We need to be thinking,

                                                                     

not feeling, when we pull

                                                              

the voting levers this fall. 

     Today’s announcement of Joe Biden as Mr. O’s running mate could not be a a more sorry choice.  I’ve been living in Delaware for a few years now, and –outside of the Wilmington area– have yet to hear one single favorable review of Mr. Biden as an elected representative. 

     By all accounts, the man has done nothing of substance for his constituency, and everything humanly possible to promote himself, his name, and his ego.  His reputation is that he talks too much about nothing, and frequently trips over his own tongue. 

     He claims, for example, to be a supporter of improving education.  Yet his “First State” has been pitifully ranked 44th out of 50 in literacy competency.  Only slightly more than half of Delaware’s population is actually reported to graduate high school!  Ah, but he’s a UNITED STATES Senator, and has no real say in State juristiction matters like education!  BULL!  I don’t believe that for one minute.  Do you?

     Cruel comments?  Hardly.  We need to be thinking, not feeling, when we pull the voting levers this fall. 

     We’re now talking about a person who is proposed to be a single heartbeat away from stepping into the Presidency of the United States, and someone who would presumably work closely with and support Mr. O in the unlikely event of an O Presidency.  We’re talking about a man who just a short time ago said Obama is not qualified to be President, a man who just a short time ago said he would prefer to see McCain as President (I can’t help but wonder if these comments are “running in the same direction”?). 

     We’re talking about a man who has battled relentlessly against the kind of oil drilling that must occur if we are to ever wrench ourselves free of Arab oil cartel clutches that continue to drive our gas pump rates into oblivion and –allowed to continue– threaten to drag down our entire enconomy.  (Is this stance consistent with “being able” to run?) 

     Yes, even in spite of the temporary pump price relief we’re experiencing these last two weeks . . . we’re still paying well in excess of a hundred dollars a barrel for oil that U.S. offshore drilling can reduce to $35 a barrel within weeks! 

     Blame for our whacked-out fuel costs rests squarely on the shoulders of our Congress, Mr. Biden included, though he and others (including of course our warped media reporters) would have us all believe that President Bush is responsible.  I am no great fan of Mr. Bush, but –please, people– President Bush did not cause Hurricane Katrina, and he is not manipulating gas prices! 

     The smartest decision any of us can make in voting is to be sure that we are in fact voting with our minds and not our emotions . . . and that means DISregarding what all the media “talking heads” have to say, and doing our own homework about what we want as qualifications for the person we trust to be sitting in the White House. 

This is not a time in history for “change”

based on naive, misguided hope. 

     This is the time for America to “move forward,” to preserve and protect the lives of our children and grandchildren, and to do that with the only known ways there are to succeed . . . with proven leadership skills and hard-nosed experience, with a candidate and running mate who are in the same boat rowing in the same direction.         halalpiar

DO YOU SIGNAL

                                                                                   

WHEN YOU CHANGE

                                             

LANES?

     I always forget it after I’ve gotten to where I want to go, because the relief of making it up (or down) the New Jersey Turnpike alive . . . and without a scratch or a ticket or empty gas tank . . . is so overwhelming unto itself. 

     But this particular drive was so harrowing as to leave me catching my breath as I reached my target exit, and having my mind filled with the question I’ve been wanting to ask all you maniacal wannabe racecar drivers (in your little sportscars, hyped-up pickups, charter busses, 18-wheelers from Mississippi and Alabama, and 40-billion-pound dump trucks with drivers who surely must believe they are NASCAR finalists) the following question (and you may want to print this out, and leave an anonymous copy on someone’s desk, carseat, or pillow):

     Do you signal when you change lanes?  Or just sort of drift over?  Or pile-drive your way there?  Maybe a token one or two-blink click on your lights?

     Assuming you’re one of the culprits here, maybe you could enlighten me as to what makes people not signal?  Do you not care about laws, rules, regulations, authority. . . courtesy?  Or maybe you just don’t care, period.  Does it just not matter to tip off other drivers where you’re headed before you actually get there?  [I’ve noticed some guilt-ridden idiots who –like the escaped-horse-barndoor-closers– must think it’s redeeming to signal after they’ve changed lanes.]  Do you think no one notices or cares?  Or do you simply not think?

