Category Archives: Professional Development

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Have Composure, Keep Calm and Carry On

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Sooner or later, we all must enter a room filled with our adversaries and it is no picnic. I must do exactly that on the evening that this post will publish. The event is quasi- social business and the attendees will be members of an organization in which I hold the highest leadership post. These colleagues belong to a separate, smaller subgroup of the primary organization and the subgroup has a separate leadership team. The subgroup depends on the primary organization for financial assistance and they are an entitled and self-aggrandizing lot.  My goal has been to limit the hand-outs they receive and oh, boy, are they resentful. So into the lion’s den I go!

I must be friendly and supportive of establishing a cooperative relationship between the two groups, yet let it be known that the primary group does not exist to be in service to the subgroup. I will need a big dose of composure and lucky for me, composure is a skill that can be practiced and mastered. Officers in the Marines are taught a communication style called SMEAC: Situation, Mission, Execution, Administration and Command, which goes a long way in encouraging the development of composure and control when vital information must be communicated to others. Those who perfect the SMEAC communication format learn to use precise, carefully chosen words to clearly express their message. SMEAC is now taught at the Harvard Business School.

On our own, it is possible to learn a precise and concise speaking style through observation and rehearsal. Get started by identifying those whom you consider to be highly effective communicators. You are listening for well-chosen words that carry impact. Next, select the two or three points that you must make your audience understand and then refine the language you plan to use. Boil down, clarify and simplify your message. Practice your speech out loud and as well, pay attention to your tone of voice and speed of delivery.

SMEAC works best when we have the luxury of preparation time, when we are scheduled to deliver a presentation. If you must make your points from a meeting table rather than from a podium, the agenda will allow you to choose and rehearse the points that you’d like to get across.

How we speak is a combination of presentation style, word choice, tone, speed and cadence. Maintaining composure is essential when we must speak formally to an audience, particularly when the audience is unfamiliar or potentially hostile. SMEAC is an excellent communication technique that is especially suited for crisis communications or other high-pressure, high-stakes public speaking engagements.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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The Best of Times!

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There has never been a better time to live the self-employed life. Jacob Morgan, co-founder and principal of Chess Media Group and author of The Future of Work (2014), researches how market forces, demographics, political forces and advances in technology will likely impact the global workforce over the coming years and his research indicates that self-employment has significant momentum. “The picture for Freelancers is very good. It’s going to be a huge area going forward.”

Morgan points out what most traditionally and independently employed workers have learned over the past two decades: the steady paycheck is going the way of the dinosaurs. Those who are now age 50 or above started a career and expected to work steadily and at increasing pay for 25 or 30 years and then collect a pension as a reward for their contributions.  Employment at one company was considered an accomplishment and job-hopping was seen as instability, if not disloyalty. Morgan’s research shows that now, the average worker is employed at a place of business for an average of five years and Millennial Generation workers last an average of three years. “Nowadays, when a company is struggling, the first thing it tends to do is cut jobs.”

Because Freelance consultants typically have a list of active clients, we are somewhat insulated from the whims of business owners. We win some projects and lose others, but unlike the traditionally employed, we will not be laid off and abruptly lose all of our income. We do not qualify for unemployment benefits, but that benefit eventually runs out. The Freelance money is sometimes less than ideal, but finding project work is much easier than finding traditional employment that pays more than $20/hour, especially when the job seeker is 50 years or older. Freelancers are not at the mercy of a single employer. We have more opportunities to create options for ourselves.

As companies shed permanent workers, the demand for project-specific professional help continues to rise and for Freelancers, that is a good thing. Much depends upon one’s skill set and local economy, but the next three years and most likely more than that, look promising. Deciding which of your competencies are the most marketable and discovering how to connect with available projects forms the heart of the Freelance business model.

The uncertainties inherent in Freelance employment can also carry advantages, one of which is that you might earn a great deal of money. Traditional employment comes with income caps, unless you are employed in luxury real estate sales, high finance or big-ticket sales (fields that are overwhelmingly closed to most people).

The traditionally employed have been finding that getting a raise is harder than ever. Employers are keeping the money to themselves. The best anyone seems to get is 3%.  Bonuses and commissions for many sales reps have likewise been cut. Middle class wages have been stagnant to falling for 25 years. I’ve done adjunct teaching for 10 years and I’ve never received a raise, regardless of a decades’ worth of good evaluations from my students.

In 2010, Intuit predicted that the independently employed workforce in the US will rise to 60 million by 2020. There are already many associations and other resources, such as the Freelancer’s Union https://www.freelancersunion.org, that give relevant support to us in many practical ways, such as facilitating the purchase of affordable medical and dental insurance. Co-working spaces are available to those who need per diem meeting space at an affordable price or shared office space for those who would like to interact with a cohort of like-minded Freelancers.

Morgan recommends that those who have full-time employment consider taking on Freelance work as an experiment. “Now is an excellent time to do it, but I would do it in a smart way…do a little moonlighting and see how it goes. If it goes well, devote more effort to it. if not, you’ll have learned it’s not for you.”

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Presentation Checklist: Audience Matters

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Next week, I will make two 15 minute presentations and in four weeks, I will make a 30 minute presentation and also preside at a big meeting. The latter engagement is an annual event and I knew well in advance of my obligation, but requests for the first two talks came up unexpectedly. Fortunately, I have time to prepare for all. Here’s how I’ll get ready to stand and deliver:

Who’s in the house and what do they want to know?

All presentations are ruled by the audience and the information that is desired. That information is the purpose of your talk and it determines what you’ll present. Find out also if any stakeholders whom you must persuade will be unable to attend and arrange to follow-up with them personally, if possible.

Hecklers and haters

While researching your talk, ask the organizer if anyone in the audience might have a reason to undermine your objective and why that would be so. To neutralize expected opposition, acknowledge somewhere in the solutions section of your talk that some in the audience may have considered another recipe for resolution and state how your approach will likely be more effective, sustainable over the long term, easier or less expensive to implement, or whatever. Handle the matter like a sales objection, because that’s what it is.

Audience size

The size of the audience guides your method of presentation. An audience of five is intimate and calls for a different approach —most likely more relaxed and personal— than an audience of 50. A larger audience often requires that the speaker use visuals, along with a speaking style and pacing that engages a bigger room.

Does the audience know you?

Friends in the house will make your job easier because you will feel more comfortable standing in front of them. If you are mostly an unknown quantity, it’s important to establish rapport with the audience early in the talk. A statement about how you understand or empathize with a priority or concern is a good ice-breaker and gives you credibility, since you agree with them.

What do you want audience members to do post-presentation?

Design your presentation to frame your call to action as logical, effective, beneficial and inevitable. Describe what you would like audience members, in particular the thought-leaders and decision-makers, to do on your behalf. Do you want them to donate money or time? Approve your proposal? Vote in a certain way? If you are able to make fulfilling your call to action easier for them, then do so.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Business Coach Or Business Strategy Consultant?

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It has become increasing popular for leaders of organizations large and small, as well as Freelance consultants, to work with a coach, as a way to become a more effective leader, manager and decision-maker. Launching and sustaining a business venture is a significant undertaking. The stakes are very high and the margin of error is exceeding narrow. I’ve briefly worked with a coach myself. But is working with a coach beneficial, or a waste of time and money? Experience told me that it depends on your goals and your choice of coach.

Here’s the good news. The International Coach Federation, a support network for professional coaches, has data that demonstrates 86% of coaching clients recouped in business revenue at least what they invested in their coaching sessions. Further, 96% of those business owners/leaders would seek coaching again in the future. The ICF found that working with a coach improves productivity:

  • It keeps you on track. Through regularly scheduled sessions, business coaching provides accountability that encourages you to pursue your goals.
  • You have a forum for reliable and confidential business advice. A good business coach is positioned to use his/her expertise and judgment to guide you through the minefield of business challenges and difficult decisions.
  • You learn to set meaningful and attainable goals. Recognizing the goals one should set and can achieve is one of the keys to success in life and business. Ideally, your business coach will help you identify short and long-term goals and work with you to devise strategies and action plans that will bring your organization into the winner’s circle.

Now for the reality. As I see it, most of the certified coaches operating today have no business experience. Their background ranges from laid-off human resources / organizational development specialists to psychologists who can no longer make the money they want in the counseling field, due to restrictive health insurance reimbursement rules. Precious few of these individuals has ever seen the inside of a marketing department, sales department, finance or operations department.

