enough!)

Tip #1 – Qualify the Prospect
One of our coaching clients is in the real estate industry.  They successfully run one of the leading, and largest, real estate agencies in the country.  During our initial meetings, I asked what made them different from the many other real estate agencies out there.  Now I’ve asked that question before and I’m always excited to hear what the answer is.  This time, I have to admit that I was a little surprised!  The answer that I received back was that they do a better job of qualifying the prospect than other agencies.  This allows them to fully serve those clients in their best interest.  In order to avoid losing the sale and sell more, you’ve got to qualify your customer.  Does your offering serve them better than anyone else?  Do they have the budget?  How long will your solution be the answer?  These questions may seem to be way upstream regarding the lost sales conversation, but if you do a better job at qualifying your customers initially you’ll gain more sales!

Tip #2 – Stay in Touch
Ok, let’s get real here.  If you’re like most salespeople you enjoy the hunt, sometimes you enjoy it more than the actual reaping of the rewards from the sale.  So when you have a prospect that says “I need to think about it…” or “Follow-up with me in a few…” you fall for it and move on to the next hunting ground.  When you buckle-back, they’ve bought somewhere else (Just like in the opening example!)  What happened?  You lost the sale because you got greedy and moved on to the next pond to fish when you should have left a line in the water, or at the minimum come back to the pond and fish more frequently.  There’s a reason why people aren’t buying from you right here, right now.  Do you know what they are?  These are the “3 P’s” we discovered regarding why customers don’t buy from you.  Send us an email (info@pathosleadershipgroup.com) requesting them and we’ll send you a special report so you stay in touch better!

Tip #3 – Polish Your Presentation
When was the last time you practiced your presentation?  If you’re like one of our clients, they practice every day on their way in to the office.  Unfortunately, they used to lose sales even with all that practice!  So what was going wrong?  Practice is good, but “Perfect Practice” is better!  Also, if you’re presentation is taking place in a different “realm” (i.e., virtually like on the internet through a web-meeting or on the phone through a conference call) you’d better be practicing in that realm.  No amount of “windshield” practice can prepare you for the challenges of these new presentation realms.  We are convinced that Murphy’s Law is in full-force in these new spaces, so you better practice up!

Tip #4 – Serve the Prospect
Just because you didn’t make the sale on your first conversation doesn’t mean that you’ve lost it for good.  So what do you do with your prospect during the sales process?  In the New Economy sales-cycles have almost doubled.  What could be accomplished leading prospects from introduction to successful sale over seven touches now takes fourteen!  The time period associated with these additional touches gives you the opportunity to outshine your competition and deliver in other realms for your prospect.  What else do they need, that you offer, that you could deliver while they’re in decision mode?  Could you deliver them and help swing the decision making process in your favor?  Stop serving only your current customers and start delivering to prospects.

Tip #5 – Survey the Lost Customer
Sometimes in defeat you can determine your next victory strategies!  Survey your lost customers to determine what went wrong.  Perhaps it was your presentation or follow-up efforts, perhaps you didn’t provide enough detail or perhaps too much detail, maybe you don’t have the right technology, etc.  You’ll never know if you don’t ask, so ask!  The feedback could be humbling, but beneficial in discovering what you won’t do the next time.  Want even better feedback?  Have us interview your prospects after they’ve bought somewhere else. What customers won’t tell you because they’re afraid they’ll “hurt your feelings” they will tell us!

Tip #6 – Know Thy Competitor
So who did you lose out to?  Better yet, why did you lose out to them?  These are common questions that we ask of our sales coaching clients.  I continue to be dumbfounded when I hear “I don’t know!”  You don’t know?  You don’t know? Find out and more importantly find out what they are delivering that you aren’t.  Then figure out how you can deliver it better!  New competitors are everywhere all the time, even if you’re like one of our pharmaceutical clients!  Keep your competitors closer to you and you’ll be more successful.

Tip #7 – Know Thyself
Time to get real again… You know why you lost the sale, so stop BS’ing yourself! Look yourself in the mirror and hold yourself accountable.  If after reading the previous six tips you still don’t know why you are losing sales, perhaps sales is not for you!  Bad news, you’re always selling something.  One of the seminar companies that we did some work for a few years ago coined the term “lifelong learner” in their workshop presentations.  They brought up the term right around the time they’d offer their products for sale.  Guess what happened, people realized that they were not lifelong learners.  However, they wanted to be so they bought!  If you’re not investing 20% of your annual income in lifelong learning activities you’re falling behind your competition.
By following the preceding seven tips, you won’t win 100% of your sales proposals.  However, you will greatly increase your percentage from where you are today by being aware of them, working on them, and implementing them into your sales game plan.

Filed Under: Featured Content, The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The Pathos Platform – Learn the Platforms to Propel Your Business!

August 11, 2009 By

At Pathos Leadership Group, our foundation-platform is based on a fifty year social-psychology study.  This study, which has stood the test of the fifty years, set out to determine that if all things were equal how would a person respond to a situation.  Would they respond favorably?  Would they reject any/all offers?

