Business Communication

Learn from your experience. Notice what works, and what usually receives a negative reaction from your co-worker(s).  Do what works and stop doing what does not work.

If doing what you do with others gets you what you want, that’s great. If you find yourself blaming others because they’re not responding the way you want them to, start paying attention.  You can improve what happens by changing what you do.

• Are you angry and grouchy because a coworker is grouchy? If you say something nice to her you might be surprised at what different behavior shows up.
• Does your boss ask you to redo the memos you send? Jim’s boss kept telling him to shorten his memos. Jim told narrative stories in his memos.  When Jim started submitting memos with bullet points, he stopped getting them back.
• Are you tired of staying late because other people are inconsiderate? Helen struggled to complete every assignment that was given to her at 4:45 in the afternoon. Things changed completely when she told her boss that she would complete them the next day.

Each one of these people changed their behavior and started getting different results. You can, too. Here’s how:

• Notice what you’ve been complaining about. (Even if you’re just thinking it and not saying anything at all.)
• Analyze what happens immediately before the response that you don’t like. Pay special attention to your own behavior.
• See if happens consistently.  Does your boss return all memos for correction, or just yours?  Does he change all of your memos or only some of them?  Is the receptionist grouchy to everyone, or just to you?  Paying attention will help you decide what to do next.

• Do something different.

Remember one definition of insanity is doing what you’ve always done and expecting different results.

Technorati Tags: Business Communication, Difficult Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Coaching, Self-Management

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Are you struggling to contain costs in this recessionary economy? If you’re having a hard time withdrawing perks from hard-working employees, because you’re afraid of the effect on morale, this executive’s strategy may work for you.

James could see that the generosity his 200-member accounting firm had shown their partners and managers — when times were good — simply had to change.

The firm could no longer support the expensive valet parking the partners blithely added to their expense reports or the extra charges for breakfast that showed up on their hotel bills. Especially when James knew personally that the hotel in question included a fine breakfast buffet with the cost of the room.

James, a founding partner of the firm and a habitually conservative spender, always allowed time to park in the same airport shuttle lot, whether he was taking his family on vacation or going on a necessary business trip. He fumed to himself as he reviewed expense reports from the firm’s tax meeting. The nine-dollar charges for breakfast were especially irritating, because he had noticed that those managers were not in the dining room while he was there himself enjoying the complementary buffet.

In good times, while struggling to retain employees who are constantly being lured away by other opportunities, it seemed picky to disallow those expenses. Now, with the decreased workload, the firm was overstaffed and he was struggling to avoid layoffs. Yet he suspected that his people would grumble at the now necessary restrictions.

Knowing how he had once struggled to overcome a reputation for insensitivity, he decided on a creative solution. He sent out a memo to all managers and partners explaining the need to cut expenses and asked them to each submit at least one idea that would save the company money.

In came suggestions to eliminate valet parking, to eat their meals provided by the hotel, to limit extra baggage charges (for golf clubs) when meeting at resort locations, to limit charges for laundry at hotels, etc. He compiled the suggestions and recirculated them with thanks. There was no resistance when those suggestions were instituted as the new company policy.

When I asked James how he was viewed in the firm, he said he thinks he is seen as a practical pragmatist and appropriate person. He did add wryly that a few people in the firm probably wished there was not a practical, pragmatic, appropriate person around to rain on their parade.

Free Mini-Course: Integrity — Use It or Lose It!
Free Mini-Course: Secrets for Turning Difficult Conversations into Amazing Opportunities for Cooperation and Success

Technorati Tags: Difficult Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Business Communication, Leadership, Management, Managing Conflict

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What can you do when a valued client needs to drop your services because of current financial pressures?

Senior executive leadership coach Bill Shirley, http://insearchofeagles.com , is experimenting with this creative solution. He made a clear agreement to pay it forward. But that’s not all.

Bill offered his client a deal. He agreed to provide $1000 of his services completely free — under certain specified conditions. The conditions are:

• That his client also offer $1000 of her services free to two of her clients who
  are facing financial difficulties.
• That her clients who take advantage of her free services also pay it forward by
  each offering two people $1000 of their services free.
• That each person who benefits agrees to pass on the favor to two additional
  recipients.

Bill is making a bet that offering her free services will do at least two things. One, it will energize his client and affirm her self worth in the midst of her financial struggles. Two, that this will make her more attractive and her business will increase and she will be able to resume paying him his regular fees.

Bill is calling this a reverse Ponzi scheme. He’s willing to gamble that the outcome will be positive. I am, too. I’m willing to try this scheme myself to see what happens. Are you?

Learn more about communicating with integrity in The Integrity Course, an online, multimedia home-study course to help you say what you think without getting fired or losing your friends.

Technorati Tags: Self-Management, Managing Fear, Integrity, Business Communication, Coaching

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