Strictly 6 Strategies for Success

Featured Article: Strictly 6 Strategies for Success

From Jennifer Hampson, a good friend of mine who embodies the traits set out in her article below.

Someone once asked me what the best present I'd ever received was. Only the day before, two tickets from the Strictly Come Dancing random draw had landed on the mat. I was going to be in the audience for a live recording! I was ecstatic - the sequins, the glamour, the celebrities, the stunning dance moves - everything lived up to my expectations.

Now, as you can probably guess, I'm a bit of a Strictly fan. Have you been following it? Are you supporting Team Cola or Ricky 'back-flip' Whittle? The more I've watched it, the more I see business lessons that can serve us all well going forward into a new year.

1. Be open to new opportunities

When Brendan and Anton, two of the longest-serving professional dancers, were originally approached to appear on this newly devised dancing programme they admitted that their immediate reaction was a definite 'no'. However, once they realised the BBC was serious about it they agreed (albeit with some reservations), and that one act of saying 'yes' has had life-changing significance for them. They told Claudia on 'It Takes Two' that it has changed their lives completely, and opened up new possibilities for them, such as TV presenting, that they would never ever have envisaged or had the chance to do otherwise.

2. Work hard

Although the celebrities all start with different levels of dancing ability, the one thing the winners have in common is hard work and dedication. Literally, they often work until their feet bleed (or far worse) and then keep going. Erin Boag, the professional dancer known as Miss Whiplash, lives up to her nickname when she says, "When my guys complain to me that their right leg is hurting I say, 'Well, let's make the left one hurt to match'".

3. Listen

Sometimes others do know best. In Strictly, the professional dancers teach, demonstrate, guide and encourage. In business, seek out people who can help you achieve your goals for they will inspire you to do your very best, share their talents with you, and help you on your journey.

4. Accept feedback

It's striking to see how people react very differently to feedback. This series it's been a pleasant change not to have all the tears (think Penny Lancaster) but Brendan, of course, has been true to form and even exceeded himself by marching offstage, defensively protecting his partner. On the other hand, Chris Hollins has reacted brilliantly, with respect, humour and a sense of perspective. He has also worked to address their concerns so, fingers-crossed (mine, not his!), he will have sorted out his spatula hands by Saturday.

5. Have fun

Chris and Ola are the embodiment of a couple having fun while they work. They have formed a brilliant partnership and are taking pleasure in the journey, day by day, rather than working themselves into a frenzy trying to win. They have grasped that life is for living, and each day should be savoured as they strive to achieve their goal.

6. Visualise success

For all 16 Strictly couples starting out this year, getting their hands on the glitter ball signified success. And, like Brendan and Anton have said, success on Strictly can lead on to even bigger and better things. So, what will constitute success for you in 2010?

Jennifer always encourages her clients to think big and bold. "Define clearly what you want to achieve. Find someone who will encourage and push you to believe in yourself and realise your dreams. It might be a friend, partner, manager or coach."

Now is the perfect time to stop, take stock and start making some big decisions about the future. I'd be privileged to help you. Just allow yourself the time to focus on you and where you want to be this time next year. Then you can enter 2010 with unwavering focus, determination and desire to have your best year yet.

Copyright - Jennifer Hampson, 2009

Jennifer Hampson is a certified coach, inspirational trainer, and speaker. She helps organisations create a coaching culture with wide-ranging impact on all who work there. Her online newsletters for HR Managers, Learning & Development Managers and Line Managers is crammed with useful tips, strategies and 'How to...?' Guides, to keep you informed, enlightened and inspired about how you can use coaching to make a real difference to YOU and YOUR ORGANISATION. Sign up for it now at http://www.creatingacoachingculture.co.uk

Building relationships to win the jackpot

Premium Bonds - building relationships to win the jackpot.

Building relationships, or bonds, with your potential target clients is the best way to build your business.

To guarantee your long term success, make them "Premium Bonds".

"I don't know your company, who you are, what you make, or why I should buy from you. Now, what do you want to talk about?"

