Posts from — August 2008

As some of the more frequent readers will recall, I am working on my doctorate degree. Some may actually ask: “Will he ever finish?”

I have asked myself that same question and lately it actually looks like I might after all. Before I get into the real dissertation phase, I have to work on creating an idea, kind of like an outline, describing what I ma actually trying to study.

As someone who is fascinated by coaching and the improvements a coach can trigger in a person, I want to make coaching part of this important work. During a recent conversation with my advisor, we looked at my plans and what a possible title could be. Though we haven’t settled on anything, the position of a coach as the best friend of a leader received a lot of focus.

You may know that many of the more recent and best selling business books have described the work of a leader as something much different than most people would think. There isn’t much natural born charisma at work (in most cases). There isn’t much old patriarch or dictator-behavior anymore. Instead we find humble servants to the organization, as Jim Collins describes them in his book “Good to Great”.

In other publications we find the need of focus by the leader, as described by Jody Gittel in “The Southwest Airlines Way”. This particular focus is on customer services, as we all know about Southwest Airlines.

Thomas Friedman, Steve Farber, John Kotter, and many others talk about the engagement a leader needs to affect change in the organization and move it forward while constantly adjusting to changing market situations and customer demands.

What many experts seem to agree on is the statement: “It’s lonely at the top”

The discussion with my mentor lead to the suggestion to take a look at the book by Buckingham and Coffman, titled: “First break all the rules”

As a good student, I did and found an interesting list of questions and key secrets for great managers and leaders the authors developed. The questions serve as a measure about how well the employees in an organization have been selected. That directly leads to how long they stay and how satisfied they are. The book claims that this is much more important than pay, leave, or any of the more common issues of employment.

The 4 key secrets about a great manager determine the kind of person it takes to reach this accolade. It appears to me that the authors use the word manager synonymous with the word leader. I personally don’t agree that the two terms should be used in this way, but for the purpose of this description, I am sure we can live with it

Here are the 4 secret keys from the book “First break all the rules”:

1. Select for talent - the authors define talent as “recurring patterns of behavior” and state that great managers find the match between talents and roles. 
2. Define the right outcomes - managers needs to turn talent into performance. This can be done by defining the right outcomes and letting people find their own route toward the outcomes. 
3. Focus on strengths - managers need to concentrate on strengths and not on weaknesses. 
4. Find the Right Fit - managers need to assign roles to employees that give the employees the greatest chance of success.

Next comes the list of questions for employees:

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work? 
2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right? 
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? 
4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for good work? 
5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? 
6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development? 
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count? 
8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important? 
9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? 
10. Do I have a best friend at work? 
11. In the last six months, have I talked with someone about my progress? 
12. At work, have I had the opportunities to learn and grow?”

You might ask yourself, why I am showing you these lists of secrets and questions. Well, one reason is to educate and expand understanding. The other is question # 10.

I believe the question about the best friend at work will not only be asked for employees, but also for managers and leaders. I haven’t finished coming up with a complete and solid definition of a best friend, but here are some of the attributes I believe belong into this definition:

• A best friend know details about the other persons life
• A best friend has (relatively) free access to the other person 
• A best friend wants to help the other person, independent of politics or other inhibitors (like money, status, etc)
• A best friend can say pretty much anything to the other person (good and bad things, honest feedback, unimpeded perspectives)
• A best friend gives the other person warnings when things seem to go in the wrong direction
• A best friend sticks with the other person even in challenging times
• A best friend has empathy and genuinely cares on a factual and emotional level for the other person
• A best friend doesn’t differentiate between work and private life – every topic is acceptable
• A best friend is a confidant, protecting insights as much as the other person itself
• A best friend is available to the other person no matter what

There are probably a number of other items that should go on the list. I would actually enjoy receiving lots of feedback on more things that define a best friend.

When it comes to my topic of the coach as the possible best friend of the leader, a lot of the things on the list apply. Especially the fact that both positive and negative things can be openly discussed, that no topic is off limits, and that the coach doesn’t have a personal, financial, or work/promotion related agenda appear to be very relevant

Not in this article, but at some other time it might be worth analyzing what this means for the idea of internal coaching versus traditional, external coaching. I leave it with a question for now: ‘Can a co-worker, potentially in a higher position, ever really become a credible coach in the sense of a best friend described above?’

I will keep looking at the role of a coach serving a leader or great manager Let me know what your thoughts are and what your criteria of a best friend would be.

Axel Meierhoefer, AMC LLC

This weekend I was working and learning more about how to create a coaching program online. To get the right start I began listening to the training videos Brian Campbell has created as part of the Social Media Marketing System.

He is describing in a lot of detail how a person who wants to coach and make the online world part of the revenue generating stream should proceed.

In his systematic approach Brian, at one point, mentions that a coach tells other people what to do. My immediate reaction was: “that’s not really true, at least not as I see my coaching work”. He goes on to compare this coaching to the coaching done in sports , where the coach actually tells the athletes what to do – or does he? 

Come to think of it, especially with the Olympics fresh in all our minds, we have seen many coaches passionately talk to their teams or athletes when things aren’t going right. At the same time we all know that claim that the coach is not actually performing the sport and has to depend ion the execution of the player or athlete.

In business or individual coaching the same thing applies. It is really not so much telling someone what to do but to remind him or her how to best apply their talents.  I dug a little deeper and found the following definition in the most recent issue of T&D Magazine, the publication of www.ASTD.org.

They say:  Coaching is: ‘Lifting individuals beyond their comfort zone’ The editor, Paula Ketter goes on to describe her view of the situation around coaching as follows:

“Coaching, historically, has been viewed as an opportunity to improve relationships or behaviors, create mutually satisfactory solutions, and attain positive outcomes when differences arise between and among people. But that’s just one form of coaching.

Coaching has become more sophisticated and can involve everyone from the C-suite, to teams, to new hires. A coach can play myriad roles—designer, facilitator, instructor, and coach—and employ many solutions to help individuals or teams become more effective and productive.

It is becoming commonplace for executives to have coaches. While there used to be a stigma attached to having a coach, the fast-paced competitive business environment is forcing individuals and teams to get up-to-speed faster than ever before.

That warrants having a coach—an independent observer from the outside who can be objective when examining the organization, the roles individuals play in that organization, and the expectations placed upon those individuals.

Coaching should be a partnership with willing participants. With formal training, coaches can be invaluable in inspiring clients to maximize their professional potential through a creative and thought-provoking process.

Coaches should be ready to provide feedback, focus on rapid results, and take clients beyond their comfort zones.Retaining talent, promoting from within, and creating high performing individuals and teams should be a critical part of your organization’s business strategy.”

I believe coaching is acting as a guide to help individuals, groups, or businesses utilize their talents and strength, discover ways to achieve their dreams and vision, and provide guidance on the path of success.  In that sense, the consultant is probably more the person to tell someone or an organization what to do, often after a lengthy and expensive analysis of all the circumstances.

In this context it would actually be great advice form a consultant to suggest for a person, leader or organization to get/hire a coach to help guide the suggested process, so the suggestions aren’t becoming shelf knowledge and collect dust.

To round out this trio, the mentor is a little bit of a coach and a little bit of a consultant, but also a cheerleader for a certain direction or on behalf of a person.

When a coach should have experience and broad knowledge about the field he is coaching in, the mentor, at least in business and life mentoring needs to have detailed knowledge and experience. He is mentoring someone to learn form him or her how to do something. It’s is mainly a transfer of knowledge and wisdom form one individual to another or to a group.

I hope this clarifies what the differences in the tree terms are and what one can get out of each profession. It should also show that it wouldn’t be unusual to have a consultant or consulting company, a coach, and a mentor all serving the same company or organization on different issues and goals.

It can be confusing and the media has a tendency to use there terms interchangeable. Maybe this little description will help you keep them apart in the future. If you have your own definitions, like to add to my thoughts or feel you can’t agree with my views, please send me a comment and let’s talk about it. 

Axel Meierhoefer, AMC LLC

Most likely there are certain skill sets you lack which will hinder your progress. Discover what these are and start today in gaining the necessary insights you need to succeed. You might ask yourself, how is this not the same as the lack of knowledge?

There is similarity between the two. With knowledge, you can hire individuals that have it, as you can with skills and tools. On the other hand, with skills, to be able to have at least a meaningful appreciation, you need a basis for yourself. Most of the knowledge you can buy or hire someone for, you probably don’t need yourself. For the skills, it’s a little different. A skill and the tools used to exercise the skill can also be called a talent.

