Anne Warfield's Outcome Thinking® Blog

Jesse James and Sandra Bullock: Truth or Fiction?

2010-03-26T14:33:00.002-05:00

There is nothing that sparks more interest in people then getting the inside scoop on the good, the bad and the ugly for other people. Unfortunately that light is being cast right now on Jesse James and Sandra Bullock.

I will not attempt to prove whether he has or has not cheated on her but instead show you how information can be skewed based on perceptions- how our brains can make leaps in logic.

Here are some of the leaps I am hearing people do:
1. He cheated on her, he wears tattoos, therefore an indication of cheating is the fast paced live of tattoos.
2. His second wife was a porn star- proof the guy has more raunchy taste and Sandra is his exception.
3. All the women coming forward have tattoos, and tattoo people are daredevils so it is proof that he did have the affairs
4. He has been married twice before, proof he can't be true.

All of these have elements of facts and lots of opinion that is being put together to become fact based.

So here is all we do know:
1. He has been married twice before and both marriages ended in divorce.
2. He does like fast cars and tattoos.
3. At least one of his previous marriages ended due to affairs he had, so he does have knowledge of how to conduct them.

Those are the only facts we have now, and the rest we need to see played out. What you want to avoid is jumping to generalizations based on some facts.

The hardest thing in business is to stay focused on the facts and not be swayed by opinion. It is easy to say, "Joe didn't get that report in on time therefore Joe is always last." There you have fact "he didn't get the report in on time" and then move to opinion "Joe is always late." Good critical thinkers know when to listen to the facts, weed out the assumptions and opinions, and when to act on what they know.

For now I wish them best of luck in sorting things out and if it is true, then, in my opinion, he needs figure out why he needs the element of risk to feel alive.

Resilence: How resilient are you?

2010-03-25T10:22:00.008-05:00

My Grandpa is 96 years old.

Just imagine in his lifetime what he has lived through:

He has lived through the first cars. He saw when America was the number one car seller to having America displaced by foreign cars.

He has lived through World War II, Vietnam and Desert Storm. So he has seen how the news covered and delivered updates on the war after the fact and then Desert Storm when we were right there with the troops.

He has lived through the small Mom and Pop grocery stores to the big chains we have today.

He has lived through the traditional "treat a woman like a lady" to the women's movement "I can get my own door, thank you."

He has seen the telephone go from being a clunky desk object to being a cell phone you put in your pocket.

He saw Kodak almost disappear as we went from film to digital prints.

He saw games move from board games to electronic pong to the Wii.

He has been resilient. He has had to change continuously. Never once have I seen him complain about the changes or regress to saying what they had was better.

No, instead he says, "Will you look at that? Isn't that amazing?"

You see resilience is attitude. What is your attitude?

More on attitude by Anne Warfield

What Does President Obama's Hands Say?

2010-03-25T10:09:00.003-05:00

Often with leaders it is not what they say, but rather, what their body language says that tells the real story.

I find that President Obama's hands are very revealing. Go back and look at his last State of the Union address and you will find the following:

1. When he is expressing an idea that is an ideal but doesn't have a concrete plan behind it, he uses open palms while he talks.
2. When he has firm plans that are in place he touches his thumb and pointer finger together making a small circle.
3. When he has plans but they have not come together completely he puts his thumb half way down his pointer finger making a smaller or flattened circle.
4. When we wants an idea accepted but he is getting massive push back, he laces his fingers together and pounds them up and down to make his point.

So watch his hands in further speeches to see how ideal or how concrete his path and thoughts are!

More on body language by Anne Warfield

Why Strategic Planning May Get You To The Wrong Place

2010-03-11T11:48:00.006-06:00

You have your entire trip planned out including what museums you will go to, when you will go to them, and even your map with the route marked out. Being that prepared is what Strategic Planning is about. It is making sure you have what you need to get from Point A to Point Z.

Now the problem occurs when you have all of that planned out for Boston and you are actually in Los Angeles. It doesn't matter how good the strategic plan is since it doesn't take in to account one of the major stumbling blocks right up front. It requires Strategic Thinking-looking at the problem or challenge from a holistic approach- to happen FIRST before Strategic Planning is effective.

I bring this up because many companies today are training their leaders on Strategic Planning and mistakenly thinking that means they are elevating the leader's thinking process. In reality you are giving them a tool that will only be as useful as the base of thinking it rests on.

So how good is your team's thinking? If they are like most managers, they actually immediately move to solving a problem rather than thinking through the problem. This leads to a constant stop-start action at your company where people are constantly moving but nothing is getting done.

As Einstein said, "You can't solve a problem from the same level of thinking that created it."

In today's economy it requires you to use Critical Thinking skills in order to be more strategic in what you do, how you do it and how you create action in others. It requires leaders to move from training people on what to do to showing them how to think.

The only asset your team will bring to every meeting is their brain. Do you know how to tap in to all it's richness? Or are you sitting with Boston maps while you are in Los Angeles?

More on Strategic Thinking by Anne Warfield

Power vs. Force: Use OutcomeThinking® to Unleash Your Personal Power!

2010-03-10T17:34:00.005-06:00

Outcome Thinking® Webinar Series
Power vs. Force: Use Outcome Thinking® to Unleash Your Personal Power!

You will learn:
1. To unleash your best, highest and most authentic self
2. How to fully step into your inner power and magnificence
3. To create a high frequency vibration and calibration

We will share with you how to tap in to your personal power with Outcome Thinking®.

Join us for this engaging webinar to unlock your personal power.

Take 30 seconds to RSVP for this “NO-COST WEBINAR” on Thursday May 6 at 1:00 cst.

REGISTER TODAY

PS: Feel free to pass this invitation on to your family, friends for this one-of-a-kind-webinar experience.

Can't make the date?

Still register so you can get Free access to the recording after the event.

For those who don't register, the recording will be available for purchase.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/849966946

How to Use Outcome Thinking to Increase Your Luck

2010-02-22T11:34:00.001-06:00

Outcome Thinking® Webinar Series
How to Use Outcome Thinking® to Increase YOUR Luck!

You will learn:
1. the four things lucky people do
2. how to persevere in achieving goals
3. what steps to take to attract good luck

We will share with you how to tap in to and access the greatest power you have using Outcome Thinking®. You will see what changes you need to put in place to make sure that you accomplish what you want in 2010.

Join us for this introspective and engaging webinar to get your key to unlock your luck.

Take 30 seconds to RSVP for this “NO-COST WEBINAR” on Thursday March 4 at 1:00 cst.

REGISTER TODAY

PS: Feel free to pass this invitation on to your family, friends for this one-of-a-kind-webinar experience.

Can't make the date?

Still register so you can get Free access to the recording after the event.

For those who don't register, The recording will be available for purchase.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/280718586

A Snapshot of Brillance: What's Yours?

2010-01-29T11:41:00.005-06:00

If you are a photographer and you want to grow your business, how do you do it?

Most likely you thought of the typical marketing ideas of advertising, tweeting, or maybe even blogging on how to ensure you get great pictures. All of those are good ideas but I saw one the other day that was absolutely brilliant in its simplicity.

My girlfriend had pictures of her son taken. When she picked up her pictures the photographer handed her 100 business cards that had on the front- the photographers website and phone number as well as a picture of my friend's baby, the back was a full picture of my friend's baby crawling.

There are six reasons this is brilliant:

1. Allows parents to pass out pictures of their child without buying extra expensive prints.
2. They are small and easy to carry around
3. Friends are likely to keep the card as it has a picture of the friend's baby on it. Hence better chance they will call down the road.
4. Every person who gets a card feels it is "customized" and relevant to them because the picture on it is someone they know. Thus the card suddenly has "character."
5. The parents are proud to hand them out because it has their child's picture on it
6. It eliminates the "who took these pictures" attempt at referrals and promotes the photographer without a word spoken

Now you have feel good energy around the handing out of the cards as well as the receiving of the card.

Looking at this example, ask what you can do in your business to generate this same goodwill. What can you do that clients will hold on to? What can you do that clients will want to distribute for you?

Now I realize not all our businesses lend toward the cute idea this photographer has done but I would bet if you think on it, you can come up with something equally as brilliant. So what have you done that has made you or your business stand out?

More on creating a positive impression by Anne Warfield

President Obama - State of the Union - Body Language Insights

2010-01-29T11:20:00.003-06:00

Anne Warfield shares her insights on President Obama's body language during the State of the Union Address:

When is Right Wrong?

2010-01-29T08:37:00.005-06:00

I am a fan of the show Bones. I love watching the completely analytical mind of Bones going up against the "feel it in your gut" thinking of Booth.

In last night's show Booth did a background check on his brother's girlfriend. Why? Because he believes his brother often doesn't think through his decisions well so Booth wanted to make sure this woman was good for his brother. He felt he was right in what he did.

Bones, trying to get him to see the error in his thinking said a classical line, "I don't know if you were wrong, but I fail to see the point of being right."

Take a moment to re-read that line. It is profound in its simplicity. Many times being wrong or right is not the point. The outcome you are going after can often be totally lost because you are focusing on whether you are wrong or right (an either/or thinking) versus focusing on the outcome (an "and" thinking).

For your OT Journal, go back and look at how many times you go for being "right" versus going for the outcome. Now thinking about that, what would you need to change in your thinking to get to the outcome versus being right? How would that have impacted the situation?

If you don't have an OT Journal, email us at contact@imp.us.com and put "Blog OT Journal Intentions" in the email and we will send you a free downloadable journal.

Anne Warfield

Conan & Leno: A Story in Brass vs Class

2010-01-29T08:34:00.002-06:00

What you say outloud is just a reflection to the world of how you think of the world and yourself. So if I cut other people down when I talk, I am telling you I don't value myself or others. If I look for the good in others when I talk I am showing you that I see the world as good and my brain looks for the good in others. What you say reflects your thinking, so what is yours saying?

I watched Conan's last two shows to see how he would handle coming off the air. Remember this is a spot he fought 5 years for. He was the one that went to NBC and said he wanted to be promised Leno's spot or he was going to walk from his contract.

So NBC gave him the spot. They went to Leno and said it was time to retire. Leno went off the air gracefully without harsh digs on NBC or on Conan. Instead he focused on the opportunities he was going to have and poked fun at how the ending happened. He showed all of us that he wasn't happy with the decision but he was settled with it and he would come out on top again. He displayed Class.

Conan's exit was bitter. He took huge digs at NBC, did expensive stunts (costing millions of dollars), and basically said that NBC screwed him over. Remember, this is a guy that went to NBC and told them he could handle the Tonight Show and then when he couldn't handle it, instead of owning that, he fought back and said it was NBC's fault. That is Brass.

Leno's actions showed that his brain automatically moves to making the best of a situation by being the best he can. Conan's actions showed that he will move to blaming others when things go wrong rather than owning what he needs to change or modify to make things better.

Which employee would you want? Which employee are you?

Every day your words and action demonstrate your THINKING. So, for those of you following in your Outcome Thinking Intentions Journal, go back and look at some of the thinking you demonstrated. What does it say about you and your view of the world? If it is not what you want start changing it today.

PS. If you don't have a OT Journal, see our previous blog to see how to get your hands on a free journal.

Anne Warfield

New Webinar: How to Use Outcome Thinking® to Increase YOUR Luck!

2010-01-25T18:36:00.000-06:00

You will learn:
1. the four things lucky people do
2. how to persevere in achieving goals
3. what steps to take to attract good luck

We will share with you how to tap in to and access the greatest power you have using Outcome Thinking®. You will see what changes you need to put in place to make sure that you accomplish what you want in 2010.

Join us for this introspective and engaging webinar to get your key to unlock your luck.

Take 30 seconds to RSVP for this “NO-COST WEBINAR” on Thursday March 4 at 1:00 cst.

PS: Feel free to pass this invitation on to your family, friends and colleagues for this one-of-a-kind webinar experience.

Can't make the date?
Still register so you can get FREE access to the recording after the event. For those who don't register, the recording will be available for purchase. Space is limited.

Register at: http://www.impressionmanagement.com/webinar.html

Outcome Thinking & Intentions

2010-01-22T08:55:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I did a Webinar on the The Scientific Proof behind the Hocus Pocus of Thoughts and Intentions. If you weren't able to tune in, you can go purchase a copy on the website. Here I am going to tie activities and things y0u can do to expand your thinking and analyze the impact your thoughts have on meetings, discussions and your daily life. This will allow you to make your own conclusion.

You may also wish to get your hands on our Outcome Thinking & Intentions journal. Just email us at contact@imp.us.com and put Blog OT Journal in the subject line and we will send you a free downloadable journal.

In studying the impact your thoughts have on actual situations I had you start writing down what your THOUGHTS are and then what results you saw happen. This is important because there is tremendous power in what is not said. Matter-of-fact, in some people this comes out in expressive body language that tells you what they are thinking but not saying.

If you want to stop giving away tell-tell signs you need to first learn to manage your thinking. That is one of the beauties of Outcome Thinking- it shows you how to flip your brain so you automatically starting going to the offense side of thinking rather than the defense side of thinking.

So between now and my next blog, I just want you to observe your thoughts and what happens. Blog back and let us know what you thought and what happened. You will be your own Intention Experiment.

My first test on this was rather simple. I said I was going to change my "parking Karma." In my family we used to joke that I always ended up with the crappy parking spaces. So I simply started to say that I would get a front row spot. The amazing thing is that in 6 months I have only had ONE parking spot that wasn't front row! Every time I land a front row spot and no, I am not circling the parking ramp waiting for a spot. I drive in confidently thinking, "where is my front open spot?" and then there it is!

If you have a co-worker you are having trouble with try to just send positive thoughts about that person out and see how it changes their interaction with you.

Anne Warfield

Learn the Scientific Proof to the Hocus Pocus About Thoughts & Intentions!

2010-01-15T10:21:00.015-06:00

What is the link between intention, crime and muscles?

Can you alone, impact change in your department, your company?

We will share with you how to tap in to and access the greatest power you have using Outcome Thinking®.

You will see what changes you need to put in place to make sure that you accomplish what you want in 2010.

Join us for this introspective and engaging webinar to get your key to unlock your opportunities.

Take 30 seconds to RSVP for this “NO-COST WEBINAR” on Thursday January 21 at 1:00 cst.

PS: Feel free to pass this invitation on to your family, friends for this one-of-a-kind-webinar experience.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/917740242

When Big Isn't Big Enough

2009-12-15T16:12:00.005-06:00

Picture your drive way with 80,000 rubber squids dropped on the driveway by a delivery truck the size of Kentucky. How would you move them all?

Let me introduce you to Steve Spangler a science aficionado. He loves to share the fun of science with teachers and kids around the world. He creates experiments that explode and makes science an art to be explored. Check him out at stevespanglerscience.com.

Steve is a good example of how thinking small but pushed to big gets awesome results. See Steve decided to create some small rubber squids for his science activity SQUIDYtm. He set about to get a mold made and when told he had to buy in quantity, he agreed. For after all, how hard could it be to sell 500 of them?

What he didn't expect was 80,000 of them dropped at his driveway with a $20,000 price tag to be paid in 30 days.

This "error" forced Steve to think far bigger than he originally planned. Today his experiments are in 1,000 stores and over 20,000 educational catalogs worldwide.

All because Steve couldn't "afford" to sit on this quantity. He needed to make money fast so he could pay the $20,000 invoice.

When do you think too small? In what ways are you trying to play it safe and be in the 500 quantity range rather than in the 80,000 Oh-my-gosh-what-are-we-going-to-do range?

Live large rather than just playing safe!

Anne Warfield
More on becoming innovative by Anne Warfield

Meaning to Be Happy or Happy to have Meaning

2009-12-15T15:13:00.003-06:00

There is an old proverb that has a couple traveling to a new town. Halfway they find an old man and they ask him what the next village is like. He says, "what was your last village like?" They respond, "It was awful. The neighbors were rude." He responds, "You will find the same thing in the next village."

A few hours later another couple comes upon the old man. They two are traveling to the same town as the previous couple. They ask the man what the next village is like. He says, "What was your last village like?" They respond, "it was wonderful. We hated to leave the love and friendship of all our neighbors." He says, "You will find the same thing in the next village."

The proverb was to show us that the village contains what we bring to it- you bring misery and you will get misery; you bring joy and you will get joy.

Marshall and Kelly Goldsmith just did a study on happiness and meaning and they found that happiness and meaning has more to do with WHO you are rather than WHERE you are.

So gone are the excuses and the blaming. Instead you need to look in the mirror and own the baggage you are carrying with you.

They found the number of hours being worked and even the quality of the work didn't have bearing on the happiness. What did was the meaning the employees gave the work they did.

Another interesting point was those that were happy at work were generally happy at home and those that were miserable at work were generally miserable at home as well.

So, think of yourself, like a snail. You carry your entire world with you each day. If you want it to be happy and to have meaning, look no further than inside your own shell!

Anne Warfield

More on developing leadership by Anne Warfield

Fall from Grace

2009-12-15T08:58:00.003-06:00

Celebrity scandals abound and even if you don't like gossip you can't help but be inundated by news of the latest scandal.

The latest fall from grace, of course, is Tiger Woods. Think of all the years Tiger Woods has spent building his brand. In the industry you knew that if his name was tied to something it had to be of the utmost quality. His perfectionism and drive spoke louder than his words.

Yet in just one night his ratings plumeted to 80% of people having a negative impression of him. Prior to the "crash" and women coming out of the woodwork saying they are mistresses of his, only 2% of the public had a negative impression of him.

Can he ever recover?

The reality, based on history, is NO. He will never reach the height of trust and respect he had just one short month ago in November of 2009.

There are several business lessons for you to learn here:
1. Trust crumbles easily- your words and actions must match or they will catch up to you. And when they do people don't like feeling like they have been duped by you.
2. Quality & Perception relate- people will relate your companies quality to their perception of the quality of the individuals you hire. Make sure their attitudes match the perception you want.
3. Actions not Words Count- People will look for the actions to match the words. If they don't, the words mean nothing. Just last month Woods gave an interview on the value of family. Now that same interview is being used to "mock" his actions.
4. Morals & Values do count- Kanye West went from 17% of the population having a negative impression of him to over 81% of the people having a negative impression of him after he humiliated Taylor Swift at the awards. I wouldn't be surprised if his career never recovers.