Sound familiar? Probably not, as most buyers are too polite to use this when they meet you. But it just might be what they think or feel when you are doing your pitch.

Don't be surprised at this. Buyers or budget holders spend most of their time trying not to rock the boat. In their busy worlds, they are focusing most of their energy on easing short-term pressures, reducing risks to the business, fire fighting and keeping their world turning. They are also human and hence they are simultaneously ensuring their career remains firmly on track.

What most of them want is their suppliers to deliver what they promised, when they promised it, and at the price that they promised it.

Fortunately for them it works for enough of the time to keep working with the people they already know. Most of the time buyers and sellers manage the process reasonably well. Over time, businesses adapt and change to enhance the inter business exchange processes to their mutual advantage. The individuals in the buying chain or the key decision makers (KDMs) resolve their issues by interacting with all the various "actors" involved in the various transactions. At each interaction, whether positive or negative, the individuals learn about the others in the network and use this information to smooth things out.

What they are developing are interpersonal bonds that enhance the relationship. These bonds allow for the flow of information, innovation and insights. As the communication flow increases and becomes more value added, the level of trust increases. This in turn strengthens the bonds. Managed well they eventually become premium bonds.

All fine and dandy if you are in the lucky position of being on the inside track. But how do you break through to build these Premium Bonds if you are on the outside the circle of trust?

Here are a few ideas that might help:

• Target your resources - they are scarce, so use them where they count the most. Aim to build relationships with those most likely to work with you in a way that you appreciate.
  

• Do not sell - let them buy. Package up what you do in such a way that they do not have to decipher the sales pitch. Always use their language and avoid industry jargon.
  

• Give away your insight - you build trust by increasing the value of the exchange. Tell them everything that you know about what you do and how it adds value to them.

• Take your time - be aware that accelerating the "clock speed" when building trust can damage the bonds. Many small interactions are better than few big ones.

• Hire the smile - employ good people that understand the value of relationships. Business savvy people bring in and retain great relationship builders.

• Get it right first time, every time - make it easy to do business with your company. Monitor your OTIFIC. That is the number of transactions where the outcome is "On Time, In Full, Invoiced Correctly"

• Keep it simple - remove barriers to communication. Avoid the hierarchy. Let your potential client talk to the people that matter to them the most.

If you want to hit the jackpot, then Premium Bonds are the answer. Call us on 0117 9047874 for a free update on how to build Premium Bonds.

Click here to link to the website to find out how we help our clients.

ABC of business growth

Stepping stones for accelerated growth.

The clearest sign that a business is well led and managed is its ability to deliver consistent, profitable growth.

The ABC of growth – what high growth businesses do well.

A = Activities

High growth companies are hives of activity. They are “doing” orientated. They get it right. They do the right things with the right people to the right customers at the right price in the right place at the right time.

B = Brand

High growth companies recognise the value of their brand. They cherish it and nurture it. They know that it takes time to build a strong brand but only a few moments to destroy it. A strong brand has lasting value that ensures a legacy to the stakeholder, customers and most importantly the employees. Everything great companies do adds value to their brand and strengthens their reputation.

C = Corroboration

High growth companies have evidence to corroborate their brand and expertise. They have easily recognised products or services that they sell to trophy clients. They advertise their successes and promote their expertise through the skilful use of testimonials, reviews, articles and PR.

Discover your ability to deliver consistent profitable growth by linking here.

Why does temperament matter?

Temperament or personality may reasonably be defined as the unique set of qualities that make a person distinct from another. Easy enough really.

But knowing that we are all different does not help when we are faced with a business problem that requires a team to pull together on a common goal or objective. It would be impossible to achieve anything if we let the individual personalities determine their own interaction with the teams goals. There has to be some way of aligning them or getting them to fly in formation.

For instance imagine if you can a stereotypical librarian. You might see them as serious, conscientious, focused, systematic, logical, accurate, careful with an eye for detail. Assuming that we have some broad agreement on this personality profile it would seem absurd to appoint a gregarious, restless, demonstrative and verbally assertive individual to the role of librarian.