     Tell me, oh thoughtless (or lazy and thoughtless) one: Does a person who fails to signal when moving from one lane to another also fail to signal when moving from one career assignment to another?  Moving from one life partner or circle of “friends” to another?  Moving from one trusted resource, confidant, counselor, or professional service provider to another?  You just up and leave?

     Do you give any conscious thought to the idea that not signaling a lane change actually risks the lane-changer (and passenger’s) lives?  And what about the lives of drivers and passengers in front and behind and alongside?  Have you even any UNconscious thought?  (Probably, I imagine, since you must be unconscious to begin with!) 

     In case it’s never occurred to you, when you ignore or disregard alerting others about your intent to make a major shift (changing lanes, positions, assignments, decisions, partners, friends, residences, jobs, teams . . .whatever), you set yourself up to lose other’s respect, confidence, support, belief in you and your sense of integrity, and possibly even your life!  Is it really worth it? 

     Is not keeping others informed about events that can impact them something that’s worth your rush, your hurry, you being preoccupied?  Think about it.  Someone loves you and wants you alive.  Pass it on, and please: Signal!     halalpiar 

We buy it in 10 seconds! 

                                                                                                                                   

     You, the manager of other people, or animals (or a household, which often of course involves both!) can probably be doing a more effective job of communicating.  You think? 

     With a few thousand communication skills student experiences under my belt, I can assure you that every once in awhile, it serves a good purpose to have someone rattle your cage a little about the ways you come across to others. 

     Well, this could be your day!  So, grit your teeth, dig in your heels, and take this for what it’s worth:  In case you haven’t considered it, TWO-WAY communicating beats ONE-WAY communicating hands down! 

     The only exceptions occur with military and quasi-military-types of operations, or safety circumstances where orders must be given and followed.  Okay, sounds great, so let’s just get on with it and have more discussions and fewer directives.  Sorry, it’s not that simple, but –knowing that I wouldn’t be wasting your time with quick-fix solutions– you already figured that out, right? 

     Effective (and that’s the key word!) two-way communicating requires effective listening. Effective listening requires effective feedback, which takes longer, can be more difficult and is often more complicated.  But, hey, you’re always preaching to keep things simple!  True!  But getting to “simple” often takes work, and the work process can be complex. 

     There are tradeoffs in everything, right?  You want to communicate your message clearly and minimize the chance of errors or misunderstanding?  Then you have to be willing to put in the effort that helps ensure your odds for success.

     Consider how complicated the mix of communication modes can be even before you think of dissecting the subject.  There are three modes of communication: 

1) Symbolic.  Consider clothing choices (colors, brands, styles, etc.) and the way the clothing is worn; hair colors and styles; grooming; jewelry (types, amounts, values, compatibility, wristwatch, etc.); cosmetics/makeup (types, amounts, tastfulness); type and style of cellphone (and ring!); automobile driven (brand, model, style, color, etc.); residence type and location; living space and personal space.  All of these “things” and “attitudes” communicate.

2) Verbal.  Words themselves do not have meaning; the ways words are used by the people who use them have meaning.  Consider the variety of interpretations possible for every word used, depending on how/when/where it’s used, how it’s used or emphasized, how often it’s used.  What for example does “heavy” mean?  “Straight”?  “Usually”?  

3) Nonverbal.  This includes ambulation (do you swish, stomp, swagger, bounce?); touching–the most powerful! (where, when, how hard or easy, how often, purpose?); eye contact (trust, sincerity, forthrightness, blinking, staring); posturing (arms and legs crossed, slouching, standing or sitting erect); tics; subvocals (uh, er, hum, grunts, groans); distancing (comfort zone space); gesturing; vocalisms (emphasis on various words).  Professor Raymond Birdwhistell’s studies tell us that the face alone can produce over 250,000 expressions!  

     WHEW!  A lot to be processing with each interaction, yet–for most people– it takes place automatically, in an instant!  Salespeople, in fact, need to remember that buying decisions are made or lost in the first 10 seconds of interaction . . . which is literally consumed with all the above observations, which is why first impressions are so critical!       halalpiar

YOUR EVERY ACTION,

YOUR EVERY THOUGHT

IS YOUR CHOICE!

