|
|
| Customer Service Information |
|
|
Increasing Expectation Positively!
At your next staff meeting lead your team through the following discussion and exercise. This exercise is focused on getting people to perceive things positively. The exercise goes like this: Make the point to your team that they have the power to perceive virtually all things either from a positive or negative perspective. Lead a discussion asking for attendees to offer up negative circumstances resulting from a well-known tragedy. As an example let's consider the tragedy involving the Space Shuttle Columbia. Creating this "list of negatives" will come easily for the participants given the nature of the disaster. For example: The loss of life, the potential effects for radiation on the ground, the devastating blow to the space program, the children and families effected by the loss of loved ones, etc. In the interest of time and keeping your entire team fully engaged, make the list no longer than 8-10 items. Next, ask the group to come up with a list of positive outcomes from this experience. (Hint: This will actually be more difficult for the group because it is hard to voice optimism when talking about personal tragedy. However, you can offer up a few of your own ideas to get people started thinking from a different point of view.) For instance some positive outcomes are: - The space program will learn from this disaster and become even more safe for future flights ? thus saving countless lives. - The nation came together from the crisis, which is good for the solidarity of our country. - The family members will remember their deceased as American Heroes and throughout history their family will take pride in his/her commitment to space exploration. - The focus on the tragedy from the national media will inspire a new generation of space enthusiasts. Perhaps a child will become the greatest space explorer of all time as a result. Now, challenge your team to come up with 5 additional positive outcomes. You will be surprised now by their creativity and renewed vision for what is possible. Lastly, go through the exact same exercise. This time however, choose the following topic appropriate to your own business. Here's the challenge: "Revising our production goals UP by an additional 15%." After going through the negatives first (limit the list to only 5 items), then go through the positives, and allow your team to have a lengthy discussion on HOW this 15% production increase will be achieved. In effect, let them create a mini action plan. Once the group has agreed on how to increase the production by 15% you can ever-so-gently inform them that "the goals did NOT just go up by 15%, only 10%! BUT, now that we have a plan for achieving 15%, don't you think we should use it?" Have fun with this exercise! It shows people you are a leader with vision and that you understand the power of perception and belief. Hopefully, it will also show your team that you have a good sense of humor and that you can relate to their concerns. This exercise makes for a terrific opportunity to "CONNECT" with your employees. Show your team that it's ok to have fun while increasing expectations. Richard Gorham is the founder and President of Leadership-Tools, Inc. His web site, http://www.leadership-tools.com is dedicated to providing free tools and resources for today's aspiring leaders. Offering high-quality tools in the areas of Business Planning, Leadership Development, Customer Service, Sales Management and Team Building.
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Power Talk: The Two Most Powerful Words In Language I don't know about you, but for me, the technological age in which we're living seems to have increased the speed of life. If we are properly programmed, there is not a minute of our life that we are out of communication. As a result, the world has put us on notice to be available On Demand. What?!? No Bananas? "Where are your bananas?" It seemed like a logical question to ask. For all of my forty trips around the sun, bananas were a key item to place in the grocery cart. For the first time I could recall, the banana bin was empty. So I asked a store worker where the bananas were. Find Your Inner Strength to Tackle Any Challenge Everyone faces challenges during their life, from suffering the death of a loved one to being laid off from a job. But the challenges themselves aren't holding you back; rather, it's how you react to the challenges that determine your ultimate success and happiness. How to Stay Motivated Despite Negative People Getting motivated is sometimes easy enough to do, at least for short periods of time, but staying motivated can be a lot harder to do. Welcoming the Unexpected As I walked my dogs recently on what "should" have been a beautiful and balmy spring morning here in Las Vegas, I was bundled up, head ducked into the wind wishing spring would hurry up and get here. It was a day that reminded me more of mid-December than early May. It also reminded me of how programmed we are to expect things to be predictable (meaning: to be as we want them to be), whether that is in matters of weather or anything else. Life is, by its very nature, unpredictable. And there is no end to the misery we generate expecting it to be otherwise. Community After Tragedy One Friday in November, I began a journey from New Jersey to downtown New York City to visit old work friends. It was my first visit since the tragic September 11th attack. Although I've traveled this same route--the commuter train to the Hoboken station from 1996-2000--there were now, of course, changes in the environment when I got to Hoboken. Taking Responsibility for Yourself This week I happened to catch a few minutes of a popular talk show on television, and the topic was confessions. A young man was confessing to his girlfriend of 5 years that he had cheated on her with her best friend. Not too unusual these days I guess. But what he said next floored me. "It was an accident. One thing led to another and before I knew it, we were having sex." Self Confidence and the Way You Use Your Words The way we use language can have a huge impact on how we feel about ourselves. Looking For Answers In All The Wrong Places? Looking around at our circumstances we may see only mountains of problems, debts piling up, fear, failure, and defeat at every corner. Maybe you've looked around and thought, where's the answer, I need a new life? Anamchara - Beyond Positive Thinking One of the most well known books ever written on success is James Allan's "As a man thinketh." The TRUTH About What REALLY Causes Negative Thoughts Do you feel that your negative thoughts are holding you back from being happy in life? You're about to discover HOW you can still live HAPPILY when things don't go your way... even if your life is filled with conflict and turmoil right now... and you can't see a way out. How To Condition Your Mind For Success Your mindset is a strong factor in achieving any type of success. By creating S-M-A-R-T goals for yourself you can condition your mind to achieve whatever it is you desire. Surrounding Yourself With Positive Energy Our lives are busy. We rush here only to remember we were supposed to rush there. It seems like there is never enough time to be had. We all wish for longer days only so we can pack them even fuller with the things we think are important. But, what we really need is to surround ourselves with positive energy. Instead of worrying and fretting over one thing or another, you can instead be thinking of good things. What can this do for you? Four Powerful Pathways Into The Light And Sound Of Ones The easiest, most exciting adventure in consciousness follows the lamplit guidance of the still, small voice in each of us. In the quiet of meditation, we listen to our souls and hear what is most needed in our lives and how best to obtain it. This wise, kindly voice never fails us and never falters. Finding Meaning in Life: Three Steps So how do we find meaning? The first step is through personal experiences ? experiences through something to which we are familiar and through someone we value. Develop your appreciation of beauty ? that is heightening your sensitivity to beauty such as in great art or wonders in nature. The most important of all these type of experiences is the love we feel toward each other. To love another and to demonstrate this to such an extent as to allow your beloved to develop ? and by doing this we will find that we develop meaning ourselves. Love is the highest purpose to which we can aspire. Take a Gratitude Break An old Joni Mitchell song reminds us, "don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." Stop what you're doing right now, look around and take a quick 30-second gratitude break. Take this moment to appreciate all the things you'd really miss if they were gone. Don?t Worry, Be Happy! Philippians 4:6-do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Thinking Like A Winner Since the beginning of human history we have been living under certain universal laws that have operated our daily lives whether we are aware of them or not. One of the most important universal laws, is the Law of Correspondence. This law simply says, that your outer world is a mirror of your inner world. In other words, your outer world corresponds to your inner world. What's going on around you is a reflection of what's going on inside you. If you want to change what's going on around you, start by going to work on yourself, and specifically the way you think. Does It Really Matter? We are all involved in this game called life and we will have our challenges and successes. One thing that will have great bearing on our attitude and lives is how we treat those challenges and successes. Start Living Your Dreams Today With a Positive Attitude "Those people who think they can do something and those who think they can't are both right." - Henry Ford
|
