2018 Business Excellence Forum - Blinding Flashes of the Obvious Part 2

• When things get hard, ask yourself "Do I Want This?"
• CAN

o    Communicate - Positive & Proactive

o    Aviate - Take Action

o    Navigate - Clarity

Elizabeth McCormick was followed by Chris Voss, CEO of The Black Swan Group, LTD and co-author of Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It.  He spent 24 years working in the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit and was the FBI's chief international hostage and kidnapping negotiator from 2003 to 2007.  There were only a few BFOs from Mr. Voss, however they were MAJOR.  During negotiations:

• Banish “I Understand” from your vocabulary.  It is condescending.
• Build confidence & trustworthiness – “Will you listen to what I have to say?”
• Open by asking a question or making a statement with the expected answer or response of NO.  For example: “It looks like there is no way to get the hostages released safely.”  Going for the NO gets the other side to tell you what they are really after.  Chris gave several sales-oriented examples: “It looks like you are not interested saving money for payroll processing while getting quicker service.”
• Never say “you’re right” only say “That’s right” and then shut up!
• Perceived EMPATHY is a Truth Serum

Our next speaker was Dr. Tony Alessandra, CEO of Assessments 24x7, LLC.  Dr. Alessandra is a prolific author with 30 books translated into over 50 foreign language editions, including the newly revised, best-selling The NEW Art of Managing People; Charisma; The Platinum Rule; Collaborative Selling; and Communicating at Work.  ActionCOACH has a strategic partnership with Assessments 24x7 that enables my colleagues and I to offer a variety of online assessments, including the widely used DISC profile, the Hartman HVP, Motivators (Values/PIAV) assessment, and several 360º effectiveness assessments.  BFOs from Dr. Alessandra include:

• “Prescription before diagnosis is malpractice.”  This represents a prime reason we at ActionCOACH offer a complementary diagnostic coaching session before suggesting a coaching program to prospective clients.
• Establishing a competitive advantage is founded on an understanding of customer needs (not wants) and the ability of competitors to meet those needs.  Understanding your competitive advantage allows you to sell value, not price.

o     Understand your Uniqueness’s, Advantages & Disadvantages

o     To dig deeper and to differentiate your offering from your competition in a given situation use this tool

• Feedback Questions

•         How well does our solution address the needs and goals you expressed earlier?

•         What other advantages do you see in our solution?

•         How closely does this solution fit your budget & timeline?

•         How will you determine the success of our solution?

•         What needs do you see that I might have missed?

• Dr. Alessandra presented three case studies on the effectiveness of using various combinations assessments during recruiting and hiring.  As the saying goes, “your results may vary.”  Nonetheless, using assessments before offering a position to a candidate increases the likelihood of a successful hire.

This concludes the major BFOs from the first day of the Business Excellence Forum.  Stay tuned for day 2’s BFOs, coming soon.