Motivation will play a big factor as you prepare your personal life and career for the New Year. With this in mind, we encourage you to take a few moments and to read the quotes below and reflect on how you plan to make 2011 your best year yet.
The entire team at Barry Demp Coaching wishes you a happy and prosperous 2011.
"Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference."
- Virginia Satir
"Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives."
- William James
"Everything that happens to you is your teacher. The secret is to learn to sit at the feet of your own life and be taught by it."
- Polly B. Berends
"In the world that is constantly changing, there is no one subject that will serve you for the foreseeable future, let alone for the rest of your life. The most important skill to acquire now is learning how to learn."
As we launch ourselves into a New Year I thought I would share a series of quotes from a book called Life Launch by Frederic M. Hudson and Pamela D. McLean. Enjoy!
"Your past cannot be changed, but can change tomorrow by your actions today." - David McNally
"The daily pressures to act, to do, to decide, make it difficult to stop and think, to consider and to examine your life goals, directions, and priorities - to find the best choices you have managing your own world." - Roy Menninger
"The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if the can't find them, make them." - George Bernard Shaw
"Developing a mission means seeing a pattern in the things and though that get you moving; assessing your resources; then formulating your feelings into words." - Charles Garfield
"Is there something in your life you would like to change? If so, first change your perception of the problem. When you can see yourself and your situation differently, you have already taken on the responsibility for your success." - Marilee Zdenek
Coach Barry Demp was recently asked some questions about why people have great difficulty in achieving sustainable change in their lives.Here are a few excerpts from the interview:
What causes change to be difficult to sustain for many individuals?
There are three primary things that seem to affect people’s ability to change.First appears to be a lack of commitment.Second is an inadequate support structure both socially and structurally.And the third is the great difficulty people have turning new behavior into sustainable habits.
What are some of the things that you recommend for those who struggle with sustaining personal change?
Select only one, or very few, highly important commitments and provide ongoing rigorous support both on a social and structural level.Breakdown the goal into measurable milestones to make the goal that you set less overwhelming and more achievable.
You mentioned a Project Action Plan or Blueprint.What is that?
A Project Action Plan is a roadmap that allows you to identify and execute on a powerful committed goal with a clear destination.By designing specific, iterative action steps that you enjoy you will have a greater rate of success.Key ingredients that assist in seeing the best results from your action plan are establishing time sensitive tasks and using scoreboards to record and visualize your progress towards achieving your goal.
Visualize the Achievement of Your Goal
It is important to review your goal frequently.The more detailed you can make your vision, the more powerful it will be.Tools that you can use to help envision the achievement your goal are using a picture or image as a reminder, and creating relevant scorecards to measure progress.
Goal Affirmation
Every morning read your goal either silently or aloud.Reflect on your progress at the end of your day.Consider using a buddy system or a family member to help sustain the process.Additional support structures can include email and voicemail accountabilities.
Take Massive Action
Persistence and determination will keep you on the success track anytime obstacles stand in your way.By taking continuous massive action, you will eventually reach the point where nothing can stop you.What stopped you in the past is now just a tiny bump in the road.
Take One Specific Action
Take at least one specific action every day to propel you toward your goal.By taking continuous specific action, you develop the necessary discipline and momentum that you will need to achieve your goals.Any worthwhile goal requires sustained effort and continual organization such as placing important events or tasks in a calendar system.By consistently applying the methods above, you will develop the success habits that will enable you to achieve the goal that you desire.
We are only a few weeks away from the New Year and many people are beginning to plan for their New Years Resolution. A question on many peoples mind is often, “Why don’t over 90% of resolutions stick?”
In an article from FastCompany.com in 2005 there was an interesting statistic that shocked many that discussed the percentage of people who would actually change in the face of impending death. The article called “Change or Die” discussed the science and behavior behind people’s willingness or lack of willingness to change.
Below are some reasons why change is so challenging and also a few strategies to consider for improving your odds.
