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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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The Art of Good Questions

by Rick Baker
On Aug 4, 2011
While this probably has never been the subject of a scientific study, I believe the most-successful people of all time form the same crowd as the most-successful question askers of all time.
 
In some disciplines, this is self-evident: teachers, trial lawyers, philosophers, scientists, inventors, sales people, and market researchers come immediately to mind.
 
In those disciplines, the master-players all excel at The Art of Good Questions.
 
How about your discipline...your chosen field of business?
 
Could you and your people learn the Art of Good Questions?
 
The answer is - Yes.
 
Consider buying & selling as one example and think about it this way…
  • You are a sales person. You are on one side of a chasm…a wide, deep, dark, bottomless crevice…it looks like a mini-Grand Canyon, except it is pitch black and you can see nothing when you stand on the edge and look down
  • Your probable client is on the other side…too far to jump to be with you
  • You and probable clients have been here and there before…lots of your probable clients are in that wide, deep, dark, bottomless crevice…somewhere
  • You can do one of two things:
    1. You can do and say the same old things you have always done and said
    2. You can ask a terrific question that magically launches your probable client over the wide, deep, dark, bottomless crevice…over to your side
If you picked #2, well done, you know the The Art of Good Questions.

Tags:

Entrepreneur Thinking | Questions?: The Art of Asking Good Questions | Sales

Sales Tweet #274

by Rick Baker
On Aug 4, 2011
Sales Tweet #274 Busy people often see difference as a problem rather than a blessing.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
If you compare where you are against where you could be then you may find you need some education on:
  • how to be honest with yourself
  • how to know yourself
  • how to embrace difference

Tags:

I'm too busy! - I don't have time! | Thought Tweets

If it ain’t broken then…

by Rick Baker
On Aug 3, 2011
A traditional aphorism of wisdom states: if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.
If that thought is kept in the isolation ward then it is fine.
In reality, the human mind has few if any isolation wards.
And, it seems many people take that if-it-ain’t-broken-don’t-fix-itthought and stretch it into new dimensions, specifically:
  1. if it ain’t broken, leave it alone and
  2. if it is broken, fix it.
We have learned those can be serious-problem dimensions.
Here are some thoughts
  1. Successful people in all occupations build on their strengths. Successful people focus attention on their talents, their passions, and their strengths. They dedicate a larger-then-average amount of their time gathering knowledge and honing skills around their talents. Successful people surround their strengths with action and they aim their strengths toward results.
  2. When successful people have weaknesses they do not dwell on them. They do two other things:
    • they improve in their areas of weaknesses just enough to ensure the weakness does not disrupt or negate their strengths and
    • they ally with others who possess the necessary but missing strengths
This approach to strengths & weaknesses is one of the major reasons successful people are successful.

Tags:

STRENGTHS: People-Focused for Success

Sales Tweet #273

by Rick Baker
On Aug 3, 2011
Sales Tweet # 273 A Rule for Elephants: "Whatever you feel compelled to do, don’t."
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
If Tony Schwartz met Jonathan Haidt then that could be the topic they discuss. The quote above is from Tony Schwartz’s book ‘The Way We’re Working ISN”T WORKING’ and Jonathan Haidt is the author of ‘The Happiness Hypothesis’. In that book, Haidt likens people’s behavior to Riders, on Elephants, on Paths…where riders are our logical side, Elephants are our emotional side, and Paths are the situations we face. [Elephants can be very compelling.]

Tags:

Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Thought Tweets

Crank Up Your Leadership Strengths

by Rick Baker
On Aug 2, 2011
Here’s a picture to help you crank up your Leadership Strengths.
 
 
 
 
Specifically, if you want to expand your skill at inspiring followers or influencing the outcome of actions or persuading people to join your way of thinking – here is a picture and a checklist:
 
a How To Inspire checklist:
  1. Do You Want It…enough to do some serious work to get it?
  2. Are You Clear & Specific About It…the more-clear and more-specific the better?
  3. Do You Really, Really, Really* Want it…Do You Have A Burning Desire For It?
  4. Can you Communicate a Vivid Picture Of It...a ‘sticky’ Mind-Picture?
  5. Are you Leading The ‘Good Habits’* For It…showing by example how to bring it about?
Footnotes:
  1. Remember when you were a kid…often kids got what they really, really, really wanted
  2. A link to Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things…[this Thought Post is a New Thing, a 1-Page Tool you can think about as you plan how to achieve your goals]

Sales Tweet #272

by Rick Baker
On Aug 2, 2011
Sales Tweet #272 The Boss asked about Meeting Take-Aways...Ernest said he had a pen, paper, and a bag of little candies.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
The Boss held an Offsite planning session for the Sales Department. The next day he asked everyone about their Meeting Take-Aways. Obviously, The Boss has to learn how to communicate more clearly.

Tags:

Ernest Seller | Thought Tweets

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