Influence. We all want it to some degree. Whether its influence with your boss, your employees or even your spouse, influence allows our ideas to be heard and used. But you need to know what people value before you can influence them.  By getting the other person to focus on what they value, your influence becomes more accepted, even expected. The way to keep people focused is to get them to think, not just teach them. Teaching people is important but it only allows them to do what they̵... Read Full Story

To have influence make sure the influential people with the biggest mouths are on your side up front. You have people in every organization who have the ear of the masses and can’t shut up (and they never will). Somehow, through sheer personality and guile, these people have some sway over the rest of the group. Find these people! Get them behind your idea by showing them how good they will look to others if they support your agenda. Let them become your “PA System” and work for you to sprea... Read Full Story

Have you ever thought that the reason the client gave you for choosing a competitor didn’t sound like the truth? Did it sound like a bald-faced lie? Or was it like the end of a bad date — “It’s not you; it’s me”? Here are five white lies clients tell you, along with the underlying reality: The white lie: Your proposal was good but we need to spread the work around. The truth: Your representative is brilliant, but we hate him. He is inflexible and makes the staff lose their desire to live. T... Read Full Story

Are we doing all we can to weather a difficult economy? In previous articles, I’ve pointed out that some people fare better than others. A few of us are even defiant in our approach. I recently saw a lady wearing a button that read “I refuse to participate in the recession.” I guess that’s better than wearing one that says “I’ve lost the will to live!” Most of us are doing the best we can, but “the best we can” might not be good enough. We might need to do ... Read Full Story

How do we get great results? By taking a look at the truth about success! My keynote  presentations and training programs  are based on my company’s research of top performers (5,000 top-performing people of influence in 21 industries) and shows what the most successful people have in common. Recently, I created a summery of the core ideas I presented in a keynote for a client looking to provide something extra for attendees to take home. These same idea are examined in detail in my new... Read Full Story

The New York Times business section recently featured a success story about Maureen Beal, Chief executive of National Van Lines. Maureen gives us some great insight into her secret advantage on her road to success. Since I was no longer the boss’s daughter, people would say things in front of me that they wouldn’t have before. At lunch with my colleagues, I would hear them talk about terrible bosses. This boss was demanding or disrespectful, that one didn’t listen, and ano... Read Full Story

Being the Best vs. Being Consistently Chosen by The Blog Team on January 22, 2009   Garrison Wynn, today’s keynote speaker, brought with him several years of expertise, some excellent original research relevant to the tourism industry, and several great points for all of us to take home. Garrison addressed several issues, from how to speak to your customers and how to manage your employees, to how to build trust and what people (a.k.a. your customers) want and expect from you as a tourism bus... Read Full Story

  Article from: Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News Article date: November 3, 2008 HOUSTON — Service managers play a key role in the success of a contracting business. In addition to usually being the key technical troubleshooting resource in a company, they often manage the largest single department in the company. At a meeting developed exclusively for service managers, more than 300 attended a variety of management training seminars. Garrison Wynn, a leading autho... Read Full Story

What’s interesting to me is that when times are tough, when there’s an issue with the economy, some businesses do really well and some do not — and these are businesses in the same industry. For many, the economy is like pizza: When it’s good, it’s really good, and even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good. What I see making a big difference are attitude and belief. If you’re walking around thinking things are tough, that’s the mind-set you have. What you focus your attention on is what your... Read Full Story

Today’s office is fertile ground for generational clashes and misunderstood mindsets. With people under 30 (known as Generation Y) working alongside middle-aged managers and coworkers, the established older set often finds it difficult to motivate or understand their Gen Y colleagues. Those who’ve had success report that tactics such as short project phases with tight deadlines and frequent praise along the way to a goal work well to fuel Gen Y. Also, it helps to make sure their work compute... Read Full Story