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Eric Garner ⁽⁵⁵²⁾ United Kingdom

"Wanting What We Can't Have"

Posted Sunday, September 20, 2009 (63 days 17 hours ago.) Viewed 14 times.

A week or so ago, my wife and I were browsing in a second-hand shop when we came across a beautiful pine corner unit that was perfect for our newly-restored living room.

Being cautious, we decided to think it over and return in a few days' time.

When we did, we discovered that the unit had been reserved for someone else. We had lost the sale. And we now wanted it more than ever.

In our Negotiating Skills courses at ManageTrainLearn, we train people to use this tactic consciously. As an example of how it's done, we show how Eskimo hunters get the best price for their hides from their traders by downplaying the value of their hides, even to the extent of pretending that their furs are not worth looking at. Fearing that they won't get them, the traders are more desperate to buy and so increase what they are prepared to offer.

A similar trick of reverse psychology is played by Tom Sawyer in Mark Twain's book of the same name.

The young Tom has been conscripted by Aunt Polly to whitewash a 30 foot long, 9 foot high fence and, being work not play, he is not in the least interested. Moreover, Tom hates the thought of being ridiculed by his friends.

So, he hits on a plan.

As each boy passes by on the lovely Summer's morning, Tom pretends to be doing something that no other boy gets to do. He builds up the specialness and importance of his task so much that not a single boy can resist begging to have a go at it. And they're even willing to pay for the privilege.

Naturally, Tom leads them on so that (a) he reluctantly lets each boy have a go at the job, only, of course, on condition that they do it in the very special way that it's supposed to be done, and (b) extracts a good swap from each boy in the process.

Very soon, while Tom idles in the sun with his bounty of swaps, the long fence is painted by a procession of boys who can't wait to accept the new challenge and the new experience.

Mark Twain adds, "And Tom discovers, without knowing it, a great law of human action, namely that in order to make a man or boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make it difficult to attain."

I don't suppose I'll ever know if the Reserved Sale sign on our pine unit was a ploy for a sale. However, just a few days later, the shop rang to say that their sale had fallen through and we could now have it.

Naturally, like fur traders, and boys in the American South, we couldn't wait to snap it up.

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The 7 Rules of Upward Communication

Posted Wednesday, March 01, 2006 (3 years 267 days ago.) Viewed 954 times.

Bit by bit, your workplace is changing.

As the old industries disappear, and along with them, control styles of management, so new structures and new systems are taking their place.

Where once the manager sat atop the pyramid, and issued commands to the team below, today there is every chance that it is the team that sits astride the pyramid and issues information to the manager below.

Today, it is teams that have the information and knowledge. It is the teams that know how the business's customers feel. And teams that can manage by themselves.

All this means a re-think on the traditional nature of communication.

Where once the predominant flow of communication was from the top downwards, in a one-way flow, in today's information age, communication is multi-directional and purposeful. It goes anywhere and goes where it is needed.

That can be up or down, horizontally across, and all ways diagonally.

And one of the key skills of this kind of communication is Upward Reporting.

This skill requires: knowing how to get and keep the ear of your boss reporting in a timely fashion knowing what he or she needs to hear being short and accurate balancing problems with solutions and being willing to be questioned and cross-examined.

To illustrate Upward Reporting, here is a set of rules posted by a manager to a self-managing team on how she wants to be kept informed.

"When you report up the way, please remember...

Rule 1: Keep me regularly informed I hate nasty surprises.

Rule 2: Don't deadline me. I know it's been done to you, but please give me some time to think.

Rule 3: Only bring matters that you really can't resolve. Anything else will just go back to you.

Rule 4: Don't leave out the bad points because you want to look good: tell me it all.

Rule 5: Give me at least three options for every problem. I prefer to choose and it's quicker.

Rule 6: Do your homework before you come I don't want you to have to go away and look something up.

Rule 7: Remember that this is how you'll want your staff to report to you when you're in my position!"

Communication is, and always has been, the glue that binds an organization together. Just because the predominant direction of that communication may have shifted from top-down to bottom-up, doesn't mean it is any less important. Learn how to properly report up and you'll master the new regime.

If you enjoyed this article, why not sign up to our FREE 10-day Leadership Skills e-course? All you have to do is send a blank email to leadership@freeautobot.com and you're under way. For lots of other FREE training resources, visit our website at http://www.managetrainlearn.com.
Manage: to get it right! Train: to stay on top! Learn: to be a success!

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Are Leaders Born Or Made?

Posted Wednesday, March 01, 2006 (3 years 267 days ago.) Viewed 1,122 times.

There is a mystery about how leaders become leaders. Some people are born with all the right qualifications but don't make it. Others are born into very lowly positions and rise to lead millions.

It is hard not to conclude that there is no simple, one-size-fits-all path to leadership, but that leadership depends on a complex and mysterious mix of variables.

Here are 7 of those variables.

1. Traits. Most people agree that their leaders should demonstrate certain traits. It's just that not everyone can agree what they should be.

For example, when a symposium of corporate heads were asked for their top 10 leadership qualities, they suggested tenacity, passion, persuasiveness and confidence, but didn't mention the one quality of leadership that Walt Disney prized above all others, courage.

In another survey for Ajilon, 600 employees voted their top leadership quality as "leading by example", followed by ethics.

It seems that there are even variables within this variable.

2. Leadership Drives. David McClelland says that, to be a successful leader, you need spadefuls of the drive to power.

Even with all the qualities mentioned in (1) above, if your main drive at work is for affinity or achievement, rather than power, you won't make it to the top.