So the moral of the story is THINK. Your reputation and brand is directly tied to your actions. Yes, people will interpret the value of your brand through how they interpret the value of EACH and EVERY interaction they have with your employees.

All it take is one poor interaction with one person to lose a life time customer. So my advice to you, is to take care of your employees so they take care of your customers.

Anne Warfield

More on managing your message by Anne Warfield

How to manifest the life you want

2009-12-09T09:13:00.004-06:00

As you have noticed from my blogs, they are all designed to spark thinking. For all change starts with a change in thinking. You can not change on the outside long-term if you don't change on the inside. They go hand in hand.

The other day someone was telling me about what kind of team they wanted at work. He knew exactly how they wanted it to operate. He wanted a team that operated with a high degree of accountability, respect, and accuracy. I asked him what he was doing to make that "culture" happen, and he told me he couldn't make the culture change because he didn't have the right people. His solution was to keep firing people and hiring new people- which he had been doing for over 3 years!

In his mind, he didn't have the right people. The real problem isn't the people, it is the thinking that is now infiltrated in to that department. Imagine if you are one of those team members. What they are seeing is that you stick your nose in your job and just protect it because you could be axed. So problems become buried because no one wants to be the one fired. He is actually creating a culture of fear rather than a culture of accountability.

You see the message that is sent when you fire people rather than work on changing what needs to be changed is that "you are dispensible so don't disrupt the flow."

If you want to manifest the changes you want, you need to start with YOU. Anything you see happening around you that you don't want to be a part of figure out what you are doing to contribute to it. I know this manager doesn't see what he is doing that is causing this but instead is focusing outward on "I just need the right people."

So here is a great line to ponder: You don't get in life what you want; you get in life what you are.

Make sure you ARE what you WANT.

Anne Warfield
More on effective leadership by Anne Warfield

You need to reVerse to move Forward

2009-12-08T11:18:00.005-06:00

There is one person more important to you than anyone. I want you to take a moment right now and picture in your mind who, for you, is that person.

You most likely thought of your parents, your children, your significant other or a good friend. But I don't think that is the one person that is more important to you than anyone.

Here take this quick test: When the person you pictured in your mind is in a photograph with you, do you first look at them or do you look at how YOU came out in the photo? Most likely you checked out you first. You most likely criticized how your hair looked, your smile, your teeth and your stance or you smiled pleased as punch at how good you came out and then and only then did you look at how everyone else in the picture came out.

My point is not that you don't love the other person, but that your first instinct when thinking is to think of YOU. You want to make sure you come out okay.

This need to have yourself look good and to take care of yourself causes some big problems in your thinking with others.

When we look at others and try to figure out what they meant by what they said or did, we automatically filter it through, "now why would I have done that if I were them?"

We then move forward putting our judgment on their actions and assume that is the truth. But alas, it is only the truth as we perceive it.

In order to move FORWARD with your THINKING you need to start working in REVERSE.

Here are the steps to start Thinking in REVERSE:

1. Listen to your thoughts. What you think about other people is EXACTLY how you think of yourself. If you are critical of how people dress, then your mind is critical of how you dress. If you watch to make sure people don't cheat you, then that means you have cheated people.

2. Stop negative thoughts immediately. Literally say "Stop, Stop" and change the thought to a positive.

3. Make note of any negative thoughts you have during the day. These thoughts are what are driving your behavior. If you don't own them, they will own you.

4. Once you have selected the thoughts you want to change, start immediately changing them. For example, if you usually look for hidden meanings when others talk, start working on NEVER having hidden meanings when you talk. As you get rid of your negative habits your thoughts will start to change as well.

We get back what we sow so make sure you plant good seeds. Reverse can be your new way forward.

Anne Warfield
More on managing your message by Anne Warfield

You Can Teach An Old Dog New Tricks

2009-12-07T15:26:00.003-06:00

You can't teach an old dog new tricks. How often have you heard that statement? It has been around since Socrates, I believe.

Well, new reseach on the brain is blowing that statement to smitherenes. They are now finding that if you repeat certain thoughts or beahviors, neuro-connections are made and repeatedly strengthened so that you essentially restructure your brain or that element of your brain that deals with that behavior.

So in a sense, you can think your way out of anything.

So look at your life. What is not the way you want it to be?

Take time, right now, to write out how you want it to be. Then start training your brain to believe it IS that way already. Your brain will literally start to modify your behavior to align with the new thought.

Anne Warfield
More on improving productivity by Anne Warfield

Third Belief: All Conflict Needs to Be Resolved

2009-12-07T15:19:00.004-06:00

World Peace. It is the number one answer beauty contestants give when asked what they want in the world.

In corporations you hear people saying they want peace in the office. For most people that means, no conflict. So we all play to get rid of conflict or to resolve it so all people are happy.

The third belief that is a fallacy in conflict is that you need to have all conflict resolved.

Not all conflict is resolvable nor should it be. Having differences is healthy. In order to be creative you often need to be pushed so hard that what you did before no longer is acceptable to do.

I believe our economy is actually helping businesses reinvent and become better simply because what worked in the past no longer does work.

Have you ever wondered why your "divorced" friends look the best they ever have? Why suddenly do they lose the weight, join a gym, and buy new clothes? As they shed their old life, they shed the old way of doing things and start a new path.

So conflict doesn't need to be resolved. It does need to be handled. It does need to be addressed. And, yes, at times it needs someone to just say, "this is how it will be."

May you go forth and see conflict as a source of learning, growth, and creation rather than as a stumbling block.

Anne Warfield
More on the perception of conflict by Anne Warfield

Challenge To Change The Game

2009-11-24T08:36:00.002-06:00

Today I heard an ad from Ultimate Electronics. It is turning a concept and tradition on its head by challenging the fundamental level of it.

The concept they are challenging is Black Friday. The tradition they are turning on its head is the idea that people want to scour ads, wake up early in the morning, stand out in the cold in line, and then poke and prod their way to the product that is the early bird special.

The question they asked is, “What would happen if people didn’t have to do that? What if they knew all week they could get those items at our store for the block buster price?”

So they are running ads telling you they will shop all the electronic competition and will offer those same door buster prices on those items all week long. No need to rush. No need to lose sleep.

My questions to you are:
• What traditions or concepts do you need to challenge in your business?
• What could you gain by taking on those challenges?
• How could you change the game with your competition?

Anne Warfield
More on taking on challenges by Anne Warfield

Right versus Wrong: How this Second Belief Blocks You With Conflict

2009-11-23T16:56:00.003-06:00

If you are just tuning in you want to read back to the blog on “Three Beliefs that Block Your Effectiveness with Conflict.” This blog will talk about belief number 2: You must get the person to understand where they are wrong and you are right.

When you believe you need to get the person to see where you are right and they are wrong you are making two critical assumptions that shut down your ability to listen. They are:
1. You are assuming there is a right or a wrong. This means you will only listen for data and facts that fit what you see as right or wrong. Much of the valid data you need for critical thinking will be lost for you as your brain won’t even be able to “hear” or “see” it.
2. You are better or have better information than the other person, and therefore you have the right perspective. Think back to the Allegory of the Cave by Plato. The person looking at the shadows saw the “truth” of the shadows on the wall. The person looking at the wall couldn't even begin to “hear” about what was casting the shadow because to them, the shadow was the truth. Which person are you- the person seeing the shadow or the person seeing the real object?

You want to be able to take in as much information as possible so you can see the possibilities in the conflict rather than the improbabilities.

In order to shatter this belief you have to get rid of the belief that there is a right or wrong AND that you need the other person to validate your position.

Instead of focusing on the “but or however” start focusing on the “And”.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the third belief and how it trips you up when dealing with conflict.

Anne Warfield
More on developing effective communication skills by Anne Warfield

Three Beliefs that Block Your Effectiveness With Conflict

2009-11-20T08:21:00.006-06:00

We act as though conflict is a bad thing. We are taught that we must resolve all conflict. The goal that is implied is peace- no disruptions.

I disagree. I think conflict is good, even necessary if you are to be innovative and creative. To be innovative and creative means you have to question all that is and try to create what doesn't exist. In and of itself, this means you will disrupt the lives of people that like to have things stay consistent without much change.

So, if you don't have any conflict, then most likely your team is filled with yes people and you are stretching your imaginations to the limit. Now having said that I want to make sure we all have the same definition of conflict.

Conflict, to me is about duality. It is about the differences between things that give us new insights and possibilities. I believe conflict should be a building block, not a stumbling block.

The majority of people handle conflict poorly. This stems from three fundamental beliefs that block you in handling conflict:

1. In conflict you must get the person to see and , best case scenario, agree with your side in order to resolve the conflict.
2. You must get the person to understand where they are wrong and you are right.
3. All conflict needs to be resolved so we are at peace as a team.

In the next three blogs I will be taking one of these at a time and showing you how this belief freezes your mind and blocks you from dealing effectively with conflict.

Belief #1: You need to get the person to see and agree with your side in order to resolve the conflict.

Why? It causes you to do things that derail the conflict.

1. This approach causes your brain to immediately move to making a laundry list of all the reasons they should agree with you. It is a faulty premise and leads your brain to defense thinking.

2. As you list all your reasons their brain moves immediately to defending their side and finding the holes in your argument.

3. They may never be able to see or understand your side because they have not experienced it. They say the Indians couldn't see the Mayflower as it approached because their brain couldn't even conceive of a ship that big. Therefore, the Pilgrims were able to land without the Indians being any the wiser. Trying to argue your side when someone can't even see it is likely trying to share the Mayflower when a person can't see it. Save your breath.

4. As you try to get them to see your side, all of your energy and focus is on YOU, not them. Not a good way to magnetically get them to connect with you.

In order to shatter this belief you have to see conflict not as opposing but as enlightening. It is a way to expand your thinking, not contract it. It is a way for both you and and another party to create and build what was not there before.

Stay tuned for more on the conflict beliefs and how to shatter them.

Anne Warfield
More on developing your conflict management skills by Anne Warfield

From Birdseed to Seed Money

2009-11-18T08:51:00.005-06:00

Birdseed. Imagine if in 1981 someone asked you how much money you could make selling birdseed. Seems to be a limited market doesnt' it? I mean imagine the retail space you need to rent and the amount per square foot you would need to generate in order to make it profitable.

The only way it will work is with one magic ingredient-one that costs no money. Jim Carpenter knew what that ingredient was so he took the risk and launched his business. This "little" business now does $120 million dollars a year in revenue s Wild Birds Unlimited.

Seems to be amazing, especially when you consider how much business he did BEFORE the internet took off. He had to get all bird lovers in an area to come to his physical store and he did it with his secret ingredient.

You, too, can have his secret ingredient if you tap in to the right part of you. He had passion for birds. He loved all aspects of them and he wanted to share that passion with other bird lovers. That is how he started his store.

His passion drove people to come to his store to buy birdseed as well as to learn about birds.

Other companies have had this magic formula and they went away from it in order to have more efficiency and profit. Think of Sears.In the tool department, they used to hire men that loved to build things. You knew you could go to Sears to find a hammer and get a lesson on the nails and other equipment you need to build the proper deck. Most of the men in a neighborhood bought Craftsman tools.

Then Sears when to building center kiosk for selling and hired high school kids to man their floors. Suddenly the "extra" you went to Sears for was no longer there. See they didn't GO for the Craftsman tools- they went for the information and passion that came free with the Craftsman tools. The use value a person got from that experienced salesman on the floor is what made them fork over the money to buy the tools.

So here is your take action:

1.Define what you are passionate about.
2.Figure out how to let others see and feel it so it has a "use value" to them.

When they feel the "use value" that causes them to want to do more business with you, work closer as a collegue with you or to follow you as a leader.

Anne Warfield
More on Sales Training by Anne Warfield

The Story is in what you say and what you hear

2009-11-17T16:28:00.003-06:00

Aesop's Fables have lived on for so many years because we remember the moral or lesson due to the story.

When presenting we are taught to create and craft a story to help anchor our message in the audience's mind. But there is another important aspect to story telling that we often don't think about as leaders but it is a vital one.

Leaders spend so much time telling stories that they forget to listen for stories. How well people embrace your corporate values, directions and goals can be heard in the stories that people tell.

Each week encourage people to share with you a story that will give you better insight. Do this by asking a thought-provoking question such as, "Share with me a customer story you experienced that demonstrates phenomenal customer service."

In everything there is duality, so ask for a story on the opposite side as well- "share with me a story that shows customer service that frustrated our customer."

Listen and don't interrupt the person. You aren't trying to edit their story but instead to let it unfold. Think of interrupting as having about the same affect as someone stopping you kissing to coach you on how to kiss. This is the time to just experience the kiss of the story.

Try to see some parallels in the stories you hear. Are there disconnects with what the company says versus what the customer experiences? How about the employees? Do they experience from management the same high level of service that you expect them to provide to your customers?

Think about how these stories can be creatively used- to give live "testimonials", to highlight employees, to launch new directives.

Your company is a wealth of stories; the question is are you maximizing the riches of them?

Anne Warfield
More on Leadership Development from Anne Warfield

How to Flip Your Brain from Defense to Offense!

2009-11-17T16:15:00.005-06:00

Is there a way to train your brain to say the right thing at the right time every time?

If you have ever put your foot in your mouth or stood with a wide eyed look because you don’t know what to say next, then you will want to tune in.

You will learn why your brain does what it does and how to unleash the full power of you.

The brain is your most powerful instrument yet ironically it is actually designed with communication to work against you rather than for you…unless you know the secret switch to power it up in a dramatically new way.

Join us for this enlightening webinar designed to help you flip your brain to the offense.

Take 30 seconds to RSVP for this “NO-COST WEBINAR” on Thursday November 19 at 1:00 cst.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/960134002

2009-11-17T15:14:00.003-06:00

How to Transition a Team When YOU Must Let People Go

2009-09-15T16:33:00.001-05:00

Letting a person go can kill your team's productivity by a whopping 60% according to recent surveys. You can't afford that especially in today's economy.

Listen in to find out how to avoid the common mistakes made when letting people go; how to avoid themand what you need to do to transform the team you have so they can soar rather than flounder during tough times.

As you can imagine with the economy, the response to this webinar has been explosive! I had to let you know about it. I have added more lines and opened up additional spots for you and your entire team.

Take 30 seconds to RSVP for this NO-COST WEBINAR on Thursday, September 17, 2009.

PS: Feel free to pass this invitation on to your family, friends and Associations for this one-of-a-kind-webinar experience.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/882672482

What Does the U.S, China and Mexico Have in Common?

2009-06-16T13:31:00.005-05:00

When the book The World Is Flat came out everyone marveled that China or India was going to take all of America's jobs. So it got me thinking, what happens when a company or country suddenly does take a lead? Do they start to run in to rising costs? Higher demands from employees? Do they retain their edge or lose it?

In 2005 AlixPartners did a study and found that items entering from China were 22% cheaper than those produced in the U.S. By 2008 that gap had dropped to only a 5.5% edge to China. Hmm, is it still worth the trouble to do manufacturing outside the U.S.

Now an even more interesting phenomenon has happened. Mexico is now 20% cheaper for production than China!

So the cycle begins again. I bring this up just to remind you that what is will not always be. You need to constantly re-evaluate your business. Ask yourself, are you giving the best to your customers? Are you unique? Do you make them feel special?

For in the end, there will always be someone cheaper but the question is, where there be someone better?

Don't wait for your China or Mexico to come along and put you out of business. Start today to create that unique space that is solely yours.

Anne Warfield
More on Leadership from Anne Warfield

Who Is This Person?

2009-06-15T08:58:00.004-05:00

Have you ever wondered where is the opportunity that is knocking for you? What if it has and you closed the door?

Let me share a story and you spot the two opportunities this person took advantage of and try to guess who the person is.

She was a under UCLA drama student. One of her professors was leaving for vacation and he wanted to have a great dinner party. So nine drama students agreed to go and entertain the guests. After the performance as she was standing in line a male guest asked her what she wanted to do with her life. She told him she wanted to act in New York. When he asked what was stopping her, she told him she didn't have the money to even get from LA to New York.

He and his wife offered to give her the money to go to New York provided she follow three conditions: 1) if she was successful, she was to repay the loan without interest in five years, 2) she could never reveal his identity to anyone, and 3) she was to pass the kindness on to someone else in a similar situation when she was able to do so.

Well she went to New York. She became frustrated with agencies saying, "don't call us, we will call you." When would the perfect part find her?

Finally she decided to skip the traditional route and put on her own variety show with all of her jobless theatre friends. They would invite all the agents to the the show and run it for three days. After the show ran three agents called with job offers. She had created her own opportunity.

Little did she know that the idea she bore out of frustration would become her lasting tribute to the world for that one little event spun the idea for the Carol Burnett Show which brought laughter to all for years.

Make your own Carol Burnett moments today!

Anne Warfield
Learn More

How Can Cutting Off Feet Make You $300 Million?

2009-06-15T08:49:00.003-05:00

Sara Blakely was frustrated. She wanted her bottom to look better in white pants. There was nothing on the market to help her so in frustration she took a pair of pantyhose and cut the feet off. Eight years later her company, Spanx, is exceeding $300 million in sales.

I have found over the years that there is unique mixture to success. It comes with a blend of frustration at that problem, persistence in solving it and then execution in acting on your solution. Notice that her solution is not one that no one has done before. It isn't even one that is that brilliant. What is brilliant is her belief that other women, like her, were solving this same problem one at a time. All she did was be the one to stand on the rock and say, "here is the solution!"

For years my Mother-in-law has been taking shower caps from hotels and using them as caps on plastic containers. Lo and behold today those same little "shower" caps are made by glad and sold by the millions to consumers.

So I ask you, what problem do you see people facing that you can solve? Remember your solution doesn't have to be big or expensive; it just needs to be desired.

Take Action today and look for problems you can solve. If you are in sales, talk to your client about the problems they face and look for the simple solutions you can do whether it is shipping a new way, adding a small feature, or combining resources.

Anne Warfield
Learn more about Sales mind sets:

2009-06-08T14:40:00.002-05:00

What is Eatting Your Productivity? http://ow.ly/bph6

Anne Warfield

Mistakes that become Genius

2009-06-07T21:27:00.003-05:00

In 1850 a cook became frustrated with a whiny customer. You know that type of customer- the one who is never pleased with what you do; the one that has perfection standards that would even put God shame. Well that customer was in his restaurant. That customer was complaining that his potatoes weren't cooked properly. So the disgruntled cook decided to fry the potatoes to crispy to tick the customer off.

