HARNESING THE POWER OF DIFFERENCE
HARNESING THE POWER OF DIFFERENCE
While we might not want to admit it, we all have a deep seated belief that people should understand life the way we understand it, come to the same conclusions we do about situations and generally behave the way we behave. We allow other people to be different, as long as they are like us!
Usually the differences we need to tolerate between people are not that serious and don’t disrupt the harmony of life. But when we become stressed or anxious or are under pressure, those small differences take on a new dimension and become major causes of conflict, anger and even decreased productivity. In the work situation where people are together for long hours under pressure, the ways in which we differ need to be understood and managed if sound working relationships are to be maintained.
While self-awareness is essential if we are to function at our best, it is just as important that we understand how others prefer to approach life. Just as we need to know what drives us, what colours our understanding of life, what energizes us or demotivates us, we also need to know that about other people, particularly those people with whom we work or with whom we have relationships. In particular, we need to know how their orientation toward life differs from our own.
If we understand the preferences of our colleagues, then their actions which previously might have seemed strange to us become the actions we would expect of them. Rather than being irrational behaviour, it is behaviour in keeping with the way they understand life, just as our own behaviour is in keeping with the way we understand life.
The advantage of knowing and understanding these differences is that we can then use the differences creatively. For example, I might prefer to come to conclusions and get things done quickly. My colleague might prefer to take time to ensure we have all the information before we decide on something and is not worried that we might miss the deadline. This could become a source of major irritation between us with me seeing my colleague as indecisive and my colleague seeing me as rushed and shallow. However, if we understand the potential in our differences, I could turn to my colleague to help me see the information I need which I might have glossed over in my haste to make a decision. And my colleague can turn to me to help him land the projects he has started within the required timeframe.
This is just one example of the many ways in which we differ, each of which can become a source of irritation or a source of better thinking and better activity. The key is to be aware of our own preferences, respect the fact that others might see life differently, understand what those differences are and manage those differences as catalysts for better performance.
HARNESING THE POWER OF DIFFERENCE - To learn more about this author, visit Jonathan Payne's Website.
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At the start of most of my seminars and talks I ask the participants if they agree that we are all different. Usually they agree unanimously that we are. And then I ask them why it is that, if we agree that everyone is different, we expect everyone to behave in the same way?
While we might not want to admit it, we all have a deep seated belief that people should understand life the way we understand it, come to the same conclusions we do about situations and generally behave the way we behave. We allow other people to be different, as long as they are like us!
Usually the differences we need to tolerate between people are not that serious and don’t disrupt the harmony of life. But when we become stressed or anxious or are under pressure, those small differences take on a new dimension and become major causes of conflict, anger and even decreased productivity. In the work situation where people are together for long hours under pressure, the ways in which we differ need to be understood and managed if sound working relationships are to be maintained.
While self-awareness is essential if we are to function at our best, it is just as important that we understand how others prefer to approach life. Just as we need to know what drives us, what colours our understanding of life, what energizes us or demotivates us, we also need to know that about other people, particularly those people with whom we work or with whom we have relationships. In particular, we need to know how their orientation toward life differs from our own.
If we understand the preferences of our colleagues, then their actions which previously might have seemed strange to us become the actions we would expect of them. Rather than being irrational behaviour, it is behaviour in keeping with the way they understand life, just as our own behaviour is in keeping with the way we understand life.
The advantage of knowing and understanding these differences is that we can then use the differences creatively. For example, I might prefer to come to conclusions and get things done quickly. My colleague might prefer to take time to ensure we have all the information before we decide on something and is not worried that we might miss the deadline. This could become a source of major irritation between us with me seeing my colleague as indecisive and my colleague seeing me as rushed and shallow. However, if we understand the potential in our differences, I could turn to my colleague to help me see the information I need which I might have glossed over in my haste to make a decision. And my colleague can turn to me to help him land the projects he has started within the required timeframe.
This is just one example of the many ways in which we differ, each of which can become a source of irritation or a source of better thinking and better activity. The key is to be aware of our own preferences, respect the fact that others might see life differently, understand what those differences are and manage those differences as catalysts for better performance.
HARNESING THE POWER OF DIFFERENCE - To learn more about this author, visit Jonathan Payne's Website.
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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