Who’s your strongest competitor?

What are your odds of beating him/her?

Step 3 of the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE is “Suspend Judgment.” Let’s take a look at how one winner used this concept to his advantage.

As American Idol is about to launch its new season, I couldn’t help but reflect on last year’s contest. The surprise win of Kris Allen over the favorite, Adam Lambert, offers some valuable insights into competition.

The importance of Winston Churchill’s famous 5-word speech to England’s citizenry, “Never, never, never give up,” was exemplified in Kris Allen’s American Idol win. Throughout the competition Adam Lambert was considered the person to beat. His performances were rewarded with glowing reviews from the judges and standing ovations from the audience. Yet, during the final two weeks of the competition it was Kris Allen who garnered the majority of the votes.

It would have been easy for Kris to embrace the idea that:

• Adam Lambert was more talented than he was
• Adam was more popular and, thus, unbeatable
• His chances of winning were nil

All of these thoughts could have, and probably did, enter his psyche. They all have one thing in common. They’re judgments; judgments wrought from emotion. These judgments limit our potential and the value we bring to society.

The reality is that there will always be someone a little brighter, a little more skilled, more experienced or more of a natural talent than we are. Their abilities make life miserable for us. No matter how hard we try we’re never going to surpass these people – or are we?

We can, and we will, if we follow Kris Allen’s example of setting aside these judgments and doing our best every week. It’s counter-intuitive, but there is only one competitor in your life – yourself. If you compare yourself against those who are brighter, more skilled, possess greater experience or are more naturally gifted, you’re likely to become disheartened and give up.

Conversely, if you compete only against yourself, every time you improve upon your previous performance you gain confidence and you position yourself for greater and greater success. It won’t matter what your competitors are doing, you’ll know that your success is assured because you’re continuously improving in areas that have value for your customers.

Learn from Kris Allen! Set aside those judgments that limit your future. Focus on your customers‘ needs and competing only with yourself. You’ll not only enjoy greater and greater success, odds are that you’ll have others in your industry viewing you as the one who is brighter, more skilled, more experienced or more naturally talented.

A reader shares a news piece…

…touting counter-intuitive thinking.

My thanks to Christy Beckmann for bringing this piece to my attention.  It’s a November 14, 2009 New York Times article entitled “At Bloomberg, Modest Strategy to Rule The World,” written by Stephanie Clifford and Julie Creswell.

Christy was intrigued by the following quote.  “We need a broader audience,” says Daniel L. Doctoroff, Bloomberg’s president.  “The history of this company is you do the counterintuitive , countercylical thing.  It’s part of our DNA.”

Indeed, Bloomberg’s success stems from it’s financial information systems software called terminals that offer the quick, reliable financial data and analysis to the trading desks of Wall Street firms in formats not available elsewhere.  Bloomberg built a better mouse trap and have maintained their competitive advantage for nearly three decades.  And they did it using counter-intuitive thinking – by looking at financial information in a new light.

Does their new strategy “to be the world’s most influential news organization”  fit their counter-intuitive, countercyclical DNA?  On the surface it doesn’t seem so.  If anything Bloomberg may be on a slippery slope of financial decline.  Why?  Here are the insights Clifford and Creswell provided:

• The vast majority of Bloomberg’s $6.3 billion in revenue and nearly all of it’s profit comes from its financial information systems.
• In 2009 Bloomberg will see a drop in the number of terminals in use.
• Bloomberg feels the need for “a broader audience.”

Let’s explore each of these insights in greater detail.

The fact that nearly all of Bloomberg’s profits come from it’s terminals suggests that its media expansion efforts aren’t producing much, if anything, in the way of profits.  If that’s true Bloomberg is adding a lot of infrastructure cost with little return on its investment.  That’s not a financially sustainable business model.

Bloomberg’s core business is declining as evidenced by a decline in number of terminals in use.  Their desire to expand into other new coverage indicates that they don’t know what to do to fix this problem.  That’s not intended as a criticism.  All companies that enjoy tremendous success eventually face this dilemma.  The intuitive (not counter-intuitive) solution is to look for new lines of business.

