Trainers Spot

Business Lessons my wife taught me part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:14:00 +0000

Listening is an talent, hearing is a norm. What do I mean by this? Anyone can hear, even those who are deaf can hear per say via sign language, but to listen is to truly have an understanding of what is being communicated. Its the ability, to see through all the noise happening around you to be able to catch the meaning of what others are communicating. Notice I said ability? What is Ability?

1.power or capacity to do or act physically, mentally, legally, morally, financially, etc.

To listen is a choice not a happenstance. We must want to do it and have a desire to do it, whether we agree or disagree with the communication/communicator.

As I listen to the rhetoric in politics, business, and life in general, I am noticing a lot of people who are threatening to listen but in fact are only doing so in placating terms only. We have a human illness of hearing flu. We are not listening to anyone other than ourselves or those who feel or think like us. My challenge for the week is to stop and listen to an opposing point of view. You may not like it, agree with it, or even follow it, but listen to it.

Last night my wife and I were talking. She's a novice in the business world and lacks the formal education about how run a business, but her wisdom is wicked accurate. She simply gave me some sound sage advice, or observations about some of my aspirations that hurt and I didn't like them, but guess what? After hearing her and choosing to listen, she had it right on. What was the lesson? It doesn't matter. What does matter is that after listening I avoided some detrimental choices. First of all, thanks babe your my best adviser for a reason and second, stop and listen this week.

Best to your personal development.
Evan Glassett

Building Your Business from Within

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:58:00 +0000

For the last 10 years I’ve been training leaders and employees across the country in leadership, management and communications. It has been an experience for me to see the wonderful companies that we have in this country. So many people, working so hard, to be successful. What an inspiration to see these people working to improve themselves, their teams and their companies.

I’ve been impressed with a few of the leaders that I have worked with because they have stood out to me among all the companies that I have worked with in very particular ways.

They are willing to investing in their most important asset, and that is their people.
They don’t set themselves apart from their employees in the training and development of their teams. In other words they require the same from themselves as they do from their employee. In the words of Donald T. Phillips author of the “On Leadership” series, they Travel with their troops.
They expect their teams to hold themselves and respectively them also responsible for what is done.

Emphasizing these three areas is crucial to building your business. To see why, let’s look at each one and how it affects the potential success of your business.

Willingness to invest in your people
Far too often I see employee’s being trained or developed because of a problem that needs to be corrected or a issue that has arisen and must be addressed or worse yet to be “seen” as investing when in reality its just to do something with the budget. This is chasing the solution rather than preempting the solution. These successful leaders are looking at the needs and potential needs of their individuals and teams and they are going to the solutions before the problem comes to them, so that when a problem does arise, the individual or team is prepared to confront it and deal with it. What’s more is that they as leaders are learning and growing at the same time by willingly investing in their teams. When times get tough economically speaking they invest in their people rather than cut their peoples learning and growth. The result is that when times get tough the teams are well prepared to weather the storm.
Travel with the troops
These leaders don’t do one thing and then expect their teams to do something else. When I have gone to train these groups, their leader or leaders are there front and present learning and growing with the teams. He/She allows themselves to be part of the team on an equal level never above their people and by doing this they garner the respect of the people that they lead. Their teams in turn see the leader as someone who they can trust; respect and best yet, follow.
360 degree of responsibility
These leaders give and expect. They give willingly and freely but in turn they expect their teams to take responsibility for what they do. 100% of the time I have observed that because of steps 1 and 2 as previously discussed, the teams always take responsibility. The leaders also expect the teams to hold the leaders responsible. This is another way to show the team that while they are the leader, they hold themselves at the same level of value and respect as the team.

Building a business is more than just having a set of clients or customers. It doesn’t matter how it look on the books or from the outside. It all starts with building from within. A positive open relationship between employee’s and leaders must exist for a business to build properly.

Building your business can be and should be an exciting thing. Remember to build from within first and the rest will be easier.

Good Business to you
Evan Glassett
President
Evergreen Team Concepts

Overcome A Lack of Self Discipline....My thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 05:58:00 +0000

Self discipline is perhaps one of the most ignored aspects of personal development. Its not simply procrastination, its also having self discipline to do those things which we like to do but don't want to. Procrastination is not being able to pull our lazy butts out of the chair to do those things we hate to do.

