My Weblog

Who Needs A Coach?

When people ask what I do and I respond coaching…they often say “Oh you work with athletes.” Well not really, my clients are executives and business professionals (check the testimonials on my web site: http://www.anovickassociates.com/testimonials.shtml) you will see who we work with.

This question started me thinking, why do athletes have coaches? These are individuals who are at the top of their fields, they are not looking to learn how “to play the game” so to speak. They are looking for increased performance and better results.

They are not looking for a cheerleader, but someone who can provide honest feedback about what they are doing, priorities, strategies and week-to-week progress with what must be done.

ABC’s top ranked show, Dancing With The Stars, has been dominated by athletes, Emmitt Smith, Apollo Ohno and now Helio Castroneves. Their dance partners have all commented on how their success was directly related to their willingness to be coached. These individuals know from life experience, that in order to reach their goals they must be committed, dedicated and have the guidance and support of a coach.

They also know that in order to reach a goal they must leave their comfort zone. This is not easy, no matter how hard you push yourself; you need someone to provide that feedback from the sidelines. Where does the coach stand on the field? The sidelines.

Fast Company recently conducted surveys on coaching. They found that from 2004 to 2007 there has been a dramatic increase in the use of coaching. The biggest change is from coaching being used as “a fix it tool” for leaders with problems, to helping successful leaders get even better. In many firms having a coach is seen as a badge of honor.

The most exciting thing I can hear from a client, is when they say, “This experience has changed my life.”

CoachAnovick.com

Developing Potential, Producing Results

Paul Anovick

201-445-2822

How To Create More Effective Headlines

Often the most difficult phrase to create and write is the headline. Whether you are developing the subject line of an email, or the title of an article.  The headline is unquestionably the most important piece of copy you use to reach people.

 

Today everything moves at the speed of light.  Your message must cut through the clutter of the marketplace and grab your audience.  Here are proven ways to accomplish this goal.

 

1.    Keep it short.  The expression, “less is more” is appropriate.  Economy of words, state the value to your target audience.

2.    Deliver your promises: Your subject line or headline should be delivered in the body of your message.

3.    Get attention: Words that work: how to, easily, save, reduce, here’s, why, which, where, when and what. 

4.    Test what works: Track responses, find out what is most effective for your audience. With today’s tools you are able to measure effectiveness.

5.     Headline Analyzer: Here is a tool for you.  This is a site I have been using for the past year and it is FREE. http://www.aminstitute.com/headline/index.htm

6.     Make it easy for the reader: The subject line should provide a clear message to the reader. If it is too cute or clever it may confuse rather than clarify.

7.    State the benefit: There is a school of thought that suggests we put the bottom-line upfront.  Don’t bury the headline, lead with the most important part of your message.

8.    Write the headline after you write your article: Many times it is effective to write your headline after you have captured your thought or message.

9.    Write the headline before you write your article: Sometimes I think of a great headline and then write the article to answer the headline. (that is what I just did)

 

How valuable is the headline or subject line?  Did I interest you enough to read this far?  There is the proof.

CoachAnovick.com

Developing People, Producing Results

201-445-2822

Paul Anovick

 

To Email Or Not To Email That Is The Question

Many think communication is transferring a precise piece of information from one mind to another.  Email is designed to send your message, idea or thoughts to others. Communication is more than sending, it involves receiving as well, it is a two way process. Email is a powerful tool, however, it has limitations and risk.

 

Should you use email? : Determine if email is the right vehicle for your message and audience.  Your goal is to inform, persuade or document.  Clearly if you want to document email is ideal. If the recipient is unavailable by phone, in person or your time zone, email is good. If you wish to communicate with multiple recipients or the subject does not require back and forth discussion email is the way to go.

 

If you decide to use email the following are some tips:

 

Subject line: This is the headline, the attention grabber. If done right it earns a click, now they will read what you wrote. Give thought to the subject line, avoid (no subject).

 

Make one point: You may want to put the “bottom line” upfront. In today’s fast paced world decisions to read on are made in the first 15 seconds, so you may want to get right to the point. Be direct, informative, the message should be credible, appealing and logical.

 

Edit your writing: This may sound “old school”, however, you have to go beyond spell check, good enough is not enough, edit your writing. Emails can become permanent documents, someone can print your writing and now it is in “real space” not just cyberspace. This represents you and how you work.

 

Use the “24 hour rule”: If you are upset, this is NOT the format for you. Realize that once the message is sent there is no getting it back. Let the world turn one time, calm down and read your message again. No doubt you will want to change what you wrote or not send it at all.

 

Technology provides us great tools to enhance our productivity and improve our lives. It is important to select the right tool at the right time. Effective communication is best done face to face. When you engage all senses, words, tone and body, using verbal and non-verbal communication you have the best opportunity of being successful with your interpersonal connection.

 

This is a topic that I would enjoy hearing your comments about. Please email me your thoughts or if you are so moved pick up the phone and call 201-445-2822. Complete the two way process and let me know what you think.

CoachAnovick.com

Developing Potential, Producing Results

201-445-2822

Paul Anovick

 

 

 

We're Wired For Stories: Telling and Selling

If you want to sell more, tell more tales. A good sales story stimulates the mind and engages people to conversation. If you are selling and people are not tuned to what you are saying, it's almost impossible to move them to action. Executives and world-class sellers tell stories to get people involved.

Stories are not more important than features and benefits; they help emphasize points and create feelings. Combining data and left-brain logic with emotional right-brain stories is a powerful and professional way to make dramatic sales points. Executives, politicians and professionals tell stories to start people thinking and make important points.

What sells people is how they see benefits working for them. Storytelling engages people in their own minds, emotions and imagery. Although decisions are largely formed with logic, data and information, decisions are mostly made with right-brain subjective emotions. Storytelling is a strategic sophisticated sales tool. We know that people are going to forget data and information but are unlikely to forget a good story.

President Ronald Reagan exploited his age and was nearly 70 when he became president. He left office at 78, the oldest man ever to serve in the office. He joked about himself and repositioned a problem to an advantage with wit and humor:

One of my favorite quotations about age comes from Thomas Jefferson. He said that we should never judge a president by his age, only by his work. And ever since he told me that, I've stopped worrying, and just to show you how youthful I am, I intend to campaign in all 13 states.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series has sold over 26,000,000 books since 1997 and has earned tens of millions of dollars. You may have read his books or seen him on TV. Three of his books, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant and Rich Dad's Guide to Investing, have been on the top 10 best-seller lists simultaneously in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the New York Times.

Much of the success of Rich Dad is not simply because Robert wrote a book. The message of becoming a better money manager, understanding taxes, dealing with expenses and using the power of leverage to create wealth created a story that challenged conventional thought: only high income leads to wealth.

