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Posts Tagged Business Relationships

The Noise Factor

We live in a very noisy world. Audible noise and visual noise.

Seems that we are constantly surrounded these days by messages - all vying for our attention.  Standing in line at the bank or supermarket, surfing the Web, driving, at the movie theatre, watching tv, listening to the radio. . . everywhere we look there are businesses of some sort talking to us.

No, most of that’s not really new, and we’ve learned to tune most of it out. Yet it has has become more and more prevalent with technological advances.

And even more of this noise is being created since just about everyone we know has started a business of some sort. Starting a few years ago when many of us realized our “jobs” were not as secure as we had hoped, the “side” or “home-based” business has been growing exponentially. And on top of that, many people have recently become involuntary entrepreneurs. Friends, relatives, people we meet on the street ~ all of them want us to pay attention to their enterprise.

On top of all that, we have our own enterprise ~ whatever that may be. Even if it’s going really well, it is mostly likely requiring more of our attention. We’re having to learn new skills, apply new creativity, and generally keep ourselves visible among all the Noise.

Whew!

Where do we find the time?

Well, using our incredible adaptability, we’ve developed internal screening methods that keep us from feeling totally overwhelmed. We’ve learned how to “tune out” most of the noise. It’s necessary for us to train our focus on the things that are most relevant among the multitude of choices we have.

No longer do we go searching for new things. So many messages are coming at us, most of the time we simply screen the incoming for what grabs our attention.

This makes life a bit easier for us in our role as consumers.

megaphoneAs business people, it can present challenges. How do we become heard above all the Noise?

How do we set ourselves apart so we are one of the voices that our prospects and clients actually hear instead of tune out?

We have to do something different. We have to make our message more compelling than the others ~ to the people we want to hear us.

Sounds like a job for Creative Man!! Or, Imagination Woman!!

Join us this week for some thoughts on how to get more innovative in your offerings, your presence, and your marketing, so you will stand out from the crowd.

Just Imagine That!

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Why Different Types of Business Relationships are the Same

Not long ago I was talking with a friend of mine that works for a company that is currently going through an exercise that has become fairly standard operating procedure today: management is trying to figure out how to trim operating costs while still producing the same quality product and delivering even better customer service. (Sound familiar?)

To help with this analysis, all employees were asked to complete two short questions.
Question 1 – List five people in the company with whom you interact the most.
Question 2  - List five people in the company who you feel are most important to your ability to do your job well.

On the surface, this doesn’t sound like too hard of an assignment. Relatively straightforward and simple to complete. 

Actually the only reason my friend brought it up was because she was surprised that her two lists were so different.

This sparked my curiosity and got me thinking. And I filled out my two lists about a corporate position I held a while back. 

How about you?  Wonder what your two lists would look like?

Well, why don’t you take a minute and answer the two questions.

 (I’ll wait right here!)

So, what did you find out? Do your lists overlap or are they different? Were you surprised?

Whether you were surprised or not, why is this significant?

Well, in the context of doing business, we encounter a wide variety of types of relationships - clients, team members, support people, assistants and bosses. And we can classify them in many different ways – frequency of interaction, significance, direct, indirect, involved or peripheral. But they all have something in common.

They are all relationships.  And relationships are maintained and strengthened when they are acknowledged and when something of similar perceived value is exchanged.

So, if you were to take one simple step today to acknowledge and nurture the relationships on your lists, what would you do? How can you show people you have a business relationship with that you value them?

How about giving this a try to see how it works for you:  Pick one person from your second list that surprised you or that took a little longer to pin point. At some point today, stop by their office or desk, or give them a call, and tell them thank you for making it easier for you to do your job well.  Don’t worry about telling them how they do that….just tell them thank you.

A genuine thank you is always a good start!

Just Imagine That!

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