But it backfired. The customer loved it and that was the birth of the potato chip!

Today the potato industry is a $3.2 billion dollar industry. Wouldn't you love to have one of your mistakes fail like that? Matter-of-fact over six pounds of potato chips are eaten by Americans every year!

Now let's take the above facts and I will show you how you can use them to open different discussions and presentations.

Scenario One
You have to present to prospect a new product. They have told you they believe their old product works great.

You open with: The average American eats six pounds of potato chips a day. The amazing fact is not that American's consume so much but rather that, if it weren't for an error in 1850, they wouldn't even have existed. The only reason we have potato chips today is because someone took a risk and made a potato in a whole new way. We feel that the XYZ is going to impact the market in the same way the potato chip revolutionized potatoes.

Scenario Two:
You have to start a brainstorming session and you want lots of new ideas.

You start with: The best inventions and ideas often come from the oddest of circumstances. Velcro came from a person noticing how burrs stuck to his dog's fur. Postit Notes came from a failed experiment trying to make a strong glue and in 1850 a $3.2 billion dollar industry was born due to a disgruntled cook that was irritated with a whiny customer. The customer kept complaining that his potatoes weren't crisp enough so the cook did what any one would do- he fried them to a bloody crisp and the potato chip was born.

Today we are here to put our heads together to come up with new ideas and new ways of doing things. Remember all ideas are good, marrying two ideas can be revolutionary and just turning something on its head can make it completely new. So let's take some time to be innovative, collaborative and creative. Enjoy your potato chips and let's get started!

Scenario Three:
Trying to get a person to break out of their old thinking.

In front of you is a small mistake that became a great innovation that today is a $3.2 billion dollar industry. Up until 1850 potatoes were either baked, sliced and cooked lightly in oil, or boiled. It wasn't until someone accidentally fried the potatoes in oil until they became thin crisps that potato chips were born. It is by breaking out of our old habits and thinking that new ideas are born. Today we need to look at how to break out of how we have always done things in order to make our product better.

Take Action: Take a small concept or fact and look at how you can spin it creatively for an opening.

Anne Warfield,
Learn more

What is Eatting Your Productivity?

2009-06-05T15:00:00.005-05:00

A recent study by Lynn Taylor shows that the average worker spends three hours PER DAY worrying about the fate of their job. This means that if you have a company with 1000 employees averaging a $40,000 salary, you are losing $1.2 million in unproductive time EACH MONTH.

Any company that focuses on cost cutting as a primary source right now is leaving themselves open for employees to operate under the fear of losing their job.

What are other repercussions of this? You will start to see more silos, more protecting of turfs, reduced collaboration, more glory hogging and more protective feuds.

Now is the time to focus on building a collaborative innovative culture that is based on exploding the business instead of just protecting it. When people focus on protecting they limit their listening. More importantly they limit their brains ability to be creative. Literally think of it as having your brain shrink right in front of you.

So Take Action: Think about what kind of culture you are creating- is the conversation about the bad economy or the opportunities? Are you looking for who fails or exploding who excels? Are you encouraging risk taking and teaching how to do it appropriately or are you creating risk aversion?

This is truly a time that companies will explode if they have built a solid culture of positive brain power.

Anne Warfield
Corporte Leadership Training

Positive Way to Direct the Response You Want

2009-06-04T14:18:00.003-05:00

My 2nd grader is so excited that her classroom is doing a program for the Dad's this year. They have sent home notices asking the Dad's to save the date. Like any little kid she is so excited that she can hardly wait.

So last night we are out to dinner. You could see that she wanted to remind her Dad about the event to ensure he would be there. Now, think about it, what is the number one thing a person says when they want to remind you of something?

It is usually a variation of , "Now remember you are..." or "don't forget.." Both of these can become exasperating after a while as the recipient can feel like you don't trust their memory or they can feel burdened by the event before it even happens.

No Michaela didn't use any of those. She looked her Dad square in the eye and with a big smile said, "Aren't you just excited about tomorrow and what you get to do?"

She made the assumption her Dad would remember but also nudged his memory by asking a proactive question.

Then this morning she did it again. She came down all dressed in black and told her Dad he could wear black if he wanted to match her today as she would be a black sheep in the play. Again a gentle nudge of a reminder in a fun loving way that got her Dad excited about the event.

So why do I tell you these? How do they relate to business?

In business the more you are able to nudge, remind, encourage and engage others in a way that makes them feel good and reaches your outcome is exactly what you want to do. You want to stay on the positive side so people are excited, enthusiastic and ready to go.

Take Action:
Look at your office meetings. Do you send out "reminders" of them or do you send encouraging and enticing lines that get people to sit up and take notice?
Look at your client mailings, meetings, and information. Do you have friendly ways for them to take advantage of all you have to offer? When you do this you stop selling and you start helping.

Either way, what you can see is that you can learn lessons and insights from others no matter what age they are!

Anne Warfield
Presentation Skills

Bill Bartmann: What you can learn from someone that went from rags to billionairre to rags to millionairre

2009-06-02T13:22:00.003-05:00

I am a big believer in shortening your learning curve by learning from those who have gone before you. Particularly I look for people and situations that require a person to rework their mind which reworks they behavior which, in turn, reworks their results.

Bill is one of those individuals. He went from rags to being a Billionaire who was one of the top 40 wealthy individuals in the world. Then the unthinkable happened. He lost it all. He had the media camped out at his home, his funds frozen, and his life uprooted. He said the year he lost it all he only got one Christmas card from one friend. The rest of the people all disappeared. His life was truly demolished.

At this point Bill had two choices:1) to roll up and feel sorry for himself or 2) to create the changes he wanted to rebuild his life and business to be what he wanted. Bill chose option 2. Today his goal is to be the first person ever to go from billionaire to zero to billionaire again. Never in history has someone made a billion lost a billion and then remade it again.

Because I believe there is a lot to learn from others who have re-crafted their brains I actually sent my t0p clients a link to take advantage of a special offer Bill Bartmann has today as he launches his new book.

So take action and start studying great minds and how they recover from losses. In today's economy it is a necessity that we all reshape our thinking to create opportunities where none existed before. This is your year and your time. Be like Bill and redefine what you want out of this time, and what you will do to make it happen.

Anne Warfield

Special Opportunity For Today June 2 Only

2009-06-02T00:41:00.001-05:00

I want to let you know about a very short window of opportunity that's happening TODAY, June 2. You can get a highly unusual package of benefits by taking a small action today and simply buying a book.

My friend Bill Bartmann is launching his book on Amazon and is giving away a special bonus package, but only if you order his book today, Tuesday June 2.

You may have seen Bill on the cover of Inc. Magazine as the "Billionaire Nobody Knows", or watched him recently on major network TV. Bill's in the news daily because his book, "Bailout Riches", is creating a real stir. It's about how you can benefit--directly and fast--from the government bailout.

===> "What's the big deal about this book?" <===

Learn More Here

Take Care,

Anne Warfield

The Banana Principle

2009-06-01T15:15:00.006-05:00

What is the Banana Principle, take a moment to watch.....

Anne Warfield

Accouuntability: Defined in Praise or Critque?

2009-06-01T13:24:00.003-05:00

"Who screwed up?"
"Who approved this new date?"
"Who was suppose to follow up on this?"
"Why didn't we hit our numbers?"

At these times the big word is dropped...ACCOUNTABILITY. Ironically accountability is looked for in most organizations and pointed to when things go wrong. Is it any wonder that people don't get excited when they hear the word accountability?

So why not reverse it in your company? Start looking for those who ARE executing properly and celebrate their successes.

The truth is when you have high accountability you have high execution. The two go hand in hand. What we usualy do is bring up and focus our team's on accountability when we see a LACK of it rather than an abundance of it. Those who are executing are often ignored and time is spent on putting out fires instead.

So in order to execute you need to reverse how people see and view accountability.
Here are some interesting statistics on the work place:
Zogby Poll
One of every 4 working American's describes their workplace as a dictatorship
Only 52% said their boss treats subordinates well.
Only 51% said their co-workers often fell motivated at work
90)% of all people say that Senior Management Teams fail to define results.

Think about that last one..how can people be accountable for what they don't know?

Take Action: Make your strategic plans simple to follow and execute All people in your company should know what they are and what they need to do in order to execute to them. They should clearly know the rewards if these strategies are achieved.

Anne Warfield
Management Leadership

When Others Shrink You Go Big

2009-06-01T09:59:00.004-05:00

I am at the ASTD Conference this year for the first time. I wanted to see what it was like and how people interacted, what sessions they attend and what booths they visit. What I saw so far in many ways surprised me.

Two things surprised me:
1) Out of over 300 exhibitors only 4 are doing interactive talk sessions with chairs for audience.
2) In almost 80% of the booths the giveaways are pens, paper, highlighters, mints or candy.

Now I am sure they are all reacting to the economy so they may be going to stripped down versions for their booths thinking, "well at least I am still one of the people in the game, getting a booth."

Here are the errors in that thinking:
It is not enough to just show up today. Now is the time to differentiate and dominate in business. People who invested to attend this convention need a WOW in their life so give them one.

Unique gifts that get people talking about you and create excitement are critical right now. Things like waterproof cellphone holders that clip on your belt are worthwhile. Be the one that everyone says, "get to their booth right away because they may run out."

Lesson to you: Make what your company gives away equal to the value of your product or service. So in other words, if you are a high end product company have a high end give away.

Be interactive. Now is not the time to stand behind a booth and wait for people to come to you. Now is the time to excite, energize, and explore with people on how to make their life better. So it is not enough to just "show up." Now is the time to smash your market open.

Lesson to you: when all others pull back you push ahead.

A study was done that found that companies that INCREASED their advertising during our last recession achieved a 256% growth over the last 10 years. They also found that all companies that cut their advertising budgets during lean times came struggled through the recession and most lost tremendous market share or disappeared altogether.

So now is your time to be aggressive. Reinvest in being the best and dominating your market. Because as I can see at this convention, most companies are pulling back to "just enough" when your clients want the "WOW."

Anne Warfield
Sales Excavation Skills

Tweet, Twitter and The Next Evolution

2009-04-22T14:07:00.004-05:00

So what is Twitter exactly?

Twitter is really a way to global text. It is a way for people to stay in touch with what you are doing so they can connect with you if they want. It is bringing the social network a little closer.

There is a progression you should be seeing here of people wanting to zero in on what is most relevant to them in the way that is easiest for them.

It started with Google and Yahoo. They were great ways to search for information in a static form that you could use as you needed it, when you needed it.

Then Facebook and LinkedIn popped up. They were a way to connect with others by sharing some information about yourself and then linking up either personally or professionally. Interestingly enough Facebook started as a use for college students and has become overrun by professionals. I wonder what will pop up as the new Facebook for students as who really wants to be on the same site as Mom and Dad?

Then came YouTube- a way to visually post your thoughts, feelings, insights or learning for others. In just 6 months YouTube has posted more video then 60 years of all three original TV stations combined! Everything from "how to" to "isn't this interesting?" has popped up here.

Now it it Twitter. Twitter makes people feel connected with an entire network of like-minded individuals easily.

It is interesting to note the use of Google has dropped by 30% as people are moving to using Twitter, Facebook and YouTube more.

But here is the Outcome Thinking lesson for you: What are you doing today to reinvent how people access you or your information? The world is changing at a rapid pace and you need to grab hold before you spin out of control.

Anne Warfield
Sales and Marketing Approach

Do you invite thinking or evict thinking?

2009-03-27T10:51:00.003-05:00

It amazes me how many people feel the necessity to strongly inflict their opinions on others. For me that is always a clear signal that they need to have other people validate them. Strong leaders are those who are willing to make quick decisions, listen carefully taking in all information-even contradictory information, and make each person feel they added to the conversation in a thoughtful way. Strong leaders know how to challenge without undermining who you are or making it personal.

So which are you as a leader? Do you invite thinking or do you evict thinking?

Here is quick test to see which one you are:
1. I have strong opinions.
2. I often speak over other people or interrupt.
3. I often reply to people with "no," "I disagree," or "That is not how I see it."
4. In a group I often take the most air time.
5. People often tease me that they always know where I stand on issues.
6. I have been told at times I am stubborn.

If you answered yes to those, you are more likely evicting thinking. You are more likely to be surrounded by people who will say yes to your ideas and not challenge your thinking. For leadership that means the brilliance of your group is really not the sum of the parts but rather a part.

Opinions and thoughts are good. You do need to stand for clear issues and be willing to stand up for what you believe in. When you state them so strongly as to overpower a person or group you leave them with two choices- either I agree with you or I disagree with you. What you lose is the mutual exploration ground that leads to new thinking that is much bigger than either party originally brought to the table solo.

So be a strong leader that is willing to invite thinking, that is willing to stand for things, and that encourages others.

Anne Warfield
Outcome Thinking for Leadership Transformation

So why is The Secret so big when it really isn't anything new?

2009-03-04T09:46:00.005-06:00

The Secret launched and took over the world in a short amount of time. Why?

Is it that it is a profound truth that none of us knew? No. It was a conglomeration of quotes, facts and stories that have been around for centuries.

Is it because it we were in a time where we all needed hope? No, actually at the time it came through the economy was positively chugging away and life was good.

Is it that it had a stellar cast that just rocked? The cast was good but let's face it, there have been other programs and projects put together in a similar way with great cast that have NOT gotten so huge.

So what made it take off and what can you learn from it?

What made it took off was its simplicity. It simply focused on the fact that what you send out is what you get back. They took that theme and just showed it over and over and over again. The simplicity is what made people say, "I can do that."

Now ironically it is that simplicity that is exactly it's Achilles heel. People have scoffed at the fact that you just "wish for a necklace" and viola! it appears. Clearly that wasn't the point of the secret but that example is what really caused many people to pull away.

Why? Because it goes against the grain of the fact "you need to put in effort in order to get results." We all know you can't just dream things and they appear. We do know that when we set a goal and then prepare for it, it seems to happen. The "wishing" part was really the "focus" part. We set the focus in one direction and stuck with it.

So two lessons to learn here:
1) Do you have your information, presentation, marketing materials, etc focused on one key issue so that people can easily wrap their arms around it and make a "yes" decision.
2) Do you address the issues that could make people pull away or reject what you say in a realistic manner? The secret missed the emphasis it needed on this step to put it more in to "reality" for more people.

May you go forth and have a great day, filled with positive results!
Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Creative ideas for openings

2009-03-04T09:19:00.005-06:00

Many of you travel a lot and you want to make sure you connect with each new audience. One of the ways to open and connect with an audience is to start with what you know about them, their industry or something that is relevant to them.

So what if you are traveling to a new city or even a new country? How can you tie what you want to say to what is happening in that town or country right now?

Simply go to newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash . Put your mouse on any city around the world and the headlines from that city pop up. Double click and the pages get larger so you can read what is current to that area.

Now when you arrive and you tie what you say to what is happening you will show that you invested in them before they ever invested in you or what you were sharing. This extra lock shows your listener that you care about them first and foremost.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com/presentation_skills.shtml

Can a garden produce top fruit if it is never weeded?

2009-02-18T10:02:00.004-06:00

There is an eerie phenomenon going on in our society. It is starting at a tender age and creeping into the business world as well. If left alone, it will eventually lead us to mediocrity.

It is the idea that people can learn accountability without ever having correction. That would be like saying you could work two years at your job and not be given feedback on what you are doing wrong but we want you to assume accountability for doing it right.

In schools today they are wanting to preserve a child's self-esteem so many schools are not correcting spelling. They believe that spelling will be corrected by the computer so there is no need to "deduct" points or to correct spelling. What happen to red pens? Do you remember getting your story back with the red corrections on it? Do you remember having to rewrite it without to correct the spelling? I do. It didn't demoralize. I KNEW it was expected. I KNEW it happened to EVERYONE. And the funny thing is, I learned to spell!

You can't grow a top level garden without pulling weeds. To simply ignore the weeds, or work around them undermines the fruit the garden is trying to grow. The weeds actually suck up some of the good nutrition from the soil and DETRACT from the actual outcome you desire.

I don't believe you can have accountability without correcting. The correcting is what TEACHES us the accountability. For if we never know what is the highest standard how can we ever reach it?

The 4 minute mile wasn't ever broken because every one believed it wasn't possible to achieve it. Then one man, one time, broke that record and the next year tons of people ran the mile under 4 minutes. Nothing changed except people's BELIEFS. People learned that it wasn't correct to assume you couldn't run the mile in under 4 minutes.

So why do we limit by trying to teach accountability without correcting? We need to strengthen self-esteem not by pampering it but by making it okay to make mistakes, to learn, to grow, to stretch. Accountability isn't learned in a vacuum and yes at times it hurts. It does mean at times you do your best but you still mess up. That is okay. All you need to do is stand up, dust off, and move on.

So this next week, take action. When you are about to let something slide, realize the message you are giving the person is that you believe that is the best they are capable of. It means if you don't correct it now, don't expect them to be accountable for it later on. If you want accountability you need to expect it is your job to help correct and fine tune so that success can be achieved. Now, of course, the flip side of this means you must always be coachable yourself.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com/about.shtml

Mickey Mouse & The White House

2009-01-20T09:07:00.003-06:00

Did you ever think Mickey Mouse and the White House would rock together? Well, last night Obama did another brilliant move. For the first time ever, he had a Kids Inaugural Ball. It was on Disney Channel for 1.5 hours. He had Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and numerous other stars on hand. He did video clips from Iraq soldiers and had their families on stage to say hello. His wife and daughters rocked out in the front row. Pure marketing brilliance!

My two daughters begged to stay up late so they could see the entire show. They are engrossed with watching him become President. Think about it, in eight years these are the kids that will be voting in the next President. He is setting up a new stage of thinking. He is growing the nations young minds at the same time he is reaching out to the more established minds. He is definitely a man who will not do things the old way. I have watched him build a solid network and to shake the traditional way of doing things.

Many of you may not know that he is one of the first candidates to use social networking in his campaign. He actually had games made that people could do on line just like they play Halo or Ruin Scape. All of that attracted the techno savvy younger voter. There are lessons for all of us to learn here.