Robert crafted a story of logic and emotion so he could repeat it virtually word for word in seminars and in radio, TV and newspaper interviews. He took a simple boring subject about money and made it visually and emotionally unique by telling a story.

The story of two fathers is an unusual message. Without that story, Rich Dad would likely have been like so many other books telling of money and investing. Robert is a gifted storyteller and his messages are motivating, entertaining and lead to his record-breaking success as an author. Robert is a master of sales.

·  Are you successful because you simply sell a product?

·  Do you master sales because people relate to you, your values and your knowledge?

·  Do you get people emotionally involved?

·  What makes you unique and a standout in a crowded field?

What Are Stories?

Stories are images and eye candy for the brain. Words are ways of communicating the images in the mind. When we tell stories well we are actually imagining what happens in the story and using words to describe what we see.

Remembering And Telling

Storytelling has a common problem. More salespeople would use stories if they could just remember how to tell the story.

It's the same problem in public speaking. Remembering words can stump people. People try to memorize things that are far too difficult to remember. Unless you have a photographic memory, remembering word for word is out of the question. That is why we invented computers, to keep track of lists and words.

To tell stories naturally, imagine what happens in the story. You can use the same words every time if that comes easily to you or you can use different words every time to tell a story. As long as you connect the words to the images in your mind, you can deliver a good story.

Three Keys to Storytelling

1. Learn The Story. Focus on the story and get the image in your mind. It is far easier to remember scenes or sequences of several images of things like sounds and pictures than the literal sequence of many hundreds of words. Remember, it's never the story; it's always the emotion that communicates the real meaning. Tell the story from your memory of how it made you feel.

2. Telling The Story. Relax, have fun and enjoy the story; it will be easier to tell. Imagine what is happening in the story. Use your natural style and expression.

3. Remembering The Story. You will not easily forget a good story. Images stay with you. However, words escape you. As long are you are confident that you do not have to remember word for word, the story will be easy to remember.

The Secrets Of Story Strategy

We tell stories in sales situations because it helps compel people to action. It is hard to make a computer chip exciting, a stack of lumber enthralling. That's why selling features and benefits are rarely enough to bring people to action. People make decisions in their minds, not from your mind. Draw pictures for people and reach them emotionally.

Use Stories As Sales Tools:
1. Use stories to keep ideas in order and show ideas sequentially: First this happened and then that happened
2. Use stories to point out how this happened or that happened
3. Use stories to help others understand why things happen
4. Use stories to share information and to illustrate
5. Use stories to help illustrate principles that can be used in other situations

Stories Stimulate Even More Stories

Have you noticed people clamoring to tell you their story before you finish your story? When people listen to your story, they are actually visualizing their story.

Stories stimulate more stories and start conversation. You learn a lot from talking to people and when people tell you their stories, you learn even more about them.

If people don't talk back to you, you will have a problem selling them anything. Passive listeners may be thinking about dinner or picking up the dog from the veterinarian. Even worse, they may be thinking, "when is this presentation ever going to end?"

A client telling you a story is very likely the one to be telling you to write down orders. A storytelling client is an order waiting to happen! Remember that features and benefits are boring but people engaged in a story are emotionally connecting to you.

People see things through their paradigms. Be sure your story develops not simply from your point of view but a story that will stimulate a positive associate idea in others.

What sells people on your story is not your story; it's how they interpret the story for their own benefit or viewpoint. A story should not simply jump out of your mouth. It should be constructed to achieve your objective.

The key to crafting a story is the logical flow. It must have a beginning, middle and end. However, it needs a trigger to set off an emotion. The trigger can be something that will literally force the prospect to ask a question. A trigger can set off ideas of what to buy, when to buy and how to buy because your story is compelling.

How To Craft A Story

·  Start with simple recognizable truths

·  Show the way out of problems and situations

·  Show how customers win

·  Show why your products or service works better than competitors

·  Show why your products or service has more value

·  Use scenarios of what and why to make things work and happen

·  Leave room for the listener to have their own points of view

·  Have fun telling stories, be real, be alive

What will make you a great storyteller will be how well you craft stories to fit situations. Ad-libbing stories without following an outline and strategic thinking may be hit-and-miss. Without a roadmap in your mind, a story told differently every time might have a different meaning every time.

You may be adding things that will get you off track, forgetting important ideas and getting yourself into twists that may alter the outcome. Critically, you may miss using an emotional trigger in the right place. You cannot expect the best results if you wing stories.

Develop a bank of sales stories that you can use to illustrate important points, scenarios, answer objections and show benefits though real-life situations or people and how others can meet their needs from your stories.

CoachAnovick.com

Developing Potential, Producing Results

201-445-2822

The guest author today is Brian Bieler

By Brian Bieler, author of The Sales Operator, visit Brian’s website at www.brianbieler.com.

Leadership By Persuasion

As a leader, your success depends upon your ability to get things done: up, down and across all lines. Today’s organizations are politically complex and fluid, which blurs lines of formal authority. 

To survive and succeed, you must learn to persuade people: to convince them to take action on your behalf and under your direction, often without formal authority. Even when you do have formal authority, you may be hesitant to use it. 

Persuasion is widely perceived as a skill reserved for sales and negotiation. Now, it’s an essential proficiency for all leaders.

Defining Our Terms

“Effective persuasion becomes a negotiating and learning process through which a persuader leads colleagues to a problem’s shared solution.”

—Jay A. Conger, PhD 

Professor of organizational behavior, London Business School

Author, Winning ’Em Over: A New Model for Management in the Age of Persuasion 

 

Persuasion involves leading people to take a position they don’t currently hold. You must not only make a rational argument, but also position your information, ideas, approaches and/or solutions in ways that appeal to basic human emotions. Dr. Conger describes the traditional view of persuasion: “First, you strongly state your position. Second, you outline the supporting arguments, followed by a highly assertive, data-based exposition. Finally, you enter the deal-making stage and work toward a close.”

Discovery, Preparation, Dialogue

Any attempt to persuade may provoke colleagues to oppose and polarize. If, according to Dr. Conger, persuasion is a learning and negotiating process, then it must include three phases: discovery, preparation and dialogue. 

Before you even begin to speak, you must consider your position from every angle. Getting ready to present your ideas may take weeks or months of planning, as you learn about your audience and prepare your arguments. 

Dialogue occurs both before and during the persuasion process. You must invite people to discuss solutions, debate the merits of your position, offer honest feedback and suggest alternatives.

To effectively persuade, you must test and revise ideas to reflect your colleagues’ concerns and needs. Success depends on being open-minded and willing to incorporate compromises. 

