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I admit it. I am guilty of a plethora of guilty pleasures. At the top of my list is my addiction to Reality TV. I believe I can defend this addiction. Then again, so do most addicts. My defense sounds something like the following. I watch Reality TV for the lessons in communication and leadership one can learn.
Lesson Learned: Celebrity Apprentice (of all shows) reminded me to Think Big and Do Big. Big wins take big plans. Keep Your Blinders On and Don’t Worry About the Competition. Everyone has competition. Win for Winning Sake Not Because of the Prize. The thrill is still in winning . . . anything. To read the whole article click here.
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I think Paula Deen should be sent to her own island. An island with no butter, sugar,oil to fry or hairspray. For years she has been spoon feeding an obese America.
She has introduced America to bacon cheeseburgers on glazed donuts and given it her stamp of approval.
And now we find out that for three years she has looked into the camera pushing her heart attack on a plate foods, knowing she had diabetes. So we learn, it was not heart attack on a plate after all. It was diabetes on a plate.
Never did Paula Deen talk about moderation. She talked about taste but not health.And now we find out that for three years she knew she had a disease that was in some way due to her diet, and she just kept pushing this food on Americans.
Did she hold a gun to anyone's head? No. Worse than a gun, she held her food.And she never said a word about moderation.
Not until she was outed. And not until she had arranged to be a paid spokesperson for a drug company. Turns out our health as a country not only has a price for each of us, it certainly has a price for Paula Deen.
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You could say any Meryl Streep movie is a good movie. Or you could say one movie, The King's Speech, about Britain is enough for awhile.
Whichever your take, The IRON LADY is worth seeing for more reasons than Meryl the Pearl. It is a study in leadership gone right, leadership gone wrong, and how everyone even in Britain and even a would be Prime Minister, has to learn how to protect their value.
When Margaret Thatcher was identified as a potential PM, she was told she had to lose her hat, change her hair, lose her pearls, learn how to talk and gesture differently. In other words she had to learn how to protect her own value. Why would a lawyer, a CPA, a doctor, or a business owner be any different?
When she began her tenure as PM she was direct, not a consensus builder, and did not ask for nor make open communication a priority. It worked in year one. It did not work eleven years later. Has your communication style evolved?
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If you put your ear to the ground…you can hear it. There is a groundswell, and it’s coming your way.
Will you be a leader in this grassroots movement or will you bring up the rear?
To be in the forefront, you must redefine how you discover, define and discuss your value with all those you encounter, both professionally and personally. First, you need to discover your value both as an individual and as an organization. Then you need to articulate this value with a clarity that compels people to think, talk and act in ways that create a “professional velocity” propelling you toward your goals.
Have you seen the popular motivational poster that reads, “LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET OUT OF THE WAY?” Although the message applies to leadership, the same can be said for how you see yourself in this “Communicating Your Value” movement.
Bold individuals and visionary companies look for a competitive edge. Let’s fact it; we all compete in a hyper-competitive world. We are constantly looking for an edge in price, service – or anywhere else we can proclaim to our customers – that we do it better. To gain that edge each of you can adapt the mindset to recognize the twist – the impetus – that makes this movement unique. It’s based on the idea that value is in the application of an idea, not on the idea itself.
To be included in this “Communicating Your Value” movement you must first rethink how you discuss your value. Standout value is defined as making that which is already there, known. Or, one might say making the invisible, visible.
Can you develop and discuss your value on an ongoing basis? I believe the only way to discover value is to use powerful, probing questions to uncover your story – and to create a new one.
To read to rest of this article, click here.
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Mitt Romney is hitting his head against a brick wall this week. He and his PACS spent millions. Rick Santorum spent $100,000+ .
Communication Lesson Learned: your audience (voters) decide your value, not you the speaker. The Rules of Communication apply even if your net value is $250 million. You need BUY-IN from your audience. Santorum got it by speaking face to face in every county in Iowa.
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Edward C. Forst was a member of Goldman Sachs influential management team. Until Friday, December 2. His departure was explained as his leadership style not because of a lack of expertise in his field. Specifically his recent no-show at an important client meeting led to his dismissal. Groomed to become the next CFO, it was known that he clashed with colleagues and rubbed then the wrong way.
Lesson Learned: There is a saying attributed to Woody Allen that showing up is eighty percent of life. Can you imagine not even showing up for an important client meeting? Do you show up? Do you show up everyday with a communication style that does not rub people the wrong way? Do you still think the velocity of your career is based solely on your competency?
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At a recent event in Akron, an attendee asked the stranger next to him to move. The attendee wanted to save the set for his friend, not this unknown interloper. So he asked the unnamed man to move and didn’t think about it again.
Lesson Learned: Later that day the attendee attended yet another event. He was introduced to the man he had asked to move out of his chair. He was an internationally known celebrity in Akron for a client event. This internationally known celebrity lists as clients Barbara Streisand, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron, Renee Zellweger, Jennifer Hudson and Madonna. Could you be near, next to, literally or figuratively a great prospect or client and not know it?