Ask yourself, how you can apply innovative thinking to what you do. Why use the old tried and true channels? Why not zig when all else zag? Why do you have to do things the way they have always been done?

As Einstein said, "You can't solve a problem from the same level of thinking that created it." I for one am looking forward to a breath of fresh air, innovation, and creative thinking that is certainly on the horizon.

ACTION: Try to do something unusual and new today to break out of old molds.

Anne Warfield

Ho Ho Holidays

2008-12-22T15:45:00.003-06:00

It is the time for miracles. People smile, laugh and generally are in good moods during the holidays. We all eat too much, drink too much, laugh too hard, and then come, January resolve to take all the pounds we gained off.

This holiday season look around to see who you can give a smile to, who you can make laugh, who you can help, and who you can share your goodwill with.

I wish you all a holiday season filled with gratitude for what you have, desire to earn what you want, and passion to share your talents with all around you. May you have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Years and all the other national holidays there are this season!

Anne Warfield

Pleasantville, is not a place but a way of doing business

2008-12-22T15:36:00.004-06:00

Well you have probably been wanting to know the sequel to my Ultimate Electronics purchase. Did it really all turn out well?

On Thursday Josh Aubart drove the TV out to our house to personally set it up. He brought the audio guy, Ryen with him so Ryen could set up the audio for us.(Remember the audio was not included in the hook up.) They precede to set up the TV, Blue Ray, Bose and Cable. When I ask if my Ipod can be hooked up as well, they gladly tackle that challenge. Matter-of-fact, Ryen says, "this is fun. I love a challenge!"

Once they have it all hooked up, they look down at the four remotes we will be left with. They shake their heads and say, "do you really want to work with four remotes? We have a cool Logitech remote that we can program to do everything with one touch of a button. If you want we will run back to the store, pick it up and drive back out to program it for free. Usually the programing of this remote is $100." (Okay by now you are figuring this remote does all but make you French Toast in the morning.)

It sounds cool so we go for it. They drive all the way back to the store, buy the remote and bring it back to program it. They are smiling, whistling, and telling us they are "off work" so they don't mind doing this for us after hours.

Okay, so I have gone from "I will never step foot in there again" to "I have got to let people know about this." So if you too are looking for a great home theatre set up or audio set up, I encourage you to call the Ultimate Electronics in Edina Minnesota and ask for Josh Aubart. No matter where you are I bet he will take care of you! Pleasantville does exist and I love it!!

Anne Warfield

Pleasantville Lives: Ultimate Electronics Has Customer Service That Truly Warms You

2008-12-17T10:35:00.005-06:00

10 years ago I walked in to an Audio King Store. Three sales people stood chewing gum behind a counter. One yelled out, "Can I help you?" I walked over to the counter, told him what I needed and watched him laugh, look at his two co-workers and say, "sweetheart good luck finding that!" Needless to say in 10 years I have never stepped foot back in one of their stores.

10 years of business lost due to one sales person.

So yesterday, my husband and I went to our favorite electronic store. On Sunday they had run an ad for a big screen TV, blue ray player and set up. We decided that would be our Christmas Present to each other along with surround sound. When we got to the store the sales person said, "we are out of that TV.We have been out of that TV for months. I don't know why corporate even ran that ad. I have a waiting list of 7 people and I don't even think they will get the deal so I wouldn't even put you on the list. We do have other TVs if you would like to look at them." It felt like the old bait and switch. It didn't feel good.

When we got back home my husband went on line to see if any one else would offer the same deal. He called Ultimate Electronics (used to be Audio King) and Josh said he had one TV and that he would beat the other company's deal by $50. So my husband dragged me out with him. I went dreading the experience because I knew what it was like 10 years ago but I would sacrifice because I really wanted the TV. On the way we joked that they would probably tell us that one TV sold in the half hour it took us to get there and they would try to sell us another TV.

We get to the Ultimate Electronics in Edina and there are two guys out front shoveling. Both say, "Merry Christmas" to us. When we walk in all the sales people are smiling and saying hello. We ask for Josh and a guy that had his coat on, turns around and says, "that's me." We explained we were the ones that just called him and he said, "that's right! I remember you wanted the TV with the blue ray player. Let's go look at it." I said, we could work with someone else if he needed to be going and he said, "No I was just going to go out and help the guys shovel."

He brought us back and showed us the TV and the blue ray player. He then asked if we had a surge protector for our new TV set. When we said no he showed us options. No high pressure. Just told us what he liked and why. Then I mentioned surround sound. He asked how big our room was and if we had any specific needs with surround sound. When my husband said "wireless" Josh said, "I have two options for you." He brought us over and showed us the Bose systems.

Now I am adding up in my mind how our purchase is growing. So I said, "I realize you only have 18 month financing but if we can do 36 month we will do the surround sound." He comes back with the 36 month financing. As he is adding up our purchase, he ask me when I want delivery. Now I am used to being told when I can get delivery and making a choice of those dates, not selecting a date that fits me. I asked him what they had available. Josh said they could send one out from the warehouse on Friday, but if I wanted it sooner he would personally drive one out from the store to my house. He also labeled all the cables for us so we would know how to hook them up. Then he gave us his card and said if we needed any assistance to hook up the surround sound (the TV hook up is being done by their company but they don't hook up the surround sound) he would personally come out and hook it up for us.

I took a look around. Did I fall into the rabbit hole like Alice? Was I back in 1960 when customer service truly meant making the customer successful rather than just satisfying the customer?

Josh went on to tell us that at the store they insist who ever is available answer the phone rather than have it go to a "for electronics hit one, for cameras hit two..." system.

All I have to say is, "WOW" I went from, I will never step foot in here again to I want to try this again and see if this miracle is not a miracle but truly a company's dedication to servicing the customer. Josh, my hat is off to you! Thanks for a Winter Wonderland Experience!

Anne Warfield

Cliff Clavin or Thomas Edison: Which are you?

2008-12-12T16:00:00.004-06:00

The standing joke on Cheers was Cliff Clavin spewing forth some unknown fact. He knew something about everything. One of those people that would talk your ear off while leaving you bored to tears.

On the flip side, you have Thomas Edison- a man who tinkered with everything from light bulbs to phonographs to create new products and services. He held a record 1093 patents! This is a man that took any bit of knowledge he had and put it to good use.

So here is my question for you, which are you? Cliff Clavin- you know a lot but don't necessarily do anything with it? Or Thomas Edison- where you put to use what you know immediately?

I see the difference between these two types of people in our programs. The Cliff Calvin's are excited to learn and years later they can recite all they learned but they aren't doing anything differently because of what they learned. The Thomas Edison's quiz you in class and when you talk to them years later they have not only implemented what they learned but they have modified and adapted it to fit them and their situation.

Take Action: May you make 2009 a year in which you are a Thomas Edison who constantly adds value to all you touch!

Anne Warfield

Job Performance: Is Your's Worthy of an Encore?

2008-12-11T10:59:00.002-06:00

Is your performance worthy of an encore?

An encore is something we only ask for if the performance we have seen or experienced overwhelms us, moves us, and we want more of it. In Mark Sanborn’s new book, the Encore Effect he asks, is your job performance worthy of an encore?

In other words, do people come back and only want you? Does your boss think you do such a great job that she gives you new challenging projects? Do your clients love you so much and feel your quality that price is not an issue?

No matter what you do in life you should do it with passion, gusto, and to the best of your ability. You should be constantly stretching what you do and how you do it.

I have a friend, Nido Qubein, who says that “excellence is what you strive for; it is the base from which you work.” In other words give your all at all times.

When someone does that we stop and notice. Whether it be an athlete, a grocery store clerk, a traffic cop or a co-worker. It is the one ingredient that makes people unstoppable.

Take Action: Take time today to excel. With each thing you do make it just 5% better. If you do that every day you will improve significantly by the end of the year. If you struggle with this, stop and list all the objections and then take each one and resolve it. You will find that the vast majority of objections are things we hide behind rather than being real blockers.

Go forth and get your Encore Performance today!

Anne Warfield

Execution: Do your policies endear your clients or do your clients endure your policies

2008-12-10T14:05:00.005-06:00

My two girls belong to a dance studio. Love the teachers. Love the center. Hate their communication execution.

Every month they send me a reminder to pay tuition even though I paid both girl's tuition in full for the full year. Each month the reminder comes with a late fee on it even though it is the first time you are receiving it. When I emailed them to say I paid in full and please stop sending me the emails, they responded, "It is a general email we send to all parents. Just delete it each month you receive it." Now really, do you want your customer annoyed each month they get the email from you?

Each year they tack on new payments for costumes, recital, etc. Each year it is about the same amount. Why not bundle it ahead and let parent's pay one payment and be done with it? I asked if I could pay the tuition, costume and recital all together but was told they couldn't process it so I had to wait until they invoiced for costumes and recitals before I could pay for those. With how I travel that means I may miss the week they send the notice home and then my kids are told they are "late" with the payment.

Really, let's be clear here. As the customer, I am trying to give them my money EARLY so I am all paid up and they are telling me it is not "convenient" for their processes.

So I ask you, are your policies endearing your clients to you or are they enduring your policies? If they are enduring your policies then you are prime for them to have one little thing send them over the edge and you lose their business for ever. For this little dance studio, figuring that each girl dances for about 10 years, that means a $14,000 dollar loss if the business of two dancers walks away.

Take Action: Take a moment to look at your policies from your client's eyes, not yours. Get rid of any that make it hard for your client to do business with you.

Anne Warfield

What does Winter, Pro Sports and Magicians have in common?

2008-12-03T09:53:00.006-06:00

Renew. Regrowth. Repair. That is what nature uses winter for. Just like all good things you need time off to fix, change or finesse what you are doing so you come out at a higher level. It is not enough during times like this, to just put your nose to the grindstone and work harder. When you are doing that, your vision is limited because it only sees what is right in front of your nose.

Instead you have to operate like a magician. You need to see what others don't. You need to open your eyes so you see more. You need to move so the view you take in is different. You need to use the time, like a professional athlete. During their "off season" they work on perfecting their game, not just being in the game.

So take this winter to reinvent, repair, and recharge so you are renewed for the new year! May you have many blessings this holiday season and may you notice and appreciate them!

Anne Warfield

Economy or Creativity? Which is it?

2008-12-01T14:30:00.004-06:00

Wii. IPhone. ITouch. Rock Band. Last year brought us novel and new gifts we had to get our hands on. We didn't want to be left behind or to have our children left behind.

So what is new this year? Nothing. There is really no new gift that we have to have. In today's economy that is a death knoll. Even TVs aren't flying this year as many people are choosing until February to see what happens with HDTV before they buy a new TV.

Unfortunately I think many people will look at the slowing sales this Christmas and say it is due to the economy. I think that innovation is as much at fault. I found last years Best Buy ads for December under a pile of magazines at my house (okay so know you have an idea of how good of a house cleaner I am!) and I started to thumb through them to see what items were new. Unfortunately if I put last year's ads down next to this year, you would be hard pressed to tell which was from 2007 and which was from 2008.

So, in today's times, let's not lose our opportunity to be innovative and creative. The time is now to re-invent you , your business, and your life! Don't become stale like this year's Christmas offerings!

Action Plan: Look at what you have done in the last 90 days to change your routine, improve your processes or re-invent you! Challenge yourself to change three things over the next 30 days and see what happens.

Anne Warfield

To Get Introspection You need Retrospection

2008-11-13T15:41:00.003-06:00

Sometimes you need to look in the rearview mirror in order to adjust your forward direction. The tough part is knowing when to look and how to interpret the view so you can be more effective as you move forward.

If you haven't read the book 5 People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Bloom, I recommend you do but not for the reason you might think. It is not because it is a literay work of genius but because it is a book that challenges perceptions. The lead character goes to heaven and meets 5 people. Each person shows him an event from his life and they give him a new perspective on it. He in turn sees how much of his life was shaped, not by what happened, but by how he interpreted what happened.

After reading the book, take some time to jot down events that have happened to you at work, at home or growing up. Check out what meaning you have applied to those events and how it has shaped the choices you make today. Then take all of the events that are holding you captive and try to spin a new way of looking at the event so you can learn from it. This is how you use retrospection to get better introspection.

The rearview mirror is a handy tool if you know how to use it well. You don't want to live there, but you need to grow from there.

Don't let the past hold you captive. Instead be defined by your future.

Anne Warfield

Doom and Gloom or Chance to Advance?

2008-11-12T10:40:00.003-06:00

Your brain has a tiny region called the Basal Ganglia that loves to repeat negative messages over and over. It is your panic center. For many people, that region of the brain is running rampant now as they look at the economy and think, "doom and gloom."

Here is the rub- when that part of your brain kicks in it SHUTS DOWN your part of the brain that is your executive reasoning. It actually stops you from being creative, calm and thinking through things logically.

So, if you believe the doom and gloom, then it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy for you. You will look for ways to protect, defend, and stop losses. What you won't do is look for gains, ways to explode and ways to create big wins.

So be rational, realistic and opportunistic during these times. For these are the times that define who we are and what we can become!

Anne Warfield

Never Let Anyone Tell You It Can't Be Done!

2008-11-05T17:07:00.004-06:00

Whether your person got voted in today or not, you were an important part of history. No matter which way the race would have gone we were rewriting how the future will be.

Never again will a person say "a black man can't be President." The more hurdles we cross the less barriers we have.

I remember learning how no one could run the four minute mile and doctors said t was impossible. And then one man dared to defy the trend and ran a 4 minute mile. Within a year tons of people ran a 4 minute mile. All they needed was one person to break through so they could see it happen.

So no matter who you voted for, this is a time to think about what challenges you need to break out of and use this time to make it your year!!

Anne Warfield, www.ImpressionManagement.com

How Much Is Miscommunication Costing You?

2008-11-03T10:29:00.005-06:00

In today's market you need to be astute about where you spend your money. You can't afford to spend it on something that won't give a good return.

At times like these, it seems most logical to spend your money on sales and marketing solely in order to drive business. Words like "cost cutting" run rampant through organizations.

But there is another way to look at it. Look at what it is costing you to NOT have good processes and communication in place.

Here are some startling statistics recent research has showed that large organizations lose $62M a year in employee "misunderstandings." Confusion on company policy, processes and job functions get really expensive! 89% of pharmaceutical companies say this is causing them reduced productivity and 52% OF Petrochemical companies say is causing them health and safety compliance problems.

In other words, what employees can't understand, they can not execute on. This means it is imperative at this time that your employees have a universal culture that shows them how to communicate positively, think proactively, and execute professionally! Outcome Thinking is a great way for you to change your culture and save money! You can start simply by getting your team the Outcome Thinking book and use it as a weekly "change our culture" meeting. Every week take a new chapter and go through the exercises as a group to start transforming your culture and save you money!

Anne Warfield

Shift Paradigms To Shift Thinking

2008-11-03T08:29:00.003-06:00

To Shift means to move over. We have a close election here and each candidate is doing what they can to shift our thinking. McCain is trying to do it by talking about "Maverick." He wants us to NOT associate him with President Bush. Obama is tying to do it by talking about "change." He wants us to see that it is a chance to get some new direction.

Now one of the things at the core is taxes. You hear people up in arms and fighting about who should be paying what taxes, when and how the wealth should be distributed. That would be a prime situation where a candidate would want to use a story or anecdote to get us to see their side of the equation.

Here is an example of what McCain could be using: "Who should pay taxes and what is fair is on the minds of all Americans today. I am for keeping taxes as they are or reducing them even. Now my opponent says that is not fair. That those who make over $250,000 should pay a higher percent taxes than those that make less. The theory being that the wealth should be redistributed. Let's take that theory and apply it to another situation. Imagine your child comes home from school. He has worked hard to achieve grades of As. But the teacher feels it is not fair that some kids get As while other kids don't. After all, not all kids have the same brainpower, not all kids have parents that work with them on their home work and not all kids have a great home environment to encourage studying. Therefore, the teacher is going to redistribute some of your child's points to other kids so your child will now go from an A to a B. Would you, as a parent, vote for that or would you fight it?"

You can see how the example used can shift our paradigm from seeing it as a "tax issue" to seeing it in a new light.

As a leader you want to take controversial points and issues and always anchor them with a unique twist that gets your audience seeing them in a new light.

Take ACTION: Look at a point that clients or prospects challenge you on about your company and twist it with a great story or anecdote that brings it to a new light. For leaders, take a company initiative or change you want in place and think of an anecdote that will fit and shift the thinking!

Anne Warfield

What is the difference between judgment and judgmental?

2008-10-22T10:52:00.003-05:00

I often get asked if we are judgmental by nature. My answer is "no, but we are protective by nature." This means that everything we do or say we filter through how it affects us. If the impact is going to be negative our behavior tries to protect us and stops us from doing what is requested of us.

For leaders to be effective they need to learn the difference between judgment and judgmental. Let's move away from dictionary answers to the words and instead look at the emotional answers to the words.

Judgment is good. It is what allows you to see right from wrong, good from bad. It is the moral compass that keeps you from stealing and lying. With Outcome Thinking you never suspend judgment but you do suspend judgmental thinking.

Judgmental is when you inflict your opinion or belief on to another person and decide you know why they did what they did. This usually happens because our brain is wired to automatically think "now why would I do that if I was that person?" But as we teach in our classes, that is erroneous thinking that will cause you to have a judgmental conversation with a person and shut them down.

In order to have a good healthy discussion with a person you do want to have good judgment but suspend being judgmental.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Does Your Conversation Bring Barriers Up Or Down?

2008-10-22T10:15:00.004-05:00

Avoidance. That is the biggest word we hear from leaders when they talk about having to deal with conflict.
Repetitive. That is the second word we hear from leaders as they tell us they are tired of having the same discussion over and over again without getting results.

So what can you do to change that? Is there a way to converse with someone that gets lasting results?

In IMP's Conflict Harmonizer that is exactly what we show you how to do. In order to speak differently though you need to learn why your brain listens, responds, and reacts to what it hears. I won't go in depth on that here but I will give you an example so you can see it in action and reflect on your conversations in order to make changes.