Four Steps to Successful Persuasion

Leading through persuasion requires you to follow four essential steps:

1. Establish credibility.

2. Understand your audience, framing your goals in a way that identifies common ground.

3. Reinforce your positions with vivid language and compelling evidence.

4. Connect emotionally with your audience.

To avoid failure, your strategy for persuasion must be as compelling as your arguments. 

The Importance of Credibility

Credibility develops from two sources: expertise and relationships. Listen carefully to your audience’s suggestions, and establish an environment in which they know their opinions are valued. Prepare by collecting data and information that both support and contradict your arguments—a step that sheds light on your position’s strengths and weaknesses. Place others’ best interests first so you can validate that you truly care about the team’s well-being.

Frame for Common Ground

You must be adept at describing your positions in ways that illuminate their advantages. The primary goal is to identify tangible benefits to which your targeted audience can relate. This requires multiple conversations, meetings and dialogue to collect essential information by asking thoughtful questions. This process will often prompt you to alter your initial argument or include compromises.

Identify key decision makers, stakeholders and the organization’s network of influence. Who is supportive, unyielding or neutral? Pinpoint their interests and how they view alternatives. 

Provide Evidence

Persuasion requires you to present evidence: strong data in multiple forms (stories, graphs, images, metaphors and examples). Make your position come alive by using vivid language that complements graphics. In most cases, a rock-solid argument: 

o Is logical and consistent with facts and experience

o Favorably addresses your audience’s interests

o Eliminates or neutralizes competing alternatives

o Recognizes and deals with office politics

o Receives endorsements from objective, authoritative third parties

Connect Emotionally

Your connection to your audience must demonstrate both intellectual and emotional commitment to your position. Successful persuaders cultivate an accurate sense of their audience’s emotional state, and they adjust their arguments’ tone accordingly. Whatever your position, you must match your emotional fervor to your audience’s ability to receive your message.

Virtual Teams

It’s even harder to persuade when your relationships are electronically based. Without face-to-face meetings, you cannot gather critical nonverbal cues that help you connect with others. If you usually communicate by email, arrange frequent phone conferences to interact on a more personal level. While actual meetings require travel expenses, they may be well worth the cost.

Four Ways to Fail at Persuasion

Most leaders attempt to persuade through logic, persistence and personal enthusiasm. In reality, this model is a setup for failure. You blunder when you:

1. Make your case with a hard sell. Assailing colleagues with preconceived ideas from the get-go gives potential opponents a clear target for battle.

2. Resist compromise. To buy into your proposal, people want to see if you’re flexible enough to respond to their concerns. Compromises often lead to more sustainable solutions.

3. Think the secret of persuasion lies in presenting great arguments. Your credibility—as well as your ability to create a mutually beneficial framework, connect on the right emotional level and communicate through vivid language that makes arguments come alive—are equally important.

4. Assume persuasion is a one-shot effort. Persuasion is a process, not an event. It’s rarely possible to arrive at a shared solution on the first try. 

Resources

Conger, J.A. (1998) Winning ’Em Over: A New Model for Management in the Age of Persuasion. Simon & Schuster. New York NY.

Getting People On Board. (2005) The Results-Driven Manager Series. Harvard Business School Press. Boston MA.

Power, Influence, and Persuasion: Sell Your Ideas and Make Things Happen. (2005) Harvard Business Essentials. Harvard Business School Press. Boston MA.

CoachAnovick.com

Developing Potential, Producing Results

Paul Anovick

201-445-2822

Managing Energy is the Key to Sustaining High Performance

“To be fully engaged in our lives, we must be physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused, and spiritually aligned with a purpose beyond our immediate self-interest.” – Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, The Power of Full Engagement (2003) 

Some executives thrive under pressure, others wilt. There is an epidemic of stress and burnout in our personal and work lives. We pride ourselves on our ability to multi-task and use computer aids to organize the demands on our time; we become more efficient and take on more responsibilities, and with them, more stress.  

Even when managing our time well we still end up exhausted and stressed, unable to concentrate, keep focus, and be productive. That’s because the problem isn’t time management, it’s energy. One major quality that executives seek for themselves and their employees is sustained high performance in the face of ever-increasing pressure and rapid change, and that takes energy.

The tools for sustaining high performance are not taught in business schools. Leadership development courses rarely broach the issue of energy management, either individually or organizationally. Depleted energy may be one of the reasons more than two-thirds of employees feel less than fully engaged at work (Gallup Organization, 2004).

Some of the secrets of sustaining energy and high performance come from studying professional athletes. Professional athletes spend most of their time training and, at most, a few hours a day actually competing. Corporate executives, however, have almost no time for training and must perform at peak levels under intense scrutiny and competition for often 12 or 14 hours a day. Most professional sports have an off season of several months. The typical executive has several weeks of vacation; even then, as many as 47 percent report taking their laptops to answer e-mail during their breaks. The career of the athlete spans 7 years on average; that of a corporate executive may last 40 or 50 years.

The skillful management of energy—both individually and organizationally—makes sustaining peak performance possible. According to authors Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz in their book,The Power of Full Engagement (2003), we need to rethink much of what we’ve believed about organizing our lives. We need to learn two new rules:

1. Energy is the fundamental currency of high performance.

2. Performance, health, and happiness are grounded in the skillful management of energy.

Will be continued...

CoachAnovick.com

Developing Potential, Producing Results

Paul Anovick

201-445-2822

Why Teams Now?

Teams outperform individuals acting alone or in larger organizational groupings, especially when performance requires multiple skills, judgments and experiences.

 

Today we are living in a challenging time. Survival just became more challenging in the past 12 months. Whatever got you to where you are now may not be sufficient to keep you there. Whatever your strategy had been coming into 2009, it is time to reevaluate.

 

It is my observation in the last three decades; significant performance challenges energize teams regardless of where they are in an organization. Clarity of purpose and goals has tremendous power in our ever more change driven world.

 

In 1993, Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith of McKinsey & Company, penned, “The Wisdom of Teams” This book forms the basis for the team building process that I conduct with companies and organizations. In working with the team structure I have consistently observed teams out perform individuals about 90% of the time.

 

If you want a high performance organization you must leverage the power of teams. What can Team Leaders do to create successful teams? According to Jon Katzenbach:

 

1.    Keep the purpose, goals and approach relevant and meaningful.

2.    Build commitment and confidence.

3.    Strengthen the mix and level of skills.

4.    Manage relationships with outsiders, including removing obstacles.

5.    Create opportunities for others.

6.    Do real work.

 

The next 12 months are going to be challenging to you, your company or organization and to our country. In order to create the growth and success we want now is the time to leverage the power of high-performance teams.