Identifying the Right Goal
The first step is to find a goal that is big enough to inspire you. Unless you are truly inspired to accomplish the goal, it is just a wish. By calling it a “goal”, you are affirming that (a) you desire it intensely, (b) you truly believe in your ability to achieve your goal and (c) you are willing to pay the price in advance for achieving your goal.
Document Your Goal
Writing out your goal stimulates the “filtering” part of your brain, called the Reticular Activating System (RAS). When you write down your goal, the RAS begins collecting relevant information, then sends results to the conscious part of your mind. It acts “behind the scenes”, causing you to become aware of opportunities that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Make sure that the goal is positive, is written in the present tense, is action-oriented, and is specific and as detailed as possible.
Establish a Deadline
By setting a deadline, your subconscious is activated to ensure the achievement of your goal within the prescribed time frame. If you follow all of the steps in this process, and your projections are realistic, then you will achieve your goal by the deadline.
Determine the Benefit
You will only be compelled to achieve your goal if it is something that inspires you; something that causes such intense desire in you that you are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal. By writing down the reasons you want to achieve your goal, you’ll discover how intense your desire really is.
Identify the Roadblocks
There will probably be several elements standing between you and your goal. Make a list of these “challenges”, and rank them in order of priority. Then, begin taking action to remove each of the elements that stands in the way of the accomplishment of your goal.
I welcome the opportunity to learn how you have used the information posted in our "Making It Stick" blog series in your life and can be contacted at 248-740-3231 or through my website - Michigan Business and Personal Coach.
In the final posting of the Time Management blog series, I would like to suggest a few of the higher impact time management tactics that have worked for quite a few of my clients.
Now, the techniques below may appear to be obvious. However, it is committing to making them a habitual part of your life that is the truly rewarding challenge. Are you up for the task?
In your projects, involve people that have ideas and perspectives different from your own.
Write down your plans, goals, and ideas. Without clear direction, reaching your destination is difficult.
People who keep a journal are one-third more likely to feel a sense of progress in their lives.
Apply what you learn immediately to create positive habits and create long-lasting impact.
Take greater time when you speak. People who speak slowly are considered more knowledgeable.
I welcome the opportunity to learn how you have used the information posted in our Time Management blog series in your life and can be contacted at 248-740-3231 or through my website - Michigan Business and Personal Coach.
A few weeks ago many of us in Michigan were shocked to learn that the Michigan State University head football coach Mark Dantonio suffered a heart attack following a big win versus Notre Dame.Many experts would agree that he was experiencing a form of chronic Distress, and that there was a very high correlation between Distress and this unfortunate event.
To say that we are living in a stressful time to many is an understatement, yet not all stress is bad for us.In the next series of blog posts I will be sharing some perspectives and strategies to use Eustress (a positive life forwarding kind of stress) with Distress (a negative life diminishing form of stress).
Throughout our Stress Management blog series we will also be providing ideas and suggestions for your consideration as you navigate your world.
See if any of the following characteristics and symptoms applies to you and your life:
Eustress
Eustress is one of the helpful types of stress and is the type of stress you experience right before you have the need to exert physical force.Eustress prepares the muscles, heart, and mind for the strength needed for whatever is about to occur.A few examples of Eustress are:
Receiving a promotion at work
Starting a new job
Marriage
Retiring
Having a child
Moving
Purchasing a home
Distress
Distress is one of the negative types of stress that the mind and body undergoes when the normal routine is constantly adjusted and altered.The mind is not comfortable with this routine, and craves the familiarity of a common routine.A few examples of Distress are:
The death of a spouse
Filing for divorce
Losing contact with loved ones
Hospitalization
Injury or illness
Money Problems
Unemployment
Legal Problems
Coping Strategies
Walk it off - physical exercise is a great way to reduce Distress.
Talk it out - having a support network to listen to and sound out the stressful events in your life is a great way to reduce Distress.
Let it go - is sometimes easier said than done, but helps to relieve yourself of Distress.
I welcome you to contact me more information about how stress relates to your professional lifeat 248-740-3231 or visit my website at www.dempcoaching.com.