They do not know how to create a business model; they’ve never participated in writing a strategic plan; they’ve never done a marketing plan; they’ve never so much as sold an umbrella on a rainy day; they could never interpret a profit & loss statement or a balance sheet. The only business decision they’ve ever made is to repackage themselves as a “business coach”, because they see financial potential.

When I prepared to open my consultancy, I saw a business coach who has an MBA from a very respectable program and who worked as a program manager at a mid-size local not-for-profit organization.  She was an acquaintance and so I consulted her for my launch. She was good with keeping me on track, but there were real deficiencies. She was not quite worth the $75/hour that I paid her in 2003.

She was useless in helping me to define my customer or devise strategies in how to reach them.  She was equally useless in helping me to either refine my business model, or offer feedback on the likely financial potential of the model presented. She, a single woman in consulting practice just as I aspired to be, had no words of advice regarding survival strategies, meaning the development of other revenue streams (such as teaching). She is still in business today, but she’s left the immediate area. I don’t know how successful her business is.

Many coaches may have glowing credentials, but the proper application for their experience and training is as a life coach and not a business coach. As I learned, even an MBA is not necessarily qualified to operate as a business coach.  A significant percentage of coaches are someone you call when work-life balance is an issue, or you need a plan for your under-employed husband, who’s become passive-aggressive because he’s envious of your professional success.

Qualified business coaches are available, but like any other professional services provider that you seek, conduct your due diligence. Coaching credentials are not your primary yardstick. Organizational development specialists and psychologists do not know business, so why would you hire one simply because they have some piece of paper?

Business experience and the ability to work with others one-on-one, or as group leader in CEO forums, is the skill-set that matters. Leaders who seek business coaching in fact need a business strategy consultant,  a seasoned professional who has been in the trenches and knows what it’s like to outwit, or get shot down, by competitors and the changing winds of business fortunes. Organization leaders are best served by a wise and savvy pro who has been to the mountain top and returned, to show us how to reach the summit.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Listen and Learn, Hear and Understand

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If we would become better listeners, then the world would become a better place. Effective listening is a cornerstone of relationship – building  and relationships are the foundation of diplomacy.  The ability to listen effectively is a valuable leadership skill.

Listening is complex and contrary to popular perception it is active, not passive . Our ears and eyes, biases and fears, past experiences and hopes for the future all impact our interpretations of what is said to us.  We really do hear what we want to hear.

Active listening is a demonstration of empathy and respect . When we grant an opportunity to hear one who would like to share information, we validate  that person and the  story. Active, effective listening requires that we are fully present. Simultaneous engagement in multi-tasking activities is detrimental to the process.

In the September 1, 1957 issue of the Harvard Business Review, Ralph Nichols and Leonard Stevens interviewed more than 1000 college students and several hundred business executives and found that our listening skills are not stellar. We are largely unable to retain more than 50 % of what has been told to us, immediately after the telling.  Eight hours later, we will retain about 1/3 of what has been told to us.  Six months later and we retain merely 25 % of the story or information.

Nichols and Leonard revealed a main obstacle to listening—we think much faster than we speak. As we listen, or if we listen,  to information that is being delivered comparatively slowly, our busy brains are either coloring the story with our personal biases or agendas, or we’re thinking about something  else entirely.

They suggest that in order to bolster our listening skills, we might give our brains something to do that supports the activity:

1.  Take notes to improve recall of important points.

2.  Incorporate other senses, such as sight, and make note of body language and facial expressions. As well, note tone of voice and emotional state.

3.  Process the information as it is delivered and  try to make sense of it. Formulate questions and think about what was not said.

4.  Respond by first confirming that you correctly understand what has been said and then move on to other clarifying questions.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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The Classic 6 Leadership Styles

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The effective leader is flexible.  S/he is possessed of self-awareness and knows that the style of leadership must fit the demands of the circumstances. What methods can a leader use to persuade team members to give their best performance? How can a leader inspire trust and confidence, obtain buy-in on a vision and goals, encourage bonding and build a cohesive team, build skills where necessary, acknowledge and respect skills where present, create loyalty and produce extraordinary results? The leader must assess the staff with whom s/he will work and employ the most effective leadership style.