 

As we compete in the 21st Century, no serious business leader, consultant or scholar disputes the vital characteristics necessary for high performance: visionary leadership, empowered work forces, dedication to customers, total quality, continuous improvement and innovation. Each of these considered critical. When working with my clients I see first hand the impact of high performance teams on productivity, these skills are essential to your success.

CoachAnovick.com

Developing Potential, Producing Results

Paul Anovick

201-445-2822

 

Six Strategies for You to Gain Successful Sales

The changes in the marketplace over the past year have created far-reaching implications for anyone in the sales field.  If you want to succeed in this environment, you have to be more knowledgeable, faster with your response, and easier to do business with than ever before.

 

In his book, Thriving on Chaos, Tom Peters suggests that professional salespeople are at the heart of business, and that for a business to survive and succeed, extensive development for salespeople is essential.  All business is sales driven.

 

No one wants to be “sold”; everyone wants to “buy”.  In order to understand the buying/selling process you must answer a very important question:  Why do your customers buy from you?  Do you know?  Have you asked them?  What your prospects tell you they want is very important.  Why they want what they want is even more important.

 

Consistent success in sales requires a repeatable process.  The purpose of a clearly defined strategy is simple; it is designed to help you stay focused on the prospect and to aid them in the buying process.  The six stages are:

 

1.    The Introduction

2.    Gain Favorable Attention

3.    Uncover Wants and Needs

4.    Present Benefits and Solutions

5.    Get Commitment

6.    Follow-up

 

First impressions are lasting impressions; the Introduction is a critically important step in the process.  Starting with the phone or email contact, how you plan and create the initial meeting will set the stage for the entire buying/selling process.

 

To Gain Favorable Attention, you must establish a positive atmosphere and develop rapport.  This is where you ask questions, listen and demonstrate your knowledge of their business.  You are seeking to learn about their needs, but a good detective never asks a question he doesn’t know the answer to.  Preparation is key, do your homework and you will be able to ask qualified, targeted questions and thereby gain their respect and trust. Good questions will demonstrate your understanding of their situation or business and enhance your credibility.

 

Uncover Wants and Needs, perception is reality.  The prospect has an idea of what they want and can express it with specific actions.  Their needs may require more investigation on your part. By preparing and then asking specific questions as well as good follow up from what you hear, you will be able to help your prospect identify their needs.

 

Once you are armed with all this knowledge about your client you are then able to Present Benefits and Solutions of your product or service.  It is important that your presentation be well planned and that you know, prior to the actual presentation, how you are going to present your product or service so that the prospect clearly realizes the value to him or her.

 

If you have listened and done your homework your solution should create a desire with your prospect to proceed with the process.  When you effectively identify and satisfy the prospects needs and provide a solution, the next stage will flow to a logical conclusion of Getting Commitment.

 

It is my lifetime experience the sale does not end with the order, it begins.  If you are to be successful for your client and yourself, you must Follow-Up.  This process will insure long term, repeat business.

 

Your attitude towards yourself and others will affect your productivity.  Your sales will be driven by your productivity, understanding your attitude will greatly enhance your results.

CoachAnovick.com

Developing Potential, Producing Results

Paul Anovick

201-445-2822

We're Wired For Stories: Telling and Selling

If you want to sell more, tell more tales. A good sales story stimulates the mind and engages people to conversation. If you are selling and people are not tuned to what you are saying, it's almost impossible to move them to action. Executives and world-class sellers tell stories to get people involved.

Stories are not more important than features and benefits; they help emphasize points and create feelings. Combining data and left-brain logic with emotional right-brain stories is a powerful and professional way to make dramatic sales points. Executives, politicians and professionals tell stories to start people thinking and make important points.

What sells people is how they see benefits working for them. Storytelling engages people in their own minds, emotions and imagery. Although decisions are largely formed with logic, data and information, decisions are mostly made with right-brain subjective emotions. Storytelling is a strategic sophisticated sales tool. We know that people are going to forget data and information but are unlikely to forget a good story.

President Ronald Reagan exploited his age and was nearly 70 when he became president. He left office at 78, the oldest man ever to serve in the office. He joked about himself and repositioned a problem to an advantage with wit and humor:

One of my favorite quotations about age comes from Thomas Jefferson. He said that we should never judge a president by his age, only by his work. And ever since he told me that, I've stopped worrying, and just to show you how youthful I am, I intend to campaign in all 13 states.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series has sold over 26,000,000 books since 1997 and has earned tens of millions of dollars. You may have read his books or seen him on TV. Three of his books, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant and Rich Dad's Guide to Investing, have been on the top 10 best-seller lists simultaneously in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the New York Times.

Much of the success of Rich Dad is not simply because Robert wrote a book. The message of becoming a better money manager, understanding taxes, dealing with expenses and using the power of leverage to create wealth created a story that challenged conventional thought: only high income leads to wealth.

Robert crafted a story of logic and emotion so he could repeat it virtually word for word in seminars and in radio, TV and newspaper interviews. He took a simple boring subject about money and made it visually and emotionally unique by telling a story.

The story of two fathers is an unusual message. Without that story, Rich Dad would likely have been like so many other books telling of money and investing. Robert is a gifted storyteller and his messages are motivating, entertaining and lead to his record-breaking success as an author. Robert is a master of sales.

·  Are you successful because you simply sell a product?

·  Do you master sales because people relate to you, your values and your knowledge?

·  Do you get people emotionally involved?

·  What makes you unique and a standout in a crowded field?

What Are Stories?

Stories are images and eye candy for the brain. Words are ways of communicating the images in the mind. When we tell stories well we are actually imagining what happens in the story and using words to describe what we see.

Remembering And Telling

Storytelling has a common problem. More salespeople would use stories if they could just remember how to tell the story.

It's the same problem in public speaking. Remembering words can stump people. People try to memorize things that are far too difficult to remember. Unless you have a photographic memory, remembering word for word is out of the question. That is why we invented computers, to keep track of lists and words.

To tell stories naturally, imagine what happens in the story. You can use the same words every time if that comes easily to you or you can use different words every time to tell a story. As long as you connect the words to the images in your mind, you can deliver a good story.

Three Keys to Storytelling

1. Learn The Story. Focus on the story and get the image in your mind. It is far easier to remember scenes or sequences of several images of things like sounds and pictures than the literal sequence of many hundreds of words. Remember, it's never the story; it's always the emotion that communicates the real meaning. Tell the story from your memory of how it made you feel.

2. Telling The Story. Relax, have fun and enjoy the story; it will be easier to tell. Imagine what is happening in the story. Use your natural style and expression.