As a continuation of our Time Management Strategies blog series, we would like to offer you additional secrets of successful time managers. In this segment, we begin to uncover the habits adopted and utilized by people who are able to manage their time successfully. Here are a few of the secrets:
Handle papers that cross your desk only once. Reviewing your mail next to a trash can before you enter your home is an example of enabling this behavior.
In your projects, involve people that have ideas and perspectives different from your own. This will help to develop a very collaborative and forward-thinking environment.
Write down your plans, goals, and ideas. Without clear direction, reaching your destination is difficult.
People who keep a journal are one-third more likely to feel a sense of progress in their lives than those who do not.
Apply what you learn immediately to create positive habits and create long-lasting impact.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan Business and Personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
Sometimes very stressful events occur in the workplace that affect those who are exposed to these situations. In order to help reduce these "workplace stressors", the team at Barry Demp Coaching recommends that you try one of the following stress management techniques:
Conduct "standing meetings." When someone enters your office, consider conducting your meeting in a standing position. This will let the person know that you have very limited time. Also, consider conducting a "walking meeting," in which issues are discussed while walking.
Learn the difference between the "urgent" and the "important" and make time for the latter. What are two or three important areas of your life that you never seem to have time for?
Let your actions spring from your personal goals and values.
Eat your "elephant" one bite at a time. Break up your big projects into little projects.
Rewarding yourself for reaching a particular goal will help reinforce the behaviors you are developing.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan Business and Personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
As a continuation of our Time Management Blog Series, Barry Demp offers some key suggestions on how to "Optimize" the use of your time. The feedback that we have received from these blog posts has been tremendous and we encourage you to continue to provide your thoughts and results after using these suggestions by contacting us. Here are some more great suggestions on the optimization of your time management:
Use a contact/time management system like Outlook, Act, Franklin Planner, or Goldmine CRM to organize your activities and keep your mind free to think creatively. What are some ways you currently use these systems to save time? Let us know.
Limit interruptions and distractions by communicating new guidelines for gaining your attention. Appropriately using a closed door and/or a "do not disturb" function on your phone system or simply scheduling your open-door times can help you to be more efficient.
Stephen Covey uses the phrase, "Sharpen the Saw" as a way of investing in the preparatory activities necessary to be most effective. Training, Planning, and Organizing are examples of ways to sharpen the saw. What are some others? Let us know.
Striving for progress versus "perfection" is a way to free up tremendous time and energy. What does this statement mean to you?
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan Business and Personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
Finding creative ways to maximize our time is always a challenging task. As a continuation of our Time Management Blog Series, we have five new suggestions to help you become masterful in managing your time.
Set artificial deadlines for yourself. "The task expands to fit the time available." Look at how much you can accomplish when your preparing to go on vacation.
Make a list of 10 things you do each week you hate. Brainstorm ways to remove at least half of these items from your list in the next week.
Have a family meeting to discuss roles and responsibilities around the home. Distribute duties accordingly.
Cut your appointment time by one third. Each one-hour meeting will now only be forty minutes. Schedule phone meetings that will last only five to fifteen minutes. You will be surprised by the fact that you can actually accomplish your objectives in this limited time. List two or three current meetings in which you will try this strategy.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan Business and Personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
Improving your time management starts with simple steps that act as momentum builders towards greater time use and efficiency.
Consider implementing one of the time management suggestions below into your life this week and let us know how it is helping you. Here are some tactical time management tips for you to use:
Learn to say "NO" in an appropriate way. You may be pleasing others at your own expense.
Consider delegating more tasks to co-workers or family members. Jobs that you are currently doing may actually be developmental opportunities for others. Select at least two items at work and one at home that you will delegate. Next week, select more.
Consider effectiveness over efficiency. Whom do you know that accomplishes more in 8 hours than others do in 10 or 12 hours?
Discard some of the stuff in your life. Stuff has to be maintained, and this takes time. What stuff in your life requires too much maintenance?