I.      Directive

No-questions-asked coercive style that demands compliance. “Do as I say” and controlling.  Motivation is “encouraged” via threats and discipline. Are you looking for a way to kill motivation, persuade the staff to lose commitment and enthusiasm and squelch any respect the staff may have had for you? Look no further.

Most effective:       In a crisis when decisive action must be taken ASAP and there is no room for deviation from a tightly prescribed rescue strategy.

Least effective:       With highly skilled team members, who will quickly resent micro-management and the disrespect of an authoritarian culture.

II.    Visionary 

Inspires the team. Employees come to feel that they are a team and understand how and why their work contributes to the realization of the vision. Moves people toward shared goals/outcomes through empathy and clarity.  This leader states the vision clearly and compellingly, gets buy-in and then steps back and allows the team to work, stepping in from time to time to reiterate the vision and reinforce commitment and enthusiasm.

Most effective:     When seeking to help the team create and achieve goals for the long-term.

Least effective:    The leader is not credible and employees do not trust the vision and goals proposed.

III.   Affiliative 

Creates harmony that boosts morale and resolves conflict.  Builds trust between the leader/manager and employees. People first, task second. The focus is on helping the team to bond, but there may be hesitation when it’s time to take charge and get down to business.

Most effective:     When stepping into an environment where conflict has damaged commitment and morale.

Least effective:     When producing results is imperative and where clear direction, strategies and action plans are needed.

IV.   Participative 

Superb listener, team builder, collaborator and influencer.  A primary objective is to build commitment through consensus. Employees know that their input is valued and this generates commitment.  However, constantly seeking consensus can impede progress toward completing projects.

Most effective:     The staff are highly competent and mutually respectful. Turnover is low and the team is cohesive.

Least effective:     Close supervision is required for the inexperienced. There is no time to build commitment and consensus.

V.    Pacesetter  

Leads through example, has great initiative and a strong drive to achieve through his/her own efforts.  This leader has high personals standards and high energy,  but little patience and can become a micro-manager.  The team is a meritocracy and only A + results are acceptable.  Anything less and the under-performing employee will be pulled off the project.  Nevertheless, team members are inspired and remain engaged and motivated by a leader who “walks the talk”.

Most effective:    Managing highly motivated experts.

Least effective:   When skills development,  coordination and coaching are necessary.

VI.  Coaching 

Good listener who helps employees identify their strengths and weaknesses.  Knows how to delegate,  which provides skills training for staff members.  Encourages peak performance by providing opportunities for professional development and building the employee’s long-term capabilities.

Most effective:     When professional development is needed and employees are motivated to achieve.

Least effective:    The leader lacks expertise and/or the ability to teach or coach. Results produced by highly skilled employees are immediately needed.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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A Politically Correct Skill Set

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Besides the whims of fortune (and luck is an enormous force in the universe),  what differentiates a successful person from an unsuccessful person? What defines a successful leader?  According to Samuel Bacharach,  co-founder of the Bacharach Leadership Group,  successful leadership is defined by the ability to rally support for an idea and inspire others to collaborate with you and help bring that idea to fruition.  Regardless of the quality of the initiatives that you’d like to advance,   you cannot lead without possessing highly developed political skills.  In the absence of good political skills,  the most brilliant plans will die on the vine.  A good agenda will never be realized and a legacy will be greatly diminished.

Bacharach says that the essence of political competence is the ability to understand what you can and cannot control.  One must identify who will support the initiative,  who will oppose and when the time will be right to go public and move forward.  Those who possess political skills get things done because they take the time to think things through.  The politically skilled will not naively or arrogantly move forward alone,  but will instead win over the right people and build a coalition to take on the project. “Anticipating the obstacles your idea might face when you present it is a political skill that can help you get across the finish line”,  says Bacharach.  Politically skilled leaders will consult with a trusted ally or two to reality test their concept,  create a list of potential allies and detractors,  decide who to recruit for the launch team,  calculate the best time to move forward and create a roll-out strategy.

Political skill means knowing how to map out the battlefield terrain,  convince people to join your team and lead a coalition.   The best ideas do not always win out,  but the best launched ideas always have a good chance of seeing the light of day.  The highly respected movers and shakers in life are yes,  the luckiest,  but also they have political skills.