I am not saying that they could not do the job. But would they enjoy it? Would they be able to use all of their unique talents and innate personality traits in the role. The chances are that they would demonstrate evidence of stress over time probably culminating in them leaving the job with a poor attitude to the role and to the employer.

Does personality or temperament matter? Yes, it does.

Selecting the right person with the right set of personality traits will pay dividends in the long run.

Click here to find out more or call me on 0117 9047874 to discuss this in more detail.

Enhancing employee engagement

Some real insights into enhancing employee engagement can be found in the Government report titled "Engaging for Success". You can download a full copy here.

It is a long and academic piece. Here is something that I found really valuable:

This report is not a ‘how to’ guide. However, we were struck in the course of the review how often the same four broad enablers / drivers were cited as being critical to employee engagement.

1. LEADERSHIP provides a strong strategic narrative which has widespread ownership and commitment from managers and employees at all levels. The narrative is a clearly expressed story about what the purpose of an organisation is, why it has the broad vision it has, and how an individual contributes to that purpose. Employees have a clear line of sight between their job and the narrative, and understand where their work fits in. These aims and values are reflected in a strong, transparent and explicit organisational culture and way of working. The late Professor Sumantra Ghoshal, formerly of the London Business School, believed that organisations which were successful in the long haul were characterised by stretch, discipline, trust and support; they were ‘both tough and tender’.

2. ENGAGING MANAGERS. are at the heart of this organisational culture– they facilitate and empower rather than control or restrict their staff; they treat their staff with appreciation and respect and show commitment to developing, increasing and rewarding the capabilities of those they manage. As Chris Bones told us, “the line manager is the lens through which I see the company and the company sees me.”

3. VOICE. An effective and empowered employee voice – employees’ views are sought out; they are listened to and see that their opinions count and make a difference. They speak out and challenge when appropriate. A strong sense of listening and of responsiveness permeates the organisation, enabled by effective communication.

4. INTEGRITY. Behaviour throughout the organisation is consistent with stated values, leading to trust and a sense of integrity.

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DISC Temperament Analysis

Have you ever wondered why it is that some people seem to get you and others dont?

Have you ever wondered why it is that you can say the same thing to two different people and they react very differently?

From a business perspective, this is a huge deal. Sending the right message in the wrong way is non-productive, inefficient, and could be stressful for both parties.

If you want to know more about how you can understand yourself more, link here to complete an online assessment for yourself.

If you want to develop a habit that will increase your personal effectiveness then heed this advice from Stephen Covey:

“Communication is the most important skill in life. You spend years learning how to read and write, and years learning how to speak. but what about listening? What training have you had that enables you to listen so you really, deeply understand another human being? Probably none, right?

If you’re like most people, you probably seek first to be understood; you want to get your point across. And in doing so, you may ignore the other person completely, pretend that you’re listening, selectively hear only certain parts of the conversation or attentively focus on only the words being said, but miss the meaning entirely. So why does this happen? Because most people listen with the intent to reply, not to understand."

Learn how to interpret how others see, hear and understand you by knowing their temperament and their preferred communication style.

Follow the link below and start to unwrap the communications conundrum.

DISC Personality Profiling

Stephen Covey had this to say in his book titled "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" about how to improve your self: "Habit 5 - Seek first to understand,then to be understood".

He goes on to say "Communication is the most important skill in life. You spend years learning how to read and write, and years learning how to speak. but what about listening? What training have you had that enables you to listen so you really, deeply understand another human being? Probably none, right?"

So how do you learn how to listen and how do you learn to interpret what others are saying?

We believe it starts by modifying Habit 5 as follows: Seek first to understand yourself, then to be understood by others".

Our DISC Personality Profile Analysis technique allows you to see your self not only as you are, but in a way that will help you to adapt and improve the way you engage with other people.

For more information click on this link to see how it might help you to establish one of these worthy habits.