Let;s look at an example: You are stressed out with a lot on your plate. You have 10 people on your direct team. Most work independently and just keep you in the loop on what they are working on. For the most part your team are doers that get things done. Mary, one of your team members, comes to you and says, "I feel like you don't give enough direction. This causes me to waste time on projects because I am not sure which part I should work on first. I feel like if you gave more guidance I could be more effective but when I ask you for it you treat me like I can't do my job. I want to talk to you about this."

Now for just a moment check your immediate response. Did you immediately start thinking about what was on your plate that was making it hard to give more direction? Did your brain go to justifying that everyone else on the team is doing well without heavy guidance so it must be a problem with Mary? Did you start to wonder if Mary could do her job? In other words did you feel that Mary judged you in what she said in any way?

When we feel judged we automatically move to defensive thinking. All of the above statements are examples of defensive thinking. They are where our brain goes in order to protect ourselves when we feel someone is attacking us or what we are doing. None of them are conducive to a talk that will get to the core issues and beliefs that need to change in order for you to get the results you need.

The conversation Mary was having with you is one that is traditionally taught to us. With conflict we are taught to focus on how we feel and why we feel that way. This doesn't help you as it leads your brain to reach in and find ways to protect your position rather than remove the barriers so you can have a healthy discussion. So with traditional communication the dialogue ends up having you slip in comments that can make the other person feel attacked, blamed, or judged. When any of those happen the other person stops listening and just moves to protecting themselves. In other words, a conversation will happen but no lasting change will take place because each person has their brain energy invested in holding on to their own position.

This is why a majority of leaders we work with have repeat conversations with employees about their performance. What you say each time never sinks in long-term but instead falls in to the "protection void" and the person keeps repeating that same behavior until you either let it slide or your fire them. IMP's Conflict Harmonizer Experience is all about how to have those gutsy talks so they take root rather than flight!

So let's take the same conversation and apply the Outcome Thinking Method to see how you can think and speak in a way that removes the automatic barriers in order to get to core beliefs and lasting changes without judgment. Imagine your reaction if Mary had instead come in and said, "One of the challenges I have given myself is to be more effective with what I do and how I do it. One of the things you are great at with your team is giving us autonomy to do things independently. One of the things I have noticed about me is that I produce more when I have some more guidance so I stay focused right away. What I would like to brainstorm with you are ways I can get that guidance while still fitting in to the autonomy you like us to all have. I know you have a lot on your plate and I would like to be more useful in getting things done for you."

Notice in this conversation Mary never blames you, makes you feel attacked or undermines your authority. Instead she is realistic about herself, you and the role she can play. She put things in terms of benefits for you and team more than she did about herself. She also stated that she wants to figure out how to get that guidance without disrupting your natural leadership style. This shows you respect for you while still staying focused on the outcome desired- to produce better work faster.

Outcome Thinking is a skill that allows you to get rid of judgmental statements that become the clogs in our communication. It eradicates the anger and frustration that can shut a team down, cause silos in your company, and cause leaders to not come to conclusive decisions.

TAKE ACTION: Practice with your next conversation to make sure that you are focusing it proactively for the other person. Start with the point of agreement, move to the desired change, and then the roadmap of how to get there. You will find you can have more robust discussions without tears, anger or frustration!

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Finding Profits in a Down Turn Economy

2008-10-21T08:46:00.003-05:00

Sharks hunt for prey by finding movement in the water or blood. In today's economy you can often find people mistakenly adopt a "shark" sales mentality. They feel they need to circle out there and surround customers by getting to them first. First smell of blood in the water and they go for it.

You can see this in the way traditional sales is set up for questioning. Think back to the last three sales calls you either gave or received. If you are like most of our clients, they describe an "awkward period" where questions were volleyed out left and right as the sales person tried to make a connection and to find out a need they could solve. During this process both parties sit back and warily circle each other. Much like the shark in the water.

It doesn't need to be that way. There is a way to sell and service clients that doesn't require the leery circling of each other. There is a way to become a trusted partner. It requires a different way of thinking, listening, and speaking though. You can't be transactional and just pound with questions. The prospect knows where you are going with this and they don't appreciate being the worm on the hook to lure the shark. Oh, wait, to them you are the shark!

There is another bad point to the pounding of questions- it has been proven that when clients become confused or upset, they choose to stay "status quo." That means even though you may have a better deal they will stay with their present deal or pain because it seems easier to them.

Your job is not to sell. Your job is to help them make a choice that will propel their company forward. This means you need to know how to build rapport, threadline your questions and facts, and focus the energy in the room by excavating in a whole new way.

Try this, write out the questions you usually ask clients. Then play Devil's Advocate. Change the product or service you are selling and then ask the questions out loud to yourself. Do they make you feel cornered, pressured, or dumb? Or do they focus on driving the customer to your solution versus digging to find out what their problem is? If so, you are asking attack "solution" questions. You want to ask ProbeQs™ that draw people in, give them control, and bring out their wisdom and insight at the same time they enlighten them.

Think of it this way, imagine you go to see a doctor about a heart problem. Would you want a doctor that had a treatment in mind and they just asked you questions to draw you toward doing that solution or would you prefer a doctor that listened, and then asked probing questions to first determine if you even have a heart problem before they even talked to you about a solution? So if we prefer, the second scenario, why do companies keep equipping their sales people with sales strategies that teach them how to find how their solution can fit a client but not the deeper pain that could lead to a lasting partnership? We just got a call the other day from a client that reduced their sales cycle by 70% by flipping to the Outcome Focus™ Approach to Sales Excavation. The best part she said was that she never felt like she was selling; she was just helping the client.

TAKE ACTION: Try changing your list to make it more inviting, intriguing and more centered on the clients problem, not your solution.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Do They Still Want the Presidency?

2008-10-09T11:56:00.006-05:00

Controversial title, eh? What would cause me to even put that in a blog?

It was interesting watching the debates Tuesday. Of course there were rules that impacted that ability of the two speakers to address each other and to address the crowd. Rules such as that they couldn't come within 6 feet of each other.

As I watched the debates I thought at times McCain won and at times Obama won. I don't think it was a clear hands down for either of them.

But what really struck me was where they both struggled. During the talks on the financial dilemma in our country, they each had times they stuttered, stammered, missed words, switched the mike in their hands and blinked-- all signs that they were struggling with the questions and their answers. It got me also thinking, do either of them want this mess we are in? Do either of them truly feel they can positively impact it or are they just hopeful?

I asked myself, "are we seeing these troubling body language and speaking signs from them because they are now questioning what they got in to?" Neither of them had strong confident body language as they talked about our economy and what needs to happen.

When you saw each of them pause and grasp for words, that means their brain was trying to wrap around the question and come to a conclusion they were comfortable with. Yet neither was able to do just that.

So here is your thought for the day: When have you been in a stumbling spot? How do you train your brain, and yes it is a training of the brain, to handle difficult questions and reach for the proactive solution? When you stumble or trip on your words what comes across is a lack of confidence and leadership.

In this debate, I would say neither candidate won or lost. I would say, as a nation, we need to keep our eyes wide open. Click here to see how you can get your hands on a FREE body language DVD so you can read the candidates body language.

Anne Warfield, http://www.impressionmanagement.com/

What Happens If You Get Promoted Too Early? Can It Hurt You?

2008-09-30T09:56:00.005-05:00

By now you have probably been watching the debates and watching each of the candidates and their running mates speak. For you, it is a great opportunity to learn as a leader of what works and does not work. As you read my notes here I recommend you go to YouTube and watch the actual video yourself so you can compare and contrast what I am sharing here.

Let's take a moment to look at the interview with Sarah Palin and Katie Couric. Let's put all political party feelings aside as well as what you feel or think about a woman becoming vice president as that can skew how we hear information. Instead let's strictly look at it from a person who has been promoted and now has to demonstrate they have the learning and experience as a leader to hold that position.

Sarah Palin has been thrust in the public eye in a short amount of time. I think any one of us would agree that would be unsettling and tough for any one. She is a strong and confident woman that has handled a lot of tough issues in her life and come out on top. Now she is being asked to take the role of Vice President and possibly President, if any thing were to happen to John McCain. This means that the public is going to be scrutinizing her, not through the job she currently has as the Governor of Alaska, but instead as if she were the Vice President of the United States of America. She is under a magnifying scope that will accent all her words, phrases, and actions to the nth degree.

So step back from the politics and let's look at it from a business prospective. Imagine that your company has promoted someone to the second rank position that formerly was a manager of a large area but had not been involved in the inner workings of the corporate office. For sure you would be looking to see what qualifies her or him to hold this position. Because there is already doubt there you would be looking for if their walk and talk match. You want to see the proof in the pudding.

So how would it come off, if this person made strong statements but couldn't give facts to back them? If this person, said they could do corporate work but had no facts to back it?

See I believe it is not that people won't give her a chance. In a way coddling her and holding her back from interviews has hurt her. People already assumed that meant the McCain party didn't trust she could do the job either. For the public, the assumption then becomes the reality. So we are looking for a bit of humility, a learning curve, a confidence to not try to have all the answers but instead a willingness to explore options.

What is tripping her up are her strong statements that she can then not support. Take Katie asking her about the bailout and Sarah saying, "The interesting thing in the last few days that I have seen is that the American People are waiting to see what John McCain is going to do about this proposal, they are not waiting to see what Barak Obama's gonna do. Is he going to do this (wiggle of her finger) and just see the political wind boy. They are waiting to see if John McCain will be able to see these amendments implemented in Paulson's proposal."

Immediately, Katie jumped on, "Why do you say that people are waiting for McCain and not Obama." She went on to quote the polls, to which Palin said she isn't looking at poll numbers."

Here is the bottom line: If you are promoted as a leader too early, you do need to show your chops. HOWEVER, you also have to show humility in learning along the way. You need to show that you are learning and staying proactive. This is not the time to make charged statements.

Let's go back to the Business example I gave. Would you want someone like that to come in, tell you all you did wrong and realign your department? Or would you want them to talk to you about their vision without bashing your past? Would you want them to show they had strength and resilience and they still expected to learn from those around you?

Go back to the Couric interview and look how if Palin had omitted that entire quote I put above, the interview would have gone on without a blip. Or better yet, what if she had said, "America is waiting for strong leadership and now is the time we need it." You would have felt her strength, her conviction, and her implication, not stated, that she and McCain would be that leadership. Remember reporters are looking for a story. So if you won't give them one, they will create one with what you say. Therefore, as a leader you need to be cognizant and not cocky about what you say and how you say it. You need wisdom and humility when you speak.

Now some people say, these attacks on Palin are not fair because the same media attack has not been done with Joe Bidden. And..your right. It hasn't. However, Joe Bidden since he was elected, has been out front, giving speeches, and fulfilling his duties right up front. There was no feeling that he had to be protected or "learn his role" before he could fulfill it. We saw him accept his role and begin campaigning.

Also, Palin is in a unique spot because she is such an unknown, a leader without broad experience, and a woman. People are fascinated and drawn to her like a moth to fire. With that comes a responsibility to realize that you will be in a bubble.

So here is the lesson as a leader. Yes you will be held to higher standards, as you should be. A leader is suppose to be a person we can learn from and emulate. If you are promoted too early, realize that and instead of trying to defy it, embrace it. Use your uniqueness, your talents, and skills that got you to where you are.

Anne Warfield, http://www.impressionmanagement.com/

Succinct or Eloquence? Which will win over your listener?

2008-09-22T11:28:00.003-05:00

Succinct or Eloquent? Which is the better way to speak?

Perhaps the better question is, what impression do each leave you with? In order to know which one you want to use and when, you have to know what impact each way of speaking has on your listener.

If you watched 60 minutes last night, you got to see both succinct and eloquence at work. McCain was succinct while Obama was eloquent. Both show strong leadership but the way of speaking leaves you with a difference about how they will lead.

My blog here is not to enforce one political opinion or another. I use politics because you most likely will be able to see and watch these speeches so you can contrast and compare right along with me. So let's put politics aside and look at them only from how they speak and how they represents their leadership.

If you haven't watched the 60 minute review, click on this link to see it: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4463698n

When you look at the questions put to McCain he is succinct in listing what he believes will be the differences in their styles, what he thinks is wrong in the economy and steps he would take to make changes such as putting Andrew Cuomo in to replace Christopher Cox. There is not too much grey to interpet there. There is an intensity that radiates from him with his blinking and tight lip line that endorses the succinct method. You get the sense that if you ask a tough question you better be prepared for a tough answer becuase he is not going to just soften it so you can swallow it better. In some instances it reminds me of Reagan's no nonsense responses.

On the flip side, when you watch Obama there is an inclusiveness in his speech and an eloquence that comes in the pattern and way he speaks. There tends to be more words used to get to the same response. Watch his video and look for the succinct answers to questions. Does he state definite policies or vague ideas? Does he name specific things he would do or suggest? His body language is not as intense either as he looks down, has a softer look to his eyes and a more introspective pose with his head leaning to one side. You get the sense that if you asked a tough question he would try to put it in a way that would be easiest for you to digest.

Both eloquence and succinct have their place in strong leadership. You need to be able to convey each at different times. Watch the two and compare and contrast their leadership style of speaking. Then ask which one's style you most closely resemble? What is good about that and what is bad? Do you know when to switch from eloquent to succinct?

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

What does Sales have to do with the Gibson/Palin Interview?

2008-09-17T15:59:00.005-05:00

If you have ever wanted to learn how to be a better sales person, then just watch the Charles Gibson/Sarah Palin interview. It is a classic example of what can happen to make an interview or "sale" go south fast.

First of all, you probably noticed that, for the most part, Charlie Gibson's body language was condescending. The way he slouched in his chair, looked over his eye glasses, brought his finger tips together, blinked his eyes and then asked pointed questions all gave an impression of "come here my little sweetie" like the Wicked Witch of the West. But let's be real, that is often the body language a sales person runs up against when they go on a sales call. You often find the client is uptight, feeling put upon and trying to find fault with what you say or do. That is because they often feel trapped by you.

So what did Sarah Palin do that showed she fell in to the same trap that most sales people do?

1. Each question and challenge that Gibson put up she had an answer for. In sales, this is known as the client throwing up objections and the sales person having pat answers. The more pat answers you have the less the client trusts you and the harder they then try to dig and find more objections or ways to trip you up. Gibson did exactly that with Palin. The more she defended an answer the more he would dig for a controversial root.

Remember in sales that the goal is to connect with the other person, not to "sell" them on your product or service. Just watch the interview and you will see how each side escalated the tension by following the old "sales" format.

2. The tension she was feeling was seen in her body language. As the interview progressed Palin moved to more fists, the "prayer" point with her hands, a lifting of her right lip as in a snarl, a tight narrowing of her eyes (especially her left eye) and a tightening of her mouth. All of these gestures showed her anger, frustration and attempt to maintain control.

Sales people do the same things with clients. As clients ask more intense questions and they don't seem to just accept your pat answers, many sales people move to a combative and angry body language. This happens because your brain is aligned with trying to "sell" the client on your idea or service and you become frustrated that they won't just "get it."

3. Palin interrupted Gibson. The more frustrated she got, the more she would interrupt what he said while he did the exact opposite and slowed his speech down. He repeated what she said almost "parroting" her. I see this often happen in sales as the sales person makes the classical mistake of trying to push their product or service on the customer by literally thinking "what answer will it take to make you buy?" For Palin you could see that her thoughts and body language were focused on "what do I need to say to get you to stop badgering me?"

In our Sales Excavation system we show you how this leads to a doomed sales cycle. You can see in Gibson/Palin interview there was no winner. One didn't end up looking good because they made the other look bad. Instead both walked away having left some of their own credibility and trust in the room when it should have stayed with them. You can't afford to know your product and service but not know how to connect, build rapport and build trust with others. 90% of all training for sales people is on product yet customers buy only 25% on product knowledge. So, what is the other 75% that influences their buying decision and are you trained in those influential areas? To me, you can't afford NOT to be trained in those areas or else you will be left behind much like what happened in this interview.

As a sales person and a leader I recommend you closely watch the debates to see how they align with sales and leadership skills. Does their body language match the message? Do they focus on the issues? Do they know how to connect with whom they are interviewing with? Do they know how to tell effective stories aligned with facts to move you or do they just try to rest on logic?

TAKE ACTION: Set up a camcorder and have someone ask you your toughest "client or prospect" questions. Then watch the tape to see if you made some of the same classic mistakes that Palin did or if you were able to turn it around.

Tune in next week to see how this interview could have been turned around and credibility gained rather than lost.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Getting Around Difficult People

2008-07-03T11:20:00.003-05:00

We all have those people we work with that are difficult. They may irritate us with the way they talk, how they boss others around, how they stay negative or how they seem to only care about themselves.

Would you like to change that?

Of course we would. No one wants to be inflicted day in and day out with a person that is difficult. But have you ever asked yourself, "What may I be doing that is encouraging or allowing this person to do this?"

I had a CEO recently tell me that he had a person in his company that was controlling, difficult and annoying to work with. He said they had tried everything to turn her around but had no success. When I asked how long this had been going on, he said, "for over 20 years!"

Now that is a clue that something in your company is ALLOWING or even ENCOURAGING this person to continue with this behavior. If it wasn't it would have stopped by now.

Think about it, if there was no reward for this behavior why would you continue to do it? The pain of change is greater right now than the reward of continuing to behave in this way. We all behave in ways that we feel get us the result we want. That is why children throw temper tantrums and especially at prime embarrassing moments.

So if a child goes in a supermarket and throws a fit until Mom or Dad gives her the candy bar, the child learns that if I persist long enough I will get the reward. But if the Mom or Dad simply tells the child their behavior unacceptable and leaves the store promptly, the child learns that was not an effective way to get what I want.

Now this may mean pain for the parent because they may have to get a store person to put their groceries away and come back another time, but it sends the definite message that they will not tolerate the behavior.

But the lesson can't stop there! The parent then needs to tell the child what they did that was unacceptable, help the child with better ways to deal with their frustration and then explain what will happen in the future if this happens again.

This reinforces that this behavior will not be tolerated.

Okay so let's fast forward in to work. How many times have you stood firm on what you will and won't accept from this difficult person? What do you do that may be allowing this person to continue or even worse, be rewarded for their poor behavior?

For example, in most companies we have worked with they start to isolate the difficult person. They try to have them attend as few meetings as possible, stop asking them to participate in committees and minimize their work contact. Well, since that person is wanting to do things in their way on their time schedule, you just rewarded their behavior. They got left alone which is exactly what they wanted in the first place.