Bloomberg is utilizing the intuitive approach by seeking “a broader audience.”  The fact that it is doing so at a time when the world seems to be devaluing news coverage is counter-intuitive.  What’s missing is an indication that Bloomberg has found a formula that will once again entice consumers to pay for that coverage.

While it is my sincere wish that the Bloomberg organization continue to enjoy tremendous success, I have serious doubts that their new strategy will allow that to happen.

To view the rest of the New York Times article visit http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/business/media/15bloom.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=bloomberg%20rule%20the%20world&st=cse

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, contrast Bloomberg’s previous counter-intuitive business strategy with its more intuitive new strategy.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

For examples of how counter-intuitive thinking can help your break the bonds of industry pricing visit my Pricing for Profit blog at www.pricingforprofitbook.com.  Enjoy!

Few of us doubt that evil exists…

…the question is where.

I recently had my world rocked when I read Philip Zimbardo’s book, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil.  Not so much by the fact that each of us has a propensity for evil behavior – who among us hasn’t made a biting comment when we’ve felt hurt or threatened?

What did surprise me was Zimbardo’s insight as to how the situations we face trigger evil behavior and how quickly that can occur.  Professor Zimbardo, a social psychologist, created the Stanford Prison Experiment at Stanford University in the 1970s.  His goal was to determine whether or not situations influenced behavior and, if so, to what extent.  His findings are amazing.

Within a few days male college students who had agreed to be either guard or prisoner depending on the luck of the draw experienced the following:

• Guards became progressively more verbally and psychologically abusive (physical abuse was not permitted) – so much so that the experiment was stopped after just five days.
• Those guards who didn’t participate in the abuse, or did so only sporadically to avoid criticism themselves, didn’t do anything to curb the abusive guards’ behavior.
• Some prisoners experienced such severe depression that they were released after only a day or two in the experiment.  Interestingly they could have left voluntarily at any time, but didn’t.
• All prisoners became accepting of the ill treatment they received.
• Professor Zimbardo admits that he fell victim to the situation and moved away from what he perceived his true nature.

What’s the message for us?  As we’re thinking about how we structure our organizations, incentive programs and other aspects of our business, let’s keep in mind this propensity for evil.  Are we creating an environment in which we encourage arrogance toward customers, intolerance with employees or exceedingly unrealistic expectation for vendors.

If you’re thinking “I’d never do that.”  Take a look at some of your policies.  Have you set sales quotas and, in doing so, encouraged your salespeople to sell to customers who don’t really value what you offer.  Worse yet, are they lowering the price to get the sale which hurts both your company and the customer.

Have you established aggressive collection policies?  If so, have your collectors lost their compassion for people who are trying to pay you, but find themselves struggling to find a way to do so.

Have you created compensation programs that encourage your employees to ignore what’s in the best interests of your customers or your business.  Years ago, during a training program I was presenting to mid-level managers, they told me of an ongoing problem.  When I began to offer suggestions on how to deal with the problem, they said “Oh, we know how to fix it.  That’s not how we’re compensated.”  Ouch!

It’s counter-intuitive, but the policies we establish and the procedures we put into place have the propensity to trigger the evil that exists in all of us by virtue of our human nature.  Spend a few extra minutes evaluating your policies and procedures with an eye to the evil it could create and you’ll save yourselves and those with whom you interact a great deal of pain.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 6, Eclectic Education, to gain new perspectives from a social psychologist.  I also used Step 4, See Similarities, to demonstrate how his concepts apply our policy-making, procedure-writing activities.  Finally, I used Step 6, Contrarian Mindset, to offer ways to avoid triggering the less savory aspects of our human nature.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com. Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

For insights into how you can apply counter-intuitive thinking to your pricing strategy, visit my Pricing for Profit blog at www.pricingforprofitbook.com.

