How Harley-Davidson got started, what led to their success, and what you can learn from them to help you grow!
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Two years ago, John Gardner, Systems Engineering Manager at Medrad, a medical devices company, was recognized as someone with a high degree of technical skills and an ability to “get things done.”
But at what cost?
According to John, “Although senior management liked that I got things done, they were frustrated with my methods of dealing with people. Essentially, management was saying, “John, we love you, but we want to shoot you!”
John focused only on the outcomes of the work, believing that task completion was much more important than people’s feelings. “On the one hand, I was receiving performance reviews at the top of the performer range. Then I got a letter saying that if I didn’t change my style, I might be fired.” John couldn’t believe that he was being knocked for his interpersonal style when he was delivering such amazing results!
Because the company valued John’s skills, they offered him the opportunity to participate in an Emotional Intelligence training and coaching program from the Institute for Health and Human Potential (IHHP). “At first,” John said, “I thought I would sit through the program to appease management and get my attendance checked off. Quite frankly, I saw emotional intelligence as a waste of time.”
After going through the program and follow-up coaching, John now sees Emotional Intelligence as a critical competence he was missing. “I now realize that I was operating with only half of what I needed to be successful — similar to rowing a boat with only one oar.” This became truer as he rose in the ranks at the company. As an engineer he felt he could get away without EQ skills … but not once he became a leader.
The Emotional Intelligence training and coaching that John participated in made him more aware of his impact on others and identified some “gaps” he needed to address. “The training really opened my eyes to things like the importance of learning to react more skillfully when I’m frustrated. I was unaware I had a problem with empathy until I got my 360 feedback in the program.”
After the two days of training, John received the next component of the program EQ coaching from a qualified IHHP coach. John describes the process, “The coach helped me understand how to apply the techniques in my life – both in business and at home. At first I wasn’t sure what to do, but with the guidance of the coach, I began to manage my emotions better and become more empathetic to others. As I worked through the exercises and learned to apply the techniques, I discovered that empathy went from being a tool I could use to a natural way of life for me.”
These new EQ skills had a big impact for John, at work and at home. At work, he began to make big changes in relationships that were previously challenging. “It was amazing; I was able to turn around relationships that were almost adversarial to the point where these people are now close allies at the company.”
Recent results in his career are impressive:
* In his last performance review, John received the highest review possible. Management indicated that they now consider his emotional skills to be one of his strongest assets even more so than his technical skills!
* John laughs. “They’ve even asked me to help in sales and marketing because of my ‘people skills.’ The joke used to be, ‘Don’t let John near the customers!’ Now they put me in key roles.”
* John is now mentoring three people and there are several more individuals waiting to be mentored by him. People consistently ask John to teach them how to deal with others, and as a result John has evolved into an EQ coach to others in the company!
Although he has received raises and promotions since participating in IHHP’s Emotional Intelligence training and coaching, John is now motivated by the kind of feedback he gets. “Peers, management and direct reports now see me as a leader – not just for my technical skills and “get it done” ability, but also for my skills in motivating people, resolving conflict and mentoring others. Those are the results that really inspire me.”
“Emotional Intelligence not only allows me to be a better leader in business; it also improves my relationships at home. I am able to listen better to my wife, to understand her feelings more and to be there for her on a deeper emotional level. This impacts her, and thus our relationship, very positively.”
And story gets even better. Improving EQ skills has even allowed John to be a better coach – on the soccer field. “The kids on the soccer team, including my son, have all said they’re really glad I’m coaching. They say that other coaches just yell at them and tell them what to do. That’s how I was before. It feels great to have all the boys telling my son that I’m a great coach. That’s the best reward of all!”
John has some advice for anyone interested in developing their Emotional Intelligence and achieving the kind of business and personal success he has. “First, you must be open to the idea that you have some ‘gaps’ — some things you could do better. Then you have to invest serious time and effort. It wasn’t easy to learn to manage my emotions and become more empathetic. Finally, get yourself a coach, they offer support, accountability and they can be trusted to help you work through the challenges you face – both personally and professionally.”
Real People – Case Study – Customer Highlights
Customer: Medrad
Industry: Medical Imaging
Business results: MEDRAD products are sold to hospitals and medical imaging centers in over 85 countries. Annual sales are approximately $300 million. Medrad employs more than 1,300 people based in 15 locations around the world.
Medrad Values: MEDRAD performance is a result of an unrelenting commitment to improving healthcare, to upholding standards of excellence, and to responsible activities for the benefit of our customers, shareholders, employees, and communities. These values are expressed through our culture and philosophy, as well as our ethical and corporate responsibility policies.
Offices: MEDRAD is headquartered in Indianola, Pennsylvania, 15 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The major location of 285,000-sq. ft. includes all headquarters, administration functions, and enterprise production units. MEDRAD is a global company. The European headquarters office is located in Maastricht, The Netherlands, and additional international offices are located in France, Germany, Italy, UK, Brazil, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Singapore, Egypt, Mexico, and Australia.
Leaders and entire organizations have discovered that success in the workplace has significantly less to do with intelligence or core job competencies and more to do with emotional and behavioral intelligence. The ...
If you happen to have caught my interview on Maryland Public Television last week you would have heard Jeff Salkin, the interviewer ask me about the soft skills of leadership. A couple of things we talked about wer...
The Technical Manual for the Emotional Intelligence Appraisal™ reveals interesting findings from a study of more than 13,000 individuals worldwide. Employees from various job functions, in different organizations an...
Vwodek Wojczynski
Business Coach and Consultant Vwodek Wojczynski (pronounced Voy-chin-ski) brings fun, awareness, accountability and fresh perspectives based on his diverse experiences in life and business.
Born in Poland and educated in Greece and Canada, he is trilingual with 8 years experience in business development with clients in Canada, USA, Switzerland and Poland.
His approach is systematic and process-driven. He fuses the know-how of proven business methods with his commitment that entrepreneurs experience satisfaction and joy based on their values, motivations and strengths. He believes that businesses succeed based on their ability to generate value by providing what’s needed and wanted.
Ultimately, he trains executives and true business owners - people who work less, produce more, own businesses that run automatically after a while and make a difference globally.
His current research focus is the development of intelligent business systems and the application of emerging artificial intelligence technologies in business.
He is also an avid traveler, spoken word performer and visual artist. He resides in Toronto, Canada. - Visit Vwodek Wojczynski's Website
Dr. John Oda
John Oda Ph.D NLP is a business peak performance expert, an author, and speaker frequently called upon to provide corporate training, workshops and seminars for many companies in the United States. He is an expert in coaching sales and business professionals in overcoming the behaviors and obstacles that may impede their sales results and affect their bottom line. Since 1995, John has created a speaking bureau such topics, which include: time management, sales training, human diversity, leadership programs and etc. He provides companies with a strategic plan to increase their bottom line by over 25 percent yearly. - Visit Dr. John Oda's Website
Staging Diva
Debra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website
The Evan Elite Authors program is currently in beta phase. For details please contact us.
Bill Benjamin
(Visit Bill's Website)Bill
Benjamin is the CEO of IHHP a
successful international business,
recently named one of the “Fastest Growing
Companies” in the “Fast 100” ranking in
PROFIT Magazine. IHHP is a research and
learning organization that uses
Emotional Intelligence (EI) to
leverage performance and leadership. Bill
understands the barriers preventing
leaders from growing profits and nurturing
a healthy corporate culture. Bill
struggled early in his career as a leader.
He applied the same EI techniques he
teaches, enabling him to engage his team
members – ultimately growing a computer
software business from $2 million in sales
to $75 million. Bill’s practical and
scientific approach to leadership,
combined with his advanced degrees in
Mathematics and Computer Science, make him
a hit with analytical audiences. His
experience in sales gives him a high
degree of energy and enthusiasm. Bill has
presented to discerning audiences that
include Surgeons, U.S. Army Commanders and
NASA Engineers. Cont
act Bill
Bill Benjamin Video - Emotional Intelligence (EI and EQ) Training. Amygdala Hijack Impact Video. Seminar by Bill Benjamin a professional motivational keynote leadership speaker and trainer.
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
About a year ago I cited a study showing the weak -- okay, nonexistent -- connection between wealth and intelligence.
