Thinking Out Loud

There are many ways to apply the Communication Styles Framework in the workplace. Guiding the professional development conversation is one of them. By identifying processing strengths and challenges, you create a foundation for learning new skills with a clear pathway to achievement.

On Tuesday September 16th, I’ll be at Eastern Maine Community College teaching managers how to use the CSF to guide professional development conversations.  To learn more, click here.

Co-worker conflict is not uncommon and sometimes it escalates with tension running high. Now what? An article I had published in Fast Company (click here) offers some guidelines on how to repair broken communication. Navigating conflict is never easy and learning how to revisit difficult conversations is a necessity, not just in the workplace but in our personal lives, too.

My son, Noah, and I developed a new communication tool. It’s versatile, has many applications and is straightforward. Fast Company just published an article about it (click here). We’ve used it to:

• Guide leadership communication
• Focus professional development conversations
• Structure difficult conversations
• Plan communication strategies
• Diagnose communication breakdowns

This tool can also be used in your personal life and in conjunction with the Communication Styles Framework, which gives it even more strength. After you read the article at Fast Company, if you’d like to know more I can send you the original article which has more detail.

Relationship marketing is a term coined over twenty years ago and shined a light on the client/customer relationship. Previously, marketing attention was primarily on making the sale, although successful businesses recognized that an on-going relationship with the customer was essential to success.  But as business became more competitive customer retention had a stronger place in marketing programs and more resources were put into staying connected to customers.

I’ll be sharing a new tool at the Hancock County Trade Show & Business Conference on Thursday April 24th, 2014 that gives focus to the client/customer relationship and how to navigate it successfully after the sale.  For more information, click here.