So ask yourself, do you set unnecessary boundaries for your teams? If you have no idea, maybe you should ask them. “How am I holding you back?” you could ask.

One useful technique to adopt is a KISS strategy: use it in this discussion and you won’t go far wrong.

Ask your people these four questions:
1) What should I KEEP doing?
2) What do I need to IMPROVE?
3) What should I STOP doing?
4) And what should I START doing?

What else can you do to unleash the potential in your people? It’s about open conversations. I call these ‘No Limits’ conversations.

This is what you should do:
1) Keep your people informed with face-to-face briefings. This helps them feel useful and important. Clear and open communication is critical.

What does this mean? It means you’ve got to make sure you have a great team briefing mechanism in place. The Work Foundation in the UK (formerly the Industrial Society) has a useful team briefing mechanism you should consider. It’s simple, powerful and effective. Visit the Work Foundation’s website for details of ‘Managing Best Practice No 72 Team Communication’.

2) Listen to your people and act on their objections when they have good ideas. Do it graciously and make sure folks know whose the idea was.

If, after listening to the objections, you decide not to change your plans, say why you won’t change them. Try this kind of statement: “I can see that you’re not happy with the process, but until we come up with a better one, I’d like to stick to this one for now. And if you have suggestions that will improve it further, do please let me know.”

3) Let people decide HOW to do what you want. The toughest thing you have to do is let your people exercise as much self-direction and self-control as they can on routine things. You may need to say exactly what you want them to achieve or do, but please let them decide how to deliver it.

If your early indications are that what they’re doing isn’t going to hit the target, ask them whether progress is on target. If it then doesn’t actually work, tell them it didn’t work. Some managers assume their teams will know or find out, but this is not always the case.

Ask them what they’re going to do next time. Ask what they need to do differently.

You’ve probably noticed that my suggestions involve talking to your people. You need to create an open environment, where everyone’s ideas are welcomed and explored. And you do that by starting the conversations yourself. YOU are the one who has to change the way things work.

Your team has to know that you’re interested in what they’re doing, but that you’re willing to let them get on with it.

Structured brainstorming techniques are needed here, not just haphazard ’shouting out’ at meetings. I’ve got a great one I use called Nominal Group Technique but there are hundreds out there.

This ‘No Limits’ conversation policy is based on different assumptions about why people do the things they do. Great leaders assume that people actually want to contribute to their jobs. They know that people are ‘pre-motivated to perform’. The trick is how do you get the performance out?

Secondly, great leaders know that the more people are involved in designing and managing their work, the better they will perform.

And thirdly, great leaders know that good and meaningful performance leads to job satisfaction - which creates an even higher performing team. You create a virtuous circle of performance that reinforces your leadership success and the success of your team.

If you want the leadership success you deserve, get the leadership training you deserve. Download more free articles and leadership training videos from Steven Sonsino, an international business school professor and author of the Amazon bestseller “The Seven Failings of Really Useless Leaders” Get more FREE videos and articles right now: www.deathofleadership.com

Article Source: http://www.leadershiparticles.net

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Allow me to elaborate a bit, and then we’ll talk about mindfulness for your team! A mindfulness retreat is designed to help you slow down our usual fast daily pace to a snail’s pace…no phones, no e-mail, nothing to do but BE PRESENT, in each moment. Oh yes, and did I also mention no talking? So, here I was, at this beautiful retreat center, in silence, doing only one thing at a time….for seven glorious days! The benefit, in case you’re still wondering, is that when there is complete silence, you can learn to train your mind to turn off the “chatter” and eliminate (well, at least reduce!) daily distractions, so that you can be present to what is happening right now - fully present - to the one activity in which you are engaged.

Now, you may be asking “so what’s the benefit to reducing the distractions”? The benefit is that you become much more mindful, or aware of everything that you do. You get to fully appreciate what you’re doing because you are fully present to the experience! You also see things for what they really are - you see the truth about things - no denial - without all of the illusions we typically create in our lives. No assumptions, no distractions, no illusions…..just the truth about our current experience, feelings, thoughts, etc - right there in front of us.

Sometimes, it’s really painful to be with our thoughts, feelings, etc., which is why many of us distract ourselves with other things, so that we don’t have to experience those difficult feelings and thoughts. As we all know, though, by denying that something exists doesn’t mean that it goes away - whether it’s something in our work situations or our personal lives. By having the courage to fully experience all of our experiences, we can more fully experience everything in life.