Here is a link to an article that I think address the how in how to fix the problem of self discipline.

http://www.eruptingmind.com/cultivating-trait-self-discipline/

Enjoy

Evan Glassett

Random Thoughts at 5:00 in the A.M.

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 12:40:00 +0000

I'm awake this morning because of a massive wind storm that is hitting SLC, as a prep for the bigger snow storm that will hit today or tomorrow (http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_7889008).

As I'm sitting here reading the news, I am wondering if subjects like Brittney Spears loosing her kids (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,320428,00.html), or Penelope Cruz kissing her sister in a lesbian lip lock (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,320136,00.html) are really that important.

Today we have so many other issues that are of importance to our society. The Hollywood left is one of the most vocal set of complainers of how this country is being destroyed and they blame it on the conservative right. Have they stopped to look at themselves? Have they actually looked at what they are doing and or promoting? Hmmmmm

Have a great weekend.

E

Do we practice what we preach?

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 01:04:00 +0000

This last week has been filled with emotions for me. I have really come to appreciate the idea of practicing what we preach as trainers and developers of people and organizations. Let me explain how I got there.

A dear friend of mine passed away on Oct 6, 2007. He had an interesting life. He held some very dear beliefs which he strayed from in his life. As a result of his straying from his core beliefs he contracted an illness that would later contribute to his early death. But after 14 years or so, he decided that what he needed to do to be true to himself is to live his beliefs and to honor what he believed at his core and in his heart. He courageously faced those changes with a wonderful spouse and partner by his side. What a magnificent man he was and what an example he was of doing what you believe. He was an actor by hobby and in his heart. His crowning role was that of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. His life reflected that of Ebenezer Scrooge. His soul was once lost and then resurrected.

How does this fit into the work of training and development? Before I answer that, allow me to apologize to Scott who I am convinced is looking down on this conversation and to his beautiful bride Tammy for using his lesson to me and I hope many others as a teaching point for growth.

So the question is again, how does this fit into the work of T&D? How often do we as developers of people stray from our core beliefs? We teach about time management, assertive communications, responding not reacting, and so on and so on. Are we living what we preach? I observed a colleague once who was teaching a class on treating others with respect and how to listen to others and not loose your cool and then, when this individual got into a tense situation, stopped listening, lost their cool and treated the other individual without any respect and when I called them on it, instead of owning up and saying “Ya, I lost it”, they found every opportunity to excuse or justify it.

My friend never once excused or justified what he had done. He often would own up to it and use it as a tool to better himself and those around him. What a lesson he taught me. What an example of doing what you believe and believing what you do.

I ask myself and my colleagues, are we practicing what we preach. I hope so.

In a fitting fair well to my dear friend, another friend simply stated, “God bless you merry Gentle man”.

I echo this sentiment and I am honored to have known him.

Success to all.

My Tribute to Scott Morgan

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 03:24:00 +0000

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14294085612

Tribute to Scott Morgan
By Evan Glassett

Thank you Scott, my brotherly love will always be with you.

A Friend of Mine Called Scott

A friend of mine went home today, a friend of mine indeed

A friend of mine let go today, to plant another seed

He showed the way to come to Christ, an example to us all

By working hard to overcome, the nature of the fall

As a friend of mine he showed to me, the strength to rise above

The challenges that life may deal, and he did it all with love

A husband’s love he gave to his bride with purity in heart

A husband’s care he shared with her while still carrying his cart

The cart he carried was full of pain and physical demand

Yet with a smile and eager soul he followed a greater command

A better man is hard to find this man we all call Scott

I bid you all one thing for sure let us forget him not!

God Speed Scott Morgan

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 03:09:00 +0000

A dear friend went home today. He leaves a wonderful bride behind who is one of the choice souls of God on this earth. This dear friend was also a choice soul. I'll miss him for the rest of my life.

Thank you my friend for what you taught me in life.

Your Friend always.

Evan

Dealing with Tough Conversations

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 04:05:00 +0000

I had a great opportunity today to work with a member of one of my classes. I have been providing some training for this particular client now for about 9 months and have gotten to know the individual employees. There are some great people in this company.

This employee and I were talking about how to dispell rumors and how to get rid of fear. It was a great discussion but two questions came out that were important for him and I think they are important for all of us.

There are always tough conversation that we have with people and those conversations can make us crazy and get us tense, so to help us through this and to keep us sane, here are two questions that I think we ought to be asking.

“What am I assuming?” And the second question is, “What else might be true?”