3. Remembering The Story. You will not easily forget a good story. Images stay with you. However, words escape you. As long are you are confident that you do not have to remember word for word, the story will be easy to remember.

The Secrets Of Story Strategy

We tell stories in sales situations because it helps compel people to action. It is hard to make a computer chip exciting, a stack of lumber enthralling. That's why selling features and benefits are rarely enough to bring people to action. People make decisions in their minds, not from your mind. Draw pictures for people and reach them emotionally.

Use Stories As Sales Tools:
1. Use stories to keep ideas in order and show ideas sequentially: First this happened and then that happened
2. Use stories to point out how this happened or that happened
3. Use stories to help others understand why things happen
4. Use stories to share information and to illustrate
5. Use stories to help illustrate principles that can be used in other situations

Stories Stimulate Even More Stories

Have you noticed people clamoring to tell you their story before you finish your story? When people listen to your story, they are actually visualizing their story.

Stories stimulate more stories and start conversation. You learn a lot from talking to people and when people tell you their stories, you learn even more about them.

If people don't talk back to you, you will have a problem selling them anything. Passive listeners may be thinking about dinner or picking up the dog from the veterinarian. Even worse, they may be thinking, "when is this presentation ever going to end?"

A client telling you a story is very likely the one to be telling you to write down orders. A storytelling client is an order waiting to happen! Remember that features and benefits are boring but people engaged in a story are emotionally connecting to you.

People see things through their paradigms. Be sure your story develops not simply from your point of view but a story that will stimulate a positive associate idea in others.

What sells people on your story is not your story; it's how they interpret the story for their own benefit or viewpoint. A story should not simply jump out of your mouth. It should be constructed to achieve your objective.

The key to crafting a story is the logical flow. It must have a beginning, middle and end. However, it needs a trigger to set off an emotion. The trigger can be something that will literally force the prospect to ask a question. A trigger can set off ideas of what to buy, when to buy and how to buy because your story is compelling.

How To Craft A Story

·  Start with simple recognizable truths

·  Show the way out of problems and situations

·  Show how customers win

·  Show why your products or service works better than competitors

·  Show why your products or service has more value

·  Use scenarios of what and why to make things work and happen

·  Leave room for the listener to have their own points of view

·  Have fun telling stories, be real, be alive

What will make you a great storyteller will be how well you craft stories to fit situations. Ad-libbing stories without following an outline and strategic thinking may be hit-and-miss. Without a roadmap in your mind, a story told differently every time might have a different meaning every time.

You may be adding things that will get you off track, forgetting important ideas and getting yourself into twists that may alter the outcome. Critically, you may miss using an emotional trigger in the right place. You cannot expect the best results if you wing stories.

Develop a bank of sales stories that you can use to illustrate important points, scenarios, answer objections and show benefits though real-life situations or people and how others can meet their needs from your stories.

By Brian Bieler, author of The Sales Operator, visit Brian’s website at www.brianbieler.com.

Brian is our guest author today, please check out his site for great ideas.

CoachAnovick.com

Developing Potential, Producing Results

Paul Anovick

201-445-2822

Stories are not more important than features and benefits; they help emphasize points and create feelings. Combining data and left-brain logic with emotional right-brain stories is a powerful and professional way to make dramatic sales points. Executives, politicians and professionals tell stories to start people thinking and make important points.

What sells people is how they see benefits working for them. Storytelling engages people in their own minds, emotions and imagery. Although decisions are largely formed with logic, data and information, decisions are mostly made with right-brain subjective emotions. Storytelling is a strategic sophisticated sales tool. We know that people are going to forget data and information but are unlikely to forget a good story.

President Ronald Reagan exploited his age and was nearly 70 when he became president. He left office at 78, the oldest man ever to serve in the office. He joked about himself and repositioned a problem to an advantage with wit and humor:

One of my favorite quotations about age comes from Thomas Jefferson. He said that we should never judge a president by his age, only by his work. And ever since he told me that, I've stopped worrying, and just to show you how youthful I am, I intend to campaign in all 13 states.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series has sold over 26,000,000 books since 1997 and has earned tens of millions of dollars. You may have read his books or seen him on TV. Three of his books, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant and Rich Dad's Guide to Investing, have been on the top 10 best-seller lists simultaneously in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the New York Times.

Much of the success of Rich Dad is not simply because Robert wrote a book. The message of becoming a better money manager, understanding taxes, dealing with expenses and using the power of leverage to create wealth created a story that challenged conventional thought: only high income leads to wealth.

Robert crafted a story of logic and emotion so he could repeat it virtually word for word in seminars and in radio, TV and newspaper interviews. He took a simple boring subject about money and made it visually and emotionally unique by telling a story.

The story of two fathers is an unusual message. Without that story, Rich Dad would likely have been like so many other books telling of money and investing. Robert is a gifted storyteller and his messages are motivating, entertaining and lead to his record-breaking success as an author. Robert is a master of sales.

·  Are you successful because you simply sell a product?

·  Do you master sales because people relate to you, your values and your knowledge?

·  Do you get people emotionally involved?

·  What makes you unique and a standout in a crowded field?

What Are Stories?

Stories are images and eye candy for the brain. Words are ways of communicating the images in the mind. When we tell stories well we are actually imagining what happens in the story and using words to describe what we see.

Remembering And Telling

Storytelling has a common problem. More salespeople would use stories if they could just remember how to tell the story.

It's the same problem in public speaking. Remembering words can stump people. People try to memorize things that are far too difficult to remember. Unless you have a photographic memory, remembering word for word is out of the question. That is why we invented computers, to keep track of lists and words.

To tell stories naturally, imagine what happens in the story. You can use the same words every time if that comes easily to you or you can use different words every time to tell a story. As long as you connect the words to the images in your mind, you can deliver a good story.

Three Keys to Storytelling

1. Learn The Story. Focus on the story and get the image in your mind. It is far easier to remember scenes or sequences of several images of things like sounds and pictures than the literal sequence of many hundreds of words. Remember, it's never the story; it's always the emotion that communicates the real meaning. Tell the story from your memory of how it made you feel.

2. Telling The Story. Relax, have fun and enjoy the story; it will be easier to tell. Imagine what is happening in the story. Use your natural style and expression.

3. Remembering The Story. You will not easily forget a good story. Images stay with you. However, words escape you. As long are you are confident that you do not have to remember word for word, the story will be easy to remember.

The Secrets Of Story Strategy

We tell stories in sales situations because it helps compel people to action. It is hard to make a computer chip exciting, a stack of lumber enthralling. That's why selling features and benefits are rarely enough to bring people to action. People make decisions in their minds, not from your mind. Draw pictures for people and reach them emotionally.