My latest book, Pricing for Profit, was released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  It’s available in all the major bookstores – Borders, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Each of us experiences fear.

The question is “How do we conquer it?”

Recently I wrote about fear and the use of a contrarian mindset as a way to prevent personal fears from becoming societal fears and eventually triggering violent acts. In order to be able to become the voice of reason, we must be able to conquer our own fears. Easier said than done?

Chapter 23 of the Chandogya Upanisad says “Where one does not see another, does not hear another, does not know another, that is abundance. Where one sees another, hears another, knows another, that is smallness. Abundance is immortal: smallness is mortal.”

What does this quote have to do with fear and our need to conquer it? Fear is egocentric. Whether I’m afraid of losing power, influence, customers, a valued employee or vendor, the love of my life, a child or financial stability, I’m focused on my needs. That bespeaks smallness on my part. All that I’m concerned with are my needs, my wants, my desires. With that mindset, virtually anyone I see, hear or know poses a threat. I’m going to examine everyone – even those I love – to discern whether they’re a potential rival for what I desire or what I fear I might lose.

Let’s contrast that mindset with the earlier portion of the upanisad – “Where one does not see another, does not hear another, does not know another, that is abundance.” When I’m free from fear what I see are possibilities, not just for myself but for others as well. There is no me versus them; no zero sum game where one person must lose for the other to win. There is plenty of power, influence, love and financial wealth for all to enjoy. I don’t create opportunities just for me; I just create opportunities. I understand that the more opportunities I create the better off we’ll all be.

When I create abundance for others, abundance is assured for me as well. That’s one of the messages of this upanisad!

It’s natural for us, as human beings, to experience scarcity, fear and smallness from time to time. I wish that I could tell you that I’m exempt, but I suffer the same human frailties everyone does. I have, however, found ways to overcome these natural tendencies.

It’s counter-intuitive, but we can train our minds to quickly recognize when we’re feeling scarcity, fear and smallness. With that realization comes a choice, “Do I continue to focus on myself and perpetuate the fear I’m feeling? Or do I choose to begin exploring possibilities for a new, bright future for all of us?” The choice becomes easier over time.

It won’t take long for you to get a sense for how much fun it is to be able to create possibilities at will. Soon your mind will quickly make the shift from the smallness of fear to the largesse of abundance. That’s when you’ll know you’ve conquered fear; that’s when you life will seem fuller and richer even in challenging times. This is my wish for you – a sense of abundance drawn from the abyss of scarcity. Enjoy your freedom from fear!

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier. In today’s blog I used Step 6, Eclectic Education, to gain new perspectives from the upanisads, spiritual teachings pre-dating most organized religions, regarding the difference between the immortal and mortal aspects of our nature. I also used Step 4, See Similarities, to apply these concepts to the fear each of us experiences by virtue of our humanity. Finally, I hinted at Step 3, Suspend Judgment, when I spoke of “challenging times.” After all, times are challenging only if we decide to judge them to be so. For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com. Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

For ideas on how to apply counter-intuitive thinking to your company’s pricing strategy, visit my new Pricing for Profit blog at www.pricingforprofitbook.com/. Enjoy!

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, was released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  It’s available in all the major bookstores – Borders.com, BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com.

Happy Thanksgiving!

How personal fears…

…affect group think.

Those of you who have heard my 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program will recall that Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, discusses techniques for protecting those around us, and ourselves, from the dangers of group think.  Specifically, I reference two types of group think – group euphoria and group despondency.

Group euphoria exists when the group sees only blue skies and clear sailing.  No one sees any storms pending.  Conversely, group despondency reflects the attitude that nothing is working.  We’re defeated.  Why bother?  Both attitudes are costly.  Group euphoria causes us to leap headlong off the cliff without a net.  Group despondency prevents action that could reverse a temporary setback.

