Since the 1970’s, Xerox and IBM fueled a point of view that the best salespeople frame their solution in the context of a need. Thought leaders such as Mike Bosworth, Neil Rackham and Percy Whiting have advocated a consultative framework for selling that led with questions in order to establish a business and emotional case
This age is defined by speed of change and access to information. Our relevance is linked to our ability to process and adapt. Awareness of trends, news, insights and research helps us to strategize and create. And our effectiveness becomes our brand. Amidst change and information, it’s the thought-leader and innovator who will lead. Last week
Most organizations lack organization. They are filled with individuals pursuing personal adrenaline, comfort, safety and recognition. Focus further breaks down through the competing priorities of departments, hierarchy and stakeholders. Occasionally, however, we glimpse an organization beautifully aligned. It was Mother’s Day 1995 on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA. We were the final boat out of
Sometimes life prompts us to ask: what progress am I making? Am I moving closer to my vision of what’s worthwhile, or am I (even inadvertently) moving farther away? Most of us have a natural tendency to keep score. The question is whether we’re measuring all of the right things. I’m learning to add dimensions
A Native American parable tells of a boy who asks his grandfather about pain and fighting in the world. His grandfather explains that we all have two wolves in our heart, battling each other to the death: one wolf represents hope, joy, peace and love whereas the other wolf represents fear, anxiety, hatred and darkness.
A friend told me a couple of months ago that I was “shoulding on myself”. It occurs to me that I live with voices in my head that bombard me with shoulds, need tos, have tos and what ifs. While a healthy respect for rules, constraints and expectations helps to guide behavior, sometimes I just
Concise messaging results in more relevant, collaborative and effective communication – especially in meetings. To help me with this, I wish I had a Twitter character-counter inside my brain. Last week, I sat quietly in a team meeting listening to perspectives while I formulated mine. When just enough confidence in my point of view intersected
Disappointment: the difference between what we expect and what we get. Events, circumstances and people disappoint us and we disappoint ourselves. To move from disappointment to contentment, we have to process our emotions and surrender our expectations. This Mother’s Day, my wife Kari was supposed to be entering her third trimester. We miscarried that baby
The Greek word for “anxiety” is merimnaō, which means to be divided or distracted. Leaders today face so many external and internal disruptions that anxiety, by the Greek definition, is nearly unavoidable. Anxiety depletes energy and confidence and makes courageous decisions difficult. One way to minimize anxiety is to pursue the opposite of division and
Joy is an uncomplicated word. It’s the feeling of goodness that comes from being fully alive. And it can be present regardless of circumstances – pain or pleasure. Wouldn’t it be cool to create joy all over the place – at home, at work, in the community and in ourselves? One way is through lasting
Matt Norman is president of Norman & Associates, which offers Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central US. Dale Carnegie Training is a global organization ...READ MORE