These are meant to get us thinking in a critical sense to help us solve or navigate the issues.

So remember:
What am I assuming?
What else might be true?

Success

Evan

Think Before Speaking

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 07:20:00 +0000

Tonight I had the opportunity to read through some dated materials that I had on my laptop. I was looking for some support material for a class that I'm doing and the following piece was one that came to the top of my stack.

There are severl points that are of importance here and I think they hit me due to the fact that they hit home for my personal situation. Anyway, I'll let the article speak for itself.

Think before speaking or acting Family disagreements are normal, but emotions may lead to words or actions that we regret. Thinking before reacting can help family members calm themselves and find positive ways to express feelings.

Here are some ideas to try:
Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Imagine that you are the person who is about to hear your words. How would you feel? Remember, children often hear the tone of voice more than actual words.

Take a “time-out.” When you are about to say something negative or harmful, take a step back and calm down. Get away from the situation until tempers have calmed.
Attack the problem, not the person When a child makes a mistake, parents should address the mistake without condemning the child. You can talk with family members about inappropriate behavior without making them feel that they are bad people.

Here are some suggestions for talking about mistakes:
Focus on the behavior, not the person.
Think about the words you use.
Do they condemn the person or the behavior?
Control your tone of voice. An angry voice can make a small problem bigger. A gentle tone promotes peace and builds trust.
Use words that show love Words can have a powerful impact on family members, even when you are only teasing. If you tell your spouse or children that they have—or don’t have—certain qualities, you help shape their self-image. A child who is labeled “smart” by parents has a better chance to do well in school. A child who is labeled a “slow learner” may struggle.

Here are some ideas for using words that show love:
Use positive words. Help family members build confidence by avoiding negative labels. Your words should show love and acceptance.
Let your children be themselves. Avoid labels that pressure children to perform as you want them to.
Express confidence in your children’s abilities. Always encourage them to do the best they can.
Respect All of God’s children deserve to be treated with respect.
The same respect and kindness that a couple showed each other before marriage should continue throughout the marriage.
The common courtesies that we offer to our friends and coworkers should also be extended to our own family members.
When family members treat each other respectfully, the home is an enjoyable place to be.
Forgiveness Sometimes a spouse or other family member may hurt our feelings. Even though they are sorry, we may find it easy to hold a grudge. We may remember the wrong again every time we become frustrated or upset with them. This can be very damaging to marriages and to families.
We should cultivate a spirit of forgiveness in our homes. After all, all of us make mistakes, and all of us need forgiveness. Jesus taught that if we want to be forgiven of our wrongs, we must forgive others Matthew 18:21–35.
Forgiveness is essential to achieving peace in our lives and harmony in our family.

"If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. It's the hard that makes it great."-- Tom Hanks, A League of Their Own
I do not own (nor do I pretend to own) a corner in the market for truth. Nonetheless, here is the truth according to Fritz: Authentic Listening is the First Step in Communication With IntegrityWhat is "authentic listening"?

Authentic listening occurs when you respond to the speaker in ways which indicate to him that you care about what he's saying and give him every opportunity to complete his train of thought. Authentic and empathic listening are wrapped in the same cloak. The idea is to let the speaker know without a doubt that you are focusing your attention on his words and feelings with the specific intent to understand his point.

Learning to listen authentically will literally change your life. How, you say? Well, to begin with
· You will become more attractive to others and they, in turn, will be attracted to you
· You will learn much about the human condition
· You will glean important information about a person that others may miss
· You will appear thoughtful and intelligent: it's impossible to showcase your ignorance when your mouth is shut
· You will be practicing self-control and self-discipline, which are always good things
· Your will substantially improve your relationship with every person in your life, whether business, familial, or friends
· You will be more confident and have more control of yourself in conflict settings
· You will develop greater self esteem

