Emotions

Here is a link to a test put together by the University of Cambridge on reading emotions.

http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/emotions/

 

Top 5 Winning Features of Successful Advertising Agencies

Below are the Top 5 Winning Features of advertising agencies that consistently won new business. The study was done a few years ago by Peter Rogen, but the ideas are as valuable today as they were then. There are more features in the book, but these top five will give you an idea of whether your leadership has got what it takes.  This is a condensed version from The Pitch Doctor, by Neil Flett of RogenSi:

1. Successful organisations had a leader with a clear vision of what the company could become in three to four years. The study showed that this vision could be so strong that the leader could picture the company at that time, its people, its positioning, its products and its profitability.

2. The leader had an extremely strong level of intention – a desire to get there and a sense of urgency to make it happen sooner rather than later.  This is a classic leader feature and definitely crucial, but in isolation is not enough…

3. The study showed that an effective leader built a team of three to four people who shared the vision and had the same high set of values. Not only did these people share these values, but the expounded them persuasively to the rest of the team.

4. The team’s first priority was always the standard of present work for clients. This is a valuable insight for anyone getting on a roll. Not only does most new business flow from existing clients in one way or another, but the client base must be strong and solid to enable the diverting of team effort to new business.

5. A new business plan was then formulated which had:
a) A philosophy;
b) Goals;
c) Honest acceptance of strengths and weaknesses;
d) Criteria for prospective clients;
e) Key prospects;
f) Key people assigned to key prospects. By allocating team members to ‘tag’ prospects, organisations were ready when a pitch occurred. There was at least one key person in the team already familiar with the prospect’s business, problems and opportunities. It was not a last minute rush to research the business in a week; and
g) Resources were allocated.

The list goes on, but it would be prudent for SME’s to keep these strategies in mind as they look to grow their companies. Again, it places an emphasis on current clients for business, knowing how hard it is to generate new business.

 

A Presentation on ProcessWork

Here is a very basic presentation to Process Work. I am running an introductory workshop on it tomorrow at UK Mediation Academy for the Professional Mediators Association.

It’s the tip of the iceberg of how people can start to change the way they look at situations in order to grow through them.

Process Work

Intrinsic Motivators

Here Daniel Pink shares his research on what I have often thought might be true, but was speaking from my gut.  (As Stephen Colbert would say, that’s because there are millions of nerve endings in my gut telling me whats true.)

But if you like studies and empirical research, take a look through this.

There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does:

1. External Motivators (Carrots and Sticks) work well only for mechanical based tasks.
2. “If  …  Then  …” reward structures destroy creativity.
3. The secret to high performance is not found in external motivators, but in intrinsic motivators such as:

• Autonomy
• Mastery, and
• Purpose

Watch this link to see more:

UK Whitepaper on Alternative Dispute Resolution

Below are some of my responses to the recent whitepaper consulation conducted by the Department for Business Innovation & Skills:

2. Are there particular kinds of issues where mediation is especially helpful or where it is not likely to be helpful?

Contrary to popular belief, I believe mediation is particularly helpful in cases of perceived bullying and discrimination especially, around gender and race. It is less helpful in instances of bad management, although it can work well here if used early enough.

The rise in the need for mediation is more to do with the growth of managers who lack adequate management skills and experience than its suitability as a cheaper alternative to ET.

Also, depending on your measures of success, it can be used to help broker the end of a working relationship, even in formal compromise agreements.

3. What in your opinion, are the costs of mediation?

Depending on the service, £750-1500 for an external provider + costs in a workplace setting. These costs include staff cover, staff hours, venue and travel. In-house schemes mitigate this cost. There are also some admin costs in terms of time. However, should an exteranl resolution service be required, mediation, if it works, is by far the cheapest intervention .

4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of mediation?

ADVANTAGES: Mediation allows people to clear the air and provides an opportunity to build a relationship, unlike many other processes that often contribute to further hostility . It promotes understanding between people so they can make new choices