What’s Your Yes?

Some people are defined by “yes”. They live to fulfill their “yes”. They dream, plan and act all according to their “yes.” Everything they do revolves around the “yes” of their own lives.

Their opposites are “no” people. These are people who don’t live for their “yes.” Instead, they just try to avoid their own “no.” They never discover their own potential.

My friend Mike Glenn recently wrote a book called The Gospel of Yes. I asked him about the title of this book. He grew up in a way and in a church that defined life with “no.” (As in no drinking, no smoking, no this and no that.)

But, he later realized that life’s power is in the “yes”:

It’s not what we are against, but what we are for.

It’s not what you’re bad at, but what you’re good at.

It’s not about your limitations, but about your gifts.

How to Read a Client from Across the Room

Photo by woicik on flickr.

Brandy Mychals is a speaker, communications expert and creator of the Character Code^® System. Her new book, How to Read a Client from Across the Room, is a deep dive into her Character Codes and how to relate to people by understanding their personalities and knowing how they want to be treated – even from across the room.

Let’s start by going back years. You were in two car accidents, and they are important to your story. Your first accident was what can only be described as a freak accident. Describe the accident and how it changed your career path.

I was focused on launching my communications career, possibly working in media or writing when this freak accident occurred. It was only a few months before graduation, and I was driving in LA when I saw a tire flying at me through the air. It had come off the freeway overpass above and since I was driving with oncoming traffic, I had nowhere to go.

The tire crashed through the sun roof of my car and struck my head. It took over a year to fully recover, and part of the healing modality I experienced in that process was chiropractic. I was motivated to use my communication skills with patients and headed off to chiropractic college.

You then built a very successful chiropractic business. What was your formula for small business success?

The first piece of the formula for small business success is to show up and treat it like a business. So many solopreneurs, service providers, health practitioners or creative individuals that have a skill, craft or initials after their name think that learning their technique is enough. That is just the start. When it comes down to it – it is a business and has to be run like one. That means marketing, sales, admin and creating systems. I went through and created every aspect of the business so it would run well, without me having to personally complete each task.

I also always apply a global perspective and focus on where do we want to go? When you are clear about what you want to accomplish, your goals if you will, it actually impacts every decision you make today and tomorrow. That is what gets you there. If the end result isn’t identified, you will never get there because you won’t be clear about the daily steps to arrive there.

Lastly, understanding people, what they need, what they want, what motivates them, how to build a community, following, create buzz and momentum is invaluable. Every business needs an inflow of new business and new clients. Businesses wither and die on the vine if they don’t understand their clients inside and out.

After becoming a chiropractor, fate intervened again, and you had another car accident. This one was worse in many ways, but it also changed your career path.

Yes, I thought I was done with dramatic car accidents, but apparently I had another path to travel.

Broken Ballots: Will Your Vote Count?

Image courtesy of istockphoto/imagestock

Our democratic form of government relies on the accuracy of our elections, but how reliable are they? What are the dangers of the technologies we are using? In a fascinating new book Broken Ballots: Will Your Vote Count?, Douglas Jones and Barbara Simons take readers on a journey through historical issues with voting technologies to modern day issues and the finally ending with recommendations for today.

Whether you are Democrat, Republican, Independent or a member of another party, the integrity of the process is critical. As elections are now decided by a smaller and smaller number of votes, the perfection we expect will perhaps be scrutinized like never before.

My interview with Barbara Simons:

Your book Broken Ballots is a comprehensive review of the process of counting votes. It begins with a sweeping view of the use of ballot technology.

I was fascinated to read so many examples of election issues throughout our nation’s history. Share with us one or two of the more memorable events you outlined in the book.

Unfortunately, there are many examples of machine melt-downs and failures to choose from. Two that I think are illustrative of the problems of paperless voting occurred in Cartaret County, NC in 2004 and Sarasota, FL in 2006.

Which Creative Style Are You?

Photo by lumaxart on flickr.

As readers of this blog know, I’ve long been interested in innovation. Is there a creative gene? Are you able to develop it like a skill? How can company culture be changed to improve the odds in favor of creative teams?

The International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State University offers programs in creativity. Chris Grivas and Gerrard Puccio wrote The Innovative Team to make fifty years of research at the institution available outside of the academic institution. Gerard Puccio is department chair and professor at Buffalo State University, and Chris Grivas is an organizational and leadership development consultant.

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with Chris about the book and his observations on innovation.

What first started your interest in innovation?

Back in the days when I was in college, I had what can best be described as a “grunt” job. It was long days with people vying to work the weekends where they would get extra pay. Most of my colleagues did not have college degrees and few could have hoped for a better job. They seem resigned to accept this state of life rather than work on improving their options. Why would people settle for a life like this? What would inspire them to do something more and find a way to make it work? I talked with friends and professors about it, and one answer that came up made a lot of sense to me – it’s about how they use their creativity. If they were confident in their ability to create new alternatives, they may become inspired to innovate their way to a better life. Now that was a topic that got me excited, so I went on to explore it in graduate school.

You decided to write this book in story form. Why?

7 Customer Service Strategies for an Amazing Customer Experience

It’s Customer Service Week making it an ideal time to review your customer service strategy.

Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to talk with one of the world’s authorities on the customer experience. Shep Hyken is an author, speaker, and consultant to some of the world’s largest companies. He is a member of the National Speakers Association’s Speaker Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement and is a member of the distinguished Speaker’s Roundtable. His books include The Loyal Customer, Moments of Magic, and the bestselling books The Cult of the Customer and his latest The Amazement Revolution.

In The Amazement Revolution, Shep outlines seven powerful strategies to increase customer and employee loyalty. As Shep says, the Amazement Revolution is, “The strategic decision to remake your organization or your team based on the principle of amazement.”

It seems simple, but it’s profound. What if you and your organization really remade everything in your company around creating an AMAZING customer experience? What would happen?