How Do You Listen Authentically?
There are specific strategies that are regularly employed in authentic listening. Do not underestimate the simplicity, the significance and the excellence of these techniques.
1. Close your mouth. Authentic listening and talking are mutually exclusive.
2. Don't predict or judge the outcome, or argue with the speaker mentally. Get out of your head and get into his.
3. Watch your body language: does your posture indicate you're interested in the speaker? Are you maintaining eye contact with him? Are you nodding when appropriate, smiling or otherwise physically communicating your attention to what he is saying?
4. Ask questions when you do not understand something or need clarification.
5. Put on his shoes. Put yourself in the other person's place mentally so that you can better relate to his point(s) of view.
6. Control your emotions. Better yet, leave them behind. Your worries, fears, problems and emotions prevent you from listening authentically.
7. Listen to what is not being said. When you are listening authentically, you have the wonderful opportunity to "fill in the blanks" in the speaker's communication. Often times what is not stated by the speaker is more important than what he's said.
8. Listen to how something is said. Inflection, intonation and strength of the speaker's voice may tell you more about the speaker's personality and values than mere words.
9. React to his ideas, not to him, specifically. This technique is especially helpful when you don't particularly like the speaker. Remember, you don't have to like someone to learn from them. But you cannot learn from them without listening to them authentically.
10. Be consistent. Practice these techniques in every communication. Ask the speaker if he felt that you had "heard" what he was trying to communicate.

Success!

Evan

One more thought for the day! Multitasking! Ahhhhh

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 19:24:00 +0000

I'm sitting here in the Chicago Airport working and chatting with a friend of mine who is in Kansas City. She is working while we chat and I'm working while we chat. The question is are we being effective in our tasks.

I'm going to argue against myself here and suggest that the answer is No. While Multitasking allows us to do more or at least think that we are doing more, the question is are we really accomplishing more? NO we are simply dividing our limited brain power between several activities instead of giving one activity its due thought process.

I'm not suggesting that we should do away with multitasking, but we just need to make sure we don't make it a habit.

The article below made me really re-think multitasking and if your wonder if I read it while I was doing all this? The answer is

Yes of course I was while I was typing, talking on the phone and listening to my 3rd favorite talkshow, the Sean Hannity show.

http://www.apa.org/releases/multitasking.html

Success

Evan

Never Quit, Thought of the day!

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 19:00:00 +0000

Great quote that a friend of mine sent me today,

"Never let the fear of striking out get in your way."
Babe Ruth

Thanks BJ

Evan

Rewarding your Employee's

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 03:49:00 +0000

Here are the first 8 responses I got from a simple question. I wanted to know how people showed their employee's that they value them.

Take a visit.

Evan

http://www.linkedin.com/answers/management/organizational-development/MGM_ODV/33053-4072556

"ATTITUDE" is everything

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 07:31:00 +0000

Attitude is everything isn't it? I mean think about it, your attitude can make or break a situation. For example, your flight is delayed due to weather and you miss your connection. You can either have a bad attitude about it and blame the airline and every person who is associated with the airline and then go off unhappy and late or you can accept it and move on to the next solution. Attitude is everything.

Recently there has been a lot of hubub over the show "The Secret" so much so that Oprah and Larry King have done shows about "The Secret". The story revolves around a universal principle that we get what we give in life. I believe this and while I think that "The Secret" is an old message in a new package, I believe that we all should heed the message. Stephen Covey has taught this for years, in fact in 89 he stated, "Our behaviors are a function of our decisions not our conditions". In other words we decide what we will do, we being the key word, not the world around us.

Take some time and think about your attitude and the priniciple that you get from life what you put into it. If your negative, you'll get negative, if your positive you'll get positive. In fact if your positive, the hiccups in life will be value laden and if your negative the hiccups in life will be sorrows with no value.

Make the choice and have a positive responsible attitude in life, then teach this very principle to someone else. Its the way we move the message and make the world a better place

Success!!!

Evan

Learning from the Mentors in our lives!

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 02:34:00 +0000

Good evening all. I hope everyone is doing well.

I want to share a thought tonight with you. I have two trainer colleagues that I look up to more than they can even imagine. Their names are Dave & Paul. Now why do I look up to them so much? I look up to them because they are what I believe a trainer/facilitator should be. They are, humble, teachable, confident, strong, able, risk takers, and more than anything else, great listeners and keen observers.

These two gentlemen are great examples of what it means to be a true trainer. I have always taught that we ought to have mentors to show us the way, whether they know it or not. These guys are my silent mentors. I watch them and I observe them and more than anything else I try to emulate the success they have. Now don’t mistake me, I am my own person, but if I can only use some of their abilities and become a better trainer/facilitator, then I’m moving in the right direction.

Being a coach and a mentor is a huge responsibility, but I think that if we are just honest and true and always working forward, we can be an effective mentor and coach. Don’t think that its just that simple, but it’s a start. I’d love to talk more about this, but time won’t allow at the moment, so I’ll try to follow this up later on. Have a great day tomorrow.

