Communicating with others can sure be a challenge. I don’t mean talking with others. I mean communicating with others. There are times when I think I’d like a press secretary like CJ Craig from West Wing- a designated communicator. How great is this to have someone to say what it is you don’t want to say yourself? Even better is to have a speechwriter like Toby Ziegler to write what you don’t know HOW to say. All this support and the real life President of the US still manages to stumble over his own words on a regular basis. I have a couple favorites: the vast majority of our imports come from outside the country and if we don’t succeed, we run the risk of failure. Yep, the man has people to write for him and people to talk for him and he still comes up with pearls like these. It’s like my dad always said, it is better to keep your mouth shut & appear stupid than open it & remove all doubt!

Speaking isn’t the only hard part about communication- there’s the whole listening thing. I got a real clear picture of this problem last week when I was visiting family in Virginia. And then there’s the hearing- which is an obvious issue when your parents are 80 years old. This was a real conversation we had on a trip to the mountains. It’s probably a good time to tell you both my parents OWN hearing aides- but only my step-dad actually WEARS hearing aides. He’s driving along. We’ve been in the car for quite awhile. He makes an announcement. He says, “I’m pulling over. I can’t take that squeak!” Mom says, “Right here? Right now? And he says yes. She tells him he is embarrassing her and he shouldn’t do that in public. He shakes his head at her, stops the car & gets out. She covers her eyes as he pops the trunk and adjusts the squeaky cooler. She is now mad and nearly in tears. When he gets in the car she says, “I cannot believe you took a leak in the trunk of the car!” Poor guy. Take that squeak sounded like take a leak to her. We were at the state line before he & I quit laughing.

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Many MICE are left to ask who moved their cheese. Change is hard- even when for the better change always requires adjustments. Static companies that are publicly traded have a measurable distance of the proverbial moving of their cheese in terms of stock value. The rest of us can measure the gap in a more private way in terms of our cash flow and business growth.

One of my mantras is that you dramatically increase the odds of getting what you want if you ask for it. While it offers no guarantees, it does indeed improve the odds of success. So in order not to remain static, MICE is asking for your input. We want your feedback on our website and our services. To complete this simple 2 minute survey, please Click here to take survey

Networking, communicating, connecting. These are all critical components to the ever important viral word of mouth marketing concept. In recognition of our clients who help foster this spirit, we offered a contest for the reader who forwarded our newsletter to the most people. This is a great opportunity to provide your clients or colleagues targeted information that you feel they may find useful- but with minimal effort on your part. Everybody wins here.

But in this case there was a clear winner in what we called our "Straight Forward" contest. Camille Hamilton, Franchise Owner, Small Business of the Year -2005, Franchise of the Year - 2006, CMIT Solutions was our winner. In the MICE tradition, Camille received a copy of the best seller, Who Moved My Cheese. CMIT is your full service technology partner offering comprehensive IT services for small and medium-sized businesses. They'll help you utilize technology to reach your business goals.

One of the great struggles I hear over and over from managers and business owners in regard to their employees is "why can't they stay motivated?" There are many places I could direct them for the answer but the first place I suggest looking is in the mirror. Funny how every time you point one finger at someone else, that leaves at least 3 pointing back at you. THEM staying motivated to earn YOU success has to start with you.

The first thing managers have to get over is not everyone is internally motivated to help YOU. As a matter of fact, there is exactly one person on this planet who is motivated in that way. Everyone is internally motivated to help themselves. You know this- don't start faulting people asking where in the heck there work ethic has gone. Independent business owners often struggle the most with this, but face it: the reason most of us started our own business is, well, we're motivated to help ourselves more than whoever it was we were making rich in a previous life. The victor is the owner/manager who can figure out how to align their employee's success with that of their business.

The first step in aligning interests is finding out what their interests are. When was the last time you as a manager sat down & took off your manager hat & put on your salesperson hat? What I mean by this is asking the discovery questions to see what your employee is after in this job. Why are they working? Why for you? Why your industry? How is it they like to be rewarded? Once you have the answer to these and similar questions you are better equipped to "sell" their job to them. If you navigate this conversation skillfully enough, not only will they feel listened to and valued, you will have the information you need to help keep them motivated toward the interest of your business goals. One stern warning: do NOT have this conversation if you do not intend to follow through. That's like asking a mouse what kind of cheese it prefers and then offering it a pickle and wondering why it bites you.

