The Top Three Objections
Whether you are selling an idea to your manager or a product or service to your prospective client,some common objections are likely to be raised. You will need to deal with these or risk losing the initiative. There are about 7-8 common, typical categories of objections but here are the top three…
How to Write an Executive Summary
When writing an executive summary – and the most common use of this is in a proposal – most people rely on common sense or intuition to “summarize” the proposal or report. Common sense is helpful however there is a science to writing effective executive summaries. You will know more about this science after reading this article…
Communication Styles
Based on an extract from an MIT USA course on communications
Research indicates that each of us has a default communications style from one of the following:
-Analyst – data focus
-Innovator – creative focus
-Producer – results focus
-Diplomat – people focus
We may have some qualities from all four of the above but it is observed that we generally communicate using a pre-dominant or default style. There is nothing bad or good about these styles; it is just a question of different people using different styles. Some people are more “adaptable” as they have a strong relationship to each style; some are very predictable because they hardly ever traverse out of their style or are known to not have another style. So what do we do with this knowledge? Well, it can help us to understand and appreciate those around us rather than judging them…
Do You Have Executive Balance?
It started with grey cells and IQ , then there was talk about EQ – the measure of emotional intelligence. Emotional balance does play a key role it seems in building relationships, managing conflict situations and maintaining composure in stressful situations. But is this enough and is it the whole story? Is there another way to look at behavior as an indicator of success. I believe there are some other distinct patterns of behavior and experience that contribute to success and constitute what I call EXECUTIVE BALANCE…
Lessons of Life
The 5 Truths About Fear
You are going to present before a group of people you haven’t met before. As you face the seemingly intimidating audience, you start to feel tense. Some people seem to be looking quizzically at you, as if sizing you up. You don’t like this at all, and you start looking at the exit, wishing you were somewhere else. Your heart is pounding and your initial “good morning folks – how are you doing?” sounds weak as your voice cracks and falters. You are experiencing one of the core emotions that all humans have to endure. It will not go away but the good news is that you can learn to modulate its effect on you…
The Third Door
Arthur Rosenfeld, a Tai Chi Master, provides an amazing insight on how sometime it might be better not to rely on our instinctive and primitive emotions. Based on his article in the Huffington Post Blog
Just before Christmas of 2007, almost exactly a year ago, I steered into a Starbucks drive-thru line for a cup of tea on my way to teach a morning tai chi lesson. There were a few cars in line, and I got in behind them. When my turn came I gave my order at the billboard menu and moved up as far as I could while waiting patiently for the cars in front of me to get through the cashier line. While the South Florida weather would probably would have felt tropical to much of the rest of the country, I was a bit chilled and was looking forward to my hot drink…