Success!!!

Evan

Making the Old~New and so on.......

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 05:55:00 +0000

This one is for you Typh, cause you listen to the stories and your reading the blog.

As I wrote earlier this week, I was at a conference with my colleagues. By the way, they beat me up pretty good over my blog on the 11th. I never new a personal lesson learned could have such an effect on people. OK I digress. Anyway I heard a great message from a talented and able trainer by the name of Keith New. If you haven’t heard his name yet, just wait, he’s good and he’s coming your way, Anyway he reminded me of something that really had a profound effect on me, but tonight it really settled in. He taught us that we need to make sure as trainers and teachers, that we keep our material fresh and new. So while I thought about it, I realized how out of date some of my stuff really is. I need to rethink all of my material.

Tonight I had a luggage flub-up and ended up waiting 6 hours for my bag to get to me so I didn’t have to make a 3 hour round trip. Most people would say what a pain, but NAY, I say, NAY!!!

This is new material. I have material about customer service, patience, conflict resolution, and time management. Oh and those old stories I can still use them, but I still need to update them. Tonight made me re-think all my old stories and I’m going to renew them.

Anyone have an old story that they want to share?

Success!!!

Ev

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 13:40:00 +0000

Last night I was going home from a day of work in Burbank. I was sitting next to this lady and talking to her when she pulled out her salad and asked my permission to eat in front of me. No problem I said, then she looked around for a moment and didn't start eating. After a few I asked her why aren't you eating and she said I can't find my fork. I thought about it and then said, "are you hungry?" she said yes, so I said "desperate times call for desperate messures, use your fingers" she laughed and started to eat with her hands.

As trainers and instructors, we often forget that we have so many tools available to us that we forget to use. Its an error we make often, when we forget to use the tools that are right infront of us. OK, you're saying, "I'm not going to use my hands to eat a salad all the time" and your right, you shouldn't, but when push comes to shove we shoudl use what is available. How often do we think that a tool is too simple or out of date or non-effective? How often do we put a tool away because we've used it soo much or we think it might not be effective? We need to pull those out and use them.

The same lady then told me about a cloths mess up she experienced in one day. She lost two pieces of clothing to mistakes then while looking for a quick resolve, she was horrified to find that her only source was a box retailer that I'd mention by name but you problaby know who I'm talking about. She went there and got blouse and it worked.

What's the lesson there? Don't discount the value of a place even when you think it might be cheap or out of your style. You'll never know when you need it.

Success

Evan

9/11 & Return with Honor

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 01:21:00 +0000

I wrote this blog that your about to read while I was on a flight going somewhere ironically on 9/11. When I got off the plane I was bombarded (in a good way) with the scenes of that fateful day 5 years ago when we as a nation were attacked. I’m not ashamed to admit that I have openly wept as I have thought about what happened that day and how powerful it was. No matter where you fall on the political scale, I think you will agree that it has had an affect on us as a country. I want to pay my personal respect to all those who died that day as well to those who serve to give us the privilage and right to disagree and protest and to vote and to challenge ideas. My heart is full with emotions as I think of these people. Two of my cousins are among them, one having recenlty returned from Iraq and the other just getting there.

God Bless them and their families and may God speed their return to their loved ones and our victory over evil in this world. I’m proud to be an American and proud of our leadership even when I disagree with them. I have the right to write this blog because of the sacrifices that they and others before have made.

Now on to the blog of the day.

“Return With Honor”

This weekend I had the opportunity to hang out with my wife and some of my colleagues in the training industry. We had various workshops about training, learning, selling, presenting and more. We looked at new training products from Nightingale Contant, Thompson Learning, LearnKey and others. We networked, enjoyed conversations, went out and played together and expanded some friendships. With all this activity, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t learn and grow, but the lesson that hit me the hardest and perhaps the last lesson I expected to learn was the following.

On Saturday night we had an awards banquet and then following a dance with Karaoke and an open bar. I’m not a drinker so I’ll say that upfront. I’m also a contractor so some of my colleagues where actual employee’s of the company who sale work and then contract with me to do the work. Anyway, a few of them did quite a bit of drinking and by the time the banquet folded up, we were going out dancing to a local bar. The action of a few of them became somewhat inappropriate and down right vulgar. At the dance hall after that it didn’t improve much up to the time that my wife and I and about 3 others left due to the discomfort and the behavior of a few. Wow I thought to myself they were out of control.