Let others work for you. If your time is worth $250.00 per hour, how many services could you hire out for just one hour of your time? Buy prepared food, have supplies delivered, shop via catalog, pay bills online, stop doing errands, have someone "clean out" your junk mail and your spam e-mail, hire a house-cleaner, a driver, and a personal organizer, etc. Choose one or two and put this support structure in place by the end of the week.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan Business and Personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
Time Management strategies commonly include properly organizing your schedule, as well as, confirming appointments to ensure proper use of your time. However, one key area to really focus on to optimize your Time Management strategy is to remove toxic behavior patterns. Here are some thoughts, examples, and tips:
Get rid of toxic people in your life. They drain you of positive energy and waste your time. Who are the toxic people in your life? How could you limit their impact on your time?
Get plenty of sleep and exercise, and eat quality foods. Develop a project action plan with a scoreboard to track your results. Check out 10 ways to Un-Yuck Yourself.
Use the power of momentum. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Starting and stopping often breaks up your momentum. Grouping "like activities" back to back takes advantage of momentum.
Consider a news and media fast. Stop reading the newspaper and watching the news for at least a week and see what happens. Important news still will find its way to you. What else can you eliminate from your daily life that would not be missed?
Improve your communication skills so you reduce the need to repeat yourself.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan Business and Personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
We all can benefit from better time management habits in our lives. However, its consistently using these tools and tactics to keep ourselves on schedule and accountable to the achieving the results that we desire. Here are some key tips to consider as you evaluate your time management strategies:
Structure your telephone time. Set up times to accept, initiate, and return phone calls. The best time to accept incoming calls is just prior to lunch or at the end of the workday. Initiate or return calls early in the morning, just before lunch, or at the end of the day to contact difficult-to-reach individuals. Consider a phone call a mini-meeting, so be prepared with an agenda and all you will need to be successful.
Brian Tracy wrote a book called "Eat That Frong". It recommends doing the most unpleasant task as the first thing on your list.
Scheduling down time in your day helps to recover your mental and physical energy. The book "The Power of Full Engagement" by Jim Loehr will help you expand on this important concept.
Scheduling meetings with yourself is a good way to accomplish key objections. How can this one idea help you to be more effective with your use of time?
Work with your body's natural biological rhythm. Are you a night owl or morning person? If you wear out in the mid afternoon consider taking a quick nap to recharge your energy.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan Business and Personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
Time is such a valuable asset to us all. Consider what your time is worth to your business or family and then imagine the how you feel when that time is wasted on activities that do not give you a fair exchange of value.
Here are some tips to help you master your time management:
Where is your time going? Do a time log on a daily, weekly, and perhaps monthly basis. Write your tasks down exactly so you can find the real time-wasters. Awareness of your actual situation is critical to improving how you use your time.
Create a new daily routine - 90% of all human behavior is habitual. "If you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting what you are getting." "When patterns are broken new worlds will emerge."
Prioritize and stay focused. What one or two items on your to-do list must absolutely be finished? What are your priorities today, this week, and this month at home and at work? Share these priorities with others.
Reduce interruptions by creating stronger boundaries. What are your ideas regarding the establishment of boundaries? As a reference and helper I like the book - "The Power of The Positive No" by William Ury.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan Business and Personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
Mastering how to best utilize the 24 hours that we are given each day is one of the top areas that most people want to impact in their relationship with their coach.
Why is it that some people seem to have a calm demeanor and create breakthrough results and yet the majority of us run around each day with too much of our to-do list still undone at the end of the day?
Over the next five weeks we will be offering to our followers and blog readers over forty time management techniques and tips that work. Our challenge to you is that each week you select the one or two you tips that you believe will most help you. Selecting only a few changes and making these adjustments over an extended period of time will result in a sustainable difference in your professional and personal life. Please let me know how things are going by sending a message to Barry Demp.
The 80/20 rule always applies – List two of your activities that produce the greatest results and eight that produce minimal results. Consider doing more of the first two activities and less of the eight.
Plan the next day’s activities in advance before leaving your office for the day. Use tools such as online calendar, offline calendars, white boards, personal data assistance, smart phones, and more.