Take Action: Look at behavior in your area that you would like to see changed. Ask, what am I or my company doing that is allowing or encouraging this behavior? Then ask, what do I need to change in how I interact or handle this so it stops?

For some companies, this has meant to stop making exceptions for people, even if they are good performers but are disruptors to the corporate culture. You are better off without them then to have their difficult attitude rub off on others!

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

The Circle of Life and Learning

2008-06-30T13:12:00.004-05:00

In one day we had a death in the family, a birth of a new child and the birthday celebration of my own child. It just hit me how the cycle of life continues and we each play a different role in the cycle. We can get derailed by events or we can learn from them.

As you head through your day just stop and take a moment to ensure you are truly listening to all that goes around you; that you are fully participating in learning, growing and stretching yourself; and that you are celebrating all the little things around you.

Life is to be embraced, enjoyed, enriched, and entwined in our hearts and memories. May you make yours strong ones today!

Turning a Gas Guzzler in to a Bargain

2008-06-23T10:21:00.004-05:00

The newest ads say you will not have to pay over $2.99 per gallon of gas for the next 3 years if you buy a new car from Chevrolet. Let's examine this deeper using Critical Thinking.

Car companies are struggling to sell their big gas guzzler cars as the price of gas continues to rise. People look at the price of gas, the cost to fill up the tank and they are saying, "enough!" So lots are piling up with hummers, SUVs and minivans that can't be moved. Rebates of $1,000- $4,000 dollars haven't been helping until someone figured out how to speak the consumer language.

Consumers dismissed the idea of rebates because their mind still said, "but I have to pay all the gas for that vehicle and it will be too expensive." So now they advertise that you will only pay $2.99 a gallon for the next three years up to the first 12,000 miles That captures people's attention.

Now let's compare that to a rebate.

If you take 12,000 miles and figure on the low end 15 miles per gallon for gas that comes to 800 gallons of gas. Gas is currently fluctuating between $3.89 to $4.60 per gallon of gas. So let's take the high of lowering gas from the present $4.60 per gallon down to $2.99 per gallon. That comes to $1.61 per gallon of gas. For 800 gallons that comes to only a savings of $1,288.

So imagine, the ad captures a person that is holding off because of the gas prices and now they feel they can afford it. Once they come in you show them the savings with the gas plan of $1,288 or you tell them they can go for a straight rebate of $3,500 which would, based on today's gas prices, have them getting their gas FREE for the first 12,000 miles if gas stays at $4.33 a gallon.

Hmm, get a small car and no rebate and still pay all that gas or get the bigger car and get FREE gas for the next three years.

Now of course there is always that conscious mind that we should be driving cars that are better for the environment but if you are a car company that is not your biggest concern right now. Your concern is getting rid of your excess stock without having people see it as a liability to them.

By looking at it from the consumers viewpoint you can see how to make the numbers and rebates tie to their current logic, not yours.

Take ACTION: Look at your current business. Is there something that is stopping the client from working with you? Can you rework, rephrase, or update it to show a whole new viewpoint?

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

How to stop making bad decisions

2008-05-27T09:32:00.006-05:00

Emotions make you act. Logic makes you think. Notice the order I put those in.

Most people think they act out of logic but the reality is that you act out of emotion and you justify your actions by logic.

Understanding this fact is key to your success in stopping making bad decisions. In order to make a good decision you need to manage the emotions rather than have them manage you. In order to do this you need to remove judgement from your thinking and get clarity on the facts.

1. Remove judgement by looking at the problem from ALL sides. Write down what you are thinking as you ponder the problem from your point of view, then from all other parties point of view. Put these written thoughts down in columns so you can see them side by side.

2. Next go through and cross out all opinions, and judgemental words so all you are left with is concrete fact.

3. Scan the facts from all angles. If you need to buy some distance and time from the problem so you can get clear thinking.

4. Write down possible solutions that each party would want. Again cross out any judgemental or assumptive words.

5. Look at it and try to come up with a solution that embraces all sides.

You will be surprised how often you cloud your judgement by being assumptive about why people do what they do or by taking a fact plus opinion and turning it in to a different fact.

Take this riddle for example: A father and son are rushed to the emergency room. The surgeon walks in and says "I can't operate. That is my son in there." Who is the surgeon?

Many people automatically say it is the father of the father or, in other words, the grandson. The correct answer is it is the boys mother. Now I know that is an old riddle but 20 years ago it stumped people because no one thought about the Mom being a surgeon. Today that is common place so that hopefully didn't stump you. The point is that clarity comes from stepping back and taking all the facts, laying them out and then seeing what conclusions can be drawn.

Take Action: This week take a problem you are facing and try this method to see if you can see new insights you didn't see before.

Anne Warfield, http://www.impressionmanagement.com/

Can you have high accountability if you don't have consequences?

2008-05-23T09:39:00.005-05:00

"What should I do if the leaders in the company whom I need to make the decision come in late to the meeting?"

My question back to this was, "does this happen often or only with one person?" The entire group yelled out, "our whole company is run like that. Everyone comes late to meetings." That comment alone let's me know the corporate culture is one that talks about accountability but doesn't enforce it.

You can not have high accountability without having consequences. I don't believe in juvenile consequences like if you are late you have to sing, or if you are late you put money in a jar. Both of those consequences make people feel like kids and worse yet, if the late person can tolerate them there is no need to change their behavior.

Your consequences need to align with your corporate vision and goals. They need to be reinforced from the top on down.

There are far better ways to deal with this. The first thing I would look at is the blatant message people are sending that we have too many meetings that are not important so I can come late.

Here are some things you can do:

1. Review which meetings are relevant.
2. Keep your meetings tight and too the point.
3. Avoid "book report" meetings where people just recite what they are working on.
4. Start meetings right on time and end on time.
5. Tape the meeting and if a person misses the meeting or arrives late then have them stay after and listen to the tape. They soon get the idea that they will spend the 30 min regardless so being late is not an option.
6. Address chronic late people privately and immediately. Then be consistent with marking down the times they are late and have it be a part of their review. Let them know it is unacceptable to be late.

Remember there are times that people will legitimately be late. The goal is not to eliminate lateness completely but instead to make meetings engaging and effective so all want to participate.

Take Action: Look at what you can eliminate from your meetings to shorten them up and keep them on point.

Anne Warfield, http://www.impressionmanagement.com/

How to stop "You never called me back"

2008-04-30T09:36:00.004-05:00

The problem with follow up is most people don't know how to do it appropriately. So they end up playing tag and then wondering, "have I pestered this person too much?" The answer most likely is yes.

Not because you are calling them too much but because you never set the expectations upfront before emotions became attached. For example, imagine that you have a conversation with Joe and you end it with, "so Joe, when should we touch base?" Joe says, "I will call you next week." That is usually where the conversation ends. Now next week to you means by Wednesday while to Joe it means when I have an answer, which many not even be next week! So you call him on Wednesday and leave a message, "Joe, it is Aaron calling to touch base. Give me a call when you have a chance. I am in today."

Here are all the points wrong with the above conversation:
1. There was no closing of the loop. Once Joe said, "I will you next week." It was left open for interpretation.
2. Emotions got tangled in to the who is calling whom, what happens once the call doesn't happen, and are you devaluing me by leaving me hanging.

Follow this simple step to REMOVE the emotion and close the loop:

Always make sure you have agreement on the next course action AND how you will touch base if that action doesn't happen. So after Joe said, "I will call you next week." Aaron should have said, "Great if I don't hear from you by Friday, how do you want me to follow up?" or "Great, if I don't hear from you by 3 PM on Friday I will give you a call."

Remember once emotion is attached to an unspoken expectation people become more irrational if the unspoken expectation is not met. Therefore your goal is to get that expectation out in to the open BEFORE it happens.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Are You Annoying Your Customers or Aligning With Your Customers?

2008-04-29T15:44:00.006-05:00

When would now be the time to pick up my book? That is the greeting on one of the emails I was sent today. So who do you figure that email is going to be about? me or the sender? Would you be excited to open it?

The emails I have been getting from this person have gotten annoying because they are always about him and how I can help him become number one by buying his book or attending one of his programs. Now mind you, I have already attended one of his programs. I enjoyed it.

However, my enjoyment has decreased over time as I see all the emails and marketing being about him rather than about helping me. If he had written "How to reach your full potential by exploring 7 key concepts" I would have felt it was about what I was going to get if I read his book.

ACTION: Test all you do, email, write or send to see if you are really focused on your need or your customer's need. You should have 70% of what's written about the other party and under 30% about you.

Okay he has annoyed me so much I have unsubscribed. Not the result he was hoping for. Don't let that happen with your marketing!

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

To Catch A Bigger Fish You Need ...

2008-04-28T15:49:00.002-05:00

to set up the right net in the right way.

Imagine that you are looking at putting in a new deck. You call a company and the sales person comes out and talks to you all about the decks they build, the quality they offer and the way they can get the deck done. You decide to have them build your deck. How do you feel when they call you six months later to see if you now want them to build you cabinets? Or furniture? Or a new floor? Or a new addition? Are you excited? upset? annoyed?

Most likely as they jump around telling you all the other projects they can do you are annoyed because you didn't ask for any other projects. Their persistence may even make you start to dislike your deck that you were totally satisfied with just six months ago.

What happened? If you did a great job on the deck, why wouldn't that prove to the customer that they need you in those other areas?

In sales, I find people rarely analyze where their business is coming from, what is stopping it and what they need to do in the sales process to open up the client to more opportunities. With the Excavation Method, we show sales people how to set the first sale up so it automatically generates more sales after it. We show you how to make the client stretch their mindframe so they see the deck as just one small thing you do and they crave the other skills you have to offer.
Take a moment today to analyze your business. Where do most of your sales come from? Where do they get blocked? How can you set the sale up on the front end to remove that block?

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Are your a Value Creator?

2008-04-24T08:38:00.004-05:00

The mistake most companies make is believing that their customer always knows what they need. In an economy where people have access to information on the Internet, the client often feels informed enough to make their own diagnosis and then search for the solution they believe is best. In this case, price becomes the leading differentiator.

The reality is that most customers know what they are experiencing and they know what they believe will change the situation for them, but that is not the same as knowing what you truly need in order to get the results you want.

For example, if your car is leaking you might logically believe you need to go in and get the mechanic to plug the leak or replace the part so you don't have a leak. You focus on fixing that one piece (surface need) because you think if you plug the leak then your car will run just fine and you won't have any more problems (real need).

So now you are the mechanic. The person comes in and asks you what the cost is to fix or repair that piece. They have searched the Internet and know the cost and estimate of the repair. They feel informed, knowledgeable and in control of the problem and solution.

So would you just do what they ask or would you completely look at the car to see what might have caused the leak in the first place? Is it really just a faulty piece or is there a bigger problem going on- a problem that if you don't take care will cause their car to have other problems down the road?

As the mechanic, you owe it to your customer to keep your eye focused, not on repairing the leak (surface need), but in ensuring their car will run smoothly from now on (real need). This means diagnosing the problem and presenting solutions that enlighten the customer and align with their silent but true goal. This means they might not like what you have to say as they are prepared for a $300 car bill and you suddenly tell them to do it right will cost them $3000.

Here is the piece most companies miss--the value interpretation and value creation. It is not enough to share with them what the problem is; you need to build trust that demonstrates you are looking out for their best interest, you want them to be accurately informed and you want them to make the best choice possible. Notice I didn't say you want them to just buy from you because the reality is the best choice might be to sell the car and buy a new one that is more reliable- hence no sale for you the mechanic.

When you focus on value creation and value interpretation you hold yourself accountable to remain focused, not on the surface need, but on the real need. You need to be able to build trust and ask questions that get them to think in new ways so they see the value of what you are saying and the value in the solutions and choices offered. You become focused on making your clients successful rather than satisfied.

When working with companies we spend a lot of time showing them how to probe, question, and draw out the customer so they get to the root of the problem rather than the symptom. Once you have done this you will build trust that shows you are focused on their best interests.

If you are looking to build lasting partners, you need to ensure your entire team knows how to build that rapport, trust, and probe in a way that has the customer seeing you as a value creator!

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Which are you, the wedding or the marriage?

2008-04-08T16:53:00.003-05:00

We spend all this time, money and energy as a society on the day we will celebrate the declaration two people make to the world-We are married! All this time and energy for about 6 hours of time. The EVENT.

But what is really needed to ensure success for the marriage in the long-term? Is it the wedding or the coaching, growth, mentoring, learning, that we do as a team during the marriage?

My point is that in corporations training is often treated like the wedding- a big event that will cause all the changes and results we want. I am amazed at how many don't stop to think, how to keep the momentum going, how to coach and how to ensure it links in to their corporate culture.

Remember that a marriage is not made by a wedding. It is made by two people being committed to making it work. Two people who continue to grow, learn, and develop with each other.

A marriage that is based solely on the wedding soon dies as the day is forgotten, the festivities now seem stale and life is not as you expected. But when the wedding is treated as a START to a continued and committed journey it is truly a miraculous event that triggers all new happenings in your life.

So ask yourself, which way do I treat training? As an event I do, then tuck the dress away to be forgotten? Or as a lasting legacy that I nuture and grow each day.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

How Do I Hold on To What I Have During This Bad Economy?

2008-03-27T08:25:00.004-05:00

Headlines are reading, "The Sky Is Falling," you hear bad news about houses not selling, you read about companies laying off thousands of workers and you might want to...panic.

But there is a better way to deal with today's economy. You see for everything there is a polar opposite. Your job is to zig when everyone else zags. Your job is to find the opportunities that are probably sitting right in front of you.

The difficulty is that in an economy like we face today, doing what you have done in the past will no longer suffice. In today's economy those companies that have excellence as their base rather than as the star they try to reach are the ones that will succeed. If people are going to spend money they won't accept mediocre, they won't accept marginal, they will be pickier. So that means you have to be sharper. You have to be exceptional. You have to produce results, not busy work.

Today's economy is not one to be feared, if you are performing at top standards, if you have systems in place and if you are dedicated to customer success, not customer satisfaction. The best asset you have in your corporation is the people. Yet so many companies look at today's economy and look at how to cut expenses. That is a dying path if it is done solo. What you need to do is look at how to explode opportunities, how to differentiate and how to build a corporate culture that gets every person to give 110% to their job with a positive and optimistic attitude.

What will get you to to excel in today's economy is how you think. Does your company take appropriate risks? Do you have people making decisions on their knowledge and experience? If so, you are in for scary times because much of what you may face will be situations and opportunities that you have never faced before. This requires you to be able to apply Critical Thinking to make decisions rather than just knowledge and experience. Just basing it on knowledge and experience will cause you to freeze up, gather too much data rather than take action, and make decisions that you later say, "I didn't anticipate... or I should have seen..."

Take action today to make this economy the best you can for your company. Now is the time to invest in developing top level strategic thinking and execution that is based in excellence. It means letting go of the past and trying things in a new way to create new opportunities.

For those fearless people, today's economy is one that is ripe with opportunity and growth. It is more of a cleansing than a drowning. A time to come out refreshed, renewed, and recharged.

May you go forth and have a great Outcome Focus Day Filled With Results!

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

I will be brief- It is all in the DEBRIEF

2008-03-26T10:22:00.005-05:00

Okay, you walk in the room. You think you have the presentation nailed and then nothing. Nothing. You don't hear from the client at all. Or worse yet, in the middle of the presentation you realize something is wrong but you don't know what.

The reality is that no matter how good of a presenter you are there will be times that the presentation won't result in the outcome you were looking for. This could be due to many things-wrong timing, wrong person in room, concept too hard for them to understand, concept doesn't hit a compelling pain for them, you position it in the wrong way, or they simply aren't ready to buy.

What is in your control is something so valuable yet I find that less than 5% of my clients use it at all! Yet it is the one thing that can really help you open the next door.

It is the DEBRIEF. After every meeting, whether it went the way you wanted or not, you should debrief using a fine tuned process. We walk clients through a 7 step process to debrief after their meetings, presentations, and negotiations so they can assure themselves better success next time. My theory is, if you don't learn from your mistakes what is the use in making them? They are a ripe ground to learn, grow, and stretch. Sometimes it is something as small as the word choice you use that throws off the deal. Changing a word from "critical" to "strategic" can sometimes suddenly make what you are saying meaningful to them.

In most companies you don't celebrate the failures and mistakes, only the successes. This means people learn to NOT make mistakes but not to IMPROVE on how they do things. If you are improving you will be making mistakes and correcting as you go. Thus all in your office should be open to DEBRIEF all that you do so you continue to move toward WOW status.

Now you also need to have a formal DEBRIEF for the successes as well. You need to be acutely aware of what drove that success in the first place. If you don't document and analyze it you will learn create a repeatable, scalable process that others can use to ensure consistent results.

Remember 'what you do not measure, you can't understand. And what you can't understand, you can not change." Take action and start learning from mistakes and successes.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Training: Diet Pill or Exercise and Healthy Eatting?

2008-03-21T08:00:00.006-05:00

Today we received in the mail 3 brochures on training for an Outstanding Receptionist, 4 on How to deliver expectational Customer Service, and 4 on the Ultimate Supervisor. All programs were 1/2 day to full day for $129 to $149 per person.

I shake my head when I think of the thousands companies invest on these programs only to find the receptionist still continues the irritating habits they thought the Outstanding receptionist would rid her of, the call center still has people being rude to clients even after attending "how to deliver exceptional customer service" and the Ultimate Supervisor returns to resort to their regular behavior.

Why? Because these programs are like diet pills. Quick fixes that don't address the long-term problems of what you got you there in the first place. Even with dieting- whether it be NutriSystem, Jenny Craig or others, the ultimate success in sustaining comes from those who embed exercise and healthy eating in their diets. In other words, they may get there start with NutriSystem or Jenny Craig but they get their lasting power in significant and permanent change in lifestyle.

So why do we believe training will be any different? I can't tell you how many companies call us asking if we can train senior executives on how to present well in a 1/2 day module. Okay, how many years do you think they have had with poor presentation skills and why do you believe a 1/2 a day will give lasting results? Yes, in a 1/2 a day we can jump start them, but how will you keep them going? What systems does your company already have in place? Am I rewarded or penalized for coming up with solutions that are different than usually expected? If I am penalized, you can bet that no matter how intriguing the training is, I will go back to the style that is rewarded by my company.