To be an effective leader, you actually have to want to be in charge of others.

3. Made or Born? There is an unresolved debate about whether leaders are born or made.

Some people argue that birth into certain environments pre-destines some of us to be leaders. This is the principle behind hereditary monarchies and business dynasties.

Others argue that merely being first-born creates leadership qualities of its own. All the following were first-born: Winston Churchill, William the Conqueror, George Washington, Alexander the Great, Joan of Arc, F.D.Roosevelt.

Of course, that could be a quirk of nature and doesn't account for mesmeric leaders who were not first-born, such as John F. Kennedy.

4. Education and Formative Experiences. When leaders of business are asked what formative experiences influenced them most to become leaders, many recall traumatic events in their childhood or youth that inspired them. Others took a more normal path by attending the most prestigious business schools.

On the other hand, education may only have a limited role in creating leaders. Thomas Neff and James Citrin found that of the top 10 business leaders in the USA, only 2 - Jack Welch of GEC and Lou Gerstner of IBM - had business degrees. The rest were educated in non-business subjects or, like Bill Gates of Microsoft, didn't complete their studies.

5. Experience or Competence? Nobody wants a leader who doesn't know what they're doing. The stories of incompetent generals in wars from the Crimea to World War One are legendary.

However, as Professor Fred Fiedler has discovered, experience and competence serve leaders in different ways.

Fiedler found that, in high-stress situations, leaders call upon experience before competence. In low-stress situations, it's the other way round, with intelligence being more valuable than experience.

6. Circumstances. History shows us again and again that certain people come to the fore when the circumstances are right.

Often these are people who were failed leaders, voices in the wilderness, or discarded men and women, like the Churchill of 1940.

Somehow, a moment arrives when the circumstances and the individual seem made for each other.

7. Followership. The final variable in the leadership mix is the willingness of people to accept their leader and follow him or her.

Soren Oberg calls this a leader's charismatic power. It has little to do with traditional power, such as status, connections and rewards and more to do with their visibility, their sexual attractiveness, and their ability to empathize with the needs of their followers.

One other key to charismatic power is the leader's ability to communicate with their followers in symbolic and mythical terms.

Trying to analyse leadership is a bit like dismantling a Stradivarius violin to see where its essence comes from. You spoil its beauty and are none the wiser.

Perhaps it's best to leave the last word to John McGregor: "Leadership is not a property of the individual but a complex relationship among all the variables."

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Grab Your Audience’s Attention With Impact Openings

Posted Wednesday, December 14, 2005 (3 years 344 days ago.) Viewed 942 times.

The first minutes of a presentation are make-or-break time. With the following techniques, you can score a resounding success that will set you up for the rest of your talk.

1. Under Starters’ Orders. In the moments before you start to speak, the audience are a disorganised and disparate collection of individuals, pairs and small groups. They are like the runners before a horse race facing in different directions. The moment you move to speak, they come under your control, falling expectantly silent, turning towards you, lining up together. They are under starter's orders. It is at this moment, when you have the full undivided attention of your audience, that you are able to set the tone, make a strong impression and lead them in the direction you want them to go.

2. Formal Openers. Depending on the type of presentation you are giving, you can either use a formal opener or an impact opener. Formal openers don’t aim to grab the audience in the way an impact opener does. They should be courteous, sincere, and short. In a formal opener, you should introduce yourself and the purpose of your presentation, thank your audience for inviting you and give an overview of what you intend to do and where you are taking the audience.

3. First Impressions. When you have been introduced or have completed your own formalities, the audience's eyes and minds turn expectantly to you. They want you to interest them. Your opening words and the way you express yourself must make an immediate impression. The audience needs to each say to themselves: "this looks worth staying for." You must look and sound in charge. One simple way to achieve this is to use an impact opening technique: one that intrigues, grabs the attention, and surprises your audience without embarrassing or unnerving them.

4. Impact Openers. Here are 12 ways to start a presentation that will grab your audience’s attention:

news: "I'd like to give you some news that's just come in..."
a quote: "It was Richard Branson who said that there's only one way to make money..."
a question: "Let me ask you a simple question: What would you all rather be doing now?"
a story: "When I was in Cambodia during the reign of Pol Pot..."
a fact: "Research shows that 7 out of 10 people will suffer some form of mental illness one day..."
drama: "The next 10 minutes could change your life..."
a gesture: "Some people seem to think that money is like water: (pour water from a jug into a bucket)
a benefit for them: "If you want to save £1000 a year, stay tuned..."
history: "When we began making software in 1985, people said it wouldn't work..."
proof of your credentials: "We now sell to China, Australia and Nepal..."
gimmicks: "(After 10 seconds of silence)...You have just experienced what 1 out of 3 callers to this organisation experience."
curiosity: "You may wonder what my talk has to do with tyrannosaurus rex...."

5. Example of an Impact Opener. This is an example of a power opener in a presentation on crime prevention:

"Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to ask you to look under your seats. If you find a red card, could you stand up. (Everyone looks and eight people around the room stand up). Thank you. Please be seated.

According to government figures, that is your statistical chance of being burgled in your present home in this region: 1 in 5.

My talk today won't reduce the risk of you being under threat but it will reduce the risk of what you could lose. Our success with hundreds of people is proof that, with proper precautionary measures, you need not fear the consequences of crime."

Winning over an audience starts from the word Go. If you can grab their attention straightaway with the above techniques, your audience will immediately warm to you and make up their minds to like you.

© Eric Garner, ManageTrainLearn.com

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