Think geographically and avoid excessive travel time between appointments. Use drive time to learn or use a “Bluetooth” device to talk with key people while traveling between appointments. How else can you think geographically? Let us know.
Confirm all appointments ahead of schedule to avoid dead time.
Work on your relationship skills. Great relationship skills produce great results.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michiganbusiness and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
In the final installment of The Do's and Dont's of Networking, we are providing a long list of venues and situations where networking for new business opportunities and referrals are both tasteful and timely.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan personal and business coachfocused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
Centers of Influence are individuals who possess the ability to provide great personal relationships and business relationships. These are the types of individuals that you may aspire to be both personally and in business. Here are some characteristics of people who would be considered a Center of Influence. How many of these apply to your world?
Know everyone who is anyone.
Are very social people - they love connecting people.
Are members of elite networking groups.
Are often experts in their fields, often called upon to speak to groups.
Hold community leadership positions.
Are board members of organizations.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan personal and business coachfocused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
Creating Strategic Alliance Partners as a part of your business networking activities is extremely important. As a part of our Do's and Dont's of Networking blog series, we will expand on the topic of Strategic Alliance Partners and how you can identify partners for your networking activities. The best Strategic Alliance Partners have the following characteristics:
Are in a position of influence.
Have regular contact with your target audience.
Understand and support the value of your services.
Know, like, and trust you.
Are generous with referrals.
Know your ideal target client.
Provide testimonials.
Have excellent reputations and large networks.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled michigan business and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
At first glance, networking appears to be a very easy activity. However, like anything else in your professional life, to be great at it requires a lot of time and effort. In our series the Do's and Dont's of Networking, we offer additional tips on how to best approach networking opportunities and functions.
Ask the question "How would I know if somebody I know would be a good prospect for you?"
Focus on others, rather than on your needs, at networking events.
Give many referrals to others.
Network with people with outstanding reputations.
Avoid trying to sell people in your network.
Make a good first impression in your attire, manners, and attitude.
Come prepared with a good pen, business cards, and other materials.
Learn how to gracefully escape from long-winded conversations.
Does your personal introduction pass the "So What?" test?
Cell phones should be left in the car or turned off.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled michigan business and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
Is it terribly difficult to be an outstanding business networker? Some people may say yes, others may say no. However, one thing is true. We all remember and like the really good networkers in our lives. A question to ponder is "How can we help you become the networker that you admire"?
Here are some suggestions:
Your non-vocational interests as opportunities to network.
Meet personally with the majority of individuals in your networking groups.
Attend my networking meetings consistently. Out of sight means out of mind!
Bring other professionals to your networking events.
Make the first move in meeting and engaging others in conversation.
Learn to be masterful at the use of open-ended questions and layering (who, what, where, when, why, how).
Be very well read in your area of expertise and in business in general.
Take a proactive approach to connecting with others.
Be an outstanding listener.
Consider giving speeches to various groups about your area of expertise.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled business and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
Here are some of the ways that top networkers continue to build their businesses from networking opportunities:
Have a well practices 15 or 30 second elevator speech (commercial).
Network with your suppliers and vendors.
Have specific goals for your networking activities.
Following up is your responsibility.
Quality is better than quantity in networking.
Volunteer at civic or non-profit organizations.
Focus on being interested versus interesting at networking events.
Be able to answer W.I.I.F.T. - What's In It For Them? - when you meet someone at a networking event.
Be focused on a specific set of target markets versus scattered among many.
Build a large quality network of resources to share with others.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled business and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
What characteristics make for a great networker? In our series The Do's and Dont's of Networking, we are offering several recommended networking tips from Barry Demp. Here are a few that you can use at your next networking opportunity or event:
Use a scoreboards to track your networking activities and effectiveness.
Be a giver at networking events. Givers gain!
Have a plan for your networking activities.
Networking strategies should be intensively targeted on specific industries and professions.
Network everywhere.
Help prospects with their problems even if they cannot be a good lead for you.
Use the other person's name often in your networking conversations.
Send thank you notes and follow up consistently.
Limit your eating and drinking at networking events.