Recently I read two books that dealt with another emotion – fear.  Both are historical fiction novels.  One was set in the U.S. during Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency when lynchings of African Americans were common.  The other takes place in the Middle East and described graphically the brutal treatment women receive in that part of the world.  I have not taken the time to research the historical accuracy of either book since the accuracy isn’t necessary for the point I’d like to make.

Fear is often viewed as something very personal.  When we experience fear, we often feel alone and helpless.  It’s hard for us to express those fears because we don’t want to be viewed as weak so we mask our true feelings.  Indeed, the book set in the U.S., suggestd that the lynchings weren’t based on some natural (albeit irrational) hatred, but on the fear that Caucasians were losing their jobs to African Americans.

In a similar fashion, the brutal treatment of women in the Middle East, according to the author, stemmed from a fear of the loss of power and control.  In both instances these fears went well beyond personal fears and became societal fears.  How do we prevent this from happening?

It’s counter-intuitive, but the first step is to avoid taking what we see and hear at face value.  When you see behavior or hear language that indicates hatred, look for fear.  Ask the individual or group “What are you (we) really afraid of here?  Hasn’t it been your (our) experience that your (our) fears are worse than the reality that followed?  What can we do to assure that our fears aren’t realized without violating the rights, needs or dignity of others?”

I’m grateful to these two authors for helping me see another dimension to group think – one I will incorporate into my program in the future.  Hopefully their insights will be of value to you as well.  Whenever we have an opportunity to help others identify and overcome their fears, we take an important step toward avoiding societal fear and the violence is often engenders.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 6, Eclectic Education, to gain new perspectives from two very interesting pieces of fiction.  I also used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate how to apply these concepts to situations in which you sense hatred has developed or is developing.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, was released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  It’s available in all the major bookstores – Borders, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

While alluring…

…it’s regular use invites the demise of your career.

I’m sure that each of us has, at one time or another, bemoaned the fact that we didn’t have the power to change something.  If only we had the power to…, we could solve this problem quickly.

The reality is that those who have the power and use it regularly often limit their career advancement.  Why?  There are several reasons.  Most employees:

• Hate being told what to do
• Resent not having their ideas heard and acted upon
• Despise the arrogance their leader exhibits
• Will do “exactly” what the boss requests even though they know it will fail
• May harbor desires that the boss’ idea fails or, worse yet, work toward that end

Yet, despite all of these negative consequences some people achieve lofty positions using positional power.  I’m sure each of you could point to autocratic leaders who have enjoyed great success.  Or have they?  What price did they pay for that success?

Imagine the pressure autocratic leaders must feel as they:

• Manage the most minute details of their direct reports‘ work
• Assume the risk for every decision that gets made
• Work diligently to see that blame for an errant decision doesn’t land on their doorstep
• Are constantly on the alert for potential sabotage
• Work countless hours because they don’t trust their employees

Is that the career you desire?

So what’s the alternative?  Influence!  By engaging people in the decision-making process, you get greater buy-in, quicker implementation and better results.  Indeed, a former chairman of Porsche, said that his mantra was “Decide democratically, delegate dictatorially.”  He went on to say that “a poor idea, implemented well, will produce better results than a great idea implemented poorly.”

It’s counter-intuitive, but the foundation for career advancement doesn’t lie in positional power; it lies in your ability to influence the thinking of others.  How do you do that?  Remember that persuasion is a myth.  We can’t persuade anyone of anything, they have to persuade themselves.

The best we can do is:

• Shine the light on new information
• Allow employees to process that information and reach their own conclusions
• Allow them to validate their conclusions with their own experiences

If our conclusion is correct, our employees will reach the same conclusion we have and they’ll be excited about the idea because they know it will work.  If, however, we’ve overlooked something in our analysis, our employees can pull our bacon from the fire by shining the light on new information for us.

Fortunately, as a consultant, I never have positional power.  I have no authority in any client organization.  As a result I’m never tempted to use positional power.  Instead I rely on influence.  The ability to influence others‘ thinking serves me equally well in my personal life as it does in my work.  I would never trade that skill for positional power.  Indeed, like the Chairman of Porsche, I didn’t use that power when I had it.

