Siblings: An Early crash course in business lessons

I am fortunate enough (I see it now-not so much then) to have grown up with three brothers. Looking back my childhood taught me many valuable lessons. Counting our fries to make sure we all had the same amount, to being beaten up my one brother and then seeing my other brother beat him up for beating me up, and one of my brothers flying 10 hours to watch me play a sports game has all taught me valuable lessons for business.

Here is my top 10:

(Please add in the comment section what having a sibling has taught you)

• You do not always get what you want, sometimes you have to fight for it(“to have the first shower-thus making sure you have hot water”) - Business is competitive you need to ‘fight’ for your wins
• It’s good to have friends (“ I know my siblings will always be there if needed”) – In business a good network of people will generally keep you busy. Treat everyone as you would like to be treated.
• Sometimes you have to take a backseat (“siblings may get recognized for their achievements before you”) - In business work with your specialists, and have faith in them to take the lead. Recognize their achievements.
• You get beaten up (no explanation required) – In business you are not going to win every deal or please your manager every day. Make sure you  ‘grow’ and don't make the same mistake over and over.
• You need to share (“tennis racket, car, football etc.”) –The ‘play box’ is big, try not to step on your 'toes'.
• How to negotiate (“can I borrow that”) – You continuously are negotiating in business deals. Learn to give and take.
• Team Work (“how to get one over the folks”) - In business you often need to work as a team to win a new deal or to help an existing client.
• Patience (“waiting to play with the new toy”) – Deals take time to be put together and need patience.Managing staff you are going to need to have  a lot patience.
• Leadership (“playing together often a sibling would lead”) – when presenting or working with a current client make sure everyone knows who is going to take the lead.
• Conflict Resolution (“lost count on the number of arguments had with my brothers –generally though we finally came to a resolution, we may have needed some help from our mom”) –In business you are going to have conflicts, how you proceed with these conflicts and find the resolution could dictate how well you do in business. You may need a outside voice of reason.

 Lesson from a mom:

Two brothers were having a mammoth fight by the pool while their mom was talking to her friend in the kitchen. Excusing herself from the room she calmly walked out to her son’s (they did not notice her) and pushed them both into the pool. She then walked back into the house and continued her conversation, while the two brothers stood in the pool dumbfounded. 

 “If you want to do really important things in life and big things in life, you can’t do anything by yourself. And your best teams are your friends and your siblings” –Deepak Chopra

Presentation Tips

In life and in work we are continuously on a ‘stage’ giving ‘presentations’. Some people are better in presenting themselves or their message than others.

When Barack Obama came on the scene few people knew who he was, yet he beat his fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton (a person most people new) to the privilege of running for the presidency. Why?

During the debates, TV appearances, and speeches whomever you spoke to (Democratic or Republican, Hillary supporter or Obama supporter) everyone would say the same thing, “He speaks extremely well. He gives a great speech!”  One of the reasons for Obamas initial success I believe was how he is presented himself, and spoke to an audience.

I recently had the privilege to go through a course in giving formal presentations. An added caveat was it was small group of four participants and a presenter.  As such, we were able to discuss each subject in depth, and get a lot of additional feedback from the presenter who had been doing this for over 25 years. 

During the course I took notes on what stood out to me. I hope some of these ‘tips’ will help you in your future presentations:

3 Key Questions to Ask Yourself:

“What is the point?”
“So What, Who Cares?” (Benefits)
“Why is it material to me, the customer?”

Six Critical Skills for Effective Presentations:

Presence -- Ability to convey confidence and energy. Gain credibility and attention (e.g. sitting or standing, eye contact, project your voice)
Relating- connect with your audience, ability to create rapport (e.g. thank everyone, mirror clients’ body language)
Questioning- anticipate and prepare for questions that may be asked
Listening- being able to pick up on words the audiences are using. Create a 70/30 dialogue
Positioning-tell story from your clients point of view
Checking – get clients input (be spontaneous)

Miscellaneous:
Give information in blocks of 3 (anymore and your message will be lost)
Visuals: Make sure it is uncluttered. “Less is more”.
Divide the audience age by 2 and that should be the font size (presenting a power point)
Handout Leave Behinds: Only give once presentation is done, otherwise the audience will be leafing through them while you are presenting
Ask twice if anyone would like to add to the agenda
Make sure you have your message: “What is your goal”
When asked a question, breath in for 2 seconds, breath out for 2 seconds prior to answering (this will prevent you rushing your answer)
Ask questions on top of questions.
Hand positioning is very important

“There is no such thing as presentation talent, it is called Presentation Skills”
 David JP Phillips

I hope some of the tips will be helpful. Please include in the comment section what works for you.

Creating an A (+) Team

 

My most recent conversation with my mentee was regarding how to get the best out of the team he leads/manages.  Below is the list we came up with.  Please add in the comments what you believe makes a leader/ manager successful.

• Be a leader/ manager not just someone who ‘barks’ out orders. (leaders are people who inspire people in achieving and giving their best)
• Guide people in their daily job and career (e.g. during your one on one’s, discuss their careers and how you are able assist them)
• Ask don’t tell your staff what to do (e.g. Please and thank you go a long way)
• Show them you care (e.g. When our new build branch opened, many members of our team had not signed up for their 401k. I spoke to each team member individually who had not signed up and explained the company match and benefits. Our branch had 100 % participation )
• Get staff feedback (e.g. what they like, don’t like, what they would improve upon and how)
• Empower your staff to make decisions
• Provide Continues Feedback (e.g. reviews should have no surprises)
• Make it fun (a staff that is not happy is a staff that fails)
• Make sure everyone learns from each other (e.g. have a staff member who is excelling in a specific area speak to the team for 10 -15 min on what they are doing to be successful)
• Create leaders in your team. (e.g. get them to lead/ manage a specific project)

As in Sports, it is not always the team with the best players that wins, but the one that is well organized and has strong leadership.

“Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together.”
Paul Ryan