The next day I was listening to a morning keynote when the presenter shared an experience that while she was training one day she was accompanied by her husband. At lunch they went to have lunch together and had a glass of wine and then as they left the lunch place her husband gave her a “love tap” on the back side (you know what I’m saying). She then got an evaluation from a participant that stated that it was offensive that she was drinking and getting physical during a date of business. Now we can argue for ever on the validity of the complaint and the lack of real importance with it, but the lesson is still here and it is a very potent lesson in my mind.

We as trainers and presenter and representatives of our companies still represent something especially when we are at a company function, whether it is during business hours or not. I thought to myself, “what would these sales reps think of me if I were the one getting slammed and making the same comments or the same actions? Would they want to book me or send me on a date of business with the possibilities that I might act the same way while on company business?” I know you might think that this is prudish or maybe even ridiculous, but we as trainers need to be aware that due to what we do and what we teach, we are often perceived with a different eye. The lesson I learned was to be aware of what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. Don’t live my life worried about what others think but at the same time don’t forget that I am a professional and that I represent a professional organization.

I have often heard a statement in my culture that is simple and yet very powerful and it means more that I might seem on the surface. That statement is simply, “Return with Honor” don’t do anything that might tarnish your honor or place your honor in question.

Success!!

Evan

A Trainers/Teachers Responsibility

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 23:39:00 +0000

What is our responsibility as trainers or teachers to our clients and our students? What should we be doing above and beyond the classroom work that we do?

Today as I finished my work I had an opportunity to talk with my client about what they wanted to accomplish after the class was done, after I left the classroom. The client proceeded to tell me that no other trainer had ever sat down with them and talked about what was next and how they could make the training continue on. The client continued to tell me that most of their previous trainers had always focused the money or the next day of training. They were impressed with my concern for the continued success of the training without pushing the issue of more classes or more work with them. This was, he said, one of the most positive signs about doing work with me again.

Now I’m not tooting my horn here, I’m just telling this experience because it make me really think about our responsibility to our clients to teach or train them and be focused on their core growth before we are concerned with our financial growth. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be concerned and even focused on the money and work prospect, but I’m thinking that if we are concerned first on them, then the rest will come.

In ‘Principle Centered Leadership” by Stephen Covey, he tells the story of Nephi Grigg and J.R. Simplot the two potato farmers from Idaho and famous with the names Orida Foods and Simplot who were competitors yet never forgot the idea that there was always enough to go around. They never felt the need to down each other or hog their customers to keep them from going somewhere else. Its called the Abundance Principle. Are we thinking that there is enough to go around or are we so concerned in that next day of business that we forget to take care of our client and focus first on treating their issues and helping them grow?

I think we need to refocus our priorities and make sure we service our clients first and the money will come without a doubt.

Success!

Evan

The Next Step-Money? Or Growth?

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 04:12:00 +0000

Remember the last time you participated in a seminar or training session? Do you remember how you thought at the end of the day that you wanted to find a way to make sure that the training stuck? You wanted your people or the people around you, maybe even you, to apply the lessons learned that day and make that day worth while. Then the trainer comes up to you and say’s that they would love to work with you again and that they would be in touch with you soon to discuss future classes.

Well, the next day of business should be the last thing on that trainers mind, in fact the next day of business, unless it is within the next 7 days should be the last thing on their mind. The first thing that comes out of their mouth is, “Here is what you can do to apply this learning in the next few day’s, weeks and months. In other words, they should be giving solid “Internal Next Steps” to give the present day of training more bang for the buck.

I have a colleague and dear friend named Dave who is the master at this process. His focus is first and foremost on the learning of that day and how to make it continue in the immediate future after the session is delivered. As a direct result of this focus, he does make more money and he does retain his clients. I’ll argue that his focus on helping his client get the most of that date of business is the single most important factor in keeping him busy, because his clients see that his focus is first on them and their growth. Wow what a thought.

Now some of you who are not independent contractors might be saying that you already do this and or that it’s not the same in the corporate world. I would argue that this applies to you as well, because when our clients see us put the value on them first, they trust us more, seek us out more and give us more business. How can we show them that they are first?
Listen to their needs from the beginning and then tailor to meet those needs
Address only the things that need to be addressed and not unimportant issues
Know when to stop and review
Tie in the “Next Steps” to the session just given and the possible next session that might be given.