After studying and learning this methodology, we began to implement the platform items in business through out business coaching.  The results were impressive:

  • Sales Increased
  • Customer Satisfaction Increased (Both Internal as well as External!)
  • Gross Profit per Sale Increased

In 2005 we determined that a select few organizations could benefit from our experience.  As such, Pathos Leadership Group was born!  To see what you can do to become more influential in your world, send us an email (info@pathosleadershipgroup.com) and we’ll arrange for a complimentary viewing of “The Pathos Platform” fifteen (15) minute eLearning module.

Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Business Coach: Influential Communication – Communicate with LASER Accuracy!

August 11, 2009 By

Influential Communication: Communicate with LASER Accuracy!
CAUTION! – Using the LASER could be beneficial to your professional and personal life!

Communication skills are at the crosshairs of success.   Whether your communication is done verbally or virtually, your ability to do it effectively, and with influence, will determine your success or failure.  Research shows that 80 percent of people feel that they could achieve better results if they were able to communicate better. Millions of companies, small and large, experience communication problems on a regular basis, but in most cases, a simple shift in focus does the trick.

If you find that your communication is no longer influential, and it’s often missing its intended target, the solution is simple: It’s called the LASER model, which is unique because its focus is internal.  The starting point for effective communication is within us.  What happens if you initially focus externally rather than internally?  Well, it’s like operating your business without a business plan; achieving anything – even nothing – is acceptable.  In order to truly achieve influential communication, you must focus internally first, pointing the LASER at yourself … here’s how:

  • Listen – Listen to the environment you are in and listen to your own thoughts.  Is it so noisy that you can’t hear yourself think?  The key to successful internal communication starts with peace and quiet.  Shut your office door, find an empty cubicle, take that walk around the building, and locate a place where you can hear yourself think. You want to be able to hear your best thoughts!
  • Ask Questions – Ask yourself the questions that count for the conversation you are going to have:  What do you want the end result to be?  What will it look like?  How will you feel when you accomplish it?  These are the easy questions to ask and answer!  However, in order to be truly influential, you need to ask the difficult ones by aiming dead center!  What will it look like if my communication is ineffective and we don’t realize the end result?  Where might we come up short of our goal?  What will it look like then?  How will you feel when you don’t accomplish it?  Get uncomfortable when you ask these tough questions.  The more uncomfortable you feel, the better the results will be.
  • Silence – Yeah, that’s right!  The third step is to sit in silence and listen to the answers that come to you.  Don’t interject your opinions on the results you receive.  This will be difficult!  Instead, just be quiet and listen to the results as they flow forth from asking those difficult questions.  Make certain that you write them down; they’ll come to you fast and furious so keep track of them.  Use shorthand if necessary.  You need to be able to recall them when you are done.
  • Erase the past – There is a reason why the rear-view mirror is smaller than the windshield in a car; it’s crucial that you see more of where you’re going than where you’ve been!  We steer toward where we look, or aim, our focus.  Unfortunately with communication, we let our thoughts of how things went in the past dictate how things will go in the future.  If we are always focusing on where we’ve been, rather than where we are going, we’re liable to encounter some obstacles head on, making future successful communication either unlikely or impossible. The past has a way of “clouding” our vision, making our current communications not the best that they could be. Instead, we need to future-focus on what we want to occur!
  • Realize the Future – You have yourself in position to listen without the noise and clutter that usually surrounds each of us.  You’ve made yourself uncomfortable by asking questions that dug deep into what you are trying to accomplish.  You’ve moved out of your own way and answered those uncomfortable questions.  You’re future-focused on the target ahead.  Lastly, determine who needs to hear what it is you have to say and layout how you will say it!  The time, place or medium you choose to communicate in may change, but the message will not.  In order to realize the future, you must be strategic not only with what you say, but also with whom you say it to!

What results will you achieve when you use the influential communication LASER model?  You’ll have an influential edge in becoming the best leader you can be, making your best decisions and achieving your best results.  However, implementing only the internal communication habits will still cause you to miss your target.  Why?  The influential leader combines these internal communication habits with the external communication discipline necessary in order to achieve truly influential communication.

So the next time you communicate, remember to first focus internally before communicating externally.  As a result, you will achieve success!

Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Executive Coach: Should You Fire Your Training Department?

August 11, 2009 By

Should You Fire Your Training Department?

6 Criteria to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Your Learning Department

 

Nothing contributes more to your organization’s profits or losses than your employees.  Having the right employee in the right position at the right time executing the right processes is a recipe for success.  However, few managers are fortunate to have this recipe, consistently, in their organizations, so they rely upon the learning department to train employees for success.  Unfortunately, the guidance these employees receive from the learning department often causes them to fail because the training doesn’t provide tangible or measurable results. 