Perhaps you need to learn how to effectively use a computer and the Internet. Maybe you need to up-level your communication or time management proficiency. Even a good attitude is a skill. Enhancing your skills is a lifelong investment that will pay you big dividends. The aspect of a life-long investment is also the parameter you need to use to judge if and how much effort you want to invest into a new skill.

Perhaps you find that something you need as a skill seems to be a talent you hadn’t discovered yet. It may come easy to you and you actually enjoy it.  You will probably find that you want to move forward and keep developing this skill.

On the other hand, when you realize that the skill in need is not a passion, talent, or an easy thing for you, you may want to learn the basics and then hire more talented people to work for you where the skill is needed. Learning the basics is not so much a matter of trust, but rather a matter of appreciating the complexity of the skill.

Another minor but important difference between a skill and knowledge is that knowledge gets applied and can be, and often is, a solution that can be achieved quickly. It does not matter how complex it was or how much time it took to acquire the knowledge. On the other hand, with the skill, you actually have to use the tools, the talent, and all the experience to create a great result.

Having some appreciation of the complexity of the skill will help you determine if a proposal by someone you hire for a talent or skill you need, is reasonable or not. I don’t want to say that a basic understanding of knowledge wouldn’t help as well (often times it does), but it is more pronounced and important to have when we talk about skills.

For you to determine if it is worth spending a lot of time acquiring a skill yourself, independent of your natural talent, you should try to figure out if this will be a life-long skill you will use over and over, or just something you will need for a limited amount of time. Anything that isn’t for the long haul should be hired.

That also leads me to a distinction that you might be interested in:

Combining knowledge and experience leads to wisdom!

Combining skills and experience leads to mastery!

As in every business, passion, endeavor or approach, you can’t be an expert or a master in everything you need for success. That’s why you want to focus on your own existing strength and not your weaknesses. Areas that are not your strength can be supplemented by hiring skills and knowledge.

In applying this information it becomes obvious that one of the most important aspects of self improvement is self-esteem. It is pretty easy to know what you are good at. It is much harder to admit your weaknesses. It is equally difficult to be humble, learn the basics, and get more talented people to help you.
Confidence allows you to actually ask for help. People who aren’t confident and have a low level of self-esteem find it difficult to ask and therefore get stuck with the problems they face. When they try to learn all the skills they need, they will take a lot of time and often still fail because they don’t have the natural talent to become masters. It’s much better to be really good at a few things then mediocre at many things.

Here are the parameters you need to be aware of when addressing self-esteem and your success:

• You need to know what you are good at
• You need to know where you still require improvements
• You need to be willing to ask for help after you know about the basic skill required for part of your solution or service
• You need to know the basic complexities of the skill you attempt to hire someone for, so you don’t get fooled by offers

With these aspects in mind and your awareness for the roadblock clearly in view, you should have no problem overcoming any lack of skill or tools required to achieve your goals and vision.

Be aware that the skills, as defined, are not just physical skills but also mental skills. There is a difference between knowing about math and applying math. The same applies to knowing about creating things made out of wood and actually doing it, using all the fancy tools.

As always, we want to strive for balance in mind and body, and that also applies for skills, talent, and knowledge. The advanced reader can elect to differentiate between the level of mastery and wisdom in the areas of skill and knowledge.

Axel Meierhoefer, AMC LLC

Let’s start at the beginning: I am still studying Otto Scharmer’s U-Theory and keep learning amazing things while gaining more and more clarity. I had planned to develop a new article about the parts I am currently studying. Maybe the universe observed me and brought what I was reading about and what I heard during the tele-class together to bring you today’s reflection.

Have you ever attended an event, participated in a class or course, bought yourself a guided home-study program and caught yourself not really achieving what you had hoped it would do for you? I have several times.

In most cases I enjoy the new people I get to encounter, the atmosphere focusing on the topic at hand for a few days. In case of regular classes or calls, I feel these scheduled events bring the mind back to a topic on a regular basis, although its’ harder to be in the subject over the phone than being intoned when I am physically present.

Regardless if the event has the purpose to sell something or really the goal to teach something new, it is almost always the start of a change process, not the end. It requires us to make a commitment to ourselves to use the positive vibe and energy we have when we leave and part ways with the group of like-minded people. During the drive or flight home we still feel this momentum and drive to move forward.