Use Stories As Sales Tools:
1. Use stories to keep ideas in order and show ideas sequentially: First this happened and then that happened
2. Use stories to point out how this happened or that happened
3. Use stories to help others understand why things happen
4. Use stories to share information and to illustrate
5. Use stories to help illustrate principles that can be used in other situations

Stories Stimulate Even More Stories

Have you noticed people clamoring to tell you their story before you finish your story? When people listen to your story, they are actually visualizing their story.

Stories stimulate more stories and start conversation. You learn a lot from talking to people and when people tell you their stories, you learn even more about them.

If people don't talk back to you, you will have a problem selling them anything. Passive listeners may be thinking about dinner or picking up the dog from the veterinarian. Even worse, they may be thinking, "when is this presentation ever going to end?"

A client telling you a story is very likely the one to be telling you to write down orders. A storytelling client is an order waiting to happen! Remember that features and benefits are boring but people engaged in a story are emotionally connecting to you.

People see things through their paradigms. Be sure your story develops not simply from your point of view but a story that will stimulate a positive associate idea in others.

What sells people on your story is not your story; it's how they interpret the story for their own benefit or viewpoint. A story should not simply jump out of your mouth. It should be constructed to achieve your objective.

The key to crafting a story is the logical flow. It must have a beginning, middle and end. However, it needs a trigger to set off an emotion. The trigger can be something that will literally force the prospect to ask a question. A trigger can set off ideas of what to buy, when to buy and how to buy because your story is compelling.

How To Craft A Story

·  Start with simple recognizable truths

·  Show the way out of problems and situations

·  Show how customers win

·  Show why your products or service works better than competitors

·  Show why your products or service has more value

·  Use scenarios of what and why to make things work and happen

·  Leave room for the listener to have their own points of view

·  Have fun telling stories, be real, be alive

What will make you a great storyteller will be how well you craft stories to fit situations. Ad-libbing stories without following an outline and strategic thinking may be hit-and-miss. Without a roadmap in your mind, a story told differently every time might have a different meaning every time.

You may be adding things that will get you off track, forgetting important ideas and getting yourself into twists that may alter the outcome. Critically, you may miss using an emotional trigger in the right place. You cannot expect the best results if you wing stories.

Develop a bank of sales stories that you can use to illustrate important points, scenarios, answer objections and show benefits though real-life situations or people and how others can meet their needs from your stories.

By Brian Bieler, author of The Sales Operator, visit Brian’s website at www.brianbieler.com.

Brian is our guest author today, please check out his site for great ideas.

CoachAnovick.com

Developing Potential, Producing Results

Paul Anovick

201-445-2822

Where You Stand Depends upon Where You Sit.

Younger generations, the Gen Xers along with the Millennials, comprise half of the U.S. work force. The other half consist of Baby Boomers and Traditionalist. How each of us feels about many issues in life is very much a function of our experiences, our occupations, our values, upbringing and the attitude of our generation.

 

Millennials are a very large demographic, born 1980-1995; they are now the second largest in US history, only smaller than the Baby Boomers, born 1946-1965. The Traditionalist are the pre-1945 generation and the Generation Xers are 1965-1979. By the year 2010, the Millennial Generation will dominate the coveted 18-49 year-old demos. As a group of consumers, Millennial are highly influential creating buzz, defining popular culture and determining what moves from fad to trend in the marketplace as well as the workplace.

 

Mr. Richard Sweeney, University Librarian of NJIT, has done extensive research on Millennial Behaviors and he states “Clearly, not everyone in a generational cohort behaves the same. All the prevailing Millennial behaviors from one college or university will not necessarily be identical to those of another. Yet, my work has definitely shown that most Millennial behaviors at one college will be the same behaviors at the others. Millennials are “natives” of this new, digital, consumer driven, flat, networked, and instant satisfaction world. While some in the older generations may adapt quickly, they will always be immigrants and will never be as competent, resourceful or “natural” as the Millennial “natives” born into this new culture.”

 

If you are a manager with Millennials on your team, what have you done to adapt and create the environment that results in the greatest productivity and performance for all?  If you work with or report to a Millennial, what has your experience been in adapting and creating the best working relationship and environment for results?

 

As I like to say… There are three types of people. People, who make things happen, people who let things happen and people who say, “What Happened?”… If you want to be in the first group, this shift with the Millennial Generation should be on your radar.

CoachAnovick.com

Developing Potential, Producing Results

Paul Anovick

201-445-2822

 

Millennials are a very large demographic, born 1980-1995; they are now the second largest in US history, only smaller than the Baby Boomers, born 1946-1965. The Traditionalist are the pre-1945 generation and the Generation Xers are 1965-1979. By the year 2010, the Millennial Generation will dominate the coveted 18-49 year-old demos. As a group of consumers, Millennial are highly influential creating buzz, defining popular culture and determining what moves from fad to trend in the marketplace as well as the workplace.

 

Mr. Richard Sweeney, University Librarian of NJIT, has done extensive research on Millennial Behaviors and he states “Clearly, not everyone in a generational cohort behaves the same. All the prevailing Millennial behaviors from one college or university will not necessarily be identical to those of another. Yet, my work has definitely shown that most Millennial behaviors at one college will be the same behaviors at the others. Millennials are “natives” of this new, digital, consumer driven, flat, networked, and instant satisfaction world. While some in the older generations may adapt quickly, they will always be immigrants and will never be as competent, resourceful or “natural” as the Millennial “natives” born into this new culture.”

 

If you are a manager with Millennials on your team, what have you done to adapt and create the environment that results in the greatest productivity and performance for all?  If you work with or report to a Millennial, what has your experience been in adapting and creating the best working relationship and environment for results?

 

As I like to say… There are three types of people. People, who make things happen, people who let things happen and people who say, “What Happened?”… If you want to be in the first group, this shift with the Millennial Generation should be on your radar.

CoachAnovick.com

Developing Potential, Producing Results

Paul Anovick

201-445-2822

Managing Energy is the Key to Sustaining High Performance

This is part two of the Blog posted on Thursday, August 13, 2009

Lack of Energy, Lack of Full Engagement

Full engagement ought to be a bottom line priority. Companies incur unnecessary costs in the billions because of unengaged people who are just showing up for work—estimated at $350 billion a year by the Gallup Organization. Few executives or managers understand energy management and how to build it into daily routines. Yet the ability to sustain drive and passion throughout the work day—and have some left over for family at the end of the day—is based on acquiring a few positive habits and understanding energy management concepts.