     Naw!  That’s not possible, you say?  Not only is it possible, it’s true 100% of the time! 

     You CHOOSE your behavior.  No one makes you mad.  You choose to feel mad about something someone says or does or thinks. 

     No one embarrasses you.  You choose to feel embarrassed about something you or someone else chooses to do or not do or say or not say or think or not think.  But it IS your choice. 

     Anger.  Embarrassment.  Humiliation.  Envy.  Jealousy.  Guilt.  These things don’t just fall down from the sky and land on your shoulder.  You, we, all of us, choose these emotions and the time-wasting behaviors that come along with them. 

     So, you don’t like hearing that, or thinking about it because you don’t want to have to admit that you’re that wimpy, wussy, weak-willed, fragile, malliable, stupid.  I mean why would anybody CHOOSE to feel angry?  It’s much easier to blame others for the upset negative feelings we have and the accompanying nonproductive behaviors.  Isn’t it? 

     That moron cut me off in traffic!  He’s a jerk!  He makes me so angry I think I’ll race up alongside him, give him the finger, and then cut HIM off!  I’ll show him!  Hey, that’s great . . . the stuff heroes are made of, right? 

     Why not instead just STOP for just a minute and take a deep breath, collect your self-control and mentally step back from the nutcase driver who just prompted you to choose to feel angry, and, instead, think to yourself that:

          A) He’s in some kind of emergency situation or under great stress or

          B) I am not going to choose for that Looney-Tunes to cause me to choose to feel upset.  He’s not worth it!  

     When you find yourself choosing negative and upsetting behavior, pinch yourself, take a deep breath, remind yourself that you are in fact making a choice.  Change the channel in your brain from “Bad News” to “Mellow, Happy Music.” 

     Go ahead and take the risk of choosing to overcome the negativities by bringing in the (There’s a really old song my parents used to sing: “E-liminate the negative.  Ax-cen-tu-ate the positive . . .”) awareness that you need only blink and then choose –in place of all the uproar– a positive, productive behavior, thought, action, response.  Go for it!          halalpiar      

NO ONE BUYS PRODUCT

OR SERVICE FEATURES! 

EVERY sale is made by triggering an emotion!

People buy BENEFITS! 

     Why am I shouting?  Because I get tired of seeing the tidal waves of wasted money being spent by ignorant businesspeople trying to jam their product and service features down prospective buyers’ throats!
     You need not look any further for examples than what I would guess to be 2 out of any 3 websites! 
     The airlines are a perfect example of doing it right.  No, we do not buy the airline armrests, foam and inner spring ingredients we sit on that take us from one place to another.  We buy the d e s t i n a t i o n !  We buy the image of skipping through the surf holding hands with our lover, not the manufacturing specifications of the airline seat and breathable space we rent to get there. 
     We buy the luxury hotel suite dripping with amenities so we can feel important when telling friends and family about all the extras we were able to afford.  We buy the positive impression our presentations will make to clients and management, not the parts that go into the fancy new color copier.  The former president of a world-leading hair coloring company once told me that they didn’t sell hair products!  They sold, he said, “the promise of sex to single young girls!”
     We do not buy SUVs because they provide better traction, can carry bigger loads, pull out tree stumps, and (maybe) provide more safety; we buy them because we think we look good driving them, sitting way up there, authoritative elbow out the window. 
     Even the things you would swear up and down to be exclusively rational, logical, unemotional purchases are not!  We buy insurance because we like the agent or because we’re afraid of the house flooding, burning, or being robbed, not becausae of all the tiny-type policy features that nobody reads anyway. 

     We simply USE product and service features to justify our emotionally-triggered purchases. 

     When was the last time you heard someone tell you how good she or he thought he or she looked driving his or her car?  More likely, that person rattled off a long list of features (which I notice now include “can coolers” in the glove compartment of some hot new models to keep, of course, cold water available for long hot rides!)  Does anyone care how the engine runs anymore? 
     And it seems the bigger the purchase, the more we get sidetracked with features.  Does that new home you bought have great wiring or what?  And home inspections?  That’s a whole new business these days.  Why?  Because we’re preoccupied with the For Sale home’s emotional buying triggers: curb appeal, neutral carpets, wall colors (like you never heard of paint?), built-in appliances, window treatments (don’t we love buying someone else’s window shades?), neighborhood, and what the in-laws will think.  
     We get so caught up with what others will think and whether our image is appropriate for the location and amount of impressive extras that we now have to hire someone to tell us about the basics—that the wiring, plumbing, roof, crawlspace and all those features are okay, because we don’t really care; we just want to rationalize the important logical reasons we were so smart to buy it. 
     Buyers buy benefits.  So sell benefits!  Leave the features for customer bragging rights!    