Do yourself a favor.  Use the steps outlined above to influence others’ thinking instead of exerting positional power.  You’ll quickly discover that leadership can be fun and exciting instead of stressful and draining.  The choice is yours.  Which will you choose?

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate the often overlooked disadvantages of positional power, Step 6, Eclectic Education, to provide insights from an incredibly successful former Chairman of Porsche and Step 2, The Persuasion Myth, to help you see how easy it is to gain influence.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment below.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, was released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  It’s available in all the major bookstores – Borders, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

A world-class competitors’ view…

…of lessons learned.

As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve become a huge fan of Josh Waitzkin’s book, The Art of Learning. In particularly reflective mood he wrote “We have to release our current ideas to soak in new material, but not so much that we lose touch with our natural talents.”

What a beautiful way of describing what we need to do to effectively integrate lessons learned.  It’s so easy, when learning something new, to become enamored with the new concepts and fail to ascertain whether or not that new information fits our style or how it will help us achieve our goals.

Certainly most of what we learn can be adapted to fit our style and support our efforts in achieving our goals.  Unfortunately, we don’t often think about how to adapt the lessons learned until we’ve experienced some disappointment.

It’s counter-intuitive, but you can accelerate the successful integration of new knowledge by asking yourself three questions:

1. Will this information help me achieve my goals?
2. Is this information congruous with my style?
3. If not, how can I adapt it to fit my style?

The answers to these simple questions will help you strike the balance Josh Waitzkin so  eloquently described.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 6, Eclectic Education, to gain new perspectives from World Champion Chessmaster and Tai Chi Chuan master, Josh Waitzkin.  I also used Step 4, See Similarities, to demonstrate how to apply these concepts to any life situation you face.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, was released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  It’s available in all the major bookstores – Borders, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Thanks to all of you, Pricing for Profit jumped from #83 in the category of pricing books on Amazon to #41 in a week.  May your kindness be repaid a thousand times.

If you’re struggling to get noticed…

…you may want to try a different language.

I received a call from a woman who had forwarded her resume to me.  She asked “What can I do to make my resume more powerful?”  A few days later, a business owner told me that he was expanding his market and wanted some thoughts on how to craft his message for that market.

My answer to both was exactly the same, “Talk about the results you’ve gotten.”  When I see a resume that doesn’t highlight results, I question whether or not the person has produced any.  When I see marketing materials or a website that talks about what the business does I can’t help but wonder “What did the customer get?”

While both of the examples above relate to business, the universal language of results applies to all aspects of our lives.  If someone offers you child-rearing tips, advice on how to bring romance back into your life or ways improve your health, you’re going to discount that advice unless the person can demonstrate that he or she has gotten results.  And you should, after all it’s the result you’re after.  As the old adage says “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will do.”  But we’re not interested in any road, we want to reach a specific destination – to get a specific result.

It’s a natural human tendency to want to talk about what we do.  That’s the way we’re wried.  Unfortunately, it’s not what potential employers and prospective customers want to hear.  They want to know, “Can you produce the result?”

It’s counter-intuitive, but if your message isn’t helping you get noticed, your probably speaking the wrong language.  You’re speaking the language of process instead of the language of results.  Whenever you’re asked “What do you do?”, pause a moment and think about the language you’re about to use.  If it’s the language of process, shelve that commentary.  Shift gears and tell that prospective employer or customer what results you can produce for them.  That’s how you stand out from the crowd.  That’s how you get noticed.  That’s how you get hired.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 4, Seeing Similarities, to determine that the employment situation and the shift in market focus were exactly the same situation.  Then I used, Step 1, Contributory Negligence, to determine what these folks were doing that caused them not to gain the interest they desired.  Finally, I used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate that results is a universal language.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, was released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  It’s available in all the major bookstores – Borders, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

A dilemma…

…or an opportunity for enlightenment?