Some are born with a highly developed political skill gene,  but it is possible to improve your skill level.  As noted above,  taking the time to think through the arc of the initiative’s development and roll-out is a good place to start.  Who is likely to support you?  In whose interest might it be to see the project realized?  What can you do to make potential allies see that it will benefit them to support the project? Which of your allies has enough power to make things happen and bring other high-ranking players to your team?

Now who are likely to be detractors,  active or passive—who will feel threatened by a perceived  (or actual)  loss of power and influence if your plan is adopted?  Who might be able to withhold resources  (funding)  or start a whisper campaign to undermine you?  Can your team overcome these matters? Are there cultural,  historical or other barriers that you might face?

Assembling your winning coalition is the next step.  Work only with those whom you trust and respect and know that the feeling is mutual.  Be certain to compile a list of compelling benefits that will help you sell the merits of your idea to those with the power to make it a reality.

You may want to approach the mapping of the political terrain as strategic planning and conduct a SWOT Analysis (Strengths,  Weaknesses,  Opportunities and Threats),  to help you visualize the resources you hold,  any gaps in your war chest,  obstacles that you will likely face and opportunities that may strengthen your position along the way.  Anticipate the arguments that will be made against you.  Sell the benefits that will overcome those arguments and convince  (powerful)  allies to support your position.  Collaborate with supporters to bring your initiative to life.  Be an effective leader.

Merry Christmas,

Kim

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Better Business Writing

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The ability to write well is an asset and poor writing undermines the perception of one’s professional abilities.  Skilled writing is in great demand in the business world,  where content marketing and social media updates require Freelancers,  business owners and corporate marketing teams to write newsletters,  blogs,  white papers,  Twitter updates and press releases.

Some of us hate to write and we are intimidated by the prospect.  From time to time,  even good writers struggle to express their thoughts.  Submitted here are business writing tips that will help you to communicate your expertise to clients,  peers,  prospects,  hiring managers or potential business partners.

Purpose

What is your written communication meant to achieve?  Do you want to write a proposal,  a thank you letter,  a follow-up email that confirms agreed-upon actions that were discussed in a meeting,  or a message in a greeting card?

Inventory

It’s helpful to write down and list what you want to say,  in no particular order.  Don’t worry about vocabulary or grammar,  just grab paper and pencil and capture what information is necessary to convey your intentions.  Save the editing for later.

Concise,  complete and organized

Prioritize your subject matter and lead with what is most important and time-sensitive.  Write a first draft and do your best to express your information clearly and concisely.  If your communication is business,  you may choose to highlight the most noteworthy points in bullets,  so that the reader’s eye is drawn to them quickly.

Active voice

Business writing is all about action and you will convey your command of the subject or events that transpired when you write in the active voice.

Spelling and punctuation

Run the spelling and grammar check that is on your software.

Edit

Review and edit your writing and if time allows,  take another look anywhere from a few hours to a day or two later.  Allowing your writing to “rest” will sharpen your editing prowess.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Your B2B Christmas Party Networking Guide

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The Christmas season is an excellent time to meet potential clients.  Many organizations would like to put projects into motion when January comes around and more decision-makers than you may realize are on the lookout for a Freelance consultant to help their department achieve important goals.  Do what you can to attend those that appear to have potential for good networking.  You may receive an invitation to a party where you know only the host.  Don’t shy away.  Accept and devise a winning game plan to see you successfully through what might otherwise be an awkward clunker of an evening.

Call the host  (do the Evite as well if that was sent)  to personally RSVP and express thanks for the invitation.  Tactfully inquire about the guest list  (you can also check on Evite and ask for intros while at the party)  and proper dress for the occasion,  so that you will know what to expect.  Knowledge is power and power brings self-confidence.  Tell the host that you look forward to meeting the other guests and ask him/her to introduce you to anyone on your personal VIP list.  Right away,  you’ll make the host happy because you’ve identified yourself as a good guest.  Tip: since your purpose for attending is looking for your next client,  go alone.  The last thing you need is a friend who could detract from your agenda or take over a conversation that is going well for you.

At the party,  fulfill that expectation by taking on the role of facilitator.  Do your best to be  (appropriately)  friendly and authentic.  Have the courage to extend yourself and greet people,  especially those who are alone.  They will be grateful that you’ve rescued them.  When in conversation,  allow the other person to talk about themselves.  After introducing yourself and offering up some pleasantries about the nice party that you’re both at,  “How do you know  (the host)?”  is a great ice-breaker.  A general question about holiday plans— at home or traveling?— is a nice follow-up.