Be very confident and comfortable with yourself and the value of your services.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled business and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
As a continuation of our blog series on the Do's and Dont's of Networking, we are exploring additional tips and strategies on how to become a more effective networker.
Have a great interest in others and have masterful listening skills.
Develop excellent relationships with the officers, leaders, and organizers of my networking venues.
Make requests for introductions to people who these leaders believe are a good fit for me.
Be specific when you make requests for assistance.
Networking only begins at the networking event. Go out of your way to set up follow-up networking opportunities on a one-on-one basis.
Consider a personal advisory panel that helps you build your business.
Networking is a mutual exchange of information, ideas, and resources. Be generous!
When you give something of value, politely look for a way the other person can help you in return (reciprocity).
Be very consistent in your networking activities.
Have a list of centers of influence and strategic referral partners.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled business and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
Many people think networking is the development of a system of personal and professional contacts that can be used to gain information and assistance only when needed. In reality, it is much more! Networking is a lifelong process that can enrich us professionally and personally in ways we never imagined. Networking expands our view of the world; helps us take risks and reach new levels of accomplishment; promotes "win-win" situations; and encourages bringing people together in ways that make 1 + 1 equal more than 2.
Networking provides the structure, support, skills, and strategies needed to bridge the gap between ideas and actions. It can turn strangers into friends and build a world full of people who will take our calls, give us their time, and answer our questions. Networking can be useful in helping us reach our chosen destinations, whether they be making a job change, working more effectively with customers and colleagues, or building our own business.
What is networking to you? Let us know by visiting here. Networking is a learned skill build upon the personal values and attitudes inherent in all of us. Networkers know the world is interconnected and that when they give their time, talents, and energy to help others to satisfy needs and reach goals, networkers ultimately end up helping themselves.
Reputation
Your reputation is your calling card and your greatest asset. You build it by being your best and doing your best.
Responsibility
In today's fast-paced, global economy, the ability to take charge, show initiative, make choices, and answer for one's conduct are keys to leading a rewarding personal and professional life. Networkers understand that actions affect outcomes and have learned to deliver what they promise.
To what degree do you deliver on your professional and personal promises? Let us know by visiting here.
Relationships
Networkers understand the importance of becoming acquainted with people for who they are, not only for what they do. Establishing a sincere connection between any two people is the foundation of successful networking!
Rapport is based on having an genuine interest in learning about others and their world. Taking the time to learn about the needs of others provides you with an understanding of the common ground shared by you and others. What are some of your best rapport-creating strategies? Feel free to share them with us.
Research
If you keep up on the world around you and current trends, others will seek you out as a knowledgeable resource. Networkers practice professional due diligence. They do their homework because the more they know, the better prepared they will be. What do you do on a daily or weekly basis to increase your own value as a networking resource? You may want to check out some of these resources.
In the coming weeks, we will be providing a wide variety of networking best-practices for review and consideration. Here are a few:
Consistently arrive early to and leave late from networking opportunities.
Scan the sign-in sheet to learn who's attending.
Be careful to not spend too much time with any one individual or group.
Always obtain a business card from people who interest you and write appropriate reminder notes on the back.
Focus most of your time at networking events on meeting new people and spend limited time with people that you know well.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled business and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
I work with that person. I know that person. But do I really?
Reaching out to communicate and build relationships with a co-worker or contact should be embraced. Here is why.
In the time it takes for you to walk to the break room and pour yourself a cup of coffee, you can build and maintain some of the most fulfilling relationships that you may ever have.
Now, you may be saying to yourself, “Barry I hear what you are saying, but I don’t know what it all means”.
Well, imagine for a moment if your vision for the future were something like this:
My life is a happy, healthy, abundantly rich world of extraordinary relationships, great accomplishments and integrity. A world of faith and personal excellence where each person develops and goes the extra mile to contribute to their unique gifts and talent towards the fulfillment of a life of passion and purpose.
The reality is that having a world of truly fulfilling relationships, both business and personal, is very possible and very real. If you are willing to work at it each and every day.