A friend was telling me of an opportunity that presented itself.  Someone, who had a lot of very attractive contacts, wanted to do some joint marketing.  My friend then said that his potential partner, at their first meeting, had launched into an hour-long presentation of what he did and how valuable it was.  My friend asked for my thoughts regarding this opportunity.

What would your response have been?  Should he pursue this opportunity?  Is further exploration warranted?  Or should he forego this opportunity?  Regardless of your response, I’d like you to take a moment to reflect on the rationale for whatever advice you would have offered.  What were your reasons for the conclusion you reached?

Here’s how I responded.  I told him that I didn’t feel like there was much promise in this potential partnership.  Why?  Because I saw incongruities in what my friend was being told.  First, his potential partner claimed to have a lot of very attractive contacts.  If he was that well connected and had that many people who valued his offerings, why would he need a partner to market his offerings?

Second, during the first meeting with my friend,  his potential partner did an information dump that indicated that he wasn’t very adept at sales.  All of the effective salespeople I know tantalize prospects and potential partners by offering glimpses of what they’re offering without divulging much about the offering itself.

Finally, the potential partner did little exploration of my friend’s background, skills, abilities, interests or results.  His focus was on convincing my friend that he would be a valuable partner.

What was the result?  My friend came back to me and said that my assessment was right on target.  During his second meeting with this potential partner he asked for examples of the results and successes the partner had achieved.  He asked about the strength of the potential partner’s relationships with his contacts.  Finally, he inquired about the potential partner’s knowledge of his business.What my friend’s inquiries uncovered was that his potential partner’s business was built on a very shaky structure.  Not one on which he wanted to invest a lot of time, energy or money.  He ended this partnership exploration after two meetings.

It’s counter-intuitive, but we can’t discover the truth in what we’re being told until we’ve investigated the incongruities.  In every misrepresentation, whether intentional or not, the truth can be found in the incongruities.  If you’re looking for a way to assess what you’re being told, compare the behaviors the other person is exhibiting against what you’re being told.  Then ask “Are this person’s words and behaviors aligned?”  If they are, you have good reason to move forward.  If not, the incongruities will lead you to the truth.  Once you’ve discovered the truth, you’ll know whether or not to proceed.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 4, See Similarities, to show that the absence of similarities between behavior and words is a cause for further investigation.  I also used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate that incongruities should be a cause for celebration, not consternation – a source of truth, not a dilemma.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, was released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  It’s available in all the major bookstores – Borders, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Is social networking the latest business tool?

Or simply the new backyard?

When I was a kid (yes, I can remember that far back), we didn’t have air-conditioning so the neighbors would sit out during the evening and visit while the day’s heat dissipated.  As air-conditioning became more affordable, those evenings under the stars ended and the close relationships we had with neighbors declined.

Many of us of that generation are using the social networks to reconnect with the people of our youth and experiencing great joy at finding long-lost friends.  Even those too young to remember the backyard visits appreciate the relationship building power of these social networks.  Facebook, Twitter and a whole host of social networks have become the new backyard.

Yet many of us in business keep trying to convert these tools for business purposes.  A few have done so with great success.  Most of us, however, are struggling to make effective use of these tools.  Why?  Because it seems to take inordinate amounts of time to sift through the backyard stuff to get to the business stuff.  That will continue to be our dilemma until greater segmentation occurs within the social networks.

It’s counter-intuitive, but most of us are not going to be successful using social networks until we separate our social contacts from our business contacts and consciously decide how much time and energy to devote to building each type of relationship.  The more conscious the choice, the greater success we’ll enjoy in both arenas.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 4, See Similarities, to relate today’s social networking rage with the mechanism used decades earlier.  Then I used Step 1, Contributory Negligence, to see what we’re doing that contributes to the problems we’re having converting this tool to business purposes.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, is going to be released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  Prepublication orders are being taken at amazon.com, borders.com and barnesandnoble.com. Enjoy!