# # #

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Hal@Businessworks.US     302.933.0116

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

 Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Dear Doctor,

You’ll improve your patient flow and volume when you improve your patience flow and volume. 

     What does this mean?  It means that all your years of training and experience will go down the proverbial tubes in today’s competitive healthcare marketplace unless you commit yourself to setting aside some time that you do not have for you to be your own patient!

     What would I know?  Not a whole lot, but I HAVE worked closely (as a personal counselor, physician’s advocate, and business/practice development consultant) with more than a thousand physicians over the years.  I HAVE written an Amazon 5-star rated book for doctors: DOCTOR BUSINESS . . . How to boost practice growth and build long-term relationships (see direct link on this site under “Books” tab above).  And I HAVE written a national book award-winning work titled DOCTOR SHOPPING . . . How to choose the right doctor for you and your family (see direct link on this site under “Books” tab above).

     So much for credentials, let’s get back to being your own patient! 

     Unless you can experience what it’s like to CALL your office (like the old detective movies, use a handkerchief and disguise your voice!) you’ll never know if callers are being greeted and provided with the right information the way you want them to be.

     Unless you can experience what it’s like to VISIT your office (after hours, armed with objective eyes and a digital camera to record for your self —not for trial evidence— what you see . . . tattered magazines, dirty carpets or walls, dead bugs inside the overhead lights, empty businesscard holders, worn out furniture, dying plants?), you’ll never know whether the appropriate first impression (are there any others?) is being made. 

     Keep in mind that people will equate dying plants with a dying practice, dirty and/or worn surroundings with a less than sterile and less than “with-it” practice, and so on.

     Try —during office hours– to have someone you trust whom your staff doesn’t know (a “mystery shopper” if you will) pay a visit, ask questions and spend some observation time in the waiting area (even take notes!).  This person should ask questions like a prospective patient would . . . to see exactly what comes back from your staff.  

     Spying?  Perhaps, but so what?  It’s your practice with your name on the shingle and the people who answer your phone and greet office visitors are YOU in the minds of callers and those who step inside your door! 

     And the bottom line, doctor, is that you cannot afford for even one caller or visitor to not be greeted and treated like your personal guest.  Research shows that one unhappy patient tells a minimum of ten other people, who tell ten other people about the “bad” experience. 

     That translates to: one screw-up = 100 people getting a negative image of you! 

     Okay, so you find out that a few things and maybe a few people need a little tweaking.  Do it!  Do it nicely and do it in private because the people you need to re-direct may be responsible for bringing you patients (and perhaps just never thought about the importance of certain shortcomings).  Then check things out all over again in a few weeks, and again in a few months.  Keep it an ongoing practice the same way you keep your instruments sterile and your billing process up-to-date.

     When you want more insights about ways to build and boost your practice and strengthen long-term relationships, call me: 302.933.0116 (leave me a number and best times to return your call in case I’m out!)  Have a great patient patience week!  halalpiar

So how was your weekend?

     “So how was your weekend?” the corporate HR (Human Resources) director asked the management trainer, an “independent contractor” to the director’s company.

     “Aah, weekend?”

     “Yeah, you know, as in the period from Friday lunch through Monday morning?”

     “Oh, right.  Good.  It was good.  Sooo . . . today must be Monday, then?”

     “Well, yeah.  Where’ve you been, Teach?  Don’t tell me you’re running management training programs on weekends.”

     “Actually, I do occasionally, but not in this case.  No, I worked from Friday lunchtime through midnight Sunday getting ready for the twenty-hour program I’m doing for you which, by the way, you’re paying me for, for the full twenty hours, which is great.  Reality is, though, that it takes four hours of preparation time for every one hour of classroom time for any good, qualified, profesional management trainer.  And except for a handful of expensive big-name celebrity trainers (mostly former star athletes), nobody actually bills and gets paid for all that unheralded time.  The point is that to make things run smoothly and click along at a rapid and challenging pace, takes major preparation.”