These principles were discovered by studying the differences between highly successful professional athletes and those who “also ran.” At top levels, most sports stars are highly talented. The difference between the consistent winners and the others is in their ability to manage and conserve their energy. Top tennis players, for example, use certain rituals between games to help them remain focused and manage negative emotions. Their heart rates can drop 20 percent between points. Other talented players who do not engage in positive recovery rituals do not show such recovery signs and are not consistent winners.

The 4 Principles of Energy Management

The same principles can be applied to corporate executives. Here are the basic concepts, from Loehr and Schwartz:

1.    Energy has four dimensions: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. It is necessary to draw energy from each domain and to manage it in all four.
2.    Energy is best managed when there is oscillation between stress and recovery. Stress in this case is meant in a positive sense. Stress is what makes us stretch ourselves and use our talents and skills; however, it must be balanced with recovery and rest, and most of us don’t know how to do this.
3.    Pushing beyond our usual limits builds our strengths. Building mental, emotional, and spiritual capacities is similar to physical training to improve our strength or cardiovascular abilities. We must push in order to grow.
4.    Creating specific positive energy replenishing rituals sustains and expands our energy. This is the key to recuperating and making our energy reserves fully available to us.

Too much energy spent with insufficient rest and recovery leads to trouble. Life is not a marathon, but rather a series of sprints. All of life and nature is built upon rhythms and oscillations, including the tides, the sun, the moon, and our physiological functions. Yet, so many of us are in a hurry because we think in terms of linear time; we forget to create quality moments. Most of us are in a race against the clock and make incredible demands on our energy reserves as if we had unlimited resources.

Creating More Physical Energy

Executives can perform successfully even if they smoke, drink, and weigh too much. Much of their work is sedentary, yet they may excel without having any regular exercise routine. Obviously many do live and work this way, but they cannot perform to their full potential or without a cost over time to themselves, their families, and the corporations for which they work. It can be compared to trying to get peak performance out of a computer whose hardware and software is several years outdated. High mental, emotional, and spiritual energy requires that the body be in good physical condition.

Most approaches to high performance in executives and leaders deal with cognitive or emotional competencies. Some theorists have addressed the spiritual dimension as well, how deeper values and a sense of purpose influence performance. Surprisingly, almost no one has paid any attention to the role played by physical capacities. An integrated theory of performance management addresses the body, mind, emotions, and spirit, considering the person as a whole.

The body is our fundamental source of energy, and anyone concerned about high levels of performance under intense pressures must be concerned with the physical domain. Sports science is clear about the body’s need for both stress and recovery. For any muscle to grow stronger it must be stressed and then given time to heal. Repeated demands combined with recovery result in increased strength. Conversely, failure to stress the muscle results in weakness and atrophy. These same principles are true in all four domains of energy sources: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Growth occurs when there is demand, stress, and recovery.

Even if you are at a desk most of the day, you need physical energy. It begins with attention to breathing, a healthy diet, good sleeping habits, plenty of water, daily physical exercise, and recovery breaks every 90 to 120 minutes.

Although this may sound like hackneyed common sense everyone already knows, the evidence is clear: those executives who build into their daily and weekly routines exercise, healthy eating, good sleeping, and energy recovery breaks have more energy and are able to sustain performance under intense pressures.

Creating More Mental Energy

Physical and emotional energy help mental functioning. There is a correlation between productivity and positive thinking that generates mental energy. The most successful sales people have an optimistic explanatory style.

Thinking takes time, yet most jobs don’t build in time for rest, workout breaks, and thinking. They should. In fact, one of the most productive ways to think is during exercise, breaks, walks, jogs, a simple game, or just daydreaming. Build downtime into your day and allow your employees to do the same.

Other ways of creating more mental energy include varying activities so that different parts of the brain are used. Mental preparation, visualization, meditation, introspection, and reflection are all pathways to creativity and innovation. Taking time to connect with your organization’s mission, your personal purpose in life, and your true values are all ways of accessing your drive, passion, and energy.

Creating More Emotional Energy

Emotional energy expresses itself in self-confidence, self-discipline, sociability, and empathy. It’s possible to build positive emotions just as one would build muscles and physical strength. Professional athletes know how important it is to manage negative feelings during crucial points. Frustration, anger, or fear are toxic and can bring performance down. Executives who want to be able to perform well under stress must learn to “keep their eye on the ball” and manage negativity. The studies from the Hay-McBer Group have shown that leaders communicate their moods to their work groups in ways that directly affect the corporate bottom line.

Too few people recognize or try to create feelings of pleasure and joy, especially during grueling negotiations and intense business meetings. Research has shown, however, that humor and good feelings are contagious and can actually increase the chances of success in business relationships. Friendships are critical at work and affect job performance. Time taken for relationship building is crucial.

Creating More Spiritual Energy

Spiritual energy, in the sense meant here, has to do with your personal connection to your true values and deep sense of purpose. It depends on taking care of yourself and others with profound respect. It means honoring your values, paying attention to your gut instincts, and doing the right things. It is an amazing source of passion, fortitude, and commitment. Those people who connect with a purpose greater than their own personal interests demonstrate the most passion and energy. Spiritual energy also depends on developing past your limits and rest, recovery, and renewal.

The Power of Positive Rituals

Getting in shape to fully engage in life and work means deep involvement with purpose, values, and self-examination and the establishment of effective energy replenishing habits. First you must define your true values and what is most important to you, being positive and unselfish. Then you must be honest about where you are now and be willing to admit that your excuses are no longer good enough. Third, plan to take action on three positive rituals that will make a difference in your energy levels. Be precise about when you will engage in these positive rituals—what time, for how long, and on which days.

Some busy executives who have built breaks into their already overburdened schedules have been astonished at how they have expanded their capacities in all four domains of energy. These breaks can include deep breathing for a few seconds, doing a quick meditation, rereading a vision or mission statement, calling a loved one, running up and down stairs, taking a quick tour around colleagues’ cubicles for friendly chats, doing a few sit-ups or stretches, eating a healthy snack, or walking around the block. It doesn’t matter what one decides to do, but it is crucial to be specific about the time and activity. The idea is to reconnect with purpose and recuperate energy reserves.

Working with an executive coach is a good way to reevaluate your performance in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual domains. Get real, get honest, get positive—stretch your capacities and then recuperate your energy. It is your most precious resource.

CoachAnovick.com

Developing Potential, Producing Results

Paul Anovick

201-445-2822

Lack of Energy, Lack of Full Engagement

Full engagement ought to be a bottom line priority. Companies incur unnecessary costs in the billions because of unengaged people who are just showing up for work—estimated at $350 billion a year by the Gallup Organization. Few executives or managers understand energy management and how to build it into daily routines. Yet the ability to sustain drive and passion throughout the work day—and have some left over for family at the end of the day—is based on acquiring a few positive habits and understanding energy management concepts.