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CBI stands for Country Brand Index. It is a global study of a country's brand strength. The most important factors-the aspects that truly differentiate a country's brand-are its associations and attributes across five key dimensions: Value System, Quality of Life, Good for Business, Heritage and Culture and Tourism. A strong country brand is more than the sum of its attributes: in total, it must make people's lives better.
Lesson Learned: If a country has its own Brand, can you really think you don't have your own Brand? For the first decade of this century Brazil had almost 10% unemployment. During this time Brazil was branded for its Carnival of Brazil not for its unemployment. A country is branded by its ability to make people's lives better. How do you make people's lives better?
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| The response from the Electric Impulse "community" about Missy - my wonder dog, was amazing and so comforting. I still have my Tim and planned on going through however long he has, with our reduced little family. Most people come back from Mexico with a piñata. Somehow I came back from Mexico last month with a puppy. Her name is Miss Nacha Vallarta. Although she looks nothing like my Missy, she is Missy reincarnated.
Lesson Learned: At the most inopportune time, a 4-legged creature came into my Dad's life. At the most inopportune time, a 4-legged creature came into my life. Even though one should not make major decisions for a year after a loss, and even though housebreaking in rain and cold is not ideal, Karma works in strange ways. Is there something you want to do that is not easy, convenient, and makes no sense?
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My Internet-dating Mom had a dilemma. If she put her real age on the dating site, she would scare away eligible senior men. She felt guilty if she knocked a few years off of her birth year. If she put her real age, she had to change so many dates to be consistent: her college years, her wedding date, where she was during WWII. Her posted picture was current even if her age was not. What’s a mother to do?
Lesson Learned: I say everyone lies on te Internet. It should read “site visitors beware” like the old buyers beware sign and philosophy. Think about a virtual tour of a hotel room or a house. Photography can do amazing things with angles, let alone photo shop. The pictured weight room becomes one sad machine in the garage. The vacation house that stays close to beach. Then you find out it is a 20-minute walk crossing a four-lane highway. Except for a few five-year old pictures on my website I don’t think I lied. How about you?
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At an earlier time, John Edwards was the American success story. He made his millions in the courtroom betting on his ability to read a jury. At a later time, he was officially announced “the most disliked man in America.” He was lower in the polls with Bin Laden. Now he goes back to the courtroom to once again bet on the jury system. This time he is the defendant.
Lesson Learned: Will we ever learn the basic “what goes around comes around theory?” What if we all could be enlightened enough to realize that the person we reject today could be our boss tomorrow. The person whose call we did not return today could be tomorrow’s life-changing client. Do we ever learn?
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Herman Cain made the TV rounds over the weekend saying that he had been 'very clear.' Whether you are a presidential candidate or a PTA candidate, clarity is decided by the audience not the speaker. You as the speaker have not spoken with clarity just because you say so.
Content is audience driven not speaker driven. You spoke with clarity when the audience says you were clear not when you say so.
Just ask CNN's Candy Crowley who continually appeared really confused by Herman Cain's answers.
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Esquire scribe Scott Raab has written a book entitled The Whore of Akron. Released next week to the world, the author personally delivered a book to LBJ’s Bath home. The book is a search for LeBron’s soul. It is written by a 58 year-old man who has spent a lifetime looking for his own soul. In this NBA-less season, as in any season, is any athlete loyal any more? Can a team buy a championship? Ask the New York Yankees how buying players worked for them this play-off season.
Lesson Learned: These are chicken and egg questions. Which comes first the money or the level of play? What comes first the money or the loyalty? Will we ever again see one player play for one team for one entire career? (ask Derrick Rose) You may not think pro athlete salaries affect your world. You need an answer as to what motivates your external and internal clients.
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Puerta Vallarta is an old city in Mexico. Now known mostly for its art and as a stop for cruise ships, it has a long history as a resort city. We find their uneven sidewalks charming while others find them just old. Their "siesta time" way of working makes finished projects and time seem like a parallel reality. In the last year they have transformed a main road into a pedestrian mall. The "Malacon" the beachfront center of town is now a Mecca for strolling, shopping, and snapping photos. Much of the concrete design was done by hand, on bended knees using Styrofoam cutouts. An example the result of old school skills meet 21st century needs.
Lesson Learned: Even in a city steeped in history, change is mandatory. What a surprise to see a town that closes in order to celebrate Day of the Dead, rally to make themselves more conducive and more attractive to tourists. What are you doing to make yourself or your business more conducive to the current client, customer, patient, member or guest?
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Governor Rick Perry really "stepped in it" as he said last week. His 52 second mind freeze was heard around the world. Pundits exclaimed that this was the final nail in his presidential bid.
Then he went on Letterman and made fun of his own blunder. His poll numbers did not budge. He did better than usual a few days later in the next debate.
He embraced his error.
If embattled and now former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno would do the same thing, he would be embraced. Paterno needs to not only own up, he needs to become the face of the fight against child abuse. Then and only then could he have the possibility of being remembered for changing the life of the victim. Students demonstrated AGAINST his firing which in essence was AGAINST the victims of child abuse. Coach Paterno could change how universities, atheletics, and just people, report and look at abuse forever more.
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