     “Gee, I guess I never thought much about all of what goes into the front end of these programs.  So, how come you don’t do the preparation stuff during the week?”

     “Hey, that’s when I’m running other programs, and making sales calls on other prospective clients.  I’m billing and collecting.  I’m assessing and responding to program participant evaluations.  I’m keeping up with all the latest findings and developments in training formats, program content and facilitation techniques.  And I’m maintaining email and telephone contact with past program participants because most training efforts fail when nothing is done to sustain interest and motivation after the program is completed.  Of course, I also have to run my office, oversee my support staff, and pay the bills.  Then . . .”

     “Whoa! Sorry I asked.  I had no idea!  It always seemed to me that you guys just step out of a closet with your Superman cape and a ready-to-go program in your pocket, do your dog and pony show, then tap-dance off stage and go on to the next engagement whenever you feel like making a few more bucks.  I guess there’s a lot more to it.”

     “There IS a lot more involved than most people imagine, but since I work for myself and love what I do, I don’t mind a six or seven day work week.  And I don’t have to put up with a lot of the nonsense you need to tolerate that literally requires weekend time to recoup.  You have the luxury of weekends to distance yourself from from the stresses of career politics . . .  you know, that interactive stuff that greases the handrails of the corporate ladder?. . . but you really need that time off every week because –day-to-day–you don’t have your self alone to answer to!”

     “A little bitter, are you?”

     “No.  I’m really very grateful to you for allowing me the opportunity to put this program together and work with your people to help them make more of their skills so you have less stress in your corporate career so you can live a happier life . . . and maybe even become a management trainer.  Y’know, I could use a partner.”

     “Hmmmm.  But I’d have to give up weekends?”

     “Aaah, but you could wear your bathrobe to the office!”

     “Hmmmmm.”                                           halalpiar

[With more than 2,000 management training session successes behind him, Hal is ready to help you make the most of your company and organization goals to strengthen leadership, teamwork, and communication skills.  Call him now at 302.933.0116] 

LIGHTEN UP

AND

CLICK ON THE POSITIVE!

     REAL leaders realize thay can’t change their boss, or their board of directors, or their company’s business, or their co-workers or employees, or their constituencies or communities, but that they CAN change the course of events—and influence change in others—by changing their attitude about those around them and those they represent.

     The scope and ramifications of various leadership positions vary with circumstances, but the ability to motivate by example is what ultimately makes the difference in reality, in getting things done. 

     When President Dwight David Eisenhower was a military leader on the front lines, he called his underlings together and dropped a tangled ball of string on the table in front of them.  To demonstrate the concept of leadership, General Eisenhower pushed the string with two fingers and proved his point that the clump stuck together with no ability to organize or surround the enemy or move effectively in any direction. 

     Then , using the same two fingers, he instead grasped the end of the string and pulled it . . . clearly illustrating that control increased with pulling and decreased with pushing. 

     Look at the leaders around you.  Are they pushing or pulling?  Look at yourself!  Are YOU pushing or pulling?  Are you getting the results you’re capable of?  Perhaps re-examine the attitude you’re exercising? 

     Studies show that treating ALL subordinates as though they have the potential to advance and achieve will produce subordinates who advance and achieve. 

     In other words, your positive expectations ALONE can help those you represent or those who report to you to accomplish their best.  Change is only difficult if you try to impose it on others or if you choose for it to be difficult. 

     Choose instead to help other implement change for themselves, and for it to be easy; it will be.  If you’re still stuck with where to begin, try a smile; then pass it on.  

Remember. . . 

you are your attitude! 

     A positive attitude breeds optimism, enthusiasm, animation, presence, zeal, courtesy, physical appearance and poise, sincerity, self-confidence, and belief and trust in those who surround you.    halalpiar

DID YOU EVER WONDER

WHY MILITARY PERSONNEL

ARE SO MUCH BETTER AT

PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY

RELATIONS THAN

CORPORATE PERSONNEL?

What?  You think this isn’t true?  I’ve got news for you.  The comparison is not even close. 