Let's get rid of diet tricks, instant pills and instant solutions. Instead ask yourself, if you have solutions that speak to who your people need to be in order to do what they need to do. Do you make it easy on them to understand what needs to change, why it needs to change and how to make that change long-lasting.

Much training today is offered at a bargain price but when you look at it, it has no lasting value. Go for the gym membership that gives you access to a lifetime of successful habits!

Anne Warfield, http://www.impressionmanagement.com/

Do Ehics Only Count When People Are Looking?

2008-03-19T07:40:00.004-05:00

The other day I went to a restaurant and ordered soup and sandwich. I started chatting with the employee ringing up my order. It was after I had paid that it came out that I was a friend of one of her coworkers. At this point she smiled at me and said, "here is a cookie for you."

What do you do? I know she was trying to be friendly but the cookies were for purchase, not give away. They were wrapped in cellophane even! To me that was stealing if the company didn't have a policy that they could give away cookies. I also was in the tough spot of not wanting to be ungrateful to my friends coworker.

So I smiled and said, "that is kind of you but I am on a diet. I hope you have a great day." And I left the cookie. To me ethics aren't only when the world is watching but they are the guidelines you live your life by. Ask yourself how strong are your ethics?

Anne Warfield, http://www.impressionmanagement.com/

Going Beyond the Obvious

2008-03-18T08:43:00.004-05:00

I was going to be a lawyer. I knew since I was 13 that I wanted to own my business and had determined it would be as a lawyer. I took the LSAT, passed the test and was set for law school. Then I heard that all these companies would be coming on campus to conduct job interviews. Well, I started thinking, "wouldn't it be better to job interview now and learn those skills rather than wait until I graduated from Law School?"

So I signed up for every and any interview. Most interviews I was not qualified for because I was an English Major and they wanted Economic Majors or Business Majors. I signed up for the interviews because I wanted to become comfortable interviewing. When I got to the interviews the interviewers were a little ticked. Most pointed out that I did not meet the minimum requirements of the job as they posted it. Their words and body language pretty much told me they thought I was an idiot for wasting their time since I couldn't even read a job positing correctly.

And then I said something and what I said caused them to nod their head and grant the interview. Little did I know how powerful that little something was and how few people grasp its importance. In the interview I then demonstrated, not my job skills, but my thinking skills- a far more valuable asset and one most companies adore seeing.

Then the job offers started to pore in. Those same companies that sneered at me before the interview started offered me jobs. I started soul searching back then to answer the question all my friends put to me- Why are they offering you jobs you are not qualified for and we, with the right degree, are not getting the offers?

Now I am so excited because we have put all of the magic of interviewing in to one easy to use system. Every Professional should have a chance to shine and show what they can do. I can't wait to unleash it to all of you! Coming soon....

My point with this is that it was not my technical skills that got me the job offers. Yet technical skills were all the companies posted as the minimum you needed to have even to be granted an interview. But I knew the technical skills were what was easiest for them to measure, not what was most relevant to the job.

Do you know how to make what you say relevant to the other person? An interview is just a time to test your on the spot thinking capabilities. Do you know how to tie two opposing thoughts so they lead to a new option? It is all in the congruent thinking. Test yours today.

And if you need help developing this skill, watch for our upcoming new interviewing system that will help you do just that!

PS. If you are interested in getting your hands on the Outcome Focus Interviewing System email us at mailto:contact@imp.us.com

Anne Warfield, http://www.impressionmanagement.com/

Happy St. Patty's Day

2008-03-17T07:30:00.002-05:00

I love St. Patty's Day. Since I have been a little girl it has been a day to wear all green, eat green pancakes and drink green orange juice. To this day, it is a tradition I keep with my kids.

One year I tried green eggs- really looks like moldy eggs. I wouldn't recommend it. Another year we even had green milk, green potatoes, green chicken (I steamed it in green water), green jellow, and green angel food cake. And of course, what goes in, most come out. It was an interesting night!

Traditions are the thinks that we weave in to our life and they give it meaning. Some are good and some we hate and can't wait to change. I often wonder what changes we have today that our kids will keep going with and which ones they will drop.

So, to all of you---Happy St. Patty's Day!

Anne Warfield, http://www.impressionmanagement.com/

Creating Critical Thinkers

2008-03-14T15:21:00.004-05:00

So why is it so hard to create Critical Thinkers in an organization? And is a Critical Thinker the same as a Strategic Thinker?

There has never been a more important time to be a Critical Thinker than today. Critical Thinkers have the ability to grasp complex situations, throw out irrelevant data, bring relevant data forward and hold two opposing thoughts at the same time so they can combine things in unique ways to create solutions that never existed before. They usually do things on the fly, verbally and constantly question. Critical Thinkers do well in HiTech HiTouch worlds as they are comfortable with change and decisions on the fly. Critical Thinkers are also able to be Strategic Thinkers.

Strategic Thinkers often base their decisions on their knowledge and experience. They may use Critical Thinking in making their decisions but at other times they may not. They think about the present and how to get to the future while Critical Thinkers often think about the future and how to link it to the present.

So the ability to be a Critical Thinker is something you want all leaders to have in your company. With more and more companies operating in a horizontal culture you can't afford to have leaders acting first and thinking second. You need them to all operate in a way that is scalable and sustainable.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Creating a Recession Proof Career

2008-03-14T11:28:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I had a client ask me how they should handle relationships in the office as the company reorganized. Last week Yahoo let go thousands of people and today there is talk that Citigroup may let 20,000 people go. It is scary times.

Yet it can also be exhilirating times. These are the times that cause great differentiation in people, opportunities and companies. Distinguish yourself in the workplace is one of the hardest things people find to do. When you focus on typical techniques of bragging, grand standing or looking out for "numero one," an environment is created that deteriorates trust, creates silos, and destroys teamwork.

So I don't teach people how to do that in our seminars. What we show is how to excelorate your thinking so that you stand out as a key asset or glue in the organization. People start to see you as a critical piece of the overall mission and a connector to other vital pieces. You are able to move people to a 5th dimension of thinking so the team stops operating at a low "safety" level and starts moving at a more strategic level.

Even job interviewing is something you can do using this skill and not brag, boast or come across as conceited. You will see this yourself when you get your hands on the Outcome Focus Interviewing System. People are scared by all the loss of jobs out there. The reality is that if you think at a high enough level you can create opportunties that don't exist today. It begs you to ask are opportunties random or are they created by our energy, thought, and skills?

During a reorg I find the entire teams energy gets focused on who will be let go, what changes will happen and how will they affect me? Because all the energy is directed here the team stagnates, the effectiveness plummets and pretty soon management is thinking they were right to reorg the group since it was ineffective. Which came first the cause or the effect?

The reality is that if you use Outcome Thinking you will continually reinvent your assets as a group, challenge on how to add value to the company and REINVENT your group to be better and stronger as a TEAM then it was before.

So where will you put your energies today? On scarcity and protecting what is your turf or on abundance and building a new level of thinking and energy in your organization. Set backs are just that- a minor step back so you can redirect to a higher level.

Anne Warfield, http://www.impressionmanagement.com/

What's Feeding Your Thoughts?

2008-03-04T09:06:00.003-06:00

Do you look at the news, read books or magazines that stretch your thinking? To be a Critical Thinker you need to develop the insatiable appetite of reading things, not on the surface level, but instead for the threadlines of connectivity with other things you know.

For example, I recently read Jeffrey Gitomer's article on his experience throwing out the baseball at the Wizards game. Through out the article he relates baseball to sales. Great article and I could have taken it in solely at the level it was offered.

Instead I tied the article and pieces of it to the process of Critical Thinking. Particularly this quote by Doug Dascenzo, the Wizards manager, "They think because they've done something once or twice that they can go to the next thing. That's wrong thinking. There is no "fast" way into the big leagues. Great players have to execute excellently and improve slowly for years, if they want to play int he big leagues. Most of these kids have played baseball all their lives and still don't know enough to play major league ball. Add to that the personality trait of 'no patience' and you have a team of potentially frustrated people."

That quote got me thinking about two things: 1) the problem companies have in understanding why a high performing person they promoted is suddenly failing in their new position and 2) companies constantly wanting 'instant' training for their executives-like can you take a two day program and do it in 2 hours? They feel that since these people are executives they are "bright" enough to catch on faster.

Let's examine the first problem- promoting people only to find they fail. I find that companies constantly promote leaders based on their performance and then are stymied when that person doesn't succeed in the new position. They wonder, why?

Well, the simple reason is that the skills and abilities that make you excel at one job don't necessarily translate to the job above you. Just like the kid that can play baseball all their life but still not understand the "mental" game of big league baseball.

The second problem of timing is answered in the quote when he talks about how there is no fast way in to the big leagues. Instead it is about executing excellently and improving slowly for years. Developing Critical Thinking skills is the same way. It is not a one day course and suddenly your brain is constructed differently. Rather it is a consistent practice of stretching the brain in new ways until it is able to rely less on knowledge and experience and instead be able to take complex information and chew on it in a whole new way. This requires dedication and access to CONSISTENT learning that thread lines all this together to create a sustainable and scalable way of thinking for leaders.

So, one article, one quote, two great new ties. What ways have you stretched your thinking today? Don't just read an article but instead try to picture how it ties to a project, problem or situation you face. Remember, your mind needs exercise just like your body!

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Gutsy Conversations

2008-03-03T13:14:00.003-06:00

I love to read Carolyn Hax. She differs greatly from Dear Abby, Dear Amy or Ann Landers because she focuses, not on dispensing judgemental advice, but instead on building clarity around your thinking. In general, I think she is right on.

Every once in a while there is one that I think misses the mark. Today, someone wrote in and said "I was recently diagnosed with an aggressive cancer and have been dutifully if miserably going through treatment. The prognosis? Who knows. The whole "every day is a gift" thing has somewhat cruelly -- and somewhat wonderfully -- become a daily, waking thought.
How do I get the people in my life to confess out loud that this could, and in all likelihood will, kill me? Everyone around me is insistent on being optimistic and denying the truth that this disease kills people every day, and I could be one of them. I try to talk to them about what will happen to my things, and what their plans are when and if I die of this, just as if I were hit by a bus, but they stick their heads in the sand and refuse to have the conversation with me.
Carolyn, I could die from this. I will die someday. These are both factual statements. So why will no one discuss it with me? V. "

Carolyn responded talking about how people can be cowards and that V. should say things like, "

"I will need someone to distribute my things. Will you please help me?"
And when you get the oh-it-won't-come-to-that answer: "Yes, it will, and you will die someday, too, and I feel better talking about it than avoiding it. Will you please help me?"
And when heads start hitting the sand: "Can you explain why you won't help me?"
Using Outcome Thinking, let's look at what is at the core here. The fact that someone near you may die is a scary issue. Accepting it means accepting our own mortality and that is even scarier. Ignoring it , not planning for it, makes us feel as though we can hold it off. Bottom line is it makes us uncomfortable.

So address that. It doesn't mean your friends are cowards. It doesn't mean you have to hit them over the head with a hammer. It does mean you HAVE to address their fear before they can let it go and help you.

Imagine if V. was your friend, how you would feel if she said, "Hey this is scary. I would rather think that I will live forever but the reality is that I need to plan for the fact that I might not. I really need your love and support in helping me make plans now. Please know that I realize you hope in your heart that these plans won't have to be implemented and I have the same hope. Just helping me with this will give me more of a peace of mind than you realize. If it gets tough, just let me know and we can talk through it. Just please don't ask me to do this alone or to ignore the fact I may die as that will cause more stress than dealing with the option that I might die."

The beauty about candor is that it does not have to be judgmental. In no way do you have to judge another person as weak or a coward if they can't do things the way you would do them. Remember it is your job as the communicator to help others get past what they are trying to protect so they can take action.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Hilary Clinton's Defining Moment

2008-02-27T08:45:00.005-06:00

There are defining moments in our lives- times where we have to show our true colors and the impact can either make or break us. Last night in the debate was a defining time for Hilary Clinton. In terms of having knowledge, background and insights she was the better prepared with facts and figures, so why would I say she didn't win the debate? Because we don't look to the President to only know facts and figures.

We look to the President to have the wisdom to know what information to hold close to the vest, when to use it, and the ability to listen and reason from a balanced platform. We look at the person and intuitively want to FEEL that this is a person that will keep a balanced perspective; a person that will hear and weigh all sides; a person that won't rush in to things but instead will give us the best decision based on the best information available. We need to FEEL that this person will have the ability to see the unintentional consequences of any decision they make BEFORE they make it.

And, Hilary's body language didn't give that feeling at all. Her squinted eyes, tight upturned mouth and hooded eyes gave the impression of a viper waiting to strike out and attack. Now Tim Russert, the moderator, had similar body language. His leaning forward and being aggressive around the questions boarded on ridiculous at times. He seemed to be spoiling for a fight rather than trying to get well informed and facts and decisions. You saw this in his push with the NAFTA question about withdraw in 6 months.

Imagine you are the potential candidate lobbying for the CEO job of a major corporations. This corporation has offices in 20 countries around the world. You have been in the company for 5 years but you only get limited information as you are not privy to all the information that the current CEO is. They ask you in the interview if you would evoke the right to pull out of six countries. Now, I ask you, would you ever say, Absolutely? No, and it wouldn't show good Executive Intelligence if you did say yes. You may know surface information about the company but you better realize that you need to have good grasp of facts and decisions prior to being able to make a solid decision like that. So you should answer that you would evaluate and if changes can't be made, then yes you would be willing to pull out. Would you really want a CEO to say, "I don't have all the facts but sure I would pull the plug"?

The stance Tim took on this showed the anger, frustration and desire to pick a fight more than to enlighten the audience to the leaders decision-making power. I found it fascinating that both Tim and Hilary's body language was that of a fighter- leaning forward, eyes big when talking and hooded when listening, and tightness around the mouth. While Barack and Brian's body language was relaxed with the head tilted to one side, the hands used gracefully when talking and the eyes relaxed and open. This body language shows confidence in their ability to listen, hear and respond appropriately. They weren't trying to prove with passion but instead to display emotional reasoning.

Did you notice how half way through the body language of Hilary and Barack became more relaxed with each other and more of a unit away from Tim Russert?

Here, though was Hilary's defining moment, the minute she ranted about taking the first questions and giving Barack pillows. At that moment she showed that IN HER MIND she was the underdog and that she believes EVERY ONE knows that. This leads you to think, would I want a President that would get in a pissing match with a foreign country so the other leaders know when they have the edge or do I want a President that could be so cool and calm the other country would be left guessing?

Imagine if she instead had said, "I have noticed that I continue to get the first questions in debates and I appreciate the advantage it gives me in sharing the facts and figures I know right upfront with the audience. You want a President that is quick on their feet and able to support what they say. So thank you for that opportunity."

Now, do you think, Obama's camp would be trying to get the first question next time? Do you think the moderators would rethink their position and try to even out the questioning? Sure!

It would remind you of the time that Reagan was being accused by his opponent of being too old for the job. Did Reagan come out swinging and quoting facts? No, he simply said, "my opponent has made a big deal about age in this campaign. I assure you I will not hold my opponents youth against him." We laughed and right away our thoughts went to Reagan's EXPERIENCE versus his opponents INEXPERIENCE. Point well taken!

Action: As an executive, learn from these debates. Watch to see the FEELING created as they all speak. These are times that show you good and bad leadership. This is how your employees view you at times. You only have a few moments to demonstrate your solid skills. Make sure you come through with flying colors.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

What does the salsa have to do with Marketing?

2008-02-26T14:01:00.004-06:00

Critical thinkers look for new learning's, not only from their industry, company or peers, but by observing things around them and using their curiosity to ask, "what can I learn from that?"

I just attended my 2nd grade daughters salsa dance at the Spanish Immersion School. They have already performed various Spanish dances at the Northrop Auditorium, multiple times at school for parents and have traveled out to other schools in the community to do their dances.

At the same time, I have noticed that the focus, attention and enrollment at the Spanish Immersion school is growing by about 25% a year. Why?

Imagine you are someone in the community that hears about the Spanish Immersion school. Are you going to be more persuaded to support it if you hear the curriculum and learning? Or if you see a bunch of kids in Spanish costumes dancing their little hearts out while the infectious music has you clapping your hands and smiling in rhythm? One way engages only your brain while the other engages all of your senses.

I think the Spanish Immersion School is on to something. These kids are infecting the community with a passion for Spanish that achieved it roots in seeing little kids dance their hearts out.

So what in your marketing makes people feel good? Do you do anything outrageous? Do you involve all parts of the customer? How do you make the customer FEEL? The rhythm and pace you reach with a client comes, not only from the knowledge they share, but the mood you create that gets them to say, "how do you do that?"

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

What to do when life hits you with a frieght truck

2008-02-21T11:20:00.000-06:00

How do you handle disappointment? Do you get angry, upset, quiet, reserved? We all deal with disappointment in different ways. The key is to make disappointment work FOR you rather than AGAINST you.

I use disappointment as a time to reassess a situation. I figure it is the Universe's way of redirectng me when I might otherwise have blindly kept going. In hindsight, most disappointments end up being great lessons for me and I come out much stronger.

So how long do you let yourself wallow in the disappointment? For me, I put on soothing music, calm my mind and then look for learnings, insights and ways to redirect my energy. I have found that key appointments that get moved often result in longer time being given to the appointment at another time. Strategies that have to be delayed end up with a key component being added that would have been overlooked if I had launched at the time I wanted.

So take the next disappointment you face and use it as a rethinking, retooling, relaunching time. If you are in sales, use the disappointment as a time to debrief what did or didn't happen in the sale and how you could fix it for next time. If you are in managemnt, use the time to think about how you could have been more strategic upfront to handle the situation even better.

Think of disappointments as forks in the road. It will take your brain a moment to catch up and redirect so you can enjoy the new journey. But remember if you keep your eyes on the rearview mirror all you will see is disappointment and most likely will run into another obtacle quickly!

Anne Warfield, http://www.impressionmanagement.com/

Setting the Stage for Results

2008-02-18T10:27:00.004-06:00

Jim is an artist. As an artist his booth at a show has to create a feeling that draws people in, matches his art work, and creates the right ambiance for buying. When it came time to create just the right booth, Jim headed to Home Depot to get assistance on some carpeting for the booth. He explained that he had a booth, it would have lots of traffic and that he needed carpet to fit the booth.