The American Society of Training and Development’s “Certified Professional in Learning and Performance” (CPLP) recommends taking a proactive stance when it comes to developing, delivering and following up on training. And this proactive stance should be taken by learning departments, where organizational training needs are anticipated and identified, then delivered accordingly.  If you question your learning department’s training contribution to your profit picture, use the following six proactive criteria to evaluate their effectiveness.

1. Strategic –Training initiatives should be developed with the organization’s strategies and objectives in mind.  Too often, training departments prepare and present material that is a “current” or “hot” topic instead of what is imperative to achieving the organization’s business goals.  Your learning professionals should take an active role to assist leadership by showing the positive impact training will have on the organization as a whole. Training will continually improve the organization’s ability to compete in its market and it’s the most effective means of leveraging the organization’s knowledge and talent.  A shift in learning department employees from “trainers” to “consultants” or “trusted advisors” is needed.

2. Professionalism – The training professionals of the future will be able to perform with a high level of preparation and personalization.  Customization is king when it comes to preparing training for the organizational audience.  “Canned” training – presentations pulled off of the shelf or those not updated for the current organizational goals – will not suffice in the current “change in a minute” or “around every corner” business climate of the modern workplace.  With this in mind, personalization and customization will set your learning department’s training apart and deliver higher value to your organization.

3. Implementation/Sustained Process – Training is just presentation for the sake of presenting if the material is never implemented.  Worse yet, if training is implemented with a “when times are good” mentality or without a schedule, it will never be sustained. When times become “not good,” the natural tendency will be to revert back to the original process of how things were done in the past.  The goal of training is to be able to execute in good times as well as tough times.  Therefore, establish continuous training goals for the greater good of the organization, regardless of economic swings.  Implementation works best when the top of the organization supports the learning department’s continuous training, and support from the top substantially increases the likelihood that the process will be sustained.  Training objectives should be measured periodically to ensure satisfactory progress or regress.  If progress slows, identifying modifications in the original process will provide further areas of improvement.

4. Responsibility – The “R” word – responsibility is rarely considered in learning departments when it comes to training efforts. Instead, learning departments often cast blame on less-than- successful training initiatives in the other departments within the organization.  Inevitably, the other departments similarly shed this blame by identifying one another as the reason success wasn’t achieved.  Regardless of who’s to blame, if the organization’s results were less-than anticipated, the training department must take responsibility for the initiatives they present.  A key part of this responsibility is properly developing effective and accurate metrics and measurement tools to track and report the value to the organization.  Once value has been presented, the responsibility is still upon the learning department’s shoulders to execute accordingly.

5. Learning – Learning isn’t a one-time event!  Instead, consider it a process in need of continuous improvement.  Instilling this learning process in every part of the organization is key to longevity and success.  No two departments learn the same way, and no two leaders will request the same methods.  The training team must work in sync with the leadership team to ensure the proper learning methodologies are identified and delivered for maximum return.

6. Proactive – Obviously it pays to be as proactive as possible, but even more, it’s a competitive advantage!  Learning departments must work hand-in-hand with organization leadership so they know exactly where their training destinations should be.  Again, the more proactive learning departments can be when assessing and identifying what training will have the greatest economic value for the organization, the better.  In order to do so, leaders within the learning department must take a proactive stance when it comes to the development and delivering of the training.  Training does not end when the sessions conclude either.  Learning departments should review the training goals, which were established at the outset, and measure whether or not they are being met.  If they are, consider it “Mission Accomplished” and if they are not, learning departments should analyze where specifically the training fell short of accomplishing the desired goals.  Then a new training message should be delivered and implemented.  Thereafter, and periodically after installation, the learning department should continue to measure and compare for desired results.

Properly anticipating the best training methodologies and delivering them in sync with the organization’s goals is paramount for success.  This success can be measured by how well your training department performs the six steps identified above.

Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Executive Coaching

July 30, 2009 By

You’re the Chief Executive or Key Leader in your organization, and you’re tasked with being the best leader you can be, making your best decisions and getting the best results.  No small task in today’s New Economy!  You need someone to provide you with an outside perspective, someone that you trust and someone that will work with you towards accomplishing your goals.  Enter Pathos CEO Influential Edge Executive Coaching…

Based on our four-step coaching module, you’ll spend the first four months of our strategic partnership identifying where you are at (i.e., As the leader of the organization, what are you truly great at?  Conversely, what are you truly poor at? etc…)  We’ll then move on to determine where you want to go, both professionally as well as personally.  Then the good part begins… Pathos Coaching and Leadership Development Skills Development.  We’ll spend time performing this analysis in-depth through our weekly coaching sessions until ultimately we’ve identified not only where we want to go, but how we’re going to get there through our executive coaching.

Our strategic parntership doesn’t end there, it’s just beginning!  Our strength is implementing your vision in your organization.  We’ll work with your Key Leaders and establish an implementation plan, roll-out the plan all the while insuring compliance/modification through our coaching sessions with key leadership.

Twelve (12) months later you’ll look at yourself, and your organization much differently!  Success is just over the next hill… are you ready to get there?

If so, please contact us at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com for more information.

Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: , , , , ,
Newer Posts »