Practice the art of mingling.   When conversation seems to hit a dead-end with one person,  excuse yourself to refill your plate or your drink  (Hint: 3 drink limit,  do not overdo) and find someone else to talk to.  Do not intrude upon conversations that appear to be private.  At the party,  remind the host of whom you would like to meet.  When meeting your VIPs,  resist the temptation of promoting yourself.  If you know something of the guest list in advance,  search LinkedIn or Twitter to get a career update,  so that you can  “serendipitously”  ask questions that will allow your wish-list guest to talk about him/herself and make yourself look wonderful in the process.

Use the 80/20 Rule and cede 80 % of the conversation to the other person and spend 20 % talking about your own life and business  (unless the VIP really wants to know).  If it seems appropriate,  suggest post-party contact and do a card exchange.  Ask for a good time to call/email—December or January?

Leave social media out of the party.  Do not even think about posting a photo on Facebook or Instagram.  Do not invite a VIP or anyone else you’ve just met to join your LinkedIn network.

Finally,  knowing when to arrive and exit a party are important social skills.  Especially when you do not know anyone on the guest list beyond the host,  arrive at 6:30 PM for a 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM affair,  so that you will have several people to talk to.  Unless you are in a good conversation with follow-up potential,  make your exit  (thanking the host on the way out)  when 25 % – 35% of the crowd has departed.  You want to be present when the party is at its peak.  Now go and check your email and look for invitations!

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Listen and Learn

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“We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.”   –Diogenes

We love the sound of our own voice,  so much so that we sometimes don’t know when to shut up.   Talking is lots of fun,  especially for the extroverts among us.  Silence can be uncomfortable.   But we all know that listening is an important communication skill.  When we allow others to express themselves and tell their story,  we demonstrate that we care about them and that we value the quality of the information that they are sharing.

The benefits of good listening skills are significant.  Everyone loves a good listener and one invariably learns a lot by listening,  including who is worth listening to!  People will open up and sometimes say the darndest things and all we have to do is be there and show that we are paying attention.  It is ironic that saying and  (mostly)  doing nothing is such a vital component of relationship-building.  Yet listening is the foundation of bonding;  silently,  one demonstrates empathy,  telegraphs that another human being matters and creates rapport.  Fortunately,  the art of listening can be learned.

Attention, please

When listening,  give the speaker your undivided attention.  Nothing else demonstrates the level of respect that you have for another than this one act.  Let the phone go to voicemail,  close the laptop lid.   Sharing your valuable time with another and focusing your attention on that individual is so validating.  It is also a defining element of charisma.  Charismatic people are known to make whomever they are listening to feel as if only the two of them are in the room.   Demonstrate your laser focus with eye contact,   smiling or showing concern,  nodding your head and declining to interrupt,  except to ask a question or two that ensures that you understand what is being said.

Risk acknowledgement

As noted above,  when people start talking,   you might be floored by what is revealed.   No matter how you feel about what has been said,   maintain your cool.   Show that you are worthy of the trust that has been extended to you by way of the revelation.   Appreciate and acknowledge the risk that was taken by the speaker when the decision was made to confide in you.

Take notes

Always take notes when in a business meeting.   When you write as someone talks,  you demonstrate that the subject of the conversation is important to you.  The note-taking process also allows you to ask questions to ensure that you understand what has been said.  Within 24 hours,  send an email in which you thank that individual for meeting with you and confirm the agreed-upon next steps.

Achieve understanding

Stephen Covey (1932-2012),  author of the timeless self-help classic The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People  (1989),  noted that most people listen not to understand,  but to reply.  Be careful not to jump to conclusions or hear only what you want or expect to hear.  Perfect the art of listening and minimize miscommunication problems that can lead to costly mistakes or hurt feelings.

Listening is an art form that unfortunately,  is underrated.  Regardless,  the most compelling leaders,  the most successful sales professionals,  the most powerful negotiators,  the most charismatic people and those with whom we develop the most satisfying relationships are all active listeners.   Follow the advice of Diogenes and sharpen your listening skills by employing patience and self-discipline to your business and social conversations.

Thanks for reading,

Kim