Of course the sales person approached it, trying to help him find the best looking, most durable carpet that would stand up to lots of traffic and packing. Jim and Lois became more frustrated as they looked at ugly and uglier swatches of carpet. Finally, Lois stepped back and shared, not ony the vision of the booth, but also who the clients were that buy Jim's paintings, what feeling they wanted to create and what uniqueness they were after.

She watched the Home Depot guy's eyes light up. He told them to wait right here while he went in the back and dug around. Viola! Out he came with the perfect carpet!

So what possessed him to go in the back room and dig up carpet that wasn't even on the floor? What changed in the fifteen minutes they stood talking with him?

In the first scenario, Jim explained to the sales guy what he needed the carpet for in functional terms. This caused the sales guy to focus on the features of the carpet such as durability, functionality, and ease of packing.

Lois described to the sales guy the emotional side of the carpet- what mood it had to set, how it had to match Jim's creativity, how it had to align with the buying experience. All of this led the sales guy to think in bigger terms. As soon as he got the big picture, he was able to offer a solution that didn't even exist for today as the carpet wasn't even available on the selling floor!

Ask yourself, do you describe things to people in functional terms? Or do you give them the entire big picture so they can see the vision and play in that vision?

People can do extraordinary things when their thinking is stretched to its full capacity. Stretch your thinking today!

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

I Can See Clearly Now

2008-02-13T10:24:00.004-06:00

I can see clearly now the rain is gone. All obstacles disappear..

Remember that song? It is a great metaphor for how we can clutter our communication so it no longer makes any sense. When we try to be everything to every one we tend to dilute the message down so much that it no longer makes any sense.

Okay, so how do you get your message to cascade down in your organization if you aren't addressing all of the different concerns and needs? Most leaders get so frustrated that they strip the message down to a point that makes sense to them. What they forget is that the party reading or listening to their message will filter the message through experiences and knowledge that they, the listener or reader, has in their own brain. Therefore you are almost always guaranteed that they will misinterpret a stripped down message.

So the point is not to put tons in the message but instead to understand the message as it will be received. You need to tune in to your audience first or else they will tune you out. Make sure you read or listen to your message from the other person's perspective to make sure it makes sense.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Buidling Strategic versus Tactical Leaders

2008-02-11T09:49:00.000-06:00

IQ is your intelligence-your ability to capture information and store it in your brain and then extract it when needed. But all of us have run in to people that are highly intelligent but that lack common sense. So if you are looking for a great leader what are the essential ingredients that make a great leader? What makes one stand out? Why do some people do great at one level of a job but when you promote them they struggle?

In order to grow great leaders you need to understand the difference knowledge and critical thinking play in HOW a leader makes decisions. Knowledge is based on learning or experiences that you then anchor in your mind and can extract when you need to apply it. This is great and can really get you promoted in a company fast. The problem comes when you become faced with situations you have never experienced before. How do you make good decisions then? What do you base it on when you can't achor it to any experience you have ever had?

This is where in many companies things fall apart All of a sudden Joe that was a great foreman is struggling as a Operations Manager. In unknown situations it becomes far more important that you make decisions based on Critical Thinking skills, not knowledge. Critical Thinking skills help you determine what the correct assumptions are, what the root of the problem is and creates a more strategical way of looking at things. Outcome Thinking is all about how you critical think about situations so you can be more strategic and transformational versus tactical and transactional. I find way too many leaders are tactical in how they approach problems or situations and they base the rational of their thinking on the knowledge they have today. This limits their ability to really LISTEN so they can uncover what is not being thought or talked about.

A tactical leader when asked to put together a presentation on an expansion will pull together the cost of the expansion, why we are doing the expansion and what are the steps for the expansion. A strategical leader will pull together a presentation that shares what problem we are trying to solve, how the expansion will help solve this problem, what are the pros and cons of the expansion (what is it NOT addressing), what the cost will be and how it will fit in to the overal company mission. A tactical leader will try to make the expansion fit the budget. A strategical leader will ask how the expansion will solve the problem and then what cost it needs to be to work long-term. A strategical leader is not afraid to say we are thinking too small. A tactical leader wants the steps to the thinking.

If your organization is weighted down with people delivering "book report" presentations, people looking for strategy to come from the senior management, people misexecuting on corporate initiatives (which means they didn't understand the message at a strategic level) then you are most likely creating more tactical versus strategic leaders.

In today's world where you need to move at a fast pace you need to have leaders that can be critical thinkers at multiple levels in your organization. Without that you will end up creating more and more "rules" for people to make decisions by rather than systems that allow people to achieve excellence as a base.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Out Of the Mouth Of Babes- Mistake and Corrections

2008-02-08T15:49:00.000-06:00

Yesterday my daughter and son received a package filled with birthday gifts for them since their birthday's are in January. They deliciously tore in to their packages to see what was in their presents all while their little sister stood with a dejected look on her face. Oh, yes, she did a quick scan to see if any of the presents were for her, even though she knew it was not her birthday.

So we called Auntie Sarah to thank her for the gifts but got her voice mail instead. So Rory grabbed the phone and said thanks for his gift card, Ce'Anna enthusiastically thanked her all of her presents and as I walked the phone to back to hang it up, Michaela belted out, "thanks for nothing." I wasn't sure if I had hung up the phone fast enough or if that was caught on the message to my sister.

Well, I tell you it is one of those moments that you discipline them right there but you laugh about later and can't wait to share with your friends. So up to her room, Michaela goes to think about greed and what she did wrong.

Since we have already punished her and we weren't sure if my sister had heard it, we didn't know if we should have Michaela call back or let it go. We decided to not have her call back.

The next night at dinner, Michaela brought it up and asked if she should call back and say she was sorry. But she hastly added that maybe I should call first and see if Auntie Sarah even heard it as if she didn't , no need to call and say sorry! (and yes, we now know she did hear it and she has had a blast telling all of her friends about it!!)

So we called and Michaela bravely said she was sorry. When I told her that her aunt's opinion of her had gone up because she took the leadership route and admitted and corrected a mistake she made she beamed from ear to ear.

You see, it is not important if you make blunders, what is important is how you handle the blunders aferwards. The earlier you start teaching how to gracefully admit to mistakes and correct them the better off you are.

In a corporation this means leaders admitting if a new initiative is wrong, a sales person owning up to a shipping problem to a client or an employee admitting a mistake was made and then correcting it. Remember people mind less about the mistake made if they know you will always admit to it, correct it and adjust so you don't make the same mistake again and again.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Why Traditional Communication Often Backfires

2008-02-04T12:33:00.001-06:00

Outcome Thinking is about the ability to listen, hear and speak in a direct but nonjudgmental way. It means being able to think positively about why people might do what they do.

In reading Ask Amy this weekend I found a great example of how traditional thinking can cause you to think and do things that can cause you big problems down the line.

In today's blog I will just use one of the situations to illustrate the difference between traditional thinking and Outcome Thinking.

Here is the situation: Wondering wrote in that for the second Christmas in a row her late husband's niece and family have sent a card to her addressed on the computerized label to both her late husband (he died in 2006) and her. She states that they don't have a very close relationship, but have maintained contact for over 60 years. She says she felt very bad when no one from the niece's family came to the husband's memorial stating that "geographical distances are not great."

Wondering wants to know how she should handle the problem with the label being addressed to both her and her dead husband.

Here is the traditional thinking response from Ask Amy, as you read it think about how you would feel if you received this,: "you should enclose the outer evenlope from their card- the one containg the address label-and send it to this family, along with a note saying, 'I notice that you haven't updated your address files to allow for Gerald's death. I have to admit, it makes me sad each year to receive a card addressed to the two of us, knowing that he is no longer here to enjoy the holidays with me. I enjoy hearing from you, but I hope you can correct this for next year."

Ouch, as you can see the above statement has a lot of judgment. "I hope you can correct this" implies that you may or may not have the ability and it implies that you knowingly did this. There is also the burden that you have made her sad by sending her a card (meant to be cheery) but that you put on the wrong label. This type of reply, if sent, can lead the recipient to thinking about how they at least sent a card and trying to justify their good intents.

Let's skip all that and believe in the good intents all around. Think about how you would feel if you received this reply instead, "Having lost Gerald in 2006 it does my heart good to be remembered by you at the special times such as Christmas. The holidays are ones that can be the hardest on me so it means a lot to receive a card from you. Since I realize how computerized things are today, I thought you might like to know, so you could remove it for next year, that your address label still has Gerald's name on it as well as mine. I hope all is well with all of you and look forward to our keeping in touch."

Review all of your replies to people and make sure they are clear on the good intent.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

A Presentation needs to be a Present to your audience

2008-02-01T13:14:00.000-06:00

Have you ever gotten a gift from someone that doesn't fit who you are? You may have found you were more irritated to recieve something that was so unlike you than it would hve been to receive nothing at all. Why? Isn't a present a present?

Not if it actually blocks the relationship or is one more reminder of how little you really notice about the other person. You want to make sure that whatever you give fits that person, makes them feel more connected to you and demonstrates that you truly have noticed their own tastes and uniqueness. But surprisingly what most of us do is give people gifts that WE would want to recieve.

I see this all the time with presentations. I see people presenting their information in a way they think is neat and exciting. Questions from audience are often treated as irritating interruptions and I see audiences shut down time and again.

Your presentation should be a PRESENT to your audience and involve their PRESENCE. You shouldn't talk AT your audience but rather WITH them.

If your time is focused on delivering a PRESENT to your listener that they will want to hold, listen to, and play with then you are on the right track. Relook at your presentation and see it from the recipient's side. Will they want it? If not, how can you modify it so they do want it? Does it add value to the recipient? Does it invite them in?

Challenge yourself to review your next presentation and make sure it is truly a PRESENT the audience will value.

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagmement.com

Change Your Brain BY.....

2008-01-30T14:42:00.000-06:00

I have always loved creating with music going. From the time I wake up in the morning to the time I go to bed, I constantly have music going. I never thought much of it. I just knew that I felt I created and thought better with music on.

Last night I was reading the book Change Your Brain, Change Your Life and right there I found the answer for why I like music so much. I turns out the University of California at Irvine did a study on visual -spatial learning skills. What they found was that when people listened to Mozart (particularly Sonata for Two Pianos), they improved their pattern recognition scores by a whopping....62%!!

What they propose is that Mozart's music strengthens the right-brain processing center associated with spatial learning.

So, guess what my office is now playing?? You guessed it! We are having a blast testing out Mozart and seeing how it impacts our daily work.

Try something different and play some Mozart to see how it affects the way you listen, think, and create!

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

Bait and Switch Revealed

2008-01-26T14:25:00.000-06:00

The TV is on and the ad announces that you can get this entire Leeza Gibbons set of Sheer Cover makeup for only $29.95! My girls are watching and saying, "Mommy, get it!" I thought, "hmm for only $40 with shipping, okay."

Then the call. The Bait. The Switch. The Ugh.

The call started with "for only an extra $9.95 plus $9.95 for shipping we can upgrade you to the deluxe edition that has 8 items." I said, "no thanks, I just want what was offered on the TV." She then tried to upgrade me to just 7 items. I said no. She then went to saying we can send you a 90 day supply versus a 30 day supply for just $29.95. I said, "I'm confused. Isn't $29.95 the price of the kit that is on the TV." She said, "yes and we will send you 3 months for just $29.95."

By this time I am irritated. So I asked her exactly what was different between that and what I say on TV. I asked her to give me the total she was going to charge me. Well, surprise it was going to be $97!

I said, "all I want is what was offered on TV. Please don't try to upgrade me or I will cancel the order." She said she understood and then proceeded again to try and get me to add two other products!

I told her to cancel the entire order. It ticked me off and it confused me. I called to just do what the TV offered and she tried to upgrade me SIX times!!!

So how many customers do you lose because you make things too confusing? How many do you move from being excited about your product to being so ticked that they will tell others to avoid it? Is it really worth the $15 upgrade to lose a client?

If they had just taken my order I might have gotten the products, loved them and continued to buy them. If I had loved them, this is a product that costs you $30 a month. So that means I would be a $360 a year customer. And if I turned 10 other friends on to this product it would be worth $3600 a year to them. And they lost it all due to a lousy need to constantly try to upgrade.

Look at any UN-WOWS in your company. Get rid of anything that confuses your customer, irritates them, or frustrates them. Every step in your company should be one that builds trust, not shatters it.

Give them the opportunity to upgrade once but not six times. After the first one it just feels like you want to make as much money off me as you can which feels slimy and distrustful.

Anne Warfield, http://www.impressionmanagement.com/

What Do Leaders And Winter Have In Common?

2008-01-24T13:03:00.000-06:00

I love Summer, I enjoy Spring, Fall is okay but Winter, man I am not a fan. For me Winter is too cold and too long. In my mind, I think let’s just get rid of Winter.

But what would happen if it was Summer all the time? Would I really want my neighbors in my yard year around? Or do I love Summer because we all KNOW that Winter will come so we FULLY embrace Summer? We know that we will get our quiet time in Winter so we don’t mind the constant traffic of Summer.

As a Leader Winter is like your time of LEARNING. It should be your longest season and it should happen EVERY YEAR. I can’t tell you how many leaders I run in to that consider themselves “there.” Like once they have arrived they don’t need any more training.

Who are they kidding? That is when you need it the most.

As a leader your brain shouldn’t even be CLOSE to what it was even six months ago. You should be constantly stretching it. Only by doing this will you gain new insights and the ability to “SEE” things you didn’t before. It is like changing the lens cap on a camera and suddenly new things come in to view. They were there before but not visible to you because they weren’t in your conscious level of that time.

The training is not always about the content. It is about the way it stretches your brain, how you mold it to your past and present, and how to apply it to your life today. You life is never at the same spot so you will never absorb the learning in the same way.

Think about Lance Armstrong. What if he said, “I learned how to ride a bike as a kid so I don’t need any more lessons.” You couldn’t even imagine him saying that because you realize the level he is stretching to is way beyond what he was as a kid. On top of that the equipment he learned on as a kid is not even close to the equipment he has today. His brakes today are probably 1000 times more sensitive then the brakes he used as a kid. There is no way he could apply the same pressure to his brakes today as he did 40 years ago and expect the same results. So why DO YOU?

I encourage all the leaders we work with to constantly read, travel, and stretch. You never know where your next insight will come from.

Anne Warfield, http://www.impressionmanagement.com/

What's Stopping Your Results

2008-01-23T10:04:00.000-06:00

It is ironic to me how many companies ask me if we can do "instant" training for their leaders because they don't have the time to take away from work. Hmm... what does that really tell you?

Even when you look at nature there are always Four Seasons- Spring (a time for regrowth), Summer (a time for warmth and enjoyment), Fall (a time for reflection and shedding of bad habits so you are ready for growth), and Winter (a dormant time of deep learning beneath a bed of snow so it emerges in the Spring with new colors).

In work we follow the One Season mode-work, work and more work. At what point do you stop and improve your game? When do you do your intense learning so you can come back in the Spring stronger than you were before? If nature didn't take all four seasons to rejuvenate what would happen?

Why do we believe if we heard or learned something once we don't need to revisit it? I believe that there are deep layers to our learning and at times we may listen to something but we don't hear it at a deep enough level because we don't have the capacity at the time to grasp it completely. Then you come back later at a whole different level and all of a sudden your understanding is so much deeper.

To really grasp this concept think of how many times you, as a parent, reflect back now on what your parents did and you say, "I understand now." Or when you were promoted to management for the first time and you finally understood why your old manager did things the way they did. You had a shift in thinking which then shifted how you viewed all the experiences in the past that relate to that thinking.

So challenge yourself as a leader to continue to grow, stretch and learn। There is a good reason why nature follows four seasons!

Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com

When Is It Not Alright?

2008-01-22T09:13:00.000-06:00

Was just watching 20/20 and they had a piece on a mayor from Arlington, Oregon who had pictures posted on Myspace.com of her in a black bra and panties on top of a fire truck and another one that was suggestive. The town of 650 has some citizens that are trying to oust the mayor over these pictures. The mayor is a very attractive and physically fit woman in her late 40's.

Okay, here is the deal: The mayor is fighting back and saying that she didn't post the pictures- her friends and family did- and that she will not leave her position (which is a voted in position but non-salary).

What is right and wrong here?

The mayor is saying she has a right to post any pictures that she wants; the town is saying she is a reflection of the town and those pictures aren't the right reflection.

Let's first look at the right and wrong question and then we will get to the more important question.

If you are a CEO, Senior Management, Queen, King, in a visible government position, you DO have an obligation to uphold the values, principles and image of that position. It is no longer about you- your image extends beyond you to the town, country, or company. Yes, you did need to adhere to the standards that go with that office. Yes it may mean at times you have to curb what you would say in public, that you have to watch what you wear and that you have to watch what you do. And yes, that may at times, seem "unfair." But the truth is that when you sought that position this was part of the package.

But really, that is not the big question here. The big question is, why was it approached in such a way as to make the mayor feel judged and thus, to feel justified in digging in her heels and leaving the pictures up?

My understanding is she was first approached by some in the town telling her the pictures were a disgrace and that they wanted her removed. Right away they gave a judgement and she is fighting that judgment.

Imagine if instead they came to her and said, "we found some pictures on Myspace.com of you that don't fit your upstanding image as our mayor and we wanted to take some time to talk with you about them and how you propose to handle it. I am not sure if you are even aware these pictures are out there." My guess is she would have gone in and taken them right down.. After all, she says she isn't even the one that put them up. Most likely at this point she is defending herself as well as her family and friends that put the pictures up.

If she didn't want to do that, the discussion could easily move to "so if the image of mayor is to be one that is upstanding citizen that reflects positively on our entire town, how do these pictures fit that?" And if she insisted, they could then say, "So we are to understand that you feel strongly about keeping these pictures up and that if we don't feel that fits the image of a mayor you want us to go about removing you from office?"

Then if they proceed with the petition, the mayor is the one who essentially pushed that direction, not the citizens. My guess is that she would have removed them if she felt the grace of room to not feel judged for them being there in the first place.

Anne Warfield, http://www.impressionmanagement.com/