The next step in the alignment process is to share your vision of success with them. Let them know what company success looks like and how they contribute to that. Open the financials to them to the fullest extent possible. Let them SEE the impact of their excessive expense reports on the bottom line. They cannot be expected to try to reach your goal if they have no clue what that goal looks like and if they feel so far removed that they are devoid of personal ownership.

None of this is a one time conversation. Their goals and motivators - like yours and that of your business- are dynamic, fluid, and evolving. This open dialogue can be a challenge to initiate if it is something you have never done. As you can imagine you may have folks question your sincerity. They may even look at you like you've lost your mind. Some find this easier and more effective if launched following a formal all- staff motivational session to mark a new era of change. MICE can help you with that part and can coach you on the follow-through. But the initial acceptance that the change must come from you and not your employees is up to only you. You must take the lead. Following our theme of patriotism, we'd like to suggest a lesson from General Patton during WWII: "You young lieutenants have to realize that your platoon is like a piece of spaghetti. You can't push it. You've got to get out in front and pull it."

Last month we told you about MICE's affiliation with Texas Tech University's Health Science Center's on-line education program. We're pleased to say that as of July 1, 2006, Health.edu is running two of the healthcare provider continuing education programs taught by Jackie Barnes, LCSW, MBA, President of MICE. This is a great way for those of you who have access to Health Net's online programs to access Jackie's expertise any time day or night from the comfort of your own office. Now THAT's freedom!

Motivational speakers. Most of you have had multiple opportunities to hear one or more of those of us who do this for a living. You undoubtedly have recollections of those occasions and some perception of the event. In the time lapsed since you last heard one of these speakers, can you identify a change in how you conduct your business? An improvement in your level of motivation? A set of techniques that have increased your revenues? A fire of inspiration in your belly that just will not die? I didn't think so.

More often than not, the reality is you walked out of the room with some level of entertainment- that faded quickly the next time you were presented with a true business issue. Truth be told, you an obtain this type of feel-good entertainment for $8 at your local movie theater.

Most so-called motivational speakers seek first to entertain. Any other goals are secondary- if existent at all. Many of these folks have a "hook" that entices their hiring- whether they be an Olympic Gold Medallist, have climbed MT. Everest, or have overcome some personal tragedy from addiction to poverty to discrimination. I too have heard these folks- and been enthralled, entertained, amused, and distracted from my business trials and tribulations- temporarily.

I can count on one hand the times when I left the room with a fire in my belly and ideas in my head that truly made an impact on my business or my personal performance. This is the mission of MICE. It is what makes us different. It is our incredibly unique "hook". And it is what you must demand of your next motivational speaker.

Bet you've taken a personality test or two in your day. From my background as a clinical social worker I have seen more than a few of these. There are a couple problems with these. The chief issue is that like the average motivational speech (see article above), the concept is gone from your head the day after you learn your 4 letter profile combination. (Ever notice how most of them divide you into 1 of 4 categories?) For business, I do like the DISC model (Dr. William Marston, 1928) which categorizes you as Dominant, Influencing, Steadiness, or Compliance- or some combination thereof. Most of us remember to some extent which category we fall in, but rarely learn to recognize the traits of others- which is the key to effective selling.

I prefer Dr. Gary Couture's version of DISC, based on bird types that gives us a more visual model and let's face it, more of us learn and retain visual information than any other form. It does have the tendency of other models to pigeon-hole you a bit (it is a bird model for crying out loud!) but the Eagle(D), Peacock (I), Owl(S) & Dove(C) are easy to recall & embody the traits of their prototype human.

The simple way to look at this tool is by taking the example of 4 types of people needing to be at a certain place at a certain time. The dove will be on time & won't care if you're late. The owl will be on time & will be mad if you are late. The peacock will be late but won't care if you're late and the eagle may or may not be on time but no matter what will be mad if you're late.

For more information on this personality test and why your current sales approach may be for the birds, contact us at MICE.

"In my line of work as Chamber President, I have had the opportunity from time to time to listen to various professional speakers & I will guarantee you Jackie is one of the very best. She is a very vivacious, a humorous young lady who has vast knowledge on various topics. I can recommend no one better than Jackie Barnes." - Bruce Hillegeist, President of Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce