Drive the Conversation with Great Questions

Stop making small talk by chit chatting about the food and the weather.

It’s not that these topics don’t make for pleasant conversation…there’re just not strategic.

If you are attending a networking event to build relationships, it is wise to go about it strategically.

Assess who you want to meet and why?

Figure out what you want to talk to them about and prepare your questions.

If you're thinking, "Questions? Don’t I want to tell them all about me and my business? I know I can help them!"

Stop right there!

I’m going to let you in on a little secret...

the key to get anyone to engage in meaningful conversation...

the code to uncovering anybody’s favorite topic to talk about…

Are you ready for it?

Ask them meaningful questions about...themselves.

That’s right.

We all love to talk about ourselves. We want to be known and understood.

Yes, even the big Fortune 500 CEO’s.

Showing genuine interest in others enables you to ask better questions.

Asking better questions leads to more intriguing answers.

Hearing intriguing answers leads to increased engagement.

And increased engagement enables strategic listening.

Don’t aim to hear and reply. Aim to listen and engage.

Have an ear for fostering mutually beneficial connections.

What are your favorite questions to ask at a networking event? Which questions do you most like to be asked?

Leave Nepotism Out of the Family Business

As the founder of The Succession Planning Roundtable, I get the privilege of identifying and emcee’ing the programming for these quarterly events.

Knowing how difficult family business succession can be, I invited Gary and Will Graham of Graham Personnel Services (GPS) to do a program titled,

“Succession Planning for the S.O.B” …as in: Sons of Bosses…what were you thinking?

Their story was fascinating.  GPS didn’t just survive the succession plan with their father Gary Sr., they thrived, despite the sons buying the business right before the 2008 recession.  The business is flourishing.

As their story unfolded one key element stuck out.

There is no room for nepotism in a healthy, profitable business.

Gary put it like this, “A family business still has to be a business first.”

He couldn’t be more right. Over the years I have seen special treatment to family members cripple the potential of family owned businesses. I am impressed with the approach that Gary, Will and GPS take.  Here are 3 takeaways that if employed by other family owned businesses, could reap tremendous results:

• Adopt a formality of respect. If parents and children are working together using titles like Mom or Dad should be left at home
• It’s okay to not employ “other siblings” who are not a good fit for the business. Encourage them to find their own fit outside the business.
• Performance, not bloodline should determine employment status

What areas does your family owned business need some revisions?

Tip #76: Ditch the New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions don’t work. What does work is creating a new world view. Picture what your life would be like if you could design it just for you. Write down what that looks like as if you already have achieved it. For example, you may write, “My clients have become raving fans, giving me two qualified referrals each week. My business is growing at 30% each year because of their incredible support.” By creating this world view, you can now consciously and subconsciously do the things that will make your picture a reality.

If you want this year to be different, start it differently.

Even if everyone else around you starts proudly shouting their resolutions from the rooftop…

don’t get wrapped up in the hype.

It’s rarely the big broad sweeping changes we make that create the most profound difference. Instead, it’s the baby steps we take, shifting our behavior and putting sustainable habits in place.

It may feel glamorous to tout that this is going to be the year that you finally (fill in this blank with a massive unattainable goal you will give up on by February)…

but why do that to yourself?

Be kind to yourself. Be practical, and set yourself up for success, not disappointment.

Not sure where to start? Go to Amazon and “Look Inside” 128 Tips to Make You A More Effective Leader. Decide what baby steps you will take to make 2016 the year you actually create the foundational habits that will change your life. Breathe, and life LIVE the life you want…one baby step at a time.