by Doug Gray | May 13, 2013 | book review, Business, change, Sales, strengths, talent
I’ll give the book 5 stars for the model, and 3 stars on the writing quality. This review will focus on the model behind “The Question.”
The subtitle explains its lofty vision: “Ask it and transform anyone’s future”
This book was referred to me by several clients. They had taken part in the Strategic Coach Program. They wanted to work with me because they needed more customized executive coaching.
Also, I have been solicited by Strategic Coach sale people to attend their program. (I must have attended a webinar.)
Dan Sullivan has coached over 13,000 business leaders and entrepreneurs, over 20 years.
So, what is the one question that 1) warrants a book, 2) warrants so much acclaim?
He starts the book with an anecdote from a business leader who feels: 1) confused, 2) isolated, and 3) powerless. Despite his financial success, he is working long hours. He needs a better system. Like many people, that business owner is seeking how to 1) transform confusion into clarity, 2) isolation into confidence, and 3) powerlessness into capability.
Sound too magical or impossible? Give this review another minute.
Imagine that you respond to that business leader with a question of your own. Your question has two parts. Part one is this:
“If we were having this discussion three years from today, and you were looking back over those three years, what has to have happened in your life, both personally and professionally, for you to feel happy with your progress?”
Sullivan found that 85-90% of these business owners pause, then provide a substantial answer. These are the “users.” These people become your prospects and clients. And you can ask them part two of the question.
5-10% of the business owners are confused. They cannot abstract or imagine the future in this way. These are not your prospects or clients. Thank them and move on.
And less than 5% of the business owners are “refusers.” They are not willing to embrace a relationship. They refuse to answer the question. Therefore they have just saved you tremendous time and energy. Thank them and move on, quickly.
Notice how you are pre-qualifying your prospects? Notice how the question is all about building rapport? Notice how the question is all about the other person– their aspirations and vision?
Humans are aspirational.
Some characteristics of this question include:
1. it is futuristic, and implies a continued relationship with you
2. it is specific to a time period– “in three years”– which most people can envision and describe
3. “looking back” requires synthesizing skills, abstraction, and specific descriptions
4. “for you to feel happy” is subjective, and happiness is the primary motivator for mankind. Through all recorded history.
Now that you have asked that business leader part one of the question, you are ready for part two. Sullivan calls part two the D.O.S., an acronym standing for Dangers, Opportunities and Strengths. You can use simialr words. The point is to use specific words that help others clarify their intentions into actions.
Part two of the question is:
“Specifically, what dangers do you have now that need to be eliminated, what opportunities need to be captured, and what strengths need to be captured?”
This structure invites the other person to articulate specific Dangers/ Opportunities/ Strengths. When I have used this question I ask for permission to record notes. Then I help the other person articulate their top three items. Then I provide those notes as a gift. Or a coaching focus. The results have been astounding.
Now imagine putting part one and part two together…
“If we were having this discussion three years from today, and you were looking back over those three years, what has to have happened in your life, both personally and professionally, for you to feel happy with your progress?”
“Specifically, what dangers do you have now that need to be eliminated, what opportunities need to be captured, and what strengths need to be captured?”
Can you imagine adopting this as a script?
Print this blog article. Forward it to your team. Then adopt this script.
It has helped me. It has helped thousands of entrepreneurs focus on adding value and transforming others.
Yes of course, I can help you implement this model into your business.
Then call me at 704.895.6479. Tell me what you think.
Or add a comment below…
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by Doug Gray | May 12, 2013 | change, Employment, Leadership, strengths, talent, talent assessment
Throughout my career I have always done one thing: leadership development.
And my career has catapulted at many times… Specifically, whenever I partner with smart people doing great work.
In 2012 I partnered with Adam Ortiz, PsyD, Chris Leupold, PhD, and the team to provide predictive talent assessments for a large global F100 company.
These multi-rater, multi-method assessments are described below. The process is the most effective, valid talent assessment I have experienced to date. Please call me at 704.895.6479 to learn how we can provide this assessment for your senior leaders.
Executive Development Consulting
As a premier provider of executive assessment and coaching services, we excel at understanding our clients’ situations and helping them drive business results. EDC employs experts who are Ph.D.-level Organizational Psychologists, and possess more than 15 years of consulting and corporate experience working with C-suite and senior-level executives. Our depth of experience in working with companies of all sizes, and across the globe, is a key differentiator, and rather than relying on abstract concepts, EDC integrates proven methods for assessment and development. We design these methods to work within the parameters of your environment and can be tailored quickly and cost effectively. Our solutions equip individuals and organizations with the tools they need to achieve their goals.
Our Approach
Understanding what is required to excel is critical to individual and organizational advancement. We systematically define success in each client’s organization by asking questions that hone in on core competencies and underlying behaviors. We then use in-depth, behavioral interviews, 360-degree assessment, and psychological inventories to objectively assess those competencies and behaviors. Our goal is to provide a clear, accurate and relevant picture of your talent and where to most meaningfully invest your resources.
How We Add Value
We help our clients identify and develop their number one resource, their people. We do this by partnering to define the competencies critical to success, measuring them and developing the organization’s leaders with those competencies as the focal point. We equip individuals and organizations with the tools they need to turn executive assessment and development into sustainable advantage. Our practices are proven to achieve and sustain higher levels of leadership effectiveness, and are based on best practice research of leadership development strategies.
Our Philosophy
Our philosophy on development and coaching is that people grow by applying learnings to real world situations. EDC directly links executive development to individual and organizational needs by addressing values, motivations and behaviors in ways that support the achievement of development targets. Our approach links self-awareness with business results.
by Doug Gray | May 12, 2013 | Business, Coaching, strengths, Success
Imagine a mega-lottery where they winner gains a lifetime of wealth…
All you have to do is rank the following in the correct order.
Question: what are the most important secrets to success in life and work?
____ talent ____ luck ____ambition
Yes, there is a correct answer.
Yes, I know the answer.
DO YOU?
Call me at 704.895.6479 or comment below…
by Doug Gray | May 10, 2013 | Business, change, Employment, money, Personal Development, Sales, strengths
GOMO stands for Going Through the Motions.
Some 70% of workers are dissatisfied with their jobs.
Some 50% of marriages end in divorce.
Some 20% of people make a living doing what they love… Huh? Yes, it is possible. Here are two stories.
1. One of my clients, Matt, co-founded an IT company that provided a unique service. Over 10 years they were acquired by 3 companies. Matt was the principal architect of the software. But he was getting restless. His young family was not happy in the D.C. metro. He was tired of being a GOMO. We had worked together 6 years previously. So he re-hired me to explore “what’s next?” He realized that several of the executives on their team were working remotely. In short, he could live anywhere. So within 4 months he relocated to Colorado. And he re-designed how he managed his product development team. That process occurred in months, not years…
2. Another client, Allen, had been an HR manager for many years, but he aspired to be a global talent director of a nearby F500 company. We met at a Vistage International meeting. Shortly thereafter he realized that he could not imagine staying at his current employer. He felt trapped. There was no evident career ladder. He struggled each day, and hated the fact that he called himself a GOMO. So we explored options. He did not want to move. His divorced wife, and their children, were nearby. So he designed a virtual talent recruitment program, using former HR colleagues who wanted to work from home. He built the system and sold services to F500 clients. In short, he developed and moved into his dream job.
So how about you? Are you feeling stuck as a GOMO?
If ready to explore what’s next, then call me at 704.895.6479 now.
There is no wisdom in waiting.
by Doug Gray | May 9, 2013 | change, Coaching, Employment, money, strengths
Option 1. Americans are known throughout the world as a country of optimists.
We were founded as the “New World”, we foster Nobel Prizes and Patents and innovations that imply global leadership for centuries to come.
The defining question is “What’s next?”
- Consider every political campaign… or product launch… or new business…
- Consider any Apple product launch, and the fact that Steve Jobs spent 6 weeks (consider that time investment) preparing to announce “what’s next?”
- Consider media descriptions, such as the West Wing television series. Fast action. Continuous movement– walking between rooms or hallways. Glib banter. And after any dramatic moment, that long pause, and the president or chief of staff turns to the exhausted team and asks, “What’s next?” Perhaps the defining question of that television series.
- Consider sports. I played ice hockey in college, so I recall the Wayne Gretsky quote, “I skate to where the puck will be…” Pick your sport.
In business we focus on “What’s next?” We make our daily to do lists. And we choose markets. And we make calls to those who need our products and services. We wake each morning with that ancient optimistic faith that we can “Make it a great day.”
Or not.
Option 2. Some people choose to hide or protect their interests. They do not reach forward, or look up, to embrace what’s next. They are fearful.
Wags often state that there are two kinds of people. Those who think there are two kinds of people. And those who disagree.
Lately I think there are only options to the “What’s next?” question.
Are you option 1, based on optimism, or option 2, based on fear?
Call me at 704.895.6479 with your answer.
by Doug Gray | May 8, 2013 | Business, change, money, Sales, strengths
… the following list. I urge you to develop a similar list for yourself.
Since 1997 I have been trying, and regularly failing on occasion.
1. Just in Time Coaching, JIT Coach, JIT Peer. For individuals and organizations to quantify the ROI of coaching, and provide enterprise solutions. Tagline: “Now that you can hire a plumber or lawyer online, why not hire a coach or consultant just in time?” In 2009-2010. Worked with a brilliant software business partner, who developed the software and managed a team of offshore developers. We created a solution that assessed coaching needs, defined strengths, matched with a qualified coach, scheduled services, delivered in 4 modes (direct, phone, Skype, email), and evaluated services. Presented to three F500 companies. No sales. Now (in 2013) there are at least 2 companies that provide similar services. I learned the importance of defining market needs before investing years of energy into what I may think is “a great idea.”
2. Dash4Cache.org. A digital scavenger hunt app to promote any event or organization. In 2012-2013. After creating and delivering 3-5 adventure races and running races each year, for 6 years, I knew something about event management. Then in April 2012, my 16-year old daughter and I were watching a local mud run, the Spartan Race. She continually uploaded photos onto Facebook and Snapchat. And she said, “Daddy you could create a better event than this one.” So we formed a great team and delivered 4 events in the fall of 2012. We proved the concept and applied lean technology (build measure learn.) Armed with a provisional patent, we developed customized scoring software. These 4 events promoted local businesses and people travelled by foot, or car, or bicycle. In 2013 I tried to sell this concept to amusement parks, pub crawls, music festivals. But no sales. Yet.
3. 4A Coaching. A subscription based online library for best practices of coaching and consulting. In 2009 or so. With a brilliant software business partner, who created the framework. Populated with hundreds of best practices and ROI data. No subscribers. I learned that all the content in the world can be organized into a searchable format. However, people need to hire me/ coaches like me to help them through the messy process of learning. Communities drive sales, not just great content. Coaching can never be commoditized into a library. Thank God.
4. Action Learning Apps. May prove to be a market driven reality some day, but after 18 months of sales and development I could not find a buyer. One prospect meeting, with two senior partners in the largest law firm in the SE, was promising. They stated, “We need to cross-sell. This app and your business development sessions can force us to use our contact management systems and talk with our colleagues in the other silos, such as real estate, finance, or intellectual property. Then we can be compensated for cross selling.” Good concept, but not the economic buyers, therefore another failure.
5. And there are other smaller failures…
The main point: learning is a messy process, combined with failures.
I embraced the above examples because I wanted:
- to leverage digital knowledge
- to integrate the virtual and physical
- to expand value to thousands of people
- to partner with smart people
How about you?
Call me to discuss any of the above, at 704.895.6479.
And write to describe some of your failures, and lessons…
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