These principles were discovered by studying the differences between highly successful professional athletes and those who “also ran.” At top levels, most sports stars are highly talented. The difference between the consistent winners and the others is in their ability to manage and conserve their energy. Top tennis players, for example, use certain rituals between games to help them remain focused and manage negative emotions. Their heart rates can drop 20 percent between points. Other talented players who do not engage in positive recovery rituals do not show such recovery signs and are not consistent winners.

The 4 Principles of Energy Management

The same principles can be applied to corporate executives. Here are the basic concepts, from Loehr and Schwartz:

1.    Energy has four dimensions: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. It is necessary to draw energy from each domain and to manage it in all four.
2.    Energy is best managed when there is oscillation between stress and recovery. Stress in this case is meant in a positive sense. Stress is what makes us stretch ourselves and use our talents and skills; however, it must be balanced with recovery and rest, and most of us don’t know how to do this.
3.    Pushing beyond our usual limits builds our strengths. Building mental, emotional, and spiritual capacities is similar to physical training to improve our strength or cardiovascular abilities. We must push in order to grow.
4.    Creating specific positive energy replenishing rituals sustains and expands our energy. This is the key to recuperating and making our energy reserves fully available to us.

Too much energy spent with insufficient rest and recovery leads to trouble. Life is not a marathon, but rather a series of sprints. All of life and nature is built upon rhythms and oscillations, including the tides, the sun, the moon, and our physiological functions. Yet, so many of us are in a hurry because we think in terms of linear time; we forget to create quality moments. Most of us are in a race against the clock and make incredible demands on our energy reserves as if we had unlimited resources.

Creating More Physical Energy

Executives can perform successfully even if they smoke, drink, and weigh too much. Much of their work is sedentary, yet they may excel without having any regular exercise routine. Obviously many do live and work this way, but they cannot perform to their full potential or without a cost over time to themselves, their families, and the corporations for which they work. It can be compared to trying to get peak performance out of a computer whose hardware and software is several years outdated. High mental, emotional, and spiritual energy requires that the body be in good physical condition.

Most approaches to high performance in executives and leaders deal with cognitive or emotional competencies. Some theorists have addressed the spiritual dimension as well, how deeper values and a sense of purpose influence performance. Surprisingly, almost no one has paid any attention to the role played by physical capacities. An integrated theory of performance management addresses the body, mind, emotions, and spirit, considering the person as a whole.

The body is our fundamental source of energy, and anyone concerned about high levels of performance under intense pressures must be concerned with the physical domain. Sports science is clear about the body’s need for both stress and recovery. For any muscle to grow stronger it must be stressed and then given time to heal. Repeated demands combined with recovery result in increased strength. Conversely, failure to stress the muscle results in weakness and atrophy. These same principles are true in all four domains of energy sources: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Growth occurs when there is demand, stress, and recovery.

Even if you are at a desk most of the day, you need physical energy. It begins with attention to breathing, a healthy diet, good sleeping habits, plenty of water, daily physical exercise, and recovery breaks every 90 to 120 minutes.

Although this may sound like hackneyed common sense everyone already knows, the evidence is clear: those executives who build into their daily and weekly routines exercise, healthy eating, good sleeping, and energy recovery breaks have more energy and are able to sustain performance under intense pressures.

Creating More Mental Energy

Physical and emotional energy help mental functioning. There is a correlation between productivity and positive thinking that generates mental energy. The most successful sales people have an optimistic explanatory style.

Thinking takes time, yet most jobs don’t build in time for rest, workout breaks, and thinking. They should. In fact, one of the most productive ways to think is during exercise, breaks, walks, jogs, a simple game, or just daydreaming. Build downtime into your day and allow your employees to do the same.

Other ways of creating more mental energy include varying activities so that different parts of the brain are used. Mental preparation, visualization, meditation, introspection, and reflection are all pathways to creativity and innovation. Taking time to connect with your organization’s mission, your personal purpose in life, and your true values are all ways of accessing your drive, passion, and energy.

Creating More Emotional Energy

Emotional energy expresses itself in self-confidence, self-discipline, sociability, and empathy. It’s possible to build positive emotions just as one would build muscles and physical strength. Professional athletes know how important it is to manage negative feelings during crucial points. Frustration, anger, or fear are toxic and can bring performance down. Executives who want to be able to perform well under stress must learn to “keep their eye on the ball” and manage negativity. The studies from the Hay-McBer Group have shown that leaders communicate their moods to their work groups in ways that directly affect the corporate bottom line.

Too few people recognize or try to create feelings of pleasure and joy, especially during grueling negotiations and intense business meetings. Research has shown, however, that humor and good feelings are contagious and can actually increase the chances of success in business relationships. Friendships are critical at work and affect job performance. Time taken for relationship building is crucial.

Creating More Spiritual Energy

Spiritual energy, in the sense meant here, has to do with your personal connection to your true values and deep sense of purpose. It depends on taking care of yourself and others with profound respect. It means honoring your values, paying attention to your gut instincts, and doing the right things. It is an amazing source of passion, fortitude, and commitment. Those people who connect with a purpose greater than their own personal interests demonstrate the most passion and energy. Spiritual energy also depends on developing past your limits and rest, recovery, and renewal.

The Power of Positive Rituals

Getting in shape to fully engage in life and work means deep involvement with purpose, values, and self-examination and the establishment of effective energy replenishing habits. First you must define your true values and what is most important to you, being positive and unselfish. Then you must be honest about where you are now and be willing to admit that your excuses are no longer good enough. Third, plan to take action on three positive rituals that will make a difference in your energy levels. Be precise about when you will engage in these positive rituals—what time, for how long, and on which days.

Some busy executives who have built breaks into their already overburdened schedules have been astonished at how they have expanded their capacities in all four domains of energy. These breaks can include deep breathing for a few seconds, doing a quick meditation, rereading a vision or mission statement, calling a loved one, running up and down stairs, taking a quick tour around colleagues’ cubicles for friendly chats, doing a few sit-ups or stretches, eating a healthy snack, or walking around the block. It doesn’t matter what one decides to do, but it is crucial to be specific about the time and activity. The idea is to reconnect with purpose and recuperate energy reserves.

Working with an executive coach is a good way to reevaluate your performance in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual domains. Get real, get honest, get positive—stretch your capacities and then recuperate your energy. It is your most precious resource.

CoachAnovick.com

Developing Potential, Producing Results

Paul Anovick

201-445-2822