Some of us actually take action the next day trying to keep the flow going. Many have concentrated so hard on the topic for several days that they feel exhausted when they return into the known environment. It’s almost like a muscle ache after a marathon So what do we do? (and I am no better than anybody else)

We take a break from the topic or subject. We might call it reflection, but for the most part, it is taking a break, relaxing our mind, as well as our body. A few days later, when we find the binders, books, brochures, CD’s, DVD’s, and receipts from our trip, we are reminded that we actually had made a promise to ourselves. We wanted to take action and apply the great system we had heard and learned about.

This is when the Loneliness-Hole is opening up. While we were at the event, all the other folks we had gotten to know were with us. They had good ideas, they told us what they would do when they came home, they provided energy and momentum to us – where hat they gone?

Often we try for some time to get going, but suddenly all the stuff we have and learned looks more like a mountain we need to climb. All the ideas we had are now countered with arguments why they might not work – and the energy we felt seems to have vanished.

Otto Scharmer talks about the power of Sensing. It is part of his theory. In a nutshell it looks and describes the process we go through when we calm down, focus on a topic or object, explore all its facets and aspects, and begin to understand its place, its function and how it fits into the bigger whole of the environment. Many scientists call this environment “The Field”.

What happens in the field is what will help anybody to get out of the Loneliness-Hole or avoid falling into the Loneliness-Hole in the first place. It requires the energizing of the heart to trigger a feeling. Like I described at the beginning, we know how it feels to by in synch with a group of likeminded people. We know how awesome it is to know that there is help, understanding, energy to spare, focus.

What we also find is that things seem to slow down. We can shed all the other things that seem to occupy our minds and our time normally. We can explore the details, and we can open up. This feeling is actually happening when we transition from thinking and sensing with our brain towards thinking and sensing with our heart.

We begin to resonate with the people around us. We see ourselves both as observers of the system as well as participants in it. We have all these ideas flowing out of us and the folks around us that seem unique, great, and helpful. We can really see and feel that the team/group and its innovations is greater than the sum of its parts. The experience is factual and emotional all at the same time.

That feeling is what we are missing when we fall into the Loneliness-Hole.

What can we do about it? You want to actually not only commit to steps, actions and change to yourself, but also to a group of people at the event or meeting, before it is over. Rather than trying to absorb the whole system, all the new ideas and opportunities, and execute them yourself, make a commitment to set up a regular event with a group of 5-7 people. This is similar to a master-mind group.

The best thing would be to have a facilitator who actually knows what the concept,  content or area of interest of the event or meeting was. That way such a facilitator or coach can help you find your way back to the energy and emotions that gave you so much drive and readiness for action. We are actually working on introducing these kinds of group-coaching and facilitation groups as a services because the energy and creativity that comes out of them is very amazing.

If you don’t have anybody who can act as a facilitator or group coach, you want to establish a rotation in your group so that one person takes the lead for one month at a time facilitating the conference calls. Yes, you can do this over the phone or Skype/Internet messenger. You don’t have to be in the same place.  The most important thing for such a group to be successful is to be able to bring the memories, feelings, goals and thoughts form the original event back into your mind and your heart.

If you practice this process, you will learn that you can begin to channel the field energy towards other things as well. One member of the group might go through and illness, a family member might have an accident and needs support to recover, someone might have to take a test or pass an exam. All these tings can benefit from the positive energy of thoughts that each group member can send to the affected person.

Learning how to find the energy, renew the emotions and good feelings, activate the field or keep it energized outside of the meetings and calls, is easier with a facilitator or a coach, but you can also do it yourself. Most importantly, setup the group and make the commitment while you are at the event, still in the training facility, during a project definition retreat, etc.

If you follow this process and make the commitment to the group, you will avoid ever again falling into the Loneliness-Hole.

That by itself is already a great improvement over most cases. The other great benefit of this process is the fact that you will actually get the full benefit of the event you attended and possibly spend considerable money on. And you will keep learning from the members of your group, bounce of some of your ideas, find solutions for things that didn’t work when you tried them, and most importantly, celebrate all the small and big wins you will encounter when you take action based on what you learned.

Let me know what your experiences are when applying this process to avoid falling into the Loneliness-Hole. In case you look for a group coach to facilitate a process like this or help you improve yourself, please let me know and we can develop fantastic groups to create both mind energy and heart energy.

Axel Meierhoefer, AMC LLC

How often have we all been in situations where we spend a lot of time to find a solution and it later appears it has been right in front of us for some time.

Other times we hear or read about something a person discovered that appears amazingly simple but solves an age old question.

Then again a solution can look simple and elegant, even though the subject is not, like the theory of relativity. I still have an issue explaining it, but I can clearly see the simplicity and elegance of E=MC²

When it comes to building a successful business and keep it growing, marketing & sales are two of the most important ingredients to focus on. I have been studying these areas lately and like to bring you some of the results today and in the near future.

When it comes to marketing, I have developed an appreciation of the modern systems, especially in social networks like MySpace, Facebook, Linkedin, etc. There are many of these systems and I plan to create a course that will help people better understand how to use them for business. The best part is that most of what cost a huge amount of money in the past can now be had for free or very little cash.

The other aspect besides marketing is selling. The basic principle is pretty clear as we are all constantly exposed to offers of all kinds. What I find very intriguing is the complexity that has crept into all these messages. Sales copy on web pages gets longer and longer, people add videos, testimonials, etc. In some cases you get mail and have to dig to find out that it is actually a sales pitch in disguise.

A few days ago I received a message from Frank Kern (one of the guys who initially started StomperNet). He had a short video in which he spoke about a nugget of wisdom he had received from John Carlton, the copywriting guru. It mainly addressed the psychology of selling in our fast paced world, where nobody really has time to read or listen or watch anything longer than a few minutes.

When I first reviewed it I felt that it was so simple it would probably never work. The following few days I realized that I actually began applying it, and it seemed to resonate with me and the folks I was writing or talking to. Here are the three simple steps John Carlton told Frank Kern about successful selling:

1. Tell people in open, direct, simple terms: “Here is what I got!”
2. Keep going by providing a short, to the point, explanation under the heading (or a variation of): “Here is what it’ll do for you!”
3. Finish with a clear call to action that is easy to do under the headline: “Here is what I want you to do!” -   followed by a short explanation about the ”why”.

I am sure many of you will say: “Man, this is so simple and childish, it will never work.”  I challenge you to try and apply this approach. I have done it and it seems to work great, and saves a lot of time.

Next, I like to introduce one other aspect about selling and marketing. That’s the advantage of surveys to research your market. We all hear that we need to find out niche and then market to it. That is good advice.

When you have an idea of your niche, how do you know what the individuals living in this niche actually want? You can claim that you are the expert in this niche and offer them what you think they need. The better approach is to use surveys to find out before you loose a lot of time and money developing something your potential customers aren’t interested in or don’t understand.

I have been invited to participate in a new business opportunity. It is in the exploding health market, especially in specialty beverages. You know how many of those have shown up in our supermarkets. It feels like every day there is a new super-food, berry, or nut we are supposed to consume to improve our wellbeing.

I actually take my supplements and have a healthy drink every morning and it makes me feel good. That means I believe in the basic premise. What I don’t know is if I want to be in business in this field. That allows me to put my suggestion about selling and marketing to the test right here and now:

Here is what I got!

I am trying to find out if there really is a market for healthy juices and drinks, not just as a product on the supermarket shelf, but for a coach and leadership expert who loves to form teams. If I knew I could find enough people who join me in my team to benefit from the juice or drink, and make money marketing it, it could be the greatest business opportunity in our lifetime

Here is what’s in it for you!

You will take a few minutes to think about the topic. That will create clarity in your mind on two important subjects:

1. Should do more than you do know to improve your health?
2. Can you improve your health and your bank account at the same time?

Here is what I want you to do now!

I like to ask you to click on the link below and go through the survey I have created. You will see what I am talking about; think about the issue and the possible opportunity.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=EMqn_2fYkFtl6nsQQ9G_2f_2fB0Q_3d_3d

Why should you take the survey?

1. You can tell me what you think and thereby help me make a decision to jump on this opportunity — or not. That is a huge service to me that I am grateful for and I hope it will make you feel good to have helped a fellow human being. As a gift I offer you my free report at http://www.meierhoefer.net/special
2. You will think about your own future and what you might be interested in doing or not doing, thereby creating new clarity about your goals, intentions, and dreams.

Finally, be aware that you will provide a wonderful service in about 5 minutes of your time and help develop statistical research data for eternity.

So, that’s it. Just about the quickest and shortest way to offer something, explain what it is, and what to do about it.

I hope you will do me the favor and take the survey. Then you should try the selling & marketing process yourself and let me know how it worked for you.

Axel Meierhoefer, AMC LLC