Ok, what does this have to do with your team? Teams are impacted greatly by the level of mindfulness, or presence, of its team members. Teams that are fully present with and for each other are typically more successful.

Think about the team that you spend the most time with - your work team, your volunteer team, a parent committee, etc. Keep that team in mind as you ask these questions:

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the most mindful), how mindful is my team on any given day?

In what way(s) does my team act mindfully - i.e., in what ways is my team present to each experience with each other? This often happens when team members are fully present by fully listening to each other when each person speaks, and being open to hearing each person’s opinion. Honoring and appreciating diverse opinions on a team is a critical success factor for a team, by the way!

In what way(s) does my team NOT act mindfully - i.e., in what ways is my team NOT present to each experience and each team member? A team is not acting mindfully if the team members are talking over each other, arguing loudly, etc. Or, when team members physically attend a meeting by showing up, but allow themselves to be distracted by their e-mails or answering cell phone calls while the meeting is occurring. By definition, you can’t be mindful and multi-tasking at the same time!

What is one thing my team can do to become more mindful? Help your team by asking them “how can we be more mindful and present with each other?” By being more mindful, your team members will respect each other more, which will increase the trust and camaraderie on your team. For those of you who have been through our team development workshops, you know the three most critical factors contributing to a team’s success: trust, respect and camaraderie.

As you can see, mindful teams are likely more productive and sustainable for the long term. If your team is already fairly mindful, congratulations - please celebrate that with them! If your team has lost its mindfulness they can get it back - you can help them get it back through implementing some of the suggestions above.

Are you a business leader struggling to get the results you need from your team? Despite the many challenges facing organizations today, it IS possible to take your team to the next level and get the results that you and your organization desire! Want to learn how? Visit us: www.goalsinsight.com

Article Source: http://www.leadershiparticles.net

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But while interviews can be intimidating, they don’t have to be feared - especially if you come equipped with the right knowledge. So let’s look at three tips that can help you place the job you want in the palm of your hands.

Tip #1: Conduct Practice Q&A Sessions

Before you ever set foot on the property of your prospective employer, it is important that you mentally prepare for the challenge you’re up against. Being that you’ve never interviewed before, it may seem impossible to prepare for the unknown. But luckily for you, there are bound to be some individuals in your life who have been on job interviews. So give them a job of helping you prepare.

A good way to start your preparation is by first conducting some research on the company you are interested in working for. After you’ve learned the company’s overall mission, what they look for in employees, and most importantly, what they want in the hiring position, you can give this information to your helper. Then he or she can compose interview questions, have you show up for the mock interview in full attire, and ask the questions so that you can begin to feel comfortable with the process.

Tip #2: Dress for Success

This is probably one of the more important aspects of interviewing for any position, no matter how casual you think it might be. The prospective employer wants to confirm how serious you are about the job, something that is partially accomplished by dressing up in business attire for the interview.

While this may seem to be common sense to some, there are many newcomers to the world of interviewing who show up wearing khaki pants or low-cut tops. So if you already knew that wearing a business suit (clean with no wrinkles) is the way to go, good job. But if you were just about to walk out of the door in your T-shirt and khakis, you may want to go change your clothes.

Tip #3: Speak from the Heart

Starting off in your practice Q&A session, and eventually transitioning into your actual interview, it is important that you place personal value on your decision to apply for the job. If you go into the interview thinking that you won’t like the job, the interviewer might sense the apprehension and pass you up for the position. However, if you come in genuinely enthusiastic about the position, it will be much easier for you to find the right words to express that enthusiasm.

If you follow these three tips, you’ll be that much closer to securing the job of your dreams. So practice, practice, practice with your Q&A session, go buy a suit that makes you feel comfortable, and go to the interview with great passion. You’ll see that your budding confidence in your interviewing skills will skyrocket in time for your very first interview.

Heather Eagar is a former professional resume writer and is passionate about providing working professionals with current, reliable and effective job search tools and information. If you need a resume writer, compare the top companies in the industry at http://www.resumelines.com

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Postponing a career move can be a huge mistake. The reality is, you need to begin planning now so you can hit the ground running in 2009.

Many of us have been distracted by election news and economic forecasts. It is more fun to think about politics. We tell ourselves we need to hear *all* the economic news.

But Barack Obama has job security for at least four years. If you don’t, you have to focus on yourself. What do you want to accomplish in 2009? What can you do in January to make sure you reach your goals?

You need to start early for 2 reasons. First, experts estimate 2-3 years for a complete change from one career field to another. So it’s important to begin your transition as early as possible.