10 Important Ways To Build Your Business Relationships
Go out of your way to let the people you are talking with express themselves fully. When people feel that they can express themselves they experience a high degree of relatedness.
Be “fully present” in each conversation and nowhere else. Make eye contact and listen completely to what the other person is saying.
Learn to say that you are sorry…and mean it.
Be generous and loving. It’s amazing what comes back to you.
Never rush a relationship. All good things come in time.
Empathy and compassion are two muscles worth building.
Be willing to forgive others and move forward. Being unforgiving is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies.
Demonstrate kindness, caring, loyalty, and respect in all relationships. Doing so is like putting money in your relationship bank account.
Be trusting and trustworthy.
Be genuine and authentic. Andre Gide once said “It is better to fail at your own life than to succeed at someone else’s”.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled business and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
Think for a moment about the most important assets that you possess to help your business succeed. Some of the more common responses that we typically hear are money, tools, knowledge, or even a particular trade or skill.
There are several different types of relationships that you can have with different people as a business professional. Here are some examples:
Customer
Co-worker
Vendor
Employee
Business Partner
Trusted Referral source
Client
Contractor
Prospective Client
Former Client
Building and managing all of these different types of relationships can be quite challenging at times because they can each occur within a different context. Within each different context, it becomes extremely important to recognize how your behavior is viewed by the other person, and, how you expect to be treated by the other person. Remembering these two points will make your behavior top-of-mind and you will find yourself treating others the way you would like to be treated.
Top 5 RelationshipBuilding Tips
Be genuinely interested in what the other person has to say, and use open-ended questions to demonstrate your interest. Remember, everyone’s favorite subject is themselves. In your conversation use the words who, what, where, when, and how but avoid using the word “why” because it tends to put people on the defensive.
Be a masterful listener. When we learn the art of “layering” (what a person said and using to create another open-ended question) we are honoring the other person and letting them know what they have to say is important.
Do your best to look for what is good for valuable in what others are saying. When our “inner voice” or our outward comments are judgmental and critical we damage the relationship.
Avoid interrupting others when they are talking. When people do this they are saying, “What I am thinking right now is more important that what you have to say”.
Take full responsibility for your role in why your relationship works or does not work.
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled business and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.
The most successful athletes on the planet all have coaches. These athletes know how to run, jump, hit, tackle, throw, think, pursue, react, and much more. With all of the unbelievable skills that they possess it appears that they already know what to do, and, how to do it. Yet they ALL have coaches.
With this in mind, I then asked myself, “If business professionals want to be the best in their industry, why don’t they each have a coach too?”
After thinking about this for a while the answer finally occurred to me. It’s not that business coaching doesn’t work. It does. But business owners frequently avoid hiring a business coach because the coach is viewed as someone who will only bring strict accountability to the tasks that the business owner believes he or she has already mastered.
Prior to engaging our coach Barry Demp, I did not have the same view as other business owners regarding coaching. I saw tremendous value in having a coach, but I had trouble envisioning how I would be coached and what the process would be like.
Now, I am sure Barry would confirm that there were plenty of places to start with me, but here are a few examples of where we began in the coaching process for my business:
-How to communicate with my internal staff to achieve breakthrough results that they would TRULY buy into.
-When and how to revolutionize our client communication process to increase inbound new business requests and lower customer service requests.
-In what ways can I build barriers for competitor entry into our market space?
However, the best improvement that I have experienced as a result of working with Barry has been that he has never once asked me to change our processes, or stop doing what we know how to do in order to service our clients. Instead, he has challenged me and everyone in my organization to perform our tasks better than we ever have before using a methodical process for success.
So if you are the star performer on your business team and you are considering what to do next for your personal or company game plan. Consider asking yourself the following question:
If all top performing athletes have coaches, what could I accomplish if had one to help me execute my game plan?
Barry Demp is a highly-skilled business coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance.
My Life Vision is a healthy, peaceful, beautiful world of extraordinary relationships, great accomplishments, and integrity; an exciting world of respect, dignity, leadership, courage, and honor, where all people generously and passionately contribute their best to one another.