Its not that hard and it only requires that you think less about you and the money and more about them and the growth. The money will come. In the end I’m saying we need to embody the principle of serving our fellow man, and since the money does end up coming in the end it just might be about the money, but not about the money in the greedy sense.

Success!

Evan

Money in the Seminar Business

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 05:53:00 +0000

Have you realized that we are doing all this work and getting paid bunk?

OK let me be realistic here. There are three types of trainers/coaches out there.
1. The trainer coach who does it for the money and for no other reason.
2. The trainer coach who does it because its the job they have and they just happen to be pretty darn good at it, but make no mistake they still do it because its their job.
3. The trainer coach who does it becuase they love it and they would do it for nothing except they can't so they accept money (sometimes great money other times bunk).

I personally fit into the 3rd category. The issue I have is that there are way to many of us in this minority 3rd group who consistatnly take the bunk and don't expect more. So here is an idea for all of you who are in that 3rd group.

Find out what your clients are paying the booking or brokerage house that hires you and then sends you out to them. This will usually be between $2500 and $3900 and then figure out what your hotel, car and perdium is per day and subtract that and there you have your daily value. In other words, why are we settling for $300 to $800 a day when we can be making so much more?

Don't misunderstand me, we get great work and great experience, but we underestimate ourselves and accept so much less than what we are worth.

Food for thought.

Take Care

Ev

Lifelong Learning Pays

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 01:54:00 +0000

I really got to say that I believe this article. I like what it says.

Lifelong learners have advantage
PITTSIBURGH —- Corporate upsizing, downsizing, rightsizing today’s professionals cannot afford to become complacent. In the past, students received a degree and moved on to the professional community; education ceased with the diploma. Today, many adults view education as a lifelong proposition either as a diversion from the business world or a necessary part of it.

“Just as every few years, people upgrade their computer, in today’s business environment, it’s important to upgrade job skills and personal interests,” says Jan Jacobson, Online Academic Program director for The Art Institute Online. “Education can be an essential part of keeping up with the job market, retraining during a career change or a way to explore personal interest.”

A growing number of lifelong learners have successful careers, but they also have a “dream,” and they’re looking for ways to develop their interest and talents. Some have the means and time to dedicate to an education. Others, nearing retirement age, pursue new ways of supplementing retirement income, lending credibility to their new careers with degrees.

Jacobson says that lifelong learning is a growing trend as new opportunities such as online classrooms, present students with new choices. “When I speak with prospective students, their biggest concerns revolve around life issues, finances and family. Today’s education options mitigate some very real issues.”

Military personnel increasing take advantage of online learning. These lifelong learners often interrupt their on-campus education for deployment overseas. Others, who may have enlisted immediately after high school, are preparing themselves for post military careers. In either case, online classes enable learning to continue from Iraq and Afghanistan to Europe and the U.S.

Whether a prospective student is military, retired or a working professional, Jacobson offers tips to those considering enrolling in classes:

Take small steps. Enroll in one class for a semester and see how it goes.
Talk to someone who is actually doing it. Get in touch with a current student with a similar background.
Talk to a college or university’s program director. They’ll offer a realistic picture of the commitment required.
Make sure your family supports your decision. No one earns a degree on their lunch hour, so take it seriously.
As we age, we learn and retain information differently than we did earlier in life. Be prepared to discover those differences and adapt.
Technology has changed the classroom as much as the boardroom.

Allow those changes to work for you.

It is perhaps most important to enter into lifelong learning with the proper frame of mind. Understanding available options and the commitment required are the first steps toward success. And you are not alone. “Today, students returning to the classroom are the rule – not the exception,” says Jacobson.

Training and Teaching in Spanish

noreply@blogger.com (Evan) — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 22:06:00 +0000

If you check the statistics in this country, the Spanish Speaking population is growing faster than we ever expected. According to the US Census bureau since 1990 the Hispanich population has grown more than 50%. 70% of the hispanich population prefers to recieve marketing in Spanish and while Spanish is not an official language in the US (I don't advocate making it an official language) with this type of growth and preference, there is a need to provide services for employees in Spanish.

WHERE ARE THE SPANISH SPEAKING TRAINERS?

As a Spanish speaking trainer, I am wondering why others are not taking advantage of this opportunity.

Are there any out there?

Let's talk about this.