Pick up your phone and call any U.S. Military installation with a request for information about any aspect of life on the base you’re interested in—from when’s the next parade, to how do you reach the person in charge of the USO lounge or the family service center, to whether it’s possible to arrange a tour for your child’s school class—and see what you get! 

Besides the standard “Yes, Sir!” and “No, M’am!” courtesies, you will (I’m willing to bet) be treated to honest, direct, friendly responses.  And sincerity.  I actually hear sincerity coming across on the phone. 

Oh, and odds are pretty good you’ll also speak with a real live human being and, on top of that, a real live human being who’s not sounding like you’ve just demolished her or his hopes for having a nice day with your interruptive call. 

You might even get someone on the line who sounds interested in what you have to say! 

Positively, you won’t be hearing sloshing ice cubes, straw-sucking and cracking gum on the other end. 

I’ve had this positive military telephone courtesy experience a number of times in recent years, but never gave it much thought until getting dissed or badgered or completely misunderstood in a few calls to big companies in attempts to identify the best and most economical services to buy. 

Then, I had the good fortune of making half a dozen “blind” or “cold” calls to Dover Air Force Base to try tracking down a couple of sales prospects for a client of mine, and “like sunshine on a rainy day,” one after another, the nicest, friendliest, most helpful people I have called in months.  (And not so incidentally, they all spoke fluent English!) 

Each listened carefully without interrupting.  Each asked questions to help qualify my interests.  Each suggested names and numbers and situations I might want to consider and no one rushed me. 

One even gave me a very candid and objective assessment of what she though my odds would be with each of the four other officers she referred.

All I kept thinking was why can’t tech companies, as a prime example, take a page here?  Why does it have to be so difficult to be treated appreciatively and respectfully by a company I’m looking to spend my hard-earned money with? 

Why aren’t corporate telephone people standing on their heads to exude overkill courtesy to prospective and actual buyers?

Anyway, besides the fact that our blessed troops take pride in what they do, and are proud of the nation and we the people they represent, it seems to me that the sense of discipline (and resultant self-discipline) our military personnel buy into is the single training difference (from businesses) that most impacts external public relations. 

     Before I forget saying what should be said

every day by all of us:

Thank you ladies and gentlemen

for your service to our country! 

     So, do companies need to give demerits and KP duty?  Hmmmmm might be a damn good idea, actually!

EVER WONDER WHERE

                                                                       

YOU WANNA WANDER

                                                              

WHILE YOU’RE WALKIN’

                                                   

AN’ WINKIN’ BETWEEN

                                                                 

WONONPAKOOK AND

                                                                

WONONSCOPOMUC? 

                                                    

HUH?

     Here’s the deal:

     You register in as the first to tell me where you are—based on what you figure out from reading the clues in this post (each reply comment I get is date and time stamped!)—and I’ll arrange a FREE GLASS OF WINE EACH FOR YOU AND YOUR GUEST (or two just for you if you’re not driving) on a stay-over or passing-through visit to this setting of rustic elegance. 

     A rigid old lady on a swing soars obscurely overhead.  A cigarette and Churchill namesake has worked the front for many years, and everything else is aside (or a side).  Three of the world’s biggest bulls sit up on the hill.  Captain Morgan must have slept here, or maybe it was Permittee Bousquet, after drinking too many Captain Morgan’s?

I CAN CANOE A CANOE.

                                                 

CANOE? 

     Celebrations galore are outnumbered here only by great romantic escapes and major rendezvouses by management muckity-mucks seeking leadership, teamwork, and fresh perspectives!  Streams of superior service servers strive to satisfy and astonish in excess at every intersection both here and near here. 

     Have you snuggled lately?  Have you snuggled into the bordered corner of three dramatically different cultures?  Remember the look and feel of the setting where Robin Williams thrived in “Dead Poets’ Society”? 

     One-sixteenth of a day from baseball’s old Giants and Dodgers, and the House That Ruth Built, figuratively located in Norman Rockwell’s backyard, and only 5 minutes to the races (4 minutes if you race to the races)!

     If you figure this out, you DESERVE to treat yourself to a visit, and collect the FREE WINE!  More clues and the answer coming soon.  Post me your best guess!             halalpiar