Second, you need to be ready to take advantage of time-sensitive opportunities. And the best options (in my experience) come with a deadline.

If you get that big meeting on January 15, you can’t start planning January 14 or even January 1. You need to be able to say confidently, “I’m thoroughly prepared.”

(1) Start before you feel ready. Presidents begin their transitions months before they move to the White House. You can follow their example by creating a sense of urgency. Like Obama, you need a plan, a set of goals and a high-power transition team.

(2) Pick your transition team. Your team does not include recruiters. They work for the employer - not you. Your team might include a financial planner, family members who provide emotional support, and a professional career advisor.

Not everybody’s team should include a career coach. Thousands of people make successful career moves on their own. You will benefit most from hiring a career expert if you haven’t been on the job market for awhile, you aren’t sure what steps to take, and/or you want a break from corporate life.

(3) Make career change a priority. We all know that life gets in the way. But to reach your goal will require you to make a commitment and evaluate the tradeoffs.

In my experience, holidays are perfect for career planning. You can justify being away from the office. You have a few days off to do some research. Some career consultants will offer or negotiate year-end specials on their programs and products.

And occasionally a client will say, “It’s a great excuse to skip another boring party.”

And now I invite you to find out more by visiting
Mid-Life Career Strategy. Get a FREE download “10 tips to Master a Major Midlife Change.” From Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D.

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Most people procrastinate to some degree or another and that is just fine. But everyone has to tackle unpleasant or tedious tasks at some time or another. There are always things to do around your workplace that you would rather leave till later. You may find that something such as an employee review unpleasant but it still has to get done. Reports have to be written and difficult clients dealt with.

These kinds of tasks and many others need to be handled whether you want to do them or not. Ignoring them does not mean they will magically go away. But many people try to avoid them none the less. They take an extra coffee break, surf the internet, or check their messages again. They might go about handling less onerous tasks that also need to get done. They do everything they can think of but the tasks that really need doing.

As business owners it is their jobs to face the difficult tasks. It’s what entrepreneurs sign up for when they opened their doors for business. Every important and stressful decision falls on the owners shoulders whether they want to make it or not. So how should the boss be handling such duties? Not by ducking under a desk that’s for sure. An owner needs to take the bull by the horns and tackle such tasks. Hit them head on instead of trying to dodge them. If they don’t then all those unpleasant tasks are just going to pile up one after another. They’ll go from unpleasant to being a downright nightmare.

Everyone is guilty of being a procrastinator whether they realize it or not. It’s what they do about it that matters to their business. There are times when procrastinating about something is fine. But a business owner is going to have a lot of important decisions. Trying to put them off will not make them go away. Deal with them with a sense of purpose.

Cash Miller is an expert in small business affairs. To receive more tips that can help your business and allow you to crush your competition you can sign up for his FREE Newsletter. Once you’ve signed up your going to receive access to 5 FREE E-Books that can help your business prosper. And as a Bonus FREE Newsletter Members can expect to receive an additional FREE E-Book each week.

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How do they do it? They conscientiously avoid what I call the Top 5 Monster Customer Service Blunders”:

Monster Blunder #1: Trying to solve the problem with superficial employee training. Workers call it smile trainingprograms intended to convince staff to look and sound more cheerful, while giving them no particular reason to feel any more cheerful. When you boil it down, this kind of training does nothing more than itemize the specific service behaviors workers are expected to exhibit. It then becomes managements job to somehow enforce these designated behaviors into the daily operation of the business. If this approach has any effect at all, it typically creates conduct that strikes customers as mechanical and insincere. Worse, it often intensifies worker resentment and cynicism.

Instead of attempting to dictate what workers should be doing to delight customers, the better approach is to give workers opportunities to generate their own ideas for delivering a better customer experience. Managements role then becomes helping employees implement these ideas, allowing workers to enjoy the motivational boost they derive from positive feedback from delighted customers. This level of employee ownership and involvement is a key cultural characteristic of virtually all flashpoint businesses.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Train managers and supervisors, not just employees, to facilitate interactive brainstorming sessions in which employees come up with their own strategies for improving the customer experience.

Monster Blunder #2: Blaming poor service on employee cynicism. When business leaders complain to me about the cynicism of their workers, Im always inclined to ask them if they believe these workers were already cynical before their first day on the job. If so, the organizations hiring practices are clearly not working very well. If not, then the cynicism may be a direct product of something in the organizational culture.

Employee cynicism is the direct product of an organizations visible preoccupation with self-interest above all elsea purely internal focus. The focus in flashpoint businesses is directed outward, toward the interests of customers and the community at large. This fundamental difference in cultural focus makes all the difference in the world.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Instead of trying to fix the employees, set out to fix the culture by removing operational obstacles to customer delight. Invite workers to participate in identifying and removing cultural roadblocks to further enhance their sense of involvement and ownership.

Monster Blunder #3: Using negative customer feedback as the primary basis for action. Businesses often implement elaborate customer surveys and other feedback mechanismsbut then use them primarily to highlight customer problems and complaints. Employees come to dread these measurement and data-gathering initiatives, since the emphasis is always on the negative, on finding out whos to blame for anything and everything that went wrong.

Flashpoint businesses, too, rely on a variety of customer feedback toolsbut for an entirely different purpose. Here its positive feedback that becomes the primary basis for action. Feedback is used to uncover and highlight everything thats going right. Managers actively seek out hero storiesexamples of employees going the extra mile to deliver delight. Positive feedback is the catalyst for ongoing recognition and celebration. In this kind of culture, theres always some new reason for cheering and hoopla. Its why employees in flashpoint businesses find it easy to see themselves as winners on a winning team.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Start using your own customer feedback data to uncoverand celebrateexamples of service excellence.

Monster Blunder #4: Reserving top recognition for heroic recoveries. Does this scenario sound familiar? A customers order gets fouled up, and a dedicated employee catches the problem and goes to heroic lengths to correct the situation or make up for it in some way. The appreciative customer advises management of this employees heroic initiative and management in turn gives the employee special recognition for his or her efforts. You may be wondering, Wheres the blunder in this?

Its a monster blunder when these kinds of recoveries are the primaryif not the onlysources of employee recognition. If foul-ups represent workers only chance to feel appreciated on the job, then in effect such foul-ups become almost precious to the workers. If, later, management announces that steps are being taken to correct these foul-ups for good, its news that may not win much support from employees. It can feel like this kind of corrective action will rob them of their only chance to shine.

Flashpoint businesses celebrate heroic recoveries, of coursebut they hand out the splashiest recognition to employees who delighted customers where no foul-ups were involved. This makes it easier to motivate workers to strive for the elimination of operational problems.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Reserve your most extravagant recognition for service champions who deliver delight in routine transactions that have no element of heroic recovery associated with them.

Monster Blunder #5: Competing on price. This is one of the most commonplace (and costliest) mistakes in business. When it comes to purchasing decisions, price becomes the ultimate deciding factor only in cases where everything else is equalwhich is almost never. Theres usually at least one little something that gives one business an edge over another one. The real competitive advantage belongs to the business with the highest perception of value, not the one with the lowest price. The overall sense of value is based on the total customer experience, which takes into account less tangible factors, such as helpfulness, friendliness and the personal touch. These values often allow businesses to retain their competitive edge despite slightly higher prices.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Institute a formal process by which employees can continuously come up with new ways to expand customers perception of value.

Concluding Thoughts:

The kind of customer-focused cultures we find in flashpoint businesses obviously don’t happen by accident. These organizations create, implement and refine a process for producing delighted customers. A good place to begin is to stop the top five customer service blunder monsters from rearing their ugly heads in your organization.

Management Training Centre provides professional development, customer service, leadership and executive training and career training programs for HR professionals, supervisors and employers.

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These are definitely necessary, and it is not a wonder that more and more successful businessmen are participating in leadership training courses. Check out how these leadership games will get to improve your management style and improve the quality of your leadership.

Most leadership games would involve role-playing games (RPG) whereby the player is a head of pack or platoon. With that in mind, the player is suppose to the ultimate leader in ensuring that the objectives of the games are met by making use of several sacrifices, strategy planning and sleek tactics.

It might sound ridiculously simple here, but the role-playing games are actually harder than most people think. Popular game role-playing game would be ones like World Of Warcraft and Medal of Honor. These games focus a lot on planning and sacrifices in order to determine the winner. Despite the blood and gore can be found embedded in the midst of game playing, these kind of games enables the person to think for himself and provide quick and reliable solution to overcome all obstacles. It might get a bit tiring and stressful half way through the game, but if the player is able to survive the hardships, then it just shows that he has a very high determination level, which is definitely useful in any form of real-life management.

The reason why these role-playing games are highly anticipated is because it encourages integrated thinking and quick action plans. This enables to player to be a quick and effective leader. Furthermore, most of these role playing games are played such that the player wins only when all the other members of the player’s platoon or pack makes it through together with the player. This aspect of the game encourages the player to be a leader who is capable is leading a big pack, confidently.

Many people might sneer at the ability of these games to bring out the leadership qualities within the player itself because these leadership qualities that are developed in the virtual worlds are not exactly applicable in real life context. This is when many of them are wrong. According to Einstein, we humans only use 10% of our brain, as such to make use of the other 90%; we have to work it out through the use of other techniques such as mind teaser games and role playing games.

It is always easier to be a follower than a leader. As such, in order to be an outstanding leader, one will definitely have to put in the extra effort and only when he does so, he is able to push his leadership capabilities to the maximum.

Discover The Revolutionary Methods That You Can Implement To Literally ‘Reprogram’ Your Mind at http://www.mindsecretsexposed.com for success. Learn how to harness your mind power and achieve massive success. Click Here to grab your FREE copy of the Mind Secrets Exposed Leaked Chapters.

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I write these words as I sit in the office/study of my “electronic cottage.” One of the reasons I love our home is because it straddles the past and the future. The front of our house looks out upon a typical suburban street with a mixture of split-levels, bungalows, and two story homes. The city bus roars by periodically in a cloud of diesel smoke.

Our house is wired for business (when the kids are excited it’s just wired). Our personal computer and printer in the kid’s basement room is networked with my notebook computer, printers, and our other main office computers on the third floor. Before our administrative office finally outgrew our house, we had six phone lines that enabled us to operate The CLEMMER Group through phone calls, faxes, e-mail, and Internet access. Some days, our administrative associates were squeezed in so tight that turning the other cheek wasn’t a virtue it was a necessity.

My office/study looks over my perennial garden in our backyard and across a river valley to the “Pioneer Tower” erected to mark the site of the first settlement in this area almost 200 years ago. Among these settlers were my own ancestors. They cleared the forests and broke the soil for the first farms that built this community. Horses still run in the hillside field that rises from the tower on the riverbank to the farmyard.

But the more things change, the more they really do stay the same. Those settlers were powerful leaders. The principles that both drove and guided their lives are as relevant today. They faced up to tough choices. They lived their values. They followed their dreams. They learned and adapted. They mobilized others to build a strong community. They persisted in the face of many heart-breaking disasters. They committed their lives to a greater cause.

The reasons for their successes and failures are the same ones that determine ours today. Today’s tools have changed and our society is organized differently. But the human habits and characteristics that determine our success with today’s tools and society haven’t changed. Our organizing systems, technologies, and the type of work we do change. But people are still people. The human elements guiding our behavior are consistent. Leadership principles are timeless. They apply to all of us; no matter what role we play in society or organizations.

Blazing Our Own Leadership Path

“The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths to it are not found but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.” - John Schaar, American sociologist

In 1985 when I was writing my first book on leadership (The VIP Strategy), I discovered there were nearly 3,000 PhD theses on leadership in American university libraries - and probably as many books. Today, there’s likely 2 - 3 times that number. One of the reasons there are so many different leadership models, formulas, advice, etc. is because we’re talking about a way of being. With billions of people in this world, there are billions of ways of being. The leadership journey is about blazing our own pathway ever upward and outward toward who we are and the life of our dreams.

We find that many people who want “practical ideas” and concrete action steps to improve their leadership skills are really looking for someone to give them the answers. They want the magic solution or 12-step program. They are looking for a better way of doing things.

But leadership is a way of being that shows up in how we do things. There are no formulas or short cuts to being a better and better person. Leadership is a journey of personal discovery and learning. While we can pick up valuable travel tips from others who’ve been down their own personal pathways, it’s a never-ending effort of continuously searching for and blazing our own path.

Jim Clemmer’s practical leadership books, keynote presentations, workshops, and team retreats have helped hundreds of thousands of people worldwide improve personal, team, and organizational leadership. Visit his web site, http://jimclemmer.com/, for a huge selection of free practical resources including nearly 300 articles, dozens of video clips, team assessments, leadership newsletter, Improvement Points service, and popular leadership blog. Jim’s five international bestselling books include The VIP Strategy, Firing on All Cylinders, Pathways to Performance, Growing the Distance, and The Leader’s Digest. His latest book is Moose on the Table: A Novel Approach to Communications @ Work.

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• Ensure you’re following the three keys to effective goals and priorities: 1) Follow-up; 2) Follow-up; and 3) Follow-up.
• Continuously communicate how your strategic imperatives connect to your vision, values, and purpose.
• Set goals and priorities from the outside (customers) in and help everyone see the big picture and where they fit in it.
• Keep the “line of sight” from customers, external partners, and internal partners clear and strong for everyone.
• Don’t allow your team meetings to be tyrannized by operational crises/issues at the expense of effective and regular goal deployment follow-up.
• Ensure training, measurements, technology, human resources, restructuring, project teams, process changes, and the like are strongly connected to, and flow from your strategic imperatives.
• Regularly review your meeting and decision making processes. Are you using your time well? Are the right people involved?

For over 25 years, Jim Clemmer’s practical leadership approaches have been inspiring action and achieving results. His keynote presentations and workshops/retreats, five best-selling books, columns, and newsletters have helped hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Jim is a popular columnist and a regular guest on radio and television programs. He is listed in half a dozen Canadian, American, and international Who’s Who directories.

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To initiate this process, I want to show you six common fallacies, which blur accurate analysis of ideas.

Learn them and apply them every day.

Democratic fallacy

Unreliable reasoning that stems from the idea that the “majority opinion” is a source of truth and a reliable guide for action.

This is a very dodgy way to discover “Truth”

For example;

Imagine a passenger aircraft is having engine trouble.

Would it be right for the pilot to hold a vote as to whether they should attempt an emergency landing?

If not, why not?

Is the majority opinion in the office a reliable guide to intelligent action?

Can a million people be wrong?

Be careful if you are tempted to reinforce your argument with the cry “everyone else thinks so, too.”

Correlation-cause confusion

Correlation-Cause confusion is a common trap that people fall into. Just because two things occur at the same time does not necessarily mean that one caused the other.

It is a mistake to treat a correlation as a causal connection

If I put on my lucky ring, and I go out and find a ten pound note, did the ring cause it to happen?

If a new boss comes to work and the sales next month go down, what does it mean?

Getting personal

Getting personal is the mistake of dismissing an idea because of the person suggesting it.

Imagine an overweight scientist has done research to prove that exercise reduces the risk of heart disease.

You could be tempted to say, “What does he know? Look at the state of him!”

Or you could say “He should practice what he preaches” and dismiss the valuable idea.

Halo effect

Halo effect is the reverse of the above. It means that you give extra credibly to an idea because of the person.

For example Elvis Presley was asked whether he thought the Americans were right to be at war in Vietnam.

He wisely answers ” I don’t want to get into that. I am an entertainer. Ask me about my music”

I remember a radio programme asking agony-aunt Claire Raynor what she thought about the state of the criminal justice system in England and Wales.

What specialised knowledge does her opinion carry?

Separate ideas from the person proposing them and evaluated an idea as a “thing” in its own right. Determine if the idea can act as a guide to intelligent action.

Arbitrary assertion

Is an unsubstantiated statement of belief with no principle, reasoning or sensory evidence to support it.

It is a mistake to grant plausibility to an assertion simply because it is forcefully delivered or repeated.

Frequency and volume should never take the place of logic in your decision to accept an idea as true.

Napoleon once quipped “Repetition is my strongest argument” (and then lost 250,000 in his disastrous Russian campaign)

Equally, it follows that you should avoid trying to convince someone else by simply becoming louder and more passionate. Instead strive to make your reasoning inescapable.

Gamblers fallacy

Is the mistaken belief that your chances of winning increases the longer you play.

This is a false idea.

If you are doing the wrong thing it makes no difference how long you do it. It still will not work.

If your current plan has not been yielding any meaningful results, it will not change fortunes tomorrow.

* Change your ideas.

* Change the plan.

* Change the actions.

* The results must and will change.

Critical reasoning to develop clarity of thought will cause you to do three things:

You will:

* Listen more intently

* Ask more questions

* Think more before you make your decision

All of these will help you get better results

Four step formula for constructing an argument

1. Make sure that the reasons/evidence you offer are relevant to the conclusion. (Ensure your reasoning has no fallacies).

2. Is your conclusion the best based on the reasons or evidence? Ask, Is this conclusion justified.

3. If your conclusion is for some new action or policy, can the policy be carried out practically?

4. Consider the counter arguments that could weaken your position. Make sure you have accessed all relevant information.

Chris Farmer is the leader of The Corporate Coach Group, and a publichsed author in Business Coaching. His training courses through the Corporate Coach Group have helped hundreds of managers become immediatly